Doha airport - 5 hour wait - any tips?

[OhIfIMust]

Have just been told by Qatar airways that our itinerary has changed and our flights from Heathrow to Auckland now have a 5 hour instead of a 2 hour wait! Joy! We are travelling with our 4 yo and 6 month old baby boys - any tips to make this loooong stop after one 12 hour flight, and before the next, more bearable?

We had a slightly longer wait with a 6month old, so booked the airside airport hotel. We figured worst case scenario he would have had an explosive nappy needed a shower or best case it would be nice to have a shower and stretch out.

It won't seem like five hours. Once you get off the plane and go to the next gate and do all the security and passports shenanigans again. Two hours is no time at all so five hours might be just right!

Keep the four year old moving. Take a balloon to play with. Try to find a relatively quiet place and let him run around a bit. See if you can find somewhere to watch the planes.

At the entrance to departures C is a small play area which should keep the 4 year old amused for a bit. Think it was Doha that had a magic show outside the toy shop too, and an open tub of Lego for kids to play with, again at the toy shop in the centre.

We had six hours with a 2 year old in Doha once. It was tough. We had lots of little blankets and made a nest for him to sleep on. Had a long dinner. Walked around. Bought a new toy. Watched the planes. It did drag and we were exhausted. Savoy if it's a connecting flight they won't have to go through security, immigration etc again.

I think there is a second set of security to clear on transfers at Doha.

At Doha you go through the second security depending on your origin. So we didn't go through from London, but did when starting from Male and Abu Dhabi.

Thanks so much all. The 5 hours passed surprisingly quickly... lots of good playing in the play areas for the four year old and thankfully our airline had complimentary strollers for the baby!