Driving to Disney---13+ hour drivers

[Gabkatt]

We were thinking about starting out the previous night at 7PM, which would put us at Disney early the next morning.......is that what you all did? I figured driving at night would let the kids sleep, and not annoy us with constant stops!!!

Hey Boxer,

We are in Canton, Ohio, you guys are not that far from us. We leave in the evening, the kids sleep most of the way (less traffic too). I drive straight through. We jump on 77 South, about 980 miles. About 15-16 hrs for us traveling around 70mph. On the return trip its our tradition to stay half way at the Embassy Suites in Charlotte, NC. For us its almost right on the money, 8 hrs. to get their and 8 hrs the rest of the way home.

 

[shasess]

I have driven down solo twice with DD(9). It took 10 hours with us only stopping once. The ride to Disney wasn't really bad but the drive home seem like it took forever. Next year my DH and I will be driving down with our girls and hopefully he will be doing most of the driving (I guess it does actually pay off to get married, lol)

 

[WhateverLolaWants]

We drive from NE Ohio, so about 1035 miles or 16.5 hours according to mapquest. With stops, it usually turns into 19-20 hours. When we were younger, we'd leave in the evening and drive straight through, sometimes stopping to nap at a rest area (yeah things were different back then, I'd never do that now). These years, it really varies. The past couple times I've been along for the ride, we stopped because we needed to (time wasn't right for check in for the cruise or for my CP). When my mom would come down with various people to visit me last year, she'd drive straight through with her being the only driver. We're taking two cars in December (4 adults and a chihuahua) and my dad hates driving straight through so we will be stopping overnight. I love driving down, it feels more familiar and more exciting to me. I love when we're like hey wait, we stayed at this hotel before, or oh hey we've stopped at this gas station before. Actually, in January we stayed in the same hotel that we stayed at in December of 2002. We had a hoot remembering how that time my dad locked the keys in the trunk and we had to wait for AAA. Plus it really builds the anticipation for me.. I still love feeling the temperature change the further down south we go.

 

[kittylady1972]

We made the drive from MD to WDW in November with 7 of us...our family of five (kids ages 7, 4 and 3) and my in-laws. We left around 3pm and drove until 10pm but by then the kids were really tired and unlike most of you lucky people, my kids do NOT like to sleep in the car! Don't get me wrong, they take naps and such in there, but on the drive down last time they were just miserable so we ended up stopping in SC and getting rooms for the night.

The next morning we got up around 7am, went to breakfast at Cracker Barrel, and hit the road arriving in WDW around early afternoon. We were still able to get out to Hollywood Studios that evening and enjoy dinner and the Osborne Lights and we weren't exhausted.

On our return trip (the Fri after Thanksgiving) we left around 7am and drove all the way back home. We stopped only for potty breaks, lunch break and had a long dinner break in SC again at Cracker Barrel. We arrived home around 1am but the kids were okay with that and we were HOME!

That being said, I think our plan next time is to leave in early afternoon and try to drive as long as possible. We'd love to go straight thru again as I prefer just to get there. DH does most of the driving, though last time I probably took over for about 3 hours on the way down and 7 hours on the way back. It all depends on how our kids manage on the trip, and again we'll have the in-laws with us. We also have in-vehicle entertainment system and bring personal video game systems for the oldest kid.

Good luck. We are also facing a return trip next May and although DH would prefer to fly, I am also not willing to shell out over $1000 MINIMUM on round drip airfare for the five of us.

 

[kaffinito]

It's over 1,000 miles for us one way. We live north of Detroit MI. I plan on stopping in either Cleveland TN or hopefully Macon GA on the way down. We have portable DVD players and I bring plenty of music. I also pack the kids pillows and blankets, and my youngest son's stuffed toys. We bring snacks too! This year I plan to leave at around 4:00 am to try and make some good time.

I always stop in Lake City FL at the first exit into FL off of 75 to get gas and just stretch. It's also my "Yeah!! We're in Florida!" spot.

 

[nicknamy1996]

Since we are at about the same distance I went back and found one my old replies to a similar question...

