Driving??!!??

Disneykidder

Disneykidder

Well-Known Member
OK, so when I was much younger and single I drove to Disney. It was annoying but luckily we had our game boys(hahaha) with us. Anyway, my family and I always fly. I am not much into the long drive anymore and my 3 kids get antsy.

So, we are contemplating driving (:eek:). We are getting a brand new car this week and are thinking of saving some cash and driving. We were planning on renting a car while there anyway so having our own there will save even more cash.

My question is: Do you have any tips for us? We are in NY so it is about a 21 hour trip. Yes, my DH and I can take turns driving. My youngest isn't a fan of long drives but we were thinking we could start at 7 at night?? What are your tips and thoughts. o_O
 
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G00fyDad

G00fyDad

Well-Known Member
Disneykidder said:
OK, so when I was much younger and single I drove to Disney. It was annoying but luckily we had our game boys(hahaha) with us. Anyway, my family and I always fly. I am not much into the long drive anymore and my 3 kids get antsy.

So, we are contemplating driving :)eek:). We are getting a brand new car this week and are thinking of saving some cash and driving. We were planning on renting a car while there anyway so having our own there will save even more cash.

My question is: Do you have any tips for us? We are in NY so it is about a 21 hour trip. Yes, my DH and I can take turns driving. My youngest isn't a fan of long drives but we were thinking we could start at 7 at night?? What are your tips and thoughts. o_O
Click to expand...


http://www.newyorkdivorcelawyer.com/

At least I'd need one before 5 hours was up. :D
 
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sweetpee_1993

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
I love the road trip! It's 16 hours for us but my boys & I enjoy the journey. We make it fun, taking turns picking songs, tell funny stories, etc. We keep everything relaxed. If we feel like stopping we stop. We debate the stops that could net us the best goodies (like the exit we know there's gas, ice cream, & Starbucks in close proximity). We take pictures and treat the drive like part of the trip. If the kids are little I totally recommend travel packs (shoebox) full of little fun things to do. Remember, the drive doesn't have to be miserable! It's the same as anything else, its what you make it!

**edit**
The comedy stations on satellite radio are usually good for a couple hundred miles of giggles for us, too. ;)
 
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The Tomorrownaut

The Tomorrownaut

Active Member
My family has driven every year for the past 7-8 years, leaving the day after Christmas. To be fair, we're a driving family and my parents and brother haven't been on a plane in at least these past 8 years.

But in terms of the drive, it very much depends on how old the kids are and to what extent you think they can be sufficiently entertained for the 21 hours. It's a 14 hour drive for us, so me and my brother (me 18 and he 16) can more or less entertain ourselves with a computer and our phones, and it's been nice that I can drive part of the way these past few years.

As for the drive itself, I would suggest leaving early in the morning and stopping for the evening in a hotel around the Virginia/North Carolina state line, as this would leave you with about nine and a half hours on the second day's drive. But all in all, have a great trip and let us know what your plans end up being!

***By the way, first time poster!!!***
 
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luv

luv

Well-Known Member
It just isn't that bad. Talk to each other. Play the car games. Yell at the kids when they're fighting with each other. Stop for lunch at the Cracker Barrel. Spend a lot of time asking how many miles until the next state line and do the wave when you cross them. Swear that next time, you will not drive through the mountains and will spend the extra three hours in the car to avoid that. Tell the kids they aren't allowed to fart any more. Stop for gas. Stop for jumping jacks. Stop overnight. Eat Dairy Queen in the hotel room.

Talk about what everyone wants to do when you get there.

And don't make the mistake of letting the kids play video games or watch movies too soon. That should come after they start getting antsy. If you let them break out that stuff in the first couple hours, you'll be sunk at hour five.

I like to stop in Kingsland, GA. Ton of motels, restaurants and fast food. And it's about 3.5 more hours to Disney, so its a short, fun part of the drive. :)

It's fun. Good luck!
 
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Nemo14

Nemo14

Well-Known Member
Driving at nightis always helpful - the kids might sleep for you. We kept a box of snacks in the back for them and the only rule was that they had to ask if they could have one first. No sodas, but juice boxes or those squeezie-pack things are enough to quench thirst without overfilling their bladders. we also did a lot of car games - I can probably still tell you where the first palm tree is. We also would do "I'm thinking of something in Disney World that starts with the letter ___. And I agree, hold off on the electronics or they lose their charm.
 
