What do you mean we’re DRIVING from CA to WDW??? With 4 kids!!!!

[scdak]

Never underestimate the power of bribes on your trip
I took my 5 year old nephew (well, great N but I am really not THAT old ) to Florida for spring break, along with a 14 year old nephew, 73 year old mother and my best friend, I told the 5 year old that he could earn "good boy bucks" on the trip to spend, based on his behavior, using manners, being helpful, doing his simple chores (make his bed, help carrying things when asked etc - horror of horrors I am mean). The others with me were told if they saw him doing things they could tell me and he would earn the GBB, so that way he was not just doing it when I was around. He is normally very polite, uses manners, is helpful but he is also 5, so he sometimes forgets these things I would have to say that he was a DREAM to travel with compared to a moody teenager! So much so that I took him on a 12 hour drive to visit friends in Upstate NY this summer, a road trip with a 5 year old alone is crazy right? But we had a great time.

Anyway, he earned alot of money, but he also learned that he was expected to be polite, helpful etc all the time but he would not be rewarded for saying please/thank you every time or doing his chores, he had to go above and beyond to earn the GBB. I swear, he would have been as happy to earn quarters as dollars because money HAD no meaning to him at that time, now, I have to say he values it alot more...............why did I have to teach him so much about money on my summer trip with him!!!!!!!!!! Now he knows that a dollar and a quarter are NOT the same thing I blew it, didn't I?

 

[LB1122]

Love that you have created this wonderful relationship with the teacher. How fun to see her and her family at Disney. I will keep her in my thoughts s she can return to the classroom soon.

 

[ladylyons]

Never underestimate the power of bribes on your trip
I took my 5 year old nephew (well, great N but I am really not THAT old ) to Florida for spring break, along with a 14 year old nephew, 73 year old mother and my best friend, I told the 5 year old that he could earn "good boy bucks" on the trip to spend, based on his behavior, using manners, being helpful, doing his simple chores (make his bed, help carrying things when asked etc - horror of horrors I am mean). The others with me were told if they saw him doing things they could tell me and he would earn the GBB, so that way he was not just doing it when I was around. He is normally very polite, uses manners, is helpful but he is also 5, so he sometimes forgets these things I would have to say that he was a DREAM to travel with compared to a moody teenager! So much so that I took him on a 12 hour drive to visit friends in Upstate NY this summer, a road trip with a 5 year old alone is crazy right? But we had a great time.

Anyway, he earned alot of money, but he also learned that he was expected to be polite, helpful etc all the time but he would not be rewarded for saying please/thank you every time or doing his chores, he had to go above and beyond to earn the GBB. I swear, he would have been as happy to earn quarters as dollars because money HAD no meaning to him at that time, now, I have to say he values it alot more...............why did I have to teach him so much about money on my summer trip with him!!!!!!!!!! Now he knows that a dollar and a quarter are NOT the same thing I blew it, didn't I?

I've heard traveling with younger kids is better than traveling with teenagers but I'm not to that age group yet so I can't go off of personal experience. Expect when I was a moody teenager but I loved to travel so it didn't bother me the time spent in a truck/motorhome.

I've used bribes but my bribes are usually you be good and do this and you'll get this (normally a toy). Never thought about them actually earning a whole lot smaller amount to get something. Will have to find a way to implement it.

Yeah sounds like you did!! But at least it sounds like he does value it a lot more so maybe you didn't.

Love that you have created this wonderful relationship with the teacher. How fun to see her and her family at Disney. I will keep her in my thoughts s she can return to the classroom soon.

Thank you! I've said it once and I'll say it again I never thought I'd become friends with my child's teacher. It was great to see her at DL. We actually ran into them for a few mins their first night there and Jeremy was just like Wait a minute she has kids (and barely said Hi)!! He'd seen her son at school every day of course but never really saw her as a person, just a teacher. Now he see's her as more than that. She also made sure we met up for our last few hours in DL on our last day. She really does love her students and enjoys her time with them. Thank you! We hope she can come back soon too.

 

[spiritsim]

what about Disney dollars you could use that as a bribe...lol I might have to use that with my gradaughters next year....

