Little Ones and Lines

[jetprincess]

Speaking of lines...this has been something that has been concerning me.

What do you do to entertain your young children when waiting in lines? We are going the week before Easter with an active 4 year old and baby and would like to make it as "meltdown free" as possible. What are some of your tricks? I can't see my child coloring or drawing with all of the other stimulus. What else?

 

[mmmears]

Things that have worked for us -- playing I spy, playing WDW 20 questions, teaching how to "read" the park map. The best thing we tried was blowing bubbles - we brought a small bottle from home and blew them around and DD tried to catch them -- it generally entertains the kids around us, too, and is not too disruptive to others around us.

 

[denecarter]

Also spend some of this time talking about what you've already done and what everybody liked. "Remember when we ____!" "What was your favorite _____ so far?" "That was so cool when we saw ____!" "Wasn't mom/dad/whoever funny when we _____?"

I always do this with my daughter (now 18) and the nieces and nephews I take. Sometimes I wonder if one of my younger nephews really remembers his first trip or if he just remembers us talking about it and looking at the pictures. I guess it doesn't really matter because HE THINKS HE remembers it... and that's what counts.

Good memories are just as good the next day as they are 10 years from now.

 

[disneyphanatic1911]

The best thing we tried was blowing bubbles

Since spring and summer times are the seasons for weddings, this is a good place to make use of those small bottles of bubbles that they give away for the processionals.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

OKay- the first thing you do is get some duct tape. Wrap each of the kids up and then wrap them around your body! Just kidding! When we go this time our kids will be DS-almost 4, DD 2 (going on 25!) DS 6.5 months. In the past we have found that using the baby carrier or sling works great. Also for your older child we try to talk about the ride and get them super excited about it. We also talk about all the other fun things we either did or are going to do. We also try to point out different things around us while we are waiting in line. For instance- on the Dumbo ride we might try to count how many Dumbos there are and what color they all are etc. You will have a great time. There is nothing better than seeing your kids enjoy it all. For us- that is the magic!

 

[janette]

Just got back from a trip with my 6yo great-niece. Really we mostly just tried not to wait in line. With FP and getting to the parks early we had really no trouble. The longest wait was about 20minutes. It will probably be a little busier at the time you are going but you can do much of what you want to do.

Do things that are inside but still fun for the little ones. We didn't do Dumbo but did the Dino ride at AK and the Magic Carpets, both like Dumbo but usually with shorter lines. Do fantasyland early, you can get into almost everything in an hour. Use FP for Peter Pan, usually the longest line there.

The playgrounds are great places for the kids to get down and run, each park has different play areas. Ariel's Grotto has a small water play area if you end up waiting there.

 

[DisneyPhD]

We make it a point never to stand in any line longer then 20 min (30 max). We use fast pass and then try to hit the other rides when the line is shortest. (like Dumbo 1st thing in the morning.) We normally go for such a long time (a week) that we take our time at doing things and don't try to fit a park all the way in one day.

A toy or snack in line works well (dumb dumb suckers, fruit snacks, neat things.)

Spining toys, when all else fails we look at the pictures on the digital camera.

 

[Deb & Bill]

If the line is close and there isn't much space, bubbles aren't really a good idea since you can get them on the other guests. They'll drip all over everything.

When our son was in Kindergarten, he often played Categories at school during lunch time. The teacher would think of a category and each child would come up with something for that category - ie, Favorite Disney Character, Favorite thing to eat at Disney, Favorite attraction, etc.

You can always come up with silly rhymes, alliteration (words with the same letter), learn a foreign language or visit with the people standing near you.

 

[Schmeck]

Please, no bubbles in lines! They can get in little kids eyes, kids go chasing after them and get away from their parents, causing havoc in the line, and some people (my daughter included) are allergic to the ingredients in some bubbles. It causes a nasty rash on her skin.

Try getting to the parks at opening and doing the must-do rides first. Get Fastpass when ever you can. A small pad of paper and a few small colored pencils in a fanny pack kept my kids busy when they ere little.

 

[eeyoreiscool]

We have never had a problem with our kids in lines. We just mainly talk to them about what they have done and what they may still want to do. We also use Fastpass for the longer waits and hit all the popular rides early.

 

[DisneyMim]

Yeah I agree about the bubbles, not a good idea. We also never had a problem with our kids when they were little. They knew ahead of time that there would be lines. We have always used this time to talk, even now that our kids are older. We've had some wonderful conversations and have meet some great people while waiting in lines.

 

[minnie61650]

Speaking of lines...this has been something that has been concerning me.

