Preventing Line Boredom

[lovethattink]

I bring a small notebook and pen. My 20 month old loves to scribble in it while he waits in line. He also carries 2 pvc characters to play with, usually his Buzz and Woody.

 

[plutolovr]

Funny, recently I've been to the World about 8 times in the past 4 years, all different times of year, and I can't remember standing in any long lines.
Fastpass!!!! Works great for us. To be honest, if there's something that doesn't offer Fastpass and the line is too long we skip it. Can do it another time.

 

[CinderellaIam]

Keep in mind the book is not a complete source ... your kids may actually have found something. I've seen several that are not listed, but have been confirmed to me, for example, by talking to the CMs that work that attraction.

Thanks for pointing this out, on occassion they have pointed out a genuine Hidden Mickey that is not in the book, and I'll give it to them. However, my kids (and the adults) have been known to "move" things to "make" a hidden Mickey...lol! So, if I have reference to say "if it's not in here it does not count" they can't cheat! Can you tell they are a competitive bunch?? lol

 

[PattiPB]

That 20-question ball is EERIE!!! It's so amazing, my kids won't say what they are thinking aloud---they think it can hear them!

We do a diff version of the alphabet game. Start with A and name all the _____ starting with A (animals, food, places). Whoever can't come up with one loses, and the other person gets a point. Move on to B. We have never gotten to C in a line!

We also play "What's your favorite". One of the adults keeps asking random questions, and we go around answering. Examples: What's your favorite lunch snack, ride, t-shirt, time of day, cereal, friend, subject in school, etc., etc. It really helps give you insight into your kids, LMTY!

Another version of people watching is "Find Someone", as in Find someone with a DL t-shirt, long pants in summer, a funny hat, four kids, etc., etc.

For those of you who have never waited in a line: You ALWAYS walk into ITTBAB as the doors open, and sit down for Fantasmic the minute it starts? I doubt it! We do these games as soon as we start standing/sitting in one place, and even if the game only lasts 5 minutes, it's 5 minutes of no stress with 3 kids!

Thanks for all of the ideas---keep them coming.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Please do not blow soap based bubbles in line - they can irritate people's skin. They also sting when they get in someone's eyes. My daughter is very allergic (itchy, raised rash) to some brands of store-bought bubbles. If one popped on her face in line, we'd have to leave the line to deal with it. We can avoid the bubbles if it's not in line, but there's hardly any space to move sometimes in the queues....

I totally agree with this. No bubble in line. There are so many other things you can do while standing in line that leaving the bubbles at home shouldn't be a problem.

 

[XOoOoVEEoOoOX]

We play the Yes/No Game wich is where one person asks the questionsand the other person can not answers with the words yes no uhhuh uhuh nope yep or anything of the sort...it starts out easy but gets harder as you go along


also we love to play alot of theater games like
one from the TV show Whose Line is it Anyway? called Questions...someone names a location and then 2 people have a conversation using questions only...if you take to long to reply or dont ask a question your out!

another one we play is alot of fun..we bring along a die (i THINK thats cingular for DICE right?) someone picks a location (hospital, burger king, magic kingdom) and a situation (gotta go potty, stuck in traffic etc) each person takes a roll....whatever number you get on your roll is how many words you must say at a time ( I roll a 3 i can only say 3 words at a time, no more, no less) then you have a dialouge ...you can get a pretty funny scenes going...especially with a low number or a high number!

 

[Viki]

I don't get board in line at WDW because I make it a practice to never stand in one longer than ten minutes.

 

[Twende]

I had no idea that so many people were anti bubbles.

I have been doing bubbles for half a century and never once had anything but compliments!

I am very sorry that bubbles offend so many. Just think of all the attractions in Disney you miss because you can not handle bubbles.

I would be heartbroken to miss so many things and the Christmas Parade and the Osborn Lights? What a pity. You miss some wonderful things.

I will just enjoy those attractions and parades for you and say a prayer that you can discover what causes the problems for you or your family member.

I am so sorry!

 

[Lorelai]

I spy!

 

[Schmeck]

I had no idea that so many people were anti bubbles.

I have been doing bubbles for half a century and never once had anything but compliments!

I am very sorry that bubbles offend so many. Just think of all the attractions in Disney you miss because you can not handle bubbles.

I would be heartbroken to miss so many things and the Christmas Parade and the Osborn Lights? What a pity. You miss some wonderful things.

I will just enjoy those attractions and parades for you and say a prayer that you can discover what causes the problems for you or your family member.

I am so sorry!

