Hotel or drive straight thru?

[JEWLSVERN]

Our drive down to FL from VA is 12 hours/745 miles according to mapquest, straight down I95. We have DD2 and DS7months with us so we know we will have to stop some. We are planning to leave on Fri after work. We only have an ADR for dinner planned for sat night.

What do you suggest? Do we stop to sleep or drive while the kids are asleep?

 

[backyardponder]

I think you need to ask yourselves a few questions...

Are you safe driving straight thru? Only you can answer this.

If you drive straight thru, will you be too tired to enjoy your ADR Saturday night.

If you do stop, will the 7 month old sleep in the motel, or will he/she have slept so much in the car he/she will be up all night anyway?

Personally, I'd get in about 5 hours driving Friday night, then finish off on Saturday.

 

[msmayor]

Consider how tired YOU will be to watch over and care for your very young children who have slept on Saturday....

Consider that children are less cranky and adapt better to change when they've been able to sleep well...and children don't necessarily sleep well when strapped in a car seat.

We've done this drive with our kids when they were that age. It really is best for all around to stop and sleep. Happy kids, happy parents...happy vacation.

 

[mupt02]

How well do your kids sleep in the car? I know personally mine don't sleep very well. So for us, it is better to get a hotel and sleep. I wouldn't want to deal with cranky children if I can do something to help avoid it.

Also, how well do you stay awake while driving especially overnight if you have just worked all day? My hubby works nights and even he says the monotony of driving along a highway would put him right to sleep.

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

Hitting the road at 8am and arriving at 8pm is one thing.............

Getting up at 6:30, going to work, and then departing for a 12 hours drive is another.

I would drive for about 4-5 hours and then stop.

That second leg won't be too bad and you will be fueled by the excitement.

The kids will be fine no matter what..........it's the adults I would be concerned about!

 

[HeatherC]

One problem with not stopping is that if you arrive in the morning you may not be able to check in until 3 or 4 at your hotel. By then you may be ready to crash. Something to consider.

Have a great trip!

 

[Robert P]

One problem with not stopping is that if you arrive in the morning you may not be able to check in until 3 or 4 at your hotel. By then you may be ready to crash. Something to consider.

Have a great trip!

Yep. Happened to us in 2008. I would agree with previous posters, and try to get 4-5 hours in, then finish the drive the next a.m.

 

[Funwith4kids]

Agree with previous posters...get some hours of driving in and stop overnight so everyone is refreshed to start the vacation. On the way home, we drive straight through since everyone is already exhausted from the vacation (somehow it looks odd on the screen when typing we will be exhausted at the end of a vacation )

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

We have a 9.5 hour drive from central NC. If it was one bit longer I wouldn't do it all in one stretch. Driving through the night can be dangerous. I thought about doing that a time or two when our kids were younger but I always changed my mind when I realized that the kids might sleep OK in the van, but DW and I would be pooped the next day.

If I were driving from VA I think I'd make it well into SC, and then find a motel for the night. Get up refreshed the next day (insomuch as one can while traveling when tending to very young kids -been there, done that) and have a great start to the vacation with a relaxing evening ADR.

 

[DizzyStitch]

We are driving down in August and I set the trip up so that we will drive longer on Saturday and spend the night somewhere and have a short drive to get to WDW and Free dining on Sunday. I have seen crashes from people that drove thru the night and I was stupid enough to do it when I was in my twenties. Use your judgement and remember a shorter safer time in the parks is better then a big risk from driving with sleep deprivation.

 

[cranbiz]

I do the straight through drive all the time. From SE MA to Deltona, FL which is just about 1350 miles door to door. 18-22 hours on the road However, that's me. I would not give a 12 hour drive a second thought, I would just do it. After all, that is just a long driving shift for me at WDW.

I have done this with a 2 y/o and a 4 y/o twice. If they ride well and you have baggies of finger food and books/games available, that helps a lot. Nighttime driving is even better as they will sleep most of the trip.

There are many here that will not do that and that is their choice. Only you can decide if that is something that you can handle.

If you do, I suggest taking breaks to keep you fresh and if you have another driver, that makes straight through driving MUCH easier.

You may want to adjust your leave time to sometime early Sat morning, say like 3am. You will get some rest before leaving. Pack the car after work, go to bed early. This will get you in around 3pm, you can check in, grab a quick shower and be ready for your dinner. You won't have the normal weekday traffic to worry about.