Need some tips on how to keep kids occupied on the trip to WDW. What do you do to keep the kids hap

[momuv2poohs]

I figure all you Disners would have some great tips on what your family does.. Games, ect. Leave late, leave early. Thanks.

 

[Dragon0525]

Are you flying or driving? How many hours do you need to occupy them?

We usually get small gifts and wrap them up and give one to our daughter throughout the flight/drive. She really enjoys opening them. For our WDW trip I tried to get things that were Disney related. I also tried to get things on sale - didn't want to spend a fortune. I got a couple of disney reading books, a disney drawing kit, lots of disney stickers and a book to put them in, also some disney tapes and a walkman which was a real hit. Older kids can do crafts with pipe cleaners. I've even read about people who have brought play dough and let the kids use it on the tray in the plane. I also got a bead kit to make necklaces - but that was for a slow time at the hotel when mommy and daddy wanted a rest and I knew she'd be wanting to go.

Also don't forget to pack some snacks and juice. If you're flying it helps to have things when they're hungry. Hope this helps.

1993 - Off Site
01/27/01 - YC - 7 days
02/03/01 - 7 day Magic Cruise

 

[Mouser]

We always drove with the two boys...so these tips are geared to driving really but would work for a shorter time on a plane too I am sure...

We never got to go before they were 9 and 7 years so these are older boy tips....I used to get them battery operated hand help video games and give them to them right before a trip, they would spend hours on those, but that was before Game Boys were so popular. I imagine a couple of new games for those would keep them happy. As young teens we would surprise them each with a new inexpensive Walkman so they could listen to the music they liked ..this also saved our ears as we had much differnt taste in music than they had..

Two years we took them out of school for a week while they were in High School (with no problems whatsoever) and they used our drive time to do homework, so that worked out well..and of course they still listened to their walkmans some too..

MOUSER

11 TRIPS TO WDW ....
8/86, 4/88, 8/90, 8/92, 4/94, 3/96, 3/97 8/98,
12/98, 12/99, 12/00, 9/01

 

[momuv2poohs]

They are 7 and will be 1. We are driving about 12-14 hours. Thanks for the info.

 

[MosMom]

~ Magna Doodle (we never travel without one)
~ Gameboy
~ Walkman
~ Different colored pipe cleaners (make animals, shapes, letters, numbers out of them)
~ Disney Music =D
~ Coloring Books/Activity Books w/ Crayons
~ Snacks
~ Are We There Yet? (more for your 7 year old) You can find it on OneStepAhead.com for 12.95. Here is the link, we bought this for my nephews 7 & 11 and it has been invaluable for them!

Link to Are We There Yet
~ Books
~ Travel Puzzles (You can make these by taking a regular wooden puzzle & drilling a small hole into each piece then attatching a sturdy string to the piece then attatching the other end to the puzzle board. This way no pieces get lost as they are putting the puzzle together & dumping it out)

I'm all out of ideas now =) We do quite a bit of auto travel so we've become quite good at finding things to do. Have fun!!

"Yeah, they're going to Disney AGAIN...they go like every other day" -- My Teenage Brother

January 00' - Beach Club
September 00' - All Star Movies
March 01' - All Star Movies

MoseysMom

 

[threeboysmom]

Hi! My family drives to Florida every year with our 3 sons (ages 10, 9 and 4). It takes us about 25 hours to get there. I know, I know, we are CRAZY! But it's the only way we can afford to go the Disney every year

My older boys love to read and both own gameboys, so before the trip we buy new books and borrow from the library. We also let them each pick out a new gameboy game for the trip (plus borrow/trade with friends). Then, they are all set for the LONG car trip and are actually very good as long as they don't sit next to each other! (that's another story). Our youngest is the one who needs to be entertained In the past (and when the older 2 were younger & couldn't read) we always rigged up a small tv and vcr in our van. Works beautifully!! Survivethedrive.com rents them for $99 for 10 days I think. I pack lots and lots of snacks because as long as kids are eating, they are quiet!! Lollipops last a long time - an added plus. Also those candy necklace things are great too. We do pack healthy stuff too in case some of you are wondering A fun thing to pack in a ziploc is lots of fruitloops and cheerios and a clean shoelace for the little ones to make necklaces with and then eat! I don't pack a lot of drinks because, well, you know.... My little guy naps during the afternoon plus we drive straight through the night. By the time the boys are waking up, we are about to cross over into Florida. I would wake your guys up early early (4:00 a.m.) and they will go back to sleep for the first 2-3 hours, plus your little one will nap again in the afternoon (maybe even your older one!).

Magnadoodles & etch-a-sketch are great for the car, as well as coloring books, maze books, puzzles, etc. Stickers or colorforms are great. Wikki-sticks are great too for the car as they will stick right onto the windows. Talk around with friends and do a "toy swap" before your trip. That way your kids will have "new" toys to play with and it doesn't cost you a cent! We make LOTS of stops on our way down - every 2 hours or so. If you go onto the Mcdonalds website, you can get a printout of all the Mcdonalds with playspaces along the route you will be traveling. These are lifesavers!!! We also try to stop at any malls we see along our route. It is fun to just walk around and the kids usually pick out a new book to read or an inexpensive toy to play with.