We just got back from our 4th trip with kids, driving from St. Louis every time. It's 15 1/2 hours door to door for us (with about 1 1/2 hours of stops) We usually stop 1 time for gas and breakfast, 1 time for gas and go, and one good hour stop and at McD with a playland for an hour to let the kids stretch out while my wife an I eat. THEN we get their food to go and let them sit and eat in the car (since they have to be sitting anyway... ya know?... works out good every time)

The way we do it we really don't lose a day. I get home from work on Friday and go straight to bed while my wife takes the kids out and keeps them up late. Usually about 1 or 2 am (after several hours of sleep for me) I put them in the car and take off, they usually sleep til Nashville. It is a long drive, but we've get to the parks on Saturday night around 6 and they are usually open late on Sat. (we got nearly 6 hours of park time in this year) Granted I'm tired being up for nearly 24hrs! But the I catch up that first night.

You will always find a 50 50 spilt on this question on the message boards on this topic. So neither one is the "best" way, its just which ever you prefer. I agree with the above poster about "flight times" I guess it's about 4 hours from STL, but with the drive to the airport, arriving 2 hrs early, all the delays associated with flying, getting your luggage, getting the rental car and getting to WDW it has to be closer to 8 to 10 hours.

I think the single biggest factor has to be if you can do it in one day its worth it to drive, if you have to stop for a night then consider flying. Factor in the 'lost day' the cost of the hotel each way etc...

The other part to factor in for flying vs driving is the cost of a rental car if you fly, or the inconvenience of not having one if you are going to use WDW transportation.

 

[Donnainnj]

We have driven before. It is about 1100 miles. Most of the time it goes fine. We do a 13-14 hour day, starting around 5:30am, stop in Georgia, then have between 3 1/2-4 hours left the next day. I can't sleep in the car so I do the first 4 hours of day one, and the last 4 or so hours. DH does the middle, and all of the second day. I can only do about 10 hours comfortably alone. My DH followed me to DDads house in SC to drop off his car, that trip was 12 hours and by the last 2 hours I was finished. With the two of us driving we are comfortable with about 14 hours a day. We stop for fast food, bathroom breaks, and gas, usually at the same time when possible. When we get to the hotel we have a sit-down meal. The second day starts around 8am, so we hit Disney around lunch time. Going home we usually don't get up so early and break it up 10-12 hour day and then the remaining time. One trip we hit some very bad weather, tornado's in the area. That was very tough and stressful. Haven't driven to many times since then. Vacation time is also a factor now that the kids are older and I won't take them out of school as much. Can't lose the Disney time.
Donna

 

[wishtdream]

When you drive you are not limited to the 1 piece of luggage and don't have to pack according to TSA regulations

So true. Have you heard the story of the woman who paid $100 to fly her diaper bag from Philly to Miami. ( me five years ago) We said never again right then.

My sis did the autotrain last year. One thing that surprised her was that she assumed it would be on a very tight schedule, but that wasn't the case. They arrive a lot later than scheduled. She didn't regret doing it, for the experience, but she doesn't think she'd do it again.

We also thought about the auto train for this trip. We asked DBIL about his experience with it and he said "NEVER AGAIN IT WAS HORRIBLE " so we will drive again this year.

OP - we are at the Jersey Shore last year we left at 4pm and we saw the front gate at 7:56 am by the time date stamp on our pic. 16 hours of driving including a stop in VA for dinner several potty breaks and a drive thru window for breakfast.

 

[HayGan]

Hello fellow Pittsburgher

We are leaving for WDW on Friday evening. We live in the South Hills so we are doing the I-79, Rt 19, I-77, I-26, I-95, I-4 route. AAA trip tik and mapquest list it about 15 hours. This will be our frist trip driving. We are leaving at 7pm and expect to arrive at SSR at about 12-1pm on Saturday. I plan on driving until about 2-3am and then have DH drive for 4 hours. He will then wake me up and we will wake the rest of the clan (my dad and our boys) and we will have breakfast. We might stop at Flagler Beach along the way as well. Our boys do not know about the trip yet and we aren't telling them it is to WDW until the morning. They will never get to sleep if we tell them before that!!! We have plenty of new books, games, etc. for when they are awake.

