We're driving down?!

[Naisy68]

Hello All! Maybe I should post this on the transportation forum- not sure.
Tell me if we are crazy but my DH and I have come the conclusion that we would save $$ if we drove from SD to Orlando. We are traveling with our 13 year-old son and our almost 1 year old daughter. We have had a heck of a time finding flights for a reasonable price. We thought it might also be fun to drive and see some places that we have never seen. Has anyone ever driven with children from a distance such as this? Any advice would be highly appreciated.

 

[GeorgeG]

We drive down from NY, but not with kids. SD seems like a long way to drive, even without kids.

It probably depends on what kind of vehicle you have and how many days you have to make the trip, enjoy WDW, and get back. A van or large car will make it easier to move and stretch. You need to adjust how far you can go in a day with everyones needs, stopping for stretching, eating, and sleeping. If you try to cram in too many miles a day, you'll be exhausted you first day or so at WDW.

I think the cost of gas and lodging will generally be less than most of the airfares right now. I would focus on your comfort and time restrictions and go with what's best for you.

Good luck

 

[campingcorgi]

Well, if you have enough vacation time it can be done and pleasantly. I'd do my best to be sure I had a tv/vcr for the kids. We drive about 14 hours from the Nashville, Tennessee area and I would estimate your trip would be at least twice that. We have driven with the kids at various ages--7 months the youngest. The baby worried us the most but she did fine. We made sure to stop about every 2-3 hours and really play her out. We had some of her less-frequently used toys with us, and she enjoyed the variety. We made sure that when she went to sleep, we DROVE! She was usually good for about 30 minutes more after waking up and then we'd stop again. We drove again when she was 12 months, and it went the same way.

I'd just stop when you're tired and rest for the night, and get an early start in the morning again. You would all probably enjoy seeing the scenery on the drive, and I bet you can 'collect' a lot of different state license plates!

36 days to go

 

[Naisy68]

We are planning to leave three days early and we will have 3-4 days to get back. My DH is a former truck driver and tried to tell me that we could drive straight through. NOT! I guarantee that our DD will have other plans for him. We do plan on doing a lot of night driving when the roads are quieter. We will get rooms though along the way of course. We discovered it is about a 1500 mile drive each way. We will not have a tv/vcr to take but we will have other alternatives. I suspect that my DH will have all of the Barney songs memorized by the time we get to Florida! Thanks for the responses.

 

[LKS]

We have driven from NC to Omaha twice (once with kids, once without), from NC to Vermont (without kids) and from Savannah to Northern Michigan (without kids) but what we do is make the travel part of the vacation. Whip out those maps and guidebooks and find something you'd really like to see and include it in your itenerary.

Driving to visit relatives in Omaha with our 1.5 yo, we stopped in Nashville, TN, Fort Smith, Ark., Devil's Den state Park, Bartlesville, OK on the way out. On the way back, we went WAY north and took the Lake Michigan Car Ferry and took him to the zoo in Battle Creek, Henry Ford's Greenfield Village and camping in West Va. We also visited the pastor who married us who now lives in KY. It was great.

On our adult drive to Omaha, we stopped in Nashville and St. Louis on the way out and Springfield, IL and Mammoth Cave, KY on the way back.

I couldn't stand the long drives unless I got to see some stuff on the way!

 

[MAC3]

Hello,

My family and I have driven this before (and plan to do it this year also) from Billerica Ma. For us it is a 28 hr drive. We usually leave in the wee hours of the morning so the kids will still be tired. We also allow 2 days travel time to stretch out and get a goodnights sleep. We have also done this to VA Beach twice @ the time my DD was almost 2 yrs.

As long as your child isn't upset at being in the car to begin with it isn't a problem and you have a 13 yr old in the back to keep the little one occupied. You might want to offer the 13 yr old an incentive to to ensure your little one is happy. Like for every hr that he/she keeps the little one happy they get 1 disney dollar.