I find this to be a bit offensive - my daughter is allergic to bubbles. It really causes her to get a horrible rash. I hope the end part is not being said with sarcasm...

No, we have never gone to Osborne Lights, or the Christmas Parade. We were lucky enough that the bubbles in the Little Mermaid show have been safe, so far. We blow them away from her in there as well. And she pulls her arms into her t-shirt and her legs tuck up under her when she has on shorts.

It's one thing to be around bubbles in an open area - we can usually avoid them. But in a line, where we are waiting, it's a different matter.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I had no idea that so many people were anti bubbles.

I have been doing bubbles for half a century and never once had anything but compliments!

I am very sorry that bubbles offend so many. Just think of all the attractions in Disney you miss because you can not handle bubbles.

I would be heartbroken to miss so many things and the Christmas Parade and the Osborn Lights? What a pity. You miss some wonderful things.

I will just enjoy those attractions and parades for you and say a prayer that you can discover what causes the problems for you or your family member.

I am so sorry!

Kinda tacky, Twende. Big difference in a large open area and in a closed in space.

 

[outtonight]

Whoa. Completely unneccessary and beyond rude.

No one was "offended" by bubbles. They're ALLERGIC. Do you think people with nut allergies are "offended" by peanut butter? Do you wave it in their face and tell them you'll say a prayer that they'll "discover" what their problem is?

Seriously. Some basic components of human compassion are seriously missing here.

 

[Twende]

That was a sincere apology! If you choose to not accept it I don't know what else to say.

The comment about "discover(ing) what causes the problems for you or your family member." is about the actual ingredient and what it might be!


I have a child allergic to aloe! Try finding products that do not contain that ingredient in this day and age! It took us years before we discovered the actual cause of the problem! So I know full well of what a speak!

Phooey! Now I am offended!

How dare you imply that I am missing "some basic components of human compassion"! This really stinks!

 

[outtonight]

Your entire post smelled of sarcasm. Granted, type isn't the most effective means of translating tone, so perhaps I was mistaken and you were indeed being sincere.

I still found it to be rude - saying it just "offended" people seemed to lessen the seriousness of it, and by pointing things out that they specifically couldn't take part in just seemed to be a little smug on your part. I mean, you don't point out to someone who can't walk that they can't run in marathons or do this or that, do you?

However, if you were being sincere, then I do apologize.

 

[GEM]

Honestly, I say go ahead and have fun with your bubbles. If you've been doing it forever and have never had any problems, I would definately say that the people who are bothered by it are in the minority. I'd be willing to bet that way more people are entertained and amused by them than are bothered. If anybody has a problem with them (either allergic or just being annoyed) then they should let you know, and you (out of kindness and respect) should put the bubbles away. Why is that such a problem? I know many people are allergic to peanut butter, but I wouldn't let that stop me from packing my child a peanutbutter sandwhich to eat while waiting for the parade. However, if the person next to me told me they were highly allergic, I'd go find someplace else to eat it. I'll be there again in June, with bubbles to keep my little guy happy. If they bother you, tell me. Back in the bag they'll go.

 

[Pigletlover]

I think the Etch-A-Sketch that someone mentioned is an excellent idea for kids. You can buy mini versions of these types of erasable screens (also known as Magna Doodle or Magic Slate).

I just thought of a few more ideas:

Rubik's Cube and other similar "twistable" puzzles.

There are many cheap little puzzle toys you can buy, eg the little mazes where you have to roll the metal ball around the circuit without dropping it into any of the holes.

Another good one is those small plastic panels with lots of little tiles (either alphabetic or numeric) that you have to slide around (up/down/across) to put them in order. Then shuffle them around and do it again.

All of those puzzle toys are great because there are no pieces to lose - everything is attached.

There are also mini travel games with magnetic pieces, that you can play while you are standing, eg checkers/draughts, Chinese checkers, chess etc.

What about yo-yos? There are many yo-yo games you can play if you buy a pack with several of them.

We love our Pal Mickey. He always attracts the attention of people standing near us and entertains them.

For those that are not familiar with the new tuxedo version of Pal Mickey, he plays 6 different games and does several sing-a-longs with you, as well as all his jokes and interesting facts etc. And of course you can have long conversations with adults who want to know exactly what he does and is he really worth the price?

I am not too knowledgeable about computer/electronic stuff, but I think there are some tiny portable cordless computer things where you can play games, browse the internet/emails etc, no matter where you are.

And there are also those tiny hand-held televisions/radios (and some cellphones on which you can actually watch tv). But please do put them on "mute" or use earphones!!