Talk to me about driving to WDW w/ kids LONG drive...

[becca011906]

Ok we need to get some suggestions and ideas for making our trip a little less stress full... we need some help thinking up seating arangments, ect... My kids will be almost 7 in a booster seat, a 4.5 y/o in a harness seat, and a 2.5 year old rear facing... we are taking the dvd player that has two screens, so that they can be moved around as needed, our roof mounted dvd player quite so we will buying a replacment that has two screens since it's much cheeper then the roof mounted one. the drive is about 16 hours and we plan to stop at some point to sleep...
we drive a land rover discovery that will fit the three seats across the middle, and there are two jump seats that fold down in the rear of the truck, that are forward facing so they can be used also. we plan to put some stuff in the trailor we are pulling down there for my BIL that moved down to FL over the summer, he asked up to bring it down so we'll have it for the stroller, and lugage, ect....

thanks for any help or suggestions!

 

[macmahony]

We have driven down three times, 24 hour drive, the kids were 9 weeks, almost 2, almost 3 the first time, second time 15 months, almost 3, almost 4, and the last time they were 2, 4 and 5.
TV was great, but honestly my girls don't watch it a lot. They LOVE LOVE LOVE scotch tape, post it notes and pens! They played with that stuff for hours, they love stickers, they also play with those color magic books. I usually buy some new things, and store them until we leave and pull out as needed. My girls have always been great in the car, we usually get right outside of jacksonville before we stop for the night (about 18-19 hours straight). We have driven over night, but I don't like to drive at night, so the last two times we have left really early and stopped by 9 at night. We packed a lunch last time and stopped and played while we ate.
They also love those aquadoodle small pads.
My girls rearfaced for a long time too, the oldest was 29 months when she grew out of the carseat backwards (the height requirement), the other two were slightly younger. I would put whoever was backwards in the middle row to watch the other two (that helped too). I kept bubbles (for me to blow) in case we had a melt down, (used it once when we had been in the car 16 hours, looking for a place to stop and got stuck in bumper to bumper stopped traffic jam). We have also started going to the library and borrowing there books on tape (they all LOVE LOVE LOVE harry potter!!) We love the drive, would do it no other way.
What sort of carseat do you have? We have three britax marathons (I think, which ever one holds 5 pt harness to 65 lbs). Very comforable too, they love them, one trip we only had two, and we noticed a HUGE HUGE difference in there comfort level. So, make sure there seats are comfy too!
Good luck, we love the drive, the girls ask which state are we in now, and we count them down! Have fun!

 

[bnhasak]

Thanks for this post!

We have done the drive many times as a couple, and once with DD when she was 18 months, but never with 2 kids.

DS is now 18 months and DD is 3.

We are leaving Friday afternoon for Orlando from the Pittsburgh area.

I almost forgot the old bubble trick. That works like a charm, but keep it as a "only in an emergency" backup. Also, thank God for DVD's and Christmas carols.

We try to drive most of the trip while they are sleeping.

Safe travels everyone!

 

[paper1225]

We are about to drive down for another Disney trip and have three also. Now they are 5, 11, & 12-but the first time they were 1 1/2, 6, & 7. We have two tv's also. We have ALWAYS separated them even though they could always fit in the middle row together. We put the middle seat down and the oldest in the very back by herself. She prefers the space. For our trip this week(so excited I can see that finally), we have 3 new movies(had 4, but broke down Friday night and pulled out Pirates 2 for us to watch!), and special little items for every couple of hours-someone else posted these type of things-stickers, post its, pens, magic color books and treats! We are driving from the St. Louis area, so our drive is about the same. We try and push it all the way to Valdosta, GA the first day then go the other 4 or so hours the next morning. We pack sandwiches so save time and stop at a rest area. Many of them have play areas! We love the drive actually and would rather drive than fly!

 

[1Prince2Princesses]

I just want to tell you that I admire your courage. There is some good advice in these posts. Definitely take bubbles. It's shocking how well this works. If the kids start picking at each other, I'd put the 7yo in the back and separate the two little ones. When we drive any distance like you're planning, we try to go at night while the kids are snoozing. So much less whining that way! You'll have your hands full, that's for sure, but I'd rather drive than fly that far any day.

