How many hrs in the car per day?

[Geoff_M]

In the past we've flown to Florida from Michigan with our kids. This time around we've decided to take the Family Truckster and let the kids "See the U.S.A. in your.... Ford". We also want them to realize that Florida isn't just south of Grandma and Grandpa's house in Indiana.

I'm alotting at least two full days to drive from our launching point (G&G's house near Louisville, KY) to my sister and BIL's home north of Miami. Likewise I'm allowing for two full days from WDW to southern Michigan.

Our kids are 3, 8, and 11. They're pretty good travellers, and we just bought the secret weapon... an in-car DVD player!!! My question is, how many miles and/or hours per day is your rule of thumb when travelling with your kids??? (I realize my milage may vary!)

 

[crisi]

When I was a kid, we used to drive from Louisville to Minneapolis twice a year and back. Sixteen hours in one day. Five days in Minnesota, Sixteen hours back.

We started this when I was 4, my sister 2. We did this until I was 11, my sister 9, and my baby sister 4. Way back before in car DVD players. Three kids in the back seat. I surprised we survived childhood.

(I'm not recommending this, just letting you know what is do-able).

 

[R4racing]

We drove straight through from WI to FL. Left Milwaukee around noon on a Fri and other than gas stops we only stopped a few times for restroom breaks. There were 2 kids, one was 2 1/2 the other 9. They did great, I think it just depends on your kids. We didn't have a TV/VCR/DVD or anything like that along. We did take snacks and drinks in a cooler and various activities they could do while seated in the car.

 

[travelitis]

We go armed with GBAs, TV/VCR, toys, Harry Potter books on tape and snacks. We've recently done a few long trips. We drove between Minneapolis and TX Gulf Coast 4 times. Two days is long but we tolerated it. Dallas to Minneapolis we've done straight through. We'll be driving from TX/LA border straight through to Orlando. For covering long distance in one shot our key to success, besides the electronics, is traveling during the night. My dh and I trade off, and the kids snooze. This summer we let them stay up as late as they wanted then left at 3 a.m., and that was good. They hit the van sleepy. However, there is one thing that is a necessity -- a video they have not seen. We stopped at a Walmart enroute when we were driving during the day because the same old movies weren't keeping them from bickering. Our sanity is well worth the price of a couple of new movies.

We can easily do 10 hours at a time. We expect our trip to WDW to take 15-16 hrs. We're adding a laptop to our entertainment arsenal.

 

[Local_Girl]

We're in west Michigan (Holland) and will be driving to and from WDW soon. We are doing the trip down over 3 days--the first day about 6 hours, the second day about 10, and the third day about 3-1/2 or so. We thought the shorter driving days (especially on the day of our arrival) might help us to be less drained when we get there. Coming home is another story, however. We'll do the trip in 2 days, about 10+ hours a day. Our kids travel fairly well, and in addition to their walkmans, gameboy, DVDs (on a laptop), etc., I'm also preparing some goodie bags w/treats and little toys or activities to hand out every couple of hours or so.

On our last trip to WDW in '97, the kids were 1 and 3-1/2 years old, and we drove about the same distance from north Texas. We broke it up a little differently, but I honestly don't remember it being a problem. I know that we won't ever try to do the 20 hour drive all in one shot, however...neither DH or I sleep well as passengers and we don't want to risk falling asleep behind the wheel.

 

[Schmeck]

We just did the MA to WDW trip in two days. First day, 14 hours on the road, made it all the way to South Carolina! The excitement of getting up at 4:30 AM, and making great time through CT, NY, and NJ kept us going and going and going....

Second day we had 8 hours, with the last 2 1/2 in Florida being the roughest, but we do travel a lot (by car to Arizona two summers ago, and a 24 hr commute/time change nightmare to Europe last summer) so the girls (8 and 11) are well conditioned for hours of quiet time in a seated, buckled-up position

To make the miserable ride back home "Ick, do we have to leave WDW?" - that comment from me, not the kids a bit more interesting, we stopped in Philly to see the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. It also justified taking the kids out of school for 8 days of classes instead of just the 5 we would have missed if we flew.

 

[BethC]

We drive quite often, but we try to do it as quick as possible and that means driving straight through. From southwestern Michigan it takes us approximately 17-18 hours to get to Orlando. Our best tip if you are actually crazy enough to try this, is to drive through the night - this way everybody sleeps for most of the trip! We will leave around 4 or 5 in the afternoon, stop for a late dinner (always fast food in the car - my husband will stop for nothing!) and then the kids zonk out all night long. By the time everyone wakes up and we have a quick breakfast it's only a few more hours until we're there.

Now, I realize we are nuts for always doing this, but my husband won't have it any other way. Last summer, we did actually break the trip up into two days of driving, by stopping in Chattanooga for 2 days, we had fun visiting the local attractions and taking it easy. But afterwards, the kids complained that it seemed to take soooo long to get home. Well of course it did - we drove during the day and they were awake the whole time.

All this to say that allowing 2 days for the drive is plenty of time and having that DVD player in the car is bound to be a real life-saver!

Have fun!

 

[Twinsplus1]

In August we drove from northern MD to WDW with 6 year old twins and an almost 5 month old. It really was FINE! LOL We left about 4:30 in the afternoon. Had a fast food dinner and stopped once for a rest stop break so I could nurse and the kids could stretch their legs before "bedtime". We also took a borrowed tv/vcr with a few new movies. When the twins got a bit out of sorts I surprised them with a couple of new books and workbooks with new colored pencils. I agree about the longest part of the trip felt like it was from the top of FL to WDW. You are just so excited at that point! We slept for about 2 1/2 hours in the rest stop at the beginning of Florida and made it to WDW at 10:30 a.m. The only stops we made other than that were for quick bites to eat, gas and potty/nurse the baby breaks, we felt like we made GREAT time and the kids were so good. I think you'll do fine!