What do you do to entertain your young children when waiting in lines? We are going the week before Easter with an active 4 year old and baby and would like to make it as "meltdown free" as possible. What are some of your tricks? I can't see my child coloring or drawing with all of the other stimulus. What else?

We loved playing with Pal Mickey when we werewaiting in line. He would tell jokes and sing songs and keep us entertained.
We said nursery rhymes like "1,2 Buckle my Shoe "and "5 Little Pumkins Sitting on a Gate." (We were there during Halloween season.)
I also brought some glow in the dark Glitter rings and bracletsI bought in the $1 section of my Target store.
Have fun at Disney!

 

[The Sweetness]

This is what worked for us when dd14 was smaller (from the age of 2 up to 5 or 6) Me or DH would stand on line waiting for a ride, (there werent FPs then, this was started when dd was 7 or 9) The other would take dd into the nearest shop, or bathroom if needed. Sometimes we'd buy a coke. When me or dh was closer to the front of the line Id either pass her to him if I wasnt riding, or climb under/ the rope if there was any to join him, or he& the baby would excuse themvelves through the line to join me. This saved the peace for us for years, and DD never had a temper tantrum in line due to long waits. By the time she was 5/6, she was getting better at waiting Ill do this same thing next year w/ my 2y old, unless I am specifically told by a CM at a ride that I cant. Id much rather have an older sibling or parent join a family in front of me than have to endure their impatience and bad behavior that goes with it

 

[JFrey4240]

Use fast passes and buy a Pal Mickey. He will keep you entertained and the line moves quickly with fast passes. Go early when the lines are minimal and take afternoon breaks when the parks are crowded. Go to some shows, watch parades and go to every playground in the parks.

 

[Leota]

We started taking our 17.5 yo DS to WDW when he was just over 4 & there were no Fast Passes. We were really concerned how he would handle lines. He did better than we did! I was amazed at how patiently he would stand in line for an hour to ride Dumbo. We did do alot of talking & word games to pass the time as well.

Now that there's Fast Passes, you can use those to your advantage & really cut back on your waiting time. There will still be times that you wait, but hopefully you will have the same experience we did. DS was just so happy to be there, he would wait for anything.

Actually, as I think about it, I haven't really seen too many line meltdowns in all my trips....some bathroom meltdowns, lots of sidewalk meltdowns....a zillion restaurant meltdowns - But the lines don't really seem to have that problem. (Either that or I'm in WDW Ecstasy Oblivion & missed them)

 

[a*lil*bit*goofy]

We loved playing with Pal Mickey when we werewaiting in line. He would tell jokes and sing songs and keep us entertained.
We said nursery rhymes like "1,2 Buckle my Shoe "and "5 Little Pumkins Sitting on a Gate." (We were there during Halloween season.)
I also brought some glow in the dark Glitter rings and bracletsI bought in the $1 section of my Target store.
Have fun at Disney!

thats a great idea! i will make sure i have a few goodies like that for lines. thanks!

 

[lillygator]

during the busier times many of the fantasyland rides will have a CM "in line" handing our pixie dust in the form of glitter and sparkley mickey heads....

for us personally, we don't do lines with our girls unless they are 10-15 min or less....it's just too much of a hassle to worry about keeping them entertained. But we also don't feel the need to ride everything, which if that's your goal...it won't help much!

 

[StacyPop]

Snack time while in line. Save the special treats for while you are waiting. Gives them something to look forward to.

 

[TinkInPink]

With good planning and fast pass you can avoid most very long lines. We went that same week 2 years ago and only had 3 long lines the whole time and they were Pooh,TOT, Maelstrom. Pooh wasn't supposed to be long but a Philharmagic show got out and a rush of fast passes showed up. We had 2 kids with a 5 yr old and we just talked, looked at brochures etc. usually even with a long line it moves pretty fast you aren't at a dead stand still. Pooh was probably the worst 'cause it is a close back and forth queue, slow loading, not much to look at, and it was later at night -why we ended up standing in line,leaving next day. I agree most kids do well in line they seem to deal with it and not get frustrated the way adults do. Taking a drink into the outside lines is also a good distracting tactic there are trash cans placed whrere you have to get rid of food and drinks before continuing.

 

[tiff211]

I started by taking DD's to run errands that I had to wait in line the week before, ie: the bank, the market. I would tell them that when we go to Disney we'll have to wait in line like that. We play "I spy" and what your favorite.........."

I know some of the queues have entertainment features as well. The Aladdin Carpet ride had jewels in the cement and the girls had a blast trying to locate all of them!