WANTED: Tips For Things To Do While Waiting For Parades

[Pink Flamingo]

There will be 4 kids in our group ( 11, 7, 4, 1). What are some fun things you've done to keep your kids entertained while waiting for the parades to start? We'll be there in Aug., so we'll probably have to camp out at our spot for a bit so that the kids can get a good view of the parade.

Here are a few things I've thought of so far:
* a deck of cards to play various card games
* a small dice game called CIN'Q
* crayons & paper
* bubbles

 

[ErinInCT]

We did bubbles & it was awesome. Really revived the kids! All the other kids around us loved them too!
We have also taken turns getting ice cream (we usually stand near the Plaza Ice Cream shoppe).
You can always play I Spy or an alphabet game like each person has to name a Disney character starting with a certain letter & keep going until someone is tumped, or just alternate like the 1st person gets A, the next gets B, etc. Your 4 yr old may even be able to play.

 

[sters]

We usually get an ice cream and then take multiple trips to the potty, since none of my kids could possibly go at the same time. That usually kills most of the time waiting for the parade.

 

[TinkOhio]

We get our kids-ages 14 and 7- small pads of paper to use as journals. They record events and draw pictures to help them remember their trip. They use these on the bus, too. And they really love to look at them when we are back home!

 

[TSR6]

Look for Cast Members walking around with the Checkerboard! They do this a lot before the parades. When I did the parade shift, every time I lost a game of checkers, the child won a fast pass to their favorite ride in Tomorrowland!

I was never good at Checkers anyways.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

We bring bubbles, glow in the dark necklaces and their light spinners. They usually get ice cream while we're waiting and since they are little, we do multiple potty runs. When ds first went (he was 2) he was content to sit in the stroller and play with some toys.

 

[Luv2Travel]

We liked the bubbles too, but my kids are getting older now (11, 11, and 9) so we had to come up with something else. A couple of trips ago we came across the mickey hand-held video games. They are red and black and shaped like a mickey mouse head. Each time you pass a major attraction in one of the four parks you get a new game added to the hand-held. I can't remember the exact name of it, but they were in all of the shops. Each game cost $20, but it's been one of the best things we've bought at WDW because they still use them each time we go. They're also great for waiting in attraction lines, or waiting for a dining ps.

One other tip that I got from these boards a while back was to get a plastic picnic tableclothe. You can get them for $1 at Walmart or the Dollar store and then spread them out to save your spot for the whole family.

 

[tink2]

My kids are 5 and 3 and we brought coloring books with colors for waiting for the parades. They really liked this. I bought new coloring books before we left- a princess one and pooh. DD5 could color for hours. We also use the time to take turns going to the bathroom or getting a snack. I also used this time this year to take turns walking around- DD3 doesn't have a lot of patience! I showed them where Lady and Tramp have their pawprints, watched the ducks in front of Crystal Palace, etc. Also, try to sit where the cast members play games with the children. My kids got in on duck-duck goose a couple of times this year.

 

[YesI'mObsessed]

My dd 8 got caught up in a game of jump rope with the CM's. They use the ropes that they block off the parade route with as jump ropes. So much fun! Some of the adults joined in too, it has a hoot. But what they liked to do the most while waiting for the parades was to dance in the middle of the street like they were the parade. People would clap for them and then others joined in. It was great fun. But ice cream always worked in a bind!

 

[anewvance]

When we were there last week waiting for the 3pm parade, the cm's were awesome! They first came out with bubbles that the kids loved. And then they came out with a ball that they all played monkey in the middle. And then they did adult trivia. I have to say that this hour waiting for the parade was the highlight of our trip. If you ever get to meet CM Lou, he's great! He kept taking the baby (7m) with him where ever he went, lol.

