Long drive to Disney?

[lemonsours]

This will be our first time driving to FL from NY (we have always flown before, but this will be a low budget trip). I would greatly appreciate any tips/tricks. DS will be 8 and DD 12. Looking for advice on keeping the peace in a small car, good places to stop/avoid, or even links to existing threads I may have missed. TIA!

 

[MomTo3PrincessesInNJ]

Head over to the Transportation board. There's a thread just for people making the extra long drive (2,000+ miles I think).

 

[lemonsours]

Head over to the Transportation board. There's a thread just for people making the extra long drive (2,000+ miles I think).

Thanks, I didn't even think to check there, duh.

 

[Kerriowl]

We have driven twice from Houston. Not quite as far, but my kids were fine in the car. The last long trip (to Chicago, not Disney), we bought the minecraft app for their ipods. Best $7 ever spent. Portable DVD players with two screens that can piggy back or not is also very helpful for us. They can watch the same movie, or different movies with headsets.

 

[prprincess]

We drove down from NJ a few years back, and left home at the boys bedtime. That way they'd sleep through the night while we drove. They were excited and didn't fall asleep until about two hours into the trip, but we kept them busy with DVD players. Once they woke up in the morning, we'd already hit the FL border, so it was a pretty easy trip. On our way back we weren't as lucky because they were a bit more restless, but along with the DVDs we bought along books, coloring books, and our tablets. And snacks, of course! Have fun!

 

[MomTo3PrincessesInNJ]

I will add that we make the trip from NJ a few times a year. We usually leave around 7p after dinner and showers. Girls get in the truck in their PJs. We have a motor home so it make the drive much more enjoyable (lots of room to lay down and sleep and a bathroom on board), but same concept -- leave when they'll sleep most of the drive. My H is a rock star and drives straight through (about 17 hrs). We stop in Pooler, GA (right off 95) around 6am for Chic Fil A breakfast and hit the 24 hr Walmart for food & alcohol, then it's only about 4.5 hours til Disney World! H usually naps once we get set up at the resort and I take the kids out to swim/play. No parks on the first day for us.

 

[wishinitwas]

We are driving from Chicago area 19 hours! I have lots of stickers and coloring books. DVD player needs to be ordered. They also have Kindles and Leappads. Lots of snacks too. We are leaving at bedtime like pp.

 

[KyGirl]

I will add that we make the trip from NJ a few times a year. We usually leave around 7p after dinner and showers. Girls get in the truck in their PJs. We have a motor home so it make the drive much more enjoyable (lots of room to lay down and sleep and a bathroom on board), but same concept -- leave when they'll sleep most of the drive. My H is a rock star and drives straight through (about 17 hrs). We stop in Pooler, GA (right off 95) around 6am for Chic Fil A breakfast and hit the 24 hr Walmart for food & alcohol, then it's only about 4.5 hours til Disney World! H usually naps once we get set up at the resort and I take the kids out to swim/play. No parks on the first day for us.

Can I ask you a question about this that is only sort of Disney related? My husband has really been pushing to buy a motor home for Disney trips and other vacations. One of his big "selling points" is that he can drive while DD (who is currently 4) and I could lay down, sleep, potty, play games, eat snacks, whatever in the back. I've told him that he was going to lose on that particular point because I thought when a motor home was in motion, all passengers were supposed to wear seat belts and children were supposed to be in appropriate car seats. However, in our family, I am ALWAYS the one that errs on the side of too much caution and he is ALWAYS the one that won't let a little risk get in the way of fun, easiness, him getting a new motor home or whatever. And I'll admit that sometimes I'm right but sometimes he is. But on the other hand, the idea of DD and I falling asleep in a comfy bed somewhere around Tennessee and waking up almost to Disney is a pretty appealing idea. So what's the consensus and/or law on that? Can you use the amenities available in the motor home while you're traveling down the highway?

 

[jvz82]

We drive from Minnesota, which is 27 hours! I've been doing it my whole life with my own family and now I do it with my kids as well. We leave after work (around 4-5 pm), stop after about 4 or 5 hours of driving to get the kids ready for bed, get back into the car and drive all night long! We really power through the trip, very few stops and do all of our eating on the road.

