Driving from Chicago...

[Camno's Mama]

We haven't made a decision yet...still watching the plane fares and hoping for a sale. Now that we have three kids (five seats to buy), driving is seeming like a better option financially. I think it's possible that we would save as much as 500.00 (and that's if there is a decent sale on plane fare).

So, are we crazy? How much time should we allow? I know that some people like to drive straight through, and others stop somewhere and stay for the night. Our kids range in age from 1 to 7. I am thinking we would leave at 3 or 4 in the morning and drive until dinner time. We would stay somewhere in Georgia, and then get to Disney about noon the next day. How much recovery time would we need?

I am hoping for feedback from those who have done it. Would you do it again?

 

[tinyrip]

we've done it multiple times. I have no problem with the drive. best tip i've ever been given is to make it through atlanta before stopping. we usually stay just south of atlanta. we stop about 9pm ish and start out sometime around 7am or 8. the next day we are usually at the hotel around 1 or 2pm. depends on how much we push it. we're not speed demons and these estimates are based on doing about the speed limit to 5 miles over. but we always decide whether to drive or fly on how high airline costs go. hope this helps.

 

[OhdahLolly]

We've done this several times and planning to do it again with our two this April! We can get pretty good airfairs at around 200 round trip, but that's still 600 bucks. Where as its only 200 to drive down to disney in our Prius. Even if we rented another car, it would probably be another 150, which we'd still be coming out ahead. Plus, you dont have to worry about being stuck when you are at the resort.

Depending on where you are staying, having a car to drive to the parks is a big bonus.. (like AK, or SSR).

For us, the trip averages anywhere between 18-22 hours, straight through. This includes plenty of stops.

We planning on leaving sometime after dinner time, mostly. It should be a couple few hours with the kids awake in the car, then a good portion should be spent sleeping.

Best advice I can give you is to be prepared.


If that means having a portable DVD player to attach to the head rests, do that. Travel aqua doodles are very awesome for little ones (and they fill with water), crayola also has several things that might be useful to. Getting some cheapie toys from the dollar store also might be a good idea. Quick things to pull out every couple of hours and distract from the crankies. Make sure to pack a cooler up front with lots of snacks and drinks.

It is also worth if it you find a play area on the road, and let the kids lose for awhile.

Usually when we drive straight through it takes us a night to recover. We get there by late afternoon. Spend that time roaming around the city, and just relaxing. Next day is right at disney and we are all awake and ready to go!

 

[WDWLVR]

We don't have kids but we've done the drive a number of times. We leave at 4 am and then drive till about 8 pm Eastern which gets us into Macon, GA. Leave the next day at about 5 am and we're at Disney by noon. I wouldn't plan on doing a lot that first day at Disney - maybe some pool time.

 

[MyKidsMom1820]

we are gonna drive from grand rapids michigan, because I cant justify the extra cost of flying and not to mention no rental car/ can bring some of our own food ( we have medical need for this) and we wont have to rent a double stroller, also it is our preference to drive to the park each day, as I am not fond of mass transit with 3 littles.... this is our first family trip so I am basing this off of my experience w/o kids and also reading a lot of trip reports....

 

[Becky2005]

Not crazy at all. We drive just about everywhere because the price to fly with a family of 6 is INSANE...as a matter of fact I *just* priced United and for our family it would be over $5,000 to fly.

I don't care what the cost of gas is, even taking that into consideration, hotel costs & food it is not anywhere NEAR $5,000....it is a trade-off with time though.

We can not drive straight through, I know some do but no way we can. Last time we stopped at Marietta, GA on the way down and Chattanooga, TN on the way back. I felt Marietta was a wee bit too far but it also depends on "where" in Chicago you start from. I knew from experience we could NOT go past Atlanta -- BTDT on the way home from the Atlanta Motor Speedway trip once and we were literally falling asleep at the wheel -- never, ever again, so we know to stop before that.

I have never found Atlanta a big deal since they have the HOV lanes and we weren't exiting, so we always hopped in those and just GO. Of course, we usually hit it on the weekends to, either that or I'm just so used to Chicago traffic that it didn't seem all that horrible.