I played the adult trivia, it was me and a woman against a man and another woman. I have to admit that none of the other contestants were exactly wdw in the know. They needed help on their 1st question. I knew our 1st one. Then they knew their second (how many ghosts in haunted mansion) and our 2nd one was easy too. But then they had a tie breaker... the first person to correctly name all seven dwarfs wins and before he finished asking the question I named them in 3 seconds flat. I don't know why, but it's something I learned years ago and actually say in my head every once in awhile for fun. I truely SHOCKED all the cm's.. hee hee. They said it was a world record... LMAO. That made my day!!

Anyway, these CM's are really great and I look forward to doing it again our next trip.

 

[Brian Noble]

We're bringing our Princess UNO deck.

 

[jillybeanjo]

We don't like to carry anything extra into the parks, so we usually make up quick games on the spot. We've played rocks, paper, scissors; I spy; I'm thinking of a character (like 20 questions); etc. We also do things like count the number of people that walk by wearing Mickey ears, or character shirts. My DH and DD10 once played a game to see who could get a passer-by to wave back at them first! Anything to pass the time. My DD usually strikes up a conversation with other kids nearby, and she always enjoys finding out where they are from and what they have been doing at WDW. Those kinds of things might be fun for your older kids.

 

[cobbler]

What we did this last year worked out great. Oldest son and I grabbed fast passes for Splash Mtn (the wait time was 70 minutes at the time). Then we got the whole family ice cream. Got a super good spot to view the parade and enjoyed our ice cream (meanwhile hubby got popcorn while stepson and I were getting ice cream). So we enjoyed tons of snacks, relaxed, watched the parade and then we headed over to Splash Mtn!

Worked out great! And the ice cream was a fantastic refresher!

 

[liveforthemagic]

These are all great ideas. do the CM'a play with the kids before Spectromagic? If so, where can we find them? I think DH and DS will go off and ride something while me and DD stake out our spot. I'd love it if she could have some fun while waiting.

 

[Pink Flamingo]

Thanks for all the really great ideas. I'll be putting lots of them to use this summer. We love to see all the parades, so having several different things to entertain the kids will be a huge help.

Like liveforthemagic, I was wondering where the CM's that play with the kids might be? We've been to lots of parades with our kids & have never seen any . I'm thinking maybe they tend to be in a certain location ?

 

[wendy1974]

There is a Disney Trivia board game out that has child and adult questions. I would recommend getting something like that and taking some of the age appropriate cards with you and playing trivia with the kids. You could even go to the dollar store and buy some really cheap prizes and every time they get an answer they get a prize.

In MK you also have to get ice cream or hit the bakery and get a BIG white chocolate macadamia nut cookie (eat one for me) They are sooo good and I have to get one every trip My mouth is salivating just thinking of that cookie

 

[slp87]

If it's spectro, we usually get an easy supper like hot dogs or sandwiches and eat our meal at our spots. That helps to pass some of the time.

 

[TSR6]

These are all great ideas. do the CM'a play with the kids before Spectromagic? If so, where can we find them? I think DH and DS will go off and ride something while me and DD stake out our spot. I'd love it if she could have some fun while waiting.

live - I only worked the Tomorrowland area, and I know that when I was there, we were over by the Tomorrowland entrance ( but still in the MK hub ) and over by where mainstreet dumps into the hub. I was playing checkers over by the mainstreet side of the hub.

Like liveforthemagic, I was wondering where the CM's that play with the kids might be? We've been to lots of parades with our kids & have never seen any . I'm thinking maybe they tend to be in a certain location ?

Pink - I went out and played checkers with some of the kids, basically I was trying to get one kid hooked, and then get someone to "take over for me," I was never good at checkers anyways... Once I got someone to take my place, I went back and helped the rest of the CM's until it got a little closer to parade time, went back and picked up the checkers after the kids finished their last game.

 

[Pink Flamingo]

Thanks TSR6 - maybe if we camp out somewhere near the hub we'll get some CM action . I think my kids would love that.

 

[Sharon Esch]

Ice cream is always a good choice. My DD 7 was hula hoping with some CM in the middle of the street waiting for the afternoon parade. She was very excited to have pictures of that!!!