Tips for driving to WDW

[mom42860]

I know a saw a post on this somewhere but can't find it, I am looking for tips on what to pack in the truck for the drive down. Have some ideas on keeping the kiddos happy but can always use more and also ideas for those things I may not think of -Thanks!!

[Spoisal]

Do NOT leave home without a 9" TV/VCR - it was a lifesaver on our trip!!! Also, take a cooler packed with drinks & some sandwiches / snacks. Just stop at the rest stops to stretch & freshen up - you're in/you're out! We wasted the most time stopping at restaurants (even quicky McDonalds took too long).

[rbuzzotta]

My 3 DD's each pack a backpack with all their "stuff" for the drive down. I also pack a small bag with face cloth, clean underwear, pjs etc. We also pack a cooler with drinks and snacks.

Have a safe drive. It's not that bad.

[QuickGold]

This trick worked best with my mom when we all went down(myself, and 2 younger sisters). She bought us "presents" for each day we were in the car. They were usually a book or magazine or activity thingamajig. Let me tell you, there is no better way to keep kids quiet than "You wont be getting your present tomorrow!" Heck, come to think of it, it still works to this day :D

[smythe]

last time we did this was 6 years ago...we are going again in a week...and driving. I don't know how old your children are, but we printed out a map of the east coast, and gave each child a marker...this helped with the "are we there yet". Worked very well. We do have the tv for this time around...my youngest is 11, oldest 16. Also, there are those magic pen booklets filled with games and things. They seemed to help a bit last time...even for the younger ones.
Good luck- See ya on I-95!!!

[Sandiebean]

I pack a surprise baggy when we go on trips. IOW.. I go around buying little things for my son. I wrap them up and put them in a special bag. Every so often.. he can dig into the bag, and pull out a gifty. Some are hits.. others aren't. :D

This amuses him no end though. Plus, of course.. the tv/vcr. He's also bringing his PS and Harry Potter game. I'm thinking, it should work out ok. We've never travelled this far, so here's hoping.

Also... magazines are a must.. and snacks... camera... video camera... tape recorder (handheld, to help me keep track of all we do)... overnight bag (so we don't have to lug it all to our hotel room at any overnight stop).

Anything else?

Sandie

[mom42860]

Thanks everyone, hadn't thought about the overnight bag that makes more sense than carrying in the big bag

[disneyvacationmom]

We always pack an overnight bag to take into the hotel on the way down-much easier. In fact, one year we did a three province vacation-3 nights in each, and I packed a separate suitcase for each province. My husband thought I was crazy but it sure was easier for him to carry 1 bag into the hotel than 3. I did the same for the cruise as well-one bag for on land, one for on board. I think it's a great idea.

[Coll0610]

We get books on tape from the library. Check the kids section for something that will entertain everyone. Maybe the Harry Potter ones if everyone is interested in them. If you your library doesn't have them, Cracker Barrel rents them. You buy the book and then when you return it, they give you your money back, minus $3 a week for how long you kept them. You can return them at any Cracker Barrel.

For little kids, you could bring walkmans for them with their own books on tape or music.

[Jordan's MOM]

One thing we did this past Jan. that we enjoyed a lot and worked real well was to watch for rest stops or Welcome stations and to then go through a drive thru and pick up food an exit or two before you get there. You can then ejoy eating outside and letting the kids run off a little energy. This takes a little more time but after our stop at the Flordia Welcome center we were well revived and made the last stretch with no complants. This of course would work with a picnic too. We got grilled chicken sandwiches to try to avoid the junky stuff and had drinks from our cooler. The Flordia welcome center on 95 makes a great break.Free OJ.


Jordan's mom

[mom42860]

smythe, where did you print out the maps for the kids, I have been looking online and only find ones that cost $?

[browneyes]

Be sure NOT to bring crayons. They get left in the vehicle and makes a big mess.

