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

[BC1836]

THANKS BC!!

All the best!

 

[DisMom1981]

Hi! I need some encouragement! I was planning on our first WDW family vacation in April to be a driving situation. We are coming from CT with DH, DS ( will be 4) and DD (will be almost 2). Am I crazy??? I don't want to spend $1000 to fly and I loathe flying anyway. Has anyone done this successfully with small children? We are planning to buy a nice mini van in the next couple months.
Also planning to stay with relatives in MD one night and in NC another night..... Though I was more recently considering bypassing the MD stop. Thoughts?

 

[talb714]

Hi! I need some encouragement! I was planning on our first WDW family vacation in April to be a driving situation. We are coming from CT with DH, DS ( will be 4) and DD (will be almost 2). Am I crazy??? I don't want to spend $1000 to fly and I loathe flying anyway. Has anyone done this successfully with small children? We are planning to buy a nice mini van in the next couple months.
Also planning to stay with relatives in MD one night and in NC another night..... Though I was more recently considering bypassing the MD stop. Thoughts?

It really isn't that bad. We have been driving from MA once or twice a year since my oldest was 2 he is now 10 and my youngest is 7. We have a minivan the kids both have DVD players and now Kindle Fires. We drive straight to orlando on the way down and stop once on the way home. We leave at 8 pm at night and drive all night, the kids sleep most of the way. I feel the same way it is cheaper to drive than fly. I always have a bag of goodies to keep them busy.

 

[dvczerfs]

Hi! I need some encouragement! I was planning on our first WDW family vacation in April to be a driving situation. We are coming from CT with DH, DS ( will be 4) and DD (will be almost 2). Am I crazy??? I don't want to spend $1000 to fly and I loathe flying anyway. Has anyone done this successfully with small children? We are planning to buy a nice mini van in the next couple months.
Also planning to stay with relatives in MD one night and in NC another night..... Though I was more recently considering bypassing the MD stop. Thoughts?

you can do it. there are a few people on this thread from your area that can give you tips on what interstates etc... to take.
our dd is almost 20. her first trip was 9 months. its a little easier now days to entertain the kids in a car than it was years ago. dvd players etc..
have fun planning your drive and have fun. theres alot to talk about and see on your trip. (even if its at 70mph)

 

[artemis4]

Hi! I need some encouragement! I was planning on our first WDW family vacation in April to be a driving situation. We are coming from CT with DH, DS ( will be 4) and DD (will be almost 2). Am I crazy??? I don't want to spend $1000 to fly and I loathe flying anyway. Has anyone done this successfully with small children? We are planning to buy a nice mini van in the next couple months.
Also planning to stay with relatives in MD one night and in NC another night..... Though I was more recently considering bypassing the MD stop. Thoughts?

We haven't driven to FL with young kids, but we did do a trip from WI to Maine when our kids were 1, 3, and 5. 20+ hours driving, one night in a hotel. It was fine.

We always start huge our trips in the evening and drive through the first night. We stop at a park in the morning for my husband to nap and me to get the kids out at the park to move around for a couple hours. Then, we drive more. On the Maine trip, we also stopped close to dinner time for another nap and park time. We pulled into the hotel parking lot that time a bit after the kids' bedtime; we really pushed it going from WI to MA in just one 24 hour period with three young kids, but it was okay. We finished with a shorter drive into Maine the next day.

This time, our youngest kid will be 5, but we still will follow our traditional leave at night MO. We plan on getting from WI to southern GA before stopping at a hotel, but we will take a break outside of Atlanta for a couple of hours so that my husband can nap and we can miss rush hour traffic.

 

[LadyBeBop]

We are planning to buy a nice mini van in the next couple months.

That will help.

Also planning to stay with relatives in MD one night and in NC another night..... Though I was more recently considering bypassing the MD stop. Thoughts?

Even though you can do it in two days, I'd take the third day and spend some time with your MD relatives. Why push it if you don't have to.

Instead of NC, I'd stay in southern SC or even Georgia. That way, it will be a short hop to WDW the next day. It's about 10 hours from Baltimore to Savannah and about 4 on to WDW the next day.

It's about 7 1/2 hours from Baltimore to Florence, SC (northern SC), and another 7 hours from Florence to Orlando. Almost the same amount of time.

 

[Salrx95]

Hi! I need some encouragement! I was planning on our first WDW family vacation in April to be a driving situation. We are coming from CT with DH, DS ( will be 4) and DD (will be almost 2). Am I crazy??? I don't want to spend $1000 to fly and I loathe flying anyway. Has anyone done this successfully with small children? We are planning to buy a nice mini van in the next couple months.
Also planning to stay with relatives in MD one night and in NC another night..... Though I was more recently considering bypassing the MD stop. Thoughts?

We are in Ct too. Our kids do well in the car. This February will our second trip. We went in Feb 2011 when our sons were almost 3 and almost 6. Stayed overnight on way down by plan in SC. Drove non stop on way home.

It really wasn't bad at all. Portable DVD player, leapfrog game, books, snacks in car, played games. They napped here and there. Way more convenient for what we needed to bring (stroller, food/snacks, toys/books) to drive than fly plus cheaper, especially since we'd rent a car anyways. Not a fan of flying either. I can see us flying when they are older but, for at least this coming trip and the next one, we will drive.

Good luck. Any other questions, ask away.

 

[Amirah95]

It's totally crunch time now...it's 2 months out and ummmm I think I got everything set. DH seems to think that it takes us 20 hours to get to Orlando every year and we have this discussion every year. I track our progress on the way down and we always make it between 17 and 18 hours. He likes to argue I guess.

