10-12 hours - split it up or do it all at once?

[mickeyfan2]

Drive it in one day. It is not too long.

 

[mill4023]

We'll be driving from Charlotte(about 10 hrs I guess) and we're splitting it up. But not because I think it's too far for one day. We're splitting it up because I want to have more time at WDW. So instead of leaving Saturday morning, we'll be leaving after work on Friday. That way we'll only have 4 or 5 hours to drive Sat morning and we'll have all of Sat afternoon and evening to spend in the parks.

 

[Fintastic]

I'd also suggest driving straight through. What part of La are you from? We're from Bush, which is right outside of Covington (St. Tammany Parish).

We're in Lafayette parish!

Its not that bad driving from La - although traffic does still bottleneck when going across the bridge in Florida (the bridge that was messed up from the hurricane).

I was wondering about that!

 

[Deb & Bill]

We've driven I-10 through Pensacola at least three or four times since Ivan blew away the I-10 bridge. We have never had the least bit of a delay on any of those trips. Maybe we've just been lucky.

 

[Flyin2MCO]

Fly whenever possible, primarily to save time and because it is so much safer than driving.

Have done the 13-14 hour drive from VA, straight-through on the way down (of course with no shoes and up hill all the way . and split up on the way back.

Seems like it's "different strokes for different folks"....no reason to push through a 12+ hour "commando drive" if it's too much for you.

 

[clkelley]

Like other posters have said, 10-12 hours is doable in a day, but we split it up simply to get more time at WDW (without using more vacation).

Why spend an evening at home when you could be putting miles behind you!!

Also, except for hubby's CPAP machine, we have duplicate toiletries, and wear totally different clothes for work than Disney, so can be packed days ahead!

I know it's different with young kids.

On a different vein, we leave the night before and head up to Ocala because we're not getting any younger, and arriving home at 2am, then going to work just doesn't make any sense for us any more.

We would fly more often, but our only direct flight has moved to terrible times and connecting in Atlanta takes almost as long as driving.

 

[cajunmommy]

Another LA resident here....Prairieville to be exact. We've done the drive for 3 out of our last 4 trips. The first two trips we spent the night in Tallahassee on our way there (DSs were 3 & 1, then barely 5 & 3). We did the return legs all in one shot.

The boys did so well the next year (when DSs were celebrating turning 6 & 4) we did the whole trip without an overnight stop.

We left very early (before 5am) and stopped only for a picnic lunch, and a couple of potty stops to let the DSs stretch their legs. Even with the hour time change, we were checked in & headed to dinner before 7pm if I recall.

I know the boys could have handled making the trip in one shot when they were 5 & 3. The main reason we stopped was MIL was along for the ride & she needed the overnight break.

If you've survived the longer road trips, this one should be a piece of cake!

 

[pbharris4]

I've driven cross country and back 2x. Every day we'd drive 12-14 hrs. The last trip we left San Diego, stoppoed in Lordsburg, NM (on the border w/ AZ) and then drove all the way home to VA w/o spending the night. And I was 2 months pregnant. I have kids now (10 and 3) so until they are a little bigger. we split up the 12 hr drive to WDW. We drive to where the drive isn't that much the next day..maybe 3 hrs away. That way we still have most of the 1st day at Disney. I don't want my kids too pooped out before we even get there. It depends on how well your kids travel. My youngest child never sleeps in the car so we factor that in.

 

[pbharris4]

Oh...we also pack a separate bag for the overnight stay so we don't have to unload everything. We just unplug the portable DVD and bring it in the room with us.