 

[karibritt01]

I always take movies they haven't seen before... keeps them much more entertained than watching the 'same old flick' again. We tend to stop at a McDonald's w/ a playplace for lunch. The kids have 30 minutes to play while we eat, then they potty and get back on the road. We take their lunch in the car, and they eat while we drive. (It kills another 30 minutes for them if we do it this way!) Whenever we stop at a rest stop, we let them run in the gras for 15 minutes or so, and burn a little energy. We take magnadoodles, magic painting books, and they each have a small basket of 'car toys' which they select themselves the night before. We are in NC, so admittedly your drive is twice as long - ours is 10 hours. I would consider turning the 2.5 yr old around to front-facing. They are usually much happier when they can see where they are going. My kids both tended to get carsick rear-facing, so we turned them around as soon as they were old enough!

 

[Paull117]

We drove from Central WI, and we did it twice. The trip is long but it can be done. One thing that I recommend with the DVD player unless your kids are use to it don't use it unless it is needed. We found the trip was more enjoyable when they didn't have it until they started the are we there yets or Daddy find us a hotel. They started that when we just left IL my wife and I like to get to GA on the first day. At least then the DVD kept them company for a couple more hours to make or destination.

Paul

 

[becca011906]

We drove last year when the kids were 12 months, 3, and 5, it wasn't fun b/c we left about 4pm with another family that didn't have the fund to stop on the way down, so they wanted to drive while the kids slept, well since they wanted to leave so sticken early, we were already through atlanta at 1 am, then they wanted to stop and sleep at a rest area, well of course when we stop all our kids wake up, and while all of them were sleeping, thier kids were 8 and 11 so no car seats to try to sleep in, ect. my kids were all awake wanting out of thier seats and to wake up... it was HE*L. the time before that when we went when i was 5 months pregnant, 18 months old, and 2.5 year old, we flew that was ok, but we prefer driving... but not the way we did last time!!! it was awful.

As for the car seats, my youngest is in a scerna b/c she's to heavey to rfing in the britax right now and i want to keep her rfing till i can't any more to 35lbs... and my middle dd is in a sunshine kids radian that harness to 65lbs, and my oldest is in a parkway britax booster.

If i put the girls out board in the middle row, and ds in the 3rd row, then i'm not sure where i'd have to put the screen for the two older kids to see it, b/c the other would have to be for dd that's rfing... humm...

 

[xyzabc33]

Depending on what time you are planning on arriving, and since the drive is only 16 hours(sounds long but its not) start out very late the night B4 and take turns driving all nite. No worries about the kids squabbling (they will be out cold) and nice and quiet for the drive. We have a 17-18 hour drive but took 24 hours because we left in the afternoon so had to let the monster out to stretch her legs and we impulsed site see'd along the way. We spent a nite on the way back only because the temps thru North Carolina were in the 100's and we didnt have air in the car. PANT PANT! I know we will be doing the late night thing next time we go. much cooler.
We took turns driving and one slept while the other one drove. Well he slept regardless of whether the little one was awake or not, Mom didnt get that priveledge. When we both needed a nap we pulled over at a nice rest stop and set the alarm to get up in a certain time frame. (we took a small travel clock with us-entertained the toddler too)

 

[mickeystoontown]

We have driven from W.Monroe, La. to WDW eleven times over a nine year period. The drive ranges anywhere from 13 1/2 to 16 hours. It all depends on the weather and the traffic. The first trip, our children were 1 and 9. The last couple of years, we have taken a portable DVD player. For several years, we did not have one.

You may want to go to your local Wal-Mart and pick up a couple of back-of-the-seat organizers. Get the ones with plenty of pockets. I had one for each of our children (so they wouldn't fuss over mixing up their stuff).

In their organizers were the necessities....tissue, extra straws (in case the drive throughs forgot to give them), sippy cups, etc. There were also items to keep them busy.....glow sticks, the little drawing thing that have the pens and you lift up the page to make the writing disappear, the Mister Wooly thing (where you have a magnet and make the shavings into his hair), mini Etch-A-Sketch. All of these items are contained in one piece so they are easy to keep up with.

Another tip, if you are traveling during the warmer months, just give your children flip-flops to wear. They inevitably want to take off their shoes and when you make a stop, it's easier to put on flip-flops instead of tennis shoes.