On the way back, we are leaving WDW at about 10am on Friday following breakfast at Chef Mickey's. We have reserved a room in Statesville, NC (about 9 hours from Orlando.) We will stay there that night, go gem hunting for a few hours in the morning in Hiddenite and then finish the rest of the trip (~6-7 hours.)

I will let you know how it was when we get back

 

[eva]

From Pekin, IL (near Peoria) it is 1145 miles. It takes us about 18 hours to drive straight through. We have been doing this for 12 years now. We even know what exits we will stop at for gas. It is just DH and me, so it makes it a lot easier. We leave around 3:00 pm on Friday and I drive to Paducah, KY in about 5 hours. Then DH takes over around 8:00 pm. He drives to about 1 hour north of Atlanta and I take over around 1:00 am. Then we go in 2-3 hour rotations for the next 8 hours. DH is a night owl and I am an early morning person. So our schedule works great!

We only stop for the potty and gas. I pack a cooler with lots of fruit. A fresh orange or some grapes really help to keep us going. Protein is good for the long haul. So we bring nuts, low-fat cheese, and deli sliced turkey. We try to stay away from caffeine until the last half of the trip. It is great for staying awake. But I always have to remember that I need to get some sleep while DH is driving. And I sleep well in the car as long as I don't drink any caffeine. Driving back is always tougher. We normally can make it in one shot. But in the last 12 years we have probably ended up stopping 3 times coming back. I good place for us is Clarksville, TN.

Someone mentioned being too exhausted the first day when driving straight through. But we haven't found it to be too much of a problem. Both of us probably get at least 5-6 hours of sleep on the way down. We usually go to bed a couple hours early the first night. But that is about it.

DH loves to drive. He hates being without HIS car. Kind of crazy. Especially since we have our grown DD's, DSIL, and grandkids flying down for this next trip and we only paid $245 round trip per person. But DH had to drive. He doesn't mind flying. He just hates being without HIS car. Plus, car rental for two weeks is a bit crazy. Everybody laughs when I tell them that the entire family is flying down without us and using Magical Express. Oh well, you got to love him!

 

[sharadoc]

My friends as well as my father would stay awake by rolling down the windows and cranking up the music. My friends would also make sure there was always one other person awake with the driver so they could talk, etc. Everyone who's driven that I know says it's harder to do it during the dark hours because you seem to fall into a trance, and there's not much traffic either (this can be good or bad!).

I think that's the best advice - someone is awake with the driver at all times. We bring music that we haven't listened to in a while, so that makes it fun, we follow the trip on a map and keep the driver informed of rest stops, gas stops, distances to next potential shift change. It keeps the trip interesting and takes pressure off the driver. The passenger seat person really should navigate.

We've got around 1000 miles, we'll leave Sunday at around 5AM, drive to the SC/GA border to sleep which we think will be around 14 hours, then have around 5-6 hours to WDW the next day. We hope the kids will sleep at least the first 4-5 hours in the car, then have DVDs, books, music to keep them occupied.

 

[sharadoc]

We're leaving in a week or so (depends on my work, we are staying at our vacation house so we have plenty of leeway). I'm in Delaware, an hour away from the traffic nightmare of Baltimore/D.C. So I'm to go to sleep around 10pm and wake up at 3:30am with a 4am start. That gets me a little bit of sleep and out of the trouble area before the rush hour. My wife and daughter will hopefully be sleeping in the car and when they wake up we should be ready for breakfast in NC (Cracker Barrel!). I'll let my wife drive for an hour or two while I nap or watch a movie, but I'll do most of it. I hope to be at Disney around 6 to 7pm. I've joked that if we were really hardcore we'd go right to a park! But I know we'll be wiped.

What's great is we planned the trip when gas was $4/gallon. It still worked out because of flight/rental car costs. But gas here in DE just dipped below $3.50!

Wait, am I excited over $3.50 gas?????????

Let us know if that works - it sounds like a perfect plan.

I got excited when gas dipped below $4.00, so $3.50 is almost Nirvana!!! Wasn't it under $3 just a year ago????

