Anyone drive from KC, MO area to WDW

[Princess Tink]

My DH thinks I'm crazy. We've flown down many times but, are trying to save money this time around as we're saving for our Disney Cruise next spring. How long did it take? What route did you take? Keep in mind we have a 5 DS. Everything I pull up says 22-23 hours, I'm thinking we'll have to split it up but, I don't want to!

Any thoughts or tips are welcomed!

Thanks!

 

[GoofyDad_STL]

I have been thinking about driving versus flying also. I haven't done it yet, but my wife did when she was a child. My mapping program is saying 15 hours from STL at an average highway speed of 70 MPH. So conceivably we could make it one, long, long day. But my wife remembers stopping in Atlanta on the way down when they made the drive and coming from KC, that would probably be a good stopping point for you to.

 

[pixiedust519]

Driving is definitely possible. My family has driven to WDW about 15 times (we have only flown once) and we are from St. Louis. When the kids were really little we would usually leave STL around 5:00 in the evening and then drive through the night so they would sleep...plus not much traffic on the roads. It will take about 21 hours if you go straight through. In the years past, we have left STL in the early morning and drove pretty much all day--past Atlanta. We usually like to stop somewhere in Georgia and stay the night. Then the next morning we get up early and usually make it to Orlando by noon or a little bit after. A major highlight is visiting the Florida Welcome Center when you cross the border. It's a great place to get you in the spirit and gives you that extra "push" to keep driving!! They have free Florida orange juice (or grape juice) and maps on all of the Disney parks. Just grabbing a stack of Disney maps would probably keep your child busy for awhile!!! Anyway, it's really not as bad as you think. We also like to bring a little TV/VCR so we can watch movies in the car which really helps to pass the time. If you have any other questions, just let me know!!!

Alyssa

 

[donmil723]

We always used to drive to WDW from Jefferson City, MO area before our kids were in junior high. It usually took 19-21 hours of driving. We always liked to leave early morning and stop after we got through Atlanta. It's all Interstate highways so you can make good time. Definitely, have a tv/vcr or dvd player along to help keep your kids entertained.

Donna

 

[wdwfam]

We're from mid-Missouri (Columbia) and it takes us 17 1/2 hours. We don't necessarily try to get there as quickly as possible. Our kids are teens, so we don't have to have restroom stops as frequently. Driving through Georgia seems to take a long time, though. I second the TV/VCR. It was a life-saver when the kids were younger. We then added a power cord so they could take their Sega or whatever they had at the time. It's not bad going down. We like to break up the coming home into parts of two days.