Driving 17 hours with two kids- any advice?

[emer95]

Since airline prices are crazy for April break, we have decided to drive to Florida from Buffalo. My insane husband wants to leave when he gets home from work, and drive straight through overnight. So that's what we're going to do.

Although the kids (8 and 10) will probably sleep through much of it, do any of you have any advice or tips that will make this more tolerable? We have the mini DVD players, so that should help a little bit.

Thanks!

 

[DizneeMommy]

Handheld video games if they have them, drawing materials if they like to draw, books, lots of good music to listen to, and "car games"! Our kids love to play the alphabet game, try to find a car tag from every state, etc. We have a DVD player in our van this time, so we'll be taking Disney videos!

 

[TXMommy08]

Snacks, videos, "artsy" things... Make sure you also schedule some time to stop so everyone can stretch their legs!

 

[FLAngie]

We drive from Florida to Michigan a couple time a year. It is usually a 22 hour drive and we LOVE night driving. The girls are asleep for most of the trip so we don't have to worry about entertainment as much plus there is usually a lot less traffic. DVD's, books, and hand held games will help for the time that they are awake. We also play auto bingo, the alphabet game, and a few others, but your kids are a little bit older and may be past those games. Don't forget to pack lots of snacks for your kids as well as the adults. Have a fun trip!

 

[peytonsmomie]

We're driving 23some hours to get there for spring break too, and doing a lot of what's been mentioned. I printed out trip journals, we're taking DVD's, ipods, nintendo ds's with some surprise games, and a few new books/magic inks/coloring books. That's about it.

We drive 24 hours from here to DC every summer too. One thing I've finally learned is that packing more stuff to do doesn't really make the trip better. If you overload the space b/c you want them to have a ton of options, they have less room to move around, and more stuff to paw through. That makes them cranky and overstimulated. Also, if your kids are like mine, the whole "surprise" bag that you pull treats and games from doesn't work. My kids get so hyped up about what the next surprise is, and when will they get it, that they don't enjoy the surprise I've just given them.

So this trip we're just going to give them both some plastic bins w/ lids that have the new "road trippy fun stuff" in them from the start. That way they can explore the stuff at their leisure.

Also, we don't overload on a ton of snacks. We use the drive as a chance to try fast food places we don't have locally, and grab snacks/cold drinks at gas stations when we fill up. That way they're not overloaded with a constant intake of energy bringing food that they can't burn off. We're taking our copies of "eat this, not that!" so they can watch for all the places they saw in the books that we don't have (kids and adult versions). Hopefully we'll still make healthy choices at these new-to-us places.

 

[lorli]

Since airline prices are crazy for April break, we have decided to drive to Florida from Buffalo. My insane husband wants to leave when he gets home from work, and drive straight through overnight. So that's what we're going to do.

Although the kids (8 and 10) will probably sleep through much of it, do any of you have any advice or tips that will make this more tolerable? We have the mini DVD players, so that should help a little bit.

Thanks!

Looks like that is the plan for our April break trip also, for the same reason. We are driving from the Horseheads, NY area and plan on it taking 19 hours straight through. This is what it took the only other time we drove. We plan to have the dvd ready, hand held games, drawing and coloring, books, and pillows. We will leave right after we get out of school Thursday evening so the girls (dd 7 and friend 8) will sleep the night away. Hopefully, dh will share the driving so we are all as well rested for our first day as we can be. Have a safe, short trip.

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

We're stopping on the way down (17 hours) and driving straight through the way home.

Thank goodness I only have one to entertain on the way down! DS is 2 1/2 and I've made him a car kit. I went to the dollar store and purchased a piece of tupperware that was big enough to hold goodies.

I have color books and crayons (I know... I know... they melt - hence the reason for the tupperware box...) some toys, and each day we're on the road, I'll put some snacks in there. We're also packing the portable DVD player and some movies. He has a kid-proof V-tech camera that has video games on it as well.

Hopefully DS will sleep on the road so he'll be nice and refreshed for WDW!

