We will be traveling from Portland, OR to WDW in Dec. with our 4 year old son. The last time we did that long of a trip with him was when he was 23 months old. Unlike then, I can't assume part of the 7+ hour trip will be taken up by a nap this time. We will have our laptop so he can watch a movie or two, and a protable MP3 player for music (poor-man's Ipod), but I'd love any other suggestions on how we can keep him occupied for that long? He's not really into video games yet, and coloring books will only keep him occupied for a few minutes. We do have an hour layover in Dallas, so the time will be broken up a little bit, but the legs will be almost 4 hours long, then 2 1/2 hours long. Thanks for your help!

I feel your pain. When our girls were small, we flew many times from a small airport in Wisconsin to San Francisco (small airport to Chicago or Minneapolis/ layover / Chicago or Minneapolis to San Francisco).

You're right about coloring books, even a super-glam one like, say, Harry Potter. They only take you so far. Have you tried:

a Where's Waldo? book
new Legos just for the trip
a set of finger puppets, again just for the trip
?

No chance you're flying jetBlue or Song Air, eh? Ah the joys of TV on airplanes!!!

"I Spy" books are a great time killer, similar to Where's Waldo only with real photographs.

Does your son like to draw? Crayola's Color Wonder pens and paper are awesome... the ink appears almost magically (which delighted my daughter when she was younger) and there's ZERO mess!!

How about some Richard Scarry books? There are always LOTS of little details and interesting things to look at in the illustrations, and they're educational too. Here's a link to one that I enjoyed as a kid, and my daughter did too!

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0307165485/qid=1128955130/sr=8-4/ref=pd_bbs_4/103-4730817-3160659?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

I LOVE the Where's Waldo? and I Spy book ideas! There's on like that in the Library at church that he looks at every Sunday! :) Now, If only I can get them in paperback so the backpack won't be heavy...

I like the "invisible markers idea too - we have some somewhere at home. Hopefully I can find them before our trip!

Thanks, and keep those ideas coming!

When we went last, my daughter was 3 and already into video games so her gameboy kept her going. She inherited her brothers when he got the Gameboy Advance SP. Other than that, my husband took our laptop computer and she played games with him on that on the way down and while I was at WDW I bought her some Princess movies and she watched the DVD's on the way home on the airplane.

Based on driving 24 hours to Montana, the movie thing worked really well with my boys. My 4-year-old just found our Where's Waldo? Books and he loves them.

Coloring books are great but also plain paper is fun. You can also use it to play games like tic-tac-toe, draw his own pictures, etc.

We found some magnetic toys and scenes.

I found that I really overpacked a lot. Snacks can also be a good distractor. My 4-y/o is a big graizer throughout the day. So I'm sure snack time will keep him occupied. You can get pre-packaged goldfish, pretzels, fruit snacks, juice boxes, water, etc. For our trip, I got a no-drip sipper so it was easier to keep that full and not worrying about it falling, etc.

Adrienne

And then there's cough syrup ... nighty night, widdle one.

I wish.

I Spy books are perfect for plane rides. My 4yo brings his own roller board bag with things to occupy them, we fly a lot. I also love the Color Wonder Markers.
Some airlines have kid packs with cards etc. So you might ask the flight attendants.
Be sure to bring hisfavorite snacks too. Many airlines don't give out much more than peanuts or pretzels even for flights that long.

When Charlie was 4 we flew non-stop from San Francisco to London...he actually did very well. I think the key for us was having some NEW things. A new book or two (Waldo and I Spy are great), new markers, a new stuffed animal to cuddle with (or if he has a favorite, bring that one). New stuff is exciting, even if it's not so different from stuff he may already have.

A small Magna-Doodle (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/ref=br_ss_hs/102-9195507-0440921?platform=gurupa&url=index%3Dblended&field-keywords=magna+doodle) or Etch-A-Sketch would also be fun.

Our pediatrician said we should feel free to give him a normal dose of Benadryl if we wanted him to sleep. We didn't though.

I second the small magna doodle idea.

I'm assuming that since he's 4 he might've had benedryl before. If not: TEST FIRST AT HOME! Most kids do get sleepy with benedryl, some get hyped up by it! My husband was one of the hyper kids. My MIL tells that story a lot! So far it's made my kids sleepy, but if you haven't given it to your child before, you might want to find out before the flight ;)

Adrienne

I second what adriennek says about Benedryl. It can cause nausea, as well as nervousness.

But you guys know that.

Instead of Benedryl, we use Pediacare Nighttime. It lasts for 8 hours, giving my son a good night's sleep. I don't plan to use it for the airplane (I want him to sleep that night too!), but will have it along if I need it.

Thanks for all the suggestions - my son loves his etch-a-sketch, so maybe I can find a travel size of that or magna-doodle. I think i will also invest in a rolling backpack as his current Buzz Lightyear one might get a little heavy! :eek:

I think i will also invest in a rolling backpack as his current Buzz Lightyear one might get a little heavy! :eek:

We got Charlie a rolling backpack...it was his carry on and it had all his fun stuff in it. He was really excited about having his own luggage. He was really good about rolling it around himself at the airport. Also it was small enough that if we did have to carry it for him we just strapped it to our own luggage.

