Driving from New England with preschoolers

[molly2004]

We would love to take a family trip to WDW, but the airfare may put this trip off longer than I would like. Would those of you who have driven from NE/Boston with preschoolers share your trials and tribulations? My twin boys will be turning 3 when we go.

I've also considered the autotrain. My brother lives in Lorton so we could drive there and catch the train the next day. Does that prove any cheaper?

Thanks for the tips!


I wanna go now now now!

 

[Mac and Us]

We also live in NE -- New Hampshire.

I think it all depends on how your children do in the car. Our DD(3.5) rides to and from work with me everyday as her preschool is next to where I work. She rides 40 minutes each way in the car everyday.

Long trips are usually a breeze for us. We have a motorhome and travel a lot. She does well as long as we provide lot's of drinks/snacks and activities. FYI-she's always in her carseat while the motorhome is moving so it's no different than in a car.

We went to Disney in April and she did really well. On the way down she was excited about going to Mickey's house. On the way home the last 8 hours of the trip were the hardest. We had to stop every 2-3 hours at rest areas so she could run around.

I'm always on the lookout when I shop at Walmart & the Dollar store for things she's never had and would be interested in. I have a box and whenever I see something I think would entertain her I pick it up and store it in the box for the next trip.

Things like bright colored calculators, coloring books & crayons, Crayola Color Wonder markers & finger paints, crafts like neckleck making kits (the foam ones sold at Walmart in the craft isle), toys that are on clearance, DVD's, etc. If it's new to your child they will stay entertained longer.

 

[stacieps]

The furthest we've driven from NH was VA, and that was too far for us - it was about 5 years ago, so I don't remember what was so terrible, just that DH and I said we didn't ever want to drive again. Have you downloaded DING for Southwest? We just got r/t tickets from Manchester NH to MCO for $136 ($545 for 4 us - I think is good). Song and JetBlue for the same time frame are more expensive.

I'm sorry that isn't much help, I just mainly wanted to mention SW's Ding rates.

 

[megan2346]

We drove from Cape Cod to WDW last year. I didn't think the drive was that bad. My Children were 3 and 6 months at the time. The 3 year old did great. We bought a tv/vcr for the backseat and I bought him some new videos for it and he thought that was the great. We took a couple of days for the ride down but made it back in 2 days. The ride back was long because at that point we had been gone for over 10 days and were ready to get home. This year I am flying down with my Children and meeting my DH down there and then we are all driving back. So it wasn't that bad since we are doing it again. Good Luck

 

[twinklebug]

When the airfare prices drop down to around $140 rt (inc. taxes & fees) from BOS/PVD to MCO the cost of driving from MA to FL with 4 is about the same as flying (once you count in for gas, tolls, hotel stay(s) and food, not to mention wear and tear on the car.)

You can rent a car one way from MCO -> Disney for less than $50 and pick up groceries on the way in and take ME on the way out for free.

It really makes no sense for us to drive unless I'm counting on making a stop in SC to visit family or dropping my college student off at school.

 

[molly2004]

Thanks for the input. Gotta check out this Ding thing.

 

[JimFitz]

My wife and I just decided that we are going to drive down in October of this year. We are staying 10 nights at SSR and we were going to fly and rent a car, but did the math and I can save $1100 if I drive. I actually like driving to WDW. We did it alot as kids.

We have twin boys that are 2 1/2 and a 1 yr old boy. We have driven to Busch Gardens and everyone did great, as long as we drove at night.

 

[ryan840]

My husband and I drove through the night on our trip to Tennessee, that way our son slept and we didn't have to worry about it. He drove while I slept and when we got there he slept while I took care of our son and the luggage, etc... Aside from not being to make any plans for our arrival day (except for relaxing and going to dinner) we just played it by ear and had a great trip. We plan on doing it again this December when we drive to New York.

 

[Destination Disney]

Driving through the night is the way to go. It is quite, and the traffic is usually not heavy at all.

 

[lori625062979]

Air with Southwest was $79 each way for us from Rhode Island. You have to be quick though they book up fast.

 

[disney0928]

We're north of Boston, and usually leave at about 8PM. We get the kids in their pj's and tuck them in the car seats. DH used to drive a big rig, so we do the trip in one long haul....straight through door to door in under 24 hours. The kids did marvelously!

By leaving at 8PM, we miss Boston rush hour, and we're south of DC before their morning commute starts. When the kids wake, we stop at the nearest rest area, usually about half way through VA. We dress them for the day, have a picnic breakfast that we packed in the cooler, wash up, run around for a while. Back in the car, and off we go until lunch time. Same deal, picnic, restroom break, exercising. A new playground ball at WalMart is under $5 and can be found with a Disney character on it, making playtime themed time

We obviously put most of the difficult driving behind us over night. We switch drivers about every 4 hours, even over night. One drives, the other rests. Breaks every 4 hours are a pretty good space for kids too. Over the years we've driven with the boys at different stages, from age 2 (before our younger son was born) to a 3yr old with a 9 month old, and a five year old with a 2.5 year old. They've always managed the trip well, maybe we're just lucky

The suggestion of stocking up on small toys/crafts from Dollar Tree is a good one. Also, our McDonald's will usually give out extra Happy Meal toys when they're getting ready to switch over themes. Just ask! Free toys, very cool! We also do the movies in the car, but we just use the lap top with DVD. We have a ac/dc power converter, so we can plug-in no worries about the battery charge.

We prefer to drive, love having our own car in WDW. This year, due to vacation restrictions, we're going to have to fly (DH HATES planes). I gotta look into this "Ding" thing too, I guess......

 

[KarenP99]

We drove from NH to HHI in April with a 3, 1 & 3month old.

It was fine, we left at 3am, so by the time they actually were "up" we were almost to NY/NJ.

We stopped when we needed to, and didn't push anything. HOWEVER, we did say that the nice thing was that we had the loooooong car ride to a relaxing vacation of doing "nothing". We wouldn't want that long car trip, then to have to actually "do" stuff....and drive back! Those long rides are really tiring!

We love the MHT>MCO southwest direct flights. I hate flying, and it's a bit of a shuffle with the kids...but in 4 hours start to finish, you're there, done, ready to enjoy vacation!

Good luck with your decision.

Karen