What do you do to kill time while waiting in line?

Peaceableone

Panama, here we come - Jan 2011 !!
Joined
Jun 11, 2007
Messages
173
We've all been standing there waiting in the hour lines for whichever ride we so badly wanted...with our kids... So, what do you do?

I usually bring a string so we can do some cats cradle. We do some 'I Spy'. We do a little hand clapping game (but too girlie for my boys). We haven't tried the 'Find Mickey' hunts that we've heard about (but we'll be trying it).

Whatelse.. :) I look foward to hearing all your great ideas! Thanks..
 
Bubbles are great, snacks, counting games, math games, I spy, decide what we are going to do next...
 

I bought small decks of playing cards at Target (disney themed of course) and my boys would play cards while waiting for rides or parades... we always take a couple of extra packs to share with others too!
 
My girls, 8 and almost 10, love to talk and love all things Disney. So lines are when we discuss our little bits of Disney trivia that we know. Frequently we rehash trivia we've discussed on previous trips. Reliving what we did last trip is favorite too. Taking the tim eto notice and share new little details in arcitecture or themeing is fun too. We have gotten really good at avoiding long lines though. One time waiting in a two hour plus line in Mickey's house was enough to convince us all to take advantage of short lines and eat meals at off times so that we can take advantage of the shorter lines while everyne else is eating, or waiting on Main Street for a parade or fireworks.
 
I people watch and daydream.:cloud9: I also contemplate when I am going to return. My son always has a game system with him to preoccupy himself. My husband usually has his earphones on listening to his MP3 player.
 
I like to play the "would you rather" game... which is played by giving an ultimatum such as Would you rather never go on Indiana Jones or never go on Space Mountain ever again? or..... Would you rather date George Clooney or Brad Pitt.. just random questions like that. It kills time-I'm telling ya!

We also play "The Sound Game" but not too often around large groups of people because it tends to get annoying fast. But it's when one person starts out with a sound/beat and then the next person starts in and so forth... until you've created a full masterpiece. The only reason I suggest this is that we have gotten other people in line with us to play and it turned into a game that the WHOLE line was playing. It was pretty cool and not annoying in the slightest- but I can see how some people can abuse it and make it not so fun so be careful.

Telephone is another option. Spent many lines playing that!
 
People watch, definately. We also like to search for hidden mickey's in the queue's, and just observe the more elaborate queue's (Indy, Space, TOT). Also discuss the things we've done that day, plan the rest of your day, and enjoy each other's company.
 
We bring the game boy - it's ONLY for when we're waiting in line or for a parade. That keeps it fresh for the boys (as well as save the battery, LOL).
 
We play 20 questions, disney themed of course,

we practice spelling (OK my kid is just turned 7 so it works)

We practice math in our heads.

we look at the map and talk about what we want to do next or the rest of the day.

Sometimes I have found just talking to the kid keeps her much calmer in line, I am always amazed at the parents who totally ignore their kids in line and then wonder why they are bouncing off the walls.
 
were gona buy some those electronic games for 5 or 10bucks at walmart and the disney theamed cards.
and he got this cool thing last year froma friend of ours, its a spiderman white board and has markers for it he can draw for hours..

also dont forget a nice umbrella to keep the sun off you, im so buying one those small ones that gets bigger ill fit i in the bag.
 
We don't like queues and last trip only got caught in one longer than 20 min, generally 10 min was the normal (using FPs and getting there early and staying late). We used queue time as drink, snack and toilet time... We took in water bottles, pringles even cut lunches and ate them in line, one person could use the time for a toilet stop and join us in the line. Tried to keep to just one person doing this per line, as it can be annoying to others. Also used the time to send off a runner to collect FPs for everyone, refill water bottles or take pictures. All in all our memories of DL were not of waiting in lines although with one exception.... We got "caught" in of all rides the Jungle Cruise! I had taken my daughter the day before (Wife and son had gone back to Hotel for afternoon nap) and the wait was only 10 minutes but that was without going upstairs, the next day I took my son from what I thought was the same start position but this time the queue went upstairs, by the time we found this out we decided to stick it out, it took us just over 30 minutes! Not much to do in that line either nor any easy escape for toilet stop etc.
 
Lots of verbal games like everyone already said. Currently our favorite games are "I'm thinking of a person..." Give clues while everyone tries to guess the person. Of course they are Disney characters! We also think of a color and name all the Disney things we can think of. Pink: Sleeping Beauty's dress, our favorite Dumbo's saddle... My kids are 4 and 8 - works better with the 4 year old. We also always eat in line - thank goodness for uncrustable sandwiches and corndogs! We also like to talk to other people in line. DD just made a "new friend" from Stockton last week. They taught each other clapping games and swapped preschool stories. Cracked me up!:rotfl2:
 
I stand in line complaining about the people, the weather and how Disney should do something about the lines.

Just kidding, usually we people watch, use the time to try and plan out the rest of the day, or our favorite activity, figure out what we want to eat. That discussion will make a 3 hour nemo line feel like 3 minutes!
 
Watch and listen to people. You will see and hear some strange things.

Jackpirate:
 
My sons are 3 and 5 yrs old.
I spy never gets old for them, also finding hidden mickeys is always fun.
Also snack time is always good to pass the time in line.

My 5 yr old loved looking at the map and choosing his next ride,of course I told him we needed to hit all of the rides in each land before moving on. I didn't want to spend all of our time criss crossing around the park.
It was fun for him to learn how to use a map.

Natalie
 
me and my family drove from mi to az in winnter and we actely sang 99 bottwels of beer on the wall the whole way though
 




















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