 

[scdak]

what about Disney dollars you could use that as a bribe...lol I might have to use that with my gradaughters next year....

Its funny, I thought about Disney dollars but I wasnt sure if they are still available, although I have a $1 and $5 somewhere here that I saved from many years ago, I wonder if they would still accept them, its not like they are on stone tablets

But only part of my trip was at WDW, other days were at SeaWorld, at least it wasn't at..............the dark side!

So I opted for money, but I am an old pro at traveling with kids............ie MANY a wallet or fanny pack lost/left some place etc, so this smart chick raided her old monopoly set and took out various denominations of bills and paid little Mason in play money, which he could then turn in for real money when he found things he wanted to buy, but I did allow him to carry his wallet with him and he never once lost it which surprised me since he would lose his head if it wasn't attatched

 

[kaoden39]

Yeah the 76 year old mother I'm not looking forward to trips like that again!! When I was 7 1/2 months pregnant with Jeremy we still went on our Christmas trip to DL. Well that was the year my parent's and my mother in law and step father in law went with us. My parent's were fine. No issues at all!! It was great (I rode with them.) My mother in law and step father in law wanted to stop every 5 mins it seemed!! I felt so bad for my DH because he drove them from Split Pea Anderson's to Valencia (Magic Mountain). Then I took over the driving in their car. I was not very sympathetic to them. We hit really bad traffic where it took us about 3 hours to get from Valencia to Anaheim (one of the last times we hit LA traffic!!) I froze them out of their car because it seems like when I'm pregnant it takes more to cool me off. Plus they kept wanting to stop because of the traffic and felt like we had lost my parent's (who were 2 exits ahead of us) and I just told them no we're fine and even if we do lose them I know where we're going. They learned on that trip I'm not going to put up with their complaining and if I'm driving I get to control the temp of the car!! Especially when pregnant!!

She loved it!! She can't wait to get back into the classroom and it actually sounds like she'll be back sooner than we thought!! Now to hope it all moves forward like it's supposed to and she does get back in the next couple weeks!! Of course I'm not telling Sarah because she'll keep asking when is she coming back and little ears have big mouths so I know she'd tell all the kids in her class and I don't need to field those questions! Especially since a lot of the families already know I know what's going on but unfortunately I can't share. All I can say is it's not life threatening and she really wants to be here but right now she can't be.

Yeah, it's always a joy. I think the most fun on trips was when our daughter Kody learned how to read rest area signs. We were camping up in McCloud and decided to drive to Oregon so that the kids could say they had been there. Every rest area between there and home she "had" to use the bathroom. It didn't matter if it was the really close ones she was convinced she had to go.


How wonderful that she might be back sooner!

 

[lovethattink]

Our time might not be too far off for that either. Yikes.

My parents drove to FL up to 5 times a year and they stopped every couple of hours like clock work to stretch their legs. But all the stops always had a restroom. My favorite stops were the ones at the visitor centers that had the Florida OJ.

 

[LB1122]

Our time might not be too far off for that either. Yikes.

My parents drove to FL up to 5 times a year and they stopped every couple of hours like clock work to stretch their legs. But all the stops always had a restroom. My favorite stops were the ones at the visitor centers that had the Florida OJ.

Oh the Florida OJ...I remember these rest stops form when i was younger and my family traveled around Florida visiting some different friends...sooooo good.

 

[ladylyons]

what about Disney dollars you could use that as a bribe...lol I might have to use that with my gradaughters next year....

I love the idea of Disney dollars. We haven't bought them recently (I do have some from when I was a kid though. Now where did I put them? ) I'll have to remember that idea.

Its funny, I thought about Disney dollars but I wasnt sure if they are still available, although I have a $1 and $5 somewhere here that I saved from many years ago, I wonder if they would still accept them, its not like they are on stone tablets

But only part of my trip was at WDW, other days were at SeaWorld, at least it wasn't at..............the dark side!

