Memories of a long drive to WDW

[Cinderaven]

Let fist start by saying this was our 3rd trip driving to WDW. Our DS was 8, and his 1st trip to WDW.

It started out about 8 am. We did fine until the Chicago toll ways. It took several hrs. to get to Gary Ind. just due to Construction. My DW had bought me a Bob & Tom CD set for my BD. One of the songs on it is Orange Barrels. By the time we got thru the mess my DS had learned all the words to the song. We played it everytime we had to stop and wait for traffic, if a worker was near, we turned up the tunes and rolled down the windows to make their day.

Then of course we enjoyed the intresting ride thru Ind. We finally got to Kentucky when things once again began to go amock. Traffic delays due to Construction again, (we had AAA maps with No signs of Construction any where in site) Luckly, we had thought ahead and bought 10 little gifts for our DS to open up at predetermined points along the way. This was a life saver for us.

Then came Tenn. and it started again. By the time we got to Atlanta we were tired and once again the Construction started. We got thru that problem and then 2 vehicles broke down in the mountains side by side and had to be moved by wreckers at 3 am. in the morning. We sat and waited for more than 2 hrs. for that to clear.

Our DS finally fell asleep and slept until the Fla. border. We finaly hit Kissimmee about 3pm. Hot tired and need of a shower and lots of rest.

My Loving DW was never so happy to get to a hotel.

We ended up having a great time and the trip home was very smooth going.

To this day we still remind each other about that trip and yet we still drive, DW refuses to get of the ground, Plus it saves us a lot of money.

Len

 

[disneydreamer1970]

Thank you for sharing your story? How long did it take you to get there compared to how long it should take?

We have thought about driving from here in Maine but it would take about 24 hours of straight driving. There is just something about have breakfast here in the morning and then having a late lunch at WDW!! Maybe someday we will make the drive just to say that we did it....LOL

Trish

 

[Cinderaven]

It usually takes us about 25 hrs. with a 2 hr. nap around Valdosta Ga. This was at least 5 hrs. longer and the tension from the raffic gives you a nice headache

 

[Indianadisneyfan]

Wow I thought I had a long drive from just north of Louisville, Ky. It is about 13 hrs for me to drive straight through. I guess your husband must be like me, I don't leave the ground either.

 

[Wish2BinWDW]

Makes me appreciate my 12-12 1/2 hour drive from Kentucky!

 

[disneydiva2007]

And I thought we had it bad driving from NYC - Although once we went down and it rained from Washington until we finally arrived and on this trip I decided we were going to make a pit stop in Miami to see my BFF. It took over 24hrs to get there - We were so tired and the closer to Miami we got the harder it rained!

 

[smylie1]

OMG! I feel like an idiot! I was trying to find a good deal on portable DVD players (or whatever) to hook my 2 DS's game system to to occupy their time on our 10 hour drive. I cannot imagine driving 25 hours! Did you drive straight through switching off with DW? OMG I can't imagine!

 

[pepe of ohio]

Oh yes, I can relate to the long drive. Way back when we used to drive, 1200 miles one way for us, about 21 hours of straight through driving and I didn't share, we would arrive in Florida around 6 am and head to a beach. I needed that day to unwind and get back in snyc, wife and children would play in the sand and ocean and I would join them after about 5 hours of sleep. Next day we would get up early and head to WDw, hit the edge of the property, pop in a tape of WDW music and wait to see the main entrance gate welcoming us to the land of magic. We did this for alot of years and always stayed at the CR.

Flash forward to now, kids are grown and married but wife and I still make the journey but by Amtrak. Driving has gotten to be a huge pain with the trucks, road construction and stress. Train take us to Kissimmee, still 27 hours but we arrive relaxed and ready for 12 days of Disney. We have flown 3 times mixed in with the driving and a couple of train trips with the kids before, but I don't fly anymore. Our first adventure was in 1977 and this September will be our 39th visit. By train again, and we still count the days till we leave, at 60 right now. We always stay deluxe and our stays are getting longer and longer every trip.

Sure would be nice to take that drive again if the cities and traffic weren't so nuts, stay at the CR one more time but we're getting too old for the commando drive and our favorite resort is WL nowadays. We built up alot of memories over 35 some years, wouldn't trade any of them for another destination either. WDW still holds the allure and magic and it one place we can truly relax, kick back and do anything we please.

 

[Creekermom]

Your post got me thinking as I was just discussing this with my DH.
We live in Louisville, KY and it is estimated to be about 13.5 hours to get to WDW.
We are leaving a day early and driving 1/2 way spending a night in a hotel and then proceeding to WDW the day we are to check in. We will do the same on the return trip home.

We are traveling with a and I hope to keep her occupied by some things I have planned, like doing a Disney Trivia, keeping track of different license plates we see, counting the mile markers (we had to do this once in April on a 8 hr road trip) LOL
I have been getting anything Disney related for her to do on the trip down and back.

Any other ideas?

 

[EMcCool419]

All of these posts make me very thankful that iI am but only 6 and a half hours away!

 

[nooneshome]

If I hadn't proved to my family that a ten hour drive wasn't so bad we wouldn't have gone as much as we have. My kids love to bug me by asking "what state are we in?" I really need to keep a log of the good McDonald exits. I like to get off and back on as quickly as possible. Nothing is more enjoyable as when we get off I-10 and onto I-75!!!

 

[kjetjl]

We have been 5 times since 1999 and have driven every time. The drive should be 18-19 hours but with stops it usually ends up being closer to 22-23 hours. We started our trips with 3 kids and now have 6. We got a really good deal and so we are flying for our trip in Sept. I thought the kids would be really excited!

But a couple were disappointed that we were not driving. We usually listen to books on tape/cd. (Stuart Little, Cheaper by the Dozen, folk tales, etc.)
We never bought a dvd player.

The first three hours of the drive were a little crazy and then they all settled down for the rest of the trip. My theory was that they were just so happy to get out of the car that they forgot to argue with their siblings and went on to have a great trip!

 

[mickeymousemom]

I cannot imagine a straight thru drive from Wisconsin! We do it from 45 minutes north of Indy. Well..not the straight thru part anymore. We never used to stop and stay the night and we figured out when we had our youngest(now almost4) that it just wouldn't work that way anymore. Now we stop 5 miles north of the FL state line in Lake Park, GA. Dh can't get me off the ground either(plus, it's cheaper for us to drive with 5 people)!

We also love the travel time and the things we see along the way. Last year we saw some older guy driving an old pickup truck in southern GA. The bed of the truck was piled high with furniture and mattresses. He had it all held down with ropes and bungee cords. We took pictures because it was so hilarious!

Wave at me the next time you come thru Indiana...I'm only 5 miles off of St. Rd. 31!!