Anyway, I've been into organizing everything lately so packing will be light. I also decided to get a 2nd Owner's Locker as well so I won't have to bring things I use annually home.

DH drove the whole time last time and that was great. Every new State I'd offer to drive and he'd tell me he's OK and that he can do it. I think I'll take over When we get to Florida because last time he was getting anxious and I knew crash time was coming. He's not a cub anymore ya know?

So, Jersey Week here we come!

 

[dvczerfs]

It's totally crunch time now...it's 2 months out and ummmm I think I got everything set. DH seems to think that it takes us 20 hours to get to Orlando every year and we have this discussion every year. I track our progress on the way down and we always make it between 17 and 18 hours. He likes to argue I guess.

Anyway, I've been into organizing everything lately so packing will be light. I also decided to get a 2nd Owner's Locker as well so I won't have to bring things I use annually home.

DH drove the whole time last time and that was great. Every new State I'd offer to drive and he'd tell me he's OK and that he can do it. I think I'll take over When we get to Florida because last time he was getting anxious and I knew crash time was coming. He's not a cub anymore ya know?

So, Jersey Week here we come!

we just purchased our first owners locker. im getting tired of lugging the same stuff back and forth to wdw twice a year. we were going to get two ourselfs but john said to try one and see how it goes. looking forward to the purple monster!!

 

[Amirah95]

we just purchased our first owners locker. im getting tired of lugging the same stuff back and forth to wdw twice a year. we were going to get two ourselfs but john said to try one and see how it goes. looking forward to the purple monster!!

You'll wish you had the 2nd lol. We wished we did the first time around as well. We managed to pack 3 beach sized Disney towels into it along with toys and mugs and what not. What didn't fit was that bead case they include with the locker. So that is why we're getting a 2nd...so household and kitchen stuff in one and towels and pool toys and what not in the other.

Last time I didn't take inventory so I am not sure what's even in our locker. Going to have to spend an hour sorting the day we get there.

 

[griz4]

It really isn't that bad. We have been driving from MA once or twice a year since my oldest was 2 he is now 10 and my youngest is 7. We have a minivan the kids both have DVD players and now Kindle Fires. We drive straight to orlando on the way down and stop once on the way home. We leave at 8 pm at night and drive all night, the kids sleep most of the way. I feel the same way it is cheaper to drive than fly. I always have a bag of goodies to keep them busy.

Those of you that drive from CT/MA area to Disney- what is your estimated fuel costs for the roundtrip ride? I know prices of fuel go up and down, but just trying to get a ballpark idea to see if worth driving from central CT to Disney our next trip if savings are significant over flying.

 

[justakrazymom]

Those of you that drive from CT/MA area to Disney- what is your estimated fuel costs for the roundtrip ride? I know prices of fuel go up and down, but just trying to get a ballpark idea to see if worth driving from central CT to Disney our next trip if savings are significant over flying.

in our 2011 Dodge Grad Caravan Crew we used roughly 115 gallon of gas going to and from Disney .. so around $450 give or take ( depending on the price). For 5 people plus the gear for 2 others it's def cheaper. We also take a side detour to a friends for 3-5 days in GA (which we couldnt do if we flew).

My friends just got home.. they left Disney at 11:10 yesterday morning..made it back to Pittsfield MA at 9:04 am..

 

[marius97]

Those of you that drive from CT/MA area to Disney- what is your estimated fuel costs for the roundtrip ride? I know prices of fuel go up and down, but just trying to get a ballpark idea to see if worth driving from central CT to Disney our next trip if savings are significant over flying.

Check out gasbuddy.com. There you can input your starting point, destination and exactly what car you are driving. It will tell you where you should stop for gas and how much it would be. It works well because it guides you to what states not to stop in because it is more expensive.

 

[dvczerfs]

ticker check!

 

[Jhuff8181]

Starting to plan our trip in March and we have decided to drive from New Hampshire. We are thinking about renting a car. Have you ever rented a car for your 2000+ mile trip? Please tell me the good and bad.

Thank you.

 

[dvczerfs]

Starting to plan our trip in March and we have decided to drive from New Hampshire. We are thinking about renting a car. Have you ever rented a car for your 2000+ mile trip? Please tell me the good and bad.

Thank you.

we rented mini vans for about 8 years or so. we bought our own when dd was a kid. we just traded it in, we just didnt need the van anymore. i thinks its a good idea. if it breaks, they give you another one. it saves the miles on your car. down side, its not cheap. i just looked into renting a minivan for our may 2013 trip. dd is going with us and we just like the extra room.

 

[sharadoc]

we just traded it in, we just didnt need the van anymore.

Whaaaaaaat!?!?!?!?!

 

[DisMom1981]

That will help.

Even though you can do it in two days, I'd take the third day and spend some time with your MD relatives. Why push it if you don't have to.

Instead of NC, I'd stay in southern SC or even Georgia. That way, it will be a short hop to WDW the next day. It's about 10 hours from Baltimore to Savannah and about 4 on to WDW the next day.

It's about 7 1/2 hours from Baltimore to Florence, SC (northern SC), and another 7 hours from Florence to Orlando. Almost the same amount of time.

There are relatives in southern NC so that is why we planned to stay there. Thanks for the great information!

 

[DisMom1981]

Thanks for all the fantastic feedback. I finally booked POP and have been calling all the local car dealers looking or the car we want to buy that will hopefully make the ride as pleasant as possible!

 

[BC1836]

dvczerfs: A couple of more days until you can count the days on your fingers! Crossing paths with junglecruiser?

All the best.