What do you do during a flight?

[Kitty 34]

I stare out the window a lot or read.

What do you do to keep yourself busy? My oldest DS slept our whole trip to WDW and back!

 

[lsteadman]

Since I always surprise my daughter with our trip about 4 hours before we leave, we spend the flight discussing:

1) If I package all of the stuff she needs
2) How do I always pack and she not know about it. (she can sleep while I vacuum right in front of her; so packing is no problem)
3) That I have packed teddy
4) If I took her Disney dollars out of her bank
5) Where is our bird (at the birdsitter)
6) Did I double check the doors and windows and unplug all of the appliances (too late to worry about that we are in the sky)
7) How long are we going to stay in Disney
8) Why do we have to leave so soon

After all of that is out the way! I read a good book and she takes out my pocket pc and plays games until the battery dies. I always charge it for days so it won't give the battery low warning until we are about to land!

 

[inkkognito]

My husband and I travel to Orlando twice a month, so we have become experts at killing time while flying. Like you, I read and also love to look out the window (for night landings). We bring those cheap but addictive little pocket games like Yahtzee, plus CD players with headphones and a portable DVD player with assorted movies. I also bring my laptop so I can either work or watch a movie when the DVD player batteries fail. Between all that, we're pretty well covered!
I am a paranoid flyer, so having lots of things to distract me helps. Sometimes we are sitting near someone who likes to chat, so we join in with that too (although we're not chat-starters on our own...some people love to talk, and it drives others crazy, so we let our seatmate take the lead).
Barb

 

[Deb T.]

Hi inkkognito! I don't know if you remember me, but we corresponded around five years ago about DCL and the differences in cruise lines' gifts for guests who sailed more than once. I typed an entire article for you to read. You were very helpful to me, too!

On flights - if they're short, I like to read Reader's Digest and munch on Chex Mix that I typically bring onboard. If they're long, I like to watch the in-flight movie/entertainment or sometimes will bring a dvd to watch on my laptop. DH just sleeps - whether the flight is long or short! haha

 

[Dan Murphy]

Read a few newspapers, magazines, love to look out the window at the passing geography, a picture of same now and then.

 

[ducklite]

Sleep, read, and sleep some more.

Anne

 

[DVC-Don]

Love to watch the take off and landing, but read for most of the trip. Unless we are traveling over the Grand Canyon or something.

 

[disneyjunkie]

Sleep or try to get my son to complete as much homework as possible.

We only travel during school break, but he always has work to do. This summer has tons of work to get done.

 

[Goof]

try to keep my DW calm, who's HANGING ON FOR DEAR LIFE

 

[hAm53]

once i finish my copy of espn the magazine, i count the number of minutes until we land. me and flying don't really mix well.

 

[inkkognito]

If you have a family member to keep calm, do what one of my fellow passengers did one. She was sitting next to hubby and I, and her husband and two kids were across the aisle. She had dosed the kids up on Benedryl, and paranoid flyer hubby was dosed up on alcohol, so they slept for the entire trip! They were going on a Disney cruise, and so were we, so she chatting with us for the entire flight while the rest of the family slumbered peacefully.
Barb

 

[Mel6197]

Well, During Take off Im assisting the pilot by pushing my "gas" peddle and Praying that we make it.
Then once were are up and fine, I get my exercise done by trying to keep my Disabled daughter from annoying the other passengers I usually work up a pretty good sweat from that, between keeping her from kicking the seat in front of her, playing with the window shades and keeping her from Verbal Stimming (Doing TV show dialog over and over and over).
Then when its time to land all my attention goes to helping the pilot again, with landing by applying my "breaks" as hard as possible.

 

[LSchrow]

wait for the antihistimine to kick in (1x flying with "fluid in the ears" was enough for me)

& for the "you ain't sleepin' " times (like when the child behind me kicks my seat in beat to "do your ears hang low?" ~ thump....thump...thump ) hand-held battleship, uno, or boggle, travel scrabble or cards.
also, discussing with DD which were our fav parts of past trips, and which we will repeat this time.
& looking at my watch, staring out the window, waiting for the moment that we see the palm trees, the sign that we're almost there.........

