driving with 2 young children

[CDENORA1]

my husband wants to have a family vacation and he wants us to drive from Rhode Island to Orlando with a 7 year old and a 3 years old. I'm wondering if anyone has ever attempted such a long trip with 2 young children.

 

[Lorix2]

Hi,

we just did this in April with our 10 yr old and 4 yr old. We made it in under 21 hours total. We drove from 4:30 AM to 5:30 PM from NH to NC, spent the night and back on the road again at 7:00 AM and pulled into our resort (int'l drive) around 7:00 PM. We were actually on Daytona Beach at 4:00 that night because we wanted the kids to see the ocean on our way down to Orlando. We stopped off of I-95, exit 173 at a Sleep Inn w/a small indoor pool for the kids and it was $59.00 for the night. We stayed at the same place on our way back also.

We bought a portable vcr "video in a bag", packed snacks & drinks, activities and made stops about every 5 hours to refuel, stretch, bathroom breaks, etc..

It was a big deal to see each state's welcome sign and I personally enjoyed the time alone with my family during the drive, it's all what you make of it, the kids really liked having their bed pillows and small blankets with them, some of the rest areas on the way down are really pretty and I got some great pictures of all of us.

We're already planning our next trip for April 2003!

Let me know if I can help with any questions.

 

[Griswald]

We use a tv/vcr combo in the van and record the Disney channel or Cartoon Network on a couple of 6 hour tapes on slow speed.
The kids think they are watching regular tv. The short 30 programs hold their attention longer than a movie they have seen before. Also you only need a couple of vcr tapes so you don't have to take a bunch of your good movie tapes from home
and have to keep up with them the whole trip. We record the tapes over night while everyone's asleep. We also plug in a cassette tape adaptor into the vans tape player and into the
headphone jack on the tv so we can control volume and shift speakers from the front to the rear.

 

[poohbears5]

We just did this last week with 5 kids ages6 to 16 and the tv in a bag was a life saver at the times I let them watch it you didn't hear a word out of the back of the car and we stoped about every 3 to 4 hours for a quick stretch for them. I t was great compared to what I thought was going happen!!!!

 

[Robinrs]

Granted my ride is not quite as long but I have also found the VCR in a Bag a lifesaver. Not only did my son enjoy the ride down twice this year, he can also use it in the hotel room.

This is the one we had.

 

[patman]

We are from Tiverton, I drove down 4 times now. Bring a gameboy and snacks. Music and books on tape with walkmans are great.

The game boy is great when they are waitng in line too.

We leave about 2 in the morning this gets us on the New jersey turnpike before traffic builds up and the kids are still sleeping.
Bring a frisbee for when you stop. Pack sandwiches to save money and time the first day. We drive to about Fayetville NC the first day getting there about 6 at night. This gives the kids some pool time.

Have a great time, just make sure when one goes they both go.