Do you drive straight through or stop on the way down?

[mhp8982]

For those of you who drive a long distance, I'm curious how many of you drive straight through and how many of you stop half way or somewhere along the way for the night?

Our plan right now is to drive all day and stay in valdosta Ga, then finish the drive the next morning.. Our first Disney day. I'm back and forth on it though. We have a 2 year old so I think it's probably smart to stop since we have a 16 hour drive (not including stops).. My husband isn't thrilled about driving overnight.. And our trip is a week away so I don't know how we would work it out at this point.. But I was wondering..

 

[FloridaDreamin]

We have a 19 hour drive and we drive straight through. We never stop overnight. Works for us. We get there in the morning and have a full (and tiring!) day.

 

[maxiesmom]

I honestly wouldn't drive straight thru. I just don't think it is safe, but I know many people don't agree with me. Most people are not wired to sit behind a wheel driving for hours on end without getting sleepy.

With a 2 year old I think a stop would be a very good idea. It is hard for ones that little to be strapped into their car seats for that long with only small breaks. And it is hard for them to keep themselves entertained. I know for my family when the kids were that young if we drove straight thru we would get their faster, but we would all be cranky and not really be having much fun.

 

[Anchored]

we have 14 hours and I always INTEND to drive straight thru and end up stopping. It's just too much unless you can sleep REALLY good when your partner is driving and you don't mind driving in the dark with the huge trucks.

 

[mhp8982]

I honestly wouldn't drive straight thru. I just don't think it is safe, but I know many people don't agree with me. Most people are not wired to sit behind a wheel driving for hours on end without getting sleepy.

With a 2 year old I think a stop would be a very good idea. It is hard for ones that little to be strapped into their car seats for that long with only small breaks. And it is hard for them to keep themselves entertained. I know for my family when the kids were that young if we drove straight thru we would get their faster, but we would all be cranky and not really be having much fun.

Yeah... I kind of agree. If we drove straight through we would try to do it at night when he was asleep. But my husband really isn't too fond of the idea of NOT stopping. He's not a night person.. I am and could probably do it.. but i'm terrified of driving in strange areas. I'd also hate to be so sleepy when we get there.

Have you tried it both ways?

 

[dvczerfs]

i just did 15 1/2 hour down straight through by myself. we usually drive straight through with just restroom and gas stops. we hit a drive thru but that's it. no napping. I do all the driving and dw can nod off for a few hours.
I also will tell you I am a rep. for a hvac supplier and drive 40k a year for work. I am one of those people that can get behind the wheel and drive forever.
we leave at 1am ( I get up at 3am for work ) and we pull into wdw at 4 -4:30pm so for me its almost like a normal day of work.

I think its just like anything......... everyone is different. some people can do it some people cant. it depends on you. some people wouldn't drive 4 hours and for me, as long as I don't have to cross an ocean, im driving.

if you never driven that far, you can try but just don't be afraid to stop. its not worth your life or your families life to get there a few hours faster.

 

[mhp8982]

We are thinking of trying to tack on a night on the 7th.. and just driving overnight. My husband can take a nap after work until we leave on Tuesday.. and leave about 9 or 10pm. Our son would sleep most of it.. and we wouldn't need to stop except for gas overnight. And then just stay the extra night at disney instead of at the hotel 4 hours away. I do think my son will have a rough time getting back in the car that morning for another 4 hour drive.

 

[ancestry]

We drove straight through -- over 24 hours in the car. BUT we had four drivers when we did it last year. That averaged out to about 6 hours of driving for each of us. I often drive from Maine to Pittsburgh (12 hours) by myself so only having to drive for six hours seemed easy. What was not easy was sitting in the car for 24 hours.

 

[jillmc40]

We just drove from nj to gatlinburg, tn (11 hours). We planned to stay overnight a little over half way there. We made sure the hotel had a pool and we just had a little fun on the way. The kids loved it. After about three hours in the car ds4 would say his back and legs hurt. We would all need to get out and stretch. It really made the drive there and back a piece of cake.

 

[CNYDisneyFan]

When we used to drive from Syracuse, NY, we'd stop in North or South Carolina and then make our way down to Disney.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

We drive straight through from Chicago with two drivers switching on and off as needed. We leave Chicago at about 8:30 pm so we have the sun/daylight to aid us during the last part of our trip when we're most tired. We also stop at rest areas and sometimes to eat if we want to (usually we just hit the drive through and continue on). We used to stop overnight at a hotel but found that our kids weren't tired because they slept all day and kept us up when we finally got to the hotel to rest. We've been driving straight through for about 4 years now. It is a long drive (about 20-24 hours depending on how many stops we make) and we usually arrive in Orlando at about 5-6 pm, but after a good night's sleep we're ready to go the next day.

 

[mhp8982]

Thanks for your input! We added on the day and plan to leave at like 8 or 9 Tuesday night now.. And just drive through. We think it will be better for our son since he will sleep most of it. And when we get there we can just check in.. Get some dinner and then sleep if we want!

 

[DVC-Don]

We have a 24 - 26 hour drive if we did it non-stop. The most we'll drive in a day is 9 to 10 hours. It's just too dangerous to drive overnight even if you are rested. There are more animals out at night and the other drivers around you could be overtired.

