For 2,000+ Mile Round-Trip Drivers Only! (II)

[dvczerfs]

im here!!!( i know, who cares.)wow, page two.

 

[rotlex]

Cool! Found my favorite thread again! Here's to 250 or so more pages, and a few thousand more miles!

 

[bdoyledimou]

You are braver than we are. We have been driving down since 1973, but still the thought of getting back in the car seems rather daunting. I think it would help if the drivers seat of my car was more comfortable. Last year 18 hours straight almost killed my back.

I did that in 2008.. 22 hours south, non stop, 5 days at the World, and 22 hours North. Coming home felt like it was taking FOREVER.

This year, we have to make a stop ff in Boston, which is extending the trip home by 12 hours i think i may take a nap there though..

 

[Riviera510]

We'll be driving down from Michigan in November.

The longest trip we have driven with the kids prior has only been 3 hours. I'm scared!

We plan to leave around 4am and drive as far as we can before stopping and hopefully getting a hotel room(it will be the night before Thanksgiving so not too sure how hard it will be to find vacancies).

 

[Riverhill]

Yes, the vehicle will make a difference. We drive a Grand Caravan SXT with leather seats and lots of good comfort options. The seats are great - heated for the winter, and a lumbar support that adjusts for each of us. The seat also adjusts six ways. Sitting up high in a chair, rather than on the floor of a car makes a huge difference for me.

We bought this van specifically because we knew we'd be driving to Disney World once or twice every year.

We have an Uplander. Also bought it just for the trips to Disney I think this year I will by a memory foam small pillow for my back.

 

[miprender]

Followed you over from the other thread. I usually just lurk as we probably won't be driving down for sometime as the kids can barely sit through a 4 hr ride to Maine. But I have learned alot of tips that I keep in a folder for when we finally do decided to do a family road trip.

Thanks everyone for all your helpful information.

 

[patclairesmom]

Yeah! Count me in. We'll be driving down in April-9 more months of planning. My plan of the week is to leave at 2:30 am and make it to Palm Coast. Last year we drove to Sanibel Island, stopped overnight in Kingsland Ga. That leg of the trip took us 3 hours longer than we thought. Still can't pinpoint why(leaving a little later than we thought, rain till NC, traffic jam in Baltimore etc). Just wondering how much more time people tack onto what the AAA trip tiks, mapquest and google maps tells you.

 

[Riverhill]

Yeah! Count me in. We'll be driving down in April-9 more months of planning. My plan of the week is to leave at 2:30 am and make it to Palm Coast. Last year we drove to Sanibel Island, stopped overnight in Kingsland Ga. That leg of the trip took us 3 hours longer than we thought. Still can't pinpoint why(leaving a little later than we thought, rain till NC, traffic jam in Baltimore etc). Just wondering how much more time people tack onto what the AAA trip tiks, mapquest and google maps tells you.

I usually count on an extra 4 hours between meals and rest stops. Unless of course we hit Atlanta during rush hour. Then all bets are off. However we have learned from our mistakes. We now leave at 10pm and are in Lake City by 6 pm the next day ready to stop for the night.

 

[chipper10]

So, we will be leaving in 30 days

I'm hoping my Pacifica will do well. This will be our first trip in it.

 

[Irishgrl6975]

First drive to the world in November... 20 hours from here in MA Hopefully leaving at 3 or 4 in the morning on a Sunday so we miss major NYC traffic and hopefully can be in Fayetteville NC around dinnertime for the night...hope it goes well

 

[mousebymarriage]

It's about 1100 miles each way for us. Keeping my fingers crossed for another trip in either June or August 2011(I hate going in the summer but DD13 starts high school in Sept and absolutely does not want to be pulled out for vacation).

*DH was always dead set against driving because he felt it was just too long of a ride. Well now that we have done the drive a few times because it was considerably cheaper than flying my DH says it's the only way to go for us from now on. He thinks the drive is part of the fun and excitement and I have to agree with him!

