Driving to WDW 17 hours one way? Do you take a day to rest when you get there?

[kerplop]

There's just two of us but we're planning to do a 16 hour drive this December for our first trip. We are going to leave at about 6am, drive 12 hours (well plus food/potty/water/etc breaks) and stay the night somewhere. Then the next day we'll head down to Disney and be there by noon. That way we'll have a good night's sleep and be pretty well rested to start exploring Disney. Then again we're not planning on parks until the day AFTER that so I guess it is a day off, though we won't be sitting around on our butts

 

[wifey1220]

We drive every year pittsbugh to disney. We love it. And we have 3 ds (10,6,2) We are usaully so excited we drive straight thru. We like leaving early on a saturday morning, like 5am, so there isnt much traffic. We stop once for a sitdown dinner and just fastfood and potty breaks the rest of the drive takes us 17 hrs all together including stopping. On the way home we always stop. Leave Disney and drive till we get tired.

 

[sticker231]

We drive straight through, it take about 15 hours. We leave around 7pm and are go to go when we get there in the morning. It sticks to the kids normal sleep pattern and I don't need much sleep to function anyway.

 

[gillenkl]

We leave our house around 3:30am and arrive around 3:00pm at Savannah, Georgia. We stay at Springhill Suites by Marriott. We eat dinner next door at Cracker Barrel and then go back and take a swim in the indoor pool. Get to bed early and wake up for the free hot breakfast at the hotel ( I think it's served 7am-ish). Then we're off and arrive at disney 12-1pm. We don't go the parks on arrival days just use the pool, eat, ride the monorail.

 

[ziggystardust]

I've driven there 2x as an adult- its an 18hr drive for me.

the first time, we left at night, drove straight through. Hit wdw mid day the next day. We were spent. We got to our room, which was luckily ready and showered, changed and went down to either the food court or downtown disney for a late lunch/early dinner. When we got back to our room, we just collapsed and slept through till morning. It was good to walk around after being stuck in a car so long, but it definitely took a toll. Luckily with sleeping that one night, we were good for the rest of the trip.

 

[Chelley00]

We drive 17 hours from Indiana.

We *usually* leave around 4am so the kids will sleep the first few hours and drive straight through. With stops we usually get to Orlando around 10pm. The next morning we sleep in, have brunch and then head to the parks.

On the way home we stop and stay halfway though. On the way there we are fresh and excited to just get there. On the way back we are all tired and getting crabby and we need the sleep. We drove straight through on our first trip back and we were exhausted. I cried the last 100 miles I was so tired

 

[HHSTigerFan]

We have an 18 hour drive from Illinois, my favorite way of doing it is to leave around 2PM and drive straight thru and get at resort in time to be at rope drop.. I drive the entire way, wife and kids will sleep a good chunk of the way, making it a relaxing drive for me.. by middle of the night I am a little sleepy, but once the sun starts to come up and WDW gets closer, one perks up rather quickly..

 

[Jen76b]

I think the long drive depends on the ages of your kids.

It's about a 17 hr drive for us too. We usually drive for about 13 hrs, spend the night somewhere, and get back up for the other 4 hours and head to the park after lunch.

Now that the kids are older (12 and 14) we're just going to drive the whole way in 1 day. They plan on staying up all night and sleeping most of the way in the car. I figure we can get to our hotel by 10pm. We plan to just sleep in a little the next day, but be plenty rested for a day at the park.

I am a little concerned about being bored for that long. My husband will drive most of the way, the kids will be busy reading, playing video games and watching movied, but I think I'll be bored. So, I've started planning a few games.. Just in case. I figure something just to make it fun.. the drive is also part of the vacation, why not try to make it fun.

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

We've driven to WDW from Indiana (16 hour trip) several times but usually fly now. Whether we drive or fly our arrival day is spent relaxing at the resort. We hang out at the pool, have lunch, get settled in the room, have a relaxing dinner then get to bed early so we can start our first full day ready to hit the parks!

 

[lovehoney]

We drive 17 hours from Indiana.

We *usually* leave around 4am so the kids will sleep the first few hours and drive straight through. With stops we usually get to Orlando around 10pm. The next morning we sleep in, have brunch and then head to the parks.