I got a cute magnetic playset for our trip to WDW, it was fun. I second the magnadoodle, we didn't take one this time, but we usually do. The most important thing I can say is to take NEW toys, they will always hold a child's interest longer than toys they've already played with. Also, quiet toys, and that doesn't always mean the toy itself, but if you know your child will play loudly with a certain toy, I'd opt for something else. I usually get some new Hot Wheels cars, toy airplanes or something similar. I also take books that I can read to him. We do a bit of doodling, he likes to ask me to draw pictures and I will draw whatever he asks for... this is good with a magnadoodle or just pen & paper. Looking out the window is great too! We talk about what the clouds look like, if we can see any cars down below, mountains, houses, etc.

Ditto what everyone else said, plus these little babies
http://www.abcstuff.com/items/WS001.html
saved my life on more than a few occasions. They stick to a tray or window. They rock.:)

Adrienne, how about an active 23 month old? We're flying to Orlando in a week and a half. I've got some books thats about it right now. He doesn't really color yet...he's still in the "let me eat it stage". So a couple of books are it. As the op mentioned she traveled with a 23 month old before, but my son seems to need something to do.

Adrienne, how about an active 23 month old? We're flying to Orlando in a week and a half. I've got some books thats about it right now. He doesn't really color yet...he's still in the "let me eat it stage". So a couple of books are it. As the op mentioned she traveled with a 23 month old before, but my son seems to need something to do.


shape sorter box ....an activity doll that has buttons and ties and ribbons and stuff...books with interactive pages...push this to make the noise
...lots of little snacks.

Funny, my child loves shape sorter boxes. We've got the regular fisher price one and one Disney one that is in the shape of a crushed Mickey Mouse. Basically think Mickey's ears sitting in his pants. :fez: I'd be worried he would throw the shapes though as he does at home. Oh well. I'll bring the books I was planning on and get some paper and crayons.

Well books, or maybe video games like say some hand held game system say game boy , Nintendo DS, and Game gear.

Ditto what everyone else said, plus these little babies
http://www.abcstuff.com/items/WS001.html
saved my life on more than a few occasions. They stick to a tray or window. They rock.:)
Those are awesome! My mom carries them in her store, so I am going to pick some up for the trip, and probably another one to keep in his backpack for church (always looking for ways to keep him quiet during the service!)
Adrienne, how about an active 23 month old? We're flying to Orlando in a week and a half. I've got some books thats about it right now. He doesn't really color yet...he's still in the "let me eat it stage". So a couple of books are it. As the op mentioned she traveled with a 23 month old before, but my son seems to need something to do.
I'm trying to think back to when my son was 23 months - I think I got a couple of travel size See & Say games. They were about the size of a Game Boy, and kept him pretty busy. He also loves cars, so I got 2 or 3 small ones (bigger than Matchbox, though) and he drove those on the table for a while. We also had a Cheerios book - the board book that has little spots where you can put the Cheerios on the bage to complete the picture. We also did the Pediacare thing with him, and got 2-3 hour naps each way. That took a good chunk of time, and he was much happier!

I love Wikki Sticks. They are so cool that they can even keep a 36 yr old happy during long staff meetings....

Not that I would know that or anything. :|


Our niece and nephew love watching dvds on my ibook with headphones. Disney movies of course! It's saved us on many a road trip. ;) How about plain 'ol card games like Go Fish or Old Maid??


~kisroo (a loving Auntie surfing for good ideas from great parents here...):)

We also had a Cheerios book - the board book that has little spots where you can put the Cheerios on the bage to complete the picture. We also did the Pediacare thing with him, and got 2-3 hour naps each way. That took a good chunk of time, and he was much happier!

Heidi, you scare me. I was just thinking: I wonder if they still sell those Cheerios board books they'd be good for a plane trip...

They also have Goldfish cracker versions.

Do you have a magnadoodle yet, dsnyredhead? My older boys have one and the baby is starting to get interested in it. And it's much easier for a little one to use than an etch a sketch. They have different sizes of magnadoodles but my favorite is the little one that I see often at Target. It's probably 5x7"?

Adrienne

.

Do you have a magnadoodle yet, dsnyredhead? My older boys have one and the baby is starting to get interested in it. And it's much easier for a little one to use than an etch a sketch. They have different sizes of magnadoodles but my favorite is the little one that I see often at Target. It's probably 5x7"?

Adrienne

No, not yet. Thanks for the tip. I'll look for that. I'd really like to have something new for him to keep his interest up. 1 1/2 weeks to go.

No, not yet. Thanks for the tip. I'll look for that. I'd really like to have something new for him to keep his interest up. 1 1/2 weeks to go.

It might be a lot easier with the magna doodle than crayons and paper.

Adrienne

It might be a lot easier with the magna doodle than crayons and paper.

Adrienne

My 2 and 4 year old have a pixter (something close to that) drawing PDA thing. The newer one plays movies- but they have a cheap black and white and a basic color version too. It draws, does dot to dots, blows up pictures, plays games, and keeps them occupied (at least my two) for hours. It's also pretty durable, ours has been dropped and fought over, and they love it so much, I am buying a 2nd one for Christmas more then likely. I'd recomend one of them if you are willing to spend a bit more money then a magnadoodle.