OMG They want to drive!

[TIGGERSMOM]

We are doing WDW in May. So I told family I found a decent price for semi last minute plane tix.
Now they have told me the have decided they want to drive.

OMG - DRIVE!!

Now I need advice - first how to change their minds? 24 hrs in a car - omg!!

Ok barring that what are you best driving tips? We are coming from Mass.

 

[Nutsy]

All I can is..........I feel sorry for you if you do drive...................driving can be soooo tiring & stressful. Then of course you are cooped up for so long................

No thanks................

Way too long to be traveling by car

 

[glo]

AAA...my best advice...they will tell you any construction or detours and plan a course of action. Take plenty of pain reliever, and an ice bag....lol

It really isn't so bad, we have done it three times with kids

Good luck

 

[Cindy B]

We drive straight through from PA! Its fine, and really, we like it better than flying

 

[Serena]

We drove from indy a couple years ago. My dad and sister and her family came with us in another car so it took 2 days to get there.
I suggest taking lots of music, games, snacks, personal cd players with headphones, books, and carsick pills.
Make sure your snacks don't have a lot of salt, you don't want to make everyone really thirsty.

It's not so bad.

 

[rbuzzotta]

We have driven several times from MA. It is not as bad as it sounds. We have driven straight through a few times and on the last few trips have stayed in VA on for a night both ways!!

We leave and drive until about 9 PM........sleep and get up at 4 and get back on the rode again. We put the girls in the car with their PJs on and I pack a small bag with clothes, toothbrushes etc. I also bring clean washcloths and wet them when we leave the hotel so they can wash their faces when they wake up!!

WE pack snacks, games and music. It is really a nice trip. As parents, we don't have to compete with the t.v. for our girls attention!!! LOL!!

My girls are 11, 7 and almost 5 and we have done it every year (2 times one year) since my baby was 6 months!!!!

Good luck..........just remember........you'll be in WDW soon!!!

 

[aahmom1]

Fly

 

[CamColt]

LOL! I used to feel the same way about driving. Then we were scheduled to fly out on 9/24/01 and that changed. We added a roof rack to the CRV, pack up, and drove for 24 hours straight. It was not bad at all! So much so, that we did it again last year and are planning to do it again in August.
We leave around 10:00am and it works well. Once you make it throught the day, you know once the kids wake up in the morning you are almost there.
*Biggest tip...tv/vcr

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

Come on over to the Transportation board and ask everyone, Lisa. Driving I-95 is a frequent topic.

I know most people try to time their trips so they avoid DC rush hour, and they take I-295 around Richmond.

Aside from that, get ready for plenty of rounds of the alphabet and license plate games.

 

[Mskanga]

We have done it a couple of times with the kids , the last time beeing just two weeks ago and although the kids were not bad in the car at all, I can tell you I will fly from now on if I can, the way my husband plans this trips don't work for me, leave at 6pm after I have been working all day and then expect me to sleep in the car so in the middle of the night I can drive ? I don't think so!

 

[Gail T AGAIN]

I dont fly (did you see they caught someone in Logan airport, I didn't read the article yet) but I wouldn't drive either. DW is a fun fun place and I love it but I have to think of me first, I have a fear of flying (I have to get oer it by Sept or Oct.) and I would never sit in the car that long. I did it to Montreal one yr and never again.

 

[LarryE]

I'd drive around the world if I could, before I'd fly 100 feet.

We drove from ky last june and it was one of the best driving trips I ever had... life on the road is so enjoyable, you get to see what every state is about and it really makes you appreciate see america.

 

[FOJMO]

riding in a car for more than 2 hrs (and even THAT's stretching it!) Plus, you lose so much valuable vacation time when you drive.

When we moved ourselves from Rochester, NY to Florida 13 years ago, it was an even harder trip, because we could only go about 45 MPH while driving a Ryder truck loaded with everything we owned, and towing a minivan.

Good luck! All I can say is, I'm glad it's not ME!

 

[CarolA]

Personally you folks that drive straight thru terrify me. There is NO way anyone is an alert driver after being on the road that long. That is why they have MANDATORY rests for truck drivers. Could you please let us all know when you are doing this so we can pray for you (and stay off the roads!).

 

[Dodie]

We've driven from Indy lots of times - about 18 hours - but we have NEVER done it "straight through!" No matter how many drivers you have, I just don't think that's safe.

Just find somewhere a little more than halfway through your trip to stop - maybe use Priceline to pre-book a room there. Just make sure it's at a major interchange where there are gas stations and restaurants. Start out fresh on day 2.

 

[nativetxn]

We drove from Michigan one year...<i>straight through</i>.

The only thing I dislike about driving is that it takes up so much of the time you have allotted for the parks or whatever.

When I make my solo trips, I always fly.

Check with AAA and see if there is a lot of construction, if there is perhaps your family will change their mind about driving.

Katholyn