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

[OZMom]

How do you handle the coffee? I would love to drink my coffee but then I would be stopping to hit the bathrooms way too much lol.. I've thought about those go while u drive things but never tried.. I do bring an empty milk jug in case I cave and hit some coffee but haven't done it yet..

Oh best part for us, traveling from Texas, is getting to Florida and finding Krispy Kreme in the gas stations! Actually it starts before Florida but it's a good feeling

Go while you drive things? I have never heard of them, but I'll look into it for our upcoming trip Honestly, we've never had the problem of needing to stop too often, although I've never thought too much about it. Maybe every 4 or 5 hours? The last time we made this trip, it was with a toddler who needed diaper changes pretty regularly so we couldn't go too long in between stops. I guess we'll find out next month!!


I am definitely going to be looking for the Krispy Kremes once we hit Florida. They are my favorite and the closest to us is an hour away.

 

[BC1836]

Drive #34 to WDW completed!

However, we did our drive differently than August. We left yesterday at 5:35 p.m. and booked a reservation at Emporia, VA. However, the ongoing construction around the Baltimore tunnel on I-95 and the ongoing construction in northern VA is worse than before. And an accident in northern VA held us up for an additional hour; in fact, we went about one mile in one hour. Ugh.

Our second phase drive today from Emporia to Lake Buena Vista went well until Orlando on I-4. An accident closed one lane and backed up traffic for five miles. After Orlando, two accidents on I-4 (one on one side of the road and another on the other side a bit further down the highway) created another traffic jam. Finally, the traffic around DTD is so awful, that the entire length of Hotel Plaza Blvd. was gridlocked. Ugh.

On our drive, the cheapest gas $2.97; the most expensiive $3.35.

Still...we are here...after 1,053 miles.

All the best.

 

[Kirby]

Kirby, we are down just outhwest of Houston and it takes us about 13 hours to drive.. We leave at 3pm and it's all fun until we hit the florida border.. After that it is a boring drive until you turn off i10.

The kids usually pass out early but my wife is a solid co-pilot only taking brief naps. I love to drive so it's not a big problem for me at all.. I usually setup mini goals to try to hit to. Ale time fly like trying to guess my time to the next border..

We do a lot of small talk about whatever is going on and once we head south in Florida it gets easier, plus sun is starting to come up which makes it better as well..

Most people think we are crazy but we love doing this.. We hit Disney about 6am depending on if I missed the turn lol we check in and then hit rope drop and have a fun time being exhausted at magic kingdom. Lol..

I also pack a container full of snacks to eat when I hit the hard times on the road.. Eating keeps me alert

It's 20+ hour trip for us. DH and I swap out. We will leave after he gets out of work so the kids will sleep the first half of the trip. We grab Starbucks before we hit the highway and another one for later in the thermos. He is a night owl so he will probably drive the first shift. I will probably nap until he gets tired and then we will switch. As the PP said, snacking keeps me awake. Once the sun is coming up, I'm good and DH can get some ZZZZ's. The southern part of the trip is the worst, so it's better to do that after the sun comes up for us. Flat, straight, boring roads for MILES.

Making small goals and snacking sound like a plan. I don't know about the coffee though. It goes right through me. In fact, I hardly drink anything when I'm on the road unless I'm sure there will be a place to stop.

 

[ericstac]

Making small goals and snacking sound like a plan. I don't know about the coffee though. It goes right through me. In fact, I hardly drink anything when I'm on the road unless I'm sure there will be a place to stop.

Lol. That's how I am. I pretty much have one bottle of water the morning of the day we are leaving while I'm at the gym. Then nothing else until we are heading south in Florida. Being dehydrated is better than stopping every five minutes to go.

 

[BC1836]

Assorted afternoon notes:

Disney Hess: $3.12 (regular) [the one near Boardwalk is closed for a refurb]

Driving near DTD is a gridlock headache.

Epcot's World Showcase was packed by 1 p.m. The Mexico kiosk food line was 101 people long (yeah, we counted as we walked by).

All the best.

 

[oneprincessjo]

So... I'm getting ready for our upcoming drive in January... I have a question regarding my potty trained 3 year old? Does a decent travel potty seat exist? I'm not referring to a portable potty, because that won't help once we get to Disney. I did order a Ginsey foldable potty seat that claimed to fit most potties, but when it came in it didn't even fit our standard home toilet, it was too small and my daughter almost fell in... definitely will not work for those giant public bathrooms on the way down. Worst comes to worst I will just pack her regular potty seat (we have used in restaurants and such)... but i was hoping for something more compact that can fold up. Thanks!

 

[loveysbydesign]

So... I'm getting ready for our upcoming drive in January... I have a question regarding my potty trained 3 year old? Does a decent travel potty seat exist? I'm not referring to a portable potty, because that won't help once we get to Disney. I did order a Ginsey foldable potty seat that claimed to fit most potties, but when it came in it didn't even fit our standard home toilet, it was too small and my daughter almost fell in... definitely will not work for those giant public bathrooms on the way down. Worst comes to worst I will just pack her regular potty seat (we have used in restaurants and such)... but i was hoping for something more compact that can fold up. Thanks!

I bought this back when my little guy was potty training, it is very small but works! http://www.amazon.com/Kalencom-2-in-1-Potette-Plus-Red/dp/B0016KV73W#
I still keep it in the car in case of emergencies when driving!

 

[cruisingkat]

BC - thanks for the info about the Hess. That is the one we usually use.
Packing up the car for an early departure tomorrow. Staying at POP, but have to go to downtown Disney after we get there Tuesday to renew our AP.
Would have left over the weekend, but there was a surprise party for our granddaughter's 16th birthday on Friday, Sat had our grandson playing in the youth football league playoff game (they won) and Sun our middle granddaugter had a cheerleading competition.
We had to break up our Disney trip doing 3 nights this week and 1 night next week so we can go down to Ft. Myers for the weekend to see our 2 FL granddaughters dance at the Italian Fest.
I thought that when our kids grew up and went off on their own, there would be no more running around and time would be ours - was I wrong! Can't wait for Disney to relax.

