Driving to Disney from RI, suggestions to save on the ride?

[CTdiznymom]

The only tip I have to to get yourself an EZ PASS for going thru the tolls. Don't know the route you're taking, so you can check it out online first before you apply for one. We've traveled from Conn. numerous times, and just getting thru the NY tolls made it well worth it. Especially coming back. You can cancel it when you return home if you don't plan on using it. (they charge $1 per month fee) We love zipping thru the tolls, and not having to fumble for exact change. Saves a ton of time and aggrivation. We always seemed to get in the wrong lane and get stuck behind someone who has a problem Not anymore!

 

[mchelle77]

I wanted to sub here .. we're driving down too (from NH) and it's our DD's first LOOONG drive. She's been on long-ish car trips before (we're from MA and would drive 90 minutes each weekend for her first year to our vacation spot in the summer and for holidays). She's content most of the time, so that's good. I, too, have been putting stuff aside for the trip - portable DVD and her million Disney movies, Leap Frog game and games, Magna Doodle, books, etc. Right now we're planning on leaving at 2-3am and letting her sleep a good part of the morning in the car while we're driving. I'm going to look into that book a PP mentioned about driving I-95! Sounds interesting.

Good luck on the way there! Hopefully we all have uneventful trips!

 

[boettj]

We just did this trip in May (well, slightly longer - we live in SE MA right on the RI border). We're veteran long distance travelers. We drive to DE every year to visit MIL and have gone camping to CA and back with the kids in our van. The actual trip time driving time for us was 47 hours round trip. This includes traffic jams.

Some things to remember:

1) If traveling down 95 pack plenty of 1s and 5s in the wallet. As well as a roll of quarters and a roll of dimes. The Tolls are BRUTAL. I think the total Toll cost was around $75 round trip. All the tolls were north of Washington DC. We didn't use the whole roll but the good thing is when you get to WDW any quarters that you haven't used you can use in the Frontier Land Shooting Gallery.

2) Our gas cost was around $275 round trip. The cheapest place to get gas was believe it or not NJ.

3) We actually skipped goody bags for all our trips. We just let them pack a back pack of their favorite things. I did buy them some new books.

4) If traveling at night bring pillows and blankets. As you are leaving at 5 PM stop around 8/8:30 to change into bedtime stuff and brush. Don't put the kids in their jammies before your leave. This makes the transition to bed time more real and the kids more apt to sleep. Even the 10yo should change clothes. Have him bring a pair sweats or sleep pants to change into in the back of the car.

5) I second PP plan stops every couple of hours and bring a container for accidents. I can't tell you how many times we started looking for a rest area and couldn't find one for over half an hour. Even with the container we STILL had an accident. So pack a garbage bag in case there is a wet seat.

6) Even at that time of night travel thru NYC is rough (I've done it more times than I want to think about it). We generally avoid going thru NYC and travel via the Tappan Zee Bridge then Garden State Parkway.

7) A few places the GPS lost its signal usually at critical junctures when leaving tunnels and a few times tried to steer us wrong when there was major construction underway which changes the exit ramps. So make sure to pack up to date hard copy maps. Make sure to have a navigator available to watch the road signs in high traffic and construction areas as you can otherwise easily end up on the wrong road.

8) In a few places you end up driving right by some major event venues (stadiums/Nascar speedway, etc.) Check before you leave for times for these events so you know to avoid them if possible or to drive by them if nothing is going on (We had to skirt a NASCAR race in Richmond - in this instance it was actually faster to go thru the city instead of around it).

Good Luck!

Some good ideas. Number 1, we have EZ-Pass, but still bring cash. Number 2, that is what gasbuddydotcom gave me. Number 3, goody bags were a big hit with our kids on our trip to Washington D.C. Number 4, will be bringing blankets and pillows. Number 5, Loved the suggestion for stopping at regular intervals. Number 6, I will not go over the GW unless the Tapan Zee is on fire. Depending on the time of day, I might go down 287 as apposed to the Garden State Parkway. Just depends on how traffic is flowing and timing. Number 7, know what you mean about the GPS. The one we have does dead reckoning when it loses sat link. Number 8, had not thought about major event venues. Will need to check that.


Thank you

 

[lisajl]

Good idea on the money/trivia thing. I may use that.
My kids are older but I agree with everyone here. We pack two coolers, one for drinks, the other for sandwiches. We are driving from Ohio to WDW in Oct. We are hopefully leaving really early on Friday morning. We want to drive straight through to St Augustine, but you now about the best laid plans!
We are renting a house not too far from Disney, but can't "check in" until 4pm, so we are in no big hurry to get there on that Saturday.

