Driving from Texas

[02AggieGirl]

I was wondering if anyone on here from TX has driven to DW. How long did it take? Where did you stop?, etc. We live in College Station and that's about 1.5-2 hours from Houston. We will have 3 kids--5 and under when we go. So any tips/advise would be great!

 

[bettyann29]

I live in Dallas/Fort Worth ... me and DH drove in 2002 to Florida as we were going on a cruise out of Port Canaveral.. After our cruise we went to WDW for 4 days.. Port Canaveral is about 30 minutes I believe from WDW.. so to give you how long it took.. If I remember correctly, it was right around 21 -22 hours.. It was just me and DH and we drove straight thru.. Only stopping for gas, restroom breaks and to stretch our legs.. We took a cooler with drinks and sandwich items and chips..

All I can say is that it was rough!!!

We havent attempted it since.. but I wouldnt say we would never do it again.. Now if we took the kids, we would definitely go about half way and then stop at a hotel and then get some sleep and then finish up the drive after resting..

I cant really give you any tips as we havent done the drive with the kids.. the longest we have rode with them in the car was when we went to New Orleans and I think that was about 10 hours.. We actually planned it so that we left early in the morning so that the kids would sleep for the first major part of the trip..

Good luck!

 

[ckmommy]

We are in Cypress, and it takes 15.5 hours. Call us crazy, but we drive this all in one day and do it every year. We leave VERY early (3:30 am) and get WDW at 8 pm (losing one hour for eastern time). We normally get a cheap hotel that night then the next morning check into the WDW resort hotel. It is a long trip--even longer on the way home. We bring a cooler full of sandwiches and juice boxes, chips, gummie bears, and lots of movies. The kids (all 5 of them --now 3-9, but we have been doing this trip since the oldest was 3) are seasoned car riders and do fairly well.

 

[msg1474]

We've been going (dh, dd, and ds) for the past three years and this year will be our fourth. I live the San Antonio, Tx area and it takes about 17 hours. First two years we drove it in one day, but this past year we had to stop and rent a room. I think this year we'll be stopping to get a room again. It's a long drive, but we always take plenty of drinks, snacks, movies and games for the kids. We usually leave early in the morning, so the kids are still sleepy.

 

[Kristineamb]

Also from San Antonio...have driven there and back twice (May 2007 & Dec 2007.) Have driven as far as Pensacola, FL the first day.....but like to stop in Daphne, AL...nice area, newer hotels and restaurants.

 

[Tissa]

We drive down from Houston every year, as a matter of fact we load up and head out Friday morning. It's about 12 hours from Houston to Tallahassee where we stop for the night. Then we get up and drive the other 4 hours to WDW. It usually takes us 16 hours with stops. We always stop when we get to Fl at the big visitor center and have a picnic lunch and get some free oj.

 

[drakethib]

Never drove but I know someone who lives near Beaumont and they said they made it in about 12 hours driving nonstop.

We have thought about trying to make the drive but I have a gas guzzler and we can still get SWA flight for $210 round trip we (there are 3 in our family)come out ahead flying.

 

[02AggieGirl]

Never drove but I know someone who lives near Beaumont and they said they made it in about 12 hours driving nonstop.

We have thought about trying to make the drive but I have a gas guzzler and we can still get SWA flight for $210 round trip we (there are 3 in our family)come out ahead flying.

We've always flown before too. I was just thinking it might be fun to drive and stop in Pensacola or somewhere along the beach for a couple of days and then continue on to Disney. Plus we would save some money on airfare. I know that I would hate the drive home though!! So disappointing to have all that way to drive after such a great vacation!

 

[adaygaby]

We drive down from Houston every year, as a matter of fact we load up and head out Friday morning. It's about 12 hours from Houston to Tallahassee where we stop for the night. Then we get up and drive the other 4 hours to WDW. It usually takes us 16 hours with stops. We always stop when we get to Fl at the big visitor center and have a picnic lunch and get some free oj.

Enjoy your trip!!

