15 hours of driving! Need car games!

[mickeystoontown]

First of all, our group will consist of our 12 year old boy, our 22 year old daughter, my husband and myself. We are driving from West Monroe, Louisiana which takes between 14 to 16 hours of driving. It all depends on what time we leave, the traffic, weather, etc. etc. etc.

We've made the drive 13 times already. We usually leave around 6:00 p.m. and drive until midnight. The next morning, we are on the road by 9:00 a.m. Sometimes, we take turns napping but they are very short catnaps.

We have a portable DVD player, a PSP and music. The kids will have their blankets and pillows and, of course, we will have a box of snacks.

After all these years, we have done every car game that I can think of. Does anybody have ideas they'd like to share?

Thanks in advance!

[anotherdisneygal]

When I was a kid my dad always made us personalized bingo boards for the long drive to Florida. As we got older the squares had harder things to find (we once saw a clown driving in a blue jeep, so he was often on the board, but when I was about 13 I had "clown on a blue sheep" added to my board). Your 12 year old might get a kick out of a personalized bingo.

Also, we always printed out a list of all 50 states & DC, which we would use to keep track of license plates (the only rule was you couldn't mark down the state you were in while you were in it - so no Florida while in Florida).

Have a fun drive!

[Cupmom]

Target had these little metal tins for $5 which were different kinds of car games. One had all mini licence plates so you can keep track of the cars you see on the road. The other was signs that you might see on the road. They were both magnetic. Hope this helps.

[mickeystoontown]

Thanks for the ideas so far. Anyone else care to chime in?

[addictedtothemouse]

we don't play car games we listen to audio books.

[bell.of.the.ball]

Target had these little metal tins for $5 which were different kinds of car games. One had all mini licence plates so you can keep track of the cars you see on the road. The other was signs that you might see on the road. They were both magnetic. Hope this helps.

Where are these games now, because I bought the license plate and I want it for my car trip sister.

[mickeystoontown]

Anyone else?

[NanaV]

Our kids are grown now, but my DH & I still play our favorite car games to help pass the time. We play the license plate game & "punch buggy", where you try to see who can spot the greatest number of Volkswagen Beetles on the trip (auto dealerships don't count :)).

[mickeystoontown]

Our kids are grown now, but my DH & I still play our favorite car games to help pass the time. We play the license plate game & "punch buggy", where you try to see who can spot the greatest number of Volkswagen Beetles on the trip (auto dealerships don't count :)).

We do both of those too. If you see a yellow Volkswagon, then you yell "Banana Peel...Can't Banana Peel Back!". You get extra points for those.

[kaos928]

We always tried to find the alphabet on signs (in order of course)

I got travel monopoly recently that looks like a lot of fun but I haven't had a chance to try it out yet.

If you have a DVD player you could look for a DVD trivia game, a Disney one would help build anticipation!

We also played a picnic game that I vaguely remember...
I know one person started and said "I'm going on a picnic and I'm bringing _____" then the next person would say the same thing, what they would bring and what the last person said then you keep going around listing all the things that people would bring and whoever can't remember or messes up is eliminated! It can be pretty entertaining depending on how creative you can be with the things you want to bring!!

That's all I can think of for now

[mickeystoontown]

We always tried to find the alphabet on signs (in order of course)

I got travel monopoly recently that looks like a lot of fun but I haven't had a chance to try it out yet.

If you have a DVD player you could look for a DVD trivia game, a Disney one would help build anticipation!

We also played a picnic game that I vaguely remember...
I know one person started and said "I'm going on a picnic and I'm bringing _____" then the next person would say the same thing, what they would bring and what the last person said then you keep going around listing all the things that people would bring and whoever can't remember or messes up is eliminated! It can be pretty entertaining depending on how creative you can be with the things you want to bring!!

That's all I can think of for now

I love the Disney trivia DVD idea. We have The D Trivia Game for our home computer. I'm gonna see if I can find one for the DVD player.

[Magic2000]

When my kids start to get a little rowdy on our road trips - we play the "Quiet Game". Its who can be the quietest the longest. It would work for a few minutes, then the kids would start making faces and stuff to try to get the others to laugh, and then everyone would be cracking up!!

[mom of princessx2]

I love the Disney trivia DVD idea. We have The D Trivia Game for our home computer. I'm gonna see if I can find one for the DVD player.

If you have Kohls check there. I saw the travel Disney Scene It, along with other travel games, the other day and thought I might pick it up but DD's are 2 & 4 so I'll wait.

[Peanut&Piglet'sMom]

Check you local library for the Disney Triva DVD's as well...umm....you did't hear this from me...but they copy easily:rolleyes1:ssst:

Or...search the internet for various Disney trivia questions!

[mickeystoontown]

When my kids start to get a little rowdy on our road trips - we play the "Quiet Game". Its who can be the quietest the longest. It would work for a few minutes, then the kids would start making faces and stuff to try to get the others to laugh, and then everyone would be cracking up!!

