How bad is it to drive 1,000 miles to WDW with small children?

[2Pirates2Princesses]

For our WDW trip this past August we flew and it was a great experience. It was our first trip to WDW and the flight (we're from PA) was only about 2 hours both ways. My kids (ranging in ages from 2 to 9) did well overall during the flights and played with their toys, ate their snacks, and took a short nap. I can't imagine going to Florida any other way since it was such a smooth, quick experience. However, airline tickets for a family of six are not cheap. I would love to go back to WDW next year, but the only way we could pull it off and save enough $$ by next year would be to drive instead of fly. This would be a 16-17 hour drive
I know we would have to split the drive up into two days and stay overnight somewhere; but I think we would just be miserable and exhausted from such a long drive. I also think this would not be a very pleasant experience with my kids who get fussy and antsy when we drive just 6 hours to visit my parents who live in a different state. Any tips or advice on doing such a long drive to Disney with young children? This may be the only way we would be able to visit WDW again anytime soon. Thanks for any feedback

 

[billwendy]

We are from the Philly area, and have done it many times!! What works best for us is to leave right after work and drive through the night. The kids are awake for a while and then drift off for the night....we usually arrive noonish and have a recovery day - swim etc - and then are ready to go!

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

We are from the Philly area, and have done it many times!! What works best for us is to leave right after work and drive through the night. The kids are awake for a while and then drift off for the night....we usually arrive noonish and have a recovery day - swim etc - and then are ready to go!

I've heard of a lot of people choosing to drive through the night, but DH does not like night driving and I am not a night driver I think it is easier with kids to do it this way as they are asleep for most of the drive; but I think we are a little apprehensive to try this though.

 

[Jessica527]

You will survive! We did it many times as a kid. Great idea my mom always did - she always got a pizza box (unused) for each of us. She then filled that with crayons and other great items to keep us entertained. That way easy to hold on lap, and easy to close when not needed.

Try it out!

 

[Orleanslady]

When we lived in Michigan, we drove with a 7 year old, 5 year old, 2 year old and a 7 month old. We left at five in the morning. We cut the drive into two days (ie. spending one night in a hotel), arriving on the second day at about four in the afternoon.

We were so worried about how the 7 month old would handle it, but she slept the entire time, waking only to eat and get changed. The two year old cried the entire ride and she was not typically a crier. The older two argued for the first half of the drive until my husband mentioned something about turning the car around and going back home. After that we had 3 children who were very cooperative. My two year old was unhappy until she saw the mouse.

 

[adventure_woman]

We did it in January for our cruise - 21 hrs each way (from MI). One was 4 and the other 9mths. The 4 yr old did awesome - she loves to watch movies. The 9mth old - going down was fine...but coming back she 'grew up' and wanted out of her seat all the time!

Going down, we leave around 2am. That way we have gone to bed for a little bit, and just put the kids in their carseats and they fall back asleep until 6 or 7. We drive until about 5 or 6 that night and then the next day we only have a few more hours to go and we are there.

Coming back is harder of course - because you can't really get up at 2am again (well...we can't). So, DH actually decided to drive straight through. I couldn't do it...stay awake that is, so he drove almost the whole way home. Looking back I wish we would have stopped.

It is totally doable - and if it is a matter of if you go or not go, drive!

 

[MamaJessie]

However, airline tickets for a family of six are not cheap.

No joke!! We never flew, we have only driven.

she always got a pizza box (unused) for each of us. She then filled that with crayons and other great items to keep us entertained.

Very interesting idea! I am putting that on the list of tips. Thanks!!

Totally doable Dvd players, games for the car, MP3 players, books on CD, snacks snacks snacks galore, coloring books, magnadoodles.. and at rest areas chalk, bubbles, jump ropes.. Children tend to be pretty accomodating when they are on their way to WDW.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

No joke!! We never flew, we have only driven.

Very interesting idea! I am putting that on the list of tips. Thanks!!

Totally doable Dvd players, games for the car, MP3 players, books on CD, snacks snacks snacks galore, coloring books, magnadoodles.. and at rest areas chalk, bubbles, jump ropes.. Children tend to be pretty accomodating when they are on their way to WDW.

Great tip! Something active for them to do at rest stops

 

[angieoatman]

We drive with the kids all the time and have drove to Florida with them twice...our saving grace was the dual DVD player and the iPod's. Don't forget to plan longer stops for meals and bathroom brakes.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

With proper planning it is totally manageable.

I did a summer car trip that had much more automobile time than you did with kids from 1 to 11.

We have our traditions: Leave early/hit cracker barrel for breakfast a few hours into the trip--DVD time is alternated with radio time. Various things. Dad's iTouch was brought along for gaming--they had their DS's, my son had his leapster. I also bought color wonder markers and paper for my son. The girls had colored pencils and activity books. (Crayons melt in Florida in the summer, thus banned them from my vehicle since my kids leave them places. )

Didn't really do the gift every whatever thing. But they had their spending money and they like shopping in the cracker barrel stores. We also like to hit Welcome centers--but the timing can get wonky and they aren't anything special when they are closed.

For movies, we bring along a mix--because I like to listen to them. And I pick them OR decide in advance that we will be selecting movies from youngest to oldest--so that everyone gets a pick.

Our other lengthy trip was to MI from Florida for a funeral. It was last minute--but the gist was the same...quick activities and rotation of movies.

Car trips with kids in the 2000s is easy peasy (for the most part).

I do have one quite motion sickness prone child--so she gets her dose of dramamine and we are good to go. Good to have on hand--just in case.

For the 16-17 hour trip...what works for us--since we cannot drive late or overnight...we wake up early and usually try to be on the road at about 4am. But we have even done 2 or 3am. Yes--we are crazy! Then we stop for breakfast after sunrise. Kids typically ride in their pj's until breakfast. By then 4 or 5 hours (depending on departure time) can be wiped out. We don't allow DVD during that time so the kids will go back to sleep.