To everyone that is driving this fall/winter, here's hoping for safe and quick travels.

Lisa

 

[boettj]

Good idea on the money/trivia thing. I may use that.
My kids are older but I agree with everyone here. We pack two coolers, one for drinks, the other for sandwiches. We are driving from Ohio to WDW in Oct. We are hopefully leaving really early on Friday morning. We want to drive straight through to St Augustine, but you now about the best laid plans!
We are renting a house not too far from Disney, but can't "check in" until 4pm, so we are in no big hurry to get there on that Saturday.

To everyone that is driving this fall/winter, here's hoping for safe and quick travels.

Lisa

Oh my, great point. By my calculations, we should arrive around 2-3pm. Which means we could have to wait for 1-2 hours. Ouch. Might roll back the start time to 7pm. I'd hate to get there and have to wait for the room.


Thanks

 

[MomBoyd]

My money saving suggestion is to fill up the van with gas before you leave home. It sounds simple, but I am amazed how often we forget about it. And 20 questions, the license plate game, and car bingo games all work well for us. Here is a link to printable car bingo and many other free games http://www.momsminivan.com/printables.html Enjoy your trip!

 

[DisneyLandMan]

cruise control is ur friend. ESPECIALLY once u pass richmond area. LOT of straight driving. cruise control will save u a nice chunk of fuel/money.

 

[TinaLala]

We drive down to Disney every other year from MA!! We've taken our minivan and our trailer so I hear you!

We leave real early in the AM and use AAA Trip Tik to get us through the traffic. Usually we break around NC and sleep overnight. We live on the boarder of RI/MA and it takes us about 24 hours to drive straight down (DON'T RECOMMEND IT!!). If you have an Easy Pass bring it with you - it will help you with the tolls. Grab yourself a Cracker Barrel map - great place to stop along the way for meals and a guaranteed CLEAN bathroom! They are everywhere once you hit VA!

Try to stay away from Stamford, CT and DC during rush hour - I know it's a DUH, but just wanted to mention it.

I bring a map of US with us and make a picture of us and a picture of Mickey. I put us as a movable item and Mickey stationary and put him on FL. As we move into a new state, I move US and show where we started and how many states we have left to go. This has helped prevent those 'are we there yet?"

We bring an Auto bingo game - (Cracker Barrel in Coventry), Brain Quest games are great, MP3, DS, books, coloring, etc. There's a great Disney activity book you can print out.

 

[LisaInNc]

I am from RI! We do lots of road trips firsdt one was for my DDs Christening when she was a month old.

The nice thing about the first part of the trip is you go through states quickly. RI is less an an hour, CT is 2, NY an hour (if you time it right) NJ 2 hours, etc etc. Then you get to the Carolinas and it's yuck....4 hours each.

I taught my DD how to read the mile markers and she could figure out how many miles were left in each state and that could be turned into minutes. That saved on the "how much longer" questions.

I always make a backpack for her. It has the basics like new crayons, stickers and paper.Then I add in dollar store finds. Extra age appropriate things that would appeal to her. I put in snacks that she can have any time she wants.

For budget savers, we buy nothing and I mean NOTHING in convenience stores when we stop for gas. We pack a cooler with drinks, sandwiches and treats. To make it fun I pack treats that we would normally not eat. A home made sandwich is a lot cheaper AND it's more healthy than fast food. I pack milk and breakfast stuff if we are not staying at a hotel with free breakfast. I found that those convenience store stops were 5.00 here 8.00 there and they add up fast in a really long drive like you are going to take,

A car DVD player is a lifesaver. If you have red box you can rent movies for 1.00 and they can be returned at ANY red box so just google locations along the way.

Enjoy and then you pass through Rocky Mount give me a wave I am in Elizabeth City... right on the coast of NC. I LOVE RI....miss it terribly!

 

[DennisandAngel]

Everyone says we are crazy, but we are a family of 7 and airfare is out of the question. We decided to drive and spend more in Disney. It is our kids first trip to Disney so we really want to make it magical.

We decided to have the kids go to school on Friday. When they get home have them shower and get comfy clothes on. Then we are going to hit the road. With them hopefully falling asleep right around Mass. I made reservations in Savannah for the Hampton in and will arrive there around dinner time. Relax, swim, eat really good and then go to sleep!! Wake up and go for Disney. We are really keeping our fingers crossed hopeing this goes smoothly!! Does anyone have advice for me to make this more of a success?

We have dinner reservations at Akershus Storybook Dinner for our first night. We have 6 year old twins that dislike driving. I thought when they wake up in the morning of driving I would give them Mail from Sleeping Beauty inviting them to Dinner!! Maybe they will relax a bit more for the ride?????

