If you have driven to DW with toddler please come in.

[mask_w03]

Dh and I are trying to figure out if we should just fly or drive to DW. It would be about a 18hr drive if we don't stay over and do a straight drive with stops for food and to get out and move around. Any adivce or ideas on flying vs. driving. Our thought on driving is it would save us money and we would have our car to do a grocery store run while there and have everything we'd need for DD and not have to ship or buy anything really for her while down there (like diapers, wipes.. kinda stuff). She'll be 19months and does pretty well in her car seat.

Thanks,
Margaux

 

[Soccerpooh]

We drove for the first time last year- it took us about 18 hours to get to Jacksonville (we have family there). What worked great for us was leaving around 9pm. The kids slept until 7 or 8 the next morning , and they only had 6 hours of "awake" time (DD actually took a long nap too ). My husband went left work at noon the day we left and came home and slept until 8. I had the van packed and ready to go. I slept all night, and then after breakfast drove while he napped. We saved a ton of money, between 5 plane tickets and not renting a car in FL. Getting to take food, and stopping at a grocery store in Orlando was nice too. I get too stressed flying with all my kids- dragging the car seat, stroller, and carry on bags is a pain!!! Good luck!!

 

[skuttle]

We drove with our 2 1/2 year old in December. There were three adults (me, DH, and my mom) and DS. Our drive is about 10 hours, plus stops. We left around 4:30am, ate breakfast in the car and stopped at the Florida welcome center around 8:00am and let him run around a bit. We stopped again for lunch around 1pm at McDonald's so that DS could play on the playground a bit and then went all the way to WDW.

On the way to WDW, we didn't have to use the DVD player. He actually amused himself for 30 minutes taking the caps off of the McDonald's milk jugs! We brought a bunch of new toys for DS to play with and that kept him occupied. He slept off and on most of the way since we let him stay up late the night before and then woke up at 4:00am.

On the drive home, we had to pull out the DVD player. He didn't sleep as much, so we had to entertain him a bit more, but it still wasn't bad.

 

[all4fun]

We live on the West coast and drove to DL in late Nov/December which is an 18hr drive each way if you don't stop. We personally have decided that flying is much easier. We did break the trip up into four legs with overnight stays. One of our legs was very long because we stopped for Thanksgiving at a relatives house which was a few hours shy of half-way. We found after about 9-10 hrs in the car (w/ multiple rest stops) ds had pretty much had it. I had brought things for him to draw on, play with, and watch (portable dvd player) but all that could only go so far. DS is also the type that loves to "go for a ride" in the car. It was just too much driving for all of us, IMO. If we had flown then the trip both ways would have been much easier. We've flown multiple times to WDW from the west coast so a flight from home to LA is like a piece of cake! Jmho. Of course, some people really love "road trips" and if that's you, then I say go for it.

 

[waltdisneyworlddreamer]

We flew for the first time this past fall and it was wonderful!!! I have vowed never to make that long drive again! Last time we drove our DS was 4yo and the trip absolutely exhausted him. I didn't realize how much so until we were at WDW. It was also in July so the 2 day drive, paired with the heat made for a very miserable trip. We flew this time with DS, now 7 and DS, 3 and it was wonderful to step off the plane refreshed and not tired at all. For us, we never leave the property so having a car was not an issue. We will always fly in the future!

 

[macmahony]

We have driven twice, once with a 3 month old, 2 year old, and 3 year old, the second time they were all a year older. LOVE it! The drive is almost 24 hours for us, we do one really long day, and push as hard as we can, (last time we got within 3 hours), and then sleep overnight and have a really short day. The kids are great, we have the dvd, but honestly never really used it much. They love stickers, postit notes, pens, silly putty, they had a ball. Plus, we can buy all we want, bring all we want, and not have to worry about where it is all going. The drive is just as much fun for us as disney itself!

