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Mickey26
04-06-2007, 10:02 PM
Hello!
I was just looking for some advice on how to keep my almost 2 year old (he will be 22 months when we go) occupied while waiting in line. I plan on taking him on Small World, Dumbo, Peter Pan etc. and want to keep him busy in the line so he doesn't get too antsy. Any ideas???
Thanks a lot! :mickey:

Jasper
04-06-2007, 10:09 PM
He may be a little young for this but if he knows his numbers or letters by that time this is a good time to make a game out of saying them. It is also good practice. You can also put small toys such as a very small car or truck or maybe a stuffed animal in your bag and let him play with that while in line

TexasPrincessAurora
04-06-2007, 10:22 PM
We went 3 weeks before DS's 2nd birthday. We took snacks like Goldfish and Cheerios. That worked well on longer lines. If we were sitting and waiting for a parade or something I had small books and toys in his bag to look at and play with. We tried to avoid any really long lines and were sure to give him breaks from the stroller and breaks in the middle of the day too. That helped.

mickeys_princess_mom
04-06-2007, 10:33 PM
Stickers and bubbles!:bubbles: :wave:

Mickey26
04-06-2007, 11:22 PM
Thank you!!
Hope it works! :mickey:

Bruegge
04-07-2007, 12:01 PM
Benadryl and a blanket

Works for long car rides too.

LOL (just kidding)

Scott

kathiep
04-07-2007, 12:06 PM
My daughter was 21 months -

we spent a lot of time singing her favorite songs.

JMTStone
04-07-2007, 12:53 PM
Eye Spy was a favorite for us.... That will be REALLY fun in the parks!

kakn7294
04-07-2007, 02:23 PM
Singing songs and playing simple games like I Spy sometimes work. Things like a small toy or a favorite book or 2 can also sometimes occupy them. Snacks are also quite useful. The bubbles are good as long as you are careful about not getting them on your neighbors. Nothing irritates me more than inconsiderate people who blow bubbles or use a mister fan carelessly (or allow their children to) - getting everyone else around them wet and/or sticky in the process. I especially hate when they get my glasses - they are so hard to keep clean!

TammiMcMan
04-07-2007, 09:10 PM
Benadryl and a blanket :D I was going to suggest Sleepy Time Tea.


Nothing irritates me more than inconsiderate people who blow bubbles or use a mister fan carelessly (or allow their children to) - getting everyone else around them wet and/or sticky in the process.I'm sorry, that would be me :blush: . We went one year when youngest DD was 2. It was summer, so I made sure that the kids had water bottles and spray fans to ward off dehydration. We'd be walking along with DD in the umbrella stroller and be hearing all these little shrieks from people. I didn't realize that DD had a water sprayer in the stroller with her and she was happily spraying people as we walked along.

Kidding aside, I'd say food snacks, small books, stuffed animals, those toys that hooked over trays (if you have that style of stroller) worked well with our kids. Now with fastpass, if you plan things well, you can keep those long lines down to a minimum.

bratmaster
04-07-2007, 11:04 PM
2 words - travel magnadoodle. Small and portable. Kept my son so busy he never knew when he was on a ride. Seriously, we waited 45 minutes in line to ride dumbo and he was oblivious for the whole 30 second ride. There are so many little games and things you can do to occupy them with this toy.
Also, those little water doodle books, or magic ink books. You can even buy them at michaels when they have those 40% off coupons in the newspaper every week. And color wonder markers are great, too. I spy books; they make them for toddlers. (disney ones, too.) My best advice is, don't break out any distractrions until you see them getting antsy. Save your ammo!

Mickey26
04-08-2007, 08:38 AM
Thank you so much!!!!!
I just hope some of those ideas work.:mickey:

kakn7294
04-08-2007, 03:07 PM
I'm sorry, that would be me :blush: . We went one year when youngest DD was 2. It was summer, so I made sure that the kids had water bottles and spray fans to ward off dehydration. We'd be walking along with DD in the umbrella stroller and be hearing all these little shrieks from people. I didn't realize that DD had a water sprayer in the stroller with her and she was happily spraying people as we walked along.
I guess I should clarify my comments about getting annoyed at adults / kids blowing bubbles on you or squirting you with their mister fans. You can always tell the ones who just don't care what they are doing to those around them. A small child spraying me would be annoying only if the parents knew the kid was doing it and did nothing to correct the behavior. I have kids too and I know they are far from perfect - me too - but I do try make an effort to correct their behavior and apologize for them when I know they are being annoying. Tammi, your story is actually kinda funny! I can just picture it!

thejens
04-08-2007, 03:41 PM
This is a great post. I've enjoyed getting all these ideas. Last year my 2 year old was great in the lines - my 8 year old was worse. I must share that my kids had the spray bottles and as I was scolding them to be mindful of others, other guests were begging to be sprayed! It was very hot!

iceicebritney
04-08-2007, 04:28 PM
most importantly, make sure you get a fast pass for each ride. and get another one while ur first one becomes active!

second thing - the absolute best investment we've ever made was a Sony PSP (playstation portable). they are a little pricey if you dont know how they work or what all their capable of... but i have a 3, 5, and 7 yr old nephew who all get very antsy while waiting for anything. kids just dont understand the concept of waiting all together, so you have to keep them occupied.

go to your local circut city, or target and check out the PSP's. go online and do some research. there great to view photos, play games, and most importantly watch movies. we drive 18hrs all the way to WDW with the kids and they dont make a peep as long as there PSP's are on. my advice is to get a psp, get all the newest (or their old favorites) disney psp movies, and also one or two disney games that are for their age and play with thetm while waiting in line. most of the time with my 3 yr old nephew i have to play for him and he just watches, but he really loves watching me play nemo while we wait for our turn to ride in pooh's bouncing honey pots. you can also load ur photos onto the PSP of your trip so far and view them too while ur wiating in line... it helps them decide if they want to do certain things again, etc. since they have such a short memory span when there in WDW lol.

now if your concerned that their brains are gonna turn into mush because there stairing at that psp alot, dont be. you just have to control the amount of time they spend with it. its only for waiting in lines for rides, killing time while waiting for dinner ressie's etc. dont let it become attatched to their hip!!

BrerGnat
04-08-2007, 06:24 PM
For a 22 month old, there's not a whole lot you can do. Games like "I spy" are way too complicated for a toddler that age.

Stick with simple stuff...cheerios, goldfish. Snacks work great. Give your toddler ONE at a time. Stuff that takes a long time to chew, like dried fruit, yogurt covered raisins, etc. work the best.

The travel magna doodle, as mentioned above, is GREAT. At that age, some toddlers are beginning to learn letters and numbers and you can draw that plus little pictures, etc. It's very small and easy for little hands to hold.

My number one piece of advice is, if the line looks longer than 15 minutes, skip it!

For a ride like Dumbo, if there will be another adult with you, have one adult get in line while the other allows the baby to walk around a bit to exlore. As the adult in line gets nearer the entrance to the ride, have the other one hand over the toddler for the last 5-10 minutes of wait time. You can do this on Dumbo, teacups, Aladdin's carpet ride, some of the Fantasyland dark rides, etc. It's A Small World hardly ever has a long line.

Try to get to fantasyland early, and get it out of the way quickly, so you won't encounter hour long lines later.