 

[5 'LIL *TWINKERS*]

Sounds like you are off to a great start. Posters have great suggestions!

We made the trip back in June with our 5 children ages 2 - 12.

We left in the late afternoon (3ish) from Michigan. Worked out great cause they slept a good portion of the way.

We had all the goodies and treats, books, coloring, gameboys/DS's, dvd's in individual packed backpacks for each kid.

My 2 suggestions would be to make sure each kid has their own small pillow and small blanket. And most of all, the best thing we did was to buy a thule cargo box for the top of our van!! Greatest thing.....we packed the majority of our stuff up there instead of in the tiny space in the back of our van. Worked great and the kids had much more room and we could actually see out the back window. It didn't feel so crowded and claustraphobic.

Ohh, if you have a toddler, we got ours a foam tray from the baby dept at walmarts. Works great for eating on and coloring/playing. Easy to wash too.

Have fun on your trip!

 

[DennisandAngel]

Sounds like you are off to a great start. Posters have great suggestions!

We made the trip back in June with our 5 children ages 2 - 12.

We left in the late afternoon (3ish) from Michigan. Worked out great cause they slept a good portion of the way.

We had all the goodies and treats, books, coloring, gameboys/DS's, dvd's in individual packed backpacks for each kid.

My 2 suggestions would be to make sure each kid has their own small pillow and small blanket. And most of all, the best thing we did was to buy a thule cargo box for the top of our van!! Greatest thing.....we packed the majority of our stuff up there instead of in the tiny space in the back of our van. Worked great and the kids had much more room and we could actually see out the back window. It didn't feel so crowded and claustraphobic.

Ohh, if you have a toddler, we got ours a foam tray from the baby dept at walmarts. Works great for eating on and coloring/playing. Easy to wash too.

Have fun on your trip!

WOW! You are busy with 5 kids too. Did you stay onsite? We are booked at the Coronado Springs with 2 connecting rooms. I am really nervous about them not giving us connecting rooms when we get there.

It is nice to know that someone else traveled with 5 kids and had an enjoyable time. How long did it take you to arrive in Disney?

 

[kstgelais4]

Number 6, I will not go over the GW unless the Tapan Zee is on fire. Depending on the time of day, I might go down 287 as apposed to the Garden State Parkway.

LOL! I really did LOL at this. My sister lived in VA for 5 years and then in NJ for 5 years, and I am very close to her and visited a lot. MY DH will NEVER drive over the GW. He cringes when he sees signs for it.

Anyway We are driving to FL from Southern MA (about a spit from RI) for the 3rd time, leaving in 35 days. We love the drive.It is part of the vacation for us. I think lots of people already gave you great sound advice. I second and third and fourth the plastic bags and paper towels. They come in handy for all kinds of things. One thing that wasn't mentioned was South of the Border. It is really Kitschy and cheesy, but it is open 24 hours, and it is nice to just get out and stretch. We almost always hit it in the middle of the night, but it is part of the fun.

Oh my, great point. By my calculations, we should arrive around 2-3pm. Which means we could have to wait for 1-2 hours. Ouch. Might roll back the start time to 7pm. I'd hate to get there and have to wait for the room.


Thanks

I would allow for 24 hours on the road. That is pretty much what it takes us every time. Our trip Tik says 19.5 hours, but with stops and incedentals, you can def. add on a few more hours.

Everyone says we are crazy, but we are a family of 7 and airfare is out of the question. We decided to drive and spend more in Disney. It is our kids first trip to Disney so we really want to make it magical.

We are a family of 7 too! Honestly we have tried the whole flying thing with 5 kids, and really it doesn't take much more time to drive, and it is a ton easier with that many. When you take into account how early you have to arrive at the airport, and delays, you practically waste your day in the airport instead. I never have to worry about someone else being annoyed that my kid is screaming when we are in our own car. lol.

 

[mchelle77]

When you take into account how early you have to arrive at the airport, and delays, you practically waste your day in the airport instead. I never have to worry about someone else being annoyed that my kid is screaming when we are in our own car. lol.

Not to mention the cost of airfare for 7!

 

[5 'LIL *TWINKERS*]

WOW! You are busy with 5 kids too. Did you stay onsite? We are booked at the Coronado Springs with 2 connecting rooms. I am really nervous about them not giving us connecting rooms when we get there.

It is nice to know that someone else traveled with 5 kids and had an enjoyable time. How long did it take you to arrive in Disney?

