A packing tip for those who are driving to WDW!

[armomof3lvsdisney]

And will stop and spend the night somewhere in between. We have an 18 hour drive and we will drive 12 to 14 and spend the night somewhere. Get up and drive the rest of the way. On to my tip: I pack seperate for that one night, usually in a duffle bag. That way we don't have to haul all of our luggage in the for that one night. It makes it so much easier to only have to bring in a duffle bag and a bag with health and beauty items. I'm sure there are a lot of you who do the same thing, but for those of you haven't thought of this yet, I hope this tip helps you.

 

[markriet]

You have about the same drive we do (16 hours or so). I have kids of 11, 5 and 2. We're thinking of leaving at like 3:00 in the morning to get a good first day in... hoping the kids will sleep the first 3 or 4 hours.

How do others handle it?

 

[kpsteffey]

We have an 18 hour drive coming up and will leave at 4AM the first day and hope to drive 12 hours and make the second day shorter at 6 hours, getting to OKW at checkin time 3PM, taking a rest and then go explore DTD. We are new at this also, any suggestions

 

[vanreg]

We have a 24 hr drive. I am hoping to drive 14 hrs the first day and only (yea right!) 10 the next day. We have packed the separate bag in the past and will do that again also. I can only hope that our kids are not driving us insane on day 2!!

 

[bdg100]

You have about the same drive we do (16 hours or so). I have kids of 11, 5 and 2. We're thinking of leaving at like 3:00 in the morning to get a good first day in... hoping the kids will sleep the first 3 or 4 hours.

How do others handle it?

St. Louis is 17 hours away. I have done done both. Straight through, no stopping and also stayed just outside of Atlanta, usually Hampton Inn in Forsythe. If we go straight through I usually sleep from 5 - 10 pm. Then, load everybody up and away we go.

 

[BethanyF]

I only wish my dh would agree to the duffle bag for the hotel. He is neurotic about bringing everything in from the car at the hotel for fear someone will break in and steal our suitcases.
I can understand bringing the electronics in, but do we really need to drag everything in to a hotel for a 1 night stay?

we have an 18 hour drive. We will leave before 8 am and stop south of Atlanta leaving us with about 6 or 7 hours for the second day.

When we drive, I pack all the toiletries and other hotel room things (laundry detergent, febreze, candles, etc) in a sterlite box. I have a small bag with the travel size stuff for the one night stay.

 

[dsnymomof4]

We did the 18 hour drive last July and left at 7:00pm, drove straight throught the night (hit major traffic jam in Virginia at 3:00am - couldn't figure out why there were so many people out at that hour!) It worked out well for us because the kids started falling asleep around 9:30-10:00, slept through the night, woke up around 7:00, then had their games/activities/DVDs to keep them busy for the morning ride. I think if we drove down again, we would do it the same way.

 

[Molly K]

St. Louis is 17 hours away. I have done done both. Straight through, no stopping and also stayed just outside of Atlanta, usually Hampton Inn in Forsythe. If we go straight through I usually sleep from 5 - 10 pm. Then, load everybody up and away we go.

It is cool to see someone post from close to home. Just wanted to say HI. I am living 2 hours south of you in Cape Girardeau area. Thanks for the hour info. I think DH and I might just drive straight down again. We did it 5 years ago with just the 2 of us but when we go next year our DS will be 4.
Thanks to all of you for the great driving advise!

 

[nana4jhma]

We have nearly a 20 hour drive from central IL this May with 4 adults and 4 kids (ages 8, 5, 4, & 1). We're taking 2 vehicles and since two of our drivers are third shifters who will sleep Friday during the day, we plan to leave around 6 or 7pm and drive all night with the other two drivers trying to cat nap in the car. If the kids co-operate and get enough sleep then we hope to stop in Atlanta Saturday morning to tour the new Georgia Aquarium. If not, we will drive on to the Hampton Inn just outside WDW where we will spend Saturday night so we can get an early start on our first day at Disney. We will definately use the tip on packing one bag to carry in for that night. Then we have 6 days at CBR before heading to Anna Maria Island to unwind for a week on the beach before the long drive home.

Here's a tip I found: We also will bring along the DVDs/games/etc. to keep the kids entertained, but I also have bought and wrapped (since kids love to unwrap presents) some new things for each child. We'll start the trip by giving them each one thing to open and let them know there will be more at different mile markers on the trip for good behavior. (Won't work with the 1 yr. old but it's worth a shot with the older 3! ) For example: I got those window clings that stick and peel off glass since they will each be sitting by a window. Also got the Disney Sing Along Song DVDs they can watch on the way to get them excited about seeing the characters. Another tip I plan to utilize when we stop to eat on the drive is stopping at a fast food place with the playground like McDonalds. Let the kids play while the adults enjoy their meals, then get them a Happy Meal to go. Hopefully by the time they finish their meal in the car they will be ready for a nice nap!! I know what they say about 'the best laid plans', but we're going to DisneyWorld so it's all good!

 

[BethanyF]

Won't work with the 1 yr. old

When my son was about 18 months / 2 years he loved looking through books. However he also loved ripping books. So for a few months before car trips I would start saving magazines (Parents, Family Fun, etc) and mail order cataloges. I would give him a new one every once in a while and let him do whatever he wanted to it. He would turn the pages for a bit then he would start ripping them. At the next stop I would just gather up all the torn pages and toss them in the trash. I would also grab a couple of the magazine style travel guides for him to look while we were at rest stops.
He had an ever changing variety of things to look at and he wasnt destroying 'good' books.

