Questions for those that have driven to WDW

[Twingle]

I'll be traveling from Virginia to Florida in June with my mother, my DS6 and my twin DD's, 2. What products have you found that have really helped your car trip? I'm wondering if I need to purchase travel pillows for the children, as we'll be driving through the night, and what else might make the trip more fun/comfortable.

Any tips or advice you could share would be appreciated!

 

[Schmeck]

We purchased a small portable TV when we made our first trip 10 yrs ago! Now, I'd lean towards having a DVD player.

Driving through the night makes me nervous - and my kids never slept well in their carseats. made for very grumpy people the next day! I'd think about stopping at a motel for a good night's sleep!

 

[jodifla]

Have you considered the Autotrain at least one way? My DS loved spending the night on the train.

 

[katyjeka]

We've done it quite a few times with our 3 DD's from Pa. Although I try to not let them watch alot of tv at home, I must admit a DVD in the car is a HUGE help. Your son is probably at the right age for travel games. Walmart has quite a few for under $10. Your girls will appreciate Magna Doodles, or color wonder markers(great for your son too). Even better, no mess when you leave the car. We have drove straight thru a few times, I hate it, but my kids sleep well in their car seats. I would not recommend it though. We will be stopping this year, with hopes that we get as far as Georgia. Don't forget to pack your patience, and enjoy this exciting trip with your family. Safe traveling. (I forgot to mention, color wonder markers have alot of princess and mickey coloring books)

 

[movtarget]

We created 'surprises'/gifts for each hour of the trip...

A big 'ol bag of colored pipe cleaners (surprisingly, this one got a lot of distance)
A set of four travel games
A new family movie (this one lasted longer than an hour, we've got a TV/VCR in the Van we pull the camper with)
A self-made travel bingo game (All pictures... like a fire truck, a bus, a blue car, a camper, etc.) that they just marked through with a crayon
Candy
Favorite Snacks
A sing-along tape
A new coloring book
A building toy
Some glow sticks/necklaces (It just so happened they picked this one right after it got dark, I wonder how that happened)
Kid-friendly Disney promotional stuff (park maps from previous years, etc.)

You get the idea. It was themed around my DS7's 5th birthday trip at the time, but both kids were represented in each gift/surprise. We had them pick a number, and I would reference my 'secret list' to see which one they picked. They were none the wiser that I had no numbers on the list, I was just selecting the surprise that best fit the current time-frame.

We did something similar on the way back with the same surprises, but they knew what they were, so they got to pick one each hour.

I am working on recreating something similar for our trip down next week.

Any fresh ideas, anyone? (space/weight aren't really an issue when you have 4 people, a conversion van, and a big 'ol camper behind you)

Moving Target in NC

 

[imageid]

Wow! Great ideas! We are going in June. I plan on bringing Summer Bridging Books (we use them every summer to prepare for the next grade). I have also bought Disney foam frames to create (with double stick tape) from JoAnn Fabrics. I will look for the children's Disney guide before we go. We have also bought some new DVD's and put them away.

 

[AStamm]

We drove straight through from PA two summers ago when DS was 5. Sort of like that new Disney commerical, we were way too excited to sleep and ended up leaving around 2 in the morning instead of at our original time of 6 am. At the time we didn't have a portable DVD player, instead kept our son busy with books, a couple of Rescue Heroes, and some new Color Wonder books. He slept for the first few hours--resting his head against the side of his car seat.

Last summer we drove down again. Have to admit, the DVD player was a very nice addition for him. We brought lots of Disney movies with us and he really had a great time watching.

 

[tmanaster]

For our trip last June we drove from OH straight, leaving around 2 am. The first 6 hours were amazing, only stopping for gas. The kids (7, 5, and 2 yo twins) slept most of that time. When they woke up, we played disney dvds and also set up a scavenger hunt of common things to see on the way (signs, trucks, cows, etc). For the older kids we had the words for these things written, for the 2 yo's we just had pictures of things to find. We also had a goddie bag for each child filled with books, snacks, crayons, etc. It wasn't too bad and we plan to drive straight through from now on. Driving for 2 days is just such a drag!!! Have a great trip!

