Driving from WI, 8 1/2 days, still fun?

[JBeaty0507]

Where are you planning on driving through in Tennessee?? I live in the Chattanooga area and can't help but think you're gonna get to see some of the beauty of where I live! Enjoy if that's what you end up doing! We love it.......that being said, we live in the Chattanooga and fly to Florida every time. We did it once and now we will never go back! You are a very brave soul! I have made the drive to NYC 3 times which is about 12.5 hours. That's the longest drive we've ever taken and I will never do it again. Only did it because I was on school/church trips. When we've went as adults, we've always flown. But you will get to see some beautiful scenery!

 

[Cakesy]

On our way home we were going to spend a morning in Chattanooga and then mosey on over to the Clarksville area by dinner time. I love Nashville, but we wouldn't really have the time to go there. Actually, I wish we could do TWO trips. One to Florida, and a separate one that is a road trip to GA and TN. We may end up going that route anyway, but I'm not sure how we can afford it. A flying vacation to Florida, we COULD do, but it will really push the limits of affordability for us. Not sure if we'd be able to afford a road trip the next year.

 

[LISmama810]

I think spreading it out is better.

Yes, it absolutely IS possible to have a good time on road trips with little kids. We do it all the time. (And I have kids with varying temperaments--only one of the three is what I describe as "easy going.") The key, IMO, is to take lots of breaks (even at rest stops--get out and play Simon Says, or bring a frisbee or something), plenty of snacks, and plenty of entertainment. I allow my kids ALMOST unlimited use of iPads during road trips. I do usually require an hour of reading (if they're old enough) and usually some breaks where they have to do something else (I Spy or some other car game).

Activity books (either ones to write in, or more tactile ones for little kids), mangadoodles, Colorforms, invisible ink books, origami, etc. can keep kids busy. Pipe cleaners are awesome! (As long as they won't poke themselves or others in the eye.) They're great for making into animals or other "inventions."

Take some paper cups with you, too. Very handy for divvying up snacks so you can bring larger bags instead of the more expensive (and usually largely portioned) individual bags of stuff).

 

[Allison]

I would never do it.

 

[eyeblaura]

I have a 6 and 9 year old. We've never done more than an 8 hour road trip with them and really 5 is about their limit before we are making a gazillion bathroom stops, whining or complaining. There are only so many movies they can watch or coloring they can do, my oldest also gets car sick pretty easily so reading or doing anything looking down for long periods of time makes her sick. We've always flown to Disney it's about a 2 1/2 hour flight for us so still a half day trip getting there by the time you factor in time to airport, security etc. Heading there we are all so excited to get there I can't imagine it taking us 3 days before we arrived and how many times I'd have to hear "are we there yet?"

 

[Jaime4004]

We've now considered extending it to 10 days. Still having only 4 1/2 days - 5 nights in Florida. But taking about 3 days each way for driving and sightseeing. This makes the drive more of a trip in itself. But means a larger number of days spent on long drives. Any thoughts?
Each way's trip would involve two real long driving days, with one shorter driving day in the middle, (I mean, the shorter day is still 4-5 hours in the car though.) Can a road trip be fun with little kids? Or is it more a means to an end?

I have 3 kids and about a 24 hr drive. They all like it. Sometimes they are disappointed if we're flying instead. For them the drive is part of the vacation. One of my kids prefers driving because he can bring more of his stuff

 

[erinmomof2]

We usually drive to Florida from Michigan. We have around a 19 hour drive. We like to do it straight through. We leave around 3 am and arrive around midnight. We do not take long breaks, but try to get in and out as fast as possible. In the past we've broken the trip up but we would rather have one long day in the car instead of two full days in the car. We've been driving down most years since our kids were babies. They've never had a problem with the drive. We bring little things to do and they get to watch movies. We usually go to the library before we leave and get a bunch of books on tape for the ride too. On the way home we do sometimes stop just because we will usually go to one of the parks for a few hours in the morning. If it were me I would rather have more time in Florida and less time one the road, I know my kids would do better with that. Also if you have a free place to stay in Florida it would cost less to do it that way as well.

 

[maxiesmom]

I'm not sure if I'm comfortable driving through the night or not. Something to consider though.

I'm not. Not after being in a car when the driver fell asleep, and almost wrecked us. Woke up to my sister screaming.

