My trip will be here in 22 day and I am depressed???

[gm]

we leave june 5 thru june 19. driving from houston to orlando.

 

[Disney owl]

Be thankful that you are within driving distance - however far!!!!!

Those of us over the pond have no choice & have to save to fly.

have visited Disneyland Paris 4 times now & have driven there every time with 3 kids.

have fun

the drive won't last forever.

 

[tinkerbell211]

FYI
I bought a tv/vcr combo a couple of weeks ago for $143.00 at Walmart.
Figured it's alot cheaper than plane tickets and we can continue to enjoy it after the trip. In fact, my 5 year old is enjoying it in her room now!
I also have been picking up dollar store items for the trip.
I was thinking about getting some scrapbook materials, having 1 or 2 rolls of photos of our trip developed before we leave Disney and let my 15 year old help the 5 year old start a memory book on the drive home.

 

[jilljill]

We bought a personal DVD player last summer and it was worth every penny spent. We were actually crazy enough to drive down 2 TIMES IN 3 WEEKS last summer, yes you are reading that correctly. We drove down Easter week this year and we are driving again in August. DD8 watched 5 movies on the way home this last trip and we didn't hear too much out of her. It is so worth the money saved and to be able to have your own car and get around when you want is really good too.
DD is one that is much better off on a long trip than on the shorter trips. We go to the beach quite often, which is just under 2 hours, and she is an itch almost the whole drive. On the drive to WDW she reads the road signs and license plates - she is fasinated where everyone is from and needs to know where she is at at all times. She has learned a lot about the east coast from the drives - you can't get that kind of an education sitting in a plane.
Our next trip in Aug. will be interesting, we are travelling with my friend and his 2 boys, 7 and 9. It has been a couple of years since they drove down, you can bet the DVD player will be well used while they are all awake. We also drive at night, so she can sleep and when she wakes up we are in either GA or FL.
Good luck and keep your chin up - YOU'RE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!!!

 

[tink2dw]

I'm not over the pond but on the Wrong Coast,west that is!! Way to far to Drive!!!! Trains take to long!! Bus even longer and too grundgy for a family.

I have trouble getting air fare for less than $350. each
total for 3 is $1050.00 Even flying to DL it Costs about $300.00 to fly!!!

But it is just part of the costs I find a challenge to trim down as far as I can!! My goal is to find air fare of $200.each or less.

But even if it takes another 5 years to get back to WDW I get there!!!

 

[momof4kids]

We are driving down in June from Kentucky with 3 boys--13,11, and 7. We have never been to FL before....the farthest we have traveled is to the Smoky Mtns. I am figuring about 16 hours...counting stopping to eat and bathroom breaks!
I have bought some cheap toys for the 7year old, and for the older ones I got each a CD to listen to (they won't get it till sometime on the way). I have also got a stash of surprises that I won't pull out till we are on the way home! Also am taking some card games to help pass time.

 

[bigsis1970]

one of the items i have for the trip a 4 X 6 Scrapbook for each child to decorate w/ disney stickers on the cover and pages .. Hopefully they will do one character per page and then the character can sign their own personal page..

 

[Kaycee]

Wow, those pictures were awesome! They really made me smile. Thanks!!

We always drive to WDW from KY (DH won't fly) so we're used to it. We've come to actually enjoy the trip - honest! We do a combination of the things listed here (books, games, activities, frequent stops, tapes, CD's) and we're thinking about renting a TV/VCR this time. It really is mostly about attitude though. On the way there, we talk about all the fun we're going to have at WDW. And on the way home we talk about all the fun we just had!

