Who drives to WDW

[captinhookedondisney]

I am driving down to disney for my next trip I don't know when thou and it is a drive a very long drive!

 

[RNtheRN]

We drove from Delaware to WDW in '05. Mainly because of my anxiety with flying, but I actually enjoyed the ride down. We left early on a Friday morning2am) and made it to Jacksonville by dinner time (5:30pm). But thanks to a little friend I'll call Xanex, flying is no longer a problem with me. We will probably continue to fly while the kids are still young. But when the nest is empty and it's just me and the misses, we plan on taking many road trips to Disney Hilton Head, Vero Beach and others.

 

[steffali]

We drive from NY to WDW, mostly because me and my DD are afraid to fly.

It is nice to be able to load the car up and pack what ever we need.

 

[dawz1026]

We drive from NY to WDW, mostly because me and my DD are afraid to fly.

It is nice to be able to load the car up and pack what ever we need.

I overloaded the car last year and boy was dh mad at me..he had to load and unload 3 times because we did Overnight on the road,Clearwater then WDW...I laugh when I think HOW much I did pack...oops

 

[steffali]

I overloaded the car last year and boy was dh mad at me..he had to load and unload 3 times because we did Overnight on the road,Clearwater then WDW...I laugh when I think HOW much I did pack...oops

This is why I leave everything in one room and then I make my DH load up the van! He knows how to pack using every possible inch!
A few times we drove straight through the night to beat the traffic jam around D.C. my daughter can sleep in the car so it works out ok.
Most of the time we do drive then stop somewhere off of 95 when we get tired.
We tried the auto train once and my hubby wigged... he felt that he could have driven faster and it was a waste of time.

By the way what part of LI are you from?

 

[mickeystoontown]

Our drive is broken into two days. Because we do stop for the night on the first day, I pack a bag that has only our "first night" clothes and toiletries. That way, we only have to take the one case out. All the rest can stay in until we reach WDW!

 

[melissa.irwin]

We drive from north central Illinois. @ 18-20 hours depending on how things go. We have drove 3 times to Disney. Kids age's ranged from 2-9. We have 3 children. We have only stopped once on the way down when my youngest was 2. That worked out good because we were ready to go staight to the parks when we got there. I am afraid to fly. However, I am also too cheap to fly. No matter how you look at it, when you can drive straight through it is much cheaper to drive. Even with the inflated gas prices.

Hi, I'm a brand new member and we are just beginning to plan our first ever trip to DW for this December. We have two children (ages 5 and 11) and are planning to drive as well. I have been searching for flights and it's going to cost us more than double to fly as it would to drive (even after factoring in gas, oil change prior to leaving, and a hotel room on the way down and back etc.). I believe it's going to take about 22 hours for us, we were planning on stopping for one night on the way down as I didn't think the kids would last that long in the vehicle but I just hate to lose that time. What time do you usually leave when you drive straight through?

 

[belle&sebastiansmom]

We currently have a 9 hour drive, though we've driven from our previous home, which was 14 hours.

I enjoy the convenience of driving. We schedule one room only night that is our driving time. We drive our own car to the parks, which we've found is so much easier and faster than using the buses. And I love that I can pack more, like strollers and pack-n-play, and I also have more room to bring trinkets home. I don't enjoy a long ride, but it works for us.

 

[Amyz00]

My husband told me last night that he prefers to drive because he has control. Plus, I don't think that he really likes to fly that much.

I like the fact that when we drive, we won't have to worry about our carry-on bags being the right size, what we can or can not take on the plane, plus we can bring home any souveniers that we want without the worry or hassle. I say that driving is a win-win situation!

 

[duckybelle]

We are driving from Arkansas....leaving the night on the 21st (march) getting there the 22nd. Its about an 18 hour drive, but with 2 kids and both of us its cheaper to drive. PLUS this will be our first family vacation (we are getting married in 9 days). My kids are 11 and 16, so I HOPE they dont kill each other on the way LOL!

