10+ Hour Car Trip with a Baby and Toddler - Are We Crazy?

[1rockinmamato2]

Okay, so due to the excitement of us planning our first trip to Disney with children - I kinda didn't give much thought to actually GETTING there!

If we go in October, like I hope, we'll have a child that's 25 months and one that's 12 months. Just how terrible is the drive down there and back going to be for us?

We have the dual DVD players and I have tons of ideas to keep them entertained, but I guess I kind of feel guilty for making them ride down there for so long and they can't move, etc.

Flying is pretty much out of the question due to cost and my huge fear of flying.

Any tips or advice are appreciated!

 

[CampbellScot]

Is the 10+ projection of driving time including all stops? A drive like that isn't so bad, but with such little ones it could be challenging. You'll just have to stop often and let your littles move around a little.

I am not suggesting you do this, but I just thought I'd share the story that came to mind when I read your post:

When I was two my dad took my sister and I on a camping trip. My mom was with my grandma who had broken her hip and so could not go but dad was insisting on taking both of us. Said he could handle it no problem...the drive was 12 hours...I slept the whole way...mostly due to the fact that my dad gave me cough syrup that made me extremely drowsy. He SWEARS he thought I had a "cough"...yeah...right dad. My sister was 7 at the time. She said she kept asking dad why I was so tired and not waking up even when he changed my diaper. My mother was FURIOUS when she found out years later...it seems he paid my sister $20 to keep her quiet. We've never been close...

My dad says it was "creative parenting".

 

[mama03]

We have taken many car trips when our 3 boys were young. You dont say how far away you are located so I assume it is just a day trip. Either way, the best thing you can do is leave around 4 am, YES, 4 am, that way you will get at least 4-5 good driving hours before the kids wake up and you will have to stop for breakfast. Whenever you do have to make a pit stop try to find a place where the toddler can run around a bit. The dvd will be your lifesaver for car trip. Bring lots! We also kept a cooler in the car with water, juice, snacks etc. Good luck and have a safe trip!

 

[Bibbidi]

We did it when our first was almost 3 and our youngest was 10 months old. It was great, they slept a lot of the time in the car--we also had a portable dvd player for the oldest (the youngest was still rear-facing). We packed lots of fun snacks, coloring books. They slept in their strollers at the park, it was a great trip. The only complaint was the strollers got to be a pain by the end of the week in terms of folding them up for busses, but otherwise, it was worth it!

 

[SuziQZee]

The word "crazy" is relative. Yes, I think we're ALL crazy at times. We have a 7, 9 and 11 year old and this will be our 3rd year in a row driving to WDW. (Obviously, 5,7 and 9 the first year.) We live just West of Chicago, IL so our driving time is about 21 to 24 hours. Yes, that's 2 whole days of driving in the car with 3 young children. DH and DD are deathly scared to fly so that is absolutely out of the question. We put a lot of time and planning into the car trip itself and would never dream of leaving the house without the portable DVD player!! My kids like Full House and the last 2 yrs we bought the new seasons on DVD but didn't let the kids watch them until we left for Disney. My kids are a little older so we have more options to watch but a lot more fights over what to watch, I'm sure. We have Gameboys, Leapster, crayons, coloring books, card games, etc. We packed a special "fun bag" for each child and they helped pack it so they could add whatever they wanted for the car and when it was full, they were done. We also had headphones for them to watch the DVD player or play gameboys so my DH and I didn't have to listen to the audio mess from the back. We also play all those old faithfull travel games like how many different license plates, color cars, what kind of cars, road signs, etc. Our trip is obviously long but doable. The kids are so pumped up to get there that the trip down seems to go faster than the one to come home. We always talk about Disney; What do we want to do first, what's are favorite ride, things we must do on this trip, etc. You can also find some great printable Disney color/worksheets to do in the car. I also suggest leaving as early as possible so some of the driving time will be spent sleeping. (By the kids of course.) Bring some Disney movies and talk about who you'll see there. It gets them pumped up.