I also cover the entirety of the seat with a cheap twin size blanket. I cut holes for the seat belts to stick through. It will stretch all the way across the back of the seat and the seat area. When we stop at night, I just take it out and shake it off. I also don't feel as paranoid on watching whether or not they dropped something on the seat 'cause it was covered.

Hope this helps, Lisa

 

[kanga24roos]

we are driving down for the second time in April. After the first time we promised ourselves we would fly next time but as "next time" got closer we realized the ride really isn't that bad. We have 4 ds's 10,7,4,2 and we just bought a new van with a fold down DVD player so we are actually looking forward to the drive. We also play highway games with the older ones you know find a plate from every state, 20 questions etc. We also plan to bring some new never before seen movies and hand held game devices are key.
Good luck and have a great trip.

 

[graygables]

We have a 16 hour drive when we go, too. Mine are older now, but we stop at Cracker Barrel every 2 hours at least for a potty break (we can count on them for cleanliness!) and we let DDs each choose one of those little Dover books which gives them something "fresh" to do. When they were younger, we took colorforms for them to play with on the windows. We don't have a DVD player, but we do have a laptop, so we set them up with a movie on that (thank goodness for iTunes, Disney channel shows, and now movies! No more scratched up disks!)

The joke around our house is that we saw Europe on 6 comic books and a pack of Juicy Fruit (it's true!) My dad was Army and would take all 30 days leave at once and we'd hit the road with our camping trailer. It was up to us to keep ourselves entertained, so whenever my DDs tell me they are bored (car or not), I tell them that that's GREAT, it gives them a chance to think creatively to alleviate their own boredom!

 

[mom2jcc]

These are great tips. Keep them coming. We will be driving 12 hours in April with 13 month old b/g twins and a 7 year old son!

 

[luvdisney77]

I have four kiddos. 10, 7, 5, almost 4. When we did the drive in July 2005 they were 9,6,5, and 2.5. We left at 5pm, to us that was just enought time to play with the toys they brought and watch a movie or so before they crashed out for the night. They didn't wake up until the next morning and we stopped, ate breakfast, and kept on going. With movies and such they were GREAT in the trip. No problems at all! BTW - our friends drove down all the way behind us in their van and they had 5 kiddos in their car each a little younger than ours. Our trip was 14 hours long.

 

[jessica52877]

I tend to find a small bag of toys useful but not like I would think. We take 2 cars, 2 action figures, 2 little books, etc that way it is easy to keep track of and can play with the 2 together. My son is more of a look out the window type kid. We have a DVD player and I don't care for it much, neither does he. He'll watch one dvd at most the entire trip there and back. We do listen to TONS of kiddy music. If he gets antsy I put it on. He is not quite 4 now and a great traveler, he'll sit in his car seat forever, fisher price safe embrace. Love it! It must be comfy.

I am not one for driving all night, makes me too nervous, I would never be able to sleep with hubby driving. I would worry too much that he would fall asleep. Sometimes we'll leave when my husband gets off work and drive until 11 or so at night, my son usually will fall asleep around his normal bed time, then get up early the next morning and finish up. Usually my son will nap around 9 when in the car, guess the moving puts him to sleep. He LOVES loves LOVES to read the disney maps or disney magazine, usually we only have those on the way home though.

We also allow him to run around whenever we stop, he'll go hours without having to potty so works well for us. Have fun , good luck.

Oh, one more thing, we turned my son around for long trips only then would turn him rear facing again. He was old enough and weighed enough of course, and felt it was easier to hand him things and that he would be better behaved facing forward.

 

[mom2jcc]

Where would I get the Disney maps? Thanks!

 

[Vannah]

Well, the children in my family are hardly your kid's ages so I'll try.

Anything Disney to get them in the mood. Window clings, coloring books, crayons (I know they have Princess ones, but not sure about others), color wonder, ect.

Post-it notes, tape, and stickers are also good ideas. Younger kids like to stick everything together, in my experiance.

The youngest child in my family is 5. We've never driven to Disney, but this past summer we drove to Tennessee and back. She was occupied by movies we had (both of my younger sisters are addicted to TV), books, coloring books, and my iPod/her CD player.

Good luck and have fun!!

 

[jessica52877]

Where would I get the Disney maps? Thanks!

We get them when entering the parks or at the hotels, so we usually only have them for the ride home. Although there is a pocket in the car and sometimes there is a map from our previous trip still there.