For 2,000+ Mile Round-Trip Drivers Only! (II)

[Vickis3js]

looking for some thoughts and advice. We are booked at Pop for May 7. We will be driving down from Boston. It will be hubby, myself and our 2 kids. Aged 4 and 8. My initial plan was to leave at midnight 12:01am May 6. Drive as much as we can and stay overnight possibly in GA somewhere. Then drive the rest of the way the next day.

I just found out that my daughter will have a half day on May 5. I was thinking of possibly leaving early afternoon on May 5.

I am also wondering if its possible or if we should even consider driving straight through. If so would it be better to drive straight through and leave at midnight or drive straight through and leave early afternoon on May 5 (we could always add an extra night onto our ressie and check in on May 6).

If we leave at midnight and drive straight through is it ok to check into our resort in the middle of the night?

I think driving straight through for the first time is a bit much. Plus you are paying WDW premium prices to rest after that first day. The kids will be there and want to go go go but mom and dad will be wiped from the drive. I would suggest stopping the night atleast the first time you drive. We live in S. Jersey and we stop in GA. We leave NJ around 3am and we get to the hotel around 5pm. Thats with stopping for a breakfast and a few potty breaks.

 

[kteesmumma]

Thank you everyone for the great advice.

 

[delmar411]

Well, have talked about doing it before but never got the courage to do, but its booked and we are driving. We are coming from Northern Indiana near South Bend, hoping to do it straight through. I hope it works out!

we left southside Indianapolis at 5:30am and were at Disney by 10:30pm. We stopped very little, didn't stop for food at all(packed a cooler), just gas and potty stops. We have 4 kids, 12, 4, 6 & 7 and they did great.

It was pouring rain the entire trip though so I think we could of made better time if I wasn't trying to see through the rain and fog. Just a heads up, after about 15hrs of non-stop use apparently windshield wipers go on strike. LOL

 

[dvczerfs]

I'll second this advice. Our kids have driven with us 5 times since january 09. We are planning to drive straight through for the first time our next trip. We think we have it all figured out finally, so we know what we need to bring, where we like to stop, what works to keep then occupied and happy, and how much DH and I can handle behind the wheel.

For your first trip, and especially with little ones in the car, you should be alert and awake and ready to react to anything. If you've never driven the route before, it will be stressful even though it's very easy once you pass Richmond.

Plus stopping for an overnight sleep means you won't be exhausted when you arrive, which is really important when you have excited kids who want to see and do everything immediately!

sharon, what time of day are you leaving for your straight through drive?? this past december we left nazareth at 3am, we got to okw at 7:30pm.

 

[dvczerfs]

im with everyone else. unless you do alot of driving or spend alot of time on the road, i wouldnt try driving all that distance the first trip. im an outside rep for an hvac company and drive 40-50k miles a year for work. im up at 3am everyday so for me getting up early and driving all day is very easy. but if your not use to it, you could be asking for trouble. alot of times on 95 you see a car on the side of the road, on its roof in the middle of the night, no one else around, someone fell asleep behind the wheel and ran off the side of the road. it only takes a split second, trust me, been there,done that!!! in 1989, i was a rep for a local company and i had just eaten lunch, i was comeing through a town called redhill pa on rt29. i turned right onto rt663 heading to the pa turnpike. i was full, tired,alone and ready to go home. i must of nodded off for 1 second, my front drivers wheel hit the stones on the side of the road and i woke up!!!! just in time to get the car back on the road!!! thats why i dont eat meals on the road, only snack!! a full stomach, long drive = nappy time for david!! IT NEVER HAPPENED TO ME AGAIN! i learned a good leason that day and dont ever want that feeling again.now, i can drive straight through to wdw,16 1/2 hours with no problems but i know what to look for and i know what to do and what not to do as far as i,myself, personaly goes.i can feel when i had enough behind the wheel and time for dw to drive. and yes, she drove home for about 2 hours this last trip. good luck and drive safely!!

 

[PrincessMom4]

We used to do the split driving from Canada to Florida. We used to stop around Virginia and then in Jacksonville, Fl. Now we drive overnight and so far so good. If we feel even a little unsure we pull over and get a place to stay.

 

[nono]

Just a heads up, after about 15hrs of non-stop use apparently windshield wipers go on strike. LOL

Good to know!

 

[sharadoc]

sharon, what time of day are you leaving for your straight through drive?? this past december we left nazareth at 3am, we got to okw at 7:30pm.

