Driving to WDW from Central IL w/ almost 8-year old

[SarahKate]

Hi all!

We've been lucky to have gone to WDW three times, and have flown each time.

This time we are driving (leaving on 4/30) - not so much to save money (because we probably won't save much!) but to just see some new things and expose DD to some things that she wouldn't normally get to see - all her big vacations have been Disney!!!!

We will have all the "normal" types of activities, but what kinds of fun things do you have for your kids (DD will be 8 in June) to do? She'll have the DVD player, Nintendo DS, crayons/markers with some activity books.

What other fun, busy things would you recommend? What websites have you used to find activities?

Thanks all!!!

 

[WizardLarz]

Are you driving straight thru or going to stop somewhere?

If your going to Stop, I would suggest Chattanooga, TN. or Macon GA. and then look for something to do there.

Chattanooga has Lookout Mountain :http://www.lookoutmountain.com/ From the top I believe you can see 6 to 8 States depending on the weather!

 

[indimom]

momsminivan is a pretty good site. We took some of their games and gave them a Disney twist just for fun.

 

[Befferk]

We'll be driving with our 8 year old son in May from Central Wisconsin. We've flown and driven before, last time we drove he was 4 and he did awesome. We are driving straight through this time (as we did last time too), so he will be sleeping for some of the time. DH and I would rather fly to save time, but this time my parents and niece are coming along, and my dad won't fly. Also, it's costing us about $600 round trip to drive versus ~$1800 for airline tickets out of Minneapolis (+car rental), so it is also about saving money. Honestly, even when DS was 4, the DVD player worked very well. We pick up a couple DVDs that he doesn't have and he's quite happy. He also will have his DS and some drawing stuff. That's usually enough for him, besides just looking out the window at where we are Oh, and he also likes crossword, wordsearch and Sudoku puzzles.

 

[ohlas]

dollar store presents, dvd player, 20 question game, car licence plates game,

 

[dreamer423]

We get them from library. Cd or tape-whichever your car uses. Ds8 loves to listen to stories.. there's plenty for the whole family.

 

[java]

A tip on the DVD's - If you REDBOX them - you just pick them up from home and drop them off along the way. I got 6 movies for $6 and the kids loved all the "new releases" If you look on the website you can find a drop off point along your route (most walmarts have them too)

 

[HHSTigerFan]

Also coming from central Illinois, we always leave during the middle of the night, let the kids sleep for the first few hours.. 4.5 hours to Paducah, we like to leave the house by 2:00AM, kids will normally sleep to at least Paducah, maybe even a little further and then we stop at the next Cracker Barrel we see for breakfast.. then push it pretty hard in the morning and stop north of Atlanta for a later lunch.. then we can sort of take it easy the rest of the way when the kids might be getting a little antsy, get to Lake City for a pizza in the room, little swim and only a 2-3 hour drive the next day..

 

[ICF]

We drive from Central Indiana to nothern Atlanta on day 1 when we go down and then finish it up on day 2. Our kids were 7 & 4 our our last trip and we're going again this summer and they'll be 10 & 7.

I think it takes about 8 hours from Indy to Atlanta and about 6 from Atlanta to Disney.

The redbox idea is one we have used often when we travel on vacations. They are in most McDonalds and many walmarts. If you have an iphone, you can download their app and it will tell you based on your current location where the nearest one is and what movies they have.

They also watch movies and play DS games. We typically have purchased disney items from the dollar store / target $ spot to give as prizes when they've play car bingo or some other games.

 

[SarahKate]

Hi all,

Thanks for the great ideas so far!!

Just realized I didn't give particulars....

On the way there, we are driving STRAIGHT THROUGH. So it's our hope that she'll sleep thru a good part of it that stretch.

On the way home, we wanted to take it at an easier pace and spend 2 nites in hotels.

My thinking (at the moment) is to leave Friday morning kinda early and get as far as possible - maybe Macon or maybe north of Atlanta. Saturday morning drive up to Chattanooga and do the fun things there, stay overnight. Get up that morning and then go to Nashville, then stay overnite there as well and do a few little fun things. On Sunday, we'll have about a 6-hour drive from Nashville to home.

I had really wanted to split the trip evenly into thirds, but seems like most of the fun stuff we want to do is in the TN area so this works out better for us.

We have a beach day worked into the Disney trip (although that kinda makes the rest of the trip a squeeze to do all the Disney stuff!).

I love, love, love Redbox!!! It's so easy, cheap and convenient. We'll definitely plan to do that along the way.

Thanks for everything guys!!!

 

[bucket o' butter]

We have driven almost everytime we have went to Disney. We live in Indiana so about the same amount of time as you will be in the car. I have made up "goody" bags for each child to open everytime we go into a new state. Usually, it was something to keep them occupied in the car. Suggestions are a new DVD, a game for the DS, crayons, coloring books, books to read, etc. My kids love it and can't wait to cross the border to open a new present. Other suggestions are things they can use while at Disney like the light sticks from the dollar store, autograph book for characters to sign, or pool and beach toys. Good luck on your trip! Have a great time!

 

[bjscheel]

Crayola Model Magic. It's like play-dough but mess-free. If she works to blend two colors into one new one, it can take quite a while. Then sculpt it into various shapes. It dries up and you can keep the creation or toss it. We've gotten a couple of hours out of it on flights.