Busy.....hmmm, not me

We did not stay onsite due to cost and crowding. We like to stay at the Marriots Residence Inns when we travel. Its a 2 bedroom, full suite with full kitchen. Free full breakfast buffet every morning and evening snacking. We packed our lunches everyday to take to the parks and ate dinner (or the evening snacks in the lounge) in our suite most nights. We did go out for dinner a couple of times. Its so much cheaper for us to do it this way due to the size of our family.

We had a great time! It was a loooooooooong drive, 19 - 20 hrs. We drove straight through though and stopped a couple of times for gas and drive thru meals.

 

[boettj]

Busy.....hmmm, not me

We did not stay onsite due to cost and crowding. We like to stay at the Marriots Residence Inns when we travel. Its a 2 bedroom, full suite with full kitchen. Free full breakfast buffet every morning and evening snacking.

We had to sell our DVC timeshare this year. However, we do have another right outside of the Downtown Disney entrance. It's call Cypress Pointe, and we have a 2Bedroom there. Though, with all of the Marriott points I have, it would be just as easy to stay at a Residence Inn. I'll brain bank that one for next time. We've been trying to sell Cypress Pointe with no luck.

We packed our lunches everyday to take to the parks and ate dinner (or the evening snacks in the lounge) in our suite most nights. We did go out for dinner a couple of times. Its so much cheaper for us to do it this way due to the size of our family.

We pick two character breakfasts for the kids. Other than that, we eat breakfast at the room. Most days e pack our lunch, however, half of our big meals are in the parks for lunch. This does two things for us. One is reduce the cost of our meals, and secondly it keeps us from eating a heavy meal late. For dinner, we'll grab a light bite or eat sandwiches we pack. Also, my wife and I will often share an entree to lower our cost.

We had a great time! It was a loooooooooong drive, 19 - 20 hrs. We drove straight through though and stopped a couple of times for gas and drive thru meals.

This is our first loooooooooong drive with the kids. 7 hours is long, but no where near what we are asking them to do this time. If the kids get 8 hours of sleep, then they will still have to endure roughly 16 hours. My plan is to drive straight through, but I have put together a list of hotels near the highway. Should things go sideways, I have places to stop at. The other piece is taking 15 minute stops every 2 and a half hours. A PP made this recommendation, and I really like it. Rather than wait for that last minute emergency.


Thank you

 

[DennisandAngel]

Busy.....hmmm, not me

We did not stay onsite due to cost and crowding. We like to stay at the Marriots Residence Inns when we travel. Its a 2 bedroom, full suite with full kitchen. Free full breakfast buffet every morning and evening snacking. We packed our lunches everyday to take to the parks and ate dinner (or the evening snacks in the lounge) in our suite most nights. We did go out for dinner a couple of times. Its so much cheaper for us to do it this way due to the size of our family.

We had a great time! It was a loooooooooong drive, 19 - 20 hrs. We drove straight through though and stopped a couple of times for gas and drive thru meals.

The only reason we are staying at the park is for the free dining. If it wasn't for that promotion I would definatly stay out of the park. I'm going to write down the hotel you mentioned for our next visit. This is the twins first visit. They are 6 and absolutly love the disney princess. I have booked them 2 princess dining for dinner and at chef mickeys. You just can't beat the free dining.

It is awesome to see that there is so many families of 7 on here! It sure makes for interesting vacations

 

[mchelle77]

We've been trying to sell Cypress Pointe with no luck.

Marriot? I think we stayed there in 2000 .. are those the ones that have screened in balconies? We LOVED it there, there were 8 of us (6 adults, 2 kids). Never really got to take advantage of the pool, though. (Got it at a huge discount because my DH's cousin worked for Marriot at the time.)

 

[boettj]

Marriot? I think we stayed there in 2000 .. are those the ones that have screened in balconies? We LOVED it there, there were 8 of us (6 adults, 2 kids). Never really got to take advantage of the pool, though. (Got it at a huge discount because my DH's cousin worked for Marriot at the time.)

I have not stayed at the Marriott Residence Inn down there. Plenty of other ones around the country. Great for vacationing families or long term engagements.

Cypress Pointe which is a timeshare, was affiliated with Sunterra. Now it is part of the Diamond Resorts group. They are not bad at all, but for us we cannot get down as often as we'd like, and money has grown tighter. Plus we have another timeshare in NH which is only a 5 hour drive. Great for summer or winter excursions.

Thank you

 

[mchelle77]

I don't remember it being a Residence Inn, the name Cypress Pointe sounds REALLY familiar .. I'll have to ask his cousin to find out.

OT - where in NH? I live in southern NH now .. we have a little vacation place up north a bit, between Concord and Portsmouth.