Is driving 13+hours straight with a 20 mo.old crazy?

[mskay]

I am trying to find a way for us to go to WDW this fall. The only way we can afford it is to drive. We live near Memphis and it's 13+ hours. I don't really want to stop for the night, but would that be more resonable now. DD (15mo)does well in the car now on short trips. We haven't gone anywhere that's more than a few hours, though. Thanks for any and all advice!

 

[msmayor]

Much depends on how 'well' you think she'll actually rest while sleeping in a car seat. On our first drive to WDW from Jersey, I had a 10-month old and we never would have made it longer than 7 hours. He just wanted OUT of the seat. I know if we had pushed him, he'd have been miserable for the next two days trying to get back on his 'sleep' track.

 

[DisneyDadof3]

We generally drive straight through. Our 2.5 year old was fine and our 1 year old was fine. We had an 18 hour drive. I on the other hand was a bit tired.

 

[manning]

BE SURE YOU ARE WELL RESTED.

The last trip down I didn't sleep well the night before. Maybe 3-4 hours sleep. Don't know why.

Three hours later I heard my name being called by my wife and realized I was in the median. I fell asleep at the wheel. The last thing I remember was putting the coffee mug into the holder. I got control and we continued on our way. I can vouch for a full size car built on a frame.

When you fall asleep, YOU DON'T KNOW IT!!! Good thing my wife was not sleeping!!

 

[PRINCESSMOMX3]

We are contemplating driving from MS. It usually takes us about 12 hours. We have one that will be 20 months and one that will be 35months on our trip plus our 6 year old. We probably will drive no more than 6 hours before stopping for the night. I don't think they would be able to handle it. We may also fly nonstop through Southwest and it would take 1 1/2 hours. However none of us have ever been on a plane except DH. SO not sure which is the less of the two evils.

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

FLY and save yourself and your kids the long car ride.

Northwest probably has a direct flight to MCO out of Memphis.

 

[Littlemotherhaywood]

It can be done Both of my kids are well traveled. We haven't taken a long driving trip in quite some time, but my son was about eighteen months on our last trip. I found that we could go in two to four hour spurts before stopping. With two adults, one drove and the other entertained. We brought toys, snacks, (Our dvd player broke right before we left), books, kids music, etc.... I found that both of my kids did better when we stopped for about an hour at a time. It puts a crimp in your time, but it allows them to run around (we always tried to stop where we could walk around and play) and work off some of their energy. I would do some practice trips to different places to see how your child does. Overall, 20 months is not a bad age for such long trips.

 

[elan]

For that length of a trip, we would just take short breaks during the day and drive straight through. By the time we would check into a hotel, get everyone calmed down enough to sleep (new hotel room excitement) we could be closer to our destination.

 

[kydisneyfans]

Drive straight through-take favorite toys and a travel DVD player is a good idea. Try to time the drive during regular sleeping hours for the child, you can make time while they are asleep. If you are lucky, you'll wake them up at the Disney arches off I4.

 

[CarolA]

BE SURE YOU ARE WELL RESTED.

The last trip down I didn't sleep well the night before. Maybe 3-4 hours sleep. Don't know why.

Three hours later I heard my name being called by my wife and realized I was in the median. I fell asleep at the wheel. The last thing I remember was putting the coffee mug into the holder. I got control and we continued on our way. I can vouch for a full size car built on a frame.

When you fall asleep, YOU DON'T KNOW IT!!! Good thing my wife was not sleeping!!

This is why I find the "I drive all night" to get to Disney stories so scary.... What if it had been late at night and your wife had been asleep so you could take turns driving all night... the outcome could have been SO much worse.

(Of course I will now be subject to abuse because most of the posters who think this is such a great idea are SURE it will never happen to them and think that I am being a "witch" for pointing out that they are endangering thier family and others on the road with them... )

 

[drogerstn]

13 hours is about right for us on this trip with only short stops for gas, fast food, and bathrooms with older kids. A 20-month-old may need longer break periods being "trapped" in a car seat for long periods of time.

What time will you leave? If leaving in the afternoon, we plan to stop around 11pm to midnight and stay in a hotel. If leaving in the morning, I like to leave around 4am; all passengers sleep through Mississippi and into Alabama (until I have to make a pit stop due to all the coke I drink in the morning). This gets a good portion of the trip out of the way without any fidgeting from the kids.