 

[Andrea]

we dont live as far away as some of you guys. I am trying to talk my hubby into leaving late on saturday night early sunday morning. We will be working on saturday, and i know he likes to leave right after work around 7 ( we get off at 5) but then we wont get into town until 1 or 2 am and then get stuck paying for a hotel just for a few hours.

 

[mickeymousemom]

Great tip...we have been using this for our last few trips! We learned, after we had packed everything into space bags to save room, that we had to dig into those space bags to get clothes for our overnight stay. We have about an 18 hour drive and with a 2.5 yo HAVE to stop. The next trip, the older girls each put an outfit in their backpack, and I packed stuff for DH, DD2, and myself in another small bag....It was SOOO much easier!

 

[disneymom3]

We do this too. Works great except when I forget to pack anyone some clean socks!! Did that this last trip. I seem to have a thing about socks as on a previous trip I plain and simple did not pack ANY socks for DH! It has become our running joke!

My mom did one better than this when we were growing up. We drove from CA to MN(that was a frequent trip for us, but we only used this method once) We all had a bunch of worn out old clothes and she just threw new outfits into a bag and then on the way there, when we would undress at night, she just threw the clothes away! Did the same thing on the way home and then did not arrive at our destination with a bunch of dirty clothes. We looked like a bunch of ragamuffins on the road, but it sure was a kick just throwing our clothes away each night!!

 

[lyeag]

I only wish my dh would agree to the duffle bag for the hotel. He is neurotic about bringing everything in from the car at the hotel for fear someone will break in and steal our suitcases.
I can understand bringing the electronics in, but do we really need to drag everything in to a hotel for a 1 night stay?

we have an 18 hour drive. We will leave before 8 am and stop south of Atlanta leaving us with about 6 or 7 hours for the second day.

When we drive, I pack all the toiletries and other hotel room things (laundry detergent, febreze, candles, etc) in a sterlite box. I have a small bag with the travel size stuff for the one night stay.

We must be married to the same man. My husband INSISTS on dragging everything into the room. With 3 kids, that is a lot of stuff. We have a 23 hour drive or so. Last time we drove 10 hours, stopped for the night, drove about another 10, stopped and then got up and made it to the world in the late a.m. The way home was awful. DH wanted to make only one overnight stop and it was AWFUL.

 

[jmminarik]

My husband INSISTS on dragging everything into the room.

I do as well if we drive our truck. Inner City folk don't leave items visible in a vehicle.

If you're driving, why bother with luggage? Just pack the clothes basket and go.
Failing that, just use paper bags. If you're rich, you can use paper bags with handles!.

-Joe

 

[donnab2005]

Whevever we travel, my dh drags everything to the room. He will not leave anything in the truck since we were robbed. We had our vehicle broken into at a hotel once. What a disappointment while on vacation.

 

[SnwflkCts]

Since a rental car I was using on a business trip was broken into at a very NICE hotel where there was roving security, I INSIST DH & I drag it all in -- unless you TRULY don't care if it gets stolen!!! BIG PAIN but.....

Luckily the business trip was just overnight and I had already dragged my one little case in the hotel. The man in a nearby car got papers and cell phone stolen when they broke into his!

 

[kimbac3]

Hmmm...you've given me something more to think about for this trip. I would absolutely HATE to have to bring everything in. 5 people 12 days staying at a vacation home..the whole bed of the truck is packed!! But I would HATE to be robbed too. I'm a very light sleeper so I always figure I'd hear any commotion.
Need to give this some thought...
Kimba

 

[poohraedopey]

We are giving our selves 2 full Days to drive. Both boys. We will leave home Thanksgiving morning. I am going to have to figure out where we are stopping that night well in adance to book a room somwhere since it will be the holiday. The 2nd day we are driving to Orlando or Kissimmee and spending another night CHEAP off property somewhere. Hopefully we will get in around 4 or 5 in the evening so we can get well rested. Maybe do some shopping that night or soemthing..... Then we have 6 days park hoppers and leave Orlando on Friday after staying again off property cheap..... So I just have to figure out what a good halfway or just past halfway point is......

My kids will be 7 and 10 when we go their B'days are both in Sept and they are getting their own DVD players to take along. We have a ton of small duffle bags that are about perfect for outfits for 1 or two days I will do one for each part of the drive. Especially with weather changes along the way. We are from Central NY and know we will not be as cold in FL even if it is "cool" there. But there is a strong chance we leave and or come home in snow.

This is our first time doing it with kids so I have no idea what to expect. Not suire how DD will hold up, hubby and I did it 4 years ago and we opened each park in the am closed it down in the PM and added an E-night our last day.... But we only had 4 day park hoppers that time so it wasn't as relaxed to start with. I was going to go with 5 days this trip but it was only $4 and change extra for 6.

Ah I love these boards!

 

[wdwdasiy]

We live near Athens GA so our drive is only about 8 hours. We will be going down in June and staying for 10 days.(our longest trip yet ) We alway leave when DH gets home from work. I pack the van and we all potty and jump in when he gets home. I have a cooler with sandwiches for supper and we drive until we are about 2 hours our of Orlando. Hampton Inn is our favorite. We put the kids in bed and are up early the next morning to have breakfast at our hotel. PORS for the past few years.

My big tips for leaving on the trip in the evening:
Pack a sandwich supper
Put PJs on the kids before you leave....mine love riding in them and we just put them right to bed when we get to the hotel.