Sorry so long winded. Hopefully, you can get some ideas from this website. Have a GREAT trip!

Kimberly

 

[momuv2poohs]

Thank you to all of you!! I was thinking of buying a small tv for the trip, but I am kind of worried about safety. I appreciate all the great tips!!!

 

[PHILLYBUZZ21]

We drove from Philly (16 hours total)with a 4 and 2 year old. Our Savior was the TV/VCR we rented from Survivethedrive.com They watched their videos and we never heard an "our we there yet" once. I believe they have video game hookup capability which would be good for your 7 year old. We had a major feed bag full of goodies and the usual travel size games. It was such a breeze we are going again this October.

 

[Humpbacks1962]

Thank goodness for coloring books, legos and game boys!


Wanda

 

[eazyrider]

WE ARE LEAVING 4-13 DRIVING 15-17 HOURS AND HAVE BOUGHT A VIDEO IN A BAG. IT PLUGS INTO LIGHTER OR 110VOLT AND HAS NINTENDO HOOK UP AND EVEN EAR PHONES!! WE HAVE USED IT ON SHORT TRIPS AND IT IS GREAT! SELLS FOR ABOUT 375.00 WORTH WEIGHT

 

[TSI_Fan]

A game my mom and I would play on road trips would be to start with the first letter of the alphabet. Then look for that letter on a road sign while driving down the road. Keep going down the alphabet until you find Z. Kept us from getting really bored.

TSI_Fan

I miss my Christi-bear.

 

[momuv2poohs]

I tried typing in Survivethedrive.com it would not work. Any ideas... Thanks again everyone. I like the alphabet idea. That will work great with my 7 year old. Thank you to all of you who posted. I have gotten alot of good ideas from you. Maybe because of you I wont hear Are we there yet, how much farther... LOL

 

[dopeyIam]

The Disney store has 3 new travel games each in a metal tin.There is checkers,round playing cards and tic tac toe.Picked them uo for our trip in April.The only concern now is that delta could strike.

 

[zoe dog]

* If your local bookstore or toystore carries Klutz products, look for the brochure sized, laminated booklet of car games - perfect for a 7 year old. Also recently saw a similar book published by the people who do Highlights magazine, but haven't looked thru it to see if it's good.

* In addition to the alphabet sign game mentioned by someone else, try the memory game of "I'm going on a picnic and I'm packing Apples." Next person says, "I'm going on a picnic and I'm packing Apples and Baseballs." Next person repeats and adds a word beginning with "C" etc. and see how far you can go.

* Also, "treasure hunts" work great for our girls (ages 5, 8, and 10)- "find a car with a bicycle strapped on top", "find a purple van" etc.

* Get story tapes from your local library - if you get unabridged tapes of long books (Harry Potter, e.g.) they can literally last for hours. In addition to H.P., our whole family has enjoyed Hank the Cowdog tapes (very silly, about 2-3 hours each), Half Magic (see what happens when some children find a magic talisman that (they soon discover) only gives them 1/2 of what they wish for), and Dealing with Dragons (a princess runs away to be a dragon's housekeeper because she doesn't want to do typical princess stuff and has to keep turning away all of the princes who come to rescue her)

Have fun!

 

[PHILLYBUZZ21]

I just checked my bookmark. We definitely rented the TV/VCR from www.survivethedrive.com Try it again. I am going to be renting from them again for our October Disney Trip.

 

[mikess]

On our last trip we bought a ton of toys, coloring books and books at the dallor store. These little, cheap toys where lifesavers.

 

[Whitegloves]

I went to survivethedrive.com. I was surprised at the cost to rent such a unit. What about purchasing one at Wal-Mart? I thought I saw them there for under $300.

 

[anut4disney]

We always have fun counting how many of the South of the Border signs you see. Have to check both sides of the road. Sounds silly, but even when my daughter was 15 we did it. Heck even dh and I did it when we went a couple of years ago by ourselves.

Shirley

"The Twins"

 

[pines506]

We drove when my dd was 2. It was a 22 hour drive. We left at her bedtime. It was a little harder on us driving at night, but she slept from home to Atlanta (just about half the drive). For the rest of the way, we had a tv with vcr for her to watch and coloring books, etc.

 

[PHILLYBUZZ21]

Whitegloves...you are correct that a TV/VCR at Walmart is only a couple hundred dollars. However, it is not safe to use those units in a car. They will become a projectile in an accident endangering the passengers. The rental units are large consoles that retail in the $700 - $800 range. My cost for a 10 day rental was $120.00 and that included the headphones (about $10 a day). With a 4 and 2 year old, I felt that was reasonable.