 

[Callalily6]

Flying is way faster, but dont totally skip over driving. You are close enough to do it. We drove cross country (over 2000 miles) on a whim when our DD was 23 months old. We set her up with a travel TV and she was good. She was also used to short car trips to the big city 3 hours from here...Or son on the other hand hates the plane. Since you're that close - I would totally go for it! Unless gas prices top $3.00/ gal and it is cheaper to fly!

 

[cruisinpan55]

We drive from Pa. Every year, our kids are 6 and three. It's never been an issue with us. We made up car games and last year we bought a portable dvd player. It was a great move!! If you can, get one get one with two sceens just in case you have a second passenger. Try Wal-Mart, they have good prices on them. Good luck.

Nate

 

[jenks0718]

This is exactly what we did when my dd was 12 months and my ds was 6 and it worked wonderful. They slept the entire night! We are going again this summer and doing the same thing. DD will be 2 and ds 7. We may leave at 7 or 8 pm this time.

 

[LegoMom3]

Drove last year with a 2 1/2 yr. old. He's a good traveler anyway, but as a previous poster said, flying can be very stressful with all the gear you need to bring anyway! We just prefer a road trip.

Florida is a solid 24 hours of driving from NH, so it took us 2 1/2 days on the road, but when I had family in NC (about 15 hours) we used to drive right through. On one trip we got the car packed, put the kids in their PJs, and left around 8pm. They were asleep within an hour and DH and I took turns driving all night long. Kids woke up around 6:30 when we stopped in southern VA, and we were at our destination before noon. One of the easier trips we've taken with a toddler!!

 

[DisneyTarheel]

We have 3 of them, so the thought of flying puts me in a cold sweat. Plus, we prefer to have a car for the flexibility and to avoid the busses. (can be hard for 2 adults to herd three wee ones plus all the associated junk on a crowded bus). We are only about 9 hours away by car, however. We try to leave early a.m. around 3 or 4 so we can maximize the sleep time. On the way down, we usually don't even use the DVD player. The drive home is not quite so easy going. Not only are they po'd that they are leaving the most magical place on earth, they also realize they have a very long car ride ahead of them. We've become quite familiar with the many McDonald's playlands dotting I-95.

 

[disneymom3]

DisneyTarheel--I feel the same way about flying. Not so much now because my kids are older and none would be in a carseat on the plane, but a few years ago.....ugh! We had a baby, and one(almost 2 yo) and a 6 yo(who is the best traveler ever) The flights were delayed, the airports had nothing kid friendly and we ran out of snacks sitting on the tarmack just waiting for a gate to be open....aaack, it can still give me nightmares.

We have driven ever since and enjoy the trip so much more. Our trip with youngest age kids was when they were 1, 2 and 7. Entertaining the baby was the hardest part, but he was barely one so other than crawling around, not much entertains them. I sat in the back next to him quite a bit and had DD sit in the middle row so I could talk to him and hand him books and Cherios.

We leave Thurs and our 28 hours on the road has all of us excited and ready to go.

 

[Wickedmom75]

This past august was the 1st time I drove . My cousin has a siezure disorder and could not drive, I did all of the driving. So 2 adults(me 30 and cuz 29) and 6 kids 10,9,7,7,4,and 4. we left at 3 am and the kids did really well.The hard part was getting into every state and saying nah we don't want to camp here how bout the next state (this was a surprise trip for them and we told them we were going to NC to camp). They did better than we expected. Hardly any arguments at all, we did have the dvd player with the 2 screens so that was a lifesaver. We had all flown together 2 years previous and that was a nightmare trying to get everyone into the aiport along with 7 extra people besides our 8. It was very stressfull trying to keep track of the little ones, and luggage, and check in . The drive down was much more relaxing it took us 15 hours form va beach ,va but we would have been there sooner if we had not gotten stuck in traffic for 2 hours 5 miles from the DW exit !!!. That's when the kids got antsy but other than that it was great.

