AM I crazy????

[blessedby3]

Holy Cow!!!!! That is a crazy drive!!!!! I would check into meds for flying or not go. I am dreading my 12 hour drive to FL from our home in VA in a month!! We have 3 kids that will be in the car with us...17, 13, and 5. I may just check into meds for ME

 

[Halloweenqueen]

Can I make another suggestion? Go to Disneyland!

We moved to WA after many years living in NC. We loved our WDW road trips. We promised ourselves we would continue annual vacations there. We went to WDW for three years before I finally convinced myself to give Disneyland a try.

I never could have imagined how I would fall in love with Disneyland! Please join us over at the Disneyland forum or give a listen to a Disneyland podcast or two. It really is an incredible place! Plus California Adventure has Carsland now!

We bought annual passes after that first trip! We always flew because we had Allegiant Air here. They no longer fly to LA so we decided to do a road trip in August. We are in the eastern part of the state, so it took us 18+ hours to get there. We stopped about halfway at Redding, spent the night and was at the Disneyland gates by 4pm. The drive really was easy.

We got up early on our return day and made it halfway at 1pm. We decided to just keep driving and were in our own beds by 10:30. My husband and I switched off every 4 hours and it worked out fine.

Disneyland can be a wonderful alternative...you won't be disappointed!

 

[Doodlebug939]

I havent looked into this but maybe you should check into taking a train and see how long that would be. No driving and could be an adventure. Just throwing an idea out there.

 

[bumbershoot]

The train won't get then to Orlando, at least the last time I checked. After Katrina the rails between New Orleans and Florida aren't used. They would have to go all the way up to NC from LA, then down the east coast.

And Amtrak takes AGES. Don't get me wrong, I love the train. But if time is important, this is NOT the way to go.


It's going to take you longer than 2 days. It's going to be expensive with gas, hotels, sightseeing, and meals. It's also going to be FUN and amazing.

I don't know when you'll be going, but if you're going over the passes between Fall and later Spring, you're going to be dealing with snow, and you'd better be ready for that, both with chains and equipment in the car and TIME, in case you're stuck, for example, on Snoqualmie Pass or north of Shasta (depending on what route you're thinking of), for hours and hours, or even have to stop and get a hotel there because it's not passable.

I can't wait for some long car and train trips with DS! I need him to be a bit older and more patient, though.

 

[disykat]

Depends on the 13 year old!

Honestly, If I only had two weeks I do California instead. I wouldn't drive that far (remember, you have to come back too!) unless I had at LEAST 4 or 5 days for each direction.

A two week trip to California would be awesome though. The Redwoods, San Francisco, the coastal drive from Monterey to Los Angeles, DL, Hollywood, San Diego Zoo, etc. On the way back you could hit Yosemite. Or a little more time and you could get over to the Grand Canyon!

 

[BubMunkeyBles]

We did a military move from Tampa to Alaska. We drove to Bellingham, Washington before taking the ferry most the rest of the way. It's a lot different when the military is paying you for food, hotels and gas along the way though.

If it's the only way to get to Disney I would do it. I'd much prefer to fly though. I would try to make a road trip of it though and stop in interesting places and see a few things along the way.

I think Disneyland would be a better suggestion.

I would never be able to talk my husband into that long of a drive after a long flight from Korea.

 

[stayhomemom77]

I moved from Ontario to B.C. and we've driven to Orlando twice from Ontario (18 hours) with kids as small as 4 and 6. Now that we live in B.C. we've driven back to Ontario (2500 miles, abt 40 hours) with kids 7 and 9. We did it in 3 days hard driving and my husband stayed home. That meant one driver. Me.

Just a gentle reminder...you lose three hours on the way there...not always fun when driving straight through.

We like road trips and it's much cheaper so we were willing to do it. I'd totally drive to Orlando from here if I got the chance.

What does your hubby think about the idea? Is he willing to drive all that way?

I don't think you're crazy but that's a serious commitment and if you don't like road trips...not much fun for a vacation.

Good luck on your decision!!

 

[momof1princess]

OP, i don't think you're nuts, but, personally, i wouldn't do it. it's a 9-10 hour drive just from where i live (NE alabama) to WDW, and that is painful enough, i honestly can't imagine driving all the way from WA to WDW.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

My family had this conversation recently. When we were stationed at Ft. Lewis we would drive down to Disneyland and we fell in love with it. But now we are in NC and the kids would rather go to Disneyland that DW because they really want to see Carsland. It's just too expensive to fly for our family of 7 and it would take about 4 days for the drive so we had to say no.

We did it for our move to WA and our move back to NC, but we stopped along the way to sightsee, sometimes staying for two nights if there were some additional things in the area that interested us. I actually don't think your drive there would be that bad because you would have WDW to look forward to, but your drive back home will really drag on.

