Tips for staying alert while driving to WDW on the interstate.

[Desnik]

It is illegal to drive with headphones on. Maybe if you had to hear some music to keep you alert just put in one ear and keep the other one off. Also I also heard that pepermint wakes you up. So maybe if you get tired pull over at a rest stop, brush your teeth and splash cold water on your face. If you didn't want to stop, then perhaps those crest brush up would work. I also heard jumping jacks gets you pumped so pull over and do some or run around at a rest stop. I know it sounds funny. But hey, whatever works!

 

[mrsmom]

We did this last month , dh was the only driver. and i wouldn't do it again.
There were alot of accidents we saw ,after they had happened because there was only one car flipped on their tops,at each of these accidents.I went on priceline and got a hotel on the way back to stop at for 35.00 , It's not worth your life or anyone eles. This really scared us because the police told us the had fallen alsleep at the wheel.If you do go straight thru Please take breaks ,my dh drank red bull too to stay alert.
Kim

 

[rt2dz]

DH and I take turns driving. When one isn't driving, the other is sleeping. This helps a lot. I may be getting a three hour nap, but I'm ready to drive after a 3 hour nap for at least 3 hours.

 

[surfgirl]

A few tips I've learned (not that I drive at night, but I tend to get sleepy if driving alone).

After the kids' DVD is off, I listen to a book on cassette... a GOOD one - Clive Cussler mysteries are dh's favorites. I personally got enthralled by "The Devil Wears Prada" and "The Nanny Diaries" recently.

Ration food: m&m's, jr. mints, whatever your 'poison' is... "I'll have one every 2 minutes... 3 minutes... can I make it 5 minutes?"

Pretzels are a big favorite... good munching, good with water (downside is then you have to pee which can be a problem with kids)... I get creative with sucking all the salt off and letting them disinegrate (sp?) in my mouth...

A few favorite 'sing along' CDs... usually English pop from when I lived in Europe (Pet Shop Boys, Yaz, Alison Moyet, Erasure...) - all fun stuff I know the words to - soundtracks (Les Miserables, Phantom)... Bruce Springsteen Greatest Hits, Van Morrison Moondance, .... NOTE: needs to be up-tempo. Usually when the kids are asleep I can be creative with volume.

Good luck... we've gotten in the habit of getting up early and doing driving then (3am). Kids go back to sleep much easier than if we waited until 5 or 6 am.... stop at 7ish for breakfast, pee, and driver switch. (this was when we did 6 1/2 hrs. routinely for home football games).

good luck!!

 

[CATMANDO]

We don't have very far 9 hours but I get sleepy from driving. I talk to DH and listen to music. I think we are to excited to sleep on the way.

 

[crzy4dsny]

Blow Pops, Hot Tamales, Coffee, singing Sweet Home Alabama (even though we live in Virginia ), cold air blowing in my face ! We have made these marathon trips to Texas several times and the worst hours are 3-5 am and then again around 10 am when you get a little nauseous from all the hot tamales and coffee ! Good luck!

Singing Sweet Home Alabama Thats got to be the best thing I have ever read on here. I couldn't agree with you more (and I'm from Long Island)

 

[michvin]

I can't handle caffiene...its makes me nauseous (sp?)...anyway, I've done long trips before - and am always the one to drive because most people fall asleep! I usually buy a box of cereal, like Life, that's crunchy, but a little bit sweet. You don't want to be snacking on anything greasy...makes for an upset stomach. Ice water, and maybe some trail mix with nuts, pretzels, m&m's, etc. Good Luck!

 

[bubba73]

First off, it is illegal to ride with head phones on. I am a cop so I know this one.
Second, when I am trying to getthat extra bit of driving in I will do 2 things. 1) I will take a nap before we leave so I am rested.
2) Get some energy drinks like Monster, Red Bull, or Full Throttle. Some of these have more caffine than coffee and since I hate coffee, it is my only choice.
Third, if you are going with a spouse, you can take turns driving and sleeping. My wife and I have done this on several trips and it works.

 

[Carol Ann]

2 to 3 hour shifts are best...plus it helps for you to get out of the car every 2-3 hours to walk around a little to help prevent blood clots.

 

[Mac and Us]

We drove from Central NH to Fl this past April in a motorhome. I did the drive straight through 10 years ago with my sister and I alternating every 2-3 hours and it didn't affect me. I don't think I could do that now without a power nap. I also cannot sleep in a moving vehicle so we have to stop.

With the motorhome we only drive 58-60MPH so it takes longer. Plus we have a 3.5 year old that needs to get out and stretch her legs AND we make a lot of gas stops.

We started at noon on a Friday. My husband drove the first 5 hours and I did the next 5.5 hours with an hour stop in between for dinner. I told him I was going to stop when I felt tired. I really didn't think I would last as long as I did as I only slept 3 hours the night before we left. I think the Disney excitement kept me wide awake until around 11 pm and then I went downhill fast and I knew I needed to stop.

We pulled over at a Walmart in Maryland around 11:30pm and we went to bed thinking it would be at least 5-6 hours before we woke up. Huh!!! I woke up 2.5 hours later, excited and ready to leave. I had brought a pound of chocolate covered espresso beans with me. That was my morning wakeup call!! I ate 2-3 large handfuls of these and I was ready to go.

We took off and drove the rest of the way, arriving at Disney around midnight on Saturday (36 hours later). We made some stops along the way for breakfast, a long 2.5 hour lunch/nap and several gas stops.

Anyway, the last 3 hours were the hardest. My husband and daughter had fallen asleep and I was driving down I95 between Jacksonville and Daytona. It's really dark in that area. Our radio wasn't working well so I listened to the same Garth Brooks CD at least 4 times. Don't get me wrong I love Garth Brooks but it was getting old.

