Is this crazy?

[erinmomof2]

We really want to take advantage of the 3 free days offer at Disney right now. The only way it fits into our budget is if we drive. Would you drive 1200 miles each way.. with a 4 1/2 year old and a 2 year old? My oldest daughter is easy, she'll be no problem. My yougest daughter could be a problem. She hates her car seat, hates sitting, and is not easily entertained. We really want to do this and while we were there we would also attend my Dh's cousins wedding. But it is a long drive with a cranky kid. Has anyone else made a long drive with a carseat hating kid? Any tips or advice... or is this just crazy?

Thanks!

 

[*Seanaci*]

I don't think it's crazy. Is there anyway to travel while she should be sleeping? I know it sounds crazy...but...if she's snoozing she can't complain and all that.

Would your 2 year old be excited to go? Perhaps using that as an incentive (I know, I prefer not to bribe kids, but if it works...) for her to be good. Perhaps something along the lines of "if you're good while we drive, no crying/whining/etc I will buy you (insert toy/object here)". Bribery doesn't always work...but like I said, can't hurt to try.

Do you have a laptop you could take with you to play movies for the girls in the back seat?

Really those are the only suggestions I have right now.

Good luck.

 

[ilandrazdsw]

Perhaps using that as an incentive (I know, I prefer not to bribe kids, but if it works...) for her to be good. Perhaps something along the lines of "if you're good while we drive, no crying/whining/etc I will buy you (insert toy/object here)". Bribery doesn't always work...but like I said, can't hurt to try.

Please, please...it is not bribery it is positive reinforcement for good behvior . (Sorry that is how teachers are supposted to say it )

A sleeping child is a quiet child (unless they snore ) so I second traveling...maybe at night...less traffic!?! Also love the movies for travel.

Make frequent stops for the kids to get out. Even though it may take a little longer, the trip could be more pleasant.

I am not a pillpopper/giver, but I know of people that swear by benadryl or gravol (that may be a Bahamian/British thing med) to help calm/tire the child.

 

[adventure_woman]

I agree - travel at night. Or, at least start SUPER early in the AM - like at 3am. Do you have a DVD player? Or, you could always strap her to the top of the car

 

[Juliet25]

No, not crazy. I prefer having my car when down there. We'll likely be driving in March with a 6 and 1 yo. We did it last Dec. with DD5. It's not the most fun trip in the world, but I'd do it to get to WDW!

 

[ScrapperBelle]

I don't think you're crazy. We always drive (but we only have about 1/2 the distance you do).

We tried driving at night before and DH and I just get too tired. Some people can do it, but we can't. Luckily, if we leave home at 4am, we're at WDW around 2pm.

Maybe you could break your trip up over a couple of days. By leaving early in the mornings, you could cover a lot of ground while they're asleep without having to drive all night.

 

[MommaSnowwhite]

We are in Michigan too - we just drove down two weeks ago. The drive isn't that bad. We broke the drive into two days and stayed in hotels along the way. I think I would try to drive when she would be sleeping as much as possible - maybe you could have a bag of new things that you could pull stuff our of when she gets cranky. Good Luck!

 

[Ariel8676]

We drive from NJ with my girls (actually drove 2 x this year) they just turned 7,6,and 3...we leave at night. Eat a nice big dinner give the kids a bath and put on PJs or sweats and leave around 10 pm. We put on a movie and they are asleep before you know it!!

 

[koolaidmoms]

My DS (5) and DD (8) have been traveling by car to WDW since they were each 18 mo. old. We travel from Rochester, NY to Orlando over 2 days. We used to do it in a Grand Am! We are a close family. The last 2 trips we finally have a minivan. But my children are on their 7th and 5th trip each and looking forward to the next one!

We rotate toys about every 20 minutes. I go to the store and stock up on little toys that they can open - View Master with Disney reels (of course), magnets are great - they have trays with story themes and 50 magnets, ColorWonder books are good - no mess; we pack each of them a "special" lunch box and thermos that is only used for trips. I go all out and let them have the special food that I normally would never allow.

Make it as fun as you can. A portable DVD player is great. Lots of CD's with headphones.

Have fun!

