how do i drive to wdw and enjoy it?

[monalsw]

i've driven to wdw before, from ohio, straight-thru, with kids, as sole driver, and it wasn't too bad. my biggest issue was that i was bored! the drive home was definitely more stressful, as many op's have said!

i've also flown to wdw, with and without kids, and it was much easier, but stressful in it's own way; some fear/anxiety of flying (mine, not the kids), cost, no car (hate to rent a car!), etc.

so...we've decided to drive our new mini-van on upcoming trip, straight-thru going down. we're looking forward to being able to see other sites (st augustine-here we come!) and eat off-site in the evenings if we want. to battle the drive home, we'll be stopping at charleston sc and continuing our vacation for 2 more nights. i'm really psyched about that!

but, back to the boredom...we won't have a dvd player, but have plenty of disney cd's to listen to. my kids, ages 15 and 5, are good travelers and will entertain themselves with minimal fighting. my mom is going with us (dh sitting this one out) and i will be doing all of the driving. we plan to leave about 4pm and will stop regularly, but i find myself getting bored as we travel endlessly on the highway.

i'm looking for ways to make the trip more adventureous, like fun or different places to stop for meals or breaks, etc. i don't want to lose a lot of time and will be traveling at night somewhat, but what can i look forward to between home and wdw?

i know this is kind of convoluted, hope you can pick my meaning out-it's late here and i still have 129 days!

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by monalsw
i've driven to wdw before, from ohio, straight-thru, with kids, as sole driver, and it wasn't too bad. my biggest issue was that i was bored! the drive home was definitely more stressful, as many op's have said!

i've also flown to wdw, with and without kids, and it was much easier, but stressful in it's own way; some fear/anxiety of flying (mine, not the kids), cost, no car (hate to rent a car!), etc.

so...we've decided to drive our new mini-van on upcoming trip, straight-thru going down. we're looking forward to being able to see other sites (st augustine-here we come!) and eat off-site in the evenings if we want. to battle the drive home, we'll be stopping at charleston sc and continuing our vacation for 2 more nights. i'm really psyched about that!

but, back to the boredom...we won't have a dvd player, but have plenty of disney cd's to listen to. my kids, ages 15 and 5, are good travelers and will entertain themselves with minimal fighting. my mom is going with us (dh sitting this one out) and i will be doing all of the driving. we plan to leave about 4pm and will stop regularly, but i find myself getting bored as we travel endlessly on the highway.

i'm looking for ways to make the trip more adventureous, like fun or different places to stop for meals or breaks, etc. i don't want to lose a lot of time and will be traveling at night somewhat, but what can i look forward to between home and wdw?

i know this is kind of convoluted, hope you can pick my meaning out-it's late here and i still have 129 days!

Lisa,
Try mapquest, they can point out interesting spots on the way, just plug in what you want.
Or, AAA can design a trip for you.
Finally, you have me awestruck!!!! My idea of driving to Disney is from my house to the airport.

 

[debbie655]

Not what you wanted to hear but this IS a very LONG and BORING trip. Not sure how long it takes from Ohio but we drive from NY which takes us anywhere from 19 - 20+ hours and I absolutely hate it. I don't do any of the driving either..LOL We are leaving in August and I actually dread the drive so much but I won't fly so that is our only option. Now my husband who does most if not all of the driving, doesn't mind the drive and even likes it. We (myself and kids) actually like to minimize our stops so we can get there faster but my husband loves stopping off at different areas. IMO there are not any interesting places really that won't take you far off I-95 and like I said, we just wanna get there already. We do like to stop at Cracker Barrel for a meal because we have none here where we live. There's also J & R's discount place in NC and South of the Border (ewww..lol) in SC where hubby makes us stop (if we can't talk him out of it) every year. We also stopped at the Florida Welcome Center a few years ago where you can get all kinds of travel brochures and orange juice. This year, we are going to try to stop at the Lady and Sons (Paula Deen from Food Network) restaurant in Savannah on the way home, that should be interesting.

 

[Boo Mc]

We listen to Harry Potter books on tape/CD. One of the few books the whole family can listen to as most others are either too adult or too young to hold the adults' interest. Can't help with different places to stop as we just drive like crazy till we get there! We do stop at the Welcome Center in Ocala though. Clean bathrooms, lots of restaurants nearby and a taste of Disney to get your trip started. Hope that helps.

