Tips for the drive to Disney with 2.5 year old...

[Meshell2002]

you've gotton some great advice...I second the not pulling out the dvds immediately....it does help stretch the novelty of it. Also the color wonder books and markers....perfect for younger kids you don't trust yet with regular markers

I always wrap little prizes for good behavior and pass them back during the trip...this includes little snacks, dollar store toys, figures, activity books, for the little ones it used to be little people.....believe it or not the items don't HAVE to be new.....my kids just like to open stuff....so I wrap the stuff in tin foil (no tape needed).....I used some things from around the house and some things from the party section of target/ walmart (like sticky lizards, stretchy bracelets, ect.).

We also play I Spy in the Car.....at dark we even will use glo sticks....and we bring extra for the parks anyway.

good luck!

 

[sarahk0204]

But my DD really wouldn't fall asleep if a movie was on, which made for some tired whiny moments.

At 2, my kids were still napping. We watched a movie in the AM, stopped somewhere with a play area for lunch, and then got back in the car. After lunch was quiet time with no movie, and the kids would fall asleep & nap pretty decently. Good luck!

 

[bartleby1]

I didn't read all of the answers so forgive me if some are duplicates. Here is what worked when my kids were little.

Aquadoodle
Pipe cleaners
Post it notes and a pencil (could never see the huge attraction but my kids loved these)
Cookie sheet with magnets
Son loved little people and their vehicles at that age(drove them on his cookie sheet, lol)
Matchbox cars
Lots of snacks
Lollipops as a treat when they get really antsy
Sticker books
Coloring pages I print out with colored pencils (crayons melt on your cars eats we found out the hard way)
Playing I spy
We tried to save the DVDs for when nothing else worked or it got too dark for the kids to do anything else.
If we were driving past dark, we brought some spinning light up toys
Beach ball for rest stops

We also either packed lunch in a cooler or picked up fast food to eat in the car. We would stop for a break and let the kids run and play either at a rest stop or at a McDonald's with a play area but then feed them in the car. This way they got some exercise and eating while driving took up some of the boring drive time.

Oh, just thought of one more tip, we always left around 4:00 am the first day of driving. We'd put the kids in the car in their pjs and they would stay awake out of excitement for a while but then they'd take a good long nap! I'd also suggest trying together as much of the driving done the first day and doing less the second day rather than breaking it up evenly. Everyone has more patience the first day.