That's one of those that would be a great idea but would never work with our family.:rotfl: We're too silly.

Check you local library for the Disney Triva DVD's as well...umm....you did't hear this from me...but they copy easily:rolleyes1:ssst:


Or...search the internet for various Disney trivia questions!

I hadn't thought about the library. My sister and niece both work at our main library. I think I'll call them.

If you have Kohls check there. I saw the travel Disney Scene It, along with other travel games, the other day and thought I might pick it up but DD's are 2 & 4 so I'll wait.

Good idea. I just got a coupon for Toys R Us. Maybe they'll have one.

[summersalt]

Our kids are grown now, but my DH & I still play our favorite car games to help pass the time. We play the license plate game & "punch buggy", where you try to see who can spot the greatest number of Volkswagen Beetles on the trip (auto dealerships don't count :)).
if you pass a graveyard, you can bury your "punch buggies" and start with zero again!

[mickeystoontown]

if you pass a graveyard, you can bury your "punch buggies" and start with zero again!

What a cool way to change up an old game!

[angelaernest]

Wow! 13 trips?!!?? :worship: This will be our first driving from Texas. Our kids are much younger (10, 8, 2), so they will sleep through the night. But what about taking turns creating a never-ending story? If it's successful on the way there, you can pick up where you left off on the return trip.

[mickeystoontown]

Wow! 13 trips?!!?? :worship: This will be our first driving from Texas. Our kids are much younger (10, 8, 2), so they will sleep through the night. But what about taking turns creating a never-ending story? If it's successful on the way there, you can pick up where you left off on the return trip.

Yep 13 trips! We were hooked on WDW from the minute we drove under the WDW sign. Last year, I must have been running a really high fever:sick: because we started thinking about going somewhere other than Disney World. :confused3 But, after about two days of internet searching, we just didn't find anywhere else that we really wanted to go. So, we're off for trip number 14.

I like the never ending story idea. We did something similar once before but haven't done it in quite a while.

[8disneyfans]

Wow 13!!!! Very Cool! I have taken many car trips in my life. I don't have much to add, but am getting some great ideas for our next trip to WDW in 2 weeks:cool1:

One silly game we play is to watch the cars coming from the opposite direction. Spell your name and whatever car ends on the last letter is your car. It is funny to see what kind of cars you get.

[mickeystoontown]

Wow 13!!!! Very Cool! I have taken many car trips in my life. I don't have much to add, but am getting some great ideas for our next trip to WDW in 2 weeks:cool1:

One silly game we play is to watch the cars coming from the opposite direction. Spell your name and whatever car ends on the last letter is your car. It is funny to see what kind of cars you get.

Neat idea! Hopefully, you'll get some good ideas on this thread too.

[sharadoc]

Hi. I gave my DD (who turned 8 on the trip) my old digital camera and told her to document the trip her way. She did some really cute pictures out the car window and also took pictures of herself reacting to things. I used a bunch of them in my DVD/slideshow of the trip.

For instance, as we were entering Disney World for the first time, she took photos out the window of signs, landmarks and her face as we got closer and closer. Her last one is her face screaming with excitement. It's awesome and really tells a story.

Have fun. We drive 12 hours our first day and around 7 our second day. We depend mostly on ipods and DVD movies.

[kaos928]

Wow! 13 trips?!!?? :worship: This will be our first driving from Texas. Our kids are much younger (10, 8, 2), so they will sleep through the night. But what about taking turns creating a never-ending story? If it's successful on the way there, you can pick up where you left off on the return trip.

How cute! :) What a great idea

Hi. I gave my DD (who turned 8 on the trip) my old digital camera and told her to document the trip her way. She did some really cute pictures out the car window and also took pictures of herself reacting to things. I used a bunch of them in my DVD/slideshow of the trip.

For instance, as we were entering Disney World for the first time, she took photos out the window of signs, landmarks and her face as we got closer and closer. Her last one is her face screaming with excitement. It's awesome and really tells a story.

Have fun. We drive 12 hours our first day and around 7 our second day. We depend mostly on ipods and DVD movies.

That's a great idea, too. When my sister's and I were younger we would document the trip in a journal (if it doesn't make you feel sick to write in the car, of course!) They were always fun to read later on and I bet some excerpts would make great scrap-booking material!

[mickeystoontown]

Hi. I gave my DD (who turned 8 on the trip) my old digital camera and told her to document the trip her way. She did some really cute pictures out the car window and also took pictures of herself reacting to things. I used a bunch of them in my DVD/slideshow of the trip.

For instance, as we were entering Disney World for the first time, she took photos out the window of signs, landmarks and her face as we got closer and closer. Her last one is her face screaming with excitement. It's awesome and really tells a story.

Have fun. We drive 12 hours our first day and around 7 our second day. We depend mostly on ipods and DVD movies.

