How Far Would You Drive???

[GOOFY4DONALD]

Ok so we are toying with different ideas. We have wanted to buy a 5th Wheel for a very long time. We have done all the research and are closer than ever. Now we are going to WDW this year but if we buy an RV we can't afford the regular package that we are used to (about 9K each trip). We could however drive and stay at FW. So my question is how far is too far to drive it with kiddos?

 

[luckycharm19335]

I would guess that only you can answer that question.

 

[bama_ed]

Wow. Montana.

It depends on how long it would take to get between Montana and the Fort (each way) and how much school time the kids could miss (how old are they and when are you planning to come?). If summertime school wouldn't be an issue.

What kind of package is the alternative? Does it include the Dining Plan? I always say I save money with my pop-up because we cook most meals in the camper as opposed to the Plan or eating out. We even pack picnic lunches into the theme parks (eat breakfast at the camper and one Counter Service meal in the parks).

If you have the time and can stay a while it might work.

Bama ED

 

[super_camper]

Ok so we are toying with different ideas. We have wanted to buy a 5th Wheel for a very long time. We have done all the research and are closer than ever. Now we are going to WDW this year but if we buy an RV we can't afford the regular package that we are used to (about 9K each trip). We could however drive and stay at FW. So my question is how far is too far to drive it with kiddos?

I agree with the first response you got - it really depends on you and your family and how well everyone travels. We are a family of 5 and travel in a motor home so its about as comfortable as travel gets. We are exactly half the distance to the fort than you are and will not travel for anything less than 2 weeks - we just don't feel the 28 hours of driving is worth it for less time.

The other thing to keep in mind is that RV travel with a fort destination isn't much cheaper than fly-and-stay. We normally spend about $10K all in for a 2 week trip

 

[clm10308]

It really does depend on your family and kids and how much time you have for your vacation.
Our family has done several long driving vacations over the years, from Houston to Maine, to Penn, and to North/South Dakota. So, it can be done, but my DD was a much better traveler than my DS.

 

[CAFarmerGirl]

We will be driving from No. California. My kids love driving because I give them unlimited video games and dvd (well, except for eye breaks), something they never get. So, at this point, my kids are actually more excited about our drive than they are WDW.

 

[bigredbill]

We drove from Omaha, Nebraska with our whole family early in January. Me, my wife, 12 yr old daughter, 10 yr old son, 4 yr old daughter, and 1 yr old daughter. Three days of driving straight pushed our limits for our youngest. I would not do that again. Only if I could break it up over several days -- we just didn't have enough time.

Thank goodness for DVD players, books, coloring books, hand-held games, etc.

 

[nmb1dsnefan]

We are driving our 5th wheel from michigan in october for a two week trip. I would not do it if we were only going for a week. We are leaving on a saturday and stopping in SC for 3 days. That will give us 9 days in Disney with 5 days if park hoppers. Make sure you plan ahead with lots of activities for the kids and sight seeing stops. We have done 3 other multiday driving drips with our 2 DD's that are now 10 and 17 and they get very snarky agter two days of driving. I would strongly suggest breaking the drive up if you can.

 

[mikron]

Go class A and have more fun. We are on our 4th class A and it is the best with kids. Sitting in a truck pulling a 5th is not much better then a car. A car would be faster getting to the Fort but again not much fun.

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

Go class A and have more fun. We are on our 4th class A and it is the best with kids. Sitting in a truck pulling a 5th is not much better then a car. A car would be faster getting to the Fort but again not much fun.

I would love a Class A but DH is against it. We don't own a car so we would have to purchase one so we could pull it behind us.

 

[2goofycampers]

We're addicted, we'd drive as far as we had to.

 

[SprExcited]

The people that have responded with the answer that only you and your family know the answer are spot on in my opinion. It all depends on how well you and your children travel.

Go class A and have more fun. We are on our 4th class A and it is the best with kids. Sitting in a truck pulling a 5th is not much better then a car. A car would be faster getting to the Fort but again not much fun.

I don't agree with this statement. Our truck is quite a lot larger than most cars and that at least as far as I am concerned makes all the difference in the world. There is just more room for 'stuff'. We travel quite comfortably with our 1 DD (12) and our dog in our truck when hauling our travel trailer. If you have a Supercrew truck then you have loads of room. Personal opinion of course . FWIW we would not drive from Ontario to Florida in a regular sized car, it would just be too cramped.

 

[CampingDad]

I agree that only your family can decide how far is too far. For us we have a fifth wheel camper and are very comfortable driving in my truck with DD6 and DS3. We drive 21 hours to the fort and do it every year but my kids have done it all there life so there used to it. I also agree with the earlier post that we would not drive for 4 days total for anything less than 10 nights at the fort. But the nice thing is that you should be able to get more bang for your buck at FW than at most other Disney resorts. I know for 10 night trips we dont spend nearly what you do for your past trips. Remember the drive should be part of the vacation. Have fun with it and plan some fun spots to stop at on the way.

 

[team bradfield]

We are fortunate to have 2 weeks, so we treat every day as vacation. travel days are 400 miles maximum to keep 3 kids in truck comfortable. We also have a 5'er. Have been to Yellowstone 2 times and Disney 5 times. Getting to the campground before 5 pm just makes the vacation smoother and still leaves us 9 days at FW. I have pushed it before to 550 miles, its just too much, no fun at all.

