Driving 17 hours with two kids- any advice?

[nessz79]

A sense of humor and the ability to tune out when things get really hectic

Seriously, lots of good suggestions here. We've done it with small children and the key is frequent breaks/rest stops. Every 2 -3 hours (max!!) we would stop to stretch, eat, and/or have restroom breaks. Sometimes we'd stop to see a site, shop, etc.

 

[amynorth]

We are driving this summer from TX the other world... lol anyway we will be going with 3 kids 12, 4, & 2. Our plan is to leave around 4am and drive to Destin and relax there with a hotle room and play at the beach. We will get up early the next day and finish off the trip, have not checked in a while but it should be around 3-4 hours not to bad...

We will have DVD's and games, snacks, and a few hand held toys like magna doodles, etch a scketch, the water doodles and so on...

 

[profesionalstudent]

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.

QUOTE]

Do you know if there are states that Redbox is not in?? New to this idea...but we are travelling further than most (California- Florida) with only one driver...I need to have everything planned. Or perhaps some good sedation.

 

[Cars2006]

We are driving straight through from MA next year. The trip is about 21 hours. We will have four different drivers in the car so I think that will make it a little easier for us. The savings is huge between not having to buy plane tickets or rent a car. I agree that the drive home is always more difficult so we might have to consider staying overnight somewhere on the way back.

My advice for anyone coming from the New England area is to make sure you don't go through NY or DC during rush hour. We got caught in it a few years ago on a family trip and it was just awful. Plan ahead so that you miss it!!

DH and kids (1,3 and 5) are picking me up at work in Boston around 1pm and heading down. Hopefully we will miss the NY nightmare. We are stopping in NC to visit friend for a couple of days then heading down. Around what time are is the DC rush hour? First time driving down.

 

[Mrs.Peachy]

Yes, a huge bottle of aspirin and earplugs!We drove last time, 17 hours on the road was too long for me with both my kids. That was the longest drive of my life.

 

[KAMKIM]

Hey going to FL from Buffalo in August as well, we planned on flying so I'm just curious if you figured gas prices (probably going back up this summer) and how much cheaper did it come out to be?

 

[Nik's Mom]

We just returned from a 19 hour drive from Kansas to WDW. We have 2 sons age 6 and 9. We left at 5am, thinking the kids was nap for those first couple of hours. Wrong! They were too excited! We had set up the car with a box of little toys/travel items to keep them busy, along with their travel case of dvd's. Well, we never even openned that box of goodies. The dvd's kept them entertained the entire time. We had set up a rule that they would have to take turns picking a movie and that worked like a charm. Absolutely no argueing at all!

We made a point to stop every 4 hours to go to the restroom, and we spent the night at a hotel just outside of Atlanta on the way to WDW. On the way back, we spent the night outside of Nashville. Each way, we made sure the longest leg of the trip was taken care of on the first day.

We also bought these seat back trays from Walmart. The kids could set their snacks on it, and they even ate their lunch in the car. So we never even stopped for meals. What we would do is go through a drive thru, then pull into a gas station to re-fuel. The driver would eat while the passenger would re-fuel. Then once on the road, the kids and passenger could eat. The system worked great.

Oh, if you are driving through Georgia, watch for the highway patrol. They are everywhere and they like to hide. I got my first ticket after 15 years of driving on our trip.Totally my fault. I wasn't paying attention to my speed.

 

[powellrj]

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.

QUOTE]

Do you know if there are states that Redbox is not in?? New to this idea...but we are travelling further than most (California- Florida) with only one driver...I need to have everything planned. Or perhaps some good sedation.

Here is a link to their site, it looks like they have them everywhere, but I didn't check each state, so I may have missed one or two!

Our McDonalds and Wal-Marts both have them now, even the smaller Wal-Marts have them around here.


http://www.redbox.com/Locations/KioskSearch.aspx

 

[disneymom2one]

We are driving this summer from TX the other world... lol anyway we will be going with 3 kids 12, 4, & 2. Our plan is to leave around 4am and drive to Destin and relax there with a hotle room and play at the beach. We will get up early the next day and finish off the trip, have not checked in a while but it should be around 3-4 hours not to bad...

We will have DVD's and games, snacks, and a few hand held toys like magna doodles, etch a scketch, the water doodles and so on...

We live five minutes from Destin. It's about a 400 mile drive. We make it several times a year and it takes us about seven hours, stopping twice with each stop only about 15 minutes.

No complaints because I love where we live but it's not at all close to WDW.

A couple more notes (if you're interested). Destin is about 30 minutes from I-10 - no matter which of two exits you take. I-10 is way north of the Gulf. Also, summer is our high tourist season. Expect more expensive rooms (especially in Destin) and lots of traffic (especially on the weekends which are checkin/out days). You can avoid the traffic (or much of it) by not stopping by on a weekend and you can get decent hotel rates at the few chain hotels we have. Destin is primarily a rental condo kind of place but there are a few hotels mixed in - especially if you're willing to stay just a little off the beach.

 

[emer95]

Hey going to FL from Buffalo in August as well, we planned on flying so I'm just curious if you figured gas prices (probably going back up this summer) and how much cheaper did it come out to be?

Actually we're going in April, so we aren't too worried about gas prices. We didn't figure them out, but I can let you know when we get back.

Thanks again for the great advice, it is much appreciated. Especially about watching our speed. When hubby and I were younger and childless, we drove to Myrtle Beach. He got a speeding ticket somewhere ion Virgina and he was not happy. I think cruise control will be our friend.

