Name your top 10 items to bring on drive to WDW

[sheboz]

Trying to make a list of items to bring for a smooth drive from Windsor to Orlando. What is your top ten? We have three children 10, 7 and 6 months.
TIA!

 

[Ted in Halifax]

Car power converter to charge ipods etc.

Snacks

Pillows

Movies for a computer or DVD player ...

A map of Starbucks to keep me awake ....

 

[sheboz]

Converter good one...great suggestions

 

[AineDeBruggh]

You can make up some travel bingo cards (with sights instead of numbers ie. A red car, a white bird, a really tall McDonalds sign etc.). My sister and I used to play that game in the backseat on many a roadtrip.

If your older ones know how to play checkers you can usually find magnetic board games at the dollar store (the pieces are tiny though, so watch out for swallowing by the little one). Also, the dollar store should have plenty of puzzles (like ball-bearing mazes, or wooden blocks that fit together only a certain way).

Books of puzzles like connect the dots, word searches or even travel guides for the place you are going. I remember thumbing through the CAA/AAA travel guides as a young kid, even at 8 or 10. Sometimes my parents would put me in charge of locating a hotel in the book to stay in overnight (they'd tell me the city and how many diamonds to look for) and then I'd hand the book over to my sister who would get to pick the restaurant. I realize only your oldest might be able to do this, but it never hurts to get them involved. I figure your younger ones might get jealous at first, but maybe you can have the older one help them to read the intro blurb on the town you are stopping at?

My dad used to have us watch the license plates on the cars that went by, checking for what state they're from and them circling that state on a map of the USA. That was fun too, especially seeing the different pictures on the plates (like oranges on the FL ones).

Audio books are good for roadtrips as well. Perhaps Harry Potter, or if you can find old audio tracks from your kids favourites?

*We made 2 roadtrips to WDW as small children and also did car trips to Ohio, West Virginia, Missouri and Florida (Key West). Some of my best memories are of those car rides, even though I remember only bits and pieces of the destinations.

 

[bankr63]

GPS with updated maps. Mine also has traffic to warn of construction and other blockages (although that feature seems a little erratic).

CAA guide books for the states along the way; to look up hotels when you are getting too tired. I've always wanted to be able to use the along I-75 book too, but alas we don't travel that route from Ottawa.

A little lumbar pillow - my current car has a lumbar adjustment but sometimes it's just not enough. Actually, I like to adjust the seat a bit every couple of hours too so I don't kink up too badly.

Chewing gum. This seems to do a better job of waking me up when I'm getting dozy than caffeinated beverages, but I use those liberally too.

Can you tell I don't really care too much about the kids? Mine are teens now; they'll be bored no matter what I bring. But keeping the driver alert and comfortable; now THAT'S important!

 

[sheboz]

Audio books...Harry Potter or maybe chrinocles of Naria

Bankr63 great tips, wears as important as the kids!

 

[Kogo Shuko]

Gravol, in case a child becomes car sick (I was prone to this).

We would pack our suitcases for the entire trip but also have a duffel/backpack with clothing, pyjamas, and toiletries that were being used for the road trip. This way we wouldn't need to open all the suitcases. It was especially useful when we went as a family, but my brother and I were adults. That's 4 suitcases of stuff. Only 2 fit in the trunk, so the other two were on the roof.

An odd one is a night light. Some hotels are VERY dark, and some kids might be scared, or if you're like me, you get up in the night to use the washroom. Having a night light to light the room a bit helps a TON, so that I don't stub my toe on something, ESPECIALLY if you're sleeping at hotels during your drive up.

Don't don't don't forget a child's favourite toy/blankie/etc! As a 9 year old, I forgot mine, and I was heartbroken for the majority of the trip during the night (and especially on the road), without Pongo to hold onto. v_v

Enough CDs/music to get you through the entire trip. I'm really picky about what I listen to, so I don't normally listen to radio stations. And this way you don't have to search for one if you need something to listen to.

A really good suggestion I received once when considering a trip I made with my BF and his son was to pack brand new toys/items for the kids that they only get during the trip. It especially works if they don't know they're going to get special items during the drive up. It'll keep them entertained.

Perhaps journals and pencils/crayons? When I went as a child, I enjoyed drawing what I saw out the window and writing something about it.

Our car always had snacks/treats - but not for the kids! My father was diabetic, and rather than having to stop to eat, he'd grab a granola. I'm sure it worked well for the kids, too, though. I myself certainly wasn't thinking about eating though. lol

 

[TinkandGoofy'sMom]

We have driven to Disney three times with our two kids, starting when they were 7 and 8, and twice more since then, from Barrie. The drives have gone better than I ever expected! The girls each bring their electronics, pillow and blanket, and lots of snacks and a few drinks. When they were younger they also each had a backpack with colouring sheets, dollar store games etc. I also made them each a list of States to check off when they see those license plates, and a Bingo type game with different logos for fast food places, gas stations, road signs, hotels etc. On the past two trips I have also paid them $1 an hour for being good, not fighting or whining, and I'm happy to say it worked great! Gravol is a MUST for my younger daughter, so she's pretty out of it for most of the trip lol! We usually stop twice to sleep at a hotel on the way down, and once on the way home. My husband does all the driving because otherwise he gets car sick.

