So how do you deal with the flight length? (also we are travelng w/ kids)

[ebenmax]

Lots of excellent advice!!
Has anyone flown to Aulani with a 1 year old? Our grandson will be traveling with the family. We are planning to stop at Disneyland on the way out, but undecided about the flight home.
Any additional advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Felicis]

When you live in a country like New Zealand, far away from everything (except Australia, which is around a 3 hour flight for at least parts of it), you learn to suck it up and get over the air travel issue pretty fast, or you don't go anywhere! Our flights to Orlando (via Houston) will be around 20 hours I think? Including the stop in Houston. DD is 10, and she will watch movies, play games, read and sleep, much like anyone.

We flew to Hawaii with her when she was just over 3, which was around 9 hours, and even that was pretty easy. She did much the same, with a few aisle walks as well.

 

[Elima2015]

Lots of excellent advice!!
Has anyone flown to Aulani with a 1 year old? Our grandson will be traveling with the family. We are planning to stop at Disneyland on the way out, but undecided about the flight home.
Any additional advice would be greatly appreciated!

Yes - we have taken our young children all over the country, including to Aulani twice. Here is my advice:
*Buy him his own plane seat and bring his car seat on. First, it is much safer for him to be safely secured in his own seat for take-off and landing. Every safety professional recommends this, yet it isn't a rule. I've had multiple flight attendants thank me for bringing car seats for my children on the plane. Plus you'll need a car seat once you get there and checking it/gate checking it is not recommended for the integrity of the seat. Second, my kids would actually nap comfortably in their seats and they had their own space to sit. When needed, I'd move them to sit next to me and put the lap belt over us and they could play toys and eat on the tray (we bring sanitizer wipes and then cover the tray with a disposable placemat (sticky around the edges). It is so tempting to "save" the money to not buy a ticket for <2, but I encourage everyone to forget it is even an option and buy the baby a seat. I mean, everything in the plane has to be properly secured - why not babies?! If you need tips on getting through the airport with car seats, stroller, kids, etc let me know. We fly with 3 car seats, 3 kids, 2 parents, and all associated gear.

*Bring loads of snacks with you. Almost nothing is worse than a hungry toddler. We bring enough to pass for an entire meal if needed. PB&J sandwiches, string cheese (freezes/thaws well and then stays cold for a few hours), pouches, raisins, goldfish crackers, granola bars, etc. We have had an occasion flying to HI where they were unable to even bring the drink cart by for the first 4.5 hours and I'm so so glad we had lunch, snacks, water bottles, etc. with us. We fly with a soft sided cooler. You can even bring milk as long as it is in a clear-ish container or buy once through security if that is easier.

*Plenty of entertainment. It took our kids until they were about 2.5 before any movies/shows on a tablet entertained them. Melissa & Doug makes great coloring items suitable for travel (Color Blast, Water Wow). Stacking cups. Wikki Stix. Play dough. Glow sticks. Non-noisy party blowers.

*Bring comfort items on board with you (blanket, pacifier, stuffed animal)

*Talk up the fun of flying. We have always tried to be excited about our travel adventures even if inwardly we were a bit stressed. The happy/excited attitude seems to rub off on the kids

Aulani is awesome for young children! You will have a blast!

 

[BayGirl22]

Yes - we have taken our young children all over the country, including to Aulani twice. Here is my advice:
*Buy him his own plane seat and bring his car seat on. First, it is much safer for him to be safely secured in his own seat for take-off and landing. Every safety professional recommends this, yet it isn't a rule. I've had multiple flight attendants thank me for bringing car seats for my children on the plane. Plus you'll need a car seat once you get there and checking it/gate checking it is not recommended for the integrity of the seat. Second, my kids would actually nap comfortably in their seats and they had their own space to sit. When needed, I'd move them to sit next to me and put the lap belt over us and they could play toys and eat on the tray (we bring sanitizer wipes and then cover the tray with a disposable placemat (sticky around the edges). It is so tempting to "save" the money to not buy a ticket for <2, but I encourage everyone to forget it is even an option and buy the baby a seat. I mean, everything in the plane has to be properly secured - why not babies?! If you need tips on getting through the airport with car seats, stroller, kids, etc let me know. We fly with 3 car seats, 3 kids, 2 parents, and all associated gear.

Totally agree with buying a seat and bringing a carseat. Its much safer and much more comfortable for everyone. You can no longer rely on being next to an empty seat. We use a GoGoKidz to pull the carseats through the airport and its really not as bad as it seems.