On the way home we stop and stay halfway though. On the way there we are fresh and excited to just get there. On the way back we are all tired and getting crabby and we need the sleep. We drove straight through on our first trip back and we were exhausted. I cried the last 100 miles I was so tired

This sounds just like me on the way back. I'm going to insist we stop on the way back. It doesn't help that I can't sleep in a car. I was in an accident when I was dozing in the front seat (passenger) and now I just can't sleep in a car anymore.

 

[disney*mom*82]

We too drive and usually straight through since we are on strict time restraints and know we rather spend as much time as possible at WDW. We leave about 4pm once we are all home from school, (kids are now 14, 11, 3) and DH will drive as long as he can. (usually to Atlanta or about 11-12 hours) we only stop for gas which is then our potty and stretch times. I then take over once DH cant handle it. If we are both drained we will stop somewhere like a Dennys, eat breakfast at like 4-5am, take a short rest in car if necessary and hit the road the rest of the way.

Once there, we get all unloaded and kids shower and get around while DH and I lay down and rest and we are usually all showered and ready to hit DTD by 5pm.

Then we do it again on the way home, if possible we stop overnight. We have done this 6 times in the past 3 or so years and works fine for us. DHs parents have been doing this for YEARS! lol!

 

[hearts8701]

I think the long drive depends on the ages of your kids.

It's about a 17 hr drive for us too. We usually drive for about 13 hrs, spend the night somewhere, and get back up for the other 4 hours and head to the park after lunch.

Now that the kids are older (12 and 14) we're just going to drive the whole way in 1 day. They plan on staying up all night and sleeping most of the way in the car. I figure we can get to our hotel by 10pm. We plan to just sleep in a little the next day, but be plenty rested for a day at the park.

I am a little concerned about being bored for that long. My husband will drive most of the way, the kids will be busy reading, playing video games and watching movied, but I think I'll be bored. So, I've started planning a few games.. Just in case. I figure something just to make it fun.. the drive is also part of the vacation, why not try to make it fun.

you can watch movies from red box $1 i rent a few movies that i would like and return them once i hit orlando i bring a few magazines i haven't read yet a book helps if you like to read

 

[NeverlandClub23]

It takes us about 12 hours and we used to always drive straight through from 8:30 p.m., getting there about 8 a.m. the next day. We'd eat breakfast at Cracker Barrel then go to Sea World for the day. The last time we did this we got to Sea World and were like zombies. I remember coming out of the bathroom around 10:30 at Sea World and my entire family was asleep on the bench. We left the park by lunch.

Even with four adults to rotate the driving, you just don't get very good sleep in the car. We now leave on a Friday when everyone gets off work. Eat dinner and get to a hotel around 10:30-11 p.m. The next day we get up, eat breakfast, and get to the WDW area around 4 p.m. Then we unpack, rest, go to dinner at a resort or DTD, and are well-rested for our first full day .

As much as I love flying, I prefer to drive to WDW. The last time we flew, with having to catch ME 3 hours before our flight, a 1 hour layover, and plane delayed an hour or so because of weather, it took us longer to fly back than it did to drive.

 

[scrappinaway]

Another driver from NW Indiana here. It takes us about 19 hours with the stops to keep us awake...2 years ago I was the only driver, and I did it straight through, we left at 5am and got into Orlando at 2am their time? Oh that last hour was soooo hard.

This year my husband came with and we switched, a bit easier but I still did 16 of the hours. We arrived at noon, and must have looked horrible because the gal at online check in took one look at us and said "Your room isn't ready, I'm finding you another one much closer" and we got upgraded to building 14 at Riverside, right next to the dining hall! That was awesome We got a big chunk of a day in at Epcot too, but the drive home.....ugh. Not good. We thought we could do it, but whoever talked about the way home being so much more difficult was so right. I came back saying "Next time we fly"....we'll see....

 

[tlh0726]

South central PA 13 1/2 hours just driving plus food stops and potty breaks.

Getting there is easy, returning is hard.

Best plan for us (not just for disney)
Leave early 2 or 3 am and get a good bit of the driving in before the kids are awake and drive straight through. Yes we will hit MK that night, can't wait to see the castle and hit a few rides.