Thanks for the tip about the seat back tray too- cool idea!

 

[MasterChief]

Hey going to FL from Buffalo in August as well, we planned on flying so I'm just curious if you figured gas prices (probably going back up this summer) and how much cheaper did it come out to be?

Check out the site www.costtodrive.com

 

[DISHUD]

We'll be making that same trip from Chicago in June. We have two boys 12 and 8. We generally leave at around 3 a.m. The kids go right back to sleep and we drive until they wake up, stop eat breakfast and get back to that 18 hour trip! We do stop after about 12-14 hours or so and get a room for the night. It just makes the trip a bit easier.
It sounds like you have exactly what I'm bringing along. I also go to www.mouseforless.com and print out some of their travel items....word search etc. Keeping the kids occupied is KEY for a long drive.
Have a safe and GREAT time!


AKV June 7th-14th

MeDHDS12DS8

 

[txloopnlil]

If the main reason to make the commando drive is price of rooms, you might want to check out using priceline or hotwire. I've used them in the past to get pricey rooms cheap for week-end get-aways, etc, but this year I've had great luck with getting really supercheap rooms at value and moderate chains, especially on the day of travel. When I'm just wanting a place to put by head down for a few hours on a long drive I don't really care where I stop as long as it is decent.

This is also really useful if you are on the road and decide after the fact that you really need to sleep. With web access enabled cell phones it is easier now than it used to be to search/bid while you are travelling.

There are some stratagies and tips to help you get the lowest price (or the hotel you want). It is useful to read a couple of travel forums that discuss how to do it so you can maximize you cost savings, number of bids possible/day or target a specific hotel.

http://www.betterbidding.com/
http://biddingfortravel.*********/

 

[letsgoagainsoon]

I didn't read all the posts, but I don't suggest driving all night. We live in Northern PA (about 18 hrs for us), and we usually stop in Southern Georgia for the night. You can drive the whole way, but you'll be pretty exhausted to start your vacation, plus the safety of driving at night. You can probably find a hotel for around 80 bucks a night.

HTH

 

[MasterChief]

I didn't read all the posts, but I do suggest driving all night. We live in Northern PA (about 18 hrs for us), and we usually drive through Southern Georgia for the night. You can not drive the whole way, but you'll waste a day at the start of your vacation, plus it's safer to driving at night since there are less people on the road. You can save that 80 bucks for a hotel and have a nice meal at Disney.

 

[Marquis de Disney]

I recently drove with my wife and young daughter (age 1.5) from NJ to Hilton Head Island to visit my folks who reside there. The best thing we did was to leave right around the time of our daughter's bed time (around 7pm). We drove straight through the night until we hit all the "Pedro Says..." signs and South of the Border, where we enjoyed a fantastic breakfast amidst all the tacky and cheesy splendor of the greatest roadside attraction on the East Coast.

 

[Sheribo]

We drive every spring break. The favorite thing is the surprise bag. I buy a bunch of silly things from the dollar store and wrap them up. We have a timer and I set it. When it goes off, they can reach in the bag and pull something out. Of course, everything is something that will keep them busy for a while.

And the never ending cooler is a hit. They make a bunch of sandwiches, cut up cheese and pack snacks too. There is no set meal time. When they are hungry, they eat.

And we drive 24 hours straight. Stop for coffee, gas and pee breaks. We take turns sleeping. We love to drive at night.

 

[NotUrsula]

I didn't read all the posts, but I do suggest driving all night. We live in Northern PA (about 18 hrs for us), and we usually drive through Southern Georgia for the night. You can not drive the whole way, but you'll waste a day at the start of your vacation, plus it's safer to driving at night since there are less people on the road. You can save that 80 bucks for a hotel and have a nice meal at Disney.

I'm sorry, but the bolded part is just not true. Night driving is NEVER safer than daytime driving, even if you are a professional driver who normally works night shifts. For one thing, the risk of highway hypnosis is hugely multiplied at night, when your field of vision is limited to the area illuminated by your headlights. You have less time to react because you cannot see as far, and your eyes are continually dealing with the minute muscle adjustments needed to keep in focus while constantly passing through areas where the light is variable (streetlights, signage, oncoming headlights, etc.)

Depending on a person's age, habits, general health and that of his eyes, night driving may be relatively safe, but all other driver factors being equal, night driving is never inherently safer than taking the same route in full daylight. (Weather would make a difference, too, of course, but weather isn't limited by the clock.)

 

[Nik's Mom]

Personally, we could not drive all night. One of us would fall asleep at the wheel. We left at 5am and drove until about 6pm (well, 7pm with the new time zone factored in). And that was a long drive for us. The kids did just fine, but us adults really wanted to stretch our legs for the rest of that night. We did make a point to alternate drivers every 3 or 4 hours to make sure the driver wasn't too fatigued.

 

[MasterChief]

I'm sorry, but the bolded part is just not true. Night driving is NEVER safer than daytime driving, even if you are a professional driver who normally works night shifts. For one thing, the risk of highway hypnosis is hugely multiplied at night, when your field of vision is limited to the area illuminated by your headlights. You have less time to react because you cannot see as far, and your eyes are continually dealing with the minute muscle adjustments needed to keep in focus while constantly passing through areas where the light is variable (streetlights, signage, oncoming headlights, etc.)

Depending on a person's age, habits, general health and that of his eyes, night driving may be relatively safe, but all other driver factors being equal, night driving is never inherently safer than taking the same route in full daylight. (Weather would make a difference, too, of course, but weather isn't limited by the clock.)

Well it is safer for me since YOU are not on the road