We make a family journal of our car trip and it's funny to look back and read all of the funny things we see on the road and all of the funny things the kids say. (Count how many times the kids say..."Are we there yet?") Have a safe trip and have a great time!!! The trip is worth it!!

Suzi

 

[PoohsFan1]

We live in Illinois and we had our first Disney trip in Sept. of 2005, that was a long 20 some hours, and we did it straight through. I know we are really crazy. What helped us is that we left at midnight when the kids were sleeping and had our first stop when it was breakfast time. After that we drove for about 3 hours and then took a pit stop to places where they could run around and get some energy out. We too had the duel DVD players, which are a godsend, and I brought along some toys such as mini magna doodles, coloring books and crayons, and their view masters. For an extra treat I went to the dollar store and bought little "surprises" for my girls DD2 and DD4, for when they got restless, they were able to open up something different to play with (i.e. barbie dolls, books, stuffed toys).

We are going to be doing the same trek again this June and we are planning on doing the same as last time. Just be prepared and you should do fine.

 

[Lisa Anne Colling]

We have done it with a 4, 2 and 7 month old. 21 hours from our home, straight through to Disney. We do it ever year and the kids are fabulous. They are now 7, 5 and 4. I always pack a treat bag for each of them. In it is an activity, a car game, a book, a goodie (smarties or M&m's) and I usually buy a couple of movies they haven't seen before. We also leave around mid morning. We let them blow some steam off outside while we finish getting ready. We time our stops around meal time. They sleep through the night and by the time they wake up we are almost there! I have flown with the two older ones when they were 3 and 1 and found it to be much more stressful and exhausting. Each kid and family is different, but with great planning it can be done!
Good Luck

 

[SuziQZee]

Poohsfan and Lisa.....Your drive times are similar to ours. We've always taken 2 days to drive and stayed overnight in GA. I've been toying with driving straight through this year. How do you guys do the driving so that the parents aren't exhausted when you arrive??

Suzi

 

[WDW1st-timers]

We are also going to be driving this trip with the baby in September. 21 hours there and 30 hours home. After Disney we are driving down to the keys for a week so I'm praying that the baby will be fine for the drive and doesn't drive us to nuts. I can just see it now...by the time we get home from our month long trip I'll prob. have a whole box of Cheerio's all over in my van.

 

[Tanya90210]

We've done the drive twice 34 hours from Denver... first year DD was 1.5 2nd year dd was 2.5 and ds was .5 plus we had our older ds 10 (1st yr) 11 (2nd year) and it was fine... they sleep a bunch and we made sure there was plenty of stuff for them to do and we stopped at night for a bit and they would get out of their carseats and stuff here and there... the faster we get there the less trouble there is...


Tanya

 

[macmahony]

We have done it three times, from new jersey. We had a 8 week old, almost 2, almost 3, and the last time they were 2, almost 4 and almost 5.
My kids are great in the car long distance, they watch tv, play leapster,I pack lots of new fun things (which for them is as simple as post it notes, and scotch tape....hours of fun) We leave around 4 in the morning, that way they sleep awhile, usually they will sleep until nine or ten, right before our first gas stop. We get out, pee, and get right back in, and have breakfast in the car, and play until lunch. So the first time they really get out is probably between 1 and 3, we stop for over an hour. We have always made it right outside of jacksonville before stopping (around 8 at night).
We love the drive, we drive everywhere, andtravel a lot, our kids have always been in the car long distance, and they really look forward to it now. My big two want to know when we are going to drive to grandmas again (14 hours), because they love it so much!
good luck, don't be scared, it really is fun!

 

[rt2dz]

Well, if you're crazy, I'm right there with ya'!! For us, it is not only cheaper to drive, it is a heck of a lot easier.

