You know the feeling, you either look at your Disney app or pass by the ride you want to go in and the wait time is loooong. What’s your gut reaction? Look for another ride? Go get something to eat? Do you have that amazingly selfless soul that always waits in the line for everyone as they go do something else?

I have been going to Disneyland ever since I was 6. Our kids start before they even turn one and we go every year if not multiple times a year. I have sooooo many people that say they aren’t taking littles to Diz until they are either old enough to remember or won’t squirm everywhere. I can address that if you guys want….but my advise is to NEVER wait….ever. By taking our kiddos so often and at every age, we have found a few systems that work for us while in line. Those systems have “grown” as our kids have. I’m excited to share a few with you!!!

1. Smile! 🥰 Your attitude & demeanor can make or BREAK yours & your family’s experience. As in life, we can set the tone for how our kids can react to things. Be flexible, be loving, be happy & be prepared! Will you always be happy in line…heck no! But trying is what we are going for here. Just try. Just that little smile, or your excitement to get on a ride will build there’s! Not sweating the small things you can’t change is a life long practice and is a great one to work on in line 😅.
2. STICKERS!!! We took the autograph books for characters & turned them into works of art with stickers & colored pencils. I would have them draw their favorite character, plants they see, rides or balloons.
3. Talk in line! Getting zoned out happens if you are tired but the more you communicate, the more enjoyable it is. I love making little moments magical. I hope my kids will say to their own kids, “Grandma always told us that when we passed under any bridge, that a magical world was on the other side.” I would always describe things to look for to prove that it was (miss on a tree, leaves rustling etc). I do the same at Disney parks and because they are SO magical, it’s not hard. I get down at their level and tell them to look for magical things around us. Hidden Mickeys are fun to find and I have a slew of IG accounts that share the secrets of Disneyland & World. They often have secrets about each ride so I’ll pull it out and tell them something special, or something to look for. Disney provided us with a guide on one of our trips and, although grateful, Kev and I decided we wouldn’t ever decide to do that I. Our own. He made a comment that made me fall in love with him even more (as we were being taken straight to the front of the line). “The bonding happens IN the lines more than ON the ride.” Take advantage and talk. Now with teens we talk about our fave memories of the ride we are about to go on or make a plan for what we’ll go on or eat next.
4. Games. Oh how I love games to pass the time! We love playing the Disney ABC game. We will either think of a line from a movie, a character, a ride or a movie that starts with each letter. If you get through all the characters in the alphabet, then change to movies and so on and so forth. I love it when other people hear what we are doing and will add something we hadn’t thought of. After all, almost everyone there is a Disney fan! 🥰 Now that my kids are older, I love doing scavenger hunts. I will send my teenagers off to find something somewhat nearby. They have to take a picture and come back proving they found it. Scavenger hunts are the most fun at Diz when you’ve seen everything, you’ve done everything and know every inch of the park. It makes you look at it like it’s brand new!
5. EAT! Sure, right now it’s harder with precautions but we’ll soon move forward and have some things get back to how they were. Eating for us is an every two hour event at the parks. Most of our snacks we share and are eaten in the line…while playing games 😂. I like to choose non sticky snacks for littles and ones they can eat themselves. Granola bars (with no melty chocolate) are amazing and we all have our own water bottles. 
6. Bubbles! What kid doesn’t love bubbles??? We have used this small distraction for years and now with needing to be 6 feet apart, it gives them more room to pop ( and more room for me to not get the person in front of my soapy LOL).
7. Light up bracelets from the dollar store. NOTHING is more fun to a little in the dark than anything that glows. We save our money and instead of getting the super expensive toys at the park we bust these out in line and let them make necklaces, chains, bracelets, whatever! This also helps during nighttime at the park when things start to light up. You can bust these out and surprise them!
8. Misters. Sometimes it’s just so stinkin hot that these bottles (that they can totally operate) keep them so occupied since it gives them relief and a little spritz to the face. We LOVE them!!!!!

Dis has gotten REALLY creative with their lines during social distancing. We even went through the Columbia Harbour House restaurant to get on Peter Pans Flight (see video on my IG). We were ALWAYS moving!!! Don’t be scared of the lines. Any more tips to add??? 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