Long Island

[Nissi]

Does anyone live on Long Island? Have you ever done a road trip to Disney? How was it.....did you drive through or stop half way? Thanks!

 

[stormer]

We have done it four times and we always drive straight through going down. We have left at different times - sometimes 7PM and arrive about 4PM the following day - sometimes leave around 2PM and arrive around 10AM. It isn't bad. We always stops for meals and bathroom breaks, but other than that we just go until we are there. We are usually excited to arrive so we like going straight through. My boys actually like having our own car.

Coming home we usually break it up into two days. We leave around 10AM and go to VA. We stop for the night and then it is just about 6 or 7 hours the last day, depending on how far into VA we made it. We usually stop at a Marriott in GlennAllen (or something with Glenn!) I think next time we will go straight through coming home, too. We will sleep late the last morning and hit the road after lunch and drive straight through so we are back on LI early next morning.

Any specific questions, let me know.

 

[DISNEY CRAZY 69]

I too have done it, only one time and that was enough. We had a small car at the time and two small children, it certainly was an adventure. We stopped on the way down in Virginia (Chimney something). The last 3 trips we have flown down. While it is expensive for a family of 4, we plan our trips so far in advance and watch prices for the cheapest fare. I really believe that the magical transportation is part of the magic. Ten days and no driving- its a check out from reality. Enjoy your travels, if you drive or fly, it will all be worth it.

 

[BYC]

I live on LI, but never made the drive to Disney. I always wanted to, but hubby did not. Plus, it means at least 2 extra days off, which would shorten the time we could spend in Disney. I love to drive, so would not have a problem doing it.

 

[nytimez]

I'm in Nassau County. I drive down all the time, but I have a bit of a unique situation, my work is flexible enough that I don't have to worry about how many days off I'm taking.

I usually drive with my daughter, who is now 5, but I've never had a problem with her in the car and long trips. We always spend a night in North Carolina -- we have family there, which also makes it easier. And although we stop frequently, we also go through 4-5 hour periods of nothing but driving (especially if she falls asleep for a bit).

I love driving because I like setting my own pace, I like dining at mom-and-pop joints (especially BBQ) along the way and I enjoy having my own car when I'm in Florida (especially if I'm going to be down there for more than a Disney trip).

I know many other DISers from the Northeast corridor drive, so if you have more specific questions about the road trip ask -- you'll get a lot of replies (and a lot of different opinions).

 

[dana1003]

hey just wanted to say you "drivers " are brave..im not too far from u guys..im in jersey right by the gwb and hubby has wanted to drive but i veto it all the time. we have 6 year old twins and just driving to paramus gets them fighting with eachother..cant imagine a 18 hr trip all depends on your kids i guess..i agree with the other op..newark going jet blue usually has decent airfares..we'd rather wait to save up the money to fly.good luck and happy travels

 

[BabyRN]

We drove with 3 kids, ages 5, 7 and 9. Drove straight through and back. The kids did great and we saved a TON of money. We're going to drive again, now with a 21 month old, 7, 9 and 12 year old. We are taking our time this time around though, spending one night in Virginia Beach and the second night somewhere in Georgia on our way down, and then on the way home we are spending the night in Myrtle Beach. I figured it would ease the transition and allow us to be somewhat rested!

 

[sharadoc]

Hi. Come on over to the Transportation Board. There are a ton of drivers who post lots of info. There's a thread called "For 2000+ Mile Drivers" that gets into the nitty-gritty of driving from afar (the 2000 miles is round trip FYI).

You can get whatever info you need over there. Come join us.

We drive every time to WDW from Pennsylvania (NW of Philly) and we love it. We have a Grand Caravan with a DVD player. Plenty of snacks, drinks, pit stops/potty breaks, music and conversation. The kids know it's the only option, so they don't complain (much!). My DD had a hard time last trip because we surprised her and I don't think she was mentally prepared.

My best advice is to know what you're getting into. You're going to be driving for 18 hours. You can decide how to split it up - long first day, short second day (that's what we do now), or do the same length of time each day (that's what we did our first trip). Also, do you want to take is easy and stop for meals, or just eat in the car. Bring picnic supplies and stretch out at a rest area, bring balls to run around with, play games etc. or plow on through?

We enjoy the family time and the opportunity to talk to each other. We spend around $400 - $500 round trip and that allows us to afford more trips! We have done 2 a year for the past 2 years - this year it's 3!

 

[TLinden16]

I'm going to move this to our transportation board.

 

[kaitlyn0616]

I did it by myself with my 2 kids ages 8 and 5, my husband had to work Christmas week, as long as you spilit it up it should be fine, we were traveling in the winter so the promise of a hotel with an indoor pool at the end of the day kept their spirits up, we always leave very early in the morning to beat the traffic on the Belt Parkway and in Staten Island, once you get out of the DC area it's smooth sailing, if I am driving to Orlando I know I need to at least make it to North Carolina, I am taking the kids again by myself this August then my husband will fly down and meet us as we are spending 3 weeks there originally I wanted to fly but the airfares are outrageous this year for August so I am debating on Amtrak also, goodluck in whatever you decide

 

[raenyny]

We always drive...I went to college down there and we first did it so I would have my car at school..As an adult I just hate to fly and we have 4 children now ages 11 6 4 and 2 and could never afford it...We have done it both ways I prefer to drive straight through we usually leave around 4am and get there around 10pm but I think I like the idea the one poster had about leaving 7pm the kids would just sleep through most of it and you get there with plenty of time do enjoy yourself the first day...we have a dvd player in the car and bring lots of movies handheld games and snacks we stop every 3 hours to switch drivers (lol its the idea but technically my husband drives most of the way) use the bathroom and stretch our legs I have been looking into amtrak but I really like that it doesn't cost us too much to travel down by car

 

[mamapajama]

We have driven 2x and Auto Train once. We are also in Nassau County. The last drive we thought we were going to drive straigh through but that didn't pan out. I am not a night person! We are driving down again at the end of August and we are booking rooms in Florence or Walterboro, SC and Savannah and will cancel whichever we do not use. We are traveling with 2 teens & a 2 year old.