Driving To WDW from Toronto ~ any tips?

[SandraC]

Hi! We are thinking about driving to WDW from Toronto, what are your trip tips?

The plan would be to go 2004 or 2005. My kids would be around dd10 and ds4. They haven't been on a long car trip before. 5 hours is their longest. I've driving to WDW from Montreal as a kid. dh has never driven that far either. dh and I drove to Viriginia Beach for our honeymoon and that's it for him.

I don't know what car we will take. I am looking for a van now. I would buy a TV/VCR combo for the car. What else would help? How long is your drive? We would stay over at least one night each way. Where do you stay? We'll visit the ocean too! Chat soon! and THX, Sandra

 

[CDisney]

We drove from Central New York in August with three kids, ages 4, 6, 9, and they were good as gold. Some of the things that worked well:
-TV/VCR so they didn't suffer from withdrawal
-Game-Boys
-books for 9-year-old (she finished Harry Potter books 3 and 4 by the time we got back home)
-a ball (we stopped at rest stop for picnic lunch/dinner and then played ball for a bit to run off excess energy)
-a small bribe - the kids earned a $1 in quarters for every state that we passed through without incident that they could use for the video games at Pizza Planet

If I can get my desk cleared of work, we'll be driving down again in April.

 

[JohnnyOldBoy]

We've driven from Chicago many times, about 1200 miles, and going again in 4 weeks. We highly recommend going non-stop overnight. We leave in the late afternoon, stop for a late supper, drive all night, stop for breakfast and arrive in FL early the following afternoon. Advantages: 1) kids are more likely to fall asleep after they tire of the VCR and N64, 2) less traffic, especially thru major cities, 3) doesn't use up two days to travel each way, 4) trip seems shorter since you're already there the next day, 5) arrive in FL just in time to check in, early supper and early to bed, ready to go the next day. With the van, DW sleeps in back while DH drives, gas up and switch drivers about every 4 hours. Pepsi and pistachios to avoid drowsiness while driving.

 

[SandraC]

Driving right thru the night scares me. Don't you get tired? I can do lots of driving but dh is a nervous passenger. Thanks! S

 

[JohnnyOldBoy]

I'm a nervous DH too! Overnite is not for everyone but after we tried it once we do it every time. A typical trip for us goes like this: Fri. - leave about 4 pm, I drive until 9 pm, stop for supper, gas etc. DW takes over, drives until 1 or 2 am, stop for gas etc. Since I've had about a 4 hour nap, I'm good to go again and usually drive until about 8 am, when we stop for breakfast. From there we switch off as needed until we arrive, somewhere between noon and 2 pm depending on stops. We check in, have a swim, eat an early supper and are in bed early, 8 or 9 pm for a good night sleep. Sunday morning we are well rested and ready to hit it.
The most important thing while driving is to not get drowsy. We find that doing something with your hands besides just holding the steering wheel seems to help the most. For me, it's pistachio nuts, for DW, a rubber exercise ball. Books on tape also help, as long as it's something to keep you interested and alert.
I'm not trying to twist your arm on this but only offering a suggestion. However you go, have a safe and happy trip.

 

[SandraC]

Please twist away...I need it! When I bought the driving idea up to dh, he suggested that he drive thru the night while me and the kids sleep. We would still check into a hotel (kids 2 and 8) dh would sleep during the day while I'm with the kids by the pool. We would all get a good nights sleep in hotel and do the rest of the drive the next day. This summer we are doing a 10 hour drive to Cincinnati. That should be a good indicator on the WDW driving plan. Thanks! Sandra