What a great idea! When our son turned 4, we started giving him and his sister disposable cameras and a scavenger hunt list to complete in Epcot. Of course, they now each have digital cameras. I think I'll get the map out google some interesting things we might see during our ride. I should be able to make a scavenger hunt list.

[queenmum2]

ours is a little different, I think.

We take the 3 letters of the license plate and make a silly sentence or phrase where each word begins with the letter on the plate.

Example: HNS....Henry never snores; Hey, need slippers! Honey, no speeding; Harry's nifty sleepingbag.... Of course, X is terribly hard -- only so many phrases we can make with Xylophone or X-ray. Ooooh...just though of xenophobic! That will come in handy during our trip in....17 days!

Yours is one mighty long car ride! Our longest was 19 hrs each way (from Mt. Pleasant, SC to Springdale, AR) and DH has vowed NEVER to do it again. So we won't be visiting his brother until we can afford airfare.

Tracie

[queenmum2]

Though, it gets "old" fast:

We create a story one word at a time. Each person takes a turn adding a word. The word has to make "sense", but can be silly. The stories go downhill really fast and often we end up giggling so much that we can't get back on track. The kids love this, but usually DH and I drop out because the stories usually all end up heading in the same place (like, if one story goes downhill because we use the word "pickle", in each subsequent story "pickle" will crop up earlier and earlier until we can't make a sensical story...you know how silly kids get).

Tracie

[MusicMouse]

Our favorite long car trip game was always "The License Plate Game". You try to collect all 50 states by spotting their license plates on passing cars and keeping a list. Mom picked four "bonus" states (two were always Alaska and Hawaii), and then if we saw any of those states we got a special treat (usually an ice cream or candy) when we got to our destination! You would be surprised at how many you can spot in a single trip! :goodvibes

[jenharring]

ours is a little different, I think.

We take the 3 letters of the license plate and make a silly sentence or phrase where each word begins with the letter on the plate.

Example: HNS....Henry never snores; Hey, need slippers! Honey, no speeding; Harry's nifty sleepingbag.... Of course, X is terribly hard -- only so many phrases we can make with Xylophone or X-ray. Ooooh...just though of xenophobic! That will come in handy during our trip in....17 days!

Yours is one mighty long car ride! Our longest was 19 hrs each way (from Mt. Pleasant, SC to Springdale, AR) and DH has vowed NEVER to do it again. So we won't be visiting his brother until we can afford airfare.

Tracie

We live in Moncks corner, we lived in mt pleasant before we moved here. How long does it take ya'll to drive it?

We like to play the game I spy something (color) and they have to find things that color. It is a little easier for the little ones too. like I spy something blue and you name items that color. we also like to get cds to sing along to, my kids love music and especially like ones with motion to them. It tends to help get the wiggle worm out of them for a little while.

[queenmum2]

We live in Moncks corner, we lived in mt pleasant before we moved here. How long does it take ya'll to drive it?


It takes us right about 6.5 hours. I always plan on 7 so I can be pleasantly surprised we're there early. I'd say that is about the extent of my family's car patience.

Tracie

[mickeystoontown]

I'm lovin' all of the ideas. I know that our kids will be watching the portable DVD player and listening to music too. But, I like for all of us to get involved in some kind activity (family time).

[mickeystoontown]

Hey ya'll. I was going crazy waiting on our next WDW vacation so I decided I needed a project. So, I started a trip report from our August, 2008 stay at the CBR. Hope you'll come join in. The link is in my signature.

Lisa

[chigirl]

We are leaving on Saturday, driving from the south suburbs of Chicago (we usually fly but we want our kids to experience a long car trip); we go to Cedar Point every year which is like 5.5 hours from our house and we've always made cds and had it be a contest, who made the best one wins a prize. My kids are really into making these mx cds, they have audio tracks and songs and themes, they are quite intricate.

I also made up a find-it scavenger hunt game for them and the first to see everything gets a prize. We are also bringing Mad-Libs. The kids also have DS and laptops, too, of course...but they are usually good at being occupied.
I have to admit, I am freaking out. My husband and I used to drive to FL every year w/my parents when we are dating. I last drove to WDW 17 years ago! Yaaaaaahhhhhh:scared1:!

[PoohNRoo2]

OK, this might sound a little sick, but my husband and daughter like to look up in his hazardous material emergency responder book the numbers that are on the hazard placards on trucks.:confused3 My husband is a firefighter, so we always have one of those books in the car. I have a chemistry background, so when I hear what's in the truck, I'm usually saying "pass them now, pass them now!!!!":rotfl2:

Oh, well... We don't really like to have video in the car, since we feel that there's too much to see in our great nation to squander a roadtrip watching movies. I know that some kids don't travel well without it, but we try to get out at minor attractions or play some frisbee at the rest stop as a diversion!

[mickeystoontown]

I'm really liking the new road trip ideas. I had never thought about sticking a frisbee in the car. Cheap and doesn't take up too much space. That's always a plus.

Check out my trip report. The link's in my signature.

Lisa