I think what was keeping me going was the excitement and the fact that I was munching on the espresso beans and smoke house almonds. I was on a sugar, caffeine and protein high that did not want to stop!

The ride home was not as much fun. I say pull over when your tired at least for a cat nap.

Have fun! We can't wait until our next trip. Only 28 more weeks!

 

[Disneyonmymind]

SUNFLOWER SEEDS!!!! I swear this is the absolute best thing to stay awake. My husband can drive for hours with these things, even when he's tired. I don't even worry if he has enough seeds. I used to poke fun at him cause he uses them to stay awake to watch "boring" movies, too. After I had my last DD, and started not getting enough sleep, I'm not laughing anymore. Now, I say "Pass the seeds, please".

I'm not sure what it is, but I think that eating the seeds is more active than eating other snacks. You have to work it in your mouth to separate the seed from the shell. And you don't get filled up very quickly. The salt is addicting. The problem is "seed-tongue", so drink lots of water to counter-act it.

And coffee, of course. I heard Red Bull is good, but I've never tried it.

Jackie

 

[G8RFAN]

(We do plan to stop and sleep for about 5-6 hrs. at a hotel along I-95.)

Little story: Growing up, I used to go to DC/Baltimore/Annapolis to visit relatives in the summer and traditionally see the 4th of July fireworks at the Naval Academy. Well, a several years ago I made arrangements to take my wife to Alexandria VA and do the same for the 4th. I figure I can make the 17-18 hour drive as I can normally drive for pretty long distances. Well, we leave late and driving north from south Florida I get fatigued by the time we get to Jacksonville. DW is also getting too tired to drive. We start talking about finding a hotel off of I-95. I started in Brunswick GA and could not find any vacancies. We wind up driving to every exit that had a sign for hotels and got all the way to a big rest stop in North Carolina without finding a single hotel that had a vacancy. I tried taking a nap there but we had a two seater convertible back then which did not have reclining seats. I should have tried to sleep on the hood of the car but after 40 minutes of struggling to get comfortable, I decided I was wasting time and should be moving northward. At each hotel we had hotels clerks check other hotels for us and I remember one telling us that the closest one available off I-95 was all the way at Richmond VA which was a couple hours from our destination. I have a theory that it was a NASCAR event weekend and everyone was headed to Daytona and maybe to another NASCAR event in the South. I vowed never to go through that exercise again.

Anyway, I keep awake by constantly shifting my position and by playing the speeding game. This is where I speed faster than the speed limit and let my keen (read awake) senses and my ValentineOne radar detector keep my focus on driving and not sleeping.

 

[magictrickboy71]

We are driving in December from New Jersey.

We plan to leave at 7am and drive for 8 to 10 hours and then stop for the night. Then we will wake up early and leave around 6am. We should get to Disney around 3pm.

Maybe try to leave earlier and stop for the night.

Hope this helps,
Frank

 

[crazymomof4]

Soda, sunflower seeds, peppermint patties, espresso beans, smoke house almonds, crunchy cereal, chips, hot tomales, blow pops, trail mix....................it sounds like I'll be gaining 5 pounds just on the drive down to WDW!!!

Seriously, these tips are great! So many that I hadn't thought of!

Thanks to those who posted about earphones being illegal......you may have saved me a ticket!

 

[buddy&wooz]

We drove from central NJ in 2002 and took our time both ways- driving only about 6-7 hours a day. We spent a day in St. Augustine on the way down, and toured the Blue Ridge Parkway on the way home. It was fun but too long (especially the ride home!) So this trip in September we're leaving very early in the morning, probably around 5am - dh is a morning person and generally needs only about 6-7 hour of sleep, so this is perfect for us. The kids and I can go back to sleep (although I know I won't- I can rarely sleep in the car!) We plan to get to the NC/SC border (boy those South of the Border signs will have extra meaning for us I bet!), spend the night, and leave early the next day for Orlando.

I'm planning to load my iPod (that hooks into the car stereo) with a bunch of books and good music. I'm planning on surprising dh with some kind of controversial book that will get him riled up, that will keep him alert ! We'll also make lots of very quick stops to break it up.

 

[monymony3471]

Soda, sunflower seeds, peppermint patties, espresso beans, smoke house almonds, crunchy cereal, chips, hot tomales, blow pops, trail mix....................it sounds like I'll be gaining 5 pounds just on the drive down to WDW!!!

My thoughts exactly!!!!

 

[crazymomof4]

My thoughts exactly!!!!

I guess we "Monica's" think alike.

I'm Monica too. I have 3 boys and 1 girl!

 

[sanctus]

Make lots of short stops where you get out of the car and walk around a little. Also, I heard somewhere that you're better off finding a talk radio program that interests you than listening to music, because it's more "active" listening. But most important, if you're seriously concerned, plan another way. Pushing yourself is dangerous for you and every other driver on the road.

 

[CheekyMonkeysDad]

My wife swears by the method her uncle taught her which is sunflower seeds in the shell. Conveniently, they sell them in a spit cup! She says the work of opening them keeps her awake.
I, on the other hand, like to listen to books on tape. When that fails, I set "No Pee" goals. The first Florida reststop never looked so good. You would be amazed how the fear of wetting yourself keeps you awake!

 

[crazymomof4]

I really like the idea of active listening. As I said before, it's not tiredness that I will be fighting (we plan to stop when we are tired) it's more drowsiness that comes from the boredom of driving on an interstate at night. Something that would keep my attention would alleviate the boredom and therefore the drowsiness.
I will have to check my library to see if they have anything that would hold my interest. I hope they will loan things like that out for a 2 week period. It would be great if I could get a book to read and find it on tape too. That way when DH is driving I could read the book and listen to the tape while I drive! A good mystery would hold my attention.......maybe Mary Higgins Clark.