Good Luck!

 

[FLAngie]

I really like the idea of trying new places to eat on the way. Keep in mind though that the later it gets, the fewer places if any, are open when you drive straight through. We learned that lesson the hard way

 

[hanutedmansionmomma]

we're about 20 hrs away (Kansas). we always stop once overnight 1/2way. DS11, DD 15 use the portable dvd player (make sure to bring enough movies!).

We used to bring snacks, but as previous poster said, too much junk in car isn't fun either. We let them pick whatever snack at each rest stop. It makes my skin crawl to see what they pick, but it's only when they travel so I try to deal with it silently.

Here's my question, and maybe I should start a new thread, but how the hey do you people drive straight through??? I have this vision of getting like 2 hours sleep and then having to be chipper for our 10 hour walk thru MK the next day. It just doesn't sound nice to me.

I admit I'd love to save the time and the $100 for hotel each way(although with Hampton Inn Points, we get a free stay every once/while). I may move to the dark side if someone can convince me I'd be more than just the walking dead when we arrived.

 

[txloopnlil]

Commando road trips were part of my childhood too, but be aware you are putting yourself and your children at much greater danger when you do it. Besides, how are you going to feel when you get there?

Road fatigue impairs driving as much as drunk driving!
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/drowsy_driving1/Drowsy.html

A friend of mine lost two nieces a few years ago. The wreck was after 12 hours on the road on the way to a family reunion. The driver dozed off for a second, lost control, and ran off the road. He woke up when the car left the pavement but overcorrected and flipped the car. A baby correctly belted in rear facing car seat had no major injuries at all, but the older two children who were incorrectly belted (one not at all) -so they could sleep better - were ejected from the car and died. The mom and dad had severe injuries, but survived.

If you are going to do it you must take frequent breaks and drivers need to get as much sleep as possible. Ask at the fast food places for close local park and get the food to go. Let the kids run, swing etc, and eat there and even have the driver(s) trade off and take short naps. Frequent bathroom breaks etc so that everyone gets up and moves around.

 

[powellrj]

We are leaving next week and driving. We are taking 2 days to do it because we KNOW we can't drive overnight anymore.

Remember you can return Redbox movies at any Redbox, so we are planning on using those for most of the trip instead of buying movies.

We have already bought snacks for the car so they don't want to eat every time we stop.

My kids are past the arts and crafts in the car stage so we are doing Ipods. I had them download things to do so they can keep busy. I bought some books for mine that DD and I will share. I also bought a power inverter and a car charger so we can keep things running.

I am really dreading the trip because the kids still fight and argue. We have an extra driver this year so I hope having him drive will cut down on the arguing. He is the one that seems to have the hardest time getting along, so if he is busy driving I hope it will give us a little peace.

 

[firsttimer2007]

We drove to disney last year for the first time.
I over packed. We had surprises, snacks, books of all kinds and toys. We also hooked up the wii. The kids played wii the WHOLE time. We did not hear from them at all.
If we ever decide to drive again I will only pack the wii with a couple of new games. We found driving was not that bad. The kids got to swing their arms and move a little. They did not want to stay in the gas station to pick snacks because the wii was waiting.

 

[MidgeD79]

We have been driving to WDW form Michigan for a few years and our next trip is in late June/early July. I am the only driver with 3 kids this trip. Make sure each child has a set of ear buds for their hand held games. If possible, buy new dvd's and games before the trip and surprise the kids during the trip. If that's not possible, withhold favorite games and dvd's for a few weeks before the trip so they're special again.

 

[momma2minnie]

LOL! I just told DH we need to install sound proof glass between front and back of the Tahoe if we decide to drive and bring our nephew8 along with our DD4 on our next trip!

Great ideas though...keep 'em coming!

 

[alice99]

Commando road trips were part of my childhood too, but be aware you are putting yourself and your children at much greater danger when you do it. Besides, how are you going to feel when you get there?

