First Road Trip with Toddler!

[EllNat11]

We are leaving on Wednesday morning for our first roadtrip down i-95 from NY.

We will be traveling with our 2 year old. What are my don't forget items? I've got the basics on my list from last trip (but we flew instead of driving) - what is a road trip must have??

What snacks/food do you like to pack in the car/cooler? We are dealing with a couple food allergies so we will likely picnic on the 2 day ride down instead of restaurants - what travels well?

Lastly - any particularly good places along i-95 to stop and let her run off some steam?

I thought i was prepared - but as it gets closer i'm starting to panic!!!

Thanks!

 

[Trip planner]

We drove to WDW last month for the first time with DS-3 and DS-5. I packed snacks I normally don't buy: fruit roll-ups, fruit snacks, and licorice. They were a big hit! I also bought two trays from Michaels for the kids to color/ play on but they didn't fit well over the car seats so in hind side I should have bought lap desks that are soft on the bottom. I also buy triangular crayons that don't roll off. We stopped at rest stops along I-95 and the kids ran around to burn off energy.

 

[5stljayhawks]

I hope this is not the case, but barf bags / small trash can and lots of plastic bags and paper towels. We found this out the hard way coming over 70 in PA, right after we ate lunch.. Burrrpppppppppp ----- then lunch... Yah my little princess gets car sick..

Got to put kuddos out to the fed ex drivers in their big rigs, each one moved over when they passed us on the side of the ride....

 

[PocahontasLookALike]

Those play packs (sticker/crayons/coloring book all included) from the dollar section are worth their weight in gold. My daughter is 2 and obsessed with stickers. They keep her quiet and entertained for a good 30 mins in church. I have a stockpile of them!

So lots of stickers/coordinating sticker books, manga doodle, new books/magazines. A plastic slinky can go a long way too! I've been collecting and hoarding a private stash of stuff for three different upcoming trips we have between now and the fall. My goal is keep my kids happy and entertained. Even if it means pulling out a new toy 'surprise' every hour.

 

[karatemom2]

The big plastic containers that coffee comes in make a good barf bag. They have a lid and a handle and can easily be rinsed out. We always keep one in the car.

 

[asmit4]

Doing the same in October for the first time. My plan is to buy lots of 'junk' from the dollar section at Target and Dollar tree....for a new toy every hour- and lots of movies/tv programs. Barney and Bubble guppies LOL!

 

[ajwolfe]

The big plastic containers that coffee comes in make a good barf bag. They have a lid and a handle and can easily be rinsed out. We always keep one in the car.

Genius idea!! Too bad we don't drink coffee like that. lol

 

[It's A Happy Day]

We always drive from MA to WDW/FL when we go and will be heading that way in a few months, although they are not toddlers anymore.

Nobody else has said it, so I will.... Is there anyway you can travel at night? It's a 22 hour trip for us and we always leave at supper time and do the monster trip in 1 swoop. It was always easier (for us) to get there and chill the 1st night, go to bed early and be ready in the morning to hit the parks. Leave at 5pm, get there for 5pm the next day - bed early, ready for rope drop. Kids slept 1/2 the trip that way.

If you don't have a portable DVD player, see if a friend does. Movies were a great way to eat up time & kept them occupied. Same for any type of handheld video game - leapfrog, DS, tablet, whatever.

LOVE the coffee can idea! We always did the ziplock/grocery store baggies for "just in case." Maybe check with friends that drink coffee if you have time?

And watch for McDonalds with Playland/playgound signs!!! When we stopped for potty breaks or breakfast/lunch, we usually hit McDonalds because #1 they don't normally get it so Happy Meals were a treat & #2 DH & I would chill for 1/2 an hour and let them run around for a bit.

 

[khertz]

We just did our first road trip to Disney World a week ago, and I got lots of new things for my DS for the trip! He's 3.5 years old, for reference. We loaded up the iPad with lots of movies and games. He loves jigsaw puzzles, so not only did we download some puzzle apps for him to play, I also found some small 24 piece puzzles in tins at Wal-Mart for $1.50 each and bought a bunch to put in his Easter basket. I bought a lap tray made specifically for kids in car seats off of Amazon. It has a strap that goes through the back of the car seat to help hold it in place and it has a cup holder on it. Made it easy when he wanted to do some drawing with his Color Wonder markers (the ones that won't write on anything but the special Color Wonder paper). The markers went in the cupholder to keep them easily accessible without rolling around. I also brought him a medium sized MagnaDoodle to play with, and lots of snacks. We did the drive down split up into 2 6-hour drives, but drove the whole way through on the way home. He did great! I was actually surprised that he didn't spend very much time playing with the iPad and more time with the toys I had picked up for him.