So I opted for money, but I am an old pro at traveling with kids............ie MANY a wallet or fanny pack lost/left some place etc, so this smart chick raided her old monopoly set and took out various denominations of bills and paid little Mason in play money, which he could then turn in for real money when he found things he wanted to buy, but I did allow him to carry his wallet with him and he never once lost it which surprised me since he would lose his head if it wasn't attatched

I love the monopoly money idea. I could start with that and then once I knew how much they've earned there I can get in Disney dollars. Right now I still keep track of the kids stuff because I'd hate for them to lose their money or whatever they have with them.

Yeah, it's always a joy. I think the most fun on trips was when our daughter Kody learned how to read rest area signs. We were camping up in McCloud and decided to drive to Oregon so that the kids could say they had been there. Every rest area between there and home she "had" to use the bathroom. It didn't matter if it was the really close ones she was convinced she had to go.


How wonderful that she might be back sooner!

I hope Jeremy doesn't pull that one on us since he's been doing really good at reading lately!! I don't think DH's sanity could last if Jeremy pulled something like that on us!!

Our time might not be too far off for that either. Yikes.

My parents drove to FL up to 5 times a year and they stopped every couple of hours like clock work to stretch their legs. But all the stops always had a restroom. My favorite stops were the ones at the visitor centers that had the Florida OJ.

Your parent's sound like mine. It's a 6 1/2 hour drive from their house in Oregon to ours. It takes them on average about 8 1/2 - 9 hours because they stop to eat and stop at a Casino on the way down.

Oh the Florida OJ...I remember these rest stops form when i was younger and my family traveled around Florida visiting some different friends...sooooo good.

I'll have to remember the stop at the visitor center!! I do like OJ!!

 

[kaoden39]

I love the idea of Disney dollars. We haven't bought them recently (I do have some from when I was a kid though. Now where did I put them? ) I'll have to remember that idea.



I love the monopoly money idea. I could start with that and then once I knew how much they've earned there I can get in Disney dollars. Right now I still keep track of the kids stuff because I'd hate for them to lose their money or whatever they have with them.



I hope Jeremy doesn't pull that one on us since he's been doing really good at reading lately!! I don't think DH's sanity could last if Jeremy pulled something like that on us!!



Your parent's sound like mine. It's a 6 1/2 hour drive from their house in Oregon to ours. It takes them on average about 8 1/2 - 9 hours because they stop to eat and stop at a Casino on the way down.



I'll have to remember the stop at the visitor center!! I do like OJ!!

I have to tell you I wasn't very patient after a while. I started telling her that they were closed. Mean mommy award!

 

[ladylyons]

I have to tell you I wasn't very patient after a while. I started telling her that they were closed. Mean mommy award!

I would have done that too!! Nope it's closed, you just went so I know your fine.

 

[lswheatly]

Hey just another one from CA who has already taken the drive from Los Angeles, CA to WDW. We did it for our first trip in March 2011 and will be doing it again in December. The drive took us 2 days. We took turns sleeping and driving for the most part and only stopped a couple of times for a few hours to snooze at the rest stop. My boys were 10 and 12 so I don't have experience with little kids. When we stopped to eat, we did not rush. During fill ups for gas, we all got out to stretch.

The kids watched movies, played their DS and read books. We did play games such as the license plate games and try to guess the state. ( I would give them facts about the next state we were going to hit and they had to try to guess it using the clues I gave them)

This trip my boys have the honor of checking out good places to stop and eat. Since we do not have a Crackel Barrel, this is a must.

be prepared for "Are We There Yet?" and "We're still in TX?" questions.

Good Luck!

 

[ladylyons]

Hey just another one from CA who has already taken the drive from Los Angeles, CA to WDW. We did it for our first trip in March 2011 and will be doing it again in December. The drive took us 2 days. We took turns sleeping and driving for the most part and only stopped a couple of times for a few hours to snooze at the rest stop. My boys were 10 and 12 so I don't have experience with little kids. When we stopped to eat, we did not rush. During fill ups for gas, we all got out to stretch.

The kids watched movies, played their DS and read books. We did play games such as the license plate games and try to guess the state. ( I would give them facts about the next state we were going to hit and they had to try to guess it using the clues I gave them)

This trip my boys have the honor of checking out good places to stop and eat. Since we do not have a Crackel Barrel, this is a must.

be prepared for "Are We There Yet?" and "We're still in TX?" questions.

