Driving with 2 kids

[imthemamahere]

And if this fails I'm finding a nearby airport and I'm flying the rest of the way since my husband wants to camp at Disney and this was his idea

I like your backup plan!

For the OP, I'm also in NJ and I've considered driving to Disney to save money, but haven't done it. At least, not in a long time - I did the drive twice in my early 20's, when I had more energy than I do now! I've got one little guy, who's now 5. From us (near Newark Airport, if that helps you judge), it's about a 16-17 hour trip, according to Google Maps. Which means quite a bit more with a wiggly, small-bladdered little one in the backseat! I know for us, we'd have to spend the better part of 2 days doing the drive, because there's simply no way all three of us could handle the drive straight through. My body aches just thinking about spending that many hours in the car! Plus, I'd rather have those hours at Disney World, instead of on the road.

(We did a drive to Chicago last fall, about 13 hours, and wound up splitting THAT into a 2-day trip. Between bathroom breaks, meals, and just a need to move around and really stretch our legs, it's what worked for us. We could stretch our driving a bit further before turning in for the night, but I know we'd all be wrecks if we tried it straight through.)

Based on where you are in Jersey, you might want to look at other airports that are a reasonable drive away. If you're in south Jersey, look into BWI (outside Baltimore), DCA (National Airport by DC), or IAD (Dulles). If you're central or up north, try JFK and LGA. We're 20 min from Newark, but our next trip may well start from JFK, because the flights are ridiculous from EWR, but not nearly as bad from JFK...

If the price is still too much, then it's not insane to drive. But only you know how you, your husband, and your kids will likely feel after being cooped up in the car that long. I'd have a sore rear end and be in no mood for a day in the parks when we arrived. But your mileage may vary!

 

[Ariel8676]

Im in NJ and have 4 children 12,11,8 and 4..we have been driving to WDW since my oldest was an infant. We like to drive straight through, only stopping for gas, food, bathroom and a bit of stretching and the fastest we got there was 18 1/2 hours but normally somewhere around 20-21.
We ALWAYS left at night around 9-10 pm. We would have the car packed and do something fun all day, come home eat a good dinner (my husband would go to sleep for a few hours) shower and get in comfy clothes or pj's and head out. We felt that it was easier for the kids to leave at night because it was their normal time to sleep..and they slept lol It is a little harder for us, but we take turns and most of the time the kids would sleep until breakfast.
Its really not a bad ride, bring coloring books, DVD's, colorful pipe cleaners (always fun to make things with them) and snacks. We also used to bring a small portable potty for my girls when they were really little for those times when there isn't a bathroom close.
Be careful going through Virginia, DO THE SPEED LIMIT lol and have fun

 

[Happiest mommy]

don't know if we could drive thru the night, I hate driving at night

 

[powellrj]

We use to always fly, but due to finances, we had to start driving. I love having a car with us, so that is a huge plus to driving.

My kids are all older now, but when they were younger, electronics were our friends. We made sure to have lots of new movies to watch and lots of books on tape. I always had the snack bag loaded with treats they never got at home. We were never drive through the night because we are usually leaving after we get off work. What works for us is to leave when we get off work, drive until we get tired and then stop for the night and get up and finish the drive the next day.

I know it seems odd, but we are always able to drive straight through going home, even though we get home at 1 or 2 am!

 

[sbeaulieu]

It shouldn't take 22 hours from NJ, unless you are making really long stops. It was 17 from West Point. We drove when we lived in West Point, NY. The biggest concern with driving is making sure you leave at a good time to miss the DC traffic. If you hit that, it will ruin your trip. The first year we drove our kids were 5 and 2.5. We left at around noon and stopped at my parents house in MD until rush hour was over. Then we made it to Fayetteville and stopped for the night. We have never flown to Disney. We drove last year when we lived in Kansas and are driving in a few weeks from Tennessee.

 

[kohlby]

It depends on YOUR kids. My middle child would have done just fine at that age. My youngest would not have. Neither would my eldest. We had to break up an 8 hour trip into two parts when my youngest was 2 due to how poorly he did in car rides over an hour. But by 3, he could handle the trip, though no more than that and no more than one day of it. He's now 5 and 22 hours would be pushing it.

So, no, I wouldn't drive with kids that ages knowing my kids. But there are people.

 

[WantToGoNow]

We have only flown once and have driven many times since my kids were babies. For a family of 5 it's just more economical. The last trip was easiest. My dh didnt go, my kids met me when I got off of work at 4 (30 mins from home). We drove until 10 and stopped for the night. We got up at 7 and drove until 8 - we had a hotel booked at the Lake Buena Vista Clarion. We checked out at 7, was at AoA by 7:30 and at was at AK for opening.

 

[wattswatch]

We will be driving from Kentucky with our DS (9) and our DD (2). It's a 13 hour trip, but we plan on stopping for food, gas, stretching and diaper changes. The plan is to put the kids in their Jammie's, leave around midnight, and drive through the night. Fingers crossed it goes smoothly!

 

[disneyworlddreaming]

My daughter is 2 and my son is 6. I'm debating whether to drive to Florida or fly. We are coming from NJ so I think it would about 22 hours?? Anyone recommend driving? Would love to save the $$ but not sure it's worth it. Thoughts??

We drove last April with 3 kids (5, 3, and 15 months). We are from Hamilton, Ontario so it was roughly 22 hours also. We loved it and are doing it again next trip. We brought DVDs, easy snacks and fresh fruit and I bought lots of colouring books, and little portable puzzle etc for them. We also bought them each a travel lap tray from Michael's and those were a life saver for the kids. Be prepared for lots of bathroom stops! Enjoy!