 

[midwestdee]

I'm with CarolA on this one - I think the drive marathons are nuts - so if we are going to get flamed, we can go down together. There are so many motels at moderate prices and so many coupons, discounts, etc.... I just can't believe it isn't worth it to break up the trip and get there in one piece. then there is the starting your vacation at WDW exhausted - I do realize many people are quite limited in their days off - but humans just aren't meant to be awake for 20 hours or more.

 

[drogerstn]

I'm with CarolA on this one - I think the drive marathons are nuts - so if we are going to get flamed, we can go down together. There are so many motels at moderate prices and so many coupons, discounts, etc.... I just can't believe it isn't worth it to break up the trip and get there in one piece. then there is the starting your vacation at WDW exhausted - I do realize many people are quite limited in their days off - but humans just aren't meant to be awake for 20 hours or more.

13 hour trip does not mean being awake 20 hours or more.

 

[miss_deville]

Is driving 13+hours straight with a 20 mo.old crazy?

Have you ever heard the expression "To ask the question is to answer it"? I think you are asking because your instincts are suggesting that it IS too long a trip. I recommend you listen to your inner voice. Stop at an inexpensive motel. I'm sure everyone will benefit.

 

[JoeCathyAngelina]

We drove 22 hours straight through from Boston with our 3 year old.
No DVD Videos,
No Gameboys,
No Big Deal,
Good Luck,
Joe

 

[cranbiz]

I just did the 22 hour drive from Cape Cod to Disney last month with a 2 Y/O and a 4 Y/O with no problems. We did not a DVD player but had plenty of snacks, coloring books and hand held games. we let the girls streatch when we stopped. DW and I split the driving.

There are concerns about this, but if you have rested before leaving and have a driving plan, it's certanally doable. I don't advocate driving while too tired, if you try it by yourself, know your limits.

 

[Soccerpooh]

We drove last year from Indiana (16 hours to Jacksonville), with our kids, and DD was 8 mos. old at the time. We left at 9pm, and DH drove through the night, and I took the next morning shift while he napped. He came home from work at 12 noon and slept until 8:30 pm. I had the van packed and all he had to do was shower and go. It worked out really well for us that way, because the kids slept almost 10 hours on the way down, so we really had very little awake time to deal with. If you can safely drive at night (i.e. get a good "days" sleep before ) then it could be pretty painless. No matter what, you need to plan some breaks just for her to run around. It worked out so well for us we are driving again this year!
We also have had good luck with the portable DVD player. We take a few Elmos World and Barney DVD's, as DD is happy for several hours. With a family of 5, flying is so expensive, and we love the drive, so it just makes much more sense to drive for us. And I cannot stand the chaos at airports, lugging the carseat, diaper bag, stroller, etc. through security and making connections. Also, we have found that we can take all the extra "paraphanalia" that goes with toddlers much easier in the van. Good luck in whatever you do!!!!!

 

[darlene9947]

In December, we left Slidell around 10:00 at night. My house is only about 10 minutes from the MS State line. My grandson was 3 1/2 at the time. He was sleeping when we left. There were not many big trucks at that time - the highways were still pretty dark in MS due to Katrina so we made excellent time. We stopped in Pensacola around midnight to eat. Sean ate and fell back asleep with no problems. We (my DS and DIL and myself) took turns driving and when Sean woke up we were about 45 minutes away. We checked into the resort by 9 in the morning, the room was ready (!), changed our clothes, freshened up a bit and headed straight to the parks!!

I'm doing it again this August.

 

[Befferk]

No crazier than us driving 24+ hours straight through with our 4 year old in 4 days DH and I will split the driving, neither of us has a problem sleeping in the truck while the other drives. We are leaving in the middle of the night, and I will sleep the 8 hours prior to leaving.

Beth

 

[kreativks]

We drive from NJ 16 hrs about every 3-4 months to Disney with a 12 yr old and a 2 1/2 yr old. They both do quite well. Occasionally we stop over for the night if we get a late start but usually drive straight through. We always have plenty for them to do and having a dvd player in the van helps.



Kathy
leaving 5/10/06 for AKL