Driving to WDW...Which departure time would you choose?

[ranthony]

OK, I have a bit of a dilemma. We're going to WDW for Christmas this year and will be driving with our DS6 and twin DSs2. We are leaving from NW NJ (estimating about 20hrs. total with stops) and have two choices as to the time of day we can leave. We are scheduled to check-in to Pop on the 19th. Here are our choices:

1. Pick up DS 6 from Kinder at 3pm on the 18th and hit the road and drive straight through arriving at Pop around lunch time on the 19th. The benefits here are that we're hoping the kids can sleep most of the way and we save $$ on a hotel if we go straight through. Drawbacks are that at least myself and/or DH will arrive tired.

2. Leave early on the morning of the 18th and drive for 10-12 hours, get a hotel and finish the rest of the drive on the 19th. Hopefully arrive early afternoon. The benefits here are that we will be more rested but the drawbacks are it might be tougher on the kids, DS will miss another day of school and the cost of a room.

We only have a dinner planned at O'hanas on the evening of arrival so we can get to bed early. Also, DMiL is meeting us there and will have an adjoining room. We estimate that she will arrive early afternoon so she could keep an eye on the kids while either one/or both of us naps if we are tired.

I am leaning toward the straight through drive because the kids are so young and I'm pretty sure they would sleep in the car. Also, I usually don't sleep the night before an early departure anyways...ya know, excitement, worry etc. So I would probably not get that much rest on the night before the 18th. WWYD?

 

[tnkr_bell]

How about a combination of the two...leave the evening of the 17th and drive straight through arriving in the area in the afternoon. Get a cheap hotel outside of Disney and spend the afternoon/evening of the 18th resting and recovering from the drive. Then the next day you can head over to Pop early and spend a nice relaxing day there either swimming or exploring.

To me that's the best of both worlds. You drive while the kids sleep, then you spend some time relaxing and recooperating before starting your real vacation.

 

[logan&tylersmama]

car trips are tough - we just got back from driving to NC from CT about a 12 hour drive and my DS2 was out of his skin - he kept getting antsy - wanted to be out of his car seat - we made more stops on the way home so he could get out and streach his legs and run alittle. We had a DVD player his was sort of interested in it - but didnt last long. we left our house around 3 pm hoping an after noon nap in the car and stop for dinner and then drive straight through to NC ariving around 3AM. Both DS2 and DS5 were up on and off through the night. DS5 was fine with the movies and his video game. I felt bad for DS2 - i think he got soar from sitting in the car seat that long. My suggestion is stop and cut the drive in half - it will make it more enjoyable for everyone.
Jennifer
Jennifer

 

[ldo]

I have never done that--but if they will sleep in the car thru the night, it beats driving during the day! If MIL and take them and you can get a power-nap, you'll be OK.
Also, of course it depends on the weather--if snow, ice, sleet---then day driving!
You could also leave at 3 PM, drive until midnight or so, sleep and get going again--just have 800#s and know a few hotels along the way and call and see who has rooms if you start to get tired. We have done this several times.

Leaving at 3 PM, gives you about 3 hours driving, dinner, then2-3 more hours before kids fall asleep, then at least 3-4 more good hours on the road before pulling off.

 

[homedad]

depend on your kids, I driven the 15 trip to my parents with toddlers right after work and its been great. i'm the only driver so I am exhausted when I get there. i always like night driving.

 

[Desnik]

We have driven down from NY many times with our kids since they were infants. We have done it every different way possible. What worked best for us was leaving at 4am. The kids were still in their PJ's and slept to at least 9am in the car. We drove stright through stopping only to eat, use the bathroom and get gas. We let the kids stretch and play a little at food stops. We arrived by 9-10pm and purposely only schedualed activities for the days after. We arrived well rested. I feel when you drive through the night you arrive so tired and it really takes at least a day or two for your system to get back on track. Plus it is dangerous, I hate going into some of the reststops at night with small kids. We have had DVD players in the car and that really helps the time fly by. They usually took 2 naps too. I had a ton of things to occupy them too. I personally just want to get there on the way down so I never want to stop for the night.

 

[momminnie]

What ever you choose to do, be careful with all the traffic and getting too sleepy. I know it is hard to stay awake and drive while everyone else is snoozing so peacefully.Arrive at the resort safely so you can have a wonderful time.

