For 2,000+ mile round-trip drivers only!

[Amirah95]

Well...the bags are sitting by the door just waiting for DH to wake from his nap and laod the car and then we'll be on our way. Hope to leave around 6:30 and if all goes as planned will be in Port Canaveral by noon and have a restful night at the Radisson before sailing the Wonder on Thurs!

Sweet! I wish it was us. Have a wonderful vacation!!!!!

 

[Amirah95]

Not only have we done the 2000+ mile trip to WDW from NJ over 20 times, we have done the NJ - DL trip twice driving! We have driven cross country 6 times in addition to the 20 plus trips to FL. It's a wonderful way to see the country plus many other sites, National Parks and small towns!

OK so this is a little too advance for us! My DH was just talking about this. He said we should rent a car, drive to DL and fly back home. I don't know about that. I'm sure we could do it w/o a problem, but that's about 3000 miles going, right???

I commend you on being the ultimate roadtripper!

 

[disneyfan55]

OK so this is a little too advance for us! My DH was just talking about this. He said we should rent a car, drive to DL and fly back home. I don't know about that. I'm sure we could do it w/o a problem, but that's about 3000 miles going, right???

I commend you on being the ultimate roadtripper!

Thanks! Years ago we drove cross country 3 times. I basically took the Rand McNally atlas and plotted the course accross the country. There were certain National Parks and areas of interest that we wanted to visit and I kind of connected the dots and plotted the course. The frist few days getting to the Rockies usually took 3 days. After that most of the National Parks etc were west of that. It was a lot of fun. My children saw most of the states and it really didin't cost that much. We did pack food, snacks and drinks and most of what we did cost very little. YOu can still purchase a National Parks pass for 80 and that is good for a year for the family. The DL portions were 3 days and were great.

As far as renting a car and flying back, I think that would be more costly. We did the cross country trip the last time in Sept 2003, when gas was around 3 per gallon. It was costly but still doable for us. We took 4 weeks and really only went as far west as Glacier NP in Montana so not all the way to the Pacific.

So when I saw the question about 2,000 miles, I thought a drop in the bucket. We used to do the FL run straight through and straight back, about 1100 miles each way to WDW.

If you would like any advice on a cross country trip, just ask. One of the first things I do now is order all the free state information from every state we will visit on a particular trip and then plot the course. I also contact any towns/National Parks and get plenty of free info from them as well. I construct a binder with each days information with a divider and make a cover sheet with all the stops, milage and place we will stay. That's a brief description of the planning, but the planning is a lot of fun as well. It's a great feeling to just get in your car and drive west for hundreds of miles and just get up the next day, do some sightseeing and continue!! Nothing like it.

 

[mblogan]

were coming from arkansas to orlando then to daytona beach then up to knoxville then back home for this trip. i think its around 3k miles!

 

[chach]

We do the 3400 R/T drive every other year.

 

[MinMouse]

If you would like any advice on a cross country trip, just ask. One of the first things I do now is order all the free state information from every state we will visit on a particular trip and then plot the course. I also contact any towns/National Parks and get plenty of free info from them as well. I construct a binder with each days information with a divider and make a cover sheet with all the stops, milage and place we will stay. That's a brief description of the planning, but the planning is a lot of fun as well. It's a great feeling to just get in your car and drive west for hundreds of miles and just get up the next day, do some sightseeing and continue!! Nothing like it.

Well, I must saying you're "singing my husband's song!" He would love love love to drive cross country. So, here's what I'd like to know. . . how long were your trips? How old were the kids? We're very experienced long distance travelers and the kids are great in the car but I was just curious how it all worked for you. Thanks! You're an inspiration!

 

[disneyfan55]

Well, I must saying you're "singing my husband's song!" He would love love love to drive cross country. So, here's what I'd like to know. . . how long were your trips? How old were the kids? We're very experienced long distance travelers and the kids are great in the car but I was just curious how it all worked for you. Thanks! You're an inspiration!

It is so much fun to plan and do. When we went the first time in 1986, my son turned 6 on the trip and my daughter was 8 1/2. In 1988 they were 8 and 10 1/2 and 89 he was 9 and my daughter was 11 1/2. Both of them are and were very easy going. They remember going to all the National Parks, Zoos, Museums, Disneyland and all the small waysides. It was a great experience for them. They each brought a bag with crayons, books and small toys. They both were allowed to pickout a small item at the NPs and other sites. Sometimes a banner, sometimes a rock or dinosaur. We brought snacks and food for on the road especially the National Parks since there is not much of a food assortment in most of them anyway. The larger parks do have restaurants and snack bars and we did eat out at times. The 3 trips with the children were a few days over 3 weeks. The 3 in recent years were 3 and 4 weeks. We had no problems at all and my kids today are 30 and almost 28 and well remember all the trips as well as the great number of WDW trips. We will be going again as a family this fall! Any questions on the cross country trips, please ask! If this gets taken off due to not being on the subject you can Private Message me anytime and I will be more than glad to help or answer questions. We have been to most all of the major NPs as well as the not so known.

 

[ireland_nicole]

Thanks for your words of inspiration! We're taking our annual Austin TX to WDW trip in Sept. (1200 mi. each way) but we've just decided to head to Chicago for the 4th, so an extra road trip to plan in just over a week
My question: Are we nuts to do 2 road trips 2 months apart?

 

[Tigger1]

Ok, I am in the 3000 mile round trip group.

