Driving to FW from California - Any Advice?

[sandiegomom]

Hi everyone,

DH and I are driving to FW from San Diego with our two sons (ages 8 and 10) and our two dogs next month for an extended Spring Break (we homeschool - or roadschool in this case) in our motorhome. We are planning on 4-5 days of driving each way and a week at FW - is this realistic? Are we crazy? Will we have time to stop and see anything, and if so, what are the "must sees" and where should we stop? We've already been to all the Utah NPs and the Grand Canyon. Has anyone else done this drive? Thanks so much!

Laurie in Carlsbad, CA

 

[ms1031]

Driving straight through, it's at least 24 hours from San Diego to Dallas. It's another 16 to 17 hours to Orlando from Dallas. But I guess you'll skip Dallas and go through San Antonio. Either way, if you are wanting to sightsee along the way, I'd say take 5 or 6 days for travel time each way.

Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico is worth a visit. The Alamo in San Antonio is an educational stop, and right on the Riverwalk for some culture of the city. New Orleans, nothing like some Cajun food.

I'm jealous. Have a great time!

 

[bxtx]

San Antonio is fun - SeaWorld too if its open (check their website). The river walk is very unqiue - take a boattour - it goes places you can't get on foot. The state parks in Texas are great (and cheap) places to camp!

Avoid Houston/I-10 in the rush hour. Its 1000 miles from west Houston to WDW- we're driving for the first time in 3 weeks.

Wave to me in Katy (exit 746) as you drive on by!

Bex

 

[sandiegomom]

Thanks for the feedback! I like the idea of Carlsbad Caverns and the Alamo. Maybe we could stop at the Caverns on the way out and the Alamo on the way back... keep the ideas (and any camping spot suggestions - freebies/ Walmarts anyone?) coming! Thanks so much!

 

[lawnspecialties]

The best $20 you'll ever spend for this trip.

http://www.campingworld.com/browse/skus/index.cfm?skunum=37134&src=SRQB

 

[sandiegomom]

Looks like a great book... I am going to order it. Thanks!

 

[dean_and_monica]

Wow, that looks like an awesome book. We're driving from Denver in May. We might have to look into getting this one.

Monica

 

[Escape Artist]

We've done close to that drive (Sacramento - Houston - Orlando) over a period of months, not straight thru. Personally, I wouldn't do it.

That's an awful lot of driving (and an awful lot of RV fuel) for not a lot of time in WDW. If it were my family, I'd fly and spend the extra time on the ground in Florida. If you really want to stay in FW, there are the cabins, or you could get a rental RV after you arrive.

When we drove Sac -> Houston, we took 16 days to get here, but we stopped at a million places along the way. Houston -> Orlando, I like to drive straight thru and just get there. Crossing Texas is loooooong way (almost 900 miles) and more than a little tedious. And then you have to drive back home!

If you're only bringing a few people, flying is probably a better bet, and then you'll have more time in Orlando. I don't know if you've done WDW before or read any of the books on it, but WDW is huge (way more to see and do than at DL) and there's tons to do in the area outside of WDW, too. If it was us, I'd fly and spend three weeks in Orlando!

I guess if it were our family, I'd think about things like: am I ever going to WDW again (if no, I'd spend more time in Florida), am I a theme park person or more of a "what can we see along the way" type (if theme park - fly, if "along the way" - drive, with a nice bonus of a week in WDW in the middle of the trip). And if you've done the Sea World in SD, or plan to do the one in Orlando, you'll probably want to skip the one in San Antonio. I've been to 3 of the Sea World's, and they're all interesting, but pretty much the same. You could stop in New Orleans (not much out of your way). We haven't done that yet (dh isn't interested...) and getting an RV around there could be interesting, but I would consider that to be the biggest "attraction" semi-along the way. There's also Tucson, AZ, but I don't know what's interesting around there.

No matter what, you're going to have a great trip! The driving is easy, it just takes a loooooooong time.

Sue in Texas
...missing California, after 21 years there...

 

[drafthorsecrazy]

You are trying to schedule a lot of things into a short time. I know its tempting to visit many places along the way....because you are thinking, hey, I'm close, why not? There is nothing wrong with this idea if you give yourself plenty of time. Can you do it in the time frame you are thinking? Yes. But I really think you will be so exhausted that a lot of the pleasure of the trip will be lost. Please don't underestimate how tiring traveling can be! I'd suggest adding another week to 10 days to your trip . There really is sooo much to see and do right in the Orlando area. If you cant lengthen the vacation maybe consider flying as already suggested. Staying on site in the resorts for 2 weeks can get expensive. You might consider crunching the numbers and see if renting a vacation home near Disney to be an option with flying.

 

[Escape Artist]

...Can you do it in the time frame you are thinking? Yes. But I really think you will be so exhausted that a lot of the pleasure of the trip will be lost. Please don't underestimate how tiring traveling can be! I'd suggest adding another week to 10 days to your trip...

If you're driving and homeschooling, you've got two "jobs" going on at once. With only two drivers, you're going to have a lot of time behind the wheel, in addition to spending time with the kids, schooling and otherwise. That would be very tiring, at least for me!

If you're driving and can afford the time, adding another week to 10 days to the trip is a great idea. I bet you'd get a lot more enjoyment out of it!

I'm curious to hear what your dh says when you tell him your online friends said you should stay longer!

Sue in Texas

 

[terri01p]

To me this sounds like great fun, once my dh retires we plan on selling our tt and buying a motorhome and coming out there to California, we have never been and of course that's 15 years away .
I say if your not on a time restriction go for it. It will be a trip your kids will always remember, to each there own but I say if you can afford it and have time go for it, how much fun would this be.
Let us know what you decide.