Last time we took 57 - 24 - 75 way down and that is probably what we will do again. We take back roads to get to 57 though -- basically hop on Rt. 47 and go down through IL mostly that way to 74 and then pick up 57 in Champaign. It's kind of a backwards way but it avoids Chicago traffic and is quicker (so they tell me -- I keep trying to find ways around it and still seems to be the way to do it).

 

[disneyholic family]

when i was growing up we would drive a few times a year from Detroit to Miami...
i don't know what my parents thought of it, but as a kid i LOVED it!!!

sounds crazy but we just loved those road trips..

for us, it's straight down I-75.....my parents would make it to Macon Georgia for a stop overnight....we would make it to miami the next day, so certainly orlando was easily doable...

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

Count on about 7.5 hours from Atlanta to WDW. If you are sleeping nearby and it is the workweek, you want to stop after passing through the city. Our morning rush hour is ugly.

Once you are south of ATL, and then through Macon..............the drive is a very easy one. Just set the cruise control and relax for the next 4-5 hours. Once you cross the FL line and get near Ocala and Gainesville you have to pay a bit more attention, but overall the leg from ATL to WDW is not too bad.

 

[wdw_girl_18]

I drove to disney last summer from chicago. We planned on taking the drive easy, so I allowed 3 days for driving. The first night we stopped in nashville (8 hours worth of driving) because I was car sick. The next day we ended up driving the rest of the way. We left at 8 a.m. and got there at 11 p.m. We only stopped for meals and at the rest stop where they have the welcome to florida sign (and free orange juice!). I accidentally took a wrong turn on the highway somewhere bewteen georgia and florida and it added 50 miles to the trip but other than that it was good. Oh, and we completly missed Atlanta's rush hour traffic!

I would definitely invest in some portable dvd players. When i was little and my family would travel places, my mom would pack a HUGE bag of toys. It was like 2 feet tall and 3 feet long. She would set it between the two seats in the minivan and we would play with those (I was 6, my brother was 3). That kept us busy for hours. She would also pack us a little lap desk so we could color (with colored pencils, remember crayons will melt in the heat!)

Your plan to start early and stop around dinner time sounds good. When we did this, we stopped in Macon, Georiga the first night That's what we would do when I was little and it always worked out! I would not do it again only because I get really nauseous driving and the less drowsy dramanine still makes me sleepy. Just be careful what hotels you choose to stay at (try to book ahead of time). On the way home from texas we stopped in arkansas and all the hotels were booked because of a karate tournament. We literally stopped at 20 hotels to try and get a room. We ended up in a really bad neighborhood. There wasn't a lobby and you had bullet proof glass between you and the hotel worker.

I would take it easy the first day you get there (you said you would get there around noon). Lounge at the pool and let the kids rest from the long drive!

 

[JJSWDW]

We are planning on driving for our next trip from Chicago too. Gonna try doing it straight through with just a midnight cat-nap. Probably leave at 7pm and get a lot of driving done while the kids are winding down and sleeping. We're planning on about 22 hours total, maybe 24. I have driven down several times but normally do two ~12 hour days, this will be the first time we will try to compress it.

 

[stazmatic]

We are from Chicago far north suburbs. We have 6 kids and will only fly if we can airfare about 150pp. We drove in 2009 for Thanksgiving. We are going again over spring break this year. We rented a large van to get extra room but didn't realize until we picked up the van that there was no tv/dvd

We normally eat an early dinner and pack up the car during the day so we are ready to go. We always drive straight through with stops for gas/bathroom breaks. We even pack breakfast and lunch for the car just because fast food doesn't sit well on the stomach during long rides. Plus everyone seems to sleep on different schedules so it is easier. We normally have at least 3 drivers so it is easier to go straight through. I plan on about 22 hours, it is usually a little less.