 

[amcnj]

My daughter and I might drive instead of fly. Since we can't leave until she gets off work and its a 16+ hour trip for us we'll have to drive all night to get there at a decent hour the next day.

How do you drive all night? How do you stay awake? My daughter is 23 so she can help drive.

Part of it is knowing yourself, and any other drivers, as to what their nighttime driving abilities are. I know people who can drive straight through over night and not miss a beat. Others who once it starts getting dark can't keep themselves awake no matter what. Some can take a catnap during the night and then feel fine for the rest of the trip. Once you know the abilities of all, you can arrange your driving schedule.

In general, I have found having someone else awake and conversing with you does seem to help.

Good luck with the drive!

 

[Cando86]

I posted in this thread awhile back. Our plans have changed now and I wanted to get your guys' opinion on when to leave to make the drive down.

We'll be driving from Michigan. It's an 18 hour drive...

So we will be checking in on a Monday. We will both have the previous weekend off. When do you suggest we leave? My initial thought is to leave around 5pm on Sunday, drive through the night and arrive on Monday around 11am. I'm afraid of starting our trip off being exhausted on Monday. But I was thinking we could nap once we arrive and are able to check in, go to dinner at Raglan Road maybe, and then head back for an early bedtime.

What would you do?

 

[sharadoc]

I posted in this thread awhile back. Our plans have changed now and I wanted to get your guys' opinion on when to leave to make the drive down.

We'll be driving from Michigan. It's an 18 hour drive...

So we will be checking in on a Monday. We will both have the previous weekend off. When do you suggest we leave? My initial thought is to leave around 5pm on Sunday, drive through the night and arrive on Monday around 11am. I'm afraid of starting our trip off being exhausted on Monday. But I was thinking we could nap once we arrive and are able to check in, go to dinner at Raglan Road maybe, and then head back for an early bedtime.

What would you do?

I would leave Sunday morning and drive for 12 hours and sleep in a motel. Get up Monday morning and drive another 6 hours, arrive at Disney completely refreshed. Instead of a tired day and early night, you'll have a great first day.

 

[nono]

I posted in this thread awhile back. Our plans have changed now and I wanted to get your guys' opinion on when to leave to make the drive down.

We'll be driving from Michigan. It's an 18 hour drive...

So we will be checking in on a Monday. We will both have the previous weekend off. When do you suggest we leave? My initial thought is to leave around 5pm on Sunday, drive through the night and arrive on Monday around 11am. I'm afraid of starting our trip off being exhausted on Monday. But I was thinking we could nap once we arrive and are able to check in, go to dinner at Raglan Road maybe, and then head back for an early bedtime.

What would you do?

My alternate idea, esp. if you are talking about a trip between now and the spring:

Saturday -- leave at Noonish travel till around 6 p.m., get a great dinner and go to sleep early.

Sunday -- on the road at 6 a.m., off the road around 6 p.m. You should be roughly within 2 hours of WDW at that point (depending on traffic and how frequently you stop). Get another great dinner and get to sleep early.

Monday -- leave at 6 a.m., and do resort check in upon arrival. Since you haven't been driving overnight, you are ready to go, so do something for the day -- a park, bowling at Splitsville, anything, but you are already IN THE MAGIC!

That's what I'd do, but we enjoy just getting going and exploring along the way when we have the time. I am not against doing overnights but find it works best when it's light out 'till later at night, so I only do it during the late spring/summer.

 

[Cando86]

Thanks for the advice! Now on to the next question then ... how do you go about finding hotels/motels on the route down?

 

[loveysbydesign]

Thanks for the advice! Now on to the next question then ... how do you go about finding hotels/motels on the route down?

I use googlemaps and search by how many hours I'll be on the road before I think I'll want to stop. Then I look up the hotels on tripadvisor.com

 

[nono]

I use googlemaps and search by how many hours I'll be on the road before I think I'll want to stop. Then I look up the hotels on tripadvisor.com

Pretty much the same deal! (I have been known to drive out of the way to visit a particular place that was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives)...

 

[darrengs]

So... I'm getting ready for our upcoming drive in January... I have a question regarding my potty trained 3 year old? Does a decent travel potty seat exist? I'm not referring to a portable potty, because that won't help once we get to Disney. I did order a Ginsey foldable potty seat that claimed to fit most potties, but when it came in it didn't even fit our standard home toilet, it was too small and my daughter almost fell in... definitely will not work for those giant public bathrooms on the way down. Worst comes to worst I will just pack her regular potty seat (we have used in restaurants and such)... but i was hoping for something more compact that can fold up. Thanks!

When my kids where young we had a seat like this one, it wasn't Disney and was tan, but it was this same style:

http://www.amazon.com/Disney-Prince...13943653&sr=8-10&keywords=FOLDABLE+POTTY+SEAT

 

[BC1836]

In less than a week, Disney Hess regular dropped from $3.12 to $3.09 to $3.04.

All the best.

 

[loveysbydesign]

Hubby just saw $2.96 down in Telford, PA

 

[loveysbydesign]

Pretty much the same deal! (I have been known to drive out of the way to visit a particular place that was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives)...

Which DDD place did you guys stop at

 

[amcnj]

In less than a week, Disney Hess regular dropped from $3.12 to $3.09 to $3.04.

All the best.

Here the prices are mostly 2.79-2.81, though there are some lower 2.70's here and there, with 2.72 being the lowest I know of so far.

Hope you are enjoying your trip.