Some tips... we pack a cooler and bring sandwiches, drinks, everything food related. I prefer not to have fast food if possible. I just think it upsets people's tummies and that's never good in the car! We have a DVD player in the car and couldn't make the trip without it. I have been stocking up on new DVDs that I find on sale. I plan to wrap them and give them to the kids along the way as gifts. I'll also find other things to wrap as gifts, like maybe candy or an activity. I also have been loading our old iPhones with music and will give them to my bigger kids so they can listen to music along the way.

Don't forget a couple buckets, just in case of car sickness! And garbage bags.

 

[MomTo3PrincessesInNJ]

Can I ask you a question about this that is only sort of Disney related? My husband has really been pushing to buy a motor home for Disney trips and other vacations. One of his big "selling points" is that he can drive while DD (who is currently 4) and I could lay down, sleep, potty, play games, eat snacks, whatever in the back. I've told him that he was going to lose on that particular point because I thought when a motor home was in motion, all passengers were supposed to wear seat belts and children were supposed to be in appropriate car seats. However, in our family, I am ALWAYS the one that errs on the side of too much caution and he is ALWAYS the one that won't let a little risk get in the way of fun, easiness, him getting a new motor home or whatever. And I'll admit that sometimes I'm right but sometimes he is. But on the other hand, the idea of DD and I falling asleep in a comfy bed somewhere around Tennessee and waking up almost to Disney is a pretty appealing idea. So what's the consensus and/or law on that? Can you use the amenities available in the motor home while you're traveling down the highway?

You are probably more right, even though seat belt laws vary by state (see this: http://blog.rvshare.com/things-need-know-rv-seat-belt-laws/). When we are in motion the girls wear the seat belts if they are sitting at the table (playing games, playing on tablets, coloring, etc). If they have to use the bathroom they can get up while H is driving, and if they are tired and they want to lay on the couch or bed I let them. If your DD is still in a car seat (or you plan to travel with a car seat) there is a lot of research to do on the placement of seat belts (floor vs. frame) and the safest place for a car seat (which is often the front passenger seat, believe it or not). It all depends on the make and model of motor home. When we drive in our SUV and minivan I of course make sure everyone is in their proper seat and secured, but in the motor home I am more lax in that regard. According to the link above only half of the states we drive through on our way to Disney require all people in a moving motor home to wear a seat belt, so I'm only breaking the law half the time.

 

[SweetMissy]

We're from NY and have done the drive 4 times....yes 4! After each time I've said we're never doing it again, lol. Our last trip was in July, wasn't for disney but we did drive to FL because we're actually moving there next month so did our 3rd trip of the year to check out some areas. Anyway...we're used to the drive now...I do prefer to fly though. We play various games...ispy, license plate game, ABC game, etc. Also the kids bring books, coloring books, small quiet toys. Our van has a DVD player, so they do watch movies here and there. It is a long trip....just plan for lots of breaks. We always pack a cooler....cuts down on needing to stop for food/drinks. We flew for our disney trip in January but when we drove, we normally stop once we hit GA for the night. Good luck!

 

[mama2princess]

We do "Tinks Gifts". The girls get one gift each hour to open til we get to Disney. Our trip is much shorter than yours but you might could do a gift at certain checkpoints. We usually include a movie or two, snacks, a shirt, and other random little things. Usually the gift will at least occupy them til the next one.

 

[DisneyWorldbuff]

We live in Colorado and I wouldn't dare to dream of driving to WDW. You guys are all champs!!!

 

[North of Mouse]

Can I ask you a question about this that is only sort of Disney related? My husband has really been pushing to buy a motor home for Disney trips and other vacations. One of his big "selling points" is that he can drive while DD (who is currently 4) and I could lay down, sleep, potty, play games, eat snacks, whatever in the back. I've told him that he was going to lose on that particular point because I thought when a motor home was in motion, all passengers were supposed to wear seat belts and children were supposed to be in appropriate car seats. However, in our family, I am ALWAYS the one that errs on the side of too much caution and he is ALWAYS the one that won't let a little risk get in the way of fun, easiness, him getting a new motor home or whatever. And I'll admit that sometimes I'm right but sometimes he is. But on the other hand, the idea of DD and I falling asleep in a comfy bed somewhere around Tennessee and waking up almost to Disney is a pretty appealing idea. So what's the consensus and/or law on that? Can you use the amenities available in the motor home while you're traveling down the highway?

