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

[dvczerfs]

Yes, the Family Truckster!




What's that you say?

It's a Photoshop a friend did.

 

[DSLRuser]

Yes, the Family Truckster!




What's that you say?

It's a Photoshop a friend did.

LOL nice. Needs "Honkey Lips" painted on the side.

 

[pwdebbie]

Check out "Griswold Family Vacations" on FB or http://griswoldfamilyvacations.com/griswold-vacation-disney-world/ .

 

[chepic]

seeing snowmen on the side of the road Cheryl???

lol. Yes snowmen.....no, no drinks that early in the morning. I should have taken a picture!!

 

[dtr_angel]

Can I join in? We just booked a trip that is less than 3 months away. We're driving from Maryland for the first time and our son will be about 21 months old. Are we crazy?!

We're having issues getting our second car seat tight enough in my DH's Jeep (we both have Jeep Grand Cherokee Limiteds but his is 3 years older than mine) so I hope we can get that issue fixed soon. His is a V6 and mine is a V8 Hemi so clearly driving 1600+ miles each way at ~12 mpg highway is a deal breaker

We're going to take 81-77-95 instead of getting on 95 in Richmond. We're going to drive to Augusta, GA the first day and visit a friend of mine. We're either going to stay overnight there, or maybe drive a little farther before staying overnight. The next morning we'll be less than 6 hours from Disney (plus pit stops and a lunch stop) and finish the trip in. On the way back we're driving it straight through

-How much should I have in cash/change for tolls?
-Should I pay for the updates to the maps on our GPS? We bought it in either 2009 or 2010

We're not going to plan out our stops but we're hoping between the drive down to hit up a Sonic, Steak n Shake, and Red Robin. We don't have them here and I'm really looking forward to it!

 

[dvczerfs]

lol. Yes snowmen.....no, no drinks that early in the morning. I should have taken a picture!!

lol. Driving that long your body forgets what time of day it is. I'll have a ham and cheese sandwich for breakfast lol.

 

[dvczerfs]

Can I join in? We just booked a trip that is less than 3 months away. We're driving from Maryland for the first time and our son will be about 21 months old. Are we crazy?! We're having issues getting our second car seat tight enough in my DH's Jeep (we both have Jeep Grand Cherokee Limiteds but his is 3 years older than mine) so I hope we can get that issue fixed soon. His is a V6 and mine is a V8 Hemi so clearly driving 1600+ miles each way at ~12 mpg highway is a deal breaker We're going to take 81-77-95 instead of getting on 95 in Richmond. We're going to drive to Augusta, GA the first day and visit a friend of mine. We're either going to stay overnight there, or maybe drive a little farther before staying overnight. The next morning we'll be less than 6 hours from Disney (plus pit stops and a lunch stop) and finish the trip in. On the way back we're driving it straight through -How much should I have in cash/change for tolls? -Should I pay for the updates to the maps on our GPS? We bought it in either 2009 or 2010 We're not going to plan out our stops but we're hoping between the drive down to hit up a Sonic, Steak n Shake, and Red Robin. We don't have them here and I'm really looking forward to it!

welcome aboard!!! 81/77/26/95/4 you won't hit any tolls. Just keep an eye on the weather.
Lol we don't have stake and shakes around her and while my dd was on the disney college program I would check her bank statements. She had her number lifted twice so we don't take chance anymore. I kept seeing stake and shake and I text her to ask her what the heck kind of places are you going too. Lol

 

[DSLRuser]

.
-Should I pay for the updates to the maps on our GPS? We bought it in either 2009 or 2010

The only major change I know about is the toll roads into the back side of the disney parks (429) are now finished. So you GPS my route you to I-4 when using the tolls may be better. (429 to western way)

 

[chepic]

It's definite! We're headed back to the house of mouse in August! The trip went so well last time that we're driving again from SE Mass! Although, I'll drive to South Caroline on day 1, with a shorter drive on day 2. Can't wait to get to work planning!

We are going in August too!!!!! 2 families, 4 adults 8 kids driving from RI.

Just got the ok to book dining.

Cheryl

 

[sharadoc]

Hi everyone. We got moved to page 2 - can't allow that to happen

Snow still not melted around here, we're so happy we planned our trip in December or we would have NEVER made it.

We can't do it, but we seriously considered planning a last minute trip in June when we heard they extended Star Wars weekend to the 13-15th. We've always wanted to do a SWW, but school gets out on the 13th. Certainly not getting early because they didn't use snow days!!!

 

[Cant wait for Disney]

hi all!
We are beginning to plan our roadtrip to Disney that's coming up in June. It will be me, Dh and our 2 toddler sons. I'm going to start reading through this thread and I know i'll dig up lots of great info, thanks to all of you for contributing! We are leaving from Pittsburgh. We've mostly talked about jumping in the car after dinner so the boys will sleep through a huge chunk of the trip. What do you guys think? If we stop halfway for a hotel, what's a good stopping point? Hotel recs?
What do you all do on the last day of your trip? Is it rough to try and be in the parks til the last minute and hit the road?

