Plane trip TIPS for children/Toddlers??

[Disneymamaof5]

My DH and I are taking our 4 & 5 year old girls to WDW in May and our two 3 year olds down in September.
We are flying both times. Any suggestions from anyone who has flown with children before?

 

[Darcy03231]

I brought my 4 y.o. niece last fall and here's a list of what I brought:

Stickers & Sticker books
Coloring books & crayons
ipod loaded with disney music
Personal CD player & books w/CD
Wipe off game board for tic/tac/toe
Card games (Fish, Old Maid, etc)
Preschool work books (math, letters, mazes, etc.)
Travel Magna Doodle

I found we mostly used the card games, the wipe off game board, and the preschool workbooks.

 

[Darcy03231]

Oops, sorry I also forgot I brought pipe cleaners. She loved these and spent quite a bit of time with those too.

 

[adventure_woman]

DVD player. That's all. That's it. My DD2 LOVES to watch Disney, princess movies, etc. That is about all we had time for on the plane. Once we could bring it out, she watched 1+ movie and then we were there!

Also, we didn't bring our carseat. I'm torn if that was a good idea, because it was really hard for her to sit in her own seat with the seatbelt on during take-off/landing. If I don't bring it next time, I think I will practice with her in the car (while parked of course) and show her about the seatbelt and sitting there and telling her about the airplane ride. If we had the carseat, it would have been normal and we wouldn't have had the issue of her not knowing what was going on.

Oh yes, bring something for them to drink for their ears. You can also bring suckers for them to suck on. I have also heard about children ear plugs (I haven't tried them though).

AND, because I'm so nervous about germs, I always bring clorox wipes to wipe down everything (arm rests, tray tables, seats, windows, etc). to try to minimize her catching something.

 

[Shelebeen]

Lots of new little things to look at/do. I often hit the dollar store and buy some small sticker books/toys to play with they haven't seen before. Lots of snacks and food - since it is hit or miss whether you get a snack on the plane these days - and then sometimes we don't have time for snacks while changing planes - it is always good to bring something they like.

My kids like watching the tv's in the backs of the seats, also playing their leapster/DS games or listening to music on the ipod...

 

[verlee]

Ds6 watched tv shows on Ipod almost the whole time. Ds3 needed to be played with. I had picked up some toys he had never seen before, but I knew he would be excited about. He played with those. I brought snacks. (The airlines provided two small wafers?) I also brought sippy cups because the cups on the plane have wide mouths and are made of thin plastic. That is a recipe for spills!

I did not bring a car seat, and was glad I did not. Those seats/isles are small. I did borrow a Cares harness from a friend. We used it for half of the trip down. But after ds3 used the bathroom he did not want to go back in. On the return flight we just used the plane seat belt and that worked just as well.

I tried suckers but I had trouble timing when to give him the suckers. He started chewing it before take off. A drink might be better. But another caution.... too much drink, too fast can equal a sick child and a messy parent. Ds6 wore his ear plugs but ds3 would not keep them in.

Good luck. We were nervous too but it all went suprisingly well.

 

[akersten]

Crayons, markers, coloring books, stickers, Polly Pocket or Litte Figures, Play Dough, portable dvd. I found a My Little Pony Set that should keep DD5 occupied for the whole flight! DS1 will probably color or watch a dvd.

 

[dolfinjuls]

Thanks for all of the tips! I'm freaking out a bit about the plane ride down! My daughter's will be 4 and 2. I'm mostly worried about the kids crying the entire flight and everyone around me being po'd! Fingers crossed everything goes well!

 

[adventure_woman]

I'm mostly worried about the kids crying the entire flight and everyone around me being po'd! Fingers crossed everything goes well!

That's the best part about flying to Orlando. Most everyone has kids - so you are bound to have a couple that aren't happy! I wouldn't worry about that! And, mine cried during take-off/landing, which is the noisest part of the ride, so she wasn't that loud!

 

[mejkjj97]

the portable DVD Player was our saving grace. We also had tons of snacks and drinks.
I also had extra plastic grocery bags with me for Trash or incase of an accident and we needed to wrap dirty clothes in.