We use those placemats a lot for travel too - both on the plane and in restaurants.

Only thing I'd add is when traveling with little kids - always throw an extra shirt in the carryon for parents. More than once we've had a spill/sick/accident/gross whatever that affected a parent, its like Murphy's Law of Travel with Babies. Being able to change is so nice, and most people only pack extra clothes for the baby.

 

[buffettgirl]

we did a lot of car travel when our kids were little and I would try to break the time up into hour segments - it was good for them and for me. So if we were going to be in the car for 10 hours, I'd have at least 10 different things to do. Different games (find the alphabet letters, eye spy) They didn't have to be actual physical games that I had to pack. And it would also give them a goal that wasn't 10 hours away. So at 1:00 we'll stop for lunch, or bathroom, or whatever. But I"d have to plan that out. You can do the same on the plane.

 

[cgattis]

Definitely a second or third in carrying the car seat. Might I also recommend while they're in your lap, to use a tether vest instead of the seat belt? Puts the load (in the event of turbulence) on the shoulders instead of around the middle (they don't really have hips yet) and could also help prevent a head knock on the seatback.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Baby-B-A...49893&wl11=online&wl12=39441399&wl13=&veh=sem

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I am writing this from Tahiti! We just did our first long haul flight with DS9 - JFK to LAX then LAX to Tahiti for a total flight time of about 14 hours. All I can say is, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be! We loaded an iPad up with 3 movies and a game. We flew Delta so we also had in flight entertainment. My DS slept a good portion of the last part of the flight. I agree with others who suggest staying for a while at your destination (if you can swing 10+ nights, do it!) as it took us about 4 days to adjust to the new time. We prepared DS9 for the flight and told him it would be worth it and it was! I'm so glad we bit the bullet as we are now unafraid to do other long distance vacations.

 

[oakleycat]

If you have the opportunity I would break it up with a stop in LA/SF. We live in LA so for us it's a 5-6 hour flight to HI or Orlando, and my boys (10 and 8) are so ready to get off the plane by the end. They do fine knowing there's an end in sight on those flights with either a loaded ipad or the onboard entertainment screeds, but I wouldn't want to do a 10-11 hour flight with them. They prefer a stop (so 2 3-hour flights) when we go to Orlando but I like the non-stops. I also like the red-eyes because they will sleep at least half the flight, especially coming home when they can sleep as much as they want once we get home.

 

[Loveallthingsmouse]

We prefer to take a short flight to Atlanta then a direct flight to Oahu with our kids. We don't really take anything out during the short flight, but we get settled in with blankets, coloring books and iPads for the long flight. We broke it up one time, but preferred settling in once instead of both segments. Definitely bring snacks and food, makes for a much more enjoyable trip. We take deli made sandwiches and normal lunch food. We take a soft sided cooler with empty ziploc bag, once thru security, we fill the bag with ice and it keeps everything cool. It's a long flight, we explained that to our kids, but it was SO worth it!

 

[Bunless]

Additional advice for a long flight...
Are your headphones going to be comfortable for an extended period of time? Consider bringing two different pair that have a different way of sitting on/in the ears so that if one becomes uncomfortable, you can go with the other.
And make sure that they are headphones where you can hear even with the ambiant noise around you.

Now, I don't have kids, but for myself, I treat the flight as a vacation in and of itself. It's the lazy day that I want on occasion, where all I do is sit around and read and watch TV. For myself, when I think about it, it's actually a pretty easy thing to do at home.

 

[BayGirl22]

Additional advice for a long flight...
...

Now, I don't have kids, but for myself, I treat the flight as a vacation in and of itself. It's the lazy day that I want on occasion, where all I do is sit around and read and watch TV. For myself, when I think about it, it's actually a pretty easy thing to do at home.

This part made me laugh. When we fly with our 2 kids in a row of 3 seats one parent gets to sit alone. We call that "the vacation seat" because that parent gets to do all the things you described here. The one with the kids is constantly interrupted or trying to entertain them. Its gotten better as they get older but its still not a relaxing spot to be.

 

[3monkeys4me]

We are a family of 5. My kids are older now (8, 12 and almost 14) but we have been traveling with them all over since my oldest was 6 weeks old.

Things have really gotten a lot easier in the last few years. When my oldest was a toddler we would bring our portable DVD player for her to watch a movie since the airlines didn't always have kid friendly movies playing, especially on long haul flights! Now most airlines have a bring your own device option (some still have the personal seat tvs too, though those are getting few and far between now).