We have had motor homes for several years, and yes, you are correct, 'everyone' should be buckled in except for potty/grab snack breaks.

Just like in a car, 'no' one knows when the driver has to make a quick 'maneuver' because of something unforeseen. Just because the 'law' may not require it (don't know different states) it is definitely the best thing to do.

You can easily be thrown around and injured/killed. We have had people cut us off, having to brake extra fast, stop quickly in front of us with no warning, etc. You can't stop them on a dime either. Had we all not been buckled in, there would definitely have been injuries, at the least. I know some people do not do it, but honestly, you are traveling at your own peril, just as in an automobile.

 

[monorailsilver]

We drove to south west FL once from CT, the other time we drove to Lorton and took the AT, even though that was a shorter drive we still were in the car for a good 10-12 hrs. With out kids we have driven multiple places farther away but again no kids....

We left early, neither or I are night owls. We left at 6 and were passing the Vince Lombardi rest stop by 7 and of course we ask if anyone has to go to the bathroom and we got all no's (our kids were 11, 9 and 7). No sooner did we pass it that the 9 year old decided he had to do #2. 20 miles later at the next rest stop he decided he didn't have to go but we stayed here until he did and well he did! That was a good hour! So basically even if it says it's an x hr Drive plan for longer!

We use Waze for all our driving and I check google maps (which waze gets its info from) just to check ahead and see the bad spots. The time we took the AT we drove straight thru D.C.! I was impressed.

I did get each of my kids a trip tic from AAA because none of them had a phone and I didn't want them asking constantly where we were/how much longer or me using more data (DHs phone was the main data hog and his work pays for it). Of course they did have to ask me what page they should be on but for the most part it wasn't too bad.

They all had a portable device, iPods, lap top, portable DVD players so no one had to watch the same movie which was great! I got them each a open soft box that they could put their stuff for the car in...books, chargers, snacks, etc...

I downloaded the i95 exit app so we could see what was off each exit-gas, food. Some areas were not as great as others but in general all the area were right off the highway. DH would pump gas or I would start while the other would pee, saved a few minutes which adds up! I tried to find the bigger rest stops like the TA and the nicest one I think was a TA was in the Jacksonville area. The bathrooms were spotless!

We knew, we wanted to be in GA, I had hoped the FL line that first day but, between the pit stop in NJ and construction traffic in the Richmond area we only made it to Santee, SC at about 9-10 that night. Only to be on the road by 6 ish the next morning for our 9 hr drive that day. I know we were in Orlando by noonish because I was breaking out lunches in the car. We only stopped for dinner, gas and you could only pee if we were stopping for gas!

I made my kids a road trip scavenger hunt and gave them clip boards to pick up as they saw fit. We are driving from Ft. Myers to marathon key in April and I asked if they wanted another one and they said yes-they will be 15, 13 and 11.

Be prepared to be tired, even if you stop for the night and sleep, it is tiring just sitting. There is NOtHInG to look at south of Richmond other then southern pines. Ok there were a few things but they were so far in between that it just was a boring drive.

Would I do it again? Maybe but I'd rather fly. I told my DH if flights were really expensive we were going to drive this year. Well tickets were $500~ and well we are flying! Can't beat the 45 min drive to Bradley, 3 + hr flight (jet blue so kids are happy) and 20 min drive from airport to my sisters. Personally I would enjoy the drive if I was retired or had a few weeks this way we could stop and see more then a bathroom.

 

[jtopp]

You can read all the tips about DVD's, snacks and rest stops. One thing you mentioned was a long drive in a small vehicle. Would your trip be more enjoyable if you rented a larger vehicle i.e. minivan so as you had a little more room for storage of the above items, and also a little more elbow room?

 

[isabellea]

We drive from Montreal, QC once or twice a year. We usually leave at 1pm and drive straight-thru and we arrive in Orlando just before dinnertime the next day. Depending on where you are in NY, I would choose the I-81 over the I-87 and I-95. Our best friends are the iPads. One trick that makes a huge difference for my 7yo daughter is to make sure her feet are resting on something like a bag or box. If they are dangling, she tires and becomes grumpy.