 

[disney4dan]

I think the trip you are planning is awesome and will be a great time. Would it be better if you had 3 months to travel? Who knows. When I was a kid, between 2nd and 3rd grade, my parents packed my brother and I and our dog into the pick-up truck for a whirlwind tour of the country. They met with our teachers and the school committee and everyone thought it was a great idea, got out of school early (we left in May I think), did not return until late August. I have had the road trip bug ever since. Some of the best memories had absolutely nothing to do with huge attractions like National Parks or "The Worlds Largest Ball of Twine" (cue the music from National Lampoon's Vacation).

For the southern US route, I would think places like the Painted Desert, Petrified Forest, etc. would be great. But like I said above, taking time to just get out and explore, climb a mesa, walk along a river, stroll through a small downtown or out of the way local museum, and your kids will remember this for the rest of their lives.

 

[proudmomof4]

Hi everyone,

DH and I are driving to FW from San Diego with our two sons (ages 8 and 10) and our two dogs next month for an extended Spring Break (we homeschool - or roadschool in this case) in our motorhome. We are planning on 4-5 days of driving each way and a week at FW - is this realistic? Are we crazy? Will we have time to stop and see anything, and if so, what are the "must sees" and where should we stop? We've already been to all the Utah NPs and the Grand Canyon. Has anyone else done this drive? Thanks so much!

Laurie in Carlsbad, CA

I noticed you are planning this for next month, do you already have ressies at FW? If not, you may want to check their availability and that will tell you how long you will have to travel and how long you can stay, if they have any openings. March is spring break month and very crowded at WDW, if you already have ressies then you just need to decide what you may want to see during your journey and leave your home with enough time to arrive at FW on your check-in day.

 

[proudmomof4]

I used to live at Camp Pendleton but I grew up in Florida so I used to make this trip to visit family...we would spend day 1 driving to Las Cruces, day 2 would take is halfway through TX, day 3 would take us to New Orleans to visit my dad and then it is a 4th day's drive from New Orleans to Tampa or Orlando. We did not stop and sightsee, we just stopped to use the restroom, eat, gas up and then overnight to sleep.

 

[BigDaddyRog]

The petrified Forest......wow.....I havent thought of that place in YEARS ......dad took us there as a weee littledaddyrog...........I couldnt have been more than 5 trying to understand that trees turned into stone...I vividly remember alot of that little outting. Thanks for bringing me back to that great little spot in my memory!!!!!

 

[sandiegomom]

Thanks, everyone!

Yes, we already have reservations for 3/12-19 at FW. We have 4-5 days to drive each way, so not too much time to stop and sightsee. For the way there, we are thinking about stopping near Tucson day 1, Houston (Space Center?) day 2, New Orleans area day 3, then off to Orlando for night 4, so we can check in at FW at a reasonable time of day 5. The way back can be a completely different route, but we still have only the same number of days. My husband is a consultant paid hourly so that is all we can afford to take off right now!

Laurie in Carlsbad, CA

 

[lynndiwagon]

We just made the trip from Oklahoma City to Orlando. It was a Haaard 3 days. I'm thinking the last time we went to Calif. it was a Haaard 3 days. Hmmm, that's 6 haaard days of driving. I don't know.......

 

[disney4dan]

We just made the trip from Oklahoma City to Orlando. It was a Haaard 3 days. I'm thinking the last time we went to Calif. it was a Haaard 3 days. Hmmm, that's 6 haaard days of driving. I don't know.......

You may be right. Trying to think wayyyy back, we drove a '55 chevy from Pheonix back to Massachusetts and did not stop for too much on the way back and it seemed like we spent a week. Mebbe longer. I just remember cruising at 65 to 70 through Kansas and it took an unbelievable 17 HOURS from eastern Colorado to St. Luis. Only stopped for gas and bathroom breaks.

 

[BigDaddyRog]

6 hard days with even a brief night or 2 of the fort in the middle of them still beats the heck out of going to work or cleaning the house!!!

 

[LarryJ]

Hi everyone,

DH and I are driving to FW from San Diego with our two sons (ages 8 and 10) and our two dogs next month for an extended Spring Break (we homeschool - or roadschool in this case) in our motorhome. We are planning on 4-5 days of driving each way and a week at FW - is this realistic? Are we crazy? Will we have time to stop and see anything, and if so, what are the "must sees" and where should we stop? We've already been to all the Utah NPs and the Grand Canyon. Has anyone else done this drive? Thanks so much!

Laurie in Carlsbad, CA

If you've never been and can afford it I would plan for 2 weeks at WDW if it's you're first trip. You're already spending the $$$ getting there and and coming back and a 10 day passport with no expiration might be just the ticket. That will give you some down time w/o going to the parks and with kids and what FW has to offer is a godsend. We have driven from Mayport to San Diego with a TT and kids once and then from San Diego via WDW to R.I. and then again from San Diego via WDW to D.C. also with kids ... so yes been there done that. Carlsbad and the Alamo are musts and just for fun stop and see "The Thing" somewhere along I-10 in I think N.M. I-10 in Texas is boring, boring, boring from around El Paso to the N.M. border.

In 2004 we did the grand tour around the U.S. from D.C. to middle Ms. for our son's winging and then thru Ar. for some Van work then on to San Antonio, Dallas area and then to San Diego, L.A., Stockton, and then SLC, Black Hills, Chicago, Mi., and then back home ... 60 days and 11,000 miles

We're already looking forward to another around the U.S. in the next several years since the last one was great and we're still married after spending 2 mos. straight in a TT.

Larry