 

[Esmerelda]

Ditto what Gail said for me...lol I refuse to be in my car for that long of a time...(besides the price of gas here is ridiculous)

and...the road has too many nuts on it...more folks get into serious crashes via the interstates than the skies...believe me..I work in an ER, I see it every day.


just my 2cents worth, have a great trip regardless!
Esmerelda

 

[bobcat]

I drive the same route and have to agree it does get a bit boring. That said I still drive it at least once a year. Driving down I75 you can stop at Tamarrac and check out their arts and crafts. We never make it back to the shops but we do stop here for lunch many times. Great clean restrooms, variety of food to choose from and you can even eat outdoors.

St. Augustine is a beautiful town. However we stoped att eh fountain of youth last year, per my daughters request, and wish we hadn't. It was very cheesy and I wish they had kept it a historical "boring" site rather than added the planitarium, giant globe and the other cheesy additions. The grounds are beautiful, the history is interesting, and the water tastes like crap. JMHO

Stop at the Character outlet in St. Augustine. Not very large but I have found great deals here and different merchandise than those in Orlando.

We too listen to HP on tape. It is a great way to pass the time and the reader is mesmerizing. We often find ourselves hurrying back to the car on rest breaks because we can't wait to hear more. It lasts us the entire drive down and usually a little bit of the trip back depending on when we started the tape.

I am actually driving I 75 to Tampa in a couple of weeks so I am excited to have different scenary.

 

[erikthewise]

Move to Tampa

 

[monalsw]

thanks for the suggestions!

mom and my kids are all HP fans so i may check into the books on tape/cd. i will look into some of the stops mentioned, too.

but i like erik's idea best-have tried everything to get dh to even consider a move to florida but he is firmly planted here in the amish country of ohio!

thanks again-any other ideas welcomed!

 

[erikthewise]

Amish country?! There may be more than one such area in Ohio. Do you mean near Chardon or Burton in Geauga County? I grew up near there (Chagrin Falls).

 

[powellrj]

check your library for books on tape. For a hot trip I would suggest books on cd because the heat can ruin the tapes. Cracker Barrel also have a book rental program you might want to check out. I drive for my job and books are a sanity saver for a long trip. For you 5yo kool-aid has the video now for not very much and my dd likes hers on trips. I wish you lots of luck. We live in Indiana and make the same trip and its a long boring drive.

 

[Doodlebug939]

Originally posted by erikthewise
Amish country?! There may be more than one such area in Ohio. Do you mean near Chardon or Burton in Geauga County? I grew up near there (Chagrin Falls).

Such a small world. I grew up in Painesville Oh (Lake County) and my grandma lived in Concord (on the border of Chardon) And one of my girlfriends still lives in Montville.

I miss the Amish Cheese and the restaurant with the name Yoder in the title. They had the best fresh rolls with dinner.


And as far as the driving tips I buy cross word stuff. And supplies for the kids to decorate their autograph book (from the dollar store) Stickers and such. Or you could buy some small travel games for them to play.

As far as the adults I usually travel with my husband and he does all the driving so we try to use that time to catch up on conversation and talk about relatives who we havent heard about. Sometimes small talk can really get the conversation going. Also I dont think that the books on tape is a bad idea. I might have to try it myself.

 

[AspiringCindy]

We love the drive! We drive from Jersey, but are flying this year because our youngest DD just turned 3 and is very fidgety! She would never sit for 18 hours! I will miss that quality family bonding that we have whenever we go on a long roadtrip though! Savor the drive!!

PS. We visited Wilmot last summer and ate at that Amish Restaurant that has the World's largest Cockoo Clock!! What beautiful lands!!

 

[toystoryduo]

We drove from the Cleveland area last year with two kids, ages 3 and 1. Twice in fact. We enjoyed the drive there because of the anticipation. The drive home was a little tougher to swallow because we wanted to get home.

Maybe you can check out the internet for some car games. The license plate game, the alphabet game, e.t.c. Maybe you can award Disney Dollars to the winner. Also, I think on the Family boards there is a section of things that you can print out for your kids to do. That might be fun for your 5 year old. Maybe you can plan a series of stops along the way and give your kids a pre-Disney souvenir at each stop. Maybe you can stop in each state and buy a postcard from that state.

When we travel to WDW, it does get boring after awhile. That is when we stop at a rest area and walk around for a bit or we find a quick restaurant to eat at. (We want to get to WDW fast! )

I hope you have a great trip and that you have a safe drive to WDW and back to Ohio!

 

[monalsw]

thanks for all of the ideas! i'm adding them to my list of things to do on the road!

i actually love in dover, just a stone's throw from sugarcreek, wilmot, farmerstown, etc, and about an hour from millersburg (maybe). i'm transplanted here from portage county, so familiar with geauga area. what a small world (after all...lol)!