Strategies for Line-Waiting

[Mrs~Incredible]

How do you like to pass the time?

With previous trips we were able to keep waits generally under 20 min, so wasn't much of an issue.

For our upcoming trip, there may be a few rides we will need to wait for 60-75 min at minimum.

It will be DH, 6yo DD, and myself.

What are YOUR favorite methods to pass the time?

Any good websites for disney-themed trivia or activities to do together as a family?

Hoping to make use of the time to connect, and avoid killing each other or annoy others around us in the process. ("put that down- stop climbing on the bar- I'm bored- bla blah BLAH!")

Thanks!!

 

[bumbershoot]

The smartphone game "heads up" is terrific.

 

[CranberryMonkey]

My kids love the alphabet game - take turns naming a (animal, place, person) that begins with a, b, c etc

 

[kwdw]

Not wait that long in the first place? In all seriousness - none of us tolerate more than 45 minutes. It's just not worth it. There are plenty of other things to do at Disney for us.

It only took my 5.5 yo niece one day at Disney to understand the length of a line. Hey - the wait is 45 minutes - do you really want to wait? And she would give a yes or no answer. And guess what? If she said yes and the line was long - she was patient!

Activity wise - honestly - it was dumb little things we tried at times - like - "I spy something that starts with K" - and then see how many things that started with that letter were in visual distance. Sometimes it was a small snack - like Goldfish or fruit snacks. Sometimes it was make plans for what to do next (giving the youngest one the map to read and plan out). But mainly - we just waited with small chit chat. Sure - some reminders to not sit on the chain/bar and to not run into the next person were needed - but at least for us - that's not a huge problem. And sometimes kids entertain themselves with other kids in the line. The most common thing I see is a phone or tablet in a kids hand. We don't do that - but its quite clear that's MANY parents solution to the long wait.

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

My kids love the alphabet game - take turns naming a (animal, place, person) that begins with a, b, c etc

Yes we love that one too!

 

[Anabelletoronto]

My daughter loves 20questions when we have long car rides. Just think of something and everyone can ask questions and then has to guess what it is. I am surprised at how clever she is at age 6 to figure things out.

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

Not wait that long in the first place? In all seriousness - none of us tolerate more than 45 minutes. It's just not worth it. There are plenty of other things to do at Disney for us.

It only took my 5.5 yo niece one day at Disney to understand the length of a line. Hey - the wait is 45 minutes - do you really want to wait? And she would give a yes or no answer. And guess what? If she said yes and the line was long - she was patient!

Activity wise - honestly - it was dumb little things we tried at times - like - "I spy something that starts with K" - and then see how many things that started with that letter were in visual distance. Sometimes it was a small snack - like Goldfish or fruit snacks. Sometimes it was make plans for what to do next (giving the youngest one the map to read and plan out). But mainly - we just waited with small chit chat. Sure - some reminders to not sit on the chain/bar and to not run into the next person were needed - but at least for us - that's not a huge problem. And sometimes kids entertain themselves with other kids in the line. The most common thing I see is a phone or tablet in a kids hand. We don't do that - but its quite clear that's MANY parents solution to the long wait.

I hear ya. But we love 7dmt and would like to try FOP. We stay off site, and as of now there are no FPs available.

Our last few trips, I was so FP- focused and waiting more than 20 min was generally a hard no.

Our DD is pretty patient and calm, but nevertheless if we decide we want to wait for those things, I wanted to have some ideas ready once we start feeling fidgety.

Thanks for the ideas!

 

[Gehrig1B]

We never get in a standby line over 30 minutes, rarely over 20. We arrive early, FP+ rides during busiest times then use MDE or the Touringplans Lines app to find shortest waits while searching for more Fastpasses. We hop so we will even leave a busy park if there are more Fastpasses showing up at another park.

I'm guessing everyone would do as they do in a short line, find something interesting on their smartphone or iPad. Or talk about expectations for the rest of the day?

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

Oh oh oh! I just saw there is a Hidden Mickey app- ($7.99)

Has anyone tried it?