Road fatigue impairs driving as much as drunk driving!
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/drowsy_driving1/Drowsy.html

A friend of mine lost two nieces a few years ago. The wreck was after 12 hours on the road on the way to a family reunion. The driver dozed off for a second, lost control, and ran off the road. He woke up when the car left the pavement but overcorrected and flipped the car. A baby correctly belted in rear facing car seat had no major injuries at all, but the older two children who were incorrectly belted (one not at all) -so they could sleep better - were ejected from the car and died. The mom and dad had severe injuries, but survived.

If you are going to do it you must take frequent breaks and drivers need to get as much sleep as possible. Ask at the fast food places for close local park and get the food to go. Let the kids run, swing etc, and eat there and even have the driver(s) trade off and take short naps. Frequent bathroom breaks etc so that everyone gets up and moves around.

I TOTALLY agree with this. I worked rotating shifts for years and staying up overnight then commuting home was a challenge (to say the least).
TOO many times I would doze off while driving.
I've made the drive from NY to FL many times, but never overnight, I know better, from years of experience.
We usually stop on the drive down, 12 hours 1st day then 7 hours 2nd day. It's not worth saving $100 for a hotel, and putting my family's lives at stake.
If we want to drive without stopping we leave @ 530 am then arrive home after midnight.
No overnights for us.

 

[geishagirl81]

We're doing a 17 hour drive from Toledo to WDW. We're leaving at 7pm as soon as dh gets home from work. My kids will be 2 and 6 months, so having them sleep the majortiy of the trip is essential. We're mostly driving straight through. My DH and I are bonafide night owls, so it makes it a little easier for us. We switch off every few hours though. And we plan on stopping at the first rest stop in Tenessee for a couple of hours rest. The mountains get foggy and it is not wise to deal with that, the dark, and fatigue.

My family always drove straight through to Florida when I was kid. It was easiest on the way down because we all had the anticipation and excitemet to get there as fast as possible. We get a room on the way home though. For whatever reason, it is mentally harder to drive home straight through after a trip. You're all tired, thinking of returning to work, missing your vacation, thinking of doing laundry ect ect. If you're going to stay a night over, I'd suggest you do so on the way home.

 

[bartleby1]

We did exactly what you're considering ONE time. My DH worked all day and we were on the road by 7:00PM. The plan was for him to drive until he got tired and then I would take over. However, he kept pushing on and pushing on, to the point where I was afraid he'd fall asleep at the wheel, so I never slept. By the time he admitted that he was too tired to drive, he was so tired that he couldn't even make it to the next exit! So, he pulled over to the side of the highway and we switched so that I could get us off the highway. By this time however, the sun was coming up and I was exhausted too. We ended up both taking a nap in the gas station parking lot while our 19 month old bounced around the car because she had slept all night and was now well rested and raring to go!

By the time we got to the Jacksonville area, our DD was pointing to her feet and then pointing to the window and saying "DONE", LOL! When we finally arrived, DH and I were absolutely exhausted and needed a day to feel like ourselves again. It certainly was NOT a good way to start a vacation!

Now, we always stop in South Carolina for the night. We are all much happier and rested when we arrive.

If you do still want to drive straight through, I STRONGLY urge you to not let your DH drive after working all day. It really can be very dangerous.

 

[SaraJayne]

I would agree with those that said stopping overnight is the best (and safest) idea for your family.

WDW is a 24+ hour trip for us (that we've never driven) but we know if we ever would, it would be a two day trip, with a stop overnight.

I would urge you to reconsider driving straight through. I think you will all feel better and more prepared for Disney when everyone gets a good nights rest.

 

[srwarden1928]

I am WAAAYYYY to old at 42 to drive straight through anymore. If you do a SMALL amount of research through AAA you can find a decent clean place to stay on the road for about $50. The extra $100 (one night each way) is to me well worth it. I always get to where Im going ready to enjoy my vacation.

 

[geishagirl81]

I should've noted that getting home at 7pm is less than a half day's shift for dh