 

[Perditamarie]

Here is what works for us:

* bring stroller and gate check it...it will be waiting for you on the jetway when you land (you do have to fold it and send it thru on the conveyor belt for security) and you will have it to act as a trolley in the airport and ready for the parks when you land!

* Have everyone wear shoes that slip off (like crocs) with SOCKS, so your kids are not barefoot on the airport floor..then you all easily just slip back into your shoes after security.

* Bring empty sippy cups and fill w/a drink after security...this will keep spills on you/kids non-existent!

* Bring hearty, familiar snacks .. we love to bring blueberry bagels and fruit chews are handy for take off and landing.

* In case of ear pain, bring liquid tylenol in ziplock, or chewables. Yawning during take off/landing also helps.

* Keep the "stuff -to-do-on-the-plane" to a minimum...they will need to pull it all out to look at and then it will fall all over the place, and then they will be too overwhelmed to do anything! A portable DVD player is fabulous!! I like to pack a few new surprises in the backpacks too.

* Put a bathing suit or pjs in the backpack too, so if you are waiting for bags from ME, you have essentials, depending what time you land. If you decide to hit the parks first, bell services will hold your carry on bags for you.

Have a great trip!

 

[FirstVisitEver]

My biggest tip ever is a portable DVD player! It totally saved me on a trip alone with my older daughter (then 3) when I was 8 months pregnant. Sony makes child-sized headphones in pretty colors, too ;o). I also brought a couple of new movies to keep her attention. And snacks! I made up a bunch of 'fun mixes' to keep her entertained (like cereal/mini marshmallows/m&m's/raisins). I brought a lot of coloring/activity/sticker books, but if that's all we had - she would have been done and bored in 5 seconds.

 

[BenA81]

Frontier Airlines has in flight viewing via Directv. This would decrease the amount of stuff to bring onto the plane. The airline provides headphones.

http://www.frontierairlines.com/frontier/flight-info/inflight-entertainment/directv-service.do

where are you flying from?

 

[pktbMouse]

Go to wall mart and pick up the triangular shaped crayons ( in a box)...they dont roll off the tray table and you dont have to go rummaging about the floor looking for them. And dont worry about what other people think about your kids if they start crying...they either dont have kids and dont understand or they do and they are too old to remember!!!!
Have a great trip!

 

[Jennygt]

Sedatives? For you I mean! lol Everyone has given great ideas, I also heard that someone brought earplugs to give out for the people around them in case the get very loud, most people will understand and I am sure you will be fine.

 

[Mary T in PA]

We always pack each daughter a bag with things to do - since they are a bit older, we have used the portable DVD player and also the Nintendo.. They got Ipods for Christmas so they will use those for our next trip.

Remember headphones for the dvd player! On one flight, we had a rather RUDE flight attendant tell us that our daughter couldn't use it unless she had headphones, but we had them.

Another thing in regards to the crying - smaller children and babies cry on the landing mainly, due to the ear pressure. When our girls were smaller, we tried a bottle or sippy cup.. Now that they are older, we bring chewing gum or a small snack like crackers for them to chew while the plane starts to slowly go down in altitude.

Mary

 

[Schmeck]

Remember headphones for the dvd player! On one flight, we had a rather RUDE flight attendant tell us that our daughter couldn't use it unless she had headphones, but we had them.

Curious - was she rude in her manner of speaking to you, or did you just consider it rude to be told that the DVD player needed headphones?

 

[mom2faith]

To PP who said drinks, liquids are not allowed though security anymore

COLOR WONDER!!! was our savior, it is clean, does not stain and was wonderful for DD.

Also the portable DVD player.

 

[Kanga+2Roos]

I took PB&J uncrustables out of the freezer just before we left for the airport & by the time the kids were ready for a snack on the plane they were just right--thawed but still cool inside. I took them out when we went thru security but they didn't have any issues with them. The kids loved them (so did I) & they were filling but not too messy.

 

[Taylor'sMom]

To PP who said drinks, liquids are not allowed though security anymore

You can purchase drinks from stores once thorugh security. Bring an empty sippy cup and transfer if you need too.