 

[MLC]

Going down soon first time driving. Have 3 young children. Trying to drive straight thru. What are the must haves I should pack for the road trip?

 

[beachgrl001]

We will be driving our 2008 grand caravan sxt in September. leaving from NJ(about 15min from the Del. mem bridge) at approx. 7am on Sat. Hopefully we will be in Savannah by 6ish where we will stop for the night. Has anyone stayed at the Cambria suites? I got a good rate on a room that will fit all 5 of us.

On the way home we will be leaving Disney at 9am and staying over in roanoke rapids NC, I wanted to drive a little further that day but it was hard finding a hotel for the way back that would fit us all(my mom, DH, myself, ds6 & ds15) I am concerned about hitting DC traffic the next day it will be a monday...from my calculations it looks like it will be around 1-2 when we hit DC, should I try to hit it earlier? or is this a good time?

 

[wets1210]

We just decided that we are gonna drive next August. We will be coming from Chicago. Does anyone have a good place to stop for the night? We are thinking we will get on the road about 5am. Thanks for your help.

 

[nono]

Only if we drive "up and around" (basically north, then west, to cross the Delaware Memorial Bridge) in at least 1 segment do we manage to get to 2000 miles. I'm thinking that in the future, we're planning to route to the Cape May-Lewes Ferry terminal for the ride back...the stretch back down through NJ (the last 1.25 - 1.5 hrs) on the way home in the dark of night after a crazy Disney trip was the only hard part.

And, if we can eliminate hard altogether, hey, why not?

 

[dvczerfs]

We will be driving our 2008 grand caravan sxt in September. leaving from NJ(about 15min from the Del. mem bridge) at approx. 7am on Sat. Hopefully we will be in Savannah by 6ish where we will stop for the night. Has anyone stayed at the Cambria suites? I got a good rate on a room that will fit all 5 of us.

On the way home we will be leaving Disney at 9am and staying over in roanoke rapids NC, I wanted to drive a little further that day but it was hard finding a hotel for the way back that would fit us all(my mom, DH, myself, ds6 & ds15) I am concerned about hitting DC traffic the next day it will be a monday...from my calculations it looks like it will be around 1-2 when we hit DC, should I try to hit it earlier? or is this a good time?

you should be fine at 1-2 in dc on a monday. i would stay away from 3pm hitting dc.

 

[BC1836]

We just decided that we are gonna drive next August. We will be coming from Chicago. Does anyone have a good place to stop for the night? We are thinking we will get on the road about 5am. Thanks for your help.

No matter what long-distance route you take to WDW, there are plenty of familiar chain hotels along major highways. Find out their cancellation-time policy and make two bookings. As you gauge your progress, pick one that you can get to and cancel the other.

All the best.

 

[mamapajama]

44 days to go for us and now it's crucnh time. Gotta start making reservations for our overnight stop and gotta buy the roof top cargo thingy. getting my car back from the dealer service would be nice too! Wierd thunking (is that a word?) from the rear and I wanna make sure all is in tip top shape for our drive. i will be bringing her back next month for an oil change and safety inspection!

 

[thumbalyna]

85 days til i leave and i am the solo driver since my daughter only has a permit and i dont think she can drive out of state - i am planning on leaving here no later than 4am and driving until i cant drive no more at which time i will stop and find a hotel. we will be there for a week and then going take a relaxing drive back home - no set departure time just when we are ready - as long as we are back sometime sunday night all is fine.

 

[Riverhill]

85 days til i leave and i am the solo driver since my daughter only has a permit and i dont think she can drive out of state - i am planning on leaving here no later than 4am and driving until i cant drive no more at which time i will stop and find a hotel. we will be there for a week and then going take a relaxing drive back home - no set departure time just when we are ready - as long as we are back sometime sunday night all is fine.

My DD also just got her permit. I asked if it was legal in other states for this reason too. YES!!! it is legal in other states as long as a parent is in the car with her. I will NOT be Sleeping when she drives but it will be a nice break just the same. Plus, she will get more hours logged.