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Mrsdonaldduck

Mrsdonaldduck

Well-Known Member
We really enjoy the drive from NJ! We have three little guys and they have been super. We play games and watch movies. We break the trip up in SC. It is so nice to be on our own schedule and not the airline's schedule. I love packing whatever I want and having our car! Have a wonderful trip!
 
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bsiev1977

bsiev1977

Well-Known Member
sweetpee_1993 said:
I love the road trip! It's 16 hours for us but my boys & I enjoy the journey. We make it fun, taking turns picking songs, tell funny stories, etc. We keep everything relaxed. If we feel like stopping we stop. We debate the stops that could net us the best goodies (like the exit we know there's gas, ice cream, & Starbucks in close proximity). We take pictures and treat the drive like part of the trip. If the kids are little I totally recommend travel packs (shoebox) full of little fun things to do. Remember, the drive doesn't have to be miserable! It's the same as anything else, its what you make it!

**edit**
The comedy stations on satellite radio are usually good for a couple hundred miles of giggles for us, too. ;)
Click to expand...
I should start a whole thread on this. Satellite radio is the greatest. I don't know how anyone who tries satellite radio could ever go back to regular AM or FM.
 
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Disneykidder

Disneykidder

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Maybe I should have mentioned that my three boys are ages 2, 4 and 9. Between us we have 2 DSs, 2 Iphones, and IPad, a Samsung tablet, a smartphone, Ipod and a Kindle but I like the idea of holding off on it all!!
 
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Hakunamatata

Hakunamatata

Le Meh
Premium Member
Disneykidder said:
Maybe I should have mentioned that my three boys are ages 2, 4 and 9. Between us we have 2 DSs, 2 Iphones, and IPad, a Samsung tablet, a smartphone, Ipod and a Kindle but I like the idea of holding off on it all!!
Click to expand...
Take it all with you in the car just in case.

As a kid 30 years ago, I would have really enjoyed some electronics in the car...
 
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foreverbelle

foreverbelle

Well-Known Member
We used to only fly, especially when it was just my husband and I. The convenience was always worth the money. However with a four year old now, and the high price of flights, we decided to drive a couple years back. And we found, it actually wasn't as bad as we thought. We took turns driving. We had entertainment for DS, and we brought snacks. We live in NOVA so the drive took us about a 14 hours.....we found leaving after work one night, stopping in Florence SC and then hitting the road around 6-7 the next morning. We also brought a cooler with snacks and things to eat, either ready easy lunches. And when we crossed into Florida and stopped we had a picnic...it has turned into some fabulous memories, makes the vacation feel that much longer and while flying may be faster, for us my son seems to enjoy the long road trips. It helps he sleeps soundly in the early morning or late night drives....
 
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PUSH

PUSH

Well-Known Member
We drive from Wisconsin and it's about 21 hours. Movies help pass the time as well as iPods. Make sure you take a charger with you for the car if you have an iPod to take. Take food in the car; you don't want to be stopping every time someone gets hungry!

Make sure you guys get some sleep (especially if you're driving straight through the night) when you're not driving. Driving at night is so much better than daytime. It's quieter in the car with people sleeping/watching movies or whatnot. There's also next to nobody on the road during the wee hours of the morning.

We have driven all but once on our Disney trips, so I'm speaking from experience.
 
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Jessica Meier

Jessica Meier

Well-Known Member
I am a seasoned car tripper. We moved to Alabama when I was 4 and our vacays consisted of driving 18+ hours to Kansas to visit relatives.
We have driven for both our trips to Disney and it is about a ten hour trip for us. My husband drives the whole time because he is a control freak and can't give up the wheel which works for me because I love to SLEEP as much as possible. On our last trip we took our 3 year old daughter. Needless to say we were scared it was gonna be long and horrible. To our amazement, she must have been born with our car trip genes! She "read" for a good bit of the trip and played with the few toys we brought and sang songs and just looked at it like a cool adventure. She didn't watch her DVD player until about 30 minutes after dark and that was only because she was fighting sleep. We stopped about two ours away and just checked into a hotel for the night. A good nights rest and a little drive there and we were in our Happy Happy Place!

Long story short, relax and enjoy the ride. Prep well for eventualities ahead of time but then just enjoy it. If you enjoy it, guaranteed your family will too! Plus an added bonus of driving, it gives you time to de-stress so when you arrive at WDW you are READY!
 
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DRC68

DRC68

Well-Known Member
We drove the camper from CT a couple of years ago with 7 people total...snacks, check. DVD and tons of Disney movies, check. Stop to stretch every couple of hours, check. Extra Benadryll for naps, thought about it.
 
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