I just got done getting an answer on the WDW forum about waiting for Fantasmic. I'm now convensed that I will have to wait about an hour even in the beginning of December to get seats (about 7PM) Problem is that I will have a 3 yr old (as well as a 9 yr old). So as a general question- any clever ideas for waiting with a young child sitting in one place with nothing to look at. I have read some great ideas on this site already, and I will review some old threads as well.

PS- Although I am thinking of WDW, I think any experences from DL would of course be valuable. It's a common parenting problem.

I had the same problem waiting for Playhouse Disney when it first opened. I had the kids by myself and had to wait for over an hour in line until we were let into the building.

I brought a packpack with a few things to keep them busy. The things that were the biggest hits were Silly Putty and a deck of cards. I wished I had packed an extra few eggs of the Silly Putty because several other children gathered around to watch us play with it--when you're in line with nothing to do, Silly Putty becomes very interesting;) . And I would have brought a comic book or something to press the Putty into to make transfers.

I almost always bring a deck of cards with me to the resort to use while we are waiting in restaurants, etc. Your three your old might be on the young side, but you can play on a "team" with him and teach him go fish or crazy eights.

Anyway, those are a few things I have tried. Good luck :).

Well, we usually pack the same kinds of stuff that we bring to restaurants with us. We also bring additional stuff. Some thoughts:

Paper and crayons or colored pencils (at Fantasmic, you may need something to lean on, like the next item)
Marker books and markers
Travel-size MagnaDoodle/Etch-a-Sketch
Souvenirs bought in the park that day (spinny lights, other toys/games)
Snacks
Make up stories
Talk about what you did that day
If you're planning to make a scrapbook, look through the day's gathered stuff
Sing together (Disney park songs, of course!)
Flashcards
Anything else you might use in a restaurant/quiet setting, or perhaps something less quiet

I let my son buy the sorcerer mickey and malificent dragon beanies and then we acted out what we thought would be part of the show. It entertained us and all the people around us:D Make sure you bring snacks, there are vendors walking around to sell you all kinds of junk. Also buy drinks and such before you go down to your seats so you don't have to go back up. Also remember the potty break before you get seated otherwise hopefully someone nice sitting next to you will save your seats.