I always bring a backpack for both of my kids and put all kinds of goodies in there. I also buy them each a spiral bound notebook and make sure they have a pen that works. They love to write and draw. I think for our next trip I'm going to buy them each a small dry marker board.

[jmminarik]

Not having human kids I don't have much to offer advice-wise, but how is it everyone 30ish and above ever survived long family car trips in the days before electronic wizardry? :)

I can remember our family trips...no toys, no tvs, no cd's or cassettes, minimal snacks, no water (did they have bottled water back then????), no minivan with a third seat so you can sit really far from your siblings so they can't touch you, and bathroom breaks were based on he who had the strongest bladder...my father. :)

I guess that's why i had such a strong imagination and bladder as a kid. :)

As adults, wifey-poo and I do tend to drive on our trips south. The books on tape are a great way to pass the time. Our only complaint is they're usually books we've read and the abridged versions really disappoint us.

On the topic of bags, we always lug everything into the room at our overnight stops, but we're city folk who 'know' not to trust that anything left in the car/truck will be there in the morning. :(

-Joe

[KaraJade]

LOL Joe! :) The only way I survived was because I was an only child. Parents had a HUGE Cordoba with a great big backseat that was like a me- sized couch. I hauled my barbie doll, all her vacation paraphanalia :) and a zillion books. My parents were big "overnight drivers" though, so a lot of the trips I was asleep for large portions of the night.

[mooses41]

Heres a tip: If you have a laptop that plays dvds you can use that instead of buying/renting the tv/vcr. Plus you are more likely to find someone you can borrow one from, as dvd players in laptops is fairly common. If you don't have this option, instead of buying one, you can rent them from AAA. Or, if you do buy one, get it from ebay.;)

[MichaelH]

Well we drove down in October 2001 with our 8 month old son. I had gotten a GPS for the past Christmas and that kept me entertained the whole way down. If you have a GPS your kids can follow your progress on the unit and see where you are. If you have a laptop you can just install the map software on it and then you can have access to all the map data.

The unit would be good for how much farther questions. The unit will tell your speed, the distance to the next waypoint and the estimated time based on the speed. Just an idea. I found that it made the trip pass quickly for me and it also helps with the driving, but my wife says that I am a little geeky.

[DisneyFan09]

All of these tips are great but how about a few more for kids who get car sick. I don't think a tv would be good, I know she can't read or write without getting sick! Poor kid! We have a 24 hour drive, I think we'd be better off flying. She gets sick then too but at least it's only a few hours. Yes we have tried Dramamine and every other prescription and over the counter stuff out there. There's not much that can be done, it's a horrible affliction that was passed down by me.

[Jordan's MOM]

DisneyFan09

I have one of those car sick kids too. He does seem to be outgrowing it a little bit now at nine. This trip I tried a combination of all my past years of travel and it was great. He never got sick once!! I started him on 24 hour less drowsy dramamine a couple day before the trip and gave it to him every day until we were home. Now the direction say not for under 12 so DON'T do this with out permission. At age eight and about 70 lbs we got the OK. The second thing that I do is to let him snack on high carbo foods through out our ride. Crackers, cookies etc. Salty stuff seems to be good too. He drinks sprite but I try to limit it some. While reading can be a problem, me reading to him works great. He looks straight ahead and that helps a lot. We have not taken a TV, but have read that it seems not to make kids sick. Don't know for sure on this one. We used to also stop at least every couple hours, but this trip were able to go about six with no problems. Hope at least a couple of these ideas will help. BTW, gameboy does not seem to bother DS at all.

Jordan' Mom

[DisneyFan09]

Thanks Jordan's Mom! I am surprised about the Game Boy not causing car sickness. I'll have to try that on a short trip! I get horribly car sick (at 36) so I doubt my dd will be lucky enough to outgrow it. I couldn't read to her since I get sick but that is a great idea!

[mom42860]

My DS gets car sick too, I agree with the gameboy, for some reason he can play it and not get sick. Also for trips in my car where the seat is lower he sits on a small flat pillow, it raises him just enough to stop the nausea. These tips are great!

