Road Trippers - What do you bring with you?

[DisneyLvr55]

This isn't my first trip driving to Disney (From NJ), but it is my first trip being the only adult in the car.... I'm looking for any new/different ideas to keep the kids happy and quite - I'm all ears!


Heres my general list - Please feel free to add on!!

Nooks
Portable DVD players with head phones
Enough DVDs for 2 years worth of watching! Variety is always good!
Variety of snacks from bagels to peanut butter filled pretzels to fruit snacks, etc.
Books from their summer reading list (Kinda doubt these will be touched...)
Plain paper and pens/markers
Pandora through my phone set to my kids favorite stations.

 

[Tuffy4God]

How old are your kids?

Mine are 8 (dd) and 10 (ds). We are driving to FL in a month and a half and some of the things I'm bringing are:

-Bop-it
-Simon Swipe (I got it free, so I'm bringing it with)
-A couple of little handheld electronic games I got from garage sales
(Also, I'm not letting my kids play with any of the stuff on this list until the car trip b/c I want it fresh for them so they'll be engaged for a bit. I'm also not giving them everything right away. I'm going to keep a bag up front with me and give them things a little at a time...and keeping things for the ride home too.)
-20 questions electronic game
-Star Wars Origami book and a dog origami book (my son loves origami...I figured they could make figures to play with)
-Card games
-Print outs for car bingo, and the license plate game
-New Movies (They are part of their birthday presents this year)
-New Usborne books (These are also part of their birthday presents this year)
-Books on CD for us to listen to
-Travel magnetic tangoes
-Brain quest questions
-small container of legos for each of them
-Cat's cradle book and string
-"games for the car" book
-colored pencils (I don't want them getting marker on the seats in our car and I don't want to end up with any melted crayons)
-activity books
-blank notebook for tic-tac-toe, hangman, etc.
-Magazines to read (zoobooks, ranger rick, Big Backyard)
-Dot-to-Dot books (we have the Extreme Dot-to-Dot book for our oldest)
-Pipe cleaners (My kids love making things out of them)
-Aluminum foil (for making creations)
-Duct tape (also for making creations)
-Maps of our road trip so they can follow along and see which state we're in.

Of course, this will be the first long road trip for us with the kids, so I don't know how well each of these items will keep their attention, but I think they'll be good things for them.

Have a great trip!

 

[MOpGrad2013]

Pillows, small fleece blankets.

Lots of zippie bags and plastic shopping bags for sick/yucky trash.

Febreze!

Medication. DD has always been prone to getting sick in the car. It starts with a headache and leads to stomach discomfort. Doctor gave her a plan of tylenol, ice bag, peppermint oil (put on her pressure points and the car vents) and then sleep aid.

Disposable cameras or cheap digital...Kids should be able to share or each have own to take interesting pictures on trip.

And don't forget to turn off everything from time to time so you can all enjoy being together.

 

[wishtdream]

We drive from NJ every year. Straight through it takes about 16-18 hours depending on traffic. We bring Dvd players and dvd's, Kindles and head phones for the kids. Each child brings a pillow, blanket and teddy bear. The kids usually sleep at least 9hours.

Individually packaged snacks and drinks are also required. The kids keep the cooler in the back with them. We stop for meals those breaks along with potty and gas stops are included in our travel time.

 

[Airship Ariadne]

not sure the ages, but we usually get an audiobook we would all enjoy for some of the trip...been even better now DD is 13, likes things we enjoy as much...our Christmas trip to New Orleans listening to Night Circus was great...but then Disney trips with Kingdom Keepers and Harry Potter books were also fun.

 

[worm761]

I have a pinterest board of ideas for the young to the adult. I like the idea of portable board games, road trip games, and card games.

http://www.pinterest.com/disneybug/vacations/

I also pack lunch and do a picnic at a rest area. I bring a ball or bubbles. Something to have them run off some energy so they aren't so antsy in the car.

 

[GS for life]

We have driven since my now 15 year old was 3. Now they are 10 and 15 years old. We bring DVDs and books/nooks plus the Nintendo DS. I made a car kit for each a few years ago using the big pencil boxes filled with drawing paper, colored pencils, stickers, etc. surprisingly, they still come with us. My oldest wants to be an animator so they draw on the way down. We invested in several of the how to draw Disney characters books. My 10 yo has a kids atlas and she follows the drive on the map. The license plate game is popular, plus some travel bingo. I found the travel bingo game boards at Old Navy. BTW, the best license plate found was Prince Edward Island

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[Figmentmommy]

This year will be our 3rd drive down from the NYC area. The boys usually fill their own drawstring backpacks with some if their faves:
20Q handheld games
YES & NO trivia books with those special markers
Simon handheld game
Deck of cards
Small blanket for when the AC is cranked up
Some drawing/ writing pads and pencils
A book or two

Lots of DVDs and some CDs too for the portable DVD players- last year we bought a few of those DVD storage cases with the sleeves that are heat resistant. Perfect to leave in the car and no more clutter from all those individual cases. Got these from QVC- I think a set of 3 was about $28. Each boy had their own case and there was even one for Mom & Dad's country CDs too!
Of course- lots of snacks like bagel thins, PB filled Ritz, small cereal boxes, bananas, granola bars, juice boxes and a few candy treats

We've really made a point not to bring their iPod touch/3DS games. Stressing the whole family time thing... (Not sure if that was a good or bad decision!!)

