Tips for 12 hour trip with kids

[jason_h_lv]

The DVD player we installed in our minivan has worked wonders on our kids. We could drive to India and not have any problems.

 

[jehma]

We are driving from NJ to Boynton Beach (19 hours) to see my parents before going to Disney. We drive from 3AM-5PM the first day, which gets us to Jacksonville, then the remaining 5 hours the next morning (getting there in time for dh to watch the Daytona 500 - always key!).

I really like driving one long day and one short day. We use all the things you guys mention - videos, CD players, game boys, travel games, crayons, pads, etc. I buy lots of junk food I wouldn't ordinarily buy and each child packs a backpack full of stuff. We play the alphabet game, geography, "I'm thinking of a word that rhymes with xxx", and infinity questions (we don't stop at 20, lol). And of course, dh's favorite game, see how few minutes (as recorded on the gps) we can stop over the course of the drive

They always love the drive!

 

[tasassy]

My son (only child) has a milk crate for trips, in it I put, hot wheels, books, transformers, puzzle books, and little happy meal toys he's forgotten about. We also have his lap desk, and if he complains, he can always do his homework. Too bad he's not like his mom, I get in the car, and I crash! Maybe its because I'm up all night, packing and making sure the house is clean, while my husband and son are sleeping. According to mapquest its a 10 hr. drive, so we are leaving in the afternoon and stopping for the night. Son and hubby are trying to talk me into getting a dvd player, only son wants a video now and hubby wants a real one. Haven't made up my mind yet.

 

[pbharris4]

We drive too. We have a soon to be 9 yo DD and 19 month old (who was 13 months last time we went). We dod the portable DVD thing too. We also have my older DD use her cd player w/ headphones and then in the car CD we play some of my youngest DD's songs (Wiggles, Disney songs, etc.), we play the classic travel in the car games (i.e. I'm going to the grocery store and I'm getting....Apples, Bananas, etc, or name all the car brands, etc) We also pick up one of those mystery pens and books....I used these when I was a kid and not one trip goes by that we don't get one..it's like a tradition! Coloring books (no crayons though..as they melt). Some of my older DD's fave book series, Get a rubiks Cube or a missing link. If you don't want to buy dvd's.....go to Hollywood Video and rent some..the rental period is 5 days and if late they automatically renew it for another 5 days..so for $6-7 you'll have them for 10 days. Unless you'd rather pay to have the DVD.

We pack our own snacks and take a small cooler with sodas and my DD has to drink soy milk so we put that in there too. We stop overnight usually in Savannah going down and SC?NC coming back. We stayed in Florence last year and it was awful! Don't stay at the Wingate Inn there. Oh and if your DD needs a pack n play bring your own (just for the hotel stops down & back) Disney will provide a good one, but the other places up/down I-95 sometimes only have 2 and they aren't very sturdy and reliable!

 

[MidgeD79]

our family drove to WDW from southeast Mi in June of 2004. There were 3 drivers-myself dd25 dd23 ds10 dgd 8 and ds6. Since I work for the school,there was no time limit (except financial) on our trip. We took 3 days to drive down. Ds6 didn't want to leave the hotel each night. He was perfectly content to stay in the pool. We had no dvd/video player. The mechanic screwed up our windstar on the pre-trip check-up, so they paid for half of a rental. We got a 2005 Pacifica with no luggage rack and very little trunk space 6 hours after our scheduled time. We had to leave alot of our stuff. The one thing I would not compromise on were the kids backpacks. I also had bought a book Dave Hunter Along I-75 that kept everyone entertained. We had a great time with little complaining ( except for space) and hope to do it again in 2006.

 

[mom2kazkids]

COLOR WONDER MARKERS AND COLORING BOOKS!!!!!!!!!!

We drove from Atlanta to Green Bay last October with a 3 and 4 year old. The whole state of KY our daughter (3) colored an entire coloring book A to Z. I had to look back and make sure we did not leave her at the last stop, as she was so quiet and content coloring.

We will be hitting the road and driving to WDW this April/May. I found at Target before Christmas on clearance color wonder kits with 2 coloring books, 2 books of plan paper, 10 markers, and 6 finger paints. They come in an awesome plastic case with handle. I will also add in stickers, and more coloring books before we go.

I also have to add that our DVD player is great, and have many Disney DVD's to also pass the time with.

I have found that the drive home with the kids always goes better than the drive there, as they are so tired from what ever we did before coming home, that they doze on and off so much more than the trip there. We normally stop more on the way there (three stops) than on the way home (1 stop).

This is a great thread, as I have come up with so many other ideas.

 

[Jalva22]

Can someone give me the name of the Disney joystick game mentioned earlier? Is it sold at the disney store or toys r us, etc?

 

[The4OfUs]

I've seen then at Linen's N Things...$18 or so. They're made by Jakks Pacific.

http://www.jakkstvgames.com/disney.html

 

[aussiemouse]

We're doing the trek from MN for the first time this June. YIKES! I'm sure ignorance is bliss in this case. We'll also drive thru first night. Plan on driving 2-3 days.
I saw some Crayola window markers on clearance and thought they'd be fun for the kids to draw in the windows with. I might try them out first though to see how easy clean up is. Will definately get books on tape for DS7. DD4 has the Disney princess cards from Target ($2) and love to play go fish with them.
Call me crazy but I'm actually looking forward to the drive.

 

[rcfarmer]

Have not had the nerve to drive down from MN yet, will fly in March. But someday would like to try the drive

 

[Michael M-O-U-S-E]

We drive down to disney all the time. We have DS11, DD10, and DD3. The way we go is at night. I get pleanty of sleep the day before and we start the trip at night, we may stop for dinner first then head out, after a short while the children are sleeping soundly. When they wake up we are almost there and they are very excited. I love seeing all the changes around me as I drive down getting closer and closer to the DW. I guess traveling across country as a child (I am the youngest of 7.) Makes this disney drive short and fun. But with the children sleeping soundly, no arguing or complaining.