My wife's cousin did a non-stop drive to WDW a few years ago from NH. They were driving through South Carolina on I-95 at the time southbound at about 2 AM when a marked highway patrol car passed them and ran right into the back of a semi ahead of them. No emergency lights were on and no brake lights came on before the collision. The trooper just plain fell asleep. As for me, shortly after dark, I'm off the road.

 

[Lewisc]

We have a 2 year old so I think it's probably smart to stop since we have a 16 hour drive (not including stops).. My husband isn't thrilled about driving overnight.. And our trip is a week away so I don't know how we would work it out at this point.. But I was wondering..

The consensus opinion in an internet board doesn't offer any useful information on this topic. Some people have experience driving long distances. One poster in this thread drives 40K a year. You'll have a 2 year old in the car. Maybe your child will nap, maybe not. Maybe you and your husband can split driving, with the non-driver napping. Maybe not.

Your OP suggests you should stop for the night. You could use a GPS, smartphone or guidebook as a resource. Plan on stopping if necessary. I'd bite the bullet and plan on stopping on the trip down.

 

[MOpGrad2013]

More than 9 hours behind the wheel and we have to get a motel. With our bathroom and stretch breaks, we are almost 12 hours that we've been in travel mode.

Tried sleeping in car for a couple of hours at truck stop and rest area...Uncomfortable and not restful.

DH is a professional driver. He is allotted 11 hours with a 30 minute break (mandated) in a 24 hour period.

Be safe out there!

On the other note, we tried a park on our first day. We had stopped in Marrietta, GA and drove in. Arrived at resort around 11 (room was ready!). And we were so exhausted at the park and that evening.

everything works for your vacation.

 

[maxiesmom]

Yeah... I kind of agree. If we drove straight through we would try to do it at night when he was asleep. But my husband really isn't too fond of the idea of NOT stopping. He's not a night person.. I am and could probably do it.. but i'm terrified of driving in strange areas. I'd also hate to be so sleepy when we get there.

Have you tried it both ways?

We have never been in the car longer than around 12 hours at a time, with breaks for gas. I haven't made the drive to Florida in years, I just don't enjoy it at all. Even with one or two sleeps on the road, I was ready for the drive to be over. And the drive home was always miserable--everyone tired and cranky and just ready to sleep in their own bed. I would much rather fly and be there in a few hours.

I take that back---years ago my sister and her husband got into Amway. I went so some meetings with them, which were long drives away. BIL almost drove us off of the road one night, everyone else in the car was sleeping, so thank goodness the rumble strips woke my sister up!

 

[2dogmom]

The last time we drove (from Chicago) we stopped just past Atlanta. We really aren't night time drivers. In June, we plan on stopping on the way down, even with 3 drivers, so we will feel rested to hit the parks when we arrive. We may go straight thru on the way back though.

 

[dvczerfs]

Thanks for your input! We added on the day and plan to leave at like 8 or 9 Tuesday night now.. And just drive through. We think it will be better for our son since he will sleep most of it. And when we get there we can just check in.. Get some dinner and then sleep if we want!

just to give you a heads up. remember everyone is different and different things work for different people....... dd first trip to the world she was 9 months old. we packed up the minivan the day before, went to work in the morning, I came home at noon to sleep for our 6pm departure. (ya, ok, im going to sleep when I know im leaving soon for wdw, didn't happen)
we hit the road around 4pm. I was fine through the night. I was pumped!!! I was taking my little girl to wdw for her first visit!!! dw was able to cat nap in the car but didn't really get much sleep. before dvds and cars having built in dvd players, I had a vcr player w/ a 13 inch tv in the back of the van. put barnie (don't ask) tape in and dd fell asleep around 7pm her normal bed time.
she woke up here and there to look around, hold her at rest stops but all in all, she was great. sleeping till 8am the next morning. we arrived around 10:30am at cbr. our room was ready!!!! dw and I were beat!!!! we wanted to eat and get some sleep. had a bite to eat at port royal and went back to the room to get some sleep. one problem.................

dd was wide awake!!!!! she slept in the minivan all night and we were awake all night!!!!!! we never did that again!!!!

I had to laugh, last may when I took dd down to stay, a good friend of mine drove down with us. strong back to help unload and we could yak about the old days for hours. we departed home around 2am. dd got into the rental van and fell asleep. the only time she woke up the entire drive was to go to the bathroom and eat. still sleeps all the way 21 years later.

 

[2DisPrincesses]

We have a 19 hour drive and we drive straight through. We never stop overnight. Works for us. We get there in the morning and have a full (and tiring!) day.

Us too. We drive straight through from Michigan. We leave early evening, drive through for a late dinner. The girls sleep from about 10-6 or 7. We stop for breakfast when everyone is awake and arrive at WDW by late morning for an early check-in. DH and I take turns driving- once we stopped off for a couple hour nap. Works really well for us.

 

[Disney Ron]

We drive the entire 10 minute ride to the airport with no rest or bathroom breaks. It's tough but we listen to Disney CD's on the ride and the kids watch Disney movies in our minivan.

On a serious note we drove straight through once from Rhode Island to WDW. We left at 1:00 AM and arrived at WDW 9:00 PM that night. All I remember is walking into our room at POR and collapsing fully clothed on the bed, waking up the next morning to start our first full day at WDW. The ride home is the tough part.