I wouldn't drive that far for such limited time at WDW. You have a lot of time in the car for very limited Disney time. And while the drive to Disney is not so bad, everyone is excited and the road trip is new and exciting, the drive home is horrible. In my experience. Everyone is tired and hates the car at that point. Unless your family loves being in the car, I wouldn't do it.

I also think you are underestimating how long the drive will be. It will be over 20 hours each way once you factor in stops.

 

[eschil]

It takes us about 24 hours to drive to Disney straight through with brief stops every 2-3 hours. We have done the drive 5 times with 2 kids. The youngest was 15 months on his first trip and the oldest was 5 on his first trip. Driving isn't for everyone but for us we hate flying. My rule of thumb for driving anywhere is that if the travel time exceeds the amount of time I will be at my destination, then it isn't worth it.

 

[la79al]

I always think roadtrips with the kids will be a wonderful great time. Everyone will be excited about traveling and seeing new sights. The kids will look out the windows with bright eyes, exclaiming over something every 5 minutes. We'll stop at wonderful landmarks and take pictures. In reality, they spend the first 20 minutes trying to figure out exactly how long it is going to take to get there. The rest of the time we spend trying to entertain them. We decide that why are we spending time on the trip there when we could be getting there faster and spending more time in Florida. The way back is even worse. The kids are ready to get back to their normal environment and normal schedule and have zero tolerance for each other. The ride home is 100% just get home! Last trip we also ended up with a sick 5 year old in the car at 4 a.m, 12 hours from home and still 5 hours from our destination. Bring a few barf bags, just in case.

 

[jeepnjudy]

I have 3 kids and about a 24 hr drive. They all like it. Sometimes they are disappointed if we're flying instead. For them the drive is part of the vacation. One of my kids prefers driving because he can bring more of his stuff

This sounds like my two DS...and I have to remind them "Not all that stuff will fit in the backseat!"

 

[planning42012]

I'm in Milwaukee. We drove to Disney when our kids were 4 and 7, we got them up really early in the morning the first day and drove all the way to Atlanta. The second day we made it to our condo around dinner time and just relaxed and enjoyed the evening. We did 5 days in the parks and then went to Clearwater beach one day. On the drive back we left at about 7:30 am and my husband decided to drive straight through so we arrived home around 2am. Last summer we drove to the Outer Banks, which is a similar distance as Disney. This fall we are driving to Disney again. The idea of the drive is so much worse than the drive itself. We always make sure to have lots of snacks, games, and activities to keep the drive fun and interesting. We get books on tape, play madlibs and car bingo and other games. My kids each have a Kids Atlas so they can read about the states we drive through. They make up their own games. Road trips can be a lot of fun, they are great family bonding time. The trip there is the easiest because everyone is excited for what's to come, it give you lots of time to talk about what you want to do and plan together. The drive back everyone is tired, so it's less fun, but giving them something new to do every few hours or letting them earn rewards for good behavior (like getting to pick a snack at the next gas station, or a movie, or 30 minutes of tablet time, etc.) all make for an easier drive. Every time we go on a long road trip I dread the drive, so I understand the hesitation, but it's never as bad as I think it will be and we usually end up having a lot of fun together during the drive. With all of that being said, flying isn't an option for us. If I could choose I would choose to fly, but not because road trips are horrible, just because flying is so much faster and all the traveling can be done in 2 days total rather than 4 or more.

 

[Minnesota!]

I couldn't do it. We have driven to Sioux Falls, Kansas City, and Cincinnati from Saint Paul. Not fun. My kids are seasoned air travelers. However, anything over 30 minutes in the car and we are all whining about "are we there yet" (that is not an exaggeration, truly..). We all hate being in the car.

 

[quagmire0]

Really depends on your personal preference. DW does not enjoy road trips, and I don't like 'wasting' vacation days driving, so we always fly. If you've got good credit, you can look into getting the Southwest Visa when they do their 50k points promotion. You can actually double up on it by applying for their preferred card and their plus card. You end up paying about $180 in annual fees, but that gives you 100k points, which should easily get you RT airfare for four with points to spare for a future trip. That's how our family of 6 is flying this year.