This may help you and dh keep your sanity. I also try to put together little surprise things to help pass the time. This will work more with your 13 yr old than the baby.
Above all, don't push yourselves too far "KNOW YOUR LIMITS". After all it is a family vacation.

Regardless You'll have a great time.
Enjoy,

 

[brittsmum1998]

We are DVC members and usually drive twice a year to WDW from Billerica, MA also! It takes us about 20 hours (the speed limits are at least 70 once you get past Washington) We have a DD who is now 4 who has made the trip three times by car (we flew once) . We allow 2 days, she has her movies and Barbies in the back. We have a mini van and a tv/vcr combo (which I highly recommend) She loves the ride. she is pretty much used to it by now and often sings ON THE ROAD AGAIN beginning a couple days before we leave. We bring her favorite pillow and blue blankie, many snacks and juice boxes. A couple weeks ago we left on a Tuesday afternoon about 4:00 and got into Orlando Wednesday night about 8. And that was after safe driving. Its the best we've done yet. I keep asking DH "who's record are you trying to break? You;re the only one crazy enough to drive down each time"!?!?! All in all not a bad ride and it affords us the luxury of being able to go twice a year. Plus you can pack as much and shop as much as you want!!

 

[Naisy68]

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who has responded to this. You have all made me feel a little better about the idea. I think everything will be fine but it's just the idea of 1500 miles in a vehicle with an almost one-year old. The ride down will be alot better that the ride back I'm sure. Maybe we will go back a different route. Time will tell. Thanks again!

 

[bambii]

does you SD mean, San Diego, for me it means South Dakota, cause that is where I live, and we drive every where we drove from SD to Vermont with a 2 and 7 year old and we also drive to Michigan and this summer we are driving from SD to Chatt. TEnnessee and then on to Tampa Area, I love the country side and Im glad my kids are seeing the united States. My kid are very good at travelling, lots of music tapes and books on tapes coloring books and let them strecth there legs with every stop and plenty of hotels that have pools. witch makes them very tired.

 

[luvmy2sams]

Our drive from SW OK to WDW is exactly 1317 miles each way. We made the trek the first time in fall 2000 when our DD was 21-months-old. We only had a week for the vacation, but we still managed to spend the night on the road going down and coming back home. Believe it or not it really was a fun drive, and we're planning to do the same thing again in November.

We purchased a backpack TV/VCR combo and packed a bag of activities (coloring books & crayons, stickers, her favorite noisy toy, etc.) so we'd have built-in entertainment for our DD. She ended up watching Disney movies for the entire trip...was a perfect angel for the entire drive. We made sure to stop for meals at a fast food joint with a clean (ha!) indoor playground so she could burn some energy while we ate. We also made sure to have plenty of juice boxes and snacks for when she got the munchies in between meals. Stops for diaper changes really didn't slow us down much, and it was a great excuse to get out and stretch our legs for a few minutes.

My opinion is that as long as you know you child and what their limits are, you should be able to pull this off without a hitch! Have a safe trip, and remember that half the fun is in getting there!

 

[crazyme5kids]

We drove from L.I. New York with 6 kids (ages almost 1 to almost 16) drove straight through there and straight through back. stopped for gas, food and bathroom breaks. everything went fine.

 

[Barb D]

We listen to books on tape in the car, even when we're just out and about. It really makes the time pass quickly. We get them free from the public library. I think Cracker Barrell restaurants let you borrow (or rent) them, too. You can pick them up at one restaurant and return them at another. I have no idea if they have kids' books or just grown-up books, though.

Some of our favorites: The Harry Potter books (the narrator is awesome)

The Giver and Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry (sci fi about futuristic societies after society as we know it has ceased to exist...very thought provoking...your 13yo may have read them at school...)

Anything by Elizabeth George Speare (we're currently listening to The Bronze Bow, which is about a teenager living at the time of Christ, who is expecting the Messiah to come and rescue them from Roman oppression.)