Suggestion Needed - Drive in 1 Day or 2 Days?

[lucincia]

We're planning to drive from Iowa to Ohio to visit family for Thanksgiving. After that, we plan to drive down to Disney for 8 nights or so. We plan to stay at AS-Movies for first couple nights (for the kids) and then move to WL for the remainder 6 nights.

We have 2 daughters. Will be 7 and 2 by the time we travel. We have DVD in the car, they have Leappads, games, books, drawing pads, etc. All the essentials of PSK (Parental Sanity Kit).

Now the question.

Should we drive the 16-18 hours in one shot (with rest stops along the way of course) and spend the 1st full day relaxing in the resort and hit the park the 2nd day -OR- split the drive up into two days with the second day shorter (which can be spend relaxing at the resort) and then hit the parks the day after we check in?

I know some people will say it all depends on the kids' attitude. But, assuming the kids' factor is not in the equation, why would I choose one option over the other?

Thanks!

 

[sleepyone]

For our long drive it's easier for us to make the drive in two days.

 

[Nicks2Angels]

We travel frequently with our kids (1 & 3). We split the drive in 2 days if it is more than 6 hours.

 

[SnowBound]

Both options state relaxing the day you arrive (very wise, grasshopper. . .) so if the kids are doing well, take it all at once. (I speak from experience). If you are tired or the kids are cranky, you can always stop. I don't want to leave you with 'wing it' or 'play it by ear', but I have always found it to be much less stressful if I leave my options open and have back-up plans.

Have a great trip.

PS: It's always the drive home that stinks.

 

[dixipixi]

We're only 10 hours away and we always split the drive down over 2 days. DH does all the driving and he says he needs the time to unwind and get in vacation mode!

We usually leave around 2pm and drive 5-7 hours. The next day we only have a few hours left which means we still get to Disney fairly early and have the remainder of the day to rest and relax before hitting the parks.

On the way home, we drive straight through.

 

[waltdisneyworlddreamer]

Last time we went we did it over 2 days. DS was 4 at the time. It completely exhausted him to be confined to a car over two entire days! We could really feel the effects of it once we got to Disney. This time we are going to try one straight shot and get it over with (we're coming from KY). DS is now 7, but we also have a 2yo. I hope that getting it over with faster will ease some of the tiredness.

 

[Marseeya]

I vote to get it all over with in one shot. We're making a 16 hour drive as well (from Pennsylvania) and we'll be doing the bulk of our driving at night. My husband is a night owl, so it'll be fine for him, then I'll take over in the morning. Then we'll just rest at the resort.

On the way home, however, we're breaking the trip down into 2-3 days and stopping at a beach or two.

 

[mrsmom]

We are making the drive in one shot at leaving at night with four kids.
Kim

 

[Mom to Will and Finn]

Last time (ds1 was 9 and ds2 was 11 months) we did it in two days, stopping somewhere in Southern Georgia (we live in Kentucky). We both thought we could have done it in one day, so this time that's what we'll be doing. We plan on leaving at 4 am and arriving around 6 or 7 (that's factoring in a couple of stops). That's about when we arrived last year and it gave us time to grab a bite to eat and spend some evening hours in MK.

I'm a bit nervous about doing it in one day this time, but I think it will be fine.

 

[va32h]

We drive from Dallas (about 21 hours), so for us the decision is usually two days or three!

On other trips though, we've always driven straight through. With my kids, I have found that getting in and out of the carseats is more frustrating than just staying in them for the duration. Of course, we have to stop for gas and potty breaks, but I found that on that second day of the drive, they really didn't want to get back in the car.

 

[ArRzrbk]

Another vote for splitting it. That is a long way to drive, and you are probably underestimating. We drive home to Arkansas a couple times per year, and doing it in one day is an awful, awful, awful stress. And we almost always end up driving too late into the night. Everyone is totally frazzled and worn out by the time we are done.

With that said, I also want to say make it as far as you can day one safely and then don't drag around day two. On day two, get on up and go as early as you possibly can. If you laze around until 10:00 AM, 11:00 AM, 11:30 AM, you'll be worn out when you arrive and you'll feel like you spent the whole day on the road.

Take the advice of someone who knows

 

[rt2dz]

We take very long driving trips (15+ hours) all the time. Here is how we usually do it.

We leave a couple of hours before dinner. We then stop, get out, and have dinner somewhere. The kids get to stretch, use the bathroom, run around (we usually choose a fast food place with a playground as the kids are still little) and in the car we go. Bedtime is usually within a couple of hours after that. I usually drive first, so my DH goes to sleep with the kids. When I'm tired, we switch drivers and DH drives while I sleep. Yes, we bring small pillows and blankets. We just keep switching, provided one of us is up to driving. We only stop if both of us are just too tired to keep going. We make such good time while the kids are sleeping with no complaints of anything. Leaving at night just works so much better. In the morning we do stop and get out again for breakfast. If we have to continue driving, we have our sanity savers to keep the kids busy between stops. And we do stop as often as possible to get out and run around/stretch/use the bathroom. THAT is also one of the biggest sanity savers out there. Then we usually arrive fairly early in the day, relax, and get to bed early the first night.

 

[bengalbelle]

We make 2 long road trips each year (on average). One is to WDW (10-12 hours depending on how many stops) and to the mountains in North Carolina (pretty much always 14 hours).
We usually break it up into 2 days on the drive up there (both places) because we're not usually able to leave early in the day. On the way back we almost always drive straight through. Driving that long is especially hard with children, but we're always glad when we do it. We feel like we're not losing so much of our vacation time on the road. If I were you I would just leave early in the morning (or late at night, whatever your plans are) and see how far you can make it. This is usually how we handle it.
We don't have a DVD installed in the car, but we've been using our laptop to play DVD's (in the car). I have to say the ride has become much easier for DS (4) since we've been doing this.

 

[aplejax76]

I would split it up into 2 days! We drive from Pa. 17-18 hrs. We stop in Savannah,Ga. I feel that it is easier on the driver that way.

 

[golfgal]

We have found with our many long trips to visit grandparents that it is fairly easy to do the drive there in one day, everyone is excited to go and get there. We usually leave early, like 4 am, so the kids sleep the first few hours of the trip. On the way home, though, you are more tired and we usually break the trip up into two days, trying to stop somewhere interesting for some sightseeing.

 

[Princess Glenda]

We have a 12 hour drive to WDW and on the way down we do it all in one day. We leave in the middle of the night and the kids sleep while DH drives. On the way home we split the trip and stay in a hotel halfway home. Your trip is longer than ours so I say split the trip halfway. That way you won't feel so tired when you arrive.

 

[Race4fun]

We are doing it the same way, we will drive straight down to Disney, but will divide it up coming back.

 

[o2go2disny]

We live in MO & will be driving straight through. We have 3 kids, 2 of which are teenagers so they jump at any opportunity to sleep. We will leave about 3:00 a.m and get into Orlando around 5:00 or 6:00 depending upon the # of stops we have to make. We like to get in & go & get on with our fun .

 

[FLonMYmind]

we always do our trips(anywhere from 14-24 hours)without an overnight stop. Once we get going we do not want to stop until we get there. We stop long enough to grab food, gas, take potty breaks and walk the dog. Then we are on our way again. We like to leave in the afternoon or evening. That way you get a good portion of the trip out of the way while the kids are sleeping. My husband used to work mids so it was always easy for him to stay up and drive. Getting a little harder these days so he finally shares driving duty with me...He's a terrible passenger though

 

[Chris]

We are driving the 22 hours in one <ack> shot.....
We have a 12 passanger van and hopefully the kids will be able to sleep.............