 

[DCbride]

I agree with driving at night if possible. We always used to leave around 3, stop at a restaurant with a playground or Chuckie Cheese type place for dinner. Then drive through the night. The first night was spent offsite, one parent catching up on sleep the other taking the kids to the pool. Everyone was rested and ready to go the next day.

 

[kwannabee]

we;ve been night driving with the kids since they were babies...anywhere from 11-16 hours strait depending on the weather to go to the outlaws, at least twice a year. my youngest was 2weeks old his first trip...spent the whole time sleeping.

i prefer driving at night...the roads are very well lit, there should be rest stops along the way where you can stop to use the washroom and stretch if needed, and i always put a receiving blanket over the back window beside the litest sleeper since im always in the slow lane at night anyway(not covering the blind spot though), and remember to shut off the dome light so that if you get out of the car or drive into an overly lit up gas station you dont wake everybody up!

i always have little neck rings to keep their heads from lolling forward, and if the weather is nasty i put fleece ponchos over them so that if i have to get them to pee in the wee hours i dont have to wake them up completely putting coats on...we just carry them in quick and get them back in the car asap...they hardly wake up! Thats not such an issue now that they're older but when they were potty training...yikes!

...my only warning is that the monotony can get to you...one minute youre fine and then you can get so tired all of a sudden that you just have to get off the road...so be prepared for that...even if you have to snooze at a gas station...your safety comes first when driving late at night! We never ever stop at a hotel unless its a full blown blizzard...in 18 years we stopped maybe twice...you can do it!

 

[PrincessSteph]

Our trip from Cincy isn't quite that far, but it truly is enjoyable. We get some new movies for our drive (our library offers movie rentals for two weeks), make up some activity sheets and pack a few toys and are ready to go. I have found that the kids get very creative while in the car (one time our car was a spaceship and we had to outrun aliens).

We leave early in the morning (4:30ish) because my husband is not comfortable with overnight driving. On one trip, there was a family at the rest stop with balls that the children were running around kicking - I was so jealous that I had not thought of the same thing!

I say the drive is what you make of it...if you go into thinking that it will be miserable - it will be miserable.

 

[LuLuO]

It was rough for us. We averaged about 50 miles per hour with our 18 month old and our 3 year old. We ran into accidents and construction which was no fun at all. We are flying next time. If our only choice was to drive, we would do it again, but it was hard.

 

[mommy2_3]

we are driving also! yahoo maps says our trip will be 27 hours long! with 4 kids!! my kids do pretty well in the car though. we are driving up to iowa from kansas to pick up my BFF (who will also be helping watching kids ) then its straight down to GA where we will stay the night, then off to WDW the next morning. we are leaving around 1am on a sat. my kids will sleep till we are just about to my BFF's house. we should get there sometime before 10am. we will eat breakfast somewhere then off to GA.! of course we will be making stops along the way so the kids can run off some energy. we just took a long trip (11 1.2 hrs) in june to my uncles funeral and the only one who didnt like it was my youngest (he was only 2 months though). we have also taken a trip down to Texas last summer (we only had 3 kids then) and they did great on that trip. not as long as it took to get to chicago, but still a pretty long 8 hr drive!

 

[SashaFarce]

We drove all over the eastern half of the country when I was a kid, including WDW, way before DVDs and iPods were ever a thought in the mind. We traveled mostly at night and during the occasional day travel we had certain tapes we always listened to and sang along with as a family.

 

[WDWLODGE]

We're from the Pittsburgh area and have done the drive to WDW 6 times. We always have driven straight through. We have left at different times of the day. It usually takes us just under 15 hour to get there. We only stop once to eat and 2-3 other times for gas/bathroom breaks. All kids are different, so only you know how your kids will do. Our kids have always been great travelers. We have a DD 9 and a DS 2(almost 3). We bring activities for them to do, and the DVD player always keeps them occupied in the truck. This year we are actually taking the auto train for the 1st time. Only 9 days until we leave!!!

 

[mlbeaver]

We are leaving Saturday from S. Jersey with a 3 & 6 year old leavng around 5pm (after dinner) hoping the kids will sleep overnight and getting a good breakfast at Cracker Barrell in the AM and arrive around noon. Hopefully are room will be ready early so we can shower before dinner. When I was a kid my dad always drove so I have done it plenty of times but this is the first time with MY family! Hope it is not too bad!

 

[nilseks]

We did it when our kids were 2 and 4.5, from WI. 23 hour drive. I was so worried about how they would do, but honestly, it was harder on DH and I than it was on them! They slept most of the way. We tried driving through the night and I would not do it again--going through the mountains in TN in the middle of the night was a mistake, lol.

Some of my absolute fondest memories of childhood were family roadtrips. We still talk about them at family gatherings all the time, some 30+ years later. Now that my son is on a travel baseball team and we have to go all over to tourneys, I'm looking forward to creating some of those memories with my kids.

Go for it, you can do it!

 

[MistressMerryweather]

No thank you. LOL We did it once from the Pittsburgh area. It took 18 hours and we drove all night. I drove the whole way(my bad) and by the end I was a complete and total wreck. The kids 2 and 4. It takes so long to recuperate and it takes up a couple of the fun days I could have spent at Disney World. Right now we dh, myself, 8yo, 6yo, 2yo and 4 mos old and have to buy 5 air tickets, but it will be 6 in less than 2 years. We paid 967 this time around. With gas, food, and hotel stay for all of us, I convince myself that it is well "worth" it. When they are all older, say...5yo and up, driving would be doable for us and really fun. For now, I'll suck it up.