 

[bankr63]

We would pack our suitcases for the entire trip but also have a duffel/backpack with clothing, pyjamas, and toiletries that were being used for the road trip.

An odd one is a night light.

Enough CDs/music to get you through the entire trip. I'm really picky about what I listen to, so I don't normally listen to radio stations. And this way you don't have to search for one if you need something to listen to.

Another for tip one - we do this too, and yes, I keep a nightlight in my overnight too.

I have a lifetime subscription to Sirius in my car, and I would suggest getting a short term subscription if your car radio is satellite equipped and you don't subscribe. I have a couple of favorite XM stations that I flip between, but I don't have to search around at all, they are always available no matter where you are, and it's commercial free and very little DJ commentary. I also have a couple of 32MB USB sticks jammed with all our music so we can listen to that too if we really get bored with the selection on Sirius.

 

[sheboz]

Great suggestions! Thank you!

 

[rlma]

Thanks for all of the tips. Our drive is around 8 hours so I am taking notes.

Can please you share more information on the gravol? Our DS throws up almost every time we drive somewhere. He's 6 this month - is this available for his age?

 

[sheboz]

Have a safe trip! Call a pharmacist about medication for the kids! Bon voyage!

 

[Kogo Shuko]

Thanks for all of the tips. Our drive is around 8 hours so I am taking notes.

Can please you share more information on the gravol? Our DS throws up almost every time we drive somewhere. He's 6 this month - is this available for his age?

You sure can get Gravol for kids!!

http://gravol.ca/For-Children/

When I went over 20 years ago, as a child, my mother ran out of the Canadian Gravol and bought American Gravol instead. The stuff pretty much knocked me out for the entire drive home.

I'm not sure if Gravol has changed since I was a child though. But it worked then!

 

[joannamet]

Don't know what Gravol is. My mom used to dose us with Dramamine if we acted the least bit car sick. I suspect now she was just trying to knock us out for a while and give herself a break from 4 bored kids. LOL

We do a lot of car trips. For my 9 year old I take a pillow and blanket, drink and snack. She's allowed to fill a bag for the car. She usually puts in her favorite stuffed animals, kindle, paper, markers and small toys. One our last trip to Disney I found some little Disney puzzle books at the AAA travel store. She loved those. This time she has her own kid's Disneyworld guide book. It has lots of places for her to write her own plans, etc.

For the 2 older children I would get a kid's guidebook for Disneyworld or other Disney related puzzles/coloring books. Let them each fill a small bag to have in the car.

If all else fails, try the Dramamine. They'll sleep for hours.

 

[Surfinpiratee]

Trying to make a list of items to bring for a smooth drive from Windsor to Orlando. What is your top ten? We have three children 10, 7 and 6 months.
TIA!

1. Phones/IPods/Camera/Chargers
2. Food/Snacks
3. Water/Drinks
4. We had 2 HUGE things of coffee
5. CDs
6. Pillows
7. Blankets
8. Hoodies

 

[cslittle999]

Whoops double post.

 

[cslittle999]

In the past we made small presents for the kids that we handed out as we crossed each state line. A mix of things for the road and things they can use once we get to Disney. Mostly Dollar Store items, some candy and books. It helps to create a sense of progress.

For the older kids print out directions and let them maintain a trip log. Have them record the time and distance to various milestones, meal costs, gas costs,... We've these very helpful in planning future trips.

The kids have recorded some very funny home movies on the trip on just about any topic you can imagine.

 

[dancin Disney style]

I used to go to the dollar store and make up special bags for each of the kids that they got as a surprise after we were in the car. Each child got their own colour of bag but the contents were pretty much the same. Things like crayons, fancy pens, pads of paper, stickers, games and 1 or 2 treats. Each bag would probably cost approx. $8-10. I also made themed travel journals for them with pages that I printed off the internet and put into duo-tangs. They enjoyed decorating the books probably more than actually filling out each page.

Comfort items(pillows/blankets/stuffed animals) are a huge must along with lots and lots of snacks. Keep in mind what you feed them though. Take into consideration the mess that could be made so try to avoid sticky items and also the sugar content. You don't want sugar hyped little ones in the car. A container of wet wipes of some kind and a roll of paper towel is very helpful. Along that same vein of cleaning up...some plastic bags for garbage or an ill passenger.

I also liked to have some window shades to block out any bright or hot sun. You can usually find them in the $ store. I prefer the static cling ones as they are easy to move/position. We have dark tint on our car windows and they still come in very handy.

Another thing that we often did when the kids were young was to do as much driving as possible through the night while they slept. Those window shades come into play here as well....if you are night driving and stop for gas the lights are so bring it may wake the kids so having the windows covered eliminates that.

One last thing....we often took the center row of seats out of our van and put the kids in the very back. It gave a nice buffer between us and them.

 

[sheboz]

Great tips, thank you!

 

[monaleigh70]

One other thing that I always bring, whether we go by car or air is plastic ponchos for those Florida thunder showers. I pick up tons of them at the dollar store and always have a supply on hand when we walk around. They are way more expensive to buy in WDW or Universal so they save a lot of money. I ended up handing out a few to some very unhappy families held prisoner by the rain.