Anyway here is what I do

* At this point we all have our own electronic devices, actually we all have 2-4 different ones. We bring them all. Phones, ipads, DSs, ereaders, etc... We also use audio books. I paid for a family membership to spotify and everyone can load their own playlist to whatever device before traveling. We all love music!

* I always pack a lot of snacks, ranging from cliff bars to fruit snacks. I also don't hesitate to purchase a meal or snack if needed. We bring water on board, usually we bring our own reusable bottle that we fill after security but sometimes buy water at the airport. Whatever makes sense for that particular trip. I give some of the snacks to the kids so they can just grab whatever out of their bag as needed but I keep a few "special snacks" and some candy with me. I save these

* We generally sit with 2 together and 3 together. We rotate who sits where as needed. Sometimes we do 2+2+1. It just depends. Now that the kids don't need much help we put the three of them in one row and we sit behind them. It is easier for us to see if they need help if they are in front of us and I have an easier time hearing them that way. They do a great job of keeping each other busy and while they fight like crazy at home generally get along while traveling. We would split them up if needed though.

*I always bring some non electronic things to do. When the kids were younger it was coloring books and stickers (they loved sticking googly eyes on paper and drawing faces to go with them. Now they each bring a book and a magazine. We also bring a couple of decks of cards and sometimes crossword puzzles or mad libs books. We've brought other travel games too.

* We try to take early morning flights when we can. Our kids sleep pretty well on flights and if we have a flight that leaves at 6 am it means we have to be up and on the road by 3. We get breakfast at the airport and then all sleep for a bit on the flight. Even an hour or two cut off of a 9-10 hour flight is nice. Off of a shorter flight it makes it fly by!

* I also remember to bring my patience! This is a hard one sometimes. My husband is normally even tempered but struggles with being stressed when we travel. I try to keep myself relaxed and in tune with what everyone else has going on. Probably not fair to me, but I have a more enjoyable trip this way. I try to pay attention to the time and keep track of when our last meal was. My youngest and my husband both do not do well when they haven't had a real meal.

So, that is what works for us. A lot of it has been trial and error for us. I also highly recommend buying babies a seat and using their carseat on the flight if you can. I know some international carriers have different restrictions we have run into over the years. The carseat is a bit of pain but it is safer and it is really nice for everyone, including baby, to your own space.

 

[BayGirl22]

...
*I always bring some non electronic things to do. When the kids were younger it was coloring books and stickers (they loved sticking googly eyes on paper and drawing faces to go with them. Now they each bring a book and a magazine. We also bring a couple of decks of cards and sometimes crossword puzzles or mad libs books. We've brought other travel games too.

I love your Googly eye idea! I need to get a bag of those and see if they are into them!

Also reminded me we have a few of these flat magnetic games and they are my favorite for travel: https://www.amazon.com/Ideal-Magnetic-Hangman-Travel-Game/dp/B00LY9BET2 Hangman is a favorite, but we also have Snakes and ladders and Checkers. That plus a card game or two can last a while on or off the plane.
On the plane I prefer games without little pieces that can fall on the floor.

 

[3monkeys4me]

I love your Googly eye idea! I need to get a bag of those and see if they are into them!

Also reminded me we have a few of these flat magnetic games and they are my favorite for travel: https://www.amazon.com/Ideal-Magnetic-Hangman-Travel-Game/dp/B00LY9BET2 Hangman is a favorite, but we also have Snakes and ladders and Checkers. That plus a card game or two can last a while on or off the plane.
On the plane I prefer games without little pieces that can fall on the floor.

Yes! Those are the types of travel games I was referring to. I also had some lacing cards we would use then my kids were toddlers. Or we would bring beads and the would put them on pipe cleaners (we did this at the airport, not on the plane). When my oldest was 8 or 9 the rainbow looms were really popular and we traveled with one but she had made friendship bracelets using thread before that.

I just tried to come up with a bunch of different activities so they had options. If I was doing it now instead of 10+ years ago I would check Pintrest, so many great ideas on there. Now my kids are old enough and have traveled enough they pretty much know the drill so they pack their things to do. I just grab a few decks of cards and remind them to charge everything before we leave.

