Driving to Disney

[HvnzCaress]

This thread has been very encouraging for me. Myself, DH, DD14 and DS10 (oh and the family dog) will be making the drive in our minivan come Mid August from upstate NY. We're going to be camping at Ft. Wilderness when we arrive so there will be lots and lots of stuff in the car.

I don't like to drive too much myself especially if an area is unfamiliar so my husband will probably be stuck behind the wheel most of the time. We're considering leaving about 10 p.m. and driving through the night and the next day then stopping in Savannah, GA around 5 or 6 p.m.

While my daughter doesn't really mind the car she seems to have on and off incidents of car sickness and has since she was small. One thing I plan to be sure is within arms length is something she can grab shall we say if the need urgently arises.

 

[GenePA]

We have flown but driving is our preference....we have a Caravan. The last several years, we have been going to WDW multiple times a year. We live in southeastern PA and drive straight through. My wife and I share the driving and we get there in 16 - 17 hours. My kids are now 17 and 11 and we generally leave for WDW on a Friday when I get home from work. We always bring a cooler full of food and drinks and eat in the car. We stop for gas and 'mother nature', but that's about it.

The kids bring video games (they have handhelds), books, and magazines.....and their homework (if applicable). We also bring audio tapes to listen to....some are books and some are comedy....things we all could enjoy. We also play various games (e.g. word association) while driving along to pass the time. Being we are leaving in the late afternoon or early evening, we tend to avoid traffic just about everywhere. There's a stretch between Baltimore and DC that can be busy but other than that, traffic is a non-factor. My wife and I take turns driving/sleeping and there is always someone awake along with the driver....even if it is one of the kids. The ride down always goes fast and is easy.

The ride back is another story. It is always a drag, but we still drive straight through.....usually making a stop in SC for fireworks. On the way down my wife and I can generally drive for 4-5 hour stretches OK but on the way back, we're lucky if we can do 3. Just thinking of the ride back is making me tired.

Just think, another 49 days and we get to do it all over again....can't wait!

 

[Jordan's MOM]

barbeml,

The Hampton Inn that you stayed at in Richmond Hill Ga, Is it right off 95 and easy to access? That is just about where we want to stop for the night after a late afternoon start in Dec. We like Hampton Inns. What did you have to pay for the night?

Thanks, Jordan's mom

 

[TDM516]

We live just south of Nashville, Tennessee, and have a Grand Caravan. We have flown to Disney once and driven three times. The last week of this month we will be driving again. We will leave home at about 4 in the morning so we can get there by 3 or 4 in the afternoon, check into our vacation home, and get a good night's sleep before Discovery Cove the next day! We like having a roomy vehicle when we get where we're going; we have two teenaged daughters.

One suggestion---the TV/DVD player at Sam's is a good buy if you have one convenient to you. I checked everywhere for two months before settling on that as the most for the money. We have had ours a year and a half and like it very much. Has a much bigger screen than the "drop-downs" that you have installed and it's a console that fits between the two front seats of the mini. It says that you can also use it for a video game console, but we're having trouble finding the "Y" adapter to make that work. But I'm still trying.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

We drove last Christmas trip (I went alone by plane in Jan) and we'll be driving again this August. We've done other driving trips/vacations before but this is the longest I think- closely followed by driving to Mi/Wi area to visit family.... in ice/snow no less. LOL I much prefer driving to Florida!

I can't really give you any suggestions that haven't already been mentioned- all great advice! You might find that you enjoy driving better anyway. I know I do... I have 3 young children though and I can't even IMAGINE what it would be like to have them all on a plane- even though my 5yr old is DYING to go by plane.... keeps asking if we can.

We drive (even though I hate the time lost to do so- it's about a 22hr drive) because it's too expensive for 5 of us flying and I'd rather spend that money elsewhere. But I do like the fact that we have the vehicle there- even though we're staying onsite this time. I do NOT like being trapped there unable to go anywhere except where the buses take you and waiting on the buses/etc. We'll probably use WDW transportation sometimes- but sometimes probably not. Plus then we can go to the store/etc. while there. We drove last time (staying offsite) but on my solo trip I got a taste of what it was like to be without a vehicle of my own while there and I didn't like it one bit. It would be even worse with having the entire family I'm sure. We could rent a car- but we'd need a minivan and it would be expensive. The cost of the flight plus the rental is just ridiculous compared to 2.5 tanks of gas!
Also I wonder how I'd bring along carseats that wouldn't fit the airplane seats! Britax carseats aren't the size needed for airplane seats- so that's something to consider and deal with taking in/out of the plane (WHILE also tending to 3 children) and deal with getting in the rental/etc. Just a pain to me. LOL

Also I like not having to worry about how much we can bring with us and how much we can take home- like you have to worry about that when flying. I can get a lot in our minivan removing the back seats. LOL We even took almost all their Christmas gifts last year (minus the big things like bikes). I didn't like having to worry about how I'd fit everything in my certain amount of suitcases on my solo trip for the flight back.