Kaycee

 

[weeyore33]

we have gone to the most wonderful place on earth 3 times with our 2ds now 10, 6 we drove last year and it was not as bad as you think it will be, like other posters my kids drive me CRAZY on those short trips, but they were actually better on the trip to WDW than my DH and I... I purchased those seat back trays for the car and filled them with coloring bookks, new markers, colored pencils(crayons melt) and stickers and they each got a new game for their game boy.. they have their own cd players and they each picked out one new cd for the trip... they picked one out in WDW for the ride home, and the deal was they could not listen to it until we were out of FL.. i got my older son a little book from walmart in the pen isle, it had all the states listed and their capitol city, population, state bird.... you know all that stuff we never paid attention to in school... when we would get to a new state he would tell us all about it, kept him entertained...
we let them bring one "comfort" item from their room, which helped in the cranky moments. we also purchased a screen for our PS2, so they could play video games or watch DVDs it was fine for them, but it was me who grew impatient, another life saving device was the cooler, filled with juice, water and enough snacks to keep them busy and not asking for food or snacks every 20 min!!!
we planned our vacation for this year may 25- june 4 CBR
and we were going to drive then, Southwest had a great sale-- 600 for the 4 of us roundtrip--- national car rental 180.. so my original drive budget was 600- to stop and sleep, and gas, and food so we decided to fly, my husband commutes 2 hours a day for work, but if i had to i would drive again!!!!
sorry so long but i am just so excited when i read these messages and i can help!!!!! Have a great time, and enjoy the scenery along the way!!!!
Disney dreams

 

[MinnieGi]

That was me in February and guess what - the drive wasn't that bad at all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We made last minute plans for a trip to WDW for Feb. and airfare was also too high for a more "budget" oriented trip. We have a 2 1/2 yo and I was dreading what she would think of this loooooong drive. She did AWESOME!!!!! My DH and I took turns driving and sitting in the back seat with her to help entertain the time away. We sang, colored a bunch, read books, listened to tapes and brought our laptop to view movies!! My DH the night before we left found a way to secure our laptop into the back pocket of the front seat so the back seat people could view movies on the DVD player in it. It was great and really passed the time for everyone. During rest stops we ran DD around and played little chase games with her to help with all the sitting. We also took the time to eat dinner at a sit-down restaurant and this helped us relax and unwind from driving. We made it down in a day and a half and it was actually RELAXING. No kidding I was more relaxed on the morning we pulled into AKL than I ever have been after flying. It was also a big bonus to have our car with us for going off-site for meals and groceries.

The ride home of course wasn't as fun but we talked a bunch about all our great memories we had just made and watched some more movies. We actually drove straight through home.

Give it a try - you might actually not mind it at all!

 

[cpl100]

Originally posted by tinkerbell211
FYI
I bought a tv/vcr combo a couple of weeks ago for $143.00 at Walmart.
Figured it's alot cheaper than plane tickets and we can continue to enjoy it after the trip. In fact, my 5 year old is enjoying it in her room now!
I also have been picking up dollar store items for the trip.
I was thinking about getting some scrapbook materials, having 1 or 2 rolls of photos of our trip developed before we leave Disney and let my 15 year old help the 5 year old start a memory book on the drive home.

What kind did you get? I am wondering if it came with an adapter for the car, you used batteries or bought an adapter. I am seriously considering it for the trip. Thanks.

 

[sm4987]

I know how you feel. We drove last year and it was great fun. However, I didn't want to sit in the car again this year for 17 hours. I wanted to get to Disney and go. So we just bit the bullet on the plane tickets and took it. We paid $220 for ours out of DFW. Don't feel to badly. My children didn't ask are we there very much at all. They were 3 and 6 last year. It will be fun. Buy a portable dvd player or your laptop for the kids to watch movies. Play plenty of games. I know that your drive down can be fun. Don't be depressed!!!

 

[disney ready]

tink2dw:
You just made me soooo excited. I can't wait to go. I even started having dreams about DW. Thanks for the wonderful pictures.

 

[JoniGirl]

Originally posted by LIFERBABE
We are driving too and leaving the same approx. days you are.

We have the PS2 in the mini van and last year my kids were so quiet I had to keep looking back to make sure I hadn't left them at the last stop! And they were 5 and 3.

It is about attitude and I have been checking fares also but with 4 of us $218 is still out of our budget when I add in the rental car. If I could have found airfare for around $700 I would have jumped on it, but driving is not so bad.

One of our funniest memories from last year's trip was stopping for gas just inside of the Florida border and they were selling HUGE watermelons for $1.00 each! We were already loaded down and we were trying to fit this watermelon in the van! You can't have that kind of fun on a plane! LOL

Now if you were riding a bike to WDW, THAT'S DEPRESSING!!

