Driving to Disney w/2 year old

[oneprincessjo]

Hey everyone!! I am starting to put together some busy bags for my 2 year old daughter. We are doing the drive from Pennsylvania to Disney in January. We have done this trip two other times when she was 6 months and 15 months, but now at 2 she goes one speed and changes activities every 15 minutes. Haha. So far we have a DVD player and DVDs, LeapPad, travel magna doodle, books, attachable snack/activity tray for the car seat... Besides snacks and drinks... Are there any other suggestions to keep a toddler happy and busy? We plan on bringing a ball so she can run around and play for a little bit at rest stops.

 

[LeahZ]

I did a presentation on Traveling with Kids at our local library this summer. Here's my list of tips! (Oh, and some of these are geared towards older kids, but hopefully you can still use some of them!)

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=48813983&postcount=6

 

[oneprincessjo]

I did a presentation on Traveling with Kids at our local library this summer. Here's my list of tips! (Oh, and some of these are geared towards older kids, but hopefully you can still use some of them!) http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=48813983&postcount=6

Wow! This is great, there are definitely some things on here that I will be using! Thanks!

 

[3Gsandme]

We road trip a LOT and I feel like I'm pretty much an expert.

My best advice is to not be in a hurry and to take those longer, rest stop breaks. I think bringing a ball (or even bubbles) is a great idea. We've found trips are a lot more peaceful when we've realized that we give the kids a break and some activities and then get back at it.

We tend to utilize smart devices (ipads/ipods) and seem to have really good luck. It's really easy to download a new game or movie for just a few dollars to give them something totally new to do for another leg of the trip.

 

[oneprincessjo]

We road trip a LOT and I feel like I'm pretty much an expert. My best advice is to not be in a hurry and to take those longer, rest stop breaks. I think bringing a ball (or even bubbles) is a great idea. We've found trips are a lot more peaceful when we've realized that we give the kids a break and some activities and then get back at it. We tend to utilize smart devices (ipads/ipods) and seem to have really good luck. It's really easy to download a new game or movie for just a few dollars to give them something totally new to do for another leg of the trip.

Oooo bubbles. My daughter will love that, maybe a bubble gun. This is great! We are leaving around 7pm and will drive till about 8am before we stop for the day/night in Georgia, we will finish the last leg the following morning. I'm not too concerned with the drive down since she should be sleeping through the bulk of it... Coming home from Disney is a different story since we will mostly be driving daytime hours, plus we will be leaving Disney so all of us will be cranky. Haha

 

[Betty Rohrer]

be careful with balls at rest areas, close to moving cars and picnic tables. one thing you can not plan on is weather. I would also stow a couple of outfits in baggies under seats. nothing worse than having to dig out an outfit in the rain. not sure about plan to spend day then driving next day. what are you planning on doing until you can check in to hotel?

 

[worm761]

I have been collecting a few ideas on Pinetrest for travel fun for DD. She is 3 but they may work for you too!

http://kvbarn.blogspot.cz/2013/02/lego-travel-box.html
http://makecreatedo.com/2012/09/21/travel-game-survival-kit/
http://quietbookblog.blogspot.com/p/template-directory.html
http://yourcreativejuices.blogspot.com/2010/04/more-quiet-book-pages.html

I also like to go to the Dollar Tree or Books A Million and get a few cheap new books for DD.

Also remember that you can rent movies from any Redbox and return them to any Redbox. So that might be an idea too.

 

[worm761]

I also wanted to point out the sticky at the top of the page has Disney coloring pages. You can custom make a coloring book to the characters she will meet in the park and that she loves!

 

[oneprincessjo]

be careful with balls at rest areas, close to moving cars and picnic tables. one thing you can not plan on is weather. I would also stow a couple of outfits in baggies under seats. nothing worse than having to dig out an outfit in the rain. not sure about plan to spend day then driving next day. what are you planning on doing until you can check in to hotel?

That's a good point with the ball, maybe I will just stick to bubbles or running around. I'm sure we can think of something even if it's a stop at McDonald's where she can stretch out. I usually keep a few outfits in her diaper bag for accidents or just needing something warm and clean. So far the Hampton that we usually stop at let's us do early checkin, so getting a room hasn't been a problem (knock on wood), since we are going at the end of January and staying on a Wednesday night I'm hoping we won't have a problem with early checkin.

 

[oneprincessjo]

I have been collecting a few ideas on Pinetrest for travel fun for DD. She is 3 but they may work for you too! http://kvbarn.blogspot.cz/2013/02/lego-travel-box.html http://makecreatedo.com/2012/09/21/travel-game-survival-kit/ http://quietbookblog.blogspot.com/p/template-directory.html http://yourcreativejuices.blogspot.com/2010/04/more-quiet-book-pages.html I also like to go to the Dollar Tree or Books A Million and get a few cheap new books for DD. Also remember that you can rent movies from any Redbox and return them to any Redbox. So that might be an idea too.

Thank you. This is great!!. I also want to thank you for pointing out the coloring pages. I will be sure to print a bunch before we leave.

 

[amylevan]

We did PA to FL when DS was 2.5. He did surprisingly well.

We did the same thing on the way down, left PA at 7pm and drove through the night. He watched a movie and then fell asleep around 9pm and slept without a peep until 6am. (Which is less sleep then he was getting in a usual night, but it was ok.) We stopped and ate breakfast at a McDonalds and stopped at the Florida welcome center for lunch.

The drive home was harder - we did in it two daytime sessions.

What kept him busy:
snacks
videos for DVD player
Mobigo
Crayola color wonder sets
singing songs
playing "I spy"
books (particularly books with flaps, pop ups, or other things to do in them)

We also let him pick out 1 new toy, 1 new book and 1 new dvd before we left home; and 1 new toy in WDW the day we left.

 

[3Gsandme]

That's a good point with the ball, maybe I will just stick to bubbles or running around. I'm sure we can think of something even if it's a stop at McDonald's where she can stretch out. I usually keep a few outfits in her diaper bag for accidents or just needing something warm and clean. So far the Hampton that we usually stop at let's us do early checkin, so getting a room hasn't been a problem (knock on wood), since we are going at the end of January and staying on a Wednesday night I'm hoping we won't have a problem with early checkin.

We've played ball at rest stops. We moved as far as we could away from the cars and mom and dad were on their toes. For instance, Dad kicks the ball at kiddo and mommy shadows kiddo to make sure she doesn't run away or chase the ball. We've never had a problem.