 

[KristiKelly]

We've driven several times with our kids. We are in NC and it's about a 10 hour drive. DH doesn't trust himself driving through the night. In the past, we've driven to Brunswick Ga., spent the night at a Days Inn or something clean & cheap, eat breakfast the next morning and we're usually in WDW by noon. This way, we all get a good nights sleep and still get there early enough to enjoy the day.

We have the Audiovox VHS/DVD player. I have taped Nick, Disney, PBS whatever their favorite shows are. Using an 8 hour tape keeps something new all the time.

 

[tjmw2727]

We just did the trip twice from DE to WDW, at Christmas and then the last week of Feb. Its a bit further than you are so we spent a night after about 10 hours of driving in GA, that was ENOUGH for all of us! We found a reasonably priced Holiday Inn in GA with an indoor pool and great restaurants within walking distance. We left DE at 4 am as we had to get through DC before the rush hour and stopped in time for diner and a swim. Honestly we tried to make the drive part of the vacation. Even though it was longer we arrived at WDW about noon the next day and it was enjoyable as everyone was rested. Plus the Holiday Inn was less $ than our WDW resort!! If we drove straight though we all would have been miserable - YMMV.

We bought a portable DVD player and a case to hang it on the seats of the car. This way we can use it in the resort, flying and other places as well. We brought along some favorite movies and got some TV show episodes on dvd. Our kids are older so full house and raven were the favorites. They both have portable cd players so they had favorite cd's and books on cd to listen to.

They already had favorite squishy type pillows and brought them along with a lightweight fleece blanket for the car and hotel. If your kids already have something they like even a regular pillow I would bring that for comfort rather than bringing something new.

We also brought snacks that they don't always get, lots of water bottles and made a big deal about entering each state. They did better than expected and enjoyed the ride for the most part. I had a back-pack for each girl packed with lots of fun stuff, polly pockets, magna doodle and favorite stuffies were used alot. The did some reading and just watching the sights and old fashion license plate games as well. Oh, spotting and counting the 4 million south of the border billboards was a hoot for all of us!

Most of the rest stops had picnic areas and places to run around for a while. We played a few games of tag and brought some jump ropes - lightweight packable and fun!

HTH and have a safe and fun trip!

TJ

 

[ellenmiele]

We've driven from NJ to WDW 3 times and back to NJ once - the other 2 times we took the Autotrain back. On our previous trips, when our kids were younger, we had taken the Autotrain both ways. When we go down in April we will drive both ways as we did in April 05. We always drive thru the night and we alter our sleep schedules at home the whole week before to get ready for the trip. DH and I take turns at the wheel and we find it so much less stressful without all the traffic and with the kids (who are almost 9 yrs old now) asleep for most of the drive it seems to them like a much shorter trip! We leave NJ around 6 pm. We have the TV/DVD and the kids usually watch a movie until about 8:30 pm. We eat dinner before we leave and I pack some light snacks (fruit/crackers/water). We then make a quick rest stop (in MD) and then it's TV off and they are usually asleep by 9. When we stop during the night for gas (and I am very particular about where we stop - only the busiest most well lit places will do) they might wake up but as long as it's still dark out they go back to sleep until southern GA/early morning. I bring their pillow/blanket for the car which they then bring in to our hotel, too (I can't imagine sleeping well without my own pillow so how could they). We stop for breakfast and do a quick washing up and change of clothes from sweats to shorts and tshirt (creatively, since it's usually in the car) and we pack up the pillows (I bring a spare bag for that). I bring a little toiletry kit with wipes and those little on the go toothwipe things as well as mouthwash and a hairbrush. I pack dry cereal and juice for morning snacks. Then they watch another movie and by the time it's over we're usually getting off 95 and onto rt 4 and the sights of palm trees and WDW signs are enough to keep us occupied for the rest of the trip. We're usually at our resort before noon. It's so far been a great way for us to travel and if your kids are good sleepers in the car you should have no trouble with it.

 

[Kayleebug]

I go to the Dollar Tree and buy about 10 games and toys. My dd doesn't see these before the trip. As she gets cranky or whiny, I just pull out a new toy. It makes a big difference!! We have a portable DVD player, but my DD will only watch that for about 30 minutes. I've also brought a paper and those "Magic" Crayola markers that are clear unless written on the special crayola paper. It was a big hit, too!!

