Looking for ideas on keeping your kiddos busy in lines?

[JJZMgailey]

Take a look at this piece Steve Porter shared over on the blog for a few ideas:

4 Ways To Keep Your Kids Busy While Waiting In Lines

Do you have some of your own? Share them here!

 

[Dug720]

Granted my sister and I grew up before the "plugged in at all times" era, but as a family we killed time in line by *gasp* talking to each other!! Novel concept, I know.

 

[andreajanowiak]

We usually look up Disney trivia and quiz eachother.

 

[TXStormtrooper]

We have 2 children, ages 15 and 7. The following are ways we have enjoyed lines at various places, including the longer lines at Disney, since our elder child was a toddler. We find that they work across any age range. We have also traveled to Disney with 18 extended family members of all ages, and these have proven fun with as little as 3 or as many as 22 people. They also fun for long car drives and road trips, with the exception of #2.

1. Play verbal games:
*I Spy
*Would You Rather
*Word Association Games
*20 Questions (though we rarely limit the number)
*Last Letter
*What if?
*Rock, Paper, Scissors (though technically not a "verbal" game)
*Telephone (if we have a large group)
*Trivia (Disney or other)

2. Search for Hidden Mickeys.

3. Talk and enjoy each other's company.

We personally never use electronics in line, but the game app "Head's Up" is a favorite of some friends of ours.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

We sometimes use the iphone which has a Disney Princess Party game and a drawing app.

 

[sonocruiser]

Our first trip with DS, age 3, we used his leap pad. It was like a portable coloring book. Also has a built in camera. He loved taking his own pictures in line. It was so interesting to look through those pics from the perspective of a 3 yr old. The details I would not have ever seen!

 

[Hibiscus]

Granted my sister and I grew up before the "plugged in at all times" era, but as a family we killed time in line by *gasp* talking to each other!! Novel concept, I know.

Did you read the article? #3 is "talking to each other about your day."

I mean, I'm all for a little sanctimonious "THESE KIDS TODAY" every now and then, but it's better to look around before climbing up onto that old high horse.

 

[Dug720]

Did you read the article? #3 is "talking to each other about your day."

I mean, I'm all for a little sanctimonious "THESE KIDS TODAY" every now and then, but it's better to look around before climbing up onto that old high horse.

Yep. I did, thank you. #3 is "plan your day". I'm talking about deeper conversations about life beyond the parks - how things were going in our day to day life, with our friends, with our interests, etc. We talked beyond "OK, so what are we doing next."

 

[JLPugs]

I plan on bringing a bunch of stickers along with a pad and paper to draw/color for my 2 year old. He also loves looking at photos and videos of us on our phone, so that will be an incentive to take some fun pictures of our trip.

 

[Hibiscus]

Yep. I did, thank you. #3 is "plan your day". I'm talking about deeper conversations about life beyond the parks - how things were going in our day to day life, with our friends, with our interests, etc. We talked beyond "OK, so what are we doing next."

And we talked at the dinner table every night, so those things would have already been discussed. Which of us gets more Perfect Family points?

 

[jawa7400]

We took DD4 and DS1 last year and I purchased small Disney coloring and activity books at the dollar store ahead of time. We also had a mini-magnadoodle that kept my son entertained. With FPs and planning we didn't wait in line more than 30 minutes for anything.

 

[JJZMgailey]

There's no right or wrong here - no perfect or *more* perfect - different things work for different families and that was the whole point of me starting this thread.

Thanks so much to all who have shared so far!!

 

[Mambo Junkie]

There's no right or wrong here - no perfect or *more* perfect - different things work for different families and that was the whole point of me starting this thread.

Thanks so much to all who have shared so far!!

Absolutely! It's all about what you do to fill in time. Last visit we also gave our 2 and 4 year old an old point and click type Nikkon, and they loved taking pictures, some of which were pretty good. When we got back from vacation, we had them their very own photo album printed.

 

[cocoachip]

Perfect time for snacking - we would pack baggies of cereal or goldfish crackers and have bottled water handy.

 

[disnut8]

I read this years ago and have shared it with others on this board. Pipe Cleaners. You can make many different shapes, you can "fight" with them, you can share them with others in the line, and if you drop one, no big deal as you'll have more and they are cheap. Plus, they are easy to carry around with you and don't weight very much at all.