 

[amylevan]

I also disagree with the person who says a Class A is the only way - we love our 5'er and it i quite comfy in our truck.

Our DS is 2.5 and we just made our first trip to the Fort with our 5'er - 18 hrs of driving for us. We went for a week, and I will say that next time, it will be at least a 10 day vacation. We wanted a day or 2 to just relax without doing parks before jumping back in the truck.

It is a much less expensive vacation for us - we cook breakfast in the camper, but we did still eat 1-2 meals out (I'm on vacation after all!)

We love our 5'er...we do at least 5 trips a year, and we have visited some great places. Wishing you fun as well!

 

[baboiler]

We traveled from Northern Indiana to the Fort last summer in our dually crew cab and 5th wheel.Our girls were 4yr & 6yr old. We drove to south of Atlanta & slept for a few hours then finished the trip down. It was a long haul but we unfortunately were on a time table that required it. Our girls did great.Portable DVD players , video games and lap desks for books ect. are a must.We were at the Fort for 9 days.As mentioned above I probably wouldn't make the trip for less than a week stay.We were ther 9 days.The 1st day we set up camp and recouped from the trip. We also took a day off midway thru the stay to chill out.It worked well for us. We compared costs compared to hotel/airfair. You can save a little but not substancial with fuel prices where they are.We visited the Hoop De Do show & I think that was the only meal we ate out for. We ate at the camper everyday.I seen it suggested on this site to take a break from the parks at midday and it is an excellent suggestion. That allowed us to have lunch at camp also. These are some of our experiences - hope it helps. In the end I would definately do it again!

 

[connor2002]

2129 miles from PHX class A. This will be our second trip and have reserved for 27 days. Not sure if we will stay that long...our goal is to leave after last day of school and drive the following.

-leave on Wednesday May 30th 2pm PST PHX
-arrive to El Paso area approx 400 miles 9pm MST park at a rest stop TBD
-Thursday leave EARLY 4am MST and try to get to Mobile 12am CST (1200 miles) this will be tough 18 hours but is the key to the haul. would consider an rv park for the night and sleep for 8 hours.

-leave Friday 8 am CST and drive 420 miles and arrive to Orlando grocery store around 4pm EST and then on to the Fort around 6 PM.

Need a few pointers...
1. Relatively safe place to stop in El Paso
2. Rest stop or quick easy rv park in the Mobile area
3. Checking in issues on a Friday night at the fort.....
4. Good grocery store near the fort and by the toll road (429)

On our trip last year we ended up a Super Target and would prefer a more traditional Grocery store. We want to stock up for two weeks then use Garden grocery to refill if we stay the full 27 days. Any input on food would be great.

 

[bama_ed]

Connor2002, for #2 (an overnight stop in Mobile):

I would recommend Meaher State Park. It's been rebuilt since all the hurricane damage of years past. It is in the delta of Mobile bay just east of the city on the 4-lane highway that runs parallel to I-10 (it's called Battleship Parkway locally a.k.a. Hwy 90). It's a relatively small campground and there's not much to it but it will fit what you need/want. http://www.alapark.com/Meaher/Camping/ Given its size you might want to call and make an advance reservation.

Bama ED

PS -

 

[Napria]

Would like to add my .02... We started tent camping, moved to a big pop up and loved it so much traded it in three months later for a 5th wheel. That was 7 years ago and we haven't regretted a second of it.

The crew cab dually is MUCH more comfortable than a car! There's more room and better configuration in the 5th wheel than in a motorhome. That being said, don't expect to save money. When you figurer in the cost of the fifth wheel, insurance, gas, campsite, etc. it will probably be a wash. BUT... you will have your own "home" with you wherever you vacation. Your own bed (no worries about bed bugs), your own shower and toilet. Your own kitchen. And in time it will all be so comfortable and familiar, which is great when you want to unwind after a long day at the parks.

My only advice is after you get the 5th wheel, move to Atlanta, lol!

 

[wrongagain]

2129 miles from PHX class A. This will be our second trip and have reserved for 27 days. Not sure if we will stay that long...our goal is to leave after last day of school and drive the following.

-leave on Wednesday May 30th 2pm PST PHX
-arrive to El Paso area approx 400 miles 9pm MST park at a rest stop TBD
-Thursday leave EARLY 4am MST and try to get to Mobile 12am CST (1200 miles) this will be tough 18 hours but is the key to the haul. would consider an rv park for the night and sleep for 8 hours.

-leave Friday 8 am CST and drive 420 miles and arrive to Orlando grocery store around 4pm EST and then on to the Fort around 6 PM.

Need a few pointers...
1. Relatively safe place to stop in El Paso
2. Rest stop or quick easy rv park in the Mobile area
3. Checking in issues on a Friday night at the fort.....
4. Good grocery store near the fort and by the toll road (429)

On our trip last year we ended up a Super Target and would prefer a more traditional Grocery store. We want to stock up for two weeks then use Garden grocery to refill if we stay the full 27 days. Any input on food would be great.

Hi,
No offence but, how are you doing 1200 miles in 18 hours.
We drive 1250 miles, and GPS says 22 hours, wrong again.
I am not shy about using the gas pedal but, between fuel stops, traffic, unending road construction, etc, I have never made it in less than 26 hours.