Twice a year we do long drives. All my kids did a 20-24 hour trip at 3 or 4 months of age. And they've all had a long trip in the middle of their toddler years. With a little foresight and the right attitude, you can enjoy the drive.

Attitude is number one. The first thing you must remember, when you choose to make a long trip via car the car ride isn't just your means of transportation but part of the trip. Keep focused on having a good time not just making good time. As a matter fact, that leads me to foresight tip #1.

It's not that it is the first thing you will do, but, imo, the smartest thing. Stop often. Take lots of breaks. We never drive longer than 3 hours when the kids are awake without a stop. It could be at a gas station when diapers are changed and bathroom breaks are made, or my favorite--at the rest stops. DH leads a little mini aerobics class for them when they turn 2+. It's stretching and running. For the littler ones its wandering around. No stiffness builds up, energy is worked out, curtails whining before it starts (for the kids too ), a major mental break from looking out the window, etc. It's the smartest thing we ever did. And we stop for every meal, preferrably where the kiddos can get out and run around.

My next tip is timing the drive. I nap during the day we leave, doing something with the kids (preschool/school, dropping off with a friend/my mother) so that I don't need to worry about it. We then leave at about 5 pm at night. We drive for a few hours, get out for dinner, drive for a few hours, hit a run-around spot, drive for a couple more hours, kids & DH sleep, I drive. This is where we make our time. When I'm too tired to drive, DH and I switch off. And then again when DH is too tired, we switch again. So on so forth. If and when we are both too tired, we'll stop for the night and sleep. In the morning we'll stop at a rest stop (if we didn't get a hotel) and clean up (wash faces, brush teeth, etc)--helps to make you feel normal. Amazingly enough, we are never tired upon arrival. Of course, none of us have problems sleeping in a car. Heck, my kids would sleep on a fence post if they were tired.

Which brings me to my next set of tips. Prepare for the car ride. We all have travel pillows and blankets. The kids have someplace hard to put their feet. We bring the special stuffed animals. We bring a long a few favorite toys that keep them active (even at 12 months you'd be amazed at how much time a magna doodle kills). We bring along a few new surprises. We have coloring books/paper and markers/paints/crayons--crayola color wonder anyone? I have print outs from online in a notebook & pens/pencils for each child old enough. I have travel games--bingo, madlibs, etc. And, of course, the DVD player (with bunches of Disney movies for trips to WDW). We have tons of childrens music on books on CD.

We have a cooler packed with smart snacks (nothing too salty, etc) and drinks (good idea to avoid caffiene). We bring along lysol, oust, lots of baby wipes (those things work miracles), paper towels, toilet seat covers, soft soap, anti-bacterial wipes, jumper cables, fix-a-flat, small (scented) garbage bags, flashlights (and seperate reading lights for the kids), road maps, etc. I have a backseat diaper changer thing from Target--just gives you a flat surface that is sanitary & keeps you out of the rain--for when we have one in diapers. I let all those who are fairly new to potty training (under a year trained) wear a pull-up just in case. It sounds like a lot, but really doesn't take up too much room. I have all toiletries backed in a bag that stays in the car, along with a bag of changes of clothes--the smaller the child, the more changes of clothes. Everything else goes on top of the car.

We throw out trash at every stop and I make sure to vaccume it out before the return drive home. Keeping the car free of clutter makes it just a way smoothier ride. Don't let people scare you away--I've found most people who have told *me* not to do it, have never even tried it themselves. Good luck and happy driving!

 

[PoohsFan1]

Suzi,

Granted it is a little exhausting for the parents. We usually leave around 1am, the day before, my DH goes to sleep about 4pm and sleeps until we leave. This is leaving him wide awake with a full nights sleep for the trip. I stay up and get everything ready for us to leave, then once in the car I and the kids, sleep until the sun comes up. Leaving my DH to do a bulk of the driving (7 hours) peacefully. Once everyone is awake, we make sure and stop at least every 3-4 hours in a stint. Alternating between a gas and food stop, usually having us arriving in DW around 9pm.

