Waiting in lines with an 18 month old...

[bagheeramom]

When we leave next month, my daughter will be 18 months (we are also taking her sisters ages 11, 9, and 5). She is a really good baby and is happy to stay in her stroller most of the time, however I'm worried about waiting in lines. Would you guys recommend a sling or something to keep her on my hip in line? Or any other suggestions?

 

[gillis95]

We'll be going too when our baby will be 18mo. He is so good natured now, calm, easy going..but who knows what will happen in all that stimulation. I've looked at 2 products in the onestepahead.com or catalog...the "kid keeper" $14.95 which is the chest harness/leash thing that will let them walk around you and then the "ultra EZ baby carrier" the hip carrier sling $24.95. I''ll probably get both because sometimes he'll want down and others he'll want to be carried. It's best to have options. Have fun!!

 

[HappyMommy2]

We were worried about that too with our 17-month-old, but between fastpasses, baby swaps, and following all the tips for minimizing line-waiting (most importantly arriving at the parks early), we didn't stand in any really long lines. The longest we waited with DS was in the waiting area for Playhouse Disney for 25 minutes; during that wait it helped to use the "Ultra EZ" hip carrier that the poster mentioned above. Took some strain off my arms and kept DS from squirming so much.

Lines that looked too long we simply skipped and came back to when they were shorter. The line for Tomorrowland Speedway was long (30 minutes +) even on EMH but our 3-year-old HAD to go on it so I let DH take him and I went on It's a Small World a couple times with the baby.

We had such a wonderful time; you will too!

 

[gshoemate]

One word...snacks! Bring lots and lots of snacks. That is the only thing that keeps DS (16 months) busy while waiting in line and for the shows.

 

[ahutton]

Here are some things I've done with my kids to help keep them calm while we waited for something:

Target sells small bottles of spill proof bubbles for about $1
Play peek-a-boo around the railing corners as you turn the rows
Sing songs they like - Bumble Bee, Itsy Bitsy Spider, ABCs, Teapot
Snack on goldfish crackers
Point out things they are going by and tell them the stories of the rides they are about to go on
Tell them any story they know and love

I've survived a few trips with these, and just stocked up on more bottles of the bubbles for the next trip!

 

[frannn]

We will not be going till Oct, but I like to start getting prepared way in advance, since DD is only 10 months and already 20 lbs. I bought both the EZ hip carrier (Maws brand) and the Theodore Beane micro mesh front baby carrier. Both will allow the baby to face forward. The EZ carrier puts the baby's weight on your hip, and the Theodore Bean puts the weight equally on your shoulders. I would try your child in both, if possible, to determine which is best for you.

 

[BevS97]

I would work hard on minimising waiting in lines. We rarely wait longer than 10 minutes for anything, I just don't have the patience, and we have never found the need.
if you arrive early, use fast pass, ride during parades (we will watch one day and ride other days), arrive at shows at the last minute (they tend to have large capacitys so you can usually walk right in when the show is starting), there really is no reason to be waiting for ages.
We have seen people waiting in line for Peter Pan for 2+ hours - I just can't understand that. It's a fun ride, but 2 hours! We will get a fast pass or just try again later.

Bev