Driving with 3 year old and 15 month old?

[cyneswith]

It'll be me, my mom, and my two little ones in my minivan. (My mom is a WONDERFUL driver.) It's a 7 hour drive, plus I'd budget 3 hours for stops (3 year old is 95% potty-trained - he holds it if we're away from home, and "leaks" if we are out too long. Not traveling for another 7 months, so it may be 100% by then.) 3 year old gets motion sick (just queasy, not puking), and the furthest he's traveled by car is 3 hours. I *could* afford to fly, but it's actually more total time between home and the park that way.

1. Are we crazy?
2. Any suggestions for I-95 with littles (stops we should keep in mind)?
3. Always looking to add magic touches to this trip, so other suggestions welcome.

 

[Momof3WDW]

I don't think you are crazy. We find it really convenient to have our car at WDW. We don't take Disney transportation because we have 3 kids and a stroller, but is so much to juggle. The busses also take so long. We want to get to the park ASAP.
We have done a 15+ hr drive with our children at different ages, from newborn up to 6 years old, since 2009. Biggest thing is to have movies, coloring supplies, a few little toys (my son loved having action figures and cars) and snacks/drinks at arms reach to give to the kids. I know it isn't recommended by the pediatrician association, but I would turn the 15 month old around facing forward in a regular car seat. This way they can watch movies, see you and you have better angle to reach them (for snacks and toys). Our best trip and shortest was this past September when we drove overnight. We left after dinner and drove through the night. We had the kids in PJs, my 4 year old still wears a pullup at night so she was prepared for those issues, the baby (she was just 13 months) slept the whole ride till about 6 AM the next morning. We stopped at 9 or 10 pm had the kids use the potty and that was the last stopped till 6 am in the morning. Maybe plan your drive to include your youngest's nap time, that will help with the time for them, if night driving isn't an option.
Not sure where you are driving from, but there weren't a lot of rest stops along the lower part of 95 that we stopped at. The nicest ones were in North Caroline although our son did get stung by a wasp he wouldn't leave alone. My thoughts are if you are driving to get there quicker then I wouldn't want to stop more than I needed to. Good luck! It will be fun no matter what.

 

[cyneswith]

Thanks, Momof3WDW! We'd be driving because plane tickets would cost well over $100 per hour of driving - not worth it. I WAS looking at train tickets, but that would take longer than driving and leave at 1 AM, at a station an hour from our house.

Movies aren't an option due to motion sickness, and I'd have to put them on my laptop on the center console.

I was looking to stop at Jekyll Island, GA - it's almost exactly halfway, only 10 minutes out of the way, and would give them somewhere to run for a little while.

 

[Thing 1]

You are not crazy. Seven hours is really easy and doable with little ones. We have family a bit farther than that and we have been doing it about once a month since our youngest was really little. My oldest suffered from terrible motion sickness so done that one too. Ill share a few tips that we have found that work well. Don't stop so much. We find that it really does not make the trip easier.....just longer. On a 8-12 hour trip we stop once or twice. Even as toddlers that worked better. With 7 months your little guy should have the potty thing down pretty good. Remember little boys are easy to potty...any safe pull over and a tire to aim at works. If he is not at 100%, put a pull up over his underwear. Not as an excuse to not go potty, but insurance to prevent cleaning a car seat cover just in case. If you do want to make a few stops...make them work for you. Stop at a fast food place with a safe indoor play area; adults eat while the kids play and take the kids food to eat in the car. Another good trick is to look ahead and find a nice rest stop coming up....plenty on 95. Grab fast food and take it with you and have a picnic at the rest stop so the kids can run a bit. Again if they just want to run...it's ok....they can eat in the car.
The motion sickness is a bit more of an issue. DS1 would throw up if we were in the car more than an hour when he was a young child. We did find however, that looking straight ahead, such as at a movie, did not bother him. Looking off to the sides did. Also playing an electronic game would also not bother him. Looking at books or drawing would. Check some of these out on a short trip and see. When we was little, drs would not approve motion sick medicine for a young child. Check with doctor to see if anything is now available. Also, if he was asleep, he was not sick. Perhaps start out really early, in the dark and he might sleep for a few hours. Take flat ginger-ale, or sprite or sweet tea in a sippy cup but dont let him chug it. Don't let his stomach get too empty. Oyster crackers are wonderful and not too messy but any sort of simple, not too sweet cracker or cookie is ok. Dry cereal is also good. Take clean up supplies, just in case and have a change of clothe accessible. Lots of fun activities to keep them happy in the car is great too. If you find it does not bother him, your ipad will be your best friend. Down load movies, toddler apps etc. Other good ideas are silly putty, stickers, pipe cleaners, books for you to read aloud to them, color wonder sets if they don't bother him. Sing, talk, and play simply fun games such as guess what animal I am. The best toy will be you. If possible, you might even want to sit in the back part of the trip. And.....dont forget car seat safety is number one always! Neven compromise for a whinny child. Keep them in the safest seat possible....rear facing for the little one and for sure some type of 5 point harness for the little boy. Sometimes people want to upgrade to the next level seats for a trip when that is really when you need to be most concerned about safety and comfort! Have a good trip!!!!!