 

[Jen D]

Usually I really want to sleep, since we usually fly early in the morning and I can never ever get to sleep the night before a trip-- I'm up packing, cleaning, tying up loose ends, and generally stressing out. Sometimes I'm a little too hopped up to sleep, though. These days my daughter (6) can entertain herself but I used to have to work to keep her occupied and behaving. This trip I'll have a 6 month old so if he doesn't sleep that's where my attention will be.

If I can't sleep I try to read-- there are some things I only buy for airplanes-- "InStyle" I would never buy in my normal life but I always buy it when I fly. I usually buy an Elmore Leonard book for vacation-- I love Elmore Leoanard and for whatever reason he's become my vacation reading.

Occasionally I'll watch the "in-flight entertainment" but it's usually all ads and then some "Everybody Loves Raymond" you've seen a dozen times. I only resort to this if I am really anxious and can't relax.

I'm not afraid of flying, but the closed spaces, the pressure, coupled with my lack of sleep and over-caffeinated self, can make me a little uneasy. If I didn't have kids to worry about I'd take a Sominex and sleep through the whole thing.

 

[canwegosoon]

1) Try to make sure my children are being good.

2) If children are sleeping, I am looking panicked (not because of the flying), but because I can't come down from panicking if my kids are being good.

 

[Erin12303]

Hi-
I usually save the most recent Disney magazine to read on my way to the happiest place on earth.
When I'm done with that I play games on my Gameboy SP until I can't keep my eyes open any longer (I pop the Xanax---nervous flyer). Then it's time to sleep for an hour and usually we are almost there!!!!

I love landing and seeing all the palm tress----aahhh-happiness!

 

[Stratocastermagic]

It's a nine hour flight from here in the UK, so plenty of time to occupy - and that after a three-hour check-in at the airport. I'm told the entertainment on Virgin flights is pretty good, but we've not flown with them before.
I'm not a good flyer, so from getting on the plane until you can unfasten your seatbelt, I can't really cope with talking to anyone. (Some family members are quite chatty... )
After that, it's just a matter of reminding myself that it will all be worth it in the end...
The flight back is much less of a problem... we'll all be exhausted!

 

[Nebsky]

Watch the takeoff. I love it. I just wish I had the Left Seat up front.

Usually watch out the window until the 3rd chime when its ok to turn on electronic devices. Then I pop in a DVD and watch movies. If my son or wife has ownership of the DVD for that time, I'll read a book or magazine.

After the F/A's give the announcements to put away all electronic devices, Ill stow it and then watch outside again. Again, I just wish I had the Left Seat up front.

Nothing like decending into an airport. Especially around Disney World, Orlando, Miami, San Diego. Lots to see. But it makes it real exciting when there are clouds all the way to about 300 feet above the ground. Your decending through the goo and all of a sudden you see how close you are to the ground. Its even better in first class when the pilots have the GPWS (Ground Proximity Warning System) turned up and the altitude calls turned on. In the goo at 1000 feet and you hear the voice say One Thousand. Then Five Hundred, Four Hundred, Three Hundred, Two Hundred, One Hundred, Fifty, Forty, Thirty, Twenty.

I love it!!!!

Sleep on an airplane? No way. I cant do it. Flying to Paris and back in First class with a sleeper seat, I still couldnt do it. Watched 4 movies over and back. There is no possible way for me to sleep on a plane.

 

[Beast fan]

Since we like flying Delta, and there are no direct flights (with Delta) to any Disney location, we try to leave on the first flight out in the morning. Since I work nights, I use the flight time to sleep. Also, since DS6 and DS3.75 usually sleep until 9am (when school is not in session), they also sleep on the plane.

Dave

 

[jinxed]

I am usually holding on for dear life. I try not to let my kids know how nervous I am. I have difficulty relaxing enough to read or sometimes even talk. lol Every little "bump" has me on edge. Next time, I plan to take some Lorazapam!