 

[lchuck]

I say go for it! We live in Nebraska and did these kind of trips all of the time when we were kids and there were 7 of us! We drove down to WDW last year, straight through to Atlanta, stayed a day with some relatives, then the rest of the way the next day. We went to the parks 5 days with 1 off day in the middle and then drove back home over 2 days. We enjoyed it so much, we're going again this year! People said we were crazy, but I say do it and you'll never regret it!

 

[DH-2-mamaduck]

Not crazy at all to drive, and since you don't like to fly, your mind is already made up that you will be driving. If the kids are not use to long trips...your patience will be tested. Just plan some extra stops. Amazing how 15-20 minutes vs. 5 min stop at rest area makes a big difference - or 30 minute lunch break outside of the car.

I have 5 kids, but long car rides is normal for them and we take road trips all the time. We will be driving to The World in June, ~1600 miles. We will take a little more time getting there vs. getting home. As other said, don't want to be tired when we get there, but also plan on the check-in day to relax once we get there. The Saturday will be the longest day of our trip The most we go will be 16 hours with all the kids. Have to remember time zone change as well, you will loose the hour on the clock. Only issues staying with family is trying to leave when you want to leave to hold to your schedule.

Here is what our trip will look like: Minneapolis MN to St Charles IL to visit my Grandma for the day. Only a quick 5 hour drive, 6 at most (depends upon road construction and traffic on Randall Road - funny how the last 10 miles take forever! - I have to get new iPass, so that will tack on some time). Then from St Charles, drive 14 hours to get close to the FL boarder. Then quick 4-6 hour drive in to WDW, check in and relax for the afternoon/evening.

In the car, I turn on my HotSpot so the kids have WiFi. They bring books to read and movies to watch, coloring/activity books for the two little ones, etc. We pack food/drink and make meals when stopping for gas or a quick rest area stop.

Have a fun trip!

 

[Cakesy]

Thank you all so much for your input! Lots of good points made. This board is awesome.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Maybe think of the trip differently. Rather than a "we have to do lots of Disney trip", why not think and plan it as a fun journey of the southeast?

If it were me, I'd do the Milwaukee to Atlanta portion as one long day (saves you the hotel cost). I'd plan to leave at 6am from Milwaukee and get in about 9pm-10pm in Atlanta (Mapquest says it's 12-13 hours, but I'd bet with a nice stop for lunch and dinner, you're looking at 15 hours). You'd pretty much put the kids to bed and spend some time chatting with friends and then I'd spend Sun and maybe Monday exploring Atlanta (depending how much your friends would mind you hanging around). You could see the World Of Coke, Centennial Olympic Park, Center for the Puppetry Arts, Legoland Discovery Center, CNN Studio Tour, etc. Then, I'd be up 1st thing Tuesday and get to Orlando by about 4pm for a hotel check in (if you leave by 8am, this should be pretty easy) and then you could spend an evening relaxing at a Disney site. I'd spend 2-3 days in Orlando and then the 2 days on the beach in Florida (as you mentioned) and then I'd turn around and drive to Nashville, TN and then home (possibly spending another day enjoying that site). So, my trip would be...

Day 1 - Drive from Milwaukee to Atlanta (longest drive time of the trip, but the 1st day, so you guys should be well-rested and excited, so this is the best way to do this)
Day 2-3 (3rd day is optional to enjoy more Atlanta - could swap with extra Nashville time) - Enjoy Atlanta
Day 4 - Drive from Atlanta to Orlando - enjoy evening activity
Day 5-7 - Enjoy Orlando
Day 8-9 - Enjoy Beach
Day 10 - Drive from Florida to Nashville
Day 11 - Optional Day for Nashville (if you didn't use the day previously) and/or drive home

I much prefer having whole days for exploring places than partial days when I roadtrip. I'm doing a full day on our travel to Florida to see Charleston, SC, so we can actually enjoy the day well-rested and ready to take it all in.

 

[leahgoogle]

We are about 16 hours from Disney. If I were going on a strictly "Disney" vacation, I would definitely want to fly to maximize days at the parks. Sounds like you are actually wanting to do other things and site-see. Driving makes more sense if you are wanting to do that.

 

[bigbabyblues]

Our drive is *only* about 15 hours, but we don't mind it. We have driven at night the first several times, but I just can't do the whole overnight thing anymore. I can drive while DH naps, but I can't sleep in the car, so I am up the whole time.