 

[write2caro]

Right there with you! We'll be making the car trip down from DC in late September with our son (2-1/2yrs by then) and daughter (1yr in Sept). All this advice will be really helpful to us, too! The longest trip we've taken by car was 14hrs with my son when he was just 6 months old - lots of stops and he slept a good bit of the trip. We're counting on a DVD player and some books to carry us through in Sept!! I like the idea of bringing Disney videos with us and talking about who we're going to get to see. Thanks for all the tips!

 

[CastleCreations]

I have to reply...I drove from Florida to New Jersey with a 1 year old and a 4 week old, alone. If I can do it, anyone can. I just made the drive in reverse and they are 4 and 5 now. It's tough, but just focus on the trip and not the time it's taking. Even as I drive, I look at the road signs, cows, whatever. The girls were very understanding that Mommy couldn't play with them, but I made sure they had things to play with. Not too much, because they would just go through it all in live 5 minutes. But I did leave at 2 am. and drove until they woke up. This way I got about 5 hours of driving done. I gave them juice boxes and cereal bars and kept going. We stopped for potty, and playtime. The mcdonalds with the play area's are the best. The food is awful, but they get to run around rain or shine. Good luck and try not to worry!!

 

[CastleCreations]

I just reread my post. No I did not drive in reverse... I just headed the other way...

 

[Juliee8]

April will be our 3rd time driving down. It takes us about 20 hours and we drive it straight thru. The first time we did it ds was 2 and he has done great every time. We leave about 9 pm, after they have been bathed and have their comfy pj's on. Dh will start out driving until he gets tired, and then I will take over while he gets some sleep. The kids are so excited when we leave, that they will usually watch a movie in the car and then fall asleep. They usually will sleep between 8-9 hours. Then we stop for breakfast when they get up. I will fix each of them a little "goody bag" of of things that I have picked up, usually from the dollar store that they can unwrap in the car.

 

[mom2jcc]

These are great tips. We are leaving next month and will have a 10 hour drive. Thanks everyone!!

 

[NU2WDW]

Okay, so due to the excitement of us planning our first trip to Disney with children - I kinda didn't give much thought to actually GETTING there!

If we go in October, like I hope, we'll have a child that's 25 months and one that's 12 months. Just how terrible is the drive down there and back going to be for us?

We have the dual DVD players and I have tons of ideas to keep them entertained, but I guess I kind of feel guilty for making them ride down there for so long and they can't move, etc.

Flying is pretty much out of the question due to cost and my huge fear of flying.

Any tips or advice are appreciated!

If mapquest says it's a 10 hour drive, plan on 14. Don't try to push it time-wise like you would if it was just you & DH. Stop at least every 3 hours or so and let the kids run around for at least a good 20 minutes. If they're like mine, you may find after the 2nd stop, that it will be harder getting them back into the car (by then they'll have figured out it's going to be another long stretch!)

If you have a minivan or SUV, you might want to plan on sitting in the back close to them for at least part of the time. As the trip gets longer, they will probably demand more attention from you, so sitting with them can help; otherwise plan on spending a lot of time turned around in your seat. Of course, there's no need to assume they'll be miserable. It will be a first-time thing for them so who knows? They may get carsick. They may fuss the whole trip. They may sleep the whole trip. In other words: be prepared for the worst, that will make anything else a pleasant surprise!

 

[1rockinmamato2]

Thank you all for your advice. You have given me some wonderful tips and made me see that this is totally going to be doable!

I've had to gently remind DH several times that this road trip will be unlike any other we have taken - ever! LOL!

We're now debating on whether or not to split up the drive at the halfway point instead of driving straight through. That's mostly going to depend on if the resorts give a little on the check-in times. I'd hate to have to wait 5 hours before we can get into our room when we get there!

You all are the best!