 

[maxiesmom]

I want to add to that for me the worst part about the long drive to Florida (20 hours from where I am) is that you have to make that long drive twice. And the drive home seems twice as long as the drive to WDW.

On the drive down everyone is excited! Riding in the car all day is kind of fun--you have new games/toys/videos to play, and you get to stop for snacks and eat out. The drive back home, the games have all been played, you are already sick of being stuck in the car, you are tired and just want to be home. Not fun.

 

[Happiest mommy]

yes the drive back will be brutal not looking forward to that we drove to Chicago straight and that was fine but the drive back we really should have stayed somewhere overnight, maybe I will pack in extra dollar toys and stuff for the drive back can anyone tell me what would be a good time to leave from Fl? we are leaving on a Saturday around 3am and returning on a Saturday also looking for a good place to stay overnight on our way home to rest and let kids unwind a bit thanks!

 

[Figmentmommy]

We've driven from NYC our last 2 trips. We don't drive overnight and find that staying over for the night in South Carolina coming and going works best for us. We usually leave Disney around Noon- 1pm on our departure day.
Our boys love taking a road trip and find it a fun part of the vacation!

 

[asmit4]

We are nervous about this too- so here is our plan. I am driving alone on the way down. My mom and son are flying. We are all driving home together. It's about 18 hours for us. If this 1 way concept works- we might end up doing both ways next time.

 

[DisneyLvr55]

I'm in Jersey, and will by driving myself, and my two girls (7 & 9) down in August. I'd rather limit my driving in the dark, so I'm planning on leaving around 4:30am (only a little bit of darkness) and bringing food/snacks to limit our stops. Will probably drive till 9-10pm depending on how far we get. I *plan* on only being an hour or so from Disney by that evening, and being at RP the next morning.

This will be my 3rd time driving down, but my first time without any other adults.

 

[PapaPiper]

Driving is great if you decide to make the trip part of the vacation. We are a large family and we drive down from PA. It takes us about 20 hours of actual driving spread across two days with a stop someplace nice along the way.

While the convenience of getting to WDW in just 3 hours would be lovely, I don't even want to think about the cost of flying my crew. Plus, we hate being on such a strict schedule when it comes time to depart.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I've driven from NJ with my two kids. We're about 10 minutes from Philadelphia.

Our best way to do it is leave at 4-4:30 am. The kids sleep until about 9 am in the car. By that time we are in VA and stop for breakfast.

We drive some more and the kids just snack in teh car or have sandwiches. Us too. We are still full from a big breakfast.

We can usually get through and make it for dinner around 6 pm. Somewhere in Georgia.

We make it to WDW by 9 pm.

Now on the way back we don't play games and have made it back home in 13 1/2 hours. 14 1/2 at the most. We just try our fastest to get home quickly.

 

[DYOBL0305]

I would drive. I have 3 kids and we always drive. I suggest putting the kids in their pjs and putting them to bed early. Then leave out at about 10pm or so and drive straight thru til about 7:30-8:00am and stop for breakfast and to stretch your legs and change the kids into their day clothes. That way, your drive is half over and the kids have slept most of it.

This is pretty close to what we're doing. We're driving from south Texas, it's a 19.5 hr drive with 3 kids (6, 3.5, and 1 year old). We're still trying to figure out whether we should split the drive into 2 days or just drive straight through, only thing we know for sure is the day we leave we're heading out at 1 am that way kids sleep for a good chunk of it.

In December we drove to NM (14 hrs) leaving at 10pm, it was exhausting but our girls slept through most of it so we didn't have to make as many stops and they were pretty rested....well as rested as they could be sleeping in a sitting position on the way back though we left at 9am and it was a much different story. they were antsy halfway and ready to be out of those car seats....longest drive ever

 

[4leobeans]

It makes me chuckle when people always remark how it's soooo cheap to drive. Spending on where you're coming from, that would not be the case. The US always seems to have airfare deals to Orlando; maybe not $69 pp (score!) like a previous poster mentioned, but under $200.

You need to factor in one or two hotel nights, at least one days worth of meals, and gas, which would be what, $60-$100 per fill? Plus, your time? Whenever we've driven longer trips, we always add in at least a 2 hours per 8 hours of travel for breaks/food.

My cousin, her hubby and SIL plus three kids 1,2,5, drove last year, and all ended up flying back (except hubs who drove back) to Toronto because he said it cost them so much in gas money, and time.

I don't think I would do that drive with a two year old....I am planning an 8 hour trip this summer with baby, 3 and 6 year old, and I think that will be the max. At two, my kids weren't interested in movies, couldn't play many games, were always dropping toys, and needed to burn off steam every few hours. The trip would make me crazy . I agree with a previous poster who suggested checking nearby airports.....

 

[maxiesmom]

In December we drove to NM (14 hrs) leaving at 10pm, it was exhausting but our girls slept through most of it so we didn't have to make as many stops and they were pretty rested....well as rested as they could be sleeping in a sitting position on the way back though we left at 9am and it was a much different story. they were antsy halfway and ready to be out of those car seats....longest drive ever

Here is the thing: What happens if you arrive at WDW exhausted, but the kids are ready to go? What if your room isn't ready? To me that is not a recipe for a good first day at WDW.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Three drove 3 out of the 5 times we went to Disney with our two kids. Once we took the autotrain, and the last time we flew.

We drive from PA. Two of the three times, we stopped twice (once in Virginia, once in Georgia). Once we stopped once (South Carolina).

It can be cheaper if you get good gas mileage and only stop overnight once. And if you can't get a good deal on tickets. You'd have to price it out.