 

[chris31997]

I would make a map for the kiddosisney themed. Let them keep track of where you have gone and how much further. I would also take the time to stop at state lines at their welcome center. You could give 3yr old a camera that they can used to take pics to help keep him distracted. Could then add the pics to the map.

You can also wrap little Disney things for them to unwrap after so many miles or time has past.

I second don't let 3yr old get to hungry. When I was young I would get car sick. We would stop frequently to let my body calm down. Ginger-ale is good. Saltines or fish crackers. If you trust 3yr old with a sucker or hard candy, try lollipops. You can also put in sippy cup peppermint or ginger hard candies. Peppermint and ginger are suppose to help with queasy tummy. Avoid dairy just in case

Good luck and safe travels

 

[kjw42]

7 hours seems pretty reasonable. We fly, but if we account for travel to the airport, parking, getting there 2 hours early and all that, I bet the travel time would be pretty close to that. Plus flying with small children is not without its challenges.

 

[stargazer2892]

We did the 8 hour drive in october with a 3.5 year old and a 22 month, we left home at 5pm hoping the would sleep some, they did at 11pm they took turns fussing.On the way home we left at 7pm and both kids where asleep before we left property and slept the ENTIRE way home, it was so nice. We then turned around and drove 18 hours from Charlotte NC to Maine for Christmas.That one we left after DH got of of work and drove through the night, and they pretty much slept most of it until NY and the sun was coming up so it was a good 6 hours of keeping then entertained since we dont have portable DVD players there was a lot of books and we bought each kid a new magna doodle so they could color with out losing parts. Both kids got new look and find books that kept their attentions pretty well. On the way home though they pretty much slept the majority of the way thankfully a house full of cousins and woods to play in makes for some tired kids, Honestly it could have been way worse we are going to go back to Maine in August. Growing up my dad was in the air force so we would drive to whatever new base we where moving to so I spent a LOT of time in cars as kids, as someone who gets motion sick when I read or do anything in a back seat it was pretty boring, I slept quite a bit.
I would put your 3 year old in Pull ups JUST for the drive you never know when they will actually tell you they have to go the bathroom and its way easier to change a pull up then have to clean up a wet car seat. We had plenty of snack and would stop at most rest stops and when we would get gas every one (unless they where sleeping of course) would have to get out and "shake it off" yes we would even play the song and they had to dance and shake it until the song was over it helped them get a little bottled up energy out, I also reccomend trying to drive as much as possible when the kids are sleeping.

 

[PurpleKomodo]

7 hours is probably doable. We used to drive 9-10 a couple times a year between Kentucky and Missouri to visit family while DS was an infant through almost 3.

Bring some fun Disney music to listen to. A scavenger hunt is also fun and can be tailored to different ages.

Now, last summer we drove to Disney from Missouri which took 2, 12 hour days. Never again.

We also like having a car at Disney. It is especially convenient for strollers and going to and from places without having to worry about transportation schedules.

 

[JillianLeigh]

If you're at all worried, maybe try to schedule part of the drive at night. We did a 21 hour drive when my son was 20 months old, and left around his bedtime so he would sleep a good majority of the ride. Worked wonderfully. 7 hours sounds totally doable.

 

[DSLRuser]

we have done the drive many times with kids @ 18 months, 24 months, 3,4,5,6,7. Any age.

A 7 hour trip, I would do it in 1 stop assuming you need gas. Get the ride over with.

It is 16 hours for us, or 1,008 miles. We drive non stop. sans gas 2 maybe 3 times. The key for us is to drive over night while the kids sleep. We leave at 5pm arrive at 11am.

SO for you, leave Atlanta area right? around 1am, drive all night. The kids will wake up at 8am, and you will be there.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

daughter nd son in law planned a Christmas trip of 8 hours drive for an over night. the 3 older boys slept but the 2 year old fussed and talked the whole way falling asleep just as they arrived. he had a bad day the first day. so you can not plan on them sleeping during night travel

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

We use kids dramamine for our younger one that gets motion sickness. It's a chewable, and also helps him be a little drowsy. We let our kids earn money for good behavior in the car during a long ride, and then that money is what they can spend on souvenirs. Ours are a little older though.