Oh and it was nice to have the car to go off property to do laundry we found a place in Kissimee where it only took 1$ to dry a load instead of 2$ on property

 

[prestonsmomma]

We drove in December with a 3 3/4 year old who isn't normally a car person for more than an hour or so. He did GREAT. It was a 12 hour drive for us. We have friends who had just moved to GA from CA so we stopped at McD's and let all of the kids play as hard as they could for about 1 1/2 hours. It was a nice break for all of us. We were pleasantly suprised at how well he did.

 

[rt2dz]

We vacation twice a year and then take weekends here and there and always drive. It is cheaper than all the plane trips, saves us the cost of a rental car, gives us freedom to come & go as we please (if we skipped the rental)--runs to Walmart/Target/grocery store or eaty off site. We currently have DS5 (almost), DS2, and DS5 months. The baby has already been on two long trips. OK, one was evacuating from hurricane Rita, but it did take several hours (and it was just me with the boys then 4, 19 months, two weeks--DH had the dogs in his car).

Here are my hints (some may repeaty, I didn't read the other posts):

small blankets, travel pillows, lots of snacks (use a cooler with dry ice if necessary)--FOR ALL
Toys--some new (think dollar store) & some favorites
Bring a favorite stuffed animal/doll if have one
Children's music
DVD player (although we don't use one a whole lot)

As far as our driving tatics go, we leave late afternoon. We drive for a few hours, stop, get out and eat somewhere, preferably where the kids can play around. We drive for a few more hours, stop at a rest stop, let the kids out to run around, pile in the car, and the kids are usually asleep soon. No DVD player that day. DH and I then drive all night; this is where we make MAJOR time. Whoever isn't driving is sleeping. We stop only for gas, to feed the baby or change diapers. When the driver gets tired, the other person drives. If we're both tired, we will stop; no use risking anyone's life. When the kids get up, we stop for breakfast (getting out so the kids can run around). And we just continue on driving, stopping every 3 hours or so where the kids (and us) can get out and stretch. They aren't long breaks, about 5-10 minutes, but it is enough. Those car breaks work wonders. It might lengthen the drive, but it feels shorter--and does a major wonder keeping the crankies & whines away. And not just for DH, but for the kids too.

 

[Hannathy]

All the tips have been great. We are 12 to 19 hours away from all our families so for the last 14 years have been making long car trips with kids at every age and stage Driving while they sleep is great and so is stopping at playlands or parks so they can play while you eat. One thing I found worked was you eat and they play and then take their food in the car and they can eat then - maximizes play time and shortens stop time. I would seriously look at your numbers though between flying and driving with only 1 child. With gas so high when I did the math for this summer it was not that much more to fly than drive and arrive rested and not worn out driving. You only have to buy 2 tickets so with a good fare it could be real close or even. Don't forget to figure tolls, oil and extras. Also think about time, do you have extra time to add a day and a half on either end ? And even if you sleep you will still be tired it isn't fully restful sleep
and what if your little one decides not to sleep so one of you can't either. Good luck what ever you decide but also think that under two can't really do puzzles or write and they have short attention spans so bring a lot of variety.

 

[SqueakyMouse]

When we visit WDW with the kids, we drive. This is not to save us money (since it actually ends up costing us more than 5 cheap rt tickets) but to save our sanity. Flying with my children has been a nightmare -- not because their ill-mannered or bad air travelers but because we have had the worst luck known to man-kind when we fly. (2 hour non-stop flights have been known to end up being 17 hour+ trips thousands of miles out of our way -- on more than one or two occasions!!!) Thus, we drive whenever possible if the kids are along.

To WDW, it takes us approximately 15 hours. We leave in the late afternoon/early evening and take turns driving through the night. Our 3 kids (now ages 13, 5, and 3) watch movies until they fall asleep, generally around midnight. They will sleep until we arrive at WDW the next morning. An added perk to driving through the night is the lack of traffic. Driving through the heart of Atlanta, we'll see only a few cars. Traffic doesn't pick-up until we're nearly on-site.

I try to take Krispy Kreme donuts or some such breakfast food in the car with us. If one of the kids wakes up before we arrive, s/he has a handy snack. We don't have to stop and wake the rest of the crew (NOT morning people, I might add!!!).