My older boys had their ds's and books so I really didn't hear much from them. The little kids had lots of books, small toys, and coloring activities and they were pretty occupied. Our biggest problem is DD5 who has a hard time sleeping normally, had an even harder time sleeping on the road. She cried a lot during the last two hours

We get settled in when we get there right about check in time and just chill for the night. By the next morning we are good to go

This time around I am going to bring laptops or personal dvd players for some sanity. Although back when we were kids we did just fine without a tv in the car and learned to entertain ourselves. So the dvd player will only come out to cure major meltdowns. We will also have an extra driver on this trip so that will be helpful.

My favorite parts of driving are going through St Louis with the bridge all lit up and driving through Tennessee when the sun is coming up and seeing all the green that we don't see at home in early spring.

I think it is easier to drive with this many kids than to fly. I get really anxious during security at the airport because there is so much commotion and drama. Getting all of our stuff, strollers, car seats, plus the kids through is just a huge headache. With a car they are used to staying buckled in the car and we have the freedom to stop if we need to.

 

[Camno's Mama]

I so want to drive straight through. I am a "hurry through and do it all at one time" kind of person. But I am cursed with the "sleepy in the car" syndrome, and I'm pretty sure dh can't do the drive all night thing. Such a bummer.

So, I am thinking we will leave at 4am and stop along the way to stretch out and run around, and get to Marietta around dinner time. Let the kids run off some steam (three very busy boys...they will be so ready to go...probably will do the pool), and get to bed early. Then we will get up as early as possible, and try to beat the rush hour in Atlanta. Disney in the early afternoon!

As far as the way home, which is the part that sounds like it will really suck. We are thinking we will leave Disney in the early morning after one last food court breakfast. We are going to Nashville the first day. We have always wanted to see it. Worth it? Better stopping point, maybe something really pretty or something that has pretty scenery? Where are the Mammoth Caves in relation to Nashville?

Then on the next day, we hope to make it as far as Indianapolis, and even all the way home. I don't want to push it, and if we are really sick of it, we will just spend the day in Tennessee and then drive later and get to Indy around dinner time. Then get up early and do the last four hours home.

What do you all think?

 

[OhdahLolly]

I also want to add here... When you see signs in Georgia for the "Florida visitor center ahead!" it does not mean the state line is close!!

It's more like 2-3 hours *after* you see that first sign that you'll hit the state line. So just a word of warning. I spent 2 hours just waiting to be done with Georgia which is a really long state.. lol.

I so want to drive straight through. I am a "hurry through and do it all at one time" kind of person. But I am cursed with the "sleepy in the car" syndrome, and I'm pretty sure dh can't do the drive all night thing. Such a bummer.

So, I am thinking we will leave at 4am and stop along the way to stretch out and run around, and get to Marietta around dinner time. Let the kids run off some steam (three very busy boys...they will be so ready to go...probably will do the pool), and get to bed early. Then we will get up as early as possible, and try to beat the rush hour in Atlanta. Disney in the early afternoon!

As far as the way home, which is the part that sounds like it will really suck. We are thinking we will leave Disney in the early morning after one last food court breakfast. We are going to Nashville the first day. We have always wanted to see it. Worth it? Better stopping point, maybe something really pretty or something that has pretty scenery? Where are the Mammoth Caves in relation to Nashville?

Then on the next day, we hope to make it as far as Indianapolis, and even all the way home. I don't want to push it, and if we are really sick of it, we will just spend the day in Tennessee and then drive later and get to Indy around dinner time. Then get up early and do the last four hours home.

What do you all think?

It's really hard to switch off on the road if you have kids, because the time that you need to rest is normally when you can't! But the advise here since we are the same way, is to switch off frequently, and make sure to have some nice drinks. Rockstar works for us, or regular coffee when the other one will switch out.


If memory serves Mammoth Caves are about an hour? From Nashville. It's been awhile since I lived there, so maybe someone else can chime in with more experience.

 

[Becky2005]

Anyone stay in Ringgold, TN?

