I want to drive STRAIGHT THRU - am I crazy?

[Spoisal]

Any pointers? I want to drive straight thru without stopping for the night - i've done it several times in my college days, but now i'm a 33 year old Mom. It will be me, DH, DD's 2 & 4 1/2. The actual DRIVING time should be 17 hours - so with stops we are thinking 20-22 hours? Hubby & I thought we would just take turns & go for it! Am I crazy? (PS - we are leaving with enough time built in so that if we needed to stop for the night we could). Anyone else this crazy? Any suggestions?

[addicted_to_WDW]

I'm in Maryland, and without traffic we can drive straight through in about 15 hours (including a few rest stops). We've done it before and will do it again in January. The first time we drove, DS was 4. He's 7 now and a really easy going traveler).

Good luck!

[Imjuschln]

Sorry, but I would not want to torture my young children that way!!

[tonilea]

From a law enforcement prospective.... Sleepy drivers are almost as dangerous as intoxicated drivers. Your reaction times are much slower, judgement is impaired. Just my opinion, but I think you would be much better off to spend a few bucks (try priceline) and get 6 - 8 hours sleep.

Toni

16 days and counting!!!:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[Lightyear]

We drive straight through and it is a 13 hour drive with 2 kids under 5. We are just a little tired for the first 2 days.

Lisa
(Lightyear)

[erikthewise]

....but perhaps not so economical either. For a 17 hour trip you must be driving roughly 1000 miles. If you give yourself standard mileage rate plus meals, you are probably paying at least as much as 4 airline tickets. You may think auto mileage isn't "real money" but it's real enough when it comes time for service or buying a new car.

If you would have rented a car when flying, you may be saving a little. A tough way to make a living though, esp with two little ones.

[DisneyHumbug]

The only thing I would worry about is the driver in the car next to you. Is he sleepy?

[CarolA]

I find these thread terrifying. First I don't want to be on the road with someone who has been driving that long! There in NO way you can still be an alert driver. I think this is very dangerous for your kids. I hope that you reconsider this. These types of trips are why driving is statistically much more dangerous than flying.

[addicted_to_WDW]

Has it occurred to anyone that perhaps the driving is shared? I have no problems driving for 3 hours at a stretch.

[Spoisal]

Yes, I am very surprised at the response this thread has gotten. The driving would be shared 3 or 4 hour shifts (no big thing), but we would certainly stop for the night if we were at all tired - geez, we're not going to put our girls at risk. I've made this drive a dozen times - both by myself & with others working in shifts - no problems at all, not even a little. This is the first time, however, that I have made this trip as a parent.

Also, i'm not doing this to save money - flying is just not an option to us right now.

[leslieh]

Ok, we are DVC members have been to disney over 30 times in the past 20 years. We fly if the price is right - family of four and a rental car could cost 800-1000$$. We have driven many times from So. MD. My dd attended college in ST. AUg. last year that was a breeze, about 11 hours total. SO do it. DH does 80 percent of our driving. I just give him breaks for a few hours and back on the road he goes. There are some very nice places to stop, if you feel tired just grab one of those hotels books at the welcome centers and check out those low prices. $40 and under some with free breakfast. We may be doing it Dec. 26 - Flights are outrageous!

[MaggieMouse]

You know yourself best. If you guys are on the road and feeling good, go for it! If not, stop for the night and let the kids have a break.

We're driving down from NJ in December with 8 &1 year olds. We have plenty to keep them occupied should we decide to drive straight through. Right now we're leaning towards stopping overnight just to prolong our vacation!

Have fun whatever you decide to do.

[Spoisal]

Thanks, MaggieMouse - that's great advise & just what we will do!

[WendyZ]

We're planning on driving straight through from Michigan. My DH and I are going to take turns driving through the night. This way the kids can sleep through most of the trip. If it gets to much we'll stop and find a room. NO big deal!! We have plans for an easy day and early night before we leave. Then we have nothing plan when we arrive. Just going to hang out at our resort and go to be early. Sleep in for following morning, that way we're caught up on rest. Everyone I asked said "YES, you can easily do it!" Both DH and I have drove that far before, never together, but we have driven that far switching off with a partner. No problems thus far.