[pentex]

My husband and I are selfish and are more concerned about our own comfort. The main factor for that is to keep the whining and fighting in the backseat down to basically zero. We give each child $20 in single bills (which we would have spent on a souvenir for them anyhow). The rule is that everytime they argue, scream, whine or ask "when are we going to get there?", they have to give us one of the dollars.

This has always worked like a charm. When we get to Disney, each child has $19 (they learn quickly) and we are all happy.

I agree with some above on bringing too much stuff. I don't want all that in my car either, so we bring a few things...coloring books, crayons, books...other than that, we play games, sing ....it makes it more interactive and fun. They love driving to WDW and talked me into doing it this year.

[DisneyFan09]

Great idea with the $20!! You also make driving sound fun, I guess it's all in how you look at things! Thanks for the positive comments! I might be able to talk DH into driving next time, we'd save about $1000 or more! You didn't mention how old your children are or how long of a drive it is for you?

[dmwright921]

Not knowing how old your children are, the one thing I will not leave without is the potty chair!Even though last year my daughter was 8, when she has to go and you are miles away from a rest stop, it works great in an emergency. I line it with a zip lock bag so it makes clean up alot easier at the rest stop. Also, remember the toilet paper or wipes!!

[pentex]

DisneyFan09, my kids are now 6 and 9. We've driven down there many times (even once when little one was only 4 months old), and really you can make it fun. It takes us about 20 hours from NJ but we do stop for a couple of good Cracker Barrel meals.

Every time we stop for a bathroom break/meal break, the kids and I do jumping jacks/running in place to get the blood flowing again...it all started as a goof...but as silly as it sounds, they love that part...they run out of the car and start jumping up and down all the way to the bathroom. I make them go through drills and they laugh so hard, they can't even breathe. My little one always says, "I can't wait until we stop and exercise and the people laugh at us!!"

I hope you can drive....it's fun!!

[DisneyFan09]

Gosh Pentex you do make it sound fun! I didn't think that was possible! My girls are 5 and 7 and we 're about 24 hours away. How often do you get your kids and husband all to yourself for that long without tv or phones? Thanks for the encouragement!

[Juliepoohgirl]

One thing I do is go buy some of those cheap birthday party favors. I just got a set of picture BINGO on clearence for $1.60 or so. The kids also like the blow horns that unravel as you blow ( the non noisemaker ones).They also have minature decks of cards, bracelets etc. Anyway, always good fun for a couple of hours. Linda

[FFerret]

These are great! Keep them coming!

[Beanie]

Great ideas!! I loved reading this thread! In two weeks we are driving down and it is about 22 hours for us! Thanks so much for all the wonderful ideas!

[Lucky4me]

Clings! You know, the ones they had when we were kids I think they're called Colorforms? If she sits way in the back of the minivan my daughter can stick these on the window for hours. She'll make up stories and have me look at her creations. One year we found some Disney Colorforms for our Disney trip. She had a ball with them.

[Lorix2]

We just made the drive recently and was really glad we had brought each child's pillow & small blanket for the ride. Also buying those cheap plastic drink holders you hang on the door were lifesavers, no spills.

Preportioned sandwich bag snacks were so convenient too.

Also - the overnight bag is a must!

[Buz]

We have done long car trips with the boys ever since the first one, 18 years ago. We started with lots of Sunday drives with them in their car seats. We would stop every few hours and walk in a park, play in a McD playground for a few minutes or something. As they got older, we would buy new action figures (I have 3 boys) for the start of the trip. We would hide one or two more for the second day or when the complaining started.

In these later years, they play gameboy, travel games, and listen to their CDs.

We also play word games we make up like naming animals beginning with each letter in the alphabet. To make it harder for the older boys, we would limit them to 3 letter answers or something similar. A variation they like is to not use the alphabet, but use the last letter of the previous word as the beginning of the next. With no repeats, this gets hard fast.

Harold