 

[ireland_nicole]

We have just over a 1200 mile trip each way; it usually takes about 18 hrs. there and 20 hours back. We do not stop for sit down meals, but during the day the kids seem to have incredible shrinking bladders . On the way there, we leave at 5pm and arrive the next morning. DH will drive until about 11pm and then we switch every 3 hours (and fill up with gas and caffeine). I plug in my ipod w/ one ear bud in and chill out listening to my tunes; I actually enjoy my driving "shift"; it's really relaxing and peaceful
On the way home we leave after a leisurely breakfast, and get home around 4 am, again switching out the driver.

It works so well, t hat now we take at least one more "road trip" each year. Now that the kids are older, though I'd like to allow 2 days to get home and stop somewhere interesting on the way.

 

[msgoofy]

Our drive is about 15 hours, but we don't do it straight through.

We did once, but will never do that again!

 

[Kaler131]

during the day the kids seem to have incredible shrinking bladders

I hear that! My kiddos are the same way....especially my DS8.

 

[Kazzy1548]

We are planning to drive down for our next trip.Coming from the great North Canada, It should be 22 hours and plus drive. We are not planning to drive straight trough, We will stop for some zzzzz. I am a little nervous though, afraid to be to tired. But Disney will get my energy up....

 

[inkedupmomma]

We were thinking about starting out the previous night at 7PM, which would put us at Disney early the next morning.......is that what you all did? I figured driving at night would let the kids sleep, and not annoy us with constant stops!!!

We are doing the same exact thing and also leaving from pa.. this is our first time doing it, so i hope it goes smoothly. we plan on switching drivers every couple hours! I don't fly, so it was never an option, but i'm excited to drive down!

 

[Married_Him_@_Disney]

We just moved to VA (from Texas), and we are going to start driving. I think it should take us about 13 hours to drive. We will probably leave at about 4 or 5 am, and that should put us there around 6 or 7 pm.

We are really excited about driving! It will allow us to bring more stuff. We will really make a new definition for "over-pack".

 

[eva]

I think that's the best advice - someone is awake with the driver at all times. We bring music that we haven't listened to in a while, so that makes it fun, we follow the trip on a map and keep the driver informed of rest stops, gas stops, distances to next potential shift change. It keeps the trip interesting and takes pressure off the driver. The passenger seat person really should navigate.

We've got around 1000 miles, we'll leave Sunday at around 5AM, drive to the SC/GA border to sleep which we think will be around 14 hours, then have around 5-6 hours to WDW the next day. We hope the kids will sleep at least the first 4-5 hours in the car, then have DVDs, books, music to keep them occupied.

That's funny. We do the same thing. We have some of our favorite CD's of 70's music, some Disney music, and books on CD. The books on CD are a life saver. You can check out CD's at the library or rent them at Cracker Barrels.

 

[nicknamy1996]

Just personally I vote against 7 pm for a couple of reasons...

By sleeping til midnight or 1 am (from about 6 or 7 pm, minus the tossing and turning I manages to get in 4 to 5 hours of sleep... or not much less than I get on a normal night) So at 1 am yes I'm tired, but I also just started the drive so the first leg (or about 5 hours) is pretty easy. But the best part about that is at about 6am or so when you stop the first time... and you are really getting tired... but the sun comes up! So now that gives you new life, and it's daylight and (at least for me) it's like the start of the trip all over again. So the next 5 hours is pretty much a cake walk. The first 10 hours fly by. Then one more stop and we are at WDW!

I guess my point there is that if were to leave at 7pm, the first leg would be easy, 1) because we are normally up at that time and 2) it's the first leg. But the midnight to 5 am shift would be doubly tough. Make sense?


And we get there at 6pm or so and can go to the parks for a few hours, which is perfect for someone who is tired, but wants to stretch their legs (on Main St.!!!)

If you drive through the night (w/ no sleep) and then get there in the a.m. it could make for a long, grumpy day at the parks.

Also, you cannot check in to the hotel (room) til later in the day (not really a big deal, because you can still check in at get your tickets, but worth thinking about)