39 more days

 

[Truelovernr1122]

My family and I have been driving to Disney from NJ every year for the past 15 years of my life!! It's a looong trip, but it saves money We're actually taking the trip again in July, but this time my dad is driving his van and my family, and my DFi and I are driving ourselves - hope it's as easy as my dad makes it look! lol

YAY for 2,000+ mile drivers! It takes lots of preparation and insanity!!

 

[mommykds]

We drove from NY to Orlando in 2002 & 2003. Took 17 hours going to Fl & 20 hours coming back. I guess we weren't in a hurry to get home. The kids were good but it is a long drive.

We are doing the drive this August & I am actually relieved. I am a overpacker who refuses to do wash on vacation so we end up with alot of bags. Driving works out better for us so I can bring whatever I want. We have the dvd player & the kids have their Nintendos to keep busy. Also having our own car while we are at Disney is also a plus.

 

[BC1836]

Not only have we done the 2000+ mile trip to WDW from NJ over 20 times, we have done the NJ - DL trip twice driving! We have driven cross country 6 times in addition to the 20 plus trips to FL. It's a wonderful way to see the country plus many other sites, National Parks and small towns!

Wow! Now THAT'S driving!
We just got back from Disneyland (our first trip since our initial one-day stop in 1990); however, we flew direct non-stop. We've driven round trip to Texas twice, but that cross country trip must be something else again!

 

[disneyfan55]

Wow! Now THAT'S driving!
We just got back from Disneyland (our first trip since our initial one-day stop in 1990); however, we flew direct non-stop. We've driven round trip to Texas twice, but that cross country trip must be something else again!

Yes, the trips were really a lot of fun to do as well as plan. It's something that anyone who really wants to see the country should try to do. You will pass by so many known points of interest as well as many of the not so well known. It's just a sense of adventure that comes over me when planning and leaving westward for the trip! On the way home sometimes I'm a little sad especially once we cross the Mississippi River and are really east bound!

 

[Flyerfan]

Not only have we done the 2000+ mile trip to WDW from NJ over 20 times, we have done the NJ - DL trip twice driving! We have driven cross country 6 times in addition to the 20 plus trips to FL. It's a wonderful way to see the country plus many other sites, National Parks and small towns!

How many stop-overs did you have? How long did it take you? Thinking about taking a cross-country trip and wondering how much time we would need traveling from Eastern PA.

 

[Maverick Mike]

We are headed down now in less than a month! I'm so excited I can barely stand it!

Have any of you used those "turtle shells" to put stuff on the top of the car? I think we may need one this time, as we are taking the baby and have much more "stuff" to take. Can you rent them at U-Haul, or did you buy one? How much approximately are we talking? How much does it cut down on gas mileage?

Just curious! I knew you would be the crew to ask!

 

[disneyfan55]

How many stop-overs did you have? How long did it take you? Thinking about taking a cross-country trip and wondering how much time we would need traveling from Eastern PA.

Our total trip times were 23-30 days each. We usually spent about 3 days getting out to the mountain states and then slowed down in order to visit the National Parks, DL and other sites we planned to see. We are only about 30 miles from the PA border. It all depends on how many miles you can travel each day. When heading out west you gain some time. there are a couple 25 hour days to help. Coming home is the opposite plus you are somewhat more tired just from all the travelling. In a few of my previous posts on this thread I gave some of the ideas of how I plan the trips. Planning is a lot of fun! Look them over and if you have any questions, please ask!!

 

[MinMouse]

We are headed down now in less than a month! I'm so excited I can barely stand it!

Have any of you used those "turtle shells" to put stuff on the top of the car? I think we may need one this time, as we are taking the baby and have much more "stuff" to take. Can you rent them at U-Haul, or did you buy one? How much approximately are we talking? How much does it cut down on gas mileage?

Just curious! I knew you would be the crew to ask!

We borrowed one from a friend several times before investing in one ourselves. It was about $200 at Sears. We love it. Pretty much everything goes in the "turtle" and only what we need for the driving portion of the trip is in the cabin of the van. Leaves plenty of room for overnight bags and coolers in the van. We didn't find that it cut that much into our gas mileage . . . our van still got 26 mpg on the highway. Happy travels!

 

[ellenmiele]

We just got home yesterday.
We drove down last Tuesday - left NJ at 7pm and drove straight thru. We were in Cocoa Beach by 11:30am on Wednesday. Best time we ever made!! Had the least amount of traffic that we've ever seen and we did not get held up by any construction delays. Average speed about 78 mph (72 in the 65 mph zones) . On the way back we left at 6:30 pm and arrived home at 12:30pm. We made one extra food stop on the way home and we also had a little traffic in the Balt/DC area. There were 2 sections on 95 (near Jacksonville FL and another near Fayetteville NC) that were closed for construction and we had to detour thru towns but it was pretty smooth. Gas prices weren't too much more than what we've seen at home here in NJ and in WDW it was actually a few cents less.

Can't wait to go again!!!

 

[BC1836]

We just got home yesterday.
We drove down last Tuesday - left NJ at 7pm and drove straight thru. We were in Cocoa Beach by 11:30am on Wednesday.
Can't wait to go again!!!

Thanks for the update! Essentially a nighttime drive for you, and considering the time of year, the night part was minimal.
Indeed, we can't wait to go again also!
All the best.

 

[Amirah95]

Quick question...

Do any of you use the Owner's Locker? Or do any of you ship? Carry it all in your vehicle??