 

[Amyz00]

We are driving from Arkansas....leaving the night on the 21st (march) getting there the 22nd. Its about an 18 hour drive, but with 2 kids and both of us its cheaper to drive. PLUS this will be our first family vacation (we are getting married in 9 days). My kids are 11 and 16, so I HOPE they dont kill each other on the way LOL!

Congratulations!! You will have a blast! My advice is to take a portable DVD player if you don't have one in your car and bring lots of movies, books, iPods, etc. We always play the license plate game while we drive. It's corny, I know, but it does help to pass the time!

 

[duckybelle]

LOL!!! We do too but a little differently. We take the letters off the plate (like 321 MTS) and let the kids make up sayings like my teacher stinks, or moms toes smell LOL!!! Makes it fun....we also have a dvd player, and a psp, and my dd,16,brings her walkman. Helps a LOT!

 

[steffali]

Driving there isn't so bad ....it's the drive home that is

 

[Amyz00]

Driving there isn't so bad ....it's the drive home that is

I agree. It's so sad. But I can say with all honesty that I am glad to get back to my own bed.

 

[dawz1026]

I agree. It's so sad. But I can say with all honesty that I am glad to get back to my own bed.

I hear you! Last time on the way home we were like ok...we are only 5 hours from home lets just drive straight.We could not DEAL with taking luggage out again and another hotel room...ugh needless to say we hit the bed at 4am at home

 

[mickeystoontown]

We drive straight home....all 800+ plus miles. Last year, we sat on I-10 for 3 hours and 57 minutes due to a wreck. Yes...sat in the car, not moving, not going anywhere. It was right at the Florida/Alabama line. By the time we got to Mississippi, we were ready to stop for the night but so was EVERYBODY else that was in front of us. We couldn't find a hotel/motel/fleabag room anywhere for over 50 miles. So, we finally just said forget it....we're driving home. We pulled into our garage about 4:00 a.m.

 

[wildernesslodgefan]

We live in the west suburbs of Chicago we usually leave at 5am Central time and do not stop for the night until we have made it in to Florida (usually Lake City) which gets us there at around 12am Florida time. This way we get a pretty good nights sleep and only have a one and a half to two hour drive left the next day. This way we can stop and get groceries (we are DVC members) for our villa. Going home we have made it home at 2am Central time after leaving WDW at 6am Eastern time. We only need to get gas about every 400 miles (with a minivan) with the total being around 1200miles, and for our Jan/Feb 08 trip each fill up was between $40 and $50. We take the Illinois route vs the Indiana route, although we did go through Alabama going down instead of Georgia for our recent trip. We have three kids 13, 9, and 4 and they seem to handle it fine, as this was the fifth time we drove, even with the tornado weather we went through in Kentucky going home.

 

[PiratesRock]

The Bonnaroo Festival will be going on in Manchester, Tn, as it does every year, June 12-15. This years acts include, but are not limited to: Chris Rock, Pearl Jam, Kanye West, Robert Plant & Led Zeppelin, Allison Krauss, BB King, and Janine Garofalo. While we would love to have all of you come to Tennessee to enjoy this really awsome music festival, my real purpose is to say: If you're goal on I-24 these dates isn't Bonnaroo, then DON'T BE ON I-24!!!! It's a giant road block!! You can't get THERE from HERE!!! DO YOU HEAR WHAT I'M SAYIN, PEOPLE!!! This has been a public service announcement from your friendly neighbor in Tennessee!

 

[druidcat]

Bonaroooooooooooo Wait this isn't my 'roo forum
Seriously, listen to the pp, I-24 is a parking lot and all roads leading towards that area are HEAVILY patrolled by all manner of state troopers and local police looking to pull over festival goers...DO NOT SPEED AT ALL!

 

[Amyz00]

We will not be going through Tennessee, but I was wondering if anyone knows of any traffic problems with I-10 due to the hurricanes?

Also, does anyone know of any other car games that are fun for the kids?

Thanks!