Our plan is 5 AM at latest, 4 if I can get up that early! We plan to be there between 9 and 10 pm. We'll stop for at least one meal so that will lose a little bit of time.

I can't imagine doing the whole thing with one driver. You are an iron man!

 

[dvczerfs]

QUOTE=sharadoc;39638428]Our plan is 5 AM at latest, 4 if I can get up that early! We plan to be there between 9 and 10 pm. We'll stop for at least one meal so that will lose a little bit of time.

I can't imagine doing the whole thing with one driver. You are an iron man![/QUOTE]

hi sharon, are you guys done digging out again??? tammy says im nuts. she says she dont know how i do it. my dad could do the same thing when i was a kid. he would come home from work around 3-4pm. go to bed,(the guy could drop off to sleep anythime) sleep till about 11:30pm and hit the road at midnight. he would drive straight through. back than i95 didnt go straight through from pa to florida, it wasnt done yet. i remember stopping at howard johnsons for breakfast and we hit the 76 service plazas for gas. every once in awhile i still see some of the old 76 service plaza signs. i should stop one time and take a pic of one of them before there gone. i remember my dad letting me pump the gas!! at that time , we didnt have self serve gas stations in pa.

 

[delmar411]

I can't imagine doing the whole thing with one driver. You are an iron man!

We do one driver as well. I'm too nervous as a passenger. DH deals with the kids and I just drive. I think I get the better part of the deal.

 

[BigDaddyWill]

I will be the driver because I like driving...and I have started as early as 4 am because that means the kids start off sleeping, lol. Since we live near Cincinnati, if I can get that start my first stop is at the Tennessee welcome center around 7 am or so. Have not tried it straight through, we usually stop for the night in southern GA and cruise into Orlando early afternoon. We'll see though how we feel as we get closer! We are right at the 2000 mile round trip, so we are thankful for our Sirius radio, hehe.

 

[Donald is #1]

I'll be the only driver too for my WDW trip in August. This trip will be just me and my niece. However I won't be driving straight. On the trip down, we will spend the weekend in DC and then spend either 2 or 3 days driving back. So my itinerary will be:

Day 1 (Thursday): Drive from NH to DC with a stop in Mass to get my niece
Day 4 (Sunday evening): Drive to few hours to Rocky Mount, NC
Day 5 (Monday): Drive from Rocky Mount down to AKV

Return trip is still TBD, but most likely:

Day x: Drive from AKV to VA most likely
Day x + 1, probably do something in VA or DC
Day x+2: drive back to NH with a stop in Mass to drop off my niece.

 

[Harvestmooner]

looking for some thoughts and advice. We are booked at Pop for May 7. We will be driving down from Boston. It will be hubby, myself and our 2 kids. Aged 4 and 8. My initial plan was to leave at midnight 12:01am May 6. Drive as much as we can and stay overnight possibly in GA somewhere. Then drive the rest of the way the next day.



We drive from NH. We leave about 2pm and drive through the night, with a rest(couple of hours) in VA somewhere. Have breakfast at Cracker Barrel and get on the road again. We make gas/potty/food stops and then we stop in St. Augustine, FLA and spend the night. Get in the car in the morning and make it to WDW in 3 hours and check in before 10. We are traveling with 2 children and have been doing this since our first trip in '03.
Have a safe wonderful trip!!!

 

[BC1836]

Twenty-one round-trip drives since 2002. One driver!

All the best!

 

[Ahrizel]

Dh and I have done several trips to Disney, but always flown. It looks like our trip to the world in Dec will be a drive this time, our very first for either of us. Unless the hubby gets a few more days off around his vacation week, looks like we'll be leaving the Scranton area around 9pm, and maybe driving straight through? We'll both be drivers for this trip. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. We'd start driving on Friday night, if that helps any. Should be the first week in Dec.
Mary

 

[mousebymarriage]

Dh and I have done several trips to Disney, but always flown. It looks like our trip to the world in Dec will be a drive this time, our very first for either of us. Unless the hubby gets a few more days off around his vacation week, looks like we'll be leaving the Scranton area around 9pm, and maybe driving straight through? We'll both be drivers for this trip. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. We'd start driving on Friday night, if that helps any. Should be the first week in Dec.
Mary

We live in northern NJ (about 6 miles from the George Washington Bridge).
We used to fly all the time because DH always insisted he would never make that long drive but, I managed to convince him to do the drive a few years ago and after that he says he will never fly to Disney again!