That looks like a good stopping point for us because I can not FIND the hotel we stayed at last time. I'm thinking it changed hands or something because I know it was a Holiday Inn & I'm a Priority club member so it should have been right in my account but when I went to look it up last time, it said it didn't have a hotel there. *confused*

The one in Chattanooga that we stayed at last time must have remodled or sold out or ? because it said we exceeded their room limit for people. *sigh*

Yes, when traveling with a family of 6, you have extra issues...it's also why I always book a room ahead of time! No guarantee we could find a room that would fit all of us or even 2 rooms while traveling. If it were just 2 of us or something no problem but not with the kids.

 

[stazmatic]

I so want to drive straight through. I am a "hurry through and do it all at one time" kind of person. But I am cursed with the "sleepy in the car" syndrome, and I'm pretty sure dh can't do the drive all night thing. Such a bummer.

So, I am thinking we will leave at 4am and stop along the way to stretch out and run around, and get to Marietta around dinner time. Let the kids run off some steam (three very busy boys...they will be so ready to go...probably will do the pool), and get to bed early. Then we will get up as early as possible, and try to beat the rush hour in Atlanta. Disney in the early afternoon!

As far as the way home, which is the part that sounds like it will really suck. We are thinking we will leave Disney in the early morning after one last food court breakfast. We are going to Nashville the first day. We have always wanted to see it. Worth it? Better stopping point, maybe something really pretty or something that has pretty scenery? Where are the Mammoth Caves in relation to Nashville?

Then on the next day, we hope to make it as far as Indianapolis, and even all the way home. I don't want to push it, and if we are really sick of it, we will just spend the day in Tennessee and then drive later and get to Indy around dinner time. Then get up early and do the last four hours home.

What do you all think?

Maybe I am misunderstanding, but on the way home are you staying overnight in Nashville and then seeing the sites there? If you leave Disney after breakfast you will get to Nashville about dinnertime or later and it will be dark. Not much scenery in the dark.

 

[Camno's Mama]

Maybe I am misunderstanding, but on the way home are you staying overnight in Nashville and then seeing the sites there? If you leave Disney after breakfast you will get to Nashville about dinnertime or later and it will be dark. Not much scenery in the dark.

Yeah, haven't gotten that far in the planning process just yet.

I think we are thinking maybe we'll just "see" Nashville. Hahaha. Or maybe the next morning and then go from there and see how far we get. Not sure. I would be most interested in finding something beautiful to go see. Something outdoorsy to walk around, etc. If we only drive to Indy the next day, it we'll have enough time to do something. I think it kind of depends how we feel after the trip. There is always the chance we have done enough sightseeing and just want to do the long haul from Nashville area.

 

[Becky2005]

There is always Lookout Mountain. You would probably have to do it the next morning but Ruby Falls was nice too. I can't remember exactly where that is at but I know we stopped there as a "Hey, let's go here" side trip but I think it was when we went to Atlanta? We weren't going all the way to FL.

You got to walk down in the caves and after going through a narrow path/cave they took you to Ruby Falls and I remember with the lighting there was a rainbow. It was really cool. It was back when we only had 2 kids so we just dragged them along (I know my 2nd was still in diapers). I'm pretty sure a couple of mine would freak out now with the dark and close quarters there.

 

[lynn46356]

Just did the drive from NW Indiana this past December. We left about 4 a.m. and stopped for the night in Ocala, Florida, arriving around 9:30 p.m. We stopped for three meals (my adult sons were hungry - IHOP, Cracker Barrell and Wendy's). On the drive home we left at 4:15 a.m. from Pop Century and arrived in the driveway around 9:30 p.m. We only stopped for gas and ate one meal at Cracker Barrell. The sons put me in the back seat and away we went. I'm planning on repeating the process at the end of the month with a girls only trip. Plans are to leave at 4 a.m. again but stay in Lake City, Florida, this time. Happy travels!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[stazmatic]

No offense to Indiana peeps but everytime we stop in Indiana it is in a bad neighborhood. If you plan on stopping there make sure you research ahead of time where you want to go.

 

[lynn46356]

Thanks for the kind words stazmatic! I think the same holds true for every state. We've found ourselves in a few questionable areas during vacations. Unfortunately, they are everywhere, not just Indiana. Happy Travels All!!!!!!