 

[mcqueen n' sally]

we drove from new jersey this summer with two little ones (1 and 2.5)... we left at around 10am on a friday (we didn't want to leave much earlier or else we would sit in turnpike traffic!)
we drove straight through - stopping for gas/food/diaper changes... we got stuck in major traffic in virginia but got to WDW around 8am on saturday... i called and got an impromptu reservations for the character breakfast at Cape May and then we went over to POP where we were able to check in early...

we were exhausted, yes... but the kids slept a lot in the car so they were ok.. and frankly, if we had stopped at a hotel to sleep, i think that's when the kids would have been awake anyway... and then we wouldn't even get to sleep, so we'd just be wasting time and $$...

who knows what we'll do next time, but this time it worked out for us!

good luck whatever you do and have fun!

 

[piraterose]

We tried to do the over night trip from South Florida to Nashville, thinking DD (who was 2 at the time) would sleep through the trip.

It was a nightmare for us. She screamed and cried the whole night and it didn't help that the DVD player went on the friz after the first three hours. There was just no way to entertain her in the dark. In the 14 hour trip she sleep maybe 4 hours total.

Needless to say we did the trip home during the day (with a fixed DVD player) and despite listening to the Strawberry Shortcake DVD countless times, it was a much better trip.

We won't do a night trip again until she's much older and out of cars seats.

You know your kids, but with three, there's bound to one that makes the night pretty rough by not sleeping.

 

[loriandmatt]

if you are looking for what i would do......

leave at like 2-3am on the 18th. drive until about St. Augustine or Daytona. get a decent hotel room. let the kids get out and run a bit, relax, get a decent nights sleep and then head off to WDW at like 8-9am. you will get there refreshed at around 11-12.

when we drive from Philly (about the same amount of time as you) we do this. leaving at that time gets us thru the beltway and tunnels way before rush hour sets in. the kids generally go back to sleep and the movement of the car must keep them soothed, because they generally sleep pretty late. We stop for potty breaks and lunch and make it to St. Augustine (where we eat dinner after we check in at our hotel) at around 6-8pm. still plenty of time for them to blow off some steam and not so late that we are overly tired and at risk of crashing the car.

 

[Microcell]

What kind of sleepers are they? My DD could sleep through fireworks, DS just came down last night and said "Can you turn down the tv so I can sleep". I am sure my DS would wake up every few hours at least.

 

[tlbwriter]

If it were me, I would never drive all night, nor would I allow my husband to do so (well, he's an adult and I don't "allow" or "disallow" him to do anything, but he wouldn't do it with me and my child in the car). Sleepy drivers are as dangerous as drunk drivers.

 

[LadyShea]

I always prefer to drive at night so there is less traffic and the kid(s) can sleep. Perhaps split it up between you and DH, so while one's driving the other can nap, then switch places about halfway through. You won't be quite as rested, but not dangerously tired either. Can you two sleep during the day before picking up the kids?

 

[Ariel8676]

We have driven to WDW many times from NJ..before the kids and with the kids...We have always left somewhere around 10-11 pm...that way the kids were ready for bed anyway and my Dh would sleep as much as possible during the day. He would drive until he got tired, then i would take over for a little, and we would just take turns. We just always felt that this was the best way for us..less traffic, especially around the D.C/ Virginia area.
One time we made it down past South of the Border before the kids even woke up...we made great time that trip..lol
Good luck and be careful, with whatever you choose to do!

 

[Flamingomo]

We are in Delaware and we plan to drive straight through as well. We will be leaving at 4am on November 30th and hoping we will be in our hotel room by 8pm at the latest. 16 hours at most. I mapped it from my address and it said 14.5 hours. I am giving some time for bathroom breaks and gassing up, but I am packing a cooler with sandwiches, drinks, fruit and snacks to get us through the hunger, keep us energized and also save us some money. I am also collecting activities, games, coloring books etc before we go so I will have a little bag of goodies for my boys. And of course the DVD player, which also hooks up to my son's video games and the V-smile for my toddler. and my older son loves his gameboy too. My kids are 6 and 3 and have no idea we are even going, so we will wake them up, get them dressed and tell them right before we get in the car, which we will ahve packed the night before aside from the cooler. DH and I plan to get up around 3 and get the rest of the things we need together and have the car completely ready before we get the boys up. So excited!!!!