 

[DSLRuser]

hi all!
We've mostly talked about jumping in the car after dinner so the boys will sleep through a huge chunk of the trip. What do you guys think?

....


What do you all do on the last day of your trip? Is it rough to try and be in the parks til the last minute and hit the road?

we have been driving since 1992. with and without kids. leaving after dinner is the way to go. less traffic, and the kids sleep through 80% of the drive.

as far as driving home on the last day...we relax at the pool until 2:00pm or so. the wife and I sleep by the pool while the kids swim every last bit of energy out. They ride better, and we are ready for the drive.

its 16 hours or 1,000 miles each way for us.

 

[BC1836]

Hi everyone. We got moved to page 2 - can't allow that to happen

Thanks for keeping this unique thread on its toes!
[Hmm. Change "toes" to "tires!"]

All the best.

 

[chepic]

hi all! We are beginning to plan our roadtrip to Disney that's coming up in June. It will be me, Dh and our 2 toddler sons. I'm going to start reading through this thread and I know i'll dig up lots of great info, thanks to all of you for contributing! We are leaving from Pittsburgh. We've mostly talked about jumping in the car after dinner so the boys will sleep through a huge chunk of the trip. What do you guys think? If we stop halfway for a hotel, what's a good stopping point? Hotel recs? What do you all do on the last day of your trip? Is it rough to try and be in the parks til the last minute and hit the road?

We leave from Rhode Island at around 3 am and drive down and get to the Carolina's by dinner. If we stop for the night, we do so about an hour from the Georgia border. There are plenty of hotels along the way. Last year we decided to leave at midnight and got to Disney by 10:00ish, pm. We have been doing this since before we had the boys. As far as sleeping, it is up to the child. Ours are good travelers, for the most part. They will fall asleep throughout the time we are driving. The key to a happy ride is plenty of activities and snacks!!!!!!!! Have a great trip and a good time planning, that's half the fun.

Because we are vacation club members, we don't go I to the parks everyday, and use the resort as a great vacation home. That said, we don't go into park the last day. Usually on the last day, we head over to down town to let the kids get one last snack for the ride home.

Cheryl

 

[Mom2Luci]

We made it!! We left chicago at 8 pm on Saturday and arrived in Valdosta at 2 pm Sunday. Driving through the night worked really well. DD didn't figure out her surprise until we were exiting I 4 and she read the sign that said Disney World Celebration. Her reaction was priceless! We also ended up getting upgraded to preferred at Movies

 

[BC1836]

we have been driving since 1992. with and without kids. leaving after dinner is the way to go. less traffic, and the kids sleep through 80% of the drive.

its 16 hours or 1,000 miles each way for us.

Your signature states 30+ trips since 1992. Were all of them drives?

[This is for info regarding our all-time records on page #1].

Thanks!

All the best.

 

[pepe of ohio]

Your signature states 30+ trips since 1992. Were all of them drives? [This is for info regarding our all-time records on page #1]. Thanks! All the best.

We've been to WDW 50 times and since 1977, we started out driving ( 1050 miles one way ) taken the Auto Train once, flew 3 times, taken regular Amtrak over 20 times and now back to driving....

Choices are few anymore, I don't fly anymore, Auto Train is a nine hour drive for us and we don't need our car in WDW....regular Amtrak is great but catching it in northeast Ohio, we have to switch in DC and it's a 8 + hour layover before heading south, makes the whole train trip 38 hours...nice but driving, though I loathe the drive, is doable in 17 hours sort of straight thru..we stop at the Florida Welcome Center for a few hours rest before continuing to WDW getting in around 6 am ( in time for a full day of fun...

 

[BC1836]

We've been to WDW 50 times and since 1977, we started out driving ( 1050 miles one way ) taken the Auto Train once, flew 3 times, taken regular Amtrak over 20 times and now back to driving....

Choices are few anymore, I don't fly anymore, Auto Train is a nine hour drive for us and we don't need our car in WDW....regular Amtrak is great but catching it in northeast Ohio, we have to switch in DC and it's a 8 + hour layover before heading south, makes the whole train trip 38 hours...nice but driving, though I loathe the drive, is doable in 17 hours sort of straight thru..we stop at the Florida Welcome Center for a few hours rest before continuing to WDW getting in around 6 am ( in time for a full day of fun...

Thanks for the info!

To the best of your knowledge, of your fifty trips to WDW, how many were round-trip drives?

All the best.

 

[DSLRuser]

Your signature states 30+ trips since 1992. Were all of them drives?

Thanks!

All the best.

No. My best count is 15 drives. We try and fly here and there. but, they are always non stops. Never have broken it up.

 

[BC1836]

No. My best count is 15 drives. We try and fly here and there. but, they are always non stops. Never have broken it up.

Thanks! Fifteen is a lot of drives to WDW.

Perhaps, this thread should recognize all those who have made at least ten 2,000+ mile round-trip drives. Maybe there should be levels of accomplishment: 10, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, etc. Kind of like wedding anniversary types!
Or perhaps, Olympics-like marks: 10 drives for bronze; 25 for silver; 50 for gold?

We've done 31 drives (all since 2002). And then there's dvczerfs!

All the best.