 

[BayGirl22]

Yeah, mine do a lot of road trips now and pretty much entertain themselves or grab their electronics. The bracelet making stuff is not a bad idea either, my older one likes the rubber bands but something more compact with thread might be easier.
iPads really are a lifesaver though, I don't limit screen time on planes and everyone is happy

 

[hilarys]

This part made me laugh. When we fly with our 2 kids in a row of 3 seats one parent gets to sit alone. We call that "the vacation seat" because that parent gets to do all the things you described here. The one with the kids is constantly interrupted or trying to entertain them. Its gotten better as they get older but its still not a relaxing spot to be.

Yes same in our family. It has definitely backfired a few times though on my husband when he has had someone next to him with a lap infant or young toddler when I am sitting across the aisle with the kids.

After many years of training the kids and enduring lots of flights, we have now entered a new era at 14 and 12 where they are great seasoned travels and the two of them can sit on there own - not to say we don't still get interrupted our asked to help find the ear buds that have dropped behind the seat.

For the OP, unless you are planning to stay over not somewhere, I think you should just try to power through the return flight and get one that is direct if possible. With older kids breaking the flight into two shorter ones with a layover can be nice because you can let them run around, get a fast food treat etc at the airport. With a one year old it is better to just power through and get it done in the shortest time possible. What I always told myself is that the flight may be miserable but it would eventually be over

 

[kiford]

We don't have any kids so I can't give any advice on that except from my travel as a kid on long distance car, train and plane travel. I remember my mom packing this small duffel bag with lots of games, cards, picture books made from pictures from magazines (that was for car travel - you had to find matches to the pictures looking out the window), prizes for completing games, colouring books, toys, etc. We never knew what was in the bag ahead of time and the contents came out piece by piece over a period of hours. Wondering what was in the bag was half the fun. I remember playing cards a lot both solitaire and with my dad on long plane rides (was about 9-10 years old). I also remember a travelling Othello game, checkers game, and chess game (dad was trying to teach me chess). Books for me was a major distraction (my sister was usually knocked out from motion sickness medication). My sister used to bring her Etch-a-sketch (she could actually draw - not me) and would do that for hours when she was awake. Drawing programs today on a tablet or laptop might also be something for the more creative. Later in life when flying (15-ish), we listened to music - that always seemed to put my sister to sleep. If it's possible to fly later in the day, they might sleep when the lights go down.

I recall train trips of 8-10 hours fairly regularly. Not only did Mom have the duffel bag, but we got up and walked down the aisle every couple of hours (plus to restroom), and had snacks at regular intervals (also found in magic duffel bag - contents unknown in advance). We were also expected to do some "research" in advance of trips and this was in the days well before the internet so we it was much harder. Then we could talk to our parents about what we might see, the history, etc. You could (depending on ages) ask them to spend some of their time on the plane drawing pictures, writing some things down about what they might see, the history, what's interesting to them, etc. to keep them focused for 30-ish minutes at a time.

Definitely hydration. It stops the crankys in adults as well as children. If it's possible or cost-effective, try to get into an airport lounge ahead of the flight. It makes for a much less stressed time prior to a flight. If that's not possible, a light meal ahead of time in the airport. It makes the waiting less tedious and also reduces the crankys.

We decided to do the half-way stop of a few days at Disneyland this coming November to break it up (Toronto-LA-Honolulu). I tried to find a way to do that on the way back (thought about taking the train from Vancouver to Toronto but the timing was off and our vacation would be way too long) but it didn't work out. We decided to do business class as we find that much less stressful, but that's not often something that's possible for everyone. I simply refused to go unless we did that. I'm at least as cranky as a 12 year old when travelling for long distances especially since my knees start to give me major problems if I'm crammed into a small seat for 5+ hours. I think that the advent of iPads was the most useful thing ever. I'm 53 and I hate travelling. Playing games, reading, listening to music or podcasts or watching instructional videos/movies/TV on a lightweight versatile device is the best thing ever and makes travel so much easier for me.

 

[Psu620]

We are getting ready for our 3rd trip to Hawaii with our son who is now 6 from the East coast. I usually pack his kids suitcase with all surprises like other people mentioned above - sticker books, mazes, those mini playdough type sticks (forget the name), magnet games, etc. I basically pick up things all year long when I find stuff. Between this and the IPAD and maybe a little nap, we make it through. In all honestly, our son usually does much better than we do. Our last flight was from Philly to LAX to Seattle to Maui and it was long............ We were miserable but he was fine the whole time. It is definitely long and yes it does seem really long, but it is still so worth all!!!