Long lines.

[slzer0]

I'm kind of stressing .
Long lines and toddler attention spans seem like a recipe for disaster.
Planning to use the Boba in line to help keep him restrained.

Any suggestions to keep him entertained?

 

[Altoqueenkelly]

We've done things like chat and play games (eye spy) in line. I found that my daughter liked to look at all of the pictures, or to flip through her autograph book and chat about all the characters. When she was two, we brought a small notebook and a few pens to let her color in when we waited in longer lines. That seemed to work really well.

 

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

Hidden Mickey game!

 

[asmit4]

We don't wait in long lines

Seriously- we don't. If a line is over 15 minutes- we don't wait. We don't go during high season (and you aren't either)....if you tour efficiently you shouldn't have to wait more than 15 minutes for any ride. The good thing is most lines at DW keep moving and we just FP the ones that are slow like Peter Pan.

We are rope drop people. We nap in the afternoons, and go back at night. The longest 'line' we wait in is at rope drop. We bring breakfast with us and my son eats while waiting for the parks to open.

 

[Crl1817]

We didn't wait in long lines either. We went over Thanksgiving 2010. We arrived at rope drop, grabbed fastpasses (old paper system) and rode the most in demand rides immediately. After that we only did stuff if there wasn't a long line. We had a great time! And we rode all of our highest priorities. I think test rack was the only line longer than 15 minutes we actually waited in.

 

[Disney Khaleesi]

Talk, look at pictures, etc. Bringing too many things to do would take away from the experience, IMO.

However if you're really concerned pipe cleaners really do the trick

 

[Aliceacc]

Don't underestimate the value of a bunch of Disney postcards.

And I'll add to the chorus: there was only ONE time when we waited more than 20 minutes for any ride at WDW-- and we ONLY go over the summer, when the crowds are high. (My first trip in recent memory, I made a rookie mistake and got us to DHS at noon, hoping to grab a fastpass to TSM.)

With careful planning and some flexibility, you can make this less of an issue than you're fearing. Consider subscribing to www.touringplans.com and using one of their "families with young children" touring plans, at least as a general guide.

 

[slzer0]

Thanks everyone! I'm picturing lines like the 45 minute queue we waited in, pre baby, on the sane week a few years ago. Chatting only gets you so far with an antsy 2yo lol: )

I didn't want to lug the innotab.
Pipe cleaners sound fun and compact. Great color, shape, number, alphabet practice.

I'll check out touring plans.!

Thanks everyone!

We usually slept in. I'll consider rope drop. Makes sense.

 

[puffkin]

Very rarely have we EVER waited longer than 20 minutes for a ride at Disney...and usually then it was because of some type of issue like a ride breaking. We go 2x a year during all different times of year. With just a little planning you shouldn't even need to worry about this.

 

[DopeyDame]

Like others have said, pick your battles and don't get into 2 hour lines. Also, heading up to DS's first trip, whenever we were in a line (grocery store, target, whatever), I'd point out that when we get to Disney World, we're going to have to wait our turn, just like we're doing now, and he had to stay with me and not be a crazy-man. By the time we got there, he at least understood that we had to wait and (for the most part) that he had to behave.
There's also a ton to look at in many of the lines, so that helps.

 

[Goldilocks07]

I'm kind of stressing .
Long lines and toddler attention spans seem like a recipe for disaster.
Planning to use the Boba in line to help keep him restrained.

Any suggestions to keep him entertained?

We have been traveling and standing in lines since DD was 8 months, she's now 3.5. This September will be her 6th time going.

So far, lines have never been an issue in terms of attention span. There are SO many kids in line to interact with- and fun adults/teens as well- plus, IMO, Disney gets that the lines can be long, and there are typically lots of things to look at, talk about, and interact with, to get them through.

The only lines we have issues of impatience with, are the character meet and greets. So, if you guys aren't really into this, then I really think you'll be fine.

A word of advice, though- is make sure your child takes a pee break before going in. It's so hard to get OUT of a line. We learned this the hard way, luckily with no slip ups, but it couldn't have been bad! LOL