 

[Wickedmom75]

When my Cousin and I drove down in 8/05 from Virginina we had 6 kids with us so a double screen dvd player was a must , pipe cleaners are awesome and keep them busy ( and you dont feel bad when you throw them away) the kid k'nex were a great hit with all of them DD 10 DD 9 DS 7 DS 4 DN 4 DN 7 . The color wonders were nice. I also took along trivia cards i found at target in the 1$ bins they love learning new things. Everyone but DD10 slept on and off she finally told us she couldn't get comfy so we had her switch sides and 5 mniutes later she was zonked. We did drive straight through starting off around 2 am , I was the only one driving due to cousin not being able to drive but I probably stopped about every 2 - 3 hours to potty (me not hey kids htey were asleep there is just somehting about riding for a long time that makes me gotta go ) we made it in about 15 hrs we did run into bad traffic just outside of DW it took and hour to get through to the exit . I can't wait till we go again we will be driving again, it saves us so much money.

 

[Twingle]

WOW! Thanks so much for all the replies! So nice to know so many have driven there. Love the idea about goodie bags every 100 miles or so - and I would've never thought of pipe cleaners!

I'm also so glad that some of you have driven straight through. I'm not concerned about the drive in the least - I've driven to South Dakota several times with my mother, straight through with no problems. We just switch off whenever we need to.

The AutoTrain is not an option since my mother is coming with us - she was on a NYC subway in the '70's when the power went out and she had to walk in the dark tunnel to the next subway station. Ever since then she'll have nothing to do with trains - which is really funny since she has no problem with the Disney monorail! Go figure - must be because it's Disney!

Thanks again for all the helps and tips - LOVE these boards!

 

[nlugo]

Hi. We drove last year all the way through from OK. We are doing it again this Summer. I would strongly suggest the Dvd player and dvds. To save room I brought them in a cd wallet. We also took coloring books for each child. We also checked out audio books from the library. I hope this helps. Our drive takes around 22 hours.

nlugo

 

[3mickeymom]

I recommend bringing along sleep masks-the soft velvet kind that blockout the light. They can be slipped over a sleeping child's eyes so that the bright lights at the reststops don't awaken them. The second driver can use one too for some much needed rest when the rest of the car is watching a dvd or the passing headlights become too distracting to allow sleep. We also bring along our disney beach towels. They can be used as blankets, rolled up for pillows and then used poolside as well! We wash them and then use them again for the ride home. They are also good to have in case of a spill in the car!

 

[OhioGrumpyGirl]

We just did this drive. 16 hours with a 6yo & 7yo in the back. We packed the dvd player and a ton of dvds, gameboys, and a cd player. They slept most of the way down (we left at 7pm) but were awake almost all the way home (left at 8am). Take some snacks and drinks so you won't have to stop as much for munchies. Make sure you get out of the car every 2 hours just to stretch your legs. Even if everyone else is sleeping, you need to get out. I've made this drive at least 5 times and this is the first time I did the 2 hour stretching and it was amazing the difference it made!!!!! I wasn't as tired as normal. We also played a game where we had to name a Disney character for every letter of the alphabet. Then the next game, one person said a character -- Aladdin-- the next person had to name one that started with the last letter of that name -- Nemo. Each character name can only be used 1 time. That kept us busy for quite a while!!!!!! (You run out of A names really fast)

 

[disneysnob]

We've driven from Boston to WDW twice with the kids and the most important device is the dvd/vhs player. We rented a minivan and we bought a portable tv/vhs player for our first road trip in 2002. We rented a van again and drove in 2004. We are going back in June 2006, and unless we can get a decent airfare for the five of us, we'll be driving again. This time, however, OUR new minivan has a built-in dvd player :

 

[LSUmom4kids]

We created 'surprises'/gifts for each hour of the trip...

A big 'ol bag of colored pipe cleaners (surprisingly, this one got a lot of distance)

This may seem like a 'stupid' question but: What can kids do with Pipe Cleaners? Sorry, but I guess I don't have an imagination....

 

[babiesX2]

WE just take our pillows off our bed because we use them once we get to our condo. We are a family that is very attached to our pillows.

Our minivan has a DVD system for the kids, and XM satellite radio for us.