 

[jknewberry]

Not crazy at all. We flew from Michigan in 2011 with my uncle, husband, and 1.5 and 3.5 yo, it was awful. In 2012, we took my inlaws instead and drove the 18 hours straight through (stopping for quick meals and bathroom breaks)- THAT was crazy. We wandered around like zombies for 24+ hours after getting to Orlando and won't travel like that again. We are driving again next year (with inlaws, kids will be 9, 7, and almost 3).

I think you will be fine stopping like you said, if your little one isn't opposed maybe consider putting your son in a pull up for the trip, just in case. My son had been potty trained for 6 months prior to our first trip and he did great until he fell asleep in his carseat one late night on the way back to the hotel- luckily we had access to a laundry room so I could wash his car seat cover!

I would pack a back pack with snacks and fun things to do for each kid, so they can reach them and help themselves. Loook into having someone visiting the World send them a post card prior to the trip

 

[quagmire0]

Wish I could drive to Disney in 7 hours.

 

[skuttle]

We drive (~10-12 hours) because its much more cost efficient than paying for our family of 5 to fly (and the drive isn't too bad and the kids are great riders). Normally we wake up at 4am to start our drive so that the kids sleep for most of the morning drive.

I always buy some new toys to keep the kids occupied in the car, but I hold off on giving them the toys for as long as possible.

This past trip we were in our new minivan which has a DVD player, which kept them all occupied for the entire drive, but that doesn't sound like a good option for kids that get car sick!

On the drive to/from, I try to find a chick-fil-a at least once to stop at to eat since they have playgrounds so the kids could run around a bit.

We always drive to WDW, but never drive around once we get there. We used disney transportation. Something about getting into our personal vehicle ruins the Disney magic! LOL!

 

[cyneswith]

We're doing a 4 day military pass, so we don't have the option of a park on our travel days. Not much reason to get there before 4 PM (check-in time for VGF. My son LOVES hotel rooms, so he'll happily play there until dinner.)

What I have so far: 2 new Disney CDs, lollipops (DS has only had them at Halloween), 5 treat bags planned with healthy snacks and toys (sticker books, koosh balls, pipe cleaners, a magic paint book, and bubbles when we reach Orlando) to be doled out at ~1 hour intervals to keep it interesting, one stop planned halfway through to let them run and play for a bit, operating under the Semper Gumby motto. If we get there too early, we'll wander around Disney Springs.

 

[Ashby04]

We drove from Virginia last year when our kids were 4 and 15 months. We left at 5am so the kids slept in the morning and that helped. They also slept during naptime. I would definitely suggest driving over some sleeping time.

We stopped at rest stops so the kids could run around and that helped, especially for my oldest. We packed lunch and had a picnic there. I packed a bag with new books/toys that my daughter hadn't seen before. Little notebooks/stickers/markers/color wonders/books. We have a DVD player and my daughter would've watched that the whole time if we had let her, but that sounds like it might not be an option for you. My youngest was still rear-facing so he did get much more restless. I sat in the back with them often, entertaining the 15 month old - sometimes I just held my phone for him while he watched. You're not crazy though! Definitely possible ... good luck!

 

[kandb]

Thanks, Momof3WDW! We'd be driving because plane tickets would cost well over $100 per hour of driving - not worth it. I WAS looking at train tickets, but that would take longer than driving and leave at 1 AM, at a station an hour from our house.

Movies aren't an option due to motion sickness, and I'd have to put them on my laptop on the center console.

I was looking to stop at Jekyll Island, GA - it's almost exactly halfway, only 10 minutes out of the way, and would give them somewhere to run for a little while.

When we drove with our children when they were young (3-4 years old), we would stop the the rest areas on the highways. There always seemed like they had a lot of grass area and we would let them run around there. No reason to go out of the way to have the children just run around.

 

[brinkley07]

We are around 8.5 hours away and have done the drive with a 2 yo a few times this past year. It was easiest overnight, and I just told him I was going to wake him up early to put him in the car to go to Disney. I kept him in his pajamas, wrapped him in a blanket, and he just went back to sleep. The daytime rides were harder as he was more antsy, so we played games, had a movie, and made a couple of stops.

 

[jvz82]

Oh my goodness, 7 hours? We drive 27 hours from Minnesota to get to Disney! I did the drive many times as a child, now as an adult we've done it twice (and will do it once more at the end of the year). The first time our two kids were 8 weeks old and 2 years. The second time we had 3 kids and they were 1, 2.5, and 4.5. We drive overnight so they sleep through most of it. But we packed tons of movies and car activities and FOOD. As long as I could feed them, they'd be happy. We would wrap movies and activities and let kids open them throughout the drive to give them something to be excited about. My oldest did throw up once on the last drive. We made him take a break from watching TV and he was fine after a while.