Do what feels best to you. You'll know if you can't make it and there's always a hotel room! My excitement level is soooo high I don't think I'll be able to sleep anyway!!!! That's just how I get! :-)

[JenB]

I was in this exact position 1 week ago. We live on Kent Island and have U.S. Air tickets but the more they changed our flights and messed with our tickets in general, the more I started looking into driving. We were going to leave at 8:00 P.M. and hopefully the kids would sleep through the night. By my calculations, it looked to be about 890 miles. We are back to flying now but are definitely keeping driving as Plan B.
Aren't you staying at the Contemporary also?
We are in the Tower Club and my kids are 6 and 2.4. When are you going?
Jen
11/01-Contemporary
P.S. I don't think you would be torturing your kids either. I made a ton of road trips with my family when I was a kid and I didn't have a gameboy, DVD player in the van, etc. I think your poor little ones will be ok ;) ;)

[Spoisal]

Yes, my poor deprived little ones will have the TV/VCR & who knows what else :)

Yes we are in the CR Tower (not club though) for the 1st 3 nights & then WL for the next 4 nights. Our trip dates are 1/19 to 1/26 - BUT now that we are driving, we are leaving at some point on 1/18 & won't get home until 1/27 - I like this idea, it can be fun & will stretch our vacation out some - I think the success of this will be all in the attitude! :cool:

[denisenh]

We love a driving trip and have driven straight through as well....and my DH drove 22 hours or so, while I did 1 or 2! Our kids were behaved and occupied with coloring, snacks and game boy. And I am sure if you need to stop and sleep you will. Of course you think of your most prized possessions, your children and their safety.
It is a tougher drive on the way back...if we made the drive again we would plan to stop over night on the way back. Have fun!

[Mark P.]

We're doing the drive from Southern NJ in March, and it's around a 19 hour drive for us, as we've done it before. I do all the driving, so we stop overnight somewhere in southern South Carolina, or northern Georgia. It's a pain to unload the car, and turn around load up again early the next morning, but with a 7yr. old, and a 9 month old, it's what works best for us:), as I'm good for about 10 or so hours of driving and I'm toast. I'm not really happy about using 2 days of my vacation time on I-95, but I do try to make the drive part of the whole trip, and not "beating myself" up looking at it as a pain in the neck, etc. Both kids are really good travelers, even the baby so far, so we just take it easy and stop whenever we want to stop, and the second day, arrive at WDW safely and ready to go (to the parks, not to bed;) ), at around 11am.

"Please Be Safe, no matter how you get there and back:) "

[eeyore0062]

No, I would go for it! We did the 15 hour drive straight through, and my husband drove the entire way... maybe that is why I am saying "go for it!" No, I offered to drive, but he was happier driving than being a passenger... I have a lead foot, if I'd have been driving, the trip would have been the 13 hours that it should have been;)

[GEM]

We always drive down when we go for our long trips. When we go for short trips, we fly.

We prefer to drive when we can because we actually enjoy the road trip. We load up the car with CDs, snacks and drinks in the cooler, etc. We always drive straight through on the way down - about 19 hours. We like to leave about 10pm and that usually puts us in Orlando about 5pm the next day. We have dinner, go right to sleep, and wake up ready to have fun the next day! It's no problem for us. My husband and I take turns driving. We even look forward to the road trip! Of course, we don't have any kids yet!

We usually split the drive back into two days and stop for the night about half way. We do that because we are always more tired after our time at Disney!

I'd say go for it!!

[macs4us]

I am 30, very experienced with long distance driving, and find it ridiculous when people attack others who want to drive straight through. I use to drive from So Cal to Minnesota several times a year by myself, driving 18 hours before stopping for the night. Our drive to WDW is 40 hours, and I can easily drive 15 hours before I even feel like switching with my husband (taking bathroom breaks mind you). We rent a mini-van, take out the benches, set up our inflatable bed, and one of us drives while the other sleeps.

Last trip we stopped in New Orleans - it was great!!! I even take my nieces and nephews on road trips - it is our way of life. We love seeing our beautiful country (we've been to 27 states this year), and think as long as you know your limits, do it!!!!

[OKW91]

We drive down twice a year from the Philly area, we switch drivers every half a tank of gas approx every 2 to 2 1/2 hours, we do about 12 hours the first day, then finish the drive the second day, after a good nights rest. We drove straight thru one year 17 1/2 hours and I have to admit that it was a long day!! I wouldn't do it again.

[DeeP]

I drove straight from southern NJ to FL once and have never wanted to nor have done it again. Nothing against those that like to do it, but if you get to WDW and are so tired you just eat and then go to sleep, what is the point?? You are essentailly still losing almost the same amount of active time at WDW as you would if you stopped for the night and then arrived early the next day fresh and ready to go out and have fun rather than just eating and going to sleep. Of course, I am not a good gauge because I do not like to drive to FL at all, to me it is well worth the money spent for air fare to leave southern NJ at breakfast time and be eating lunch in WDW. 2 hours from NJ to Orlando via air definitely works for me!!