What time of day should we drive?

[arizonacolbys]

We are driving for the first time in over 10 years & 11 trips - we are excited, but also nervous. We will be travelling with our two girls & they will be 27 months & 8 months at the time of our trip in December. We are driving from OH & it's estimating a 16 hour drive before stops.

For anyone that has driven down with little ones this young, what was the best time of day to leave? We keep going back & forth on this one...

Do we get up at 2-3 am & put everyone in their carseats in their pj's & hope they go back to sleep for several more hours? Then, try to get as far as we can that day & stop at a hotel along the way?

Or, do we wait until naptime (usually 1 pm) & head out, hoping that they sleep for a couple hours, are up for a couple hours, stop for dinner, get in pj's & then hope they sleep again at bedtime for several hours before stopping somewhere for the night?

Or, another option I read about is waiting until after dinner - eat dinner & get in pj's & then attempt taking turns driving all night in hopes of arriving at Disney the next morning?

I think the more the girls sleep in the car, the more enjoyable the trip will be and the quicker it will be since we'll need to stop less, LOL I've already started stocking up on toys/books to break out on our trip and we'll have a portable DVD player, but we've never done longer than 5 hours one way some where, so I'm just not sure what to expect.

 

[PrincessMom4]

Make sure to bring enough snacks and driinks. Last thing you want or need is someone crying they want a snack. Are you nursing or bottlefeeding?? Either pump or get bottles pre-made...just don't add the water until you are reading to use it.

 

[skiingfast]

I voted for 1pm. Mostly because being Winter you may want to get South while the sun is up. Other wise I would leave after dinner. The kids will sleep most at night, and you can get some miles done before they need more attention and you need to stop often to feed, change diapers, ectera.

 

[ice cube]

I voted for after dinner...first....how does the saying go,you never wake a sleeping baby so why would driving to Disney make it ok. After more drives down to Fl and WDW then I care to remember with or without kids we have found (from lower NY area) that if we leave after dinner time we miss all the traffic as we go.Plus you make better time at night then during the day and yes we have done it during actual xmas time. If you don't mind driving at night and do have someone that can help with the driving you should be able to drive straight thru and be in Disney before (noon) mornings end.As long as the little ones sleep you can probably make it to GA before you have to really stop and take care of their needs.We usually leave around 8-8:30pm and get to the resort just before noon. Mind you its just gas/bathroom stops (get what you want to eat while fueling is my motto) for us and my wife usually takes the 3 to 6am driving shift.Coming home is different as we leave the resort first thing in the morning and drive straight thru with my wife never touching the wheel..

 

[PrincessMom4]

I voted for after dinner...first....how does the saying go,you never wake a sleeping baby so why would driving to Disney make it ok. After more drives down to Fl and WDW then I care to remember with or without kids we have found (from lower NY area) that if we leave after dinner time we miss all the traffic as we go.Plus you make better time at night then during the day and yes we have done it during actual xmas time. If you don't mind driving at night and do have someone that can help with the driving you should be able to drive straight thru and be in Disney before (noon) mornings end.As long as the little ones sleep you can probably make it to GA before you have to really stop and take care of their needs.We usually leave around 8-8:30pm and get to the resort just before noon. Mind you its just gas/bathroom stops (get what you want to eat while fueling is my motto) for us and my wife usually takes the 3 to 6am driving shift.Coming home is different as we leave the resort first thing in the morning and drive straight thru with my wife never touching the wheel..

We are just 40miles north of Fort Drum. It takes us 21-22 hours to get there. Ice cube you must live close to the PA stateline. From Conklin NY to Orlando is 19hours. How do you make it there in about 16hrs?? I want to know your secret

 

[Elmo007]

The only problem with after dinner is the overnight stop.

We went on a car trip with our then 2 yo. We left at 7pm and she slept straight through to 11pm when we stopped to sleep. We were ready for bed and she screamed for hours as she was already rested and did not want to go back to sleep. That was years ago and still resonates.

 

[arizonacolbys]

Thanks for the votes so far The more I think about it, I'm pretty sure we're taking the 2-3 am drive off the table. My older DD will be way too interested in what is going on if we get her up at 3 am & move her to the car - I'm really, really concerned that she'd never go back to sleep, LOL

On the other hand, if we wait until after an early dinner or even their bedtime, they will have been up all day & are much more likely to sleep all night in the car.

Oh, and we plan on taking turns driving all night - we won't be stopping at 11 for bed, so we shouldn't have any issues with the girls in that regard.

 

[skiingfast]

I'm just curious when you drive a while do they fall asleep?

I know when I took mine just before 4 years old I was surprised when I got him up at 4:30 that he slept until 11am except for a bathroom stop midway.

It was surprising because he was getting over sleeping in the car and the stop was when he should of been waking up, but minutes later he was out.

 

[ice cube]

We are just 40miles north of Fort Drum. It takes us 21-22 hours to get there. Ice cube you must live close to the PA stateline. From Conklin NY to Orlando is 19hours. How do you make it there in about 16hrs?? I want to know your secret

PrincessMom we live just north of nyc and I will admit both my wife and I...how does the saying go...fly low when driving..and I mean really low...and like I stated its gas and go straight thru.....

 

[Brian Noble]

I'd be more worried about *my own* sleep patterns, not my kids'. Then again, I'm too old to pull all-nighters these days. Someone a little more spry might be able to do it no worries.

 

[arizonacolbys]

I'm just curious when you drive a while do they fall asleep?

I know when I took mine just before 4 years old I was surprised when I got him up at 4:30 that he slept until 11am except for a bathroom stop midway.

It was surprising because he was getting over sleeping in the car and the stop was when he should of been waking up, but minutes later he was out.

If it is later in the day my girls will definitely sleep in the car. However, my biggest concern is that the 2 times we've gotten her up at 4:30 & flown out my older DD has stayed wide awake on the hour long drive to the airport, during the flight, etc & then we end up with an overly tired toddler on our hands. She's way too interested in what is going on when we get her up early & she doesn't usually go back to sleep. So, that's the biggest reason we're leaning towards a later start time now.

 

[disneymom06]

I voted for 2-3 am but if you are planning on after dinner make sure the main drive has a nap before you begin the drive.

Our trip is about 18 hours and we have found that to beat the traffic leaving at 1:30 am is the best. It was our best time and we arrived at POR at 8:30pm. My children are older, and they barely stayed awake until we left, as DH slept, and when we hit the road, it was lights out for everyone.