Good Luck!

Welcome!! Thanks for letting me know we're not the only crazy people talking about doing the drive and hoping to do it in 2 days. I figure DH and I would switch off driving. Once one got to tired we'd switch. I also thought about anytime we'd stop we'd want to at least bring the kids to the potty since they are younger and do need to go more often.

I've already got the "Are we there yet question". That's just from our drives to visit my family in Oregon and to DL.

Where in CA are you driving from? We're near the San Francisco Bay Area.

 

[lovethattink]

Oh the Florida OJ...I remember these rest stops form when i was younger and my family traveled around Florida visiting some different friends...sooooo good.

I know of one stop right around St. Augustine.

I love the idea of Disney dollars. We haven't bought them recently (I do have some from when I was a kid though. Now where did I put them? ) I'll have to remember that idea.

We sold our car recently and dh found some Disney Dollars from 2000 in the glove compartment, lol.

I love the monopoly money idea. I could start with that and then once I knew how much they've earned there I can get in Disney dollars. Right now I still keep track of the kids stuff because I'd hate for them to lose their money or whatever they have with them.



I hope Jeremy doesn't pull that one on us since he's been doing really good at reading lately!! I don't think DH's sanity could last if Jeremy pulled something like that on us!!



Your parent's sound like mine. It's a 6 1/2 hour drive from their house in Oregon to ours. It takes them on average about 8 1/2 - 9 hours because they stop to eat and stop at a Casino on the way down.



I'll have to remember the stop at the visitor center!! I do like OJ!!

Lol, now they sound more like my in-laws. They like stopping at Casinos.

I'm pretty sure it's just before the St. Augustine exits on 95, though I could be wrong. It's been a few years since we stopped there. But you probably won't be coming that way along the coast. I'm sure the other major highways have visitor centers like that too.

 

[ladylyons]

I'm pretty sure it's just before the St. Augustine exits on 95, though I could be wrong. It's been a few years since we stopped there. But you probably won't be coming that way along the coast. I'm sure the other major highways have visitor centers like that too.

I'll be sure to check out what visitor centers we'll drive by. After pricing just one rental car right now I think we might just drive our own van!! Not that I mind having my own vehicle I'm just afraid of something major happening and us being so far away from home. Our van has over 108,000 miles on it!! Luckily we haven't had any issues with it but you never know when something can happen.

 

[kaoden39]

I'll be sure to check out what visitor centers we'll drive by. After pricing just one rental car right now I think we might just drive our own van!! Not that I mind having my own vehicle I'm just afraid of something major happening and us being so far away from home. Our van has over 108,000 miles on it!! Luckily we haven't had any issues with it but you never know when something can happen.

I rent just to drive to Disneyland. I am not a fan of putting all those miles on my van.

 

[ladylyons]

I rent just to drive to Disneyland. I am not a fan of putting all those miles on my van.

I've only priced one and I know the rates will hopefully change dramatically between now and then but it was almost $1200 for 3 days!!! I don't know if it's because we want to drive it out of state and return it out of state or what. But I guess I need to start pricing all the options and checking other sites too. We have time to make that decision so we'll see what happens. I'm fine driving it to DL but to bring it all the way to Florida just scares me too many miles.

 

[kaoden39]

I've only priced one and I know the rates will hopefully change dramatically between now and then but it was almost $1200 for 3 days!!! I don't know if it's because we want to drive it out of state and return it out of state or what. But I guess I need to start pricing all the options and checking other sites too. We have time to make that decision so we'll see what happens. I'm fine driving it to DL but to bring it all the way to Florida just scares me too many miles.

Do you have Costco? I know you can get a 10 percent discount through them

 

[ladylyons]

Do you have Costco? I know you can get a 10 percent discount through them

We have Costco and AAA. Just need to call or check on line. I'd prefer to rent mainly because if something does break down on the car at least it's not my vehicle.

 

[kaoden39]

We have Costco and AAA. Just need to call or check on line. I'd prefer to rent mainly because if something does break down on the car at least it's not my vehicle.

Exactly my thoughts!!