 

[nessz79]

My DS (5) and DD (8) have been traveling by car to WDW since they were each 18 mo. old. We travel from Rochester, NY to Orlando over 2 days. We used to do it in a Grand Am! We are a close family. The last 2 trips we finally have a minivan. But my children are on their 7th and 5th trip each and looking forward to the next one!

We rotate toys about every 20 minutes. I go to the store and stock up on little toys that they can open - View Master with Disney reels (of course), magnets are great - they have trays with story themes and 50 magnets, ColorWonder books are good - no mess; we pack each of them a "special" lunch box and thermos that is only used for trips. I go all out and let them have the special food that I normally would never allow.

Make it as fun as you can. A portable DVD player is great. Lots of CD's with headphones.

Have fun!

We have made a similar trip with our young children. One was 3 and one was 1.5 years old. It was hard with the 1.5 year old, but manageable. DVD's work very well along with new toys. And LOTS of stops if they are awake!

 

[erinmomof2]

Thanks for all the replies. It's nice to hear your stories and suggestions. My husband does not want to leave in the evening, he would do the majority of the driving so I don't want to argue. He'd like to leave around 3 a.m. and drive straight through just stopping for food and potty breaks.

We do have a portable DVD player and we would definately bring that with us. My youngest isn't really into any toys or anything or t.v. for that matter, so I don't know how to keep her occupied. She rarely plays with anything for more than 5 minutes. She mostly likes running around, climbing on things, and pushing her baby stroller around (she doesn't like the baby.. just the stroller). So any ideas for some toys to keep her busy on the road? She's really a hard kid to occupy.

Any other ideas?

 

[Miss LD]

DS who is now 4 sounds just like your DD.
When he was 2 we went on a long car trip and I was terrified.
What worked for us, believe it or not, was puppets.
I had the little finger puppets, and they each had a voice. He found this far more entertaining than his dvd's or sleep.
It kind of stunk to do this over and over, but I had kids cd's that I knew the words to and sang along in all my many voices. I did get into it after awhile. I didn't do this the whole trip, just when things got nutty.

 

[erinmomof2]

DS who is now 4 sounds just like your DD.
When he was 2 we went on a long car trip and I was terrified.
What worked for us, believe it or not, was puppets.
I had the little finger puppets, and they each had a voice. He found this far more entertaining than his dvd's or sleep.
It kind of stunk to do this over and over, but I had kids cd's that I knew the words to and sang along in all my many voices. I did get into it after awhile. I didn't do this the whole trip, just when things got nutty.

I actuallly do this with stuffed animals for my daughter now and it does keep her entertained. My parents live an hour and a half away and this generally keeps hold her interest on her bad days... it gets old fast though. But I guess it's a back up solution. Keep the ideas coming, I'm passing it all along to my DH.

 

[becca011906]

Thanks for all the replies. It's nice to hear your stories and suggestions. My husband does not want to leave in the evening, he would do the majority of the driving so I don't want to argue. He'd like to leave around 3 a.m. and drive straight through just stopping for food and potty breaks.

This is what we will be doing, leave at 3am and drive all the way... we tried the whole leaving in the evening thing it was awful for all of us!!! We drove when my kids were 1,3,5 all night it was NO FUN!! Then when they were 2,4,6 we drove about 6 am stayed all night and drove more on day 2. Then last year we they were 3,5,7 we left at 3am and drove till 5pm stoped with only about 3 hours to go the next day we should have just kept on driving b/c to put them in the car for 3 hours the next day was almost worse then the 13 hours the day before!!! So this year we'll leave around 2 or 3 am and drive till we get there at 7 or 8.

Does food keep her happy and quite??? use snacks, maybe... a new sippy cup maybe a straw one if she's never used it before?? Something new and differant. what about coloring? work on car issues now before you leave try to take a long drive once a week or something and do it now while gas is cheap! LOL

 

[brockash]

Heck, if that's the only way you can go, I'd do it, however it wouldn't be my first choice, but for me it'd be worth it... just make sure you pack lots of activities

 

[koolaidmoms]

You may want to bring a ball and or toys that she can run with at your rest stops. We have a soccer ball in the trunk and we do a 10-20 minute run time based on what the kids need when we stop for bathroom breaks. They run up and down the sidewalks if we are just taking a quick break or I break the ball out and we plan a full on soccer match for a few minutes to run them ragged.

Good Luck!