OK~I'm probably an overplanful Auntie, but better safe than sorry. We'll have a 7 1/2 yr old with us on our next trip. I'm not expecting huge lines, but would like to have some fun stuff for us to do while waiting when we do have a line.

Not being a parent, I'm turning to you all for advice on fun, unique, and inexpensive things to do while waiting. This could include waiting at the airport, in a restaurant, in lines...Go for it! Tell me all your tricks!

~kisroo:)

Not being a parent, I'm turning to you all for advice on fun, unique, and inexpensive things to do while waiting. This could include waiting at the airport, in a restaurant, in lines...Go for it! Tell me all your tricks!

Well here's what works with my 7-year-old:

Anywhere but especially in restaurants and airports: A little bag or a plastic box (you know those travel bar-soap boxes? A clamshell like that would be great) with crayons in it. Then pads of doodle paper in an airport. When I was teaching, someone gave me comb-bound pads of just plain computer paper. If you have access to a comb-binding machine, you might make up one of those. Plain paper is great. You can play hangman on it, tic-tack-toe, draw pictures, write stories, etc. Many restaurants use paper placemats so you don't necessarily need the paper in a restaurant, just the crayons. Not all restaurants have crayons for kids.

As for lines, my kid is a Disney Geek. (Gee, I wonder where he gets THAT from.) So he wants to know about the queues: When was the ride built, what are the secret meanings behind things in the queue or on the ride, what used to be where the ride is now. My 7- and my 4-year-olds both love to look at the maps. They like to plan what to do next. They like to be able to read the map and know where they are, to find where they are on the map, etc.

My M is a kid who doesn't like surprises. If it's a potentially 'scary' ride - Haunted Mansion is dark so it's scary, Indiana Jones is adventurous and exciting but that can cause some anxiety, too, Space Mountain, etc. So we'll spend time in line telling M what to expect when he's on the ride and that helps him overcome his anxiety because it prepares him for what to expect.

The Disney Geek thing might not help with all kids but that's what works for ours. :rolleyes:

Adrienne

The Disney Geek thing might not help with all kids but that's what works for ours. :rolleyes:

Adrienne

I'm pretty sure that'll work for my niece. Um, not that I've brainwashed shared my joy of Disney with her or my nephew or anything. :|

Great ideas, Adrienne~I think she'll need a lot of the explaining at first. Thanks!

I'm actually just finishing an article on "boredom busters" while waiting with kids for parades, shows, and fireworks at DL. We have a lot of strategies, but I'm thinking I need to get some good quotes from another well-prepared parent. Hmm? How 'bout it.

I can't believe I forgot this one! Print up a list of Hidden Mickeys (http://www.hiddenmickeys.org/HiddenMickeyParks.html).

You can spend time in line reading through the list -- you can get ready for what Mickeys to look for when you get out of line or to watch for them on the ride you're waiting for or in the queue you're waiting in.

Adrienne

I just may be the Queen of Overplanning Land...When we went last year - my kids' first time at 5yo & almost 4yo - I was all about being prepared for long lines and the ensuing crazies.
I found cute little canvas bags, proclaimed them to be filled with in-line fun stuff only, and had the kids paint designs on them before we left. My children dig the BIG BUILD-UP ;) They were so thrilled to find out what would be inside the bags! I found a bunch of fun, little things at the dollar store & a couple of splurges from Disney store: small personal fans (*warning: keep far from hair*), Silly Putty (got kinda dirty but was still fun), gum, those funky kaleidoscope things that distort what you're looking at (what on Earth are they called??), twisty ties (these are free in the produce section and unbelievably entertaining!), notepads & pens, slide puzzle games. Everything had to meet these criteria - 1) no small parts to lose, 2) nothing noisy or otherwise irritating for those around us, 3) nothing messy. Bubbles could be fun but may violate criteria 2 & 3...Use discretion.
And, as with all things you strive to plan just right, they hardly needed to access the bags. But I always feel better being overprepared. By the way, the bags fit inside my backpack and were easy to grab & put away quickly. Adrienne's idea of a clamshell-type box would be perfect, as well. Instead of regular crayons (we've had sad, sad melted globs once too often...), we've gotten the twist-up kind. But they are indeed a must for restaurants; I love to color, too :)

We also played games like I Spy, and one where we would go through the alphabet and find either a sign or an object that started with each letter. (We allowed a word that included the letter X or we'd never be able to finish the game...). That one was particularly good for the shuttle ride to the park - it seems like a 3 hour ride!

