What do you guys use to occupy your kids on long airplane rides?

[jacobsmommy]

Our trip to DLR will be the longest plane rides my kids have been on. We're used to the easy 2 hour flight to WDW. We leave STL at 6:00 am and arrive at SNA at 9:25-so it's a long flight! I'm trying to put together backpacks for the kids with stuff in the to keep them occupied. Any great ideas that you guys have used before?

 

[rentayenta]

Benadryl.



Their DSs and ipods. I always found crayons and all that a pain. They drop, they roll, you have to bug someone behind you. Simple is key. With the 2 y/o you are limited.

 

[jacobsmommy]

My 6yo ds has a Nintendo ds and loves to play it-so we'll definately pack that. The two year old is too young for that though...

 

[rentayenta]

My 6yo ds has a Nintendo ds and loves to play it-so we'll definately pack that. The two year old is too young for that though...

Try vSmile.

 

[ShellyMouse]

how about a magna doodle? the "pen" is attached with a string, so no falling....

i just bought one for my 2yo nephew's bday, and he sat and drew on it forever! his favorite part was "erasing" what we were drawing before we were done!!


have a great trip!!

 

[jacobsmommy]

Ooh, we have 3 or 4 of those in my son's room! In fact, I think one is smaller than the others. It could very well be travel size... Great idea!

 

[PDuckX]

On our last plane trip we bought a bunch of coloring books, small toys and a new movie. We didn't tell the kids we had these, they would just magically appear as the last item began to lose their interest. The movie was used as the last resort and finished off the trip. The ride back was much easier, because the trip pretty much wiped them out.

 

[Tablefor5]

I always make a trip to the dollar store and pick-up small things like stickers and paper, "cheapie" stuff like barbie-type dolls, pipe-cleaners/craft items. The trick is to not let them see it until they are on the plane. I also keep some extra items in my bag to pull out if needed and to add to the backpack on the return trip.
Our last trip, flight from Cali to Toronto, I bought each kid a small whiteboard like the kind for school lockers and a few dry-erase markers. They LOVED this and there was no BIG mess of papers/coloring books etc...

My older son and I played hang-man while my girls drew "pretty pictures"
Have fun and good luck!
Relax and your kids will be fine.

and Rentayenta : I am jealous of your Benadryl tip since my children get the adverse reaction = excitability

 

[Just2DisneyKids]

There is also Aquadoodle mini-mats. You fill a pen like tube with a bit of water and when you "color" on the special sheets they turn pretty colors. Then it dries and you can do it all over again! This amazed my daughters when they were in the 2-3 year ranges. We even had Disney Princess ones!

 

[brenda1966]

A portable DVD player is the best thing for long flights for us. Make sure your battery lasts that long though.

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

Benadryl.

On our first long trip to WDW from LA I gave my DS, then 2, a roll of scotch tape. Sounds weird but it kept him entertained for a long, long time. Between that and the DVD player, he was fine.

Tablefor5: Benedryl does the same thing to my DS. Our ped. recommended Kid's Bonine instead.

 

[mommyof2boys1girl]

Older kids:
Ds's and games
crafty things - coloring books and markers, Bendaroos, etc

Younger - stickers and paper. Laptop for movies (or blackberry or phone or ipod - whatever you might have). For little ones, sometimes those big screens on the roof are impossible to see, and often the live personal sattelite TV's didn't have anything on that she wanted to watch...

Our coloring books are Color Wonder by Crayola - color on the paper, but not on clothes, seats, skin, parents, etc...

We've flown quite a bit in the last few years. Typically, each child gets a new DS game, plus various other "dollar store" type "presents", which are hidden and wrapped up in their backpacks (I use plastic grocery bags to wrap them in - also a good place to put the trash since airplanes still don't have a decent place to dump all the garbage a small child generates in 4 or 5 hours...) Only when they are given permission are they allowed to choose a "present" to unwrap. We usually try to space it out so they open one present per hour.

They also pack tons of snacks.
Some "present" ideas - travel games (battleship, trouble, cards, etc...)
hot wheels cars (can be lost easily, but who cares - $2 for 20 minutes of playtime is worth it for me!)
McDonald's toys (when it's something the kids like (hot wheels, barbie, etc...) I go up to the counter and buy one of each toy, then hide them till our next trip)
Sticker books - especially Disney themed ones - a great way to "get into the spirit" before you arrive.

 

[BC Disney Lover]

Last trip I went to the dollar store and found disney erasble boards that came with 1 pen and they were a hit. A deck of cards is good if they are older children. My daughter was happy with her doll. An I Spy book will kill some time. There are also lots of coloring pages, mazes and word searches that can be printed for free off the internet.

Good luck on your trip!

 

[CrazyDuck]

iPad

 

[stevejanelle]

JetBlue. I never want to use another airline. Love having the individual TV's for the kids. We don't usually use the TV to babysit at home, so the kids (2 and 4) think it is a treat to watch 2 and a half hours of cartoons. Don't forget your earphones.

Steve

 

[Brady's Mom]

Food! It can be a really long flight for the kidlets and they get hungry - food is now hit or miss on airplanes (usually miss) so I bring stuff they like. Goldfish, pretzels, dried fruit, granola bars and bring empty water bottles or drink cups and fill them up after you go through security.

Portable DVD player of some sort - with an extra battery if you can. Also, DH has an Android phone and my kids love some of the games he has on there and they don't get to play it often so it's fun.

 

[mrsmoore]

DD is almost 5 and has a Leapster and four games to keep her busy! We got her a new coloring book and reading book. DH is in the row in front of us and he gets the DVD player! Yeah for me! Plus snacks.

Our flight is luckily only a couple of hours!

Marsha

 

[Tablefor5]

On our first long trip to WDW from LA I gave my DS, then 2, a roll of scotch tape. Sounds weird but it kept him entertained for a long, long time. Between that and the DVD player, he was fine.

Tablefor5: Benedryl does the same thing to my DS. Our ped. recommended Kid's Bonine instead.

I have given my kids tape too...DH thinks it's wasting...whatever!
Thanks for the tip on Bonine...

 

[The 4 "Quay"balleros]

A portable DVD player is the best thing for long flights for us. Make sure your battery lasts that long though.

My two boys each have there own and it makes the flight as easy as can be with a 4 and 2 year old. AND make sure the batteries are charged or

 

[drag n' fly]

Ditto on the portable dvd player. It is a 5 hour flight for us direct or a 10-12 hour day if their is a connection to Orlando. Ipod loaded with kids tunes, Colouring books, sticker books, invisible ink books, dot to dot, small cheap craft (no glue lol) kits. I also prepackage small ziploc bags with a variety of mess free snacks. Now my older 2 who are 16 and 14 take care of their own stuff but ds7 still needs pre-packaged flight entertainment