We too are leaving that weekend from the Dallas area!! HOW WEIRD!! See ya on the road!!

We do the TV/VCR thing, and we stop along the way. We absolutely LOVE to drive. We made it all the way to Vegas last year - no problems!!

 

[JoniGirl]

Originally posted by cpl100
What kind did you get? I am wondering if it came with an adapter for the car, you used batteries or bought an adapter. I am seriously considering it for the trip. Thanks.

We bought a power inverter ($25 at Walmart) and used DD's TV/VCR combo. We also bought an adapter for the headphone jack ($5 at Radio Shack), so that two sets can be used at once. We record Nickelodeon and Disney channel shows onto a 6 hour tape, and calculate how many we will need. (Much easier than juggling a dozen tapes!!)

When we drove to Vegas last year, we stopped at the Grand Canyon on the way home. We were driving past the canyon at sunset (breathtaking!!) and the kids watched Star Wars the entire time! LOL! The kids didn't mind the drive at all, and DH and I got to listen to our CD's!!

HTH

 

[shovelhd]

We're down to hours to go now and I'm not depressed, not excited, I'm just dead tired from all of this planning. I'm sure a little of the Magic will wake me up.

 

[shovelhd]

Re: rear seat tv

Our new vehicle has the built-in entertainment system, but when we had the van I bought the Toshiba 9" TV/DVD combo for which I made up a mounting system that fits between the seats. I think the model# is MD9D1. It's more expensive than the off-brand models but it has a very bright and clear 9" grid (Trinitron clone) based tube that has great contrast even in bright sunlight. I tried using my laptop w/DVD and while the picture is bigger there is no comparison with the contrast. The Toshiba DVD has only skipped once in all trips combined and that was when we hit a pothole that I seriously thought tore the whole front end of the van off (no damage). You can get this tv/DVD for under $300 now, and I highly recommend it if video quality is important to you. There are line inputs for a game system and a line out which we used with a cassette adapter. Fade the speakers to the rear only and then the kids can hear the movie in stereo and there's a little more peace in the front seats.

Good luck with your drive!!!!!

 

[cpl100]

I have a Volvo wagon... no van available. How did you mount it securely and would that work in a non-van? I am very concerned with the safety factor of such a heavy item flying around the car in the event of an accident.

 

[cpl100]

Could anyone provide safe mounting information for a Volvo wagon?

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

I have to put my little positive ray on this thread also.

Don't get down about it! Think about it like I do.... all that money could either go on the flight and get there quicker OR that's all more money to spend on the trip. Okay so maybe you can't actually spend that much because you don't have it (ditto here- to some degree) but it DOES make the trip less costly. So that's what I keep reminding myself. LOL

We've driven once, and I've flown once on a solo trip. We simply cannot afford 5 flight tickets unless a fabulous deal came up -and that's doubtful. LOL We plan on driving again on the next trip.

I second the motion on the tv/vcr combo.

We bought a power inverter ($25 at Walmart) and used DD's TV/VCR combo.

Exactly what we did- except we got the power inverter for around $50 at Radio Shack. Someone always finds a better deal than me. LOL But we did use our oldest daughter's small tv/vcr combo though! Took their favorite Disney movie tapes plus some jam packed with disney cartoons they like. It worked like a charm! This time we'll also take game boys they have now- now the older two can play those and the youngest can watch whatever she wants on the tv/vcr.... no arguing over what they watch next or how many times. If she wants to watch the same movie/tape 15 billion times- she can. LOL

We also took little things to keep them busy- those notebooks with markers that are INVISIBLE when writing on anything but the notebook paper are a real blessing! No worrying about if they are writing on their clothes, the carseats, etc. LOL

Took snacks/treats & drinks.... so we weren't stopping constantly for those (we were already stopping constantly for potty breaks, diaper changes, etc. though. LOL)

Kids were either busy with the things they had to entertain them or were sleeping- no problems at all! And this was with an 8yr old who had ADHD unmedicated, a just barely turned 5yr old precocious and also hyper son, and a barely 2yr old daughter. And believe me- my children are NOT little angels. I had my doubts before the trip too- but we had no choice. It was drive there or not go. Definitely not an option to not go! LOL

You can do it!! Go into it with a fun attitude and they will too.