Is sleeping (more like napping) in the car stupid????

[dryomama]

I don't want the bulk of my drive to be at night, so I had planned on leaving by 7am and driving to our hotel, then continuing to WDW the next day, arriving about noon.

Here is the thing, I know that we will be too excited to stop.

So should I drive straight thru (arrive around midnight at WDW and nap in the car until morning) or take a nap in the car along the way and and arrive at WDW around sunrise???

It seems like sleeping in the car at WDW is safer (for some reason) but will they let us????

I realize this sounds kinda dumb, but my brain is suffering from Mickeyitis!!!

 

[kaytieeldr]

It's stupid if you're driving at the same time

Seriously, I don't know if there's anywhere 'safe' to just pull off the road, LOCK THE DOORS, and nap. I understand being excited, but well-rested and able to enjoy even the first day of vacation is good, too.

 

[Leash]

My DH and I once drove straight from Las Vegas to Seattle (about 20 some hours), we would switch off and when we were both too tired to drive we pulled into a rest stop and took an hour nap. We did that two or three times on the way there and the way home and it worked well, we felt safe (we did lock the doors) and we were able to continue driving without being too tired and when we got to Seattle we were rested enough to make it through the day though we did go to bed early that night.

So I would say if you feel like a cat nap in the car would help then drive through, but if you know you need a good nights sleep to have a good day then stop. If you do pull over to sleep a bit I really reccomend a rest stop as opposed to the side of the road.

 

[CarolA]

Last Sunday in my paper there was an ariticle that quoted info on Drowsy Driving. I started to post it here, but figured I would get the usual "NOT ME" response.

So if you think you are "safe" well.... you probably aren't. Humans are not designed to go without sleep.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I misread the question. Odds are, Disney security will NOT let them sleep in the car anywhere onsite. Sleeping in rest areas is 'okay' (if you know where they are and if you know if any have a reputation for being trouble spots and avoid those). Sleeping in a hotel/motel/inn is a much better, and safer, route.

 

[dryomama]

Gosh I'm glad I posted this! I just figured I could get some sleep while I was driving so I could do something productive while I was getting to WDW!

I'd never just pull over on the road to sleep. I was thinking I'd stop at a well-lit place and nap until I felt better.

Upon, rethinking...
I think we will go with the original plan of driving about 12 hrs and stopping and then get up in time to take advantage of the E EMH that day. That way, we won't feel like we are "loosing" any Disney time!!

thanks for the tips all!!!

 

[marius97]

Under the right circumstances, taking a nap on the road might not be that bad. Here in Michigan, I would never dream of it. Our rest stops are pretty scary during the day. I'd hate to see them at night. On our drive to WDW this year we stopped at a rest stop in Chatanoogga (on the way back we stopped in North Carolina). Those were soooo much nicer. I was suprised that when we pulled in for a quick nap they were filled with cars and trucks...probably 100 cars of sleeping people. I didn't feel unsafe at all. We took a quick 30 minute nap on the way down...the excitement was enough to keep us going. On the way back, I stopped for another quick nap. Two hours later, I woke up feeling really good.

 

[bumbershoot]

I'm not 100% sure where you would sleep, but if you're talking about a hotel, yes that's a good idea.


My dad was a bus driver for Greyhound, and he knew I had a habit of stopping at rest areas on the way from WA to CA to visit him (and reverse to get back to college) and he HATED that I did it. He told me that it's ridiculously unsafe, there could be ANYONE in that rest area parking lot, and especially at night it's just stupid stupid stupid.

I never listened and nothing ever happened, but then, I would hide entirely under a thick comforter in the car, arranged in a way I hoped looked random, not like there was a sleeping person under there.


In reality you're likely to have a cop knocking on your window (don't most rest areas state "no sleeping" on their signs?), not a serial killer, but...I know that once I turned about 25, I wasn't interested in pushing my luck anymore.

And I doubt WDW security would let you sleep in the car once you got there.

 

[Missytara]

This happened to a friend once a few years ago. Her parents stay in Florida for winter and she goes down once a year to see them. They stay at a campground fairly far down the state. They got as far as Daytona a few years ago, and didn't realize there wasn't a hotel to be had since it was the weekend of the Nascar race. She should have known, we have two of them per year in Dover and there isn't hotel for miles around here.

Anyway, they ended up pulling into a Walmart, since it was open 24 hours a day. There was always people coming and going and they even were able to slip inside and use the bathroom and buy food at the counter.