anyone ever drive from NY/NJ area to WDW at night?

[dtsaos]

We were thinking about starting our trip at about 8 or 9 at night so that our kids who will bw ages 5, 3 and 8mo at the time will hopefully sleep through the majority of the trip. Anyone ever try this & how did it work out? thanks!

 

[Kerryann5]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS]We drove from Long Island last July with my two darlings... (2 and 6). We left at 4am, which put us in DC around 8:30 for breakfast. This worked out well b/c we avoided the DC rush while we were eating. I had the entire drive planned and it worked really well. Let me know if you have any other questions... Good luck!! [/FONT]

 

[macmahony]

WE DID! At christmas, got in the car at 8ish at night, with a 3 year old, 2 two year olds, a 2 1/2 month old, and a 4 month old. We travled with another family, it worked out wonderful, we got within 2 hours of disney by the time we stopped. We stoped around 5 the the next night, almost a full 24 hours of driving. It was nice out when we stoped the daddys slept, and the mommys took, the kids to a mcdonalds with an outside playground and let them run free! We had two cars, and walkie talkies, it was great! That is the way we will be doing it next time too.

 

[mommi97]

We did too at the time we had a 6, 3 , and 6 month old. It worked out well they slept through the night, it was just a long drive for us cause we drove straight through from PA. We got there early the next day and a bit tired but off we went. Not sure I want to do it again though, this time we are flying and then I will make my decision to fly or drive next time. Looking forward to being there in 2 1/2 hours but we shall see how the kids all love the plane ride..haha.

 

[CherCrazy]

We have done the drive several times from South Jersey...prefer flying...but can't always get EVERYTHING you want....haha!

We would leave around 6pm, so DH didn't have to take the day off from work. We drove until we were well into NC, then stopped for the night. Made it to Disney by dinner the next day.

Drove all the way home once without stopping. It was a little scary...too afraid one of us would fall asleep at the wheel.

 

[MomofTMK]

We have driven through the night on two separate trips to Disney. We live in South Jersey and drove straight through to Fla. While it was great for the kids sleeping through the night, I thought it was a little scary. With just my DH and I as drivers, we were both afraid that the other might fall asleep at the wheel, so even during our "rest time" we couldn't really rest. When we finally got there, we were so tired we just wanted to sleep for hours. I'm not sure therefore how much time we saved. This summer I would prefer to break up the trip for safety's sake alone.

 

[Cyndiu]

We leave New Haven area around 11:30 pm. It gets us to DC by 6 am so we can get through before rush hour. I deliberately kept the kids awake till we got in the car and then they slept pretty much through 8 in the morning. Then we would stop for breakfast. I agree, time it so they sleep as much as possible!

 

[tmatthews]

I will let you know in April. We are trying the exact thing this Easter! We have a 13,10, and 1 year old. We plan on leaving South Jersey at 2 and "driving around" to Philly to catch I95 (we need to drop off the dog at Grandma's!!!) and really be on the road by 5! Best plans put us in Disney by 12! We are hoping for the best! Safe driving to all!

 

[Amirah95]

We started our drive at 1:30pm and ran into Richmond, VA rush hour traffic at 5pm. It was the worst traffic I ever seen in my life. We didn't get to Petersburg until 8pm. From there on it was a breeze. We ended up in Orlando at 7am.

Next time we will be leaving around 6pm, but then I was thinking we will run into Jacskonsville, FL's morning rush hour traffice. I don't know...I guess I'll never know until I try it. My DD must be the exception because she slept two to three hours every two hours, but she 8 years old at the time.

 

[kimbac3]

I'm still trying to figure out what time to leave. We want to be in Florida by 3:00pm on the day after Thanksgiving. So I'm not quite sure what time to leave on Thanksgiving. Any thoughts? We will be driving down 95(most likely).
Thanks,
Kim

 

[tardin1964]

We did it in '03. Left at 8:00pm friday night from central NJ. My wife and I alternated driving. My DD's at the time 7 & 5 slept most of the time. We made it to Kingsland GA about 11:45 Sat. morning. We checked into the Country Inn and Suites...slept for a while....kids watched TV...my wife took the kids to the indoor pool for a while. We went to dinner...got to bed early...got up early to make the 3 1/2 hour drive to WDW and was there by 11:30am Sunday. I think it worked well for us and I would do it again.

 

[4forthemouse]

I think your trip should be just shy of 16 hours (I live in Ohio but my Grandma's in Palmyra, my famiy drove to her house straight from Disney last Thanksgiving). So to get there at 3:00 you'd leave around 11 pm. Go to Yahoo! maps and have them give you drive directions. Their times were pretty right on. We got a trip tick from AAA and the Yahoo directions were exactly the same.
If I was you I'd leave around 8 p.m. The kids will be getting tired and will fall asleep about the time their getting sick of the car. Most of them will then wake up around breakfast and there'll be just a short drive left to Disney! This is what we have done 2 out of our last 3 trips. My husband and I take 3 hour shifts driving/sleeping so nobody's on a long stretch. (We pull off to the side of the road, hurry up and switch drivers so the kids don't wake up!) My kids are 2 and 4 and we pack SO MUCH I honestly prefer driving to worrying about what I shouldn't pack because it's too much for the plane ride. Also, we pack a ton of food which we wouldn't do for the plane. Have a safe trip!