For a short, more budget trip, we also enjoyed a visit to Silverwood in Idaho. That area is really nice and we found a lot of things to do. But for a Disney fix I would definitely check out Disneyland.

 

[jsmith]

Have you dicussed this with your husband? How long is his mid tour? its a bit over 3100 miles from tacoma to orlando-the two days google maps give you assumes a constant speed of 60 miles an hour no stops -it translates to 50 hours of driving-with out stops-given the military mandate that you are not supposed to cover more than 500 miles a day you are looking at more like 6 days each way. Moderating that to what will really happen you are looking at more like 4 if you kids are small. so 8 days on the road and 14 in orlando is only even a possiblity if he takes 30 days-and even then you are asking him to fly 14 hours across 15 time zones and then get in a car, travel 4 days, spend two weeks in theme parks, drive 4 days home-and go 14 hours and 15 timezones back the other way. While it has the potential to be thet trip of a life time it can also be a lot for someone who may just want to come home and chill out with you and the kids after 6 months away. My husband would be furuious if i planned something like that with out dicussing it with him.
Im with the go to Disney land crowd-he can come home-hang a couple of days, you can take a leisurely drive down the coast, enjoy disney land drive home and he can still have time to relax before he goes back.
what ever you do the most important thing is to enjoy the family time you get. Im assuming you are not looking to command sponser in korea because the idea of the flight over is too much for you? I can understand that totally.

 

[disneygal2007]

I would not make that long of a drive if I had to be on a schedule. You can fly from Seattle overnight on Alaska and the flight is only 5 1/2 hours to Orlando and no layovers! What is your reason for not flying? Maybe a trip to Disneyland would be better? We have made that drive many times from Oregon to Anaheim and it can be done in a day or two if you make lots of stops... beats cross country for sure!

I have a fear of flying. And also the cost. We plan on going to DL, but DW is where I am myself most.

 

[disneygal2007]

I wouldn't put my husband through that, especially if he only gets 2 weeks R&R and he'll already by messed up enough coming from Korea with the time change and getting used to being home again. For a longer, 3-4 week road trip with a few days at a destination like Disney (cue "Holiday Road" music from National Lampoon's Vacation, LOL!), I'd do it but not with a short military leave. We drive to Disney from Ohio, and it's an 1100 mile, 2 day trip with a stop at my mother's overnight in Atlanta (and maybe a few days more to visit with her coming or going). We drive because it's cheaper than flying 5 people and we don't have hotels to pay for between home and Florida, but over your much longer distance with gas, food and lodging, you'd probably double your cost versus flying and add many days to your vacation that could be spent at Disney.

-Astrid

I think driving is a good time to spend time together. I don't think it is putting him through anything. He gets a month. This is different then a deployment. He can even get longer if he decides to take it. I have thought about it all day. Even the ladies at work who knows me very well says we should try. I'm just afraid to fly and knowing my boys are with us really freaks me out!

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

I have a fear of flying. And also the cost. We plan on going to DL, but DW is where I am myself most.

As far as the expense it may be just as costly to drive when you figure gas prices, wear and tear on your car, hotels and food for that amount of time, it all really adds up. Although if you camp that may lower your costs a little bit, depending how much the camping supplies lower your gas mileage .

 

[danceintherain]

We haven't been to DW since 2009. We moved to WA state right after our last trip. Well I don't fly. Thank heavens my husband's job hasn't required us to fly. The last time I was flew was the day before 9 11. Anyway. My husband is going to Korea for a year and I was thinking about going to DW when he comes home on leave next year. He is in the Army. I wanted to drive. From here to FL. Take 2 weeks to do Disney and other things. The trip down will be 2 days or more.

Would you do it? Our kids are 9 and 13 and I think they would be more then fine in the car for that long. I really want to go. So bad that it kinda depresses me when I think about how far we are. SOOO am I nuts!

I'm going to say, yes, you are crazy. That's coming from someone who's Facebook status yesterday was "Is it crazy that I'm considering a 24 hour layover, because it's in Los Angeles and I could go to Disneyland?" and scheduled a last minute trip to WDW with a 3 month old, when I realized the Command Sponsorship wasn't going to go through any time soon, and I wanted a family vacation that year.

I'm IN South Korea right now, and we just got orders to come home. Even dealing with additional flights on top of that trip is difficult. Driving in the car for that long would be complete misery jet lagged. Then again, I have had an under 2 year old with me every time I've done that flight, so I might be ok if I had taken it childless and actually had the opportunity to sleep when I wanted. (I've done that flight 5 times and it doesn't really get easier)
Consider this, they recommend you allow yourself a full day for every hour of time change to adjust to the difference when traveling. For the time distance between the US and Korea that's around 2 weeks. You CAN do it faster, but it's still an exhausting endeavor, and then you have to turn around and do it all over again on the other end. Everyone is different, but I would not ask my husband to deal with a cross country road trip on top of the jet lag, even if it meant I got to go to Disney.

