Tips for driving to WDW

[pentex]

My husband and I are selfish and are more concerned about our own comfort. The main factor for that is to keep the whining and fighting in the backseat down to basically zero. We give each child $20 in single bills (which we would have spent on a souvenir for them anyhow). The rule is that everytime they argue, scream, whine or ask "when are we going to get there?", they have to give us one of the dollars.

This has always worked like a charm. When we get to Disney, each child has $19 (they learn quickly) and we are all happy.

I agree with some above on bringing too much stuff. I don't want all that in my car either, so we bring a few things...coloring books, crayons, books...other than that, we play games, sing ....it makes it more interactive and fun. They love driving to WDW and talked me into doing it this year.

 

[DisneyFan09]

Great idea with the $20!! You also make driving sound fun, I guess it's all in how you look at things! Thanks for the positive comments! I might be able to talk DH into driving next time, we'd save about $1000 or more! You didn't mention how old your children are or how long of a drive it is for you?

 

[dmwright921]

Not knowing how old your children are, the one thing I will not leave without is the potty chair!Even though last year my daughter was 8, when she has to go and you are miles away from a rest stop, it works great in an emergency. I line it with a zip lock bag so it makes clean up alot easier at the rest stop. Also, remember the toilet paper or wipes!!

 

[pentex]

DisneyFan09, my kids are now 6 and 9. We've driven down there many times (even once when little one was only 4 months old), and really you can make it fun. It takes us about 20 hours from NJ but we do stop for a couple of good Cracker Barrel meals.

Every time we stop for a bathroom break/meal break, the kids and I do jumping jacks/running in place to get the blood flowing again...it all started as a goof...but as silly as it sounds, they love that part...they run out of the car and start jumping up and down all the way to the bathroom. I make them go through drills and they laugh so hard, they can't even breathe. My little one always says, "I can't wait until we stop and exercise and the people laugh at us!!"

I hope you can drive....it's fun!!

 

[DisneyFan09]

Gosh Pentex you do make it sound fun! I didn't think that was possible! My girls are 5 and 7 and we 're about 24 hours away. How often do you get your kids and husband all to yourself for that long without tv or phones? Thanks for the encouragement!

 

[Juliepoohgirl]

One thing I do is go buy some of those cheap birthday party favors. I just got a set of picture BINGO on clearence for $1.60 or so. The kids also like the blow horns that unravel as you blow ( the non noisemaker ones).They also have minature decks of cards, bracelets etc. Anyway, always good fun for a couple of hours. Linda

 

[FFerret]

These are great! Keep them coming!

 

[Beanie]

Great ideas!! I loved reading this thread! In two weeks we are driving down and it is about 22 hours for us! Thanks so much for all the wonderful ideas!

 

[Lucky4me]

Clings! You know, the ones they had when we were kids I think they're called Colorforms? If she sits way in the back of the minivan my daughter can stick these on the window for hours. She'll make up stories and have me look at her creations. One year we found some Disney Colorforms for our Disney trip. She had a ball with them.

 

[Lorix2]

We just made the drive recently and was really glad we had brought each child's pillow & small blanket for the ride. Also buying those cheap plastic drink holders you hang on the door were lifesavers, no spills.

Preportioned sandwich bag snacks were so convenient too.

Also - the overnight bag is a must!

 

[Buz]

We have done long car trips with the boys ever since the first one, 18 years ago. We started with lots of Sunday drives with them in their car seats. We would stop every few hours and walk in a park, play in a McD playground for a few minutes or something. As they got older, we would buy new action figures (I have 3 boys) for the start of the trip. We would hide one or two more for the second day or when the complaining started.

In these later years, they play gameboy, travel games, and listen to their CDs.

We also play word games we make up like naming animals beginning with each letter in the alphabet. To make it harder for the older boys, we would limit them to 3 letter answers or something similar. A variation they like is to not use the alphabet, but use the last letter of the previous word as the beginning of the next. With no repeats, this gets hard fast.

Harold