This blog post is part of a paid SocialMoms and Disney Movies Anywhere blogging program. The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own.
We’ve been traveling with my son since he was a baby. Since my husband doesn’t do flying, we travel everywhere by car. My son has gotten used to our road trips but only because I’ve learned to be prepared with plenty of entertainment. From a 4 hour road trip to visit relatives in Kentucky to our annual 16 hour road trip to Walt Disney World, I make sure that my kids are bored at all. Check out my entertainment checklist and tips for traveling this summer with kids!
Tips for Traveling with Kids this Summer
Visit the Library
Before any road trip, we always visit the library. I’ll let my son pick out 10-15 books that he has never read before. Then, I’ll put them in a reusable bag and he’s not allowed to look at the books until we are on the road. When he starts to get antsy, I’ll hand him a new book and it will keep him occupied for some time.
Pack Snacks and Drinks
It never fails – we will be a few hours into our road trip and one of the kids will want a drink or a snack. I make sure to pack our small soft cooler with juice boxes, milk, sliced fruit and other snacks like graham crackers and Goldfish. This way, you have easy access to hand the kids snacks and you’re saving money by not paying those high prices at gas stations.
Create an Entertainment Checklist
Kids can get bored easily, so I always make sure to have plenty of stuff to keep them occupied and entertained in the car. Here are some of my favorite must-have items on our Entertainment Checklist!
1. Mickey Mouse Toon Car Road Trip Book – The perfect book for younger kids headed out on a road trip! It’s an interactive book that makes fun sounds and perfect for little ones.
2. Minnie Mouse Travel Play Set – If your little one wants to be just like Mom, get this fun play set! Complete with a purse, passport and “camera”, your little one will have fun in the car going through all of her belongings.
3. Mickey Mouse Travel Pillow – For long road trips, it makes a huge difference if your child is comfortable. When my son settles in to watch a movie, I like him to be comfy and happy. This Mickey Mouse Travel Pillow is so soft, I want one!
4. Disney Cars 2 Look and Find Book – Look and Find books are perfect for both older and younger kids. When you buy a book with characters your child loves, you can’t go wrong! It keeps their brain sharp while they have fun!
5. Toy Story Bingo – Bingo is a fun game to play in the car with kids. Mom or Dad {whoever isn’t driving!} can call out the characters while your little one tries to get Bingo! This Toy Story themed one makes a road trip even more fun!
6. – We have a portable DVD player in our car but I an’t tell you what a pain it can be to change out the DVD’s or when your child has a meltdown that the movie stops because you had to turn off the car to get gas. We can now avoid that because we exclusively use the Disney Movies Anywhere app on our iPad and iPhones. No more having your child pick out only 5 DVD’s for the trip or leaving them at your destination {this happened to us once and we were devastated to lose Disney movies that were in the vault!} because now you can have all of your Disney movies with you at all times!
No more carrying around DVD cases….now everything is on your Disney Movies Anywhere App!
The is easy to use. I downloaded the app, signed up and connected it to my iTunes account and then I was able to start streaming Disney, Pixar and Marvel movies right to my iOS device. Plus, when you register and connect your account, you get a FREE copy of Pixar’s The Incredibles! If you’re on the road and don’t have service, you can even download the movies to your device for offline viewing.
We always get each Disney movie on Blu-ray/DVD as soon as it comes out. They all come with a digital download code and you can take that code and redeem them in the Disney Movies Anywhere App. If you choose to just download your movies from the app, you’ll still earn Disney Movie Rewards and parents can feel secure as each purchase goes into a virtual locker with parental controls!
You can even access exclusive Disney content for free! Before even starting to watch a movie, my son explores the app to find new things to watch. There’s original programming, never-before-seen videos, fun facts about your favorite movies and more!
To celebrate the launch of the Disney Movies Anywhere App, a new Pixar movie will be released each week at the special price of $14.99! Movies are regularly $19.99, so this is a great deal for a limited time! This week, Toy Story 2 was released which is one of my son’s favorite movies! Check out these 8 Awesome Facts about Toy Story 2 and then download the movie for only $14.99!
With lots of travel coming up this summer including a trip to Walt Disney World, we will be set when it comes to entertainment in the car for the kids! How do you keep kids entertained in the car?
Great tips! Disney anywhere app sounds like a winner!
We will be sure to check it out! Thanks!
I actually prefer my kiddos to NOT have anything in the car. I end up picking it off the floor or having sick kids when they are playing with otoys/reading books. 😉
Love Disney Movies Everywhere! So great to be able to access our families favorite movies while we are on the go.
I need to set up Disney Movies Everywhere for my family. We have a bunch of Disney movies and I hate traveling with DVDs!
Oh, yes! I feel your pain at changing discs in the car. We have a little subaru and it is cramped (with 5 of us!) already… trying to adjust the screens or change discs required us to pull over and get out. Ugh. This sounds so much better. Thanks for sharing.
Disney sure is for the ages. My daughters loved them and now my son is enjoying them nearly 15 years later.
Great list!
Those look and find books are my favorite! And any Disney movie, of course!
Great post! I have always loved road trips. My mom and grandma used to pack my 3 siblings and I in my grandma’s station wagon and take us on a 2 week adventure to various national parks. We did not have any digital devices then and played bingo or all sorts of other games like “roadside ABC’s” where we’d go through the Alphabet and had to find a road sign that contained that letter… or make up silly sentences with the letters on license plates… It kept us busy for a while.. We now enjoy road trips with our 3 daughters but I have to say the technology has certainly made entertainment a lot simpler! I love being able to download movies ahead of time to keep an eye on their entertainment 🙂
Love the tips. We have had a lot snacks on the go and library trips the summer.
The kids have been loving bingo so I am excited to check that out for them to do!
My family has started using this app. I love it! It’s the perfect summer boredom buster.
We LOVE that app now that I have figured out how to use it! The girls seldom look up from their iPads now LOL
anything to keep the kids busy while we are taking those long road trips. it is hard to keep them occupied and quiet so anything to help with that is great.
my kids are 16 and 12, and I STILL love hearing Disney/Pixar movies come from the back seat. It’s like what they want to see when they are traveling!
Thanks for the tips! We drove to Alabama (like 16 hours!) and my son was throwing up half way there. We are going on another road trip soon and I’m hoping for better travels!
Great tips, those travel pillows are a MUST in our truck. I hate seeing the kids heads flip and flop while they’re sleeping.
Entertainment with kids is very important with kids!! I couldn’t survive road trips without it!
I love not having to carry around DVDs!
Thanks for the list! I’m taking my nieces to Chicago in two weeks, and we are riding the Megabus. I’ll use a lot of the tips you suggested.
I make several trips to visit out of town family with just my son and having something to keep him entertained was a must when he was younger.
This opens up the whole Disney library! It’s a great idea!