In your situation, I would get my Disney fix in California, with ample true Rest and Relaxation time scheduled in for my husband.

Ultimately, you have to talk to him about it. Maybe it will work nicely with you driving during the day and him driving at night.

Alternatively, some friends of ours took their "mid-tour leave" a few months ago, and thought it would be fun to drive around to see some friends and family while they were "home." They started out in Ohio and made some stops along the way down to Florida (they didn't even go to Disney). She says the drive down wasn't bad, because they made several stops along the way and spread it out over around a week. The drive back was terrible though, because they went straight through. Granted...they also had an under 2 in the car. Older kids are much easier to stuff in the car for days at a time.

Anyways...I think it's too soon to tell.
Is there a reason why you can't plan this trip before he leaves? That way, at least he wouldn't be dealing with the jet lag. Having him take the full 30 days with the trip in the middle, or towards the end may also be a better option.

I suppose the other option is to have your husband fly directly to Orlando, and you and the kids drive down to meet him there.
You have to pay for the ticket anyways (at least that's what I was told) unless you're willing to risk SpaceA (which could suck up his leave time) so at least he'd be able to deal with the jet-leg in a hotel room, instead of in a car.

 

[momof3ds]

How does he feel?! And more importantly, how will he feel about it when it is actually happening?

You are more likely to get into a car accident than something happening on a plane.

I think driving is a good time to spend time together. I don't think it is putting him through anything. He gets a month. This is different then a deployment. He can even get longer if he decides to take it. I have thought about it all day. Even the ladies at work who knows me very well says we should try. I'm just afraid to fly and knowing my boys are with us really freaks me out!

 

[lisajl]

Here are my 2 cents. We are driving from Ohio to Florida next month.
No, it is not as long as drive as you would have. Why ask people? Just do it!
If you want to go, GO! It does not matter how you get there, just so you get there!
We always have a great time in the car. Of course, we drive to Michigan quite a few times during the year, so we are use to road trips. We have great memories from these car trips. Plus, I take a journal a long just to make sure I remember everything!

Enjoy it, your kids will have a great time and you will too.

One tip-stop often, stretch your legs-you will need it.

Lisa

 

[Danibelle]

It will be a lot longer than 2 days, even if you plan to drive non-stop. For 2 weeks, I don't think there is enough time to drive there, back and try to recover on vacation in-between.

I would be all for a cross country road trip with lots of stops to see other things along the way but in this case, there doesn't seem to be enough time. If you're going to do a trip like that, the journey has to be part of the vacation.

I don't think you will make it in 2 days; Mapquest shows it as 3115 miles and nearly 47 hrs. on the road. If you had a month (or even 3 wks or so), then maybe. I think your family would be exhausted from the effort.

 

[4HppyCamprs]

It will take you longer than 2 days. It took me 4 days (8 hour days) to drive 80 straight across to northern Cali. From northwest indiana. It took 7 days to get back because I had a sinus infection. Only you know how many hours per day you and your family can stand in the car and how comfortable you ate driving unfamiliar roads in the dark. I am not saying your crazy but I am saying to allow more time. Greyhound does my 80 route in 24 hours but I couldn't drive all day and night. It is a lot of wear on your vehicle, add in time for food and bathroom breaks. Good luck with your decision

 

[Marionnette]

The train won't get then to Orlando, at least the last time I checked. After Katrina the rails between New Orleans and Florida aren't used. They would have to go all the way up to NC from LA, then down the east coast.

And Amtrak takes AGES. Don't get me wrong, I love the train. But if time is important, this is NOT the way to go.

There is no direct train between Washington state and Orlando but the OP could get there thru Chicago/DC. It involves changing trains in each station and would take about 81 hours. And it would not be cheap. Not my personal preference but for someone who does not fly, it's an option that is out there.

I think that DLR is an excellent alternative for the OP to get her Disney fix. So much closer for her and it's where Walt started it all.

 

[elf]

My family are road warriors and I would say it's a bit of a stretch for over 3000 miles.

Your going to spend at least 3 days getting there which is fine with stops and all, then your visiting disney world for 5 days which could be exhausting, then turn around and drive another 3 or 4 days home. Definately plan on a few days down time when you get home. I know if I couldn't fly, I would do it.

In our family it's the journey not the destination. If your thinking about it in those terms it's fun. My kids 12 & 14 now have been doing road trips since babies.