I always pack a change of clothes for each of us and keep the bag holding this nearby. If all of the kids are awake, we'll stop at one of the rest areas close to WDW and change the kids' clothes. Otherwise, they change once we arrive at our resort.

 

[disneymom3]

All the tips have been great. We are 12 to 19 hours away from all our families so for the last 14 years have been making long car trips with kids at every age and stage Driving while they sleep is great and so is stopping at playlands or parks so they can play while you eat. One thing I found worked was you eat and they play and then take their food in the car and they can eat then - maximizes play time and shortens stop time. I would seriously look at your numbers though between flying and driving with only 1 child. With gas so high when I did the math for this summer it was not that much more to fly than drive and arrive rested and not worn out driving. You only have to buy 2 tickets so with a good fare it could be real close or even. Don't forget to figure tolls, oil and extras. Also think about time, do you have extra time to add a day and a half on either end ? And even if you sleep you will still be tired it isn't fully restful sleep
and what if your little one decides not to sleep so one of you can't either. Good luck what ever you decide but also think that under two can't really do puzzles or write and they have short attention spans so bring a lot of variety.

THis is exactly what happened to us on our first time driving. DH had these wonderful ideas of listening to his own music with the speakers turned all the way to the front and an idyllic quiet drive through the night. The kids went to sleep just fine, but when he stopped for gas at around 1:30, the older two woke up and were wide eyed and bushy tailed for the next couple of hours. They were quite cheerful and quite talkative! They did eventually quiet down and go back to sleep but it made us realize we better be ready for any eventuality!

We also do the eating after a stop thing. We try to do a picnic lunch so we aren't buying fast food and then sitting in the car for two days--makes us feel more lethargic--and we stop at a rest stop or whatever, the kids run around play tag, etc in the grassy areas and then everyone goes to the bathroom. As we get back in the car, I hand out the sandwiches, grapes and juice boxes and off we go feeling refreshed and having something to distract them for a bit of the drive.

 

[jim and meesie]

Eight years ago (over Thanksgiving) we drove to Disney (the one and only time) from the Boston area . At the time our kids were 2, 5 & 10 and I think the 2 year old handled the trip the best. At the time we had a new Ford Expedition with a third seat so we had plenty of room. An absolute must have is a TV/DVD player with plenty of movies. We left at 9 pm at night (on the Thursday before Thanksgiving) with the idea we would miss traffic (no such luck). We hit a four hour traffic jam in New York city around 1 am (the George Washington Bridge was closed due to a police shooting!!)

The older two kids slept like logs but the youngest just sat in his car seat watching Elmo videos, one after another. My husband and I still get hysterical thinking about the absurdity of our sittiing with an Elmo watching toddler in the middle of the Cross Bronx Expressway with truck drivers and cars full of what we kiddingly referred to as drug lords (no offense meant, loud pounding bass music coming out of pimped out cars full of young men) in the middle of the night. We seemed to be the only family going on vacation!

After the traffic we continued to drive through the night (with everyone but Dad eventually falling asleep). The next afternoon we were going through the Carolinas when we got the idea to stop at Disney's Hilton Head resort. We detoured off the highway and checked into Disney's Hilton Head resort for a good night's sleep. The next morning we realized we liked it so much we decided to stay another night in Hilton Head. The kids program at Hilton Head was great for all of us after a long day in the car. We also found an amazing huge Disney outlet just outside of Hilton Head. The next morning we were back in the car for a very civilized ride the rest of the way to WDW.

The ride back was a little tougher since we ran into torrential rains which slowed the trip down significantly. We made a stop somewhere in South Carolina to hit a Walmart for two new videos. My husband jokes that he has never actually seen "George of the Jungle" but knows every word by heart!!! The weather got so bad that we pulled over in the middle of the night to stay at a roadside Fairfield Inn.

Getting back to your original question, the toddler handled the trip probably the best of all of us! He wasn't old enough to complain and loved having his older brother and sister right nearby for such an extended period and of course loved having an endless supply of Elmo videos.