 

[kellermomof3]

We just got back and drove. We live in the DFW area. We left about 3 am in the morning. Hubby drove and the kids and I slept. We stopped for gas in LA and went back to sleep. We then stopped in MS or AL for lunch at a Wendy's. Traffic was a little backed up in Al as you go through the tunnel but that was it. Once your in Fl the trip is smooth (that's when I drove). The reststops are also not bad and there are many of them. It took us a total of 17-18 hrs. We drove straight through and slept in a Country Inn close to Universal, arrived about 8:00 or 9:00 pm. Got up the next morning and went to POR.

On the way back we just drove staight through. We didn't plan it that way, but once we started driving and the kids were alseep we just went for it. Left Disney around 12 pm and got home around 4:00 am.

This was our first time to make the drive and it wasn't that bad. I was nervous also... but I would probably do it again.

 

[Siouxstone]

Hey, neighbor, I'm next door in Bryan. It takes us roughly 18 hours to the gates when we drive. We try to spend the night in Pensacola on the way down, and push back to Biloxi on the way home.

If we leave during the week, we always leave around 4am so that we can be on the other side of Houston before rush hour. On Sat or Sun, we leave around 6 or 7 am. This usually gives us plenty time at the hotel stop to swim, ride down to the beach and so forth before bed. It really helps to blow off steam.

Be warned, if you've never driven the panhandle of Florida, it is long and monotonous, like driving in West Texas, with pines. I swear the same 500 pine trees go by a hundred times.

 

[Siouxstone]

We've always flown before too. I was just thinking it might be fun to drive and stop in Pensacola or somewhere along the beach for a couple of days and then continue on to Disney. Plus we would save some money on airfare. I know that I would hate the drive home though!! So disappointing to have all that way to drive after such a great vacation!

Can you plan your beach days for the trip home? That might help the coming home blues.

 

[bear74]

we are in Dripping springs just outside of Austin. We thought about driving this year but got 75 each way on SW and the baby will be 11 months so she will be a lap baby so we are flying instead.

 

[lcboysfan]

We are Driving to Disney from Katy In July . We've never been there before and all this info you guys/gals are giving me is really helpful. We Are Planning to leave anywhere from 2-3 a.m. on a Sat to give the kids a chance to get some sleep and hopefully make it to Gainesville on the first day to limit our second day of driving to 1.5 hrs till we check in.

 

[iheartdisney]

I grew up in Monahans, and the few times we went, we always stopped in Dallas, then in Pensacola.
Pensacola is a nice place to stop, the beach is beautiful, they have done a great job of rebuilding since Ivan.
As an experienced road-tripper with kids, my biggest tip is to make the longer leg on the first day. ESPECIALLY on the way home. Otherwise, the drive goes on FOREVER!

 

[tinaninea]

Never drove but I know someone who lives near Beaumont and they said they made it in about 12 hours driving nonstop.

We have thought about trying to make the drive but I have a gas guzzler and we can still get SWA flight for $210 round trip we (there are 3 in our family)come out ahead flying.

I'm in Beaumont & it's 14 hours from here. I guess you could make it in 12, but you would have to speed the whole way.
Last year, we stayed the night in New Orleans (BIL lives there and they were going too) we got up at 4am and drove the rest of the way.
This year, we plan to leave home at 12 noon, stop in NOLA, eat dinner and drive as far as we can!

 

[tinaninea]

Just wanted to add - There will be 4 adults & 3 kids (6 & two 4 year olds) in our SUV this year, BIL & his wife, her mother and their 9 month old baby will be in another vehicle. Needless to say, it's gonna be interesting & there will be lots of potty stops. So to keep the kids busy, we will definitely be bringing movies. I have also been buying anything cheap that I can find to keep them busy, crayons and disney coloring books, disney Go Fish cards, etc. Just some things that are small enough to be packed into an overpacked vehicle!

 

[2TxAgs]

Hey Aggie....we drove from Orlando to DFW in April. We spread it over 2 days, with a night in Mississippi on the way home. I second the suggestion to spend 1-2 nights at the beach on the way home - it will give you something to look forward to when leaving WDW.

We've done long drives since our 3 kids were little - the DVD player was a godsend. Also, my 4YO spent an hour looking thru National Geographic Kids magazines, so pick up some good kids books/mags with lots of pictures for the non-readers.

We also took some books on tape, picked up from the local library.

Good luck,

TxAg