I don't know if they sell them any more but my Mom used to bring Mad Libs for us to do. They are those books where you fill in nouns, verbs, etc and make goofy stories. We thought they were fun. Of course, those were the dark ages.

Very cool ideas! Thanks so much!

I loved Mad Libs as a kid~~my mom would get them for us for the drive to DL from San Diego!! That and those little Disney mini comic books. Remember those??

I'm keeping a list~keep 'em coming!

Oh, and I got sucked into that Hidden Mickeys site the other day, Adk :cool: ! :D

~kisroo:)

Another option for the flight, and perhaps the lines, as well, would be a Klutz book. They're really craft kits, and include simple activities, many of which would be well suited for the sitting kind of waiting time. She's probably old enough for friendship bracelets or other activities that are pretty portable like that...

For the lines, I found that a simple snack was the best way to keep my little brother and sister occupied. I tried to do relatively healthy things that could be shared, and it kept them pretty calm in lines...

My kids are 4 & 7 and they like to draw on the little travel size magna doodles while waiting in lines.

While driving from Sacramento to "The Happiest Place on Earth", my DD's ages (at the time of travel) of 12,10, and 6, played... Who Am I? using Disney characters. Kinda like 20 questions. They had a blast and even got Dad involved. Dad and I would "sing" different songs and see if the kids could guess the Disney movie it was from.

We still use these to keep them busy on longer than average car rides.

I forgot-They've even played What Ride/Attraction am I....that one is interesting.

My daughter and I play 20 questions or various types of memory games. We will have thumb wars too, but that can get a LITTLE crazy if you're in a crowded area.

The Klutz books someone else mentioned are a GREAT idea. There are also lots of travel sized games you can pick up from Target, etc. like Magna-Doodles and Etch-a-Sketch.

And yes, they still sell MadLibs, my daughter and I play with those too!

We love Mad Libs! We drove to Aspen, Co. and back earlier this month and Mad Libs were a huge hit for my 7 yo son (as well as for me and my husband).

We do the fun Disney "Who Am I?" type games as well as Disney ABC's where you say the alphabet with Disney stuff: A: Alladin, B: Belle, C: Cinderella, etc.

Wow! Thanks for the great ideas everyone!

I started out by writing down all the ideas. Now, I think I'll just print the entire thread. ;)

~kisroo:)

You play I spy with my little eye and pick something so everyone guess what you see.When the person gets it right they pick something. This is great to do when your in the car driving somewhere far

Restaurant waits can be the most boring of all.

I used to carry Polly Pockets and other mini-dolls around in my purse for waits in restaurants. My girls only got to play with the mini-dolls at restaurants so the dolls retained their specialness.

While driving from Sacramento to "The Happiest Place on Earth", my DD's ages (at the time of travel) of 12,10, and 6, played... Who Am I? using Disney characters. Kinda like 20 questions. They had a blast and even got Dad involved. Dad and I would "sing" different songs and see if the kids could guess the Disney movie it was from.

We still use these to keep them busy on longer than average car rides.

Wow, we could be twins ;) I too have 3 girls ages 12, 10 and 6 and live just east of Sacramento! It IS a small world afterall! ;)

One thing we really liked was that I copied a bunch of Disney music onto a CD and while we were driving down there we got excited about going (hearing the music really gets us in that "happy place") and we would try to guess what ride it was from. Now.. I don't suggest this to anyone else, but I downloaded off of Kazza ANYTHING that had DISNEY in it. So we didn't know what the songs were or what they were from. Some were very old too. Like one was the 25th anniversary parade. That was pretty cool. I found out about the 50th CD too late to order it for our trip, that was my intention, but when I found out they were on backorder and I couldn't get them.. I turned to Kazza. I will get the 50th CD for my birthday or Christmas. I LOVE stuff like that. :D