Disney World is a magical place, and your days will be full of excitement and wonder! But your days will also be full of waiting. Waiting for rides, waiting for food, waiting for parades, and so on.

I want to share some of the things my family does to pass the time:

Ideas for Waiting in line with children at Walt Disney World

1. Rock Paper Scissors – This is the old stand-by. It requires no special tools, and my kids have been playing it since they were about three years old. Now that they are older, they enjoy making up new options like Tornado and Fireball (Those beat all the other things, but the kids use them sparingly since they’ve figured out no one will play with them when they do Fireball on every turn!)

2. I Spy – Also an old stand-by, and requires no special equipment. We just have to be clear that it’s not fair to pick things that are in motion (“It was the blue blanket on the stroller that passed us 5 minutes ago” is a game-ender for sure!)

3. Two Truths and One Lie – This one is best with adults and older kids. You take turns telling things about yourself. Two of the things are true, and one is a lie, and everyone has to guess which one is the lie.

4. 20 Questions – Another oldie but a goodie, and it’s fun to pick things that are Disney-related. Is it an animated character? Is it male? Is it a mouse?

5. Don’t Stop Moving – As the line moves forward, you don’t just take four big steps and stop. You take tiny shuffling steps and see if you can manage to not “stand” in line at all!

6. Disney Alphabet Game – For this game, you need kids who are old enough to spell a little. One person starts with the letter “A” and picks something Disney-related that starts with that letter. The next person has to pick something Disney that begins with the last letter of the previous word. For instance, I pick Apple (from Snow White) and the next person picks Enchanted (Tales with Belle), and the next person picks Dumbo, then Olaf, and so on…

7. How Many People – This game only needs some basic counting skills. Pick something that people have in common, and let the kids start counting. “How many people in this line are wearing hats? How many people have a water bottle? How many people have Mickey on their shirt?”

8. Find the next route on the Map – This only requires a map and a plan, and is really fun for elementary aged kids. Find where you are, and where you’re going next, and let them figure out which way to go and what you’ll see along the way!

9. Tic-tac-toe – Another classic, and just requires a small spiral notebook and some crayons. When it’s your turn to ride an attraction, just pick up where you left off when you line up again!

10. Drawing – The spiral notebook and crayons above? Give each child their own set (or even one of those pens that has 10 different colors of ink, for bonus points!) and challenge them to draw their favorite rides and characters while you wait for the parade to begin.

Drawing Pictures at Disney World

11. Hidden Mickeys – There are books that include this information, but I prefer using a SmartPhone app called “Walt Disney World Secrets Gold”. It contains Hidden Mickey Tours for each park, broken down by area, and tells you exactly where to look. My kids LOVE finding the Hidden Mickeys when they use the hints!

I hope you have as much fun with these as we do — It helps keep our kids from bickering, and also keeps Mom and Dad present in the moment, enjoying all our time together as a family!

I’m Brenda Arnold-Richard, and I’m a travel planner with Travel With The Magic. We specialize in Disney vacations. If you’d like FREE help planning your family’s Disney vacation, email me at Brenda@TravelWithTheMagic.com, and I’ll be happy to help you!