How to keep a toddler busy on road trip to disney?

[djm99]

DH and I are not looking forward to our 14 hour road trip from St. Louis, MO to Orlando this summer with our darling 3 year old. Last weekend we drove to Chicago from St. Louis (about a 4 hour trip) and it was a mini nightmare. We have a DVD player in our SUV (she wasn't interested), she has her own LeapPad with earphones. She had crayons with books and a magic marker (non-mess) thingies to color too. What can I do to help with this. She was so antsy she had to 'use it' every 30-45 minutes. We had to stop too. I even refused her drinking items on the ride home. She still wanted to stop. Now, DH and I are thinking about stopping in Atlanta (more than halfway) for an overnight instead of driving straight thru. What do you think? What do you think about night driving to avoid this? Do you think this is dangerous?

 

[disneymarie]

You will be stopping frequently with a toddler. Take that 4 hr trip and times it by 5 more. Yes to the over night stop.
Calculator for me, gramma amd dgs was 10 hrs. and tons of potty stops. If she does not watch the dvd it is going to be a rough ride.

I remember the first drive back watching the same Thomas the Tank DVD for 8 hrs straight...

 

[vicki_c]

We've been driving between NY and FL, MD and FL with our kids since they were about 2. So 20+ hours in some cases - some trips straight through, some with overnight stops.

When they were littlest, it was best for us to leave in the evening not long before their bedtime. We popped in a movie, it was already dark, they conked out pretty quickly and didn't wake until we stopped for gas at midnight. Eventually they go back to sleep and slept pretty much until it got light outside. So while it sucks for mom & dad, driving overnight can be a good approach with some little ones.

As for the DVD player - definitely get a bunch of new stuff for the trip. I used to load up on new DVDs before our long car trips.

My kids also had Leapsters at that age. But having them sleep for a large portion of the trip is the most sanity-saving!

 

[bookwormde]

If you are comfortable with driving overnight as PP said leaving an hour or so before the childs bedtime works great. The world tends to be differnet going to WDW since the want to get there quickly also, Now the trip back can be a little more challenging