 

[bandksmommy]

We're driving on Friday (from Texas). My kids are almost 4 and 7. We're bringing their tablets loaded with their favorite games and movies, headphones, the little's leapster, the big one's DS, 2 pads of drawing paper, their own pencil boxes full of colored pencils and markers, travel things we got off etsy that have crayons and a pad of paper on one side and chalk and a chalk board on the other, books, books, and more books! We'll probably throw a couple of "Where's Waldo?" books in there. Pipe cleaners and pony beads. Favorite stuffed animals, travel pillows, blankets, lots of snacks. That's all I've got so hopefully that'll be enough!

 

[MSSANDRA]

And a list for you:

Car phone charger
Updated GPS if your car does not have one
a roll of paper towels
larger zip lock bags
baby wipes
toll change
plenty of caffeine drinks
snacks you like too!
$ bills for bribery as needed

 

[bandksmommy]

Ooooo cash bribes. Is it sad that I'm totally contemplating bringing singles and using them to reward the winner of the "quiet game"? Good idea!!!!!!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Yack packs

 

[starsweeper]

We drive from KY, usually leaving after school and stopping in Macon overnight, then on to Orlando first thing in the morning (14 hours driving). We have two toddlers and two young elementary kids. We bring tons of DVDs, iPods and Android tablets stocked with games for all ages, Crayola Wonder markers and pads, disposable cameras, small figurine toys for toddlers (dinos, etc.), sketch books, word searches and license plate bingo for big kids. About an hour before we get there, I hand out a Disney-themed bag for each kid with a T-shirt, glow necklaces from Dollar Tree, small items bought at Disney store or toy store for each kid's favorite characters--helps keep the "Are we there yet?" away.

 

[Tanooki]

Our next (and 7th) road trip starts in 31 days and I can't wait!

Apart from the usual (snacks, Nintendo DS, DVD, Ipad and assorted electronics), the kids have fun with Perplexus (see it here : http://www.amazon.com/Perplexus-Maze-Game-PlaSmart-Inc/dp/B002NPBT50), which is kinda hard, especially if the road is not so smooth

And I also got them (but they won't know until they're in the car) something I found at Walmart last week called Find it! (Cheaper here : http://www.amazon.com/Find-It-Games...e=UTF8&qid=1405551027&sr=8-2&keywords=Find+it) and I just found out there are lots of versions of this game!

Have a great trip!

 

[Figmentmommy]

Our next (and 7th) road trip starts in 31 days and I can't wait!

Apart from the usual (snacks, Nintendo DS, DVD, Ipad and assorted electronics), the kids have fun with Perplexus (see it here : http://www.amazon.com/Perplexus-Maze-Game-PlaSmart-Inc/dp/B002NPBT50), which is kinda hard, especially if the road is not so smooth

And I also got them (but they won't know until they're in the car) something I found at Walmart last week called Find it! (Cheaper here : http://www.amazon.com/Find-It-Games...e=UTF8&qid=1405551027&sr=8-2&keywords=Find+it) and I just found out there are lots of versions of this game!

Have a great trip!

Oh- we have Find It! Great suggestion! I'll have to add that to our list this year. Thanks!

 

[Betty Rohrer]

another horror story of crayons, hot car and what happens when one gets missed. had to replace carseat and a couple of days of clothes. agree that the markers, color wonder, that only work on special paper are great for the car. also get car chargers for anything possible as nothing is worse that having child involved with something only to have battery give out

 

[DisneyLvr55]

Thanks everyone for all the great suggestions!
My girls are 7 & 9, so they are pretty good at keeping themselves/each other entertained. My main issue is I'm the only adult, and I'm driving, so theres no one to help them or get something for them while we're on the road. For that reason, I'm thinking about putting them in the "way-back" of the minivan so they can have the center seat to put their stuff, and have it nice and close to them. But then the down side to that is if they have all the snacks, I'm outta luck! LOL
And to whoever made the comment about bringing paper towels (sorry, I can't remember who it was!) YES YES YES!!!! 35 hours in a car with two kids means paper towels are a MAJOR necessity!!!

I'm also thinking about about (among other things) putting some butter and cream cheese in the cooler, so we can have Jersey bagels for breakfast every morning. Lenders are not an option....

 

[cheap traveler]

My girls are 10.5 and 8 this year, and it's my 2nd time driving down with them alone. We are in "upstate" NY - 21 hours to Disney if we make good time.

My list this year: (as much as I can remember)

pillow pets (toy+pillow=saves space)
fleece blanket
books
new magazine
magnetic "paper" dolls - love these!
mad libs - I can participate safely
notebook & colored pencils
DVD player and DVDs
audiobook
Kindles
iPods and headphones
snacks


I'm sure I'm missing things, and this is only the kid's list. Mine looks more like:

GPS
phone & charger
map
Disney binder
paper towels and wipes
breakfast
drinks
etc...


I thought I would have no problem with this road trip, didn't think boredom would really be a problem bc we are packing enough distractions. BUT... we have to drive to Georgia next weekend! So all my kid's patience may very well be used up a month before we leave for Florida!!!

Fingers crossed.