We have to make a lot of stops- or maybe we'd get there even faster- but that comes with the territory with young children... especially if they've just barely potty trained or are in diapers. LOL

We do switch off and drive at night but I don't suggest that for MOST people. It only works for us because I'm the type of person that is up all night anyway- so for me that is my most "awake" time. I sleep while he drives during the day and he's not tired because he slept all night and we make a lot of frequent stops. I drive during the night when I'm most awake. Not everyone is like that though and might have trouble staying awake- that would be very very bad. Don't chance that! If I wasn't a nightowl/insomniac- I would stay overnight somewhere. We might do that this trip depending on how I'm sleeping at that time. I go in phases lately where sometimes I sleep at night, sometimes I sleep during the early day- depending on my husband's rotating shifts schedule. LOL

Good luck and have fun driving!

 

[bkw86]

TV with VCR/DVD player

 

[Pirate'slife4me]

We live in Kentucky and drive down every year, exceptions being a couple of flights for short weekend trips. We love driving because it builds the anticipation so much. I also love it because my family has been doing it for many years and I enjoy seeing how the landscape changes with all of the new additions along I-75.

The key is to be safe and pace yourself. I always try to be flexible and break schedule if I get tired before my planned overnight stop. It's about a 12 hour drive from here and we usually try to get at least past Valdosta which is the halfway point....we have driven staright through but I am getting to old to handle that!!

Plan some fun things to keep the kids occupied (we have a portable DVD player so....) and have a safe and relaxing drive to the Magic!!

 

[yankeerose]

We live in upstate SC and our drive is around 8-9 hours. For most folks this drive would be a "walk in the park" but not for me...I was in a terrible car accident 13 years ago, on a major highway, and I'm scared to death of driving on interstates or actually any highway. My poor hubby has no problems driving, but I'm a nervous wreck!!! I get physically sick. But with 4 children, flying is not an option, so every year hubby drives and I pray for 8-9 hours straight!!! But we love the entire Orlando area, and nothing will stop us from going yearly. I do have a tip for other folks like myself, who are afraid of being in cars for long trips...ask your family physician if it would be okay to take a dose or two of Benydryl while traveling. It helps to make you drowsey and fall asleep, its not long lasting, but its sure nice to be in a relaxed state even for only a small portion of the trip. Of course, NO driving while using this medication.

 

[TDM516]

There are also mild anxiolytics that you can ask your doctor to take when you're in a situation like this. Benadryl will make you drowsy, but will do nothing for the anxiety. The only time I have to take something is when I fly, so my doctor prescribes me a low dose of Valium for the flight. In a case like this, it is perfectly acceptable, and although it might make you a little drowsy, it's not like Benadryl; I was awake for most of my recent flight. So you can actually enjoy your trip with your family instead of being zonked out or a nervous wreck!

 

[loriandmatt]

My tips that make driving to WDW enjoyable ...

- allow plenty of time, if you happen to arrive early, there are more places to say there than you can shake a stick at.

- bring plenty of things to occupy the kids. If you can rent on of those TV/VCR-DVD combo thingies - they are a life saver. (most of them you can hook a playstation up to as well!) When purchasing our new van last year, we got one installed. Worth it's weight in gold on the trip.

- car games! (camper!, I'm going on a trip to WDW and i am taking....!, We are in Georga - can you tell me something special about Georgia?, Can you find where we are on the map by looking at the road signs?, How many miles have we traveled so far?)

- sing together (ok, with teens this might not work. DS is still young enough to enjoy belting out "On the Road Again" and other great traveling songs with the old Mom and Pop.)

Just a few off the top of my head. We truely enjoy our 16 hour drive down. (note i did not gush so much about the trip back. It's OK, but just the let down of the Vacation being over makes it suck a little.)

- lori

 

[TDM516]

Let's not forget the best thing about driving instead of flying---those hundreds of dollars you save by buying gas for your car instead of plane tickets more than pay for your park tickets!!!

 

[loriandmatt]

Amen to that - gas, and two nights lodging (we stop half way down and back) run us around 300 to 350. We could never get airfair that cheap for the three of us.