 

[BounceyOne]

We just drove NYC to WDW in august, children were 11 and 3. We ahve the TV for the 'ford' but we don't hook it up right away, we get a few hours without it so the excitement doesn't wear off so quickly.
We try to get more then half way the first day it always seems easier driving the first day. Last time we drove about 9 or 10 hours the first day and stopped in S.C. It took us another 7 or so the next day to get to WDW. The worst part of the drive is I4.
Our 12 yo would be happy driving for a week at a time, its the 3yo that needs entertainment.
For the drive we bring a rubbermaid tote kind of box filled with supplies. Mostly stuff they haven't seen.

If you need anymore tips let me know, we have a few tricks up our sleeves.

 

[CdnMom2]

BounceyOne
Please share those tips with all of us! We're driving from Ontario, Canada with 4 & can use lots of tips. We know a few, but perhaps you have more?

 

[BounceyOne]

One thing we do is stop for lunch at McDonalds, let the children run and play while we eat and then bring their food in the car for them to eat. It keeps them occupied for a little while that way.
We also have (from IKEA) a small (about 8x10) chalk board. Its great for tic tac toe or hangman.
My children also have those desk type things that hang on the back of the front seats. It is a great work/table area for them.
PlayDoh is good to, it dries without sticking to the rug in the car.

A walkman or discman can be a sanity saver too, it kind of gives each child their own space for a bit.
We also make homemade bingo boards with things we will see during our drive, roadsigns, license plates. Even simple things like different color cars for the little ones.

Etch a scetch, magnadoodle, pixtar and gameboys of course

We do so many things in the car I usually have left overs for the next trip.
Anyone else want to add anything?

 

[dlgdonut]

We go down to Florida( not necessarily disney) every year and we always drive from our home in Ontario during the daytime with our 3 girls ( 8 , 5 and 3 now) we allow 2 days . we have a tv/vcr now (for 2 years) and it is a life saver, defineately worth every penny,. we too buy a few new movies as well as bring old favorites. We pack a small backpack with toys, stickers, flashlights travel games etc and of course snacks. the movies pretty much do the trick but when we need a break we play the travel games and put new stickers in our albums, look for different road signs etc. We always do at least 1 sitdown meal a day while travelling so the kids can run and stretch, plus all those potty breaks!!! Travelling can be some of the anticipation!

 

[CdnMom2]

Thanks for the tips. Some I hadn't thought of and have now thrown in to the packing box.

I'm glad to hear those desk-on-back-of-seat things work well. We just bought a "Hello Kitty" one for this Xmas for 1 DD and I was concerned that with the spacing between the seats it may not work as well as I had hoped. But I still got it! Have to test it when she's not around.

 

[cgcw]

We have found that we are better off not setting a time limit on our travels. A couple years back we had prearranged stops and found that we would have liked to kept driving "just a little longer". This year heading out to Hilton Head, we hit terrible weather and stopped at 3 pm in the afternoon. We have plans to go next month and are planning on playing it by ear again as to where we stop. Having to go through the mountains we'll do that during the daylight for certain.

The TV/VCR has also paid for itself with us. The new movies help alot as well as some older ones they haven't watch in a while.

 

["Ginger"]

We just did it from Maryland it took us 16 hours. DH drove leaving home at 12 midnight and by the time our 5 1/2 yr old woke up, me too, we were a little more than half way there. We did make about 6 fuel, food potty stops this time. No T.V. coloring books and craft kits got us there and back with no problems.

 

[sm4987]

We drove from Arlington, TX to Orlando in 16 hours straight. The kids had a blast. Restroom stops and food breaks. We also took plenty of toys in the car. This year I'm busting our the gameboys and using again the laptop for dvds! Have a great trip. A family road trip is really fun.

 

[cinder1]

sm4987,

We are driving down in March from Richardson. It only took you 16 hrs with stops? We have 3 kids (will be 7, 6 and 3 then) and I've been a bit worried about the drive taking way longer. We are also driving straight through. We are getting a DVD player so I hope this helps.

 

[sm4987]

cinder1. Yes it took us 16 hours. It was great. We left at 4:00 a.m. and we made it there by 8:30. One thing to watch is Florida traffic. When we were driving, there was a lot of construction after you passed Florida's coast. It is slow driving thru Florida, kinda like driving through Texas! But the ride was great especially seeing the Gulf and driving over it! We took DVD's too. We used our laptop so that we wouldn't have to add the expense of buying a dvd player. It worked out great. I hope you have a fab. trip. I wish I was going in March

 

[Deb & Bill]

It's 14 hours from Shreveport. We can either take I-49 to I-10 or I-20 to US 49 in MS then south to Mobile.

A little problem with the back of the seat desks is that if you stop quickly or have a collision, your child could be injured seriously. I think they state on the boxes not to use while the vehicle is in motion.

The best way to help your kids ride for long periods of time is to train them from the time they are very young. We used to live in Eastern Montana and would drive 2.5 hours to Billings to go shopping on a Saturday morning. Then 2.5 hours back home after we got done. I started my son on this when he was just a toddler. At 9 yrs old, he is a great rider now. We do play the Harry Potter books on tape, though, as we all love them.

 

[BounceyOne]

I have a silly question, why would there be a back of the seat desk for the car and the manufacturer tell you not to use it when the car is in motion? I know anything in the car can cause injury in an accident, but the deskd my children have are basically made form cloth and cardboard. And they are attached to the front seat.

Any insight would be appreciated.
TIA