Return trip, Spend time in the parks, redoing our favorites, leave orlando around 430pm or so, drive till about 11pm, check into a hotel, get some sleep and then finish the ride home the next day.


We tried the straight thru home one trip and never again. The last 4 hours was horrible. We left orlando around 830-9. Being tired, cranky, and with being so close to home just didn't want to sleep anywhere but our own beds.

 

[bucket o' butter]

We have an 18-20 hour drive, so we always take two days to get there. We drive as far as possible on day one, usually 14-15 hours. That way, we have a short drive the next day, so we can spend the evening in the park after we check into our hotel. We usually time it to arrive in mid-afternoon so we still have several hours to enjoy the park. It depends on what tickets you buy also. If we only have the full day tickets, we will spend the first afternoon evening at Downtown Disney and swimming at the hotel, but if we have the tickets that are good from check-in to check-out, we definitely go to the park that first night.

 

[AKbabe]

Most of the year and for shorter trips, we fly. But we like to go for 3 weeks in the summer (DH doesn't, so he flies to meet us for the last week or so). I'm not quite as far as you I guess. It should probably be about 14 hours for us. I usually drive by myself with my 2 daughters. We leave by 5 AM and rather than driving the whole way, usually stop in St. Augustine or further, often around 6 or 7 PM. The reason is that rather than getting to WDW at night, being very tired, and spending the money at WDW prices for that night, we get a cheaper room, and we are well-rested (DD likes to hit the pool and work off some energy). Because of that break, we are able to, once again, leave at the crack of dawn, drive to WDW (little to no traffic), check-in, and still be at a park by opening; although, we're more likely to hit DD for some shopping (really have to get it out of my system before I hyperventilate ).

This past August we flew because my husband wanted no parts of driving that distance this year (I love the drive!). I really missed having my own vehicle, being able to drive to a park or another resort if I wanted, and having all the room to carry 3 weeks worth of stuff instead of worrying about the TSA and the luggage weight restrictions.

 

[sukhakuli]

Most of our trips to WDW we drove straight through. Once, when we were living in San Diego we flew, but that took all. day. long. We left before dawn and got in to the hotel after bedtime.

For a while we lived in the DC area, and it is about a 16 hour drive, and our kids were a lot younger, so we left in the aftrnoon and drove overnight and they slept in the car. Dh works nights a lot, so staying up all night doesn't phase him.

Now we're in Texas and it's about a 19 hour drive, so really pushing it to go straight through, but we're going to do it anyway. Partly from the cost, flying 5 people can be pretty expensive, partly because I am terrified of flying, partly from all the hassle flying entails, and partly because the people at work are always screwing with dh's vacation schedule, so we need to be more flexible about when we leave. We've had every vacation screwed up by the military since our last trip (and even then they were calling him asking him to come in! Hello, you're in CA and we're in FL, no he can't go to work that day!!), so if we are actually able to go, it will be a miracle.

Fo this trip, we are probably going to leave TX about noon-3 and get in about noon-ish I'm guessing, depending on stops and when we leave and all that jazz. Our plan is that this is going to be a resort day, so we're going to hang out at the waterpark, go to the SoA dinner show. Maybe go to DTD, definitely let dh rest if he needs it. And then we're up early the next day for the MK.

 

[mrodgers]

The best thing about driving 19 hours to Disney and home for us was a month later, we drove 15 minutes to Ocean City, or at least the 400+ miles to Ocean City certainly felt like 15 minutes after driving home the beginning of summer straight through from Disneyworld, ha ha!

 

[blondietink]

We have a 22 - 24 hour drive depending on which route we take and traffic. We acan divide our drive into 2 days with the first day being the longer drive, 12-14 hours. This usually gets us to WDW in the afternoon right around check-in time and we are pretty well rested.

Recently we have been doing it in 3 days, the first day leaving at 4 pm after work and driving about 5 hours so we get into the Harrisburg, PA or south of Pittsburg, PA area again depending on the route. Stay for the night and then drive 12 hours. Stop for the night and drive for 5 hours getting us to WDW in the early afternoon and we can usually get early check-in. This is better for us as we get older. Those long drives just don't agree with the body any more. We also like to stop different places along the way and see the sights.