Should I do it?/

[Camping Griswalds]

My husband dosen't think he can go on vacation with us now. The ressies are made and we have the great new camper...do you think I should just do the drive myself?? It would just be me driving a 9 and a 5 yo 980 miles one way. I drove about halfway switching off with my husband last trip. I want to try, just intimidated. Has anyone out there male or female driven their camper and kids this far alone?? Am I crazy to even consider this?? Love any opinions, constructive critism, or ideas...Thanks

 

[bobcat]

I haven't towed a camper that far alone but I do drive to WDW alone with 8yo DD and 6 yo DS. The only thing that would stop me would be if I thought I would have any trouble with the camper alone. I say go for it!

 

[Disneycrazymom]

Oh, no that is so sad! You have been doing so much planning. I have never taken our rig out alone. My sister is a single mom and travels with her 2 kids very often. (ages 11 and 5) I have always thought she was pretty brave to do it all by herself. She says if you want to bad enough you can do anything. I guess she is right and they have got to do a lot of things together. I would plan the drive carefully, plan to stop often so that you can relax a little and explain that the kids will have to be very independent so that you can focus on driving. Oh and be sure to stay overnight on the way down at a safe area. Once your there you would have no problem, I have done the parks before alone, while DH had to work. I hope you get to go!

 

[mum4jenn]

I am sure you could do it but you should practice a lot with backing up and getting set up.I would at least keep the ressies until the last minute coz you never know if dh will be able to go or not. His situation might change and will be able to go and you would kick yourself if you lost the ressies.

 

[Disney Campers]

boy what a bummer decision you have to make,,,,,,, sure hope your dh plans change so you can travel as a family, but if not good luck to you, take your time pullling that big ol trailer, i'm sure you'll do fine......

 

[tci1212]

I would see if mabye you could find someone else to go along with you,maybe a good friend or other relative to keep you company. I drove it by myself with my son and niece. My niece was old enough to drive but she didn't want to so I drove straight thru it took 17 hrs to drive from here.I was so excited about going I didn't think about the drive.

 

[Kermit]

My mom once took my sister and I to WDW without my dad, and we took one of my mom's sisters and had a great time. If you have a friend or relative who could go with you, I'd strongly recommend it just for peace of mind. The aunt that we took has one daughter who had been too "cool" to go on family vacations for years, and then she had 2 sons. As a result, for the past 5 years she had been camping in places without showers every vacation. She is the type of person who likes that, but the chance to go away with my mom, sister, and I (sis and I were 13 and 15) was so much fun for her. We all had a great time, but I think she might have had more fun than we did.

 

[Mic]

I am sorry to hear your husband may not go. I have taken my 4 kids(ages 7,8,11,and 13) to WDW alone several times since Dec. I just decided we needed to take my DS(8) to Epcot for a school project at 4:30 pm Friday in early Dec., and loaded up the kids and van and hit the road at 6 pm. The drive was not bad, but it is only @ 10 hours for me. Our last trip, I rented a CAR(my new van needed a new transmission) for the week of July 4th, and the only changes I made to my original plan was to do the majority of the driving during the day(which takes longer)because the kids would not be able to "lounge" in the car the way they could in my big van. We don't have a camper(because I talked DH into DVC instead)but I would make the trip if possible. As a single woman driving alone, I do not stop anywhere that is not completely lit, and lock the car anytime we leave it, even at the gas pump. Call me weird(my kids do), but I insist everyone holds someone else's hand going into a gas station, McDonald's, etc., and I avoid rest areas after dark. If I were you, I would plan to take an extra day to get to WDW, stopping somewhere along the way for the night(if the hotel has an indoor pool, the kids could get a little exercise). Good luck...once you get to WDW, you will be fine.

 

[TinkerbellRules]

Wasn't it you that got the 31' ? I can't remember. Personally, I couldn't/wouldn't do it. I have never driven the van with the TT hooked. I know I should. I just don't want to. My neighbor, on the other hand, has pulled her TT and even hooked all the stuff up (nope, haven't done that either, I know, I should) while driving with her husband. It really depends on you. We don't "know" you or your kids to give you opinion, really. Know what I mean? Hope you don't take that in a mean way

What does DH think? Is he comfortable with you towing by yourself? My mom knew how to drive her dad's semi when she was just 13 I couldn't do that

Why don't you just book the All Stars instead? They had some great rates for August. You'd save a ton on gas so maybe it would come out even. Course, the food situation would change. Maybe you could take along a microwave or something.

Where do you live? We're about the same distance from WDW. Oh, when are/were you going WDW?

 

[horseshowmom]

It would be good if you could find another adult to accompany you on the trip. My SIL and I took our two girls down last year and had a ball. Both girls couldn't get over how much fun their mothers were having! LOL

If you've driven a lot (and it sounds like you have), you'll probably do fine. I think stopping half way is a good idea. I'm sure you have a phone to take with you. I'm the cautious type, so I'd probably look up all the highway patrol numbers for each state and write them down before I left. I grew up with a motorhome, and my mother drove all the time. In fact, she recently drove back from south Texas after Daddy had an accident which left him flat on his back for the trip home.

If you could get some cheap AllStars rates, that might be a good option too.

Good luck!

 

[TinkerbellRules]

What did you decide???

 

[Camping Griswalds]

Thanks so musch to everyone for their input!! It's so nice to have questions answered. My husband thinks he can now go...so it may have been a moot question. However, I had decided to go by myself anyway. I am not afraid to drive, just intimidated. Also the backing up is scarry, but practice and help (from all of those good samaratins out there) made me feel this is possible. The irony of this, is I still have ressies in Nov. However that time I know my mother can go down with me. I plan on asking this time when we check in to ask if Ft. Wilderness offers any help to back campers in. Several of the places we've camped always say they can help when we check in. Alot of them have tractors that just whip the campers into sites. Either way, I"M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!!!! Thanks so much to every one for their empathy and sympathy.