I have to second the advice of the previous poster and say that restaurants with a Playplace are your friend! We didn't stop at any this time around, but they have saved our lives in the past. Driving to Tennessee when he was 2.5 was a little more difficult than this last trip!

 

[Happiest mommy]

So excited for you we are planning our first drive down from NY soon please keep us posted on how it went, the last trip we drove to VA I had bought a bunch of new DVD's that they had not seen and different snacks they normally don't eat and yes also discovered my DD gets car sick too so now we always bring lots of bags and wipes/paper towels oh! and I bought them each a neck pillow they loved that, have fun and safe travels!!

 

[ready2vacation]

Dum dums. They saved us during our 10 hour drive to/from FL last week our 2.5 would eat one for a half hour and never say a word (while watching MM club...

 

[AKL_Megs]

As someone else mentioned, McDonalds with play areas of any kind! Only, while YOU eat, the kids play, and then THEY eat in the car when you leave. Perfect way to kill an extra half hour in the car (while they eat), and a nap is usually in order afterwards when their tummies are full!

I stock up on clearance toys after holidays (like those stocking stuffers or Easter basket stuffers at Target) and save them for our summer trips. Dollar Store, as mentioned, is also a cheap idea. I wrap them in tissue paper and DD gets a new "gift" for being well behaved in the car every couple of hours.

A portable DVD player is worth it's weight in gold! If you can budget for it, stock up on a few cheap $5 DVDs so they are new, or check out library book sales/mom-2-mom sales for cheap DVDs that your kids aren't familiar with. Bring the favorites too!

Another treat that is almost more appreciated than anything packed was choosing a snack at rest area vending machines every once in a while. Skittles or M&M's were popular treats, and they must feel special choosing themselves!

We like to leave just before bedtime. We WEAR HER OUT all day, give a filling dinner, put her in PJs with a movie when we leave around 9pm, and she sleeps the night. Good way to have a quiet chunk of travel time!

It's not as bad as we thought it would be at all! Good luck!

 

[krista113]

We just made the trip from Michigan with a 6 and 3 year old, and on the way down it was just me, as my husband was already there for work So, I had to be really organized. I used 2 of those reusable shopping bags (got them from the Disney Store) and packed them with a bunch of toys, books etc from the Dollar Store, and set them at their feet so they could get to them if necessary.
I also brought 2 cookie sheets and magnets, which provided a lot of fun especially for the 3 year old. I also, surprised them by buying 50 disney pins from ebay, so midway through the trip I got those out and my 6 year old love that, kept him busy for hours looking at all the new ones.

We also stopped at McDonalds to play, which was a big deal to them as I never let them have it at home. They also loved stopping at the welcome centers for each state we hit, and getting out, getting pressed pennies, running around, and browsing the brochure stands to see what there is to do in each state.

But the biggest sanity saver was the ipad we do not have wireless ipads, so I used my phone as a mobile hotspot, and while I went over 1 GB it was worth the $15, so they could watch netflix etc.

Good luck! It will go much smoother than you think!

 

[Maggie at the Fort]

One thing I have learned the hard way. My kids don't get a lot of "treat" foods. (I am a mean mommy I guess) But a road trip is not the time to splurge on lots of foods they don't normally get. My daughter got car sick on a few trips before we figured this out. I like to make lots of small baggies of snacks but keep them to things they are use to eating. The disney branded zip lock snack bags from the dollar store are perfect for this!

 

[asmit4]

One thing I have learned the hard way. My kids don't get a lot of "treat" foods. (I am a mean mommy I guess) But a road trip is not the time to splurge on lots of foods they don't normally get. My daughter got car sick on a few trips before we figured this out. I like to make lots of small baggies of snacks but keep them to things they are use to eating. The disney branded zip lock snack bags from the dollar store are perfect for this!

On our first trip with our toddler (he was 20 months)....he became so constipated---I kid you not- we thought he had broke his leg-- he was limping so bad for about 10 minutes. My mom- in her freak out wisdom was arguing with me about how we HAD to go to the hospital! It was THAT bad. THEN he had the biggest poop EVER. Poor kid had some blood too it was so big.

For that entire day he was MISERABLE too! Keep the food as close to home as possible with fruits and veggies plentiful! Problem was he was carb loading on the trip and wasn't eating enough 'real' food. We learned our lesson the HARD way!