 

[nicolispicoli]

We sometimes like to play that phone game Heads Up. I just make sure to bring my battery pack to charge if I drain my battery.

On the other hand, some of the bigger ticket rides (at Disneyland anyway) have inside waiting areas and I can never get a signal in there, so the idea is sometimes moot.

 

[tzolkin]

I hear ya. But we love 7dmt and would like to try FOP. We stay off site, and as of now there are no FPs available.

Fortunately those two are likely the only with very long lines that you can't avoid.

I would recommend arriving early and trying at rope drop if possible. But, as long as you can keep the waits to a minimum for everything else, waiting in two long lines the entire trip shouldn't be too much of a problem.

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

Fortunately those two are likely the only with very long lines that you can't avoid.

I would recommend arriving early and trying at rope drop if possible. But, as long as you can keep the waits to a minimum for everything else, waiting in two long lines the entire trip shouldn't be too much of a problem.

That's what I was thinking!!

Not sure when I became such a line wuss. I guess since I love planning ahead and we tend to go at lower crowd times, it hasn't come up for us really. But I agree- doing this just a couple times seems ok. Just wouldn't want to do it the whole trip!

 

[DisneyMim]

When our kids were little there wasn't fastpass. We just waited in line and talked to each other. Must have done something right because now my kids are adults and we still just talk to each other when we wait in lines, go out to eat, etc.

 

[Realfoodfans]

Oh oh oh! I just saw there is a Hidden Mickey app- ($7.99)

Has anyone tried it?

I was going to buy a book but way overpriced in the UK!

 

[MisplacedUnderwear]

We sometimes like to play that phone game Heads Up.

^^^ YES, THIS!!! ^^^

I can't say enough good things about this FREE game! You can get the whole game for free for Android if you're an Amazon Prime member, or just download the free version and you can get the Disney Parks "deck" for free once you're on Disney property. So basically it's free either way. AND IT'S SO FUN! I love that most of the clues are things even people who aren't so into Disney would recognize, and the real fun is what people say off the tops of their heads to communicate the desired clue. Even I didn't know I could do Goofy's laugh/accent until I had to communicate "Goofy" and all I could think was "He's Mickey's friend....H'yuk!" My better half got the clue but was laughing so hard that she couldn't say Goofy out loud!

FWIW: I haven't noticed any signal problems anywhere in WDW.

 

[999_Happy_Haunts]

We also do the alphabet game, but try to keep the topics themed to what we are about to do, or what we have just done to the extent possible. So if we are waiting in line for the Jungle Cruise, it becomes the "Jungle Cruise Edition" of the alphabet game. A=Anaconda. B=Boat. C=Cobra. This helps build excitement for the ride itself.

 

[Disneymom1126]

The smartphone game "heads up" is terrific.

Instead of using the smartphone version, we have the Disney Headbandz game (just like heads up) and have just brought the cards with us and kept them in the backpack. Doesn't kill the smartphone battery and is fun because all of the cards are Disney characters. We tend to do rope drop and use FP+ pretty efficiently, so we don't typically have to wait in line a whole lot - usually it's at Epcot or Hollywood Studios where there are the tiers that affect what you can get FP for....but I'm also anticipating needing to wait in some lines this coming trip!

The newer cues tend to have more interesting things to look at/play with while you wait, which also helps a lot!

 

[leiaorgana]

I have to disagree with the people suggesting Heads Up. Heads Up is only fun for people playing Heads Up, not the people in line around you that are stuck listening to you play it. So annoying.

The Hidden Mickey app sounds like a good idea or playing games like I Spy etc or maybe just talking about what you all want to do next and what've you enjoyed doing so far. Stuff like that.

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

We also do the alphabet game, but try to keep the topics themed to what we are about to do, or what we have just done to the extent possible. So if we are waiting in line for the Jungle Cruise, it becomes the "Jungle Cruise Edition" of the alphabet game. A=Anaconda. B=Boat. C=Cobra. This helps build excitement for the ride itself.

This is a great idea!!!

 

[marcyleecorgan]

We enjoy some people-watching! Also making the next FP+ on the phone.

And trying to enjoy each other's company, that's why we are on family vacation!