We are going on our first family vacation on a plane with our two kids (Boston->Amsterdam with a stopover in Rekyavik, Iceland). Thankfully we are out of diapers (5.5yrs and 3), and now I'm trying to plan to bring enough activities and things to keep the kids entertained if they don't fall asleep (the flight over is a night flight). We bought an ipad and some earphones so that we'd have the movie option. Our kids have not watched too many movies, and I'm looking for some ideas of what to buy for the trip. Movies that have been hits include: Jungle book; Cars; Toy Story; Cinderella.
We had a great trip...thanks for all of the input. We bought beauty and the beast, and then copied a number of movies (cars, chitty chitty bang bang, and others) from dvds we had already. The most watched were the penguins (of madagascar - the series), and berenstein bears series (I don't get it, but the kids like it), although they hardly watched the ipad. They either slept on the plane or enjoyed bob the builder and other series from the airline. In Holland they loved the Dutch cartoons. So most of what we put on the ipad weren't even watched!
The favorites around here lately (DS is 4) are Tangled, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Despicable Me, Megamind, Cars, Up, Wall-E, and Thomas movies.
My almost 5 year old son also loves the Back to the Future movies and Night at the Museum. My husband likes to find movies that the two of them can watch together.
I would try some of the other Disney movies, like Finding Nemo and The Little Mermaid. My daughter also likes Beauty and the Beast and the Curious George movie that came out a few years ago.
I'm probably going to repeat what other people have said, but I don't have time to read all the responses first! So, here's our favorites:
- Tangled
- Kung Fu Panda
- The Incredibles (pixar)
- Despicable Me
- Toy Story 3
- Bolt
Is that enough? I can probably list more if you want. These ones are clean (by our standards) and ones we enjoy ourselves;-)
my oldest boys 6 and 4 don't like movies as much as watching dvds of their favorite cartoons backyardigans, berenstain bears, busy town, gi joe, transformers, or super hero squad. my oldest does love the Incredibles but 4yo won't sit thru for too long. we also bring lots of sticker books for beginning and end of flights. good luck and have a safe trip:)
We recently took a road trip with our three small boys (Boston to Florida and back to visit my grandmother). We ended up watching surprisingly few movies, but stories on CD bought us many happy hours. My kids really like The Magic Treehouse series, but there are plenty of other options. Check your library. There are also read-along books on CD (with chimes for when to turn the page). That might work better on a plane than it did in the car. The 3-year-old wasn't following along with when to turn the page too well, but we were in the front seat and couldn't check on his progress.
Usborne Books sells a great set of wipe-on, wipe-off travel activity cards, as well (100 Things for Little Children to Do on a Trip; check out http://www.myubam.com/ecommerce/default.asp?sid=Z2521&... for one of many places to buy Usborne books). There is also a fabulous activity book I just bought, something with stickers and Richard Scarry's characters. I can't remember the name, but I'm sure you could find it easily on Amazon.
My kids watched Aristocats 3 times during the 24 hour drive from CT to Orlando Fl. Its good because it is not scary and has catchy music. Also if your kids like animals- Snow buddies and all the other "buddy movies", milo and otis if you can find it, oliver and company.
As someone who's made a similiar stretch before with kids, I can tell you you probably won't need much on the way over because it's a night-flight. It's the way back that will be harder.
I like to pack my kids' carry-ons without them seeing anything in it until we get on the plane. That keeps them much better occupied for the beginning of the flight. Get some new reading and coloring books (Crayola's color wonder stuff and twistable crayons are great for travelling) and pack some other favorites and special snacks.
I'd go with a few DVDs of their favorite shows. The short episodes may work better at holding their attention than a long film.
Have fun!
My kids love Kung Fu Panda, and it's hilarious! (I love it, too). Monsters, Inc. is also a cute movie. How to Train Your Dragon is another favorite. You could also bring TV shows like Dora, Go Diego Go, and my kids also like SpongeBob Squarepants. Those are just a few I could think of; have a wonderful trip!
'Tangled'
Boy/girl/adult friendly.
Many airlines have seat back screens with individual many movies on them for children and adults. Call the airline to find out if your plane has this feature.
Most people fall asleep during the flight and they will too.
Take the movies your children like. This way there will be no surprises. Children for some reason can watch a movie multiple times without being bored.
My 5.5 year-old son is obsessed with the Star Wars movies (all 6 of them). I'm picky about what he watches and they really aren't very violent for the most part. Other Disney movies are great too...Bolt, The Incredibles, Mary Poppins (very long movie), Peter Pan, etc.
We have flown once with our 3 year old girl and have made the 3 day in a truck move from Missouri to Boston. Her favorites are Curious George 1 and 2, Cars and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. We also have had good luck by bringing books to read to her (or for her to look at, so longer with bright pictures were good) and by bringing her magnadoodle. It works well as a table for her to put coloring books on and she can draw or write with it. Have a great trip! We're getting ready to make a 6 hour flight to Texas and I will be rounding up these things soon! :o)
I think it depends on your kiddos and how easily they are scared by the villan in a movie. My 3 1/2 year old gets very upset at witches. We just tried watching Tangled this morning and it barely had a "dark" scene in it and she wanted it turned off.
She enjoys the Nick Jr. shows (Dora, Backyardigans, etc.) and we have one DVD that has several of those shows on it. It is nice because it is short and it is easy to stop it between shows.
She likes Finding Nemo, Happy Feet, Sesame Street, Barney, Curious George (most PBS).
My kids enjoy all of the Disney/Pixar films. How about a couple of entertaining/educational ones? My kids like WordWorld and Leap Frog--both available at Amazon.com. Have a GREAT trip! Amsterdam is amazing--your kids will love the street cars.
My sons favorites are Tinkerbell (all 3), Despicable Me, Megamind, Barney and Curious George.
