Help me with my plan: Revised

[mousetravel]

We are going on our First Disney Cruise and I'm kinda worried about being the only driver for 9 1/2 hours! It's me & DD 13.
The cruise is March 12-15.

Tuesday, March 10th: Leave after school & drive as far as possible.

Wednesday, March 11th: Drive a couple hours and go to Magic Kingdom. Leave about 4pm and check into hotel and eat dinner.
Go back & stay until closing (they close at 8pm that night).

Thursay, March 12th - Sunday, March 15th: Cruise

Sunday after cruise is over: Spend half day at Downtown Disney, drive about halfway home.

Monday: Home finally!!!!

Does that sound too much?
Please give me advice on being the only driver.

 

[itutorfortravel]

We are going on our First Disney Cruise and I'm kinda worried about being the only driver for 9 1/2 hours! It's me & DD 13.
The cruise is March 12-15.

Tuesday, March 10th: Leave after school & drive halfway, stay at hotel (Savannah, GA)

Wednesday, March 11th: Drive another half (4 1/2 hours) to Disney's Pop Century Resort & spend the day at hotel, pool, etc (never stayed onsite).

Thursay, March 12th - Sunday, March 15th: Cruise

Sunday after cruise is over: Spend half day at Downtown Disney, drive halfway home again & stay at hotel again.

Monday: Drive the last 4 1/2 hours: Home finally!!

Does that sound too much?
Please give me advice on being the only driver.

whereabouts are you in sc? we are near charlotte, nc and when we stop 1/2 way we usually drive as far as brunswick, ga. there is a nice holiday inn right off i-95. that typically gives us about 3 more hours to orlando. we did savannah one time and that was nice too, but we liked being a little closer to the world! if we drive straight thru it's 9 hours for us (which we are doing in just a few months!) so we're probably about equidistant from orlando...

 

[lg3]

We are going on our First Disney Cruise and I'm kinda worried about being the only driver for 9 1/2 hours! It's me & DD 13.
The cruise is March 12-15.

Tuesday, March 10th: Leave after school & drive halfway, stay at hotel (Savannah, GA)

Wednesday, March 11th: Drive another half (4 1/2 hours) to Disney's Pop Century Resort & spend the day at hotel, pool, etc (never stayed onsite).

Thursay, March 12th - Sunday, March 15th: Cruise

Sunday after cruise is over: Spend half day at Downtown Disney, drive halfway home again & stay at hotel again.

Monday: Drive the last 4 1/2 hours: Home finally!!

Does that sound too much?
Please give me advice on being the only driver.

If you have the time (and $ for hotel) I think it sounds like a great idea. Frankly, I'm more of a driving freak and would drive straight through, but your idea is probably more relaxing.

 

[mousetravel]

whereabouts are you in sc?

Greenville/Spartanburg area

If you have the time (and $ for hotel) I think it sounds like a great idea. Frankly, I'm more of a driving freak and would drive straight through, but your idea is probably more relaxing.

I thought of driving all the way, but I'd be so tired. I'd like to spend the day at Disney hotel & enjoy their pool, etc.

 

[sunburnin]

Sounds like a great plan!

I'm in Charlotte too and know that 9 hour drive well. We prefer to get up early and drive straight through when we can, but for our cruise we have to wait for the end of the school day.

My only thought on your plan, is why not try and drive an extra hour or so Tuesday night so you don't have as far to drive in the morning. That's just more time for fun on Wednesday.

Have fun!!!!

 

[jrabbit]

Being the solo driver - 9 1/2 hours is too much for one day, but 4 to 5 hours is pretty easy. When we drive long distances (granted we get to trade off) we drive for about two hours, stop, get out and walk around for 15 minutes or so, then drive for another 2 hours and stop for a food / stretch / etc break for 30 minutes then go about another 2 hours ... I think that you could drive 6 hours easy in a day safely. But how far you drive depends upon the availability of citys and hotels when you want to stop. I'm not familiar with the east coast so I have no idea. If you were driving in California, I would recommend not stopping between Stockton in the north and Santa Clarita in the south because there is a whole lot of nothing between those cities on I5.

 

[jilljill]

I would drive as far as you could the first day so there's less driving the next day when you have to battle Jacksonville and Orlando traffic. I would even consider going down to Jacksonville to spend the night.

We also drive straight thru, even tho there are 2 drivers. But there was 1 year when I did almost all the driving and that was in a hurricane and it took us 13 hours, less than normal.

 

[kcashner]

I usually plan to drive straight thru, but in the back of my mind I reserve the right to stop if I'm tired. That way, I don't feel pressured. I've done it with advanced motel reservations, but prefer not to do that any more.
With reservation, you are pressured to make it to a certain spot....if you get there and aren't tired (it is still light, and whatever), you basically still have to stop because you have the reservation. If you hit a bad storm in Georgia and traffic is almost stopped, you are still needing to drive to get to the reserved motel.

So....your plan sounds quite workable, but I'd leave it "open ended." You drive thru plenty of places with reasonable motels outside of the downtown areas, so set several points along the way where you will make a decision. Like "I'm here, it's 1 1/2 hours to X. Do I want to stop now or am I feeling good and want to commit to another 1 1/2 hours?" Then call it for yourself. The farther you drive the first day, the easier the second day will be. I always try to be more than 1/2 way on the first day--just a psychological thing.

