Line question

[Starr_DJ]

What are your best tips for keeping children occupied while waiting in lines? My son just turned 5, and I know waiting will be hard for him. He does not play electronics, so looking for old school ideas. Thanks!

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

-Bring a small tub of play doh and let him play with that. You could even challenge him to construct certain Disney characters.
-Bring a few pipe cleaners and again, let him create different shapes or characters.
-Games like I Spy, 20 questions, thumb wars, or rock, paper, scissors
-Discuss what rides or shows you'd like to do next, or what he has thought about various activities so far.
-Ask him Disney trivia questions.
-Look for hidden Mickeys.
-Bring a small toy or action figure that he can play with.
-Snacks.
-Depending on where he is at with math and reading, you could maybe ask him simple math problems like 1+2 or how to spell simple words by sounding them out, like "bat" or "me." My DD loved doing that at that age.
-Go back and forth telling a story, switching after either every word or every sentence and see what kind of crazy story you guys come up with.
-If he has shoes with laces, practice tying shoes.
-Flashcards with math, words, trivia, etc
Sticker book or sticker puzzle (as long as he knows not to put them all over the queue, etc)
-Small coloring book or notepad. A DVD case works great for holding a few crayons, stickers, pieces of paper, etc as well as provides a hard surface for coloring.
-Practice rhyming
-Disney Alphabet game- go through the letters and come up with a character, movie, ride, or show that starts with each letter
-Bring an "I Spy Bottle." Make this at home with a plastic bottle (a clean, clear soda bottle with the label removed works great). Find some small random objects (like a shell, marble, bead, button, paperclip, sequin, plastic gem, Lego, mini toys, just to give a few ideas) and put them in the bottle and fill it up most of the way with rice or sand. Tighten the lid really tight or seal with hot glue for an extra hold. Tie a ribbon with a piece of paper listing the items around the lid. Shake it up and they have a portable I Spy Bottle to play with in lines.

 

[katyjeka]

There will be so much for him to see in a lot of the lines and his surroundings will be so new he may need nothing. I can remember worrying about this some twenty years ago and when we arrived our daughter was fine. We have always engaged our kids in conversation while waiting and the time just flies. It's refreshing to read that your child isn't connected to electronics.( My dh has a rule and I have a basket and when we are at dinner or spending time with one another the electronics including phones must be in the basket) A friend made a small book with laminated pictures of each ride she planned to ride. She took a white off marker and her daughter would color, draw, and write letters of everything she saw in line at the particular ride. Have a great trip!!

 

[lancermom]

My kids are 18 and 15 now, and have been going to Disney since they were babies. I have to be honest, we never, ever brought anything with us to occupy them in line. It just never occurred to us that it would be necessary. We just talked, or watched what was going on around us.

 

[loves to dive]

My kids are 18 and 15 now, and have been going to Disney since they were babies. I have to be honest, we never, ever brought anything with us to occupy them in line. It just never occurred to us that it would be necessary. We just talked, or watched what was going on around us.

This, I've been taking my son since he was almost 3 and never took anything to occupy him. We talked, we people watched, we make up stories about what we saw.

 

[kreckl]

I wouldn't have him wait in very long lines. There is much to do, and with fast passes you will be able to get most of your preferred rides with minimal wait. What do you do when waiting in a long grocery line? Disney is easier- so much to talk about and many lines are constantly moving, many even with interesting features while you wait. We had more trouble waiting for buses! That is boring and can be long. So for that, maybe have something planned, like a small book or two or an I spy bottle. We loved it when we were waiting for our bus at AKL that there were cast members blowing bubbles ( off to the side), and showing cool African items like an elephant skull, drum, etc....
Yay for no electronics!

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

Some not all have the interactive que these days

 

[scrapquitler]

We used to play 20 questions types of games, I'm going on a picnic and I'm going to bring..., we'd make up rhymes and silly stories, we'd tell jokes, etc.

 

[TOBS2010]

You might be pleasantly surprised---I took my 2.5 year old two years ago and I had the same concerns about keeping him occupied. He was perfectly fine and much more interested in watching everyone and everything around him. If something was a crazy long line we avoided it or came back to it later when the line was shorter or we could get a FP for it. I had a tougher time keeping him entertained at TS dinners---but I picked up a few random little dollar store items (like small puzzles, little games with minimal pieces, a new notebook and pen etc ) that I kept in my back pack and those worked wonders. I bought them to have for when we were in lines too---but never ever needed them once.

 

[monorailsilver]

I think my kids kept themselves occupied without electronics. There is so much to see, touch (things they are allowed to touch) and listen to.

There may have been snacks and an occasional ispy but that is.

 

[keepswimming76]

I've used Dum Dum pops, small bubbles and small fidget toys (like putty or a mini-slinky) to keep mine occupied when it's a long wait.

 

[Ava]

We also haven't had a problem with our young kids waiting in lines. Most of the queues have interesting things to look at, and we also tried to use FPs and a good touring plan to keep from waiting in very long lines.

As a PP said, waiting for buses and at TS meals may be your more difficult waits. Last trip my youngest was 2 and we brought some small toys for her to play with while waiting. My older daughter was 5 & 6 on our last two trips and she didn't really need anything extra to keep her occupied. Maybe a notebook & pencil/crayons to draw while waiting for food at TS meals.

 

[DisneyRegulars]

I know you said no electronics, but the kids version of heads up is lots of fun, it uses pictures instead of words. Personally I don't think it counts as an electronic game because it's very social and gets the whole family and often people next to you in line involved as well.

Never underestimate the power of snacks for taking up time in line as well.

 

[Minnesota!]

We just chat, play word games, ISpy, tell stories, recap the day, etc. Nothing extra needed. I wouldn't put too much thought/worry into it - he will probably surprise you.