- lori

 

[safekids]

Originally posted by sarehm
We drove our last trip because boyfriend didn't want to fly. We stoped on the way down in N.C. to sleep but ended up driving the entire way home in 1 day.

Hi sarehm-we are from Hershey, how long did it take you on the 1 day trip? We are thinking about doing this. We haven't decided on whether to get a hotel or just take turns driving all night. Any info would be great!

 

[deirdrefitch]

Looks like we are driving again this year! Airlines can't beat the price of gas, and lodging. We drive from Central Texas. We usually stop the first night in Pensacola or Tallahassee, FL. We finish the last few hours the next day. The drive there usually passes very quickly, but does drag some on the way home. We try to take an off day before our trip home to pack, rest, etc. Early bedtime, and then we are on our way. There are many rest stops and other places to stop, eat, and stretch your legs. Kids do alot more sleeping on the way home than they do on the way to Florida. DVD Player and Playstation 2 in the Exped keeps them quite content both ways. Leave plenty of room to move around inside the vehicle. Be Safe, and Have Lots of Fun!

 

[sneezy1956]

My son and I drive 90% of the time. Even when I was the only driver we drove straight through from Southeastern Ohio.

We usually leave around noon drive till about 6:00 p.m. stop and have a nice dinner usually Cracker Barrel. Then we drive till about 1:00 or 2:00 a.m. stop in a well lighted busy Road Side Rest and get out and have sandwiches and drinks. (We have a thermoelectric cooler.) Then our next stop for any length of time is the Rest Stop at the Florida Border. We usually pull into Disney around 6:00 or 6:30 a.m.

We check in leave our bags and cooler with bell services and hit the parks. That night we are in bed around 7:00 or 8:00 and sleep great

When my kids were little I always made sure I had little toys and snacks wrapped up for them in a grab bag. When they were good for 1 hour they got to pull something from the grab bag.

Now with just myself and the teenager we listen to disney music, play silly games like the Snake game that is here on the boards.

 

[SuiteDisney]

Hi Safekids! We live about 80 minutes southeast of you in Downingtown. We generally drive straight through (dw and I take turns driving) and the best time we ever made was around 15.5 hours. The average time I would say is about 16.5 hours. From our home, it's almost exactly 1000 miles to the front gates of WDW. We always take a cooler of food with us so our only stops are for gas and mother nature.

Hope that helps........have a safe drive! Our countdown on our desktop tells me I have 47 days to get ready for another one myself!

Oooops, *********** will be mad.....this is GenePA logged in as her on her computer.......

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

*********** & SafeKids: We live in Reading, and our trip took 24 hours including stops at South of the Border and St. Augustine. We also took a nap at a rest area in North Carolina early in the am - not advisable, and I never really slept, but we were on a tight budget and DH just wanted to drive and drive until he could no longer. A coworker travels from Pottstown and says it take about 18 hours. She stops overnight in Florence, SC.

I wanted to fly next trip, but DH insists on driving again. He LIKES to drive. One plus is the savings over airline tickets and the hassles of boarding a plane these days. I would rather fly in order to enjoy 2 more days in WDW than spend it in a cramped car. I think we'll rent a minivan (we have a neon) for the next trip, and since I'm more familiar with the road-trip this time, I think I can share the wheel. I was so keyed up and anxious, that I couldn't sleep on the way down and didn't dare take a turn at driving. I did drive on the way home, when we were away from the major cities along I95.

 

[musical2]

We have always flown down from Maryland until this past early
December. We decided to try to drive down. We have three little girls (age 5, and twins just shy of 3 years old at the time) and drove the minivan down. Left at 4:30 am. and took I-95 down. The trip around DC was fine that time of the morning. Took I-295 around Richmond. Since we packed a breakfast we stopped for gas just shy of North Carolina and handed out the breakfast food to the children and got back on the road. We stopped for lunch at a rest stop with our packed lunch, got back on the road and made our hotel, the Hampton Inn, in Brunswick, GA by 4:00 pm. It was next to a Cracker Barrel where we had dinner.

The next day we had the continental breakfast provided by the Hampton Inn, then were on our way down I-95 to I-4. We made sure to stop at the Florida welcome center for some OJ and a rest stop, then made it to our resort at Old Key West by noon.

The girls watched Disney movies or Christmas movies on the TV most of the way down there. We had a blast and the driving wasn't very difficult at all. I think I am a driving convert! At least we plan on trying it again next year.

Bart

 

[tax58]

We bring a playstation and a dvd player for the kids. It makes the trip a lot quicker for them. We get to listen to "our" music this way also.