Driving through the night works best for us but, I am a night person so it's not a problem for me to drive at night. Anyway, what seems to work best for us is: I try to sleep as much as possible during the day we are leaving (we usually go in the winter months so the kids are in school). DH works the day we are leaving and naps for a couple of hours when he comes home (he gets home by 4:30pm). We hit the road after dinner/early evening after everyone showers and the kids put on comfy clothes (sweats and t-shirts work best). DH starts off driving for a few hours and then I take over sometime around midnight or so when we stop for gas. DH just pops in ear plugs and reclines the seat a bit and goes to sleep. The kids are usually asleep by then so it's just me awake. I make sure my I-pod is loaded with my favorite songs and I only use one ear bud while driving so I can listen to the music while everyone else sleeps and not disturb anyone but, also hear any emergency vehicles etc. if necessary. *Just remember if you get tired pull over at a rest area and nap for an hour or two, don't risk driving if you are too tired. We have done this a couple of times and never had an issue.
I keep a couple of snacks within easy reach (m&m's and grapes are easy to munch on with one hand while driving) and a bottle of water but, I try not to drink too much while driving during the night (too many bathroom stops).

DH usually takes over driving either right before breakfast or right after. After breakfast I pop in the ear plugs and sleep while DH drives. Ear plugs are a life saver for the other driver. After I rest for a while DH and I take turns driving. We like driving through the night because the kids sleep for a good part of the trip and it really cuts down on the "are we there yet?".

We bring a ball and a frisbee with us on the drive so that the kids can run around a bit at the rest areas when we stop for bathroom breaks. 10-15 minutes of running around (every few hours) can do wonders during long car rides. We also pack a cooler with water bottles, juice boxes, fruit, string cheese and sandwiches (mini bagels are good too). We back a bag with other snacks like: mini cereal boxes, granola bars, mini muffins, cookies, gold fish crackers, and m&m's. Having these snacks and sandwiches is great for the munchies and lunch on the road, it saves a ton of money because gas station/ rest area snacks can be expensive.

We have a dual screen DVD player in the car (the kids take turns picking movies) plus, they have their nintendo ds games (DD14 has her cell so she texts her friends alot). We also play some other games on the road like: the license plate game, a hand held quizz game called 20Q and the alphabet game. The kids have travel size versions of checkers, connect four and scrabble. They also like to do MadLibs. Plus , we just chat about school, friends etc.
It really isn't a bad drive as long as you are prepared. If you are driving I-95 I recommend getting a book called Drive I-95 An Exit by Exit guide, a great book for getting an idea of where the rest areas are and what restaurants, stores, hotels etc. are at each exit. Good luck and be safe!

 

[bookwormde]

Most of the time I drive all the way (to wdw, outer banks, upstate new york), but if I do feel tired I switch off for a couple of hours

 

[dvczerfs]

Dh and I have done several trips to Disney, but always flown. It looks like our trip to the world in Dec will be a drive this time, our very first for either of us. Unless the hubby gets a few more days off around his vacation week, looks like we'll be leaving the Scranton area around 9pm, and maybe driving straight through? We'll both be drivers for this trip. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. We'd start driving on Friday night, if that helps any. Should be the first week in Dec.
Mary

welcome neighbor to the north!!! (use to have a camper at a campground in wapwallopen pa.) your going at a good time of year. leaving at 9pm will be a good time,as long as you can stay awake, you wont hit any traffic. you wont hit much traffic at all that time of year. we left nov 30th and came home dec.10th in 2010. we didnt hit any traffic at all. not sure which way you will be going down but i81 is clear (from the split in mechanicsburg down) the jacksonville construction is complete. no need to take the 30 mile bypass around jacksonville. any idea which way you were going down?

 

[dvczerfs]

We do one driver as well. I'm too nervous as a passenger. DH deals with the kids and I just drive. I think I get the better part of the deal.

our best friends who follow us down do the same thing. she does all the driving and all i see is his feet up on the dash board.

 

[dvczerfs]

Twenty-one round-trip drives since 2002. One driver!

All the best!

newbee!!! bc, if your going down between june 18th and the 26th, well have to get together!! it will probley be easier this time, ill be at the contemp. if not, we are going sept.26th till oct.10th also. this trip will just be dw and i so one less person to move in one direction. we have to have another 2000 plus mile dis meet. if your intrested, sometime this spring, the dis dads are getting together in philly. its looking like the philly zoo.(not that the dads should be in the zoo) if your intrested. there will, should be about 12-15 guys there from 5 dif. states. we are trying to beat our record of five dads in one spot. there were about 10 of us in wdw last month but some just missed each other and just trying to be at the same spot at wdw is a challange. let me know!