Is it crazy to drive 1300 miles with a 3 year old?

[TinkerbellMama]

I'm looking at cutting corners for our family trip next year so we can stay at the Poly. One of my considerations is driving. But with the cost of gas, the aggravation, and equating our time into dollars I don't know if it's worth it.

My daughter will be 3 (almost 4) at the time of travel. I will do most of the driving while hubby...reads? I don't know, he'll do something.

My questions are these:

Is it crazy to try and drive with a toddler that distance?

Should I try to drive straight through or build in a hotel stay along the way?

How long will it really take? Yahoo maps says 21 1/2 and I remember more like 24 for a ride to Georgia a few years back.

Do you really think it'll save that much? We usually fly down and for all 3 of us with a good rate we're looking at $600 RT because we don't live in a big city.

Any help is appreciated.

We just drove 1000 miles (each way) with our ds for a non-Disney vacation! He did GREAT! We did stop overnight, and ended up spending about 10 hours driving each day (2 days down, 2 days back). You probably won't save THAT much on gas. A few hundred, maybe, with these gas prices. I'd say 24+ is more like it for the drive time. Good luck with your decision!

 

[digskat]

I'm looking at cutting corners for our family trip next year so we can stay at the Poly. One of my considerations is driving. But with the cost of gas, the aggravation, and equating our time into dollars I don't know if it's worth it.

My daughter will be 3 (almost 4) at the time of travel. I will do most of the driving while hubby...reads? I don't know, he'll do something.

My questions are these:

Is it crazy to try and drive with a toddler that distance?

Should I try to drive straight through or build in a hotel stay along the way?

How long will it really take? Yahoo maps says 21 1/2 and I remember more like 24 for a ride to Georgia a few years back.

Do you really think it'll save that much? We usually fly down and for all 3 of us with a good rate we're looking at $600 RT because we don't live in a big city.
Any help is appreciated.

From door to door, it is 1314 miles to WDW for us. We stop once on route, usually mid- Georgia, and it has been around 20 hours driving (Mapquest estimates it at 21.). We have tried various methods, I have left at 8PM and driven through the night until mid-afternoon (I did all but 1 hour of the driving), left at midnight and gone straight through (splitting the drive), and at leaving at 4AM, stopping at supper time for the night. Driving straight through and leaving in the night, is great for traffic, but exhausting. I preferred the early AM departure, and stop for a good nights sleep.
The first time we took the kids, my son was 4, and my daughter had just turned 7. They watched movies, and played games, and we had a wonderful drive. Many will tell you that they won't remember at 3 or 4, and that is crap. My son can tell you all about his first trip to WDW.
I prefer the drive, but my kids don't mind it, so it has been relatively easy. As far as costs, with only 3 tickets to purchase, it would save you only about $50-100, with a 4th for us, it is closer to $300-400. We drove 8 months ago, in a Ford Escape, and it was $300. For us to fly out of Detroit, it was going to be $800 RT. As far as wear and tear, the only issue is oil changes, since the difference selling a vehicle with 50 000 miles and one with 53 000 is minimal.

 

[AllAboutPluto]

Right now, with just one child to pay airfare for, you'd probably break even. Down the road, when there are two, three or four kids to pay airfare for, it when driving becomes more appealing! LOL And I couldn't help but notice that the majority of the pro-driving folks had more than one child in the car.

As for driving with a 3 yr old... it depends on the 3 yr old. Both my kids loved road trips at that age. If she's used to long(er) trips and doesn't mind those, I'd go for it. If she's generally driving you nuts, and you've barely been in the car an hour, I'd call the airline! And remember, that's the key... it's not about how well she does in the car, it's about how well the growed-ups do with keeping her entertained!

Our family of four is flying in Sept because we're not willing to sacrifice 4 days of our precious 9 to the road.

Last thing to keep in mind... driving two days to get there when you're fresh and excited to go on your fun vacation makes the drive go faster. Driving back home when it's all over sucks!

After reading your comments, and reading the rest, I'd fly and consider splitting your stay... as many as you can at the Poly and then maybe a couple more days at a moderate.

 

[bopper]

We drove to Atlanta from NJ with a 3 year old. We only drove about 8 hours a day and stayed over night in NC. We made to stop for lunch at places like McDonald's that had a Play Space. The only problem we had is we wanted it to be a half hour stop, but trying to get a 3 year old to eat is a whole 'nother story!