 

[JenBill5]

I drive from NW Arkansas to Austin, TX all the time with my 4 yr DD. I think that half way should be pretty easy with a 13 year old. Especially if she is a talker...then you can talk and bond. (I am usually stuck singing the ABC's over and over.) I would also leave it open as to when to stop the first night. If your DD is spilling all of the school gossip you will want to keep driving so she will keep spilling (ha ha, I'm a teacher ). We stayed at Pop Century last June. You will have lots of fun there. Seeing the life sized icons is fun. Be sure to see Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head. THey were fun to take pics with.

 

[dta87]

I am probably crazy here but we have always said "breakfast at home and dinner at Disney". We are in Williamsburg Va and we always plan the trip for one day. It takes us 11 to 12 hrs to get from our house to WDW and or the port and I am the only driver for our family. For me that is a standard day of driving and really the only bad parts are Jacksonville and Orlando at rush hour.

 

[shasess]

Sounds like a great plan!!!!! DD(12) and I have taken several Disney trips alone and we drove from NC to Disney World so I know all about being a solo driver. Sounds like a fun trip!!!! Have a great time!

 

[watergal]

For a first time drive it sounds like a good plan. I would prefer to stay in Brunswick to Savannah however. But that's just me. We have driven straight from Atlanta to Orlando 9-10 hrs after work and it is possible, but not reccomendable.

 

[trimix]

We are going on our First Disney Cruise and I'm kinda worried about being the only driver for 9 1/2 hours! It's me & DD 13.
Does that sound too much?
Please give me advice on being the only driver.

9.5 hours is certainly not too much for one day, but I think it would be too far to go after school gets out - especially if you were working that day.

If your daughter won't participate in active conversation, and the radio isn't enough to keep you going, just break the trip into roughly two hour segments. Pick DD up from school, drive two hours, and take a little break at a rest area. Have a snack during the break and ask what she wants for dinner. Continue on to Savannah and find the desired dinner.

As you are finishing dinner, decide if you feel up to two more hours of driving. If not, go to a hotel in Savannah you previously selected. If so, continue to Jacksonville.

If you make it to Jacksonville then you can sleep in and relax until morning traffic dies down. If you stay in Savannah, you'll want to be on the road early so you can get through Jacksonville between the end of morning rush and lunchtime. You also have more Florida time in case you decide to explore Daytona Beach or the Space Coast before heading to Orlando.

 

[lillygator]

more power to you, I know I could not do it! Good luck and stay safe.

 

[Paxton's Mom]

No advice to give about how far to drive each day (we live in MN so we fly) but I thought I would pass along a tip we sometimes use for long drives. Try doing a "book on tape". It really makes the time go by quickly. They usually have a decent selection at the library or at a major bookstore like Barnes & Noble. Pick something that interests both you and your DD.

Good luck!

 

[lbgraves]

whereabouts are you in sc? we are near charlotte, nc and when we stop 1/2 way we usually drive as far as brunswick, ga. there is a nice holiday inn right off i-95. that typically gives us about 3 more hours to orlando. we did savannah one time and that was nice too, but we liked being a little closer to the world! if we drive straight thru it's 9 hours for us (which we are doing in just a few months!) so we're probably about equidistant from orlando...

We are on the coast and stay at the same place. We like being able to get up the next morning and only being a few hours from the parks. We have an extra 2 hours to get to 95 on the back roads.

 

[martinezfamily1126]

I am in NJ and wanted to drive too but my husband doesn't want to drive that much. For me I would totally drive since we used to drive from NJ to NC and always made it in like 61/2 - 7 hrs. i figure whats a few more and save $1300 on airfare (6 of us going). Beleive me if I could I would totallt do it but i am having a hard time convincing him.

For you it sounds like a great idea, even though I would probable just drive straight through.

 

[codenamejack]

..

 

[Tigger98]

We live in Anderson, SC and did the drive in August 08. The drive is long and exhusting especially for one person. I like your plan. But remember to pull over if you start getting tired. Good luck and enjoy.

 

[niciggy]

We are going on our First Disney Cruise and I'm kinda worried about being the only driver for 9 1/2 hours! It's me & DD 13.
The cruise is March 12-15.

Tuesday, March 10th: Leave after school & drive halfway, stay at hotel (Savannah, GA)

Wednesday, March 11th: Drive another half (4 1/2 hours) to Disney's Pop Century Resort & spend the day at hotel, pool, etc (never stayed onsite).

Thursay, March 12th - Sunday, March 15th: Cruise

Sunday after cruise is over: Spend half day at Downtown Disney, drive halfway home again & stay at hotel again.

Monday: Drive the last 4 1/2 hours: Home finally!!

Does that sound too much?
Please give me advice on being the only driver.

Everything that has been said is good. I think you'll be fine. Does your library have a large selection of audio books? See if they have, or can get you "the goose girl". It's a youth fiction book that is excellent, will keep you both interested, and it's very appropriate for a 13 year old. I loved it and I'm double plus 13!