Magic+ your drive into WDW

Unomas

Unomas

Well-Known Member
For the first time we will be driving into WDW. In the past we have always flown and used DME. DME does a wonderful job of escorting you into the World. The music and the video that is played always makes me happy because it marks the moment 'here we are.'

Driving over 16 hours from Texas will be a bit more of a challenge. How do you create that magic when you are driving? I have thought about having a music track ready to go when we are driving in - but no idea what would be appropriate.

So what sort of things do you do when driving into the World?
 
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Mrsdonaldduck

Mrsdonaldduck

Well-Known Member
I hope you have a wonderful trip! We drove for the first time last year and we enjoyed it so much I would rather not fly again! It is an 18 hour trip from NJ and the magic began as soon as we left the driveway. We play the license plate game, the kids watch disney videos in the back seat and we enjoy listening to it from the front seat. We play lots of disney music on pandora and we always get a new CD for the ride home. Every state line is a reminder that we are getting closer and always cheer! Love seeing signs for south of the border, palm trees, florida welcome center and the best part is when we actually start seeing WDW signs. I hope you enjoy your trip as much as we do!
 
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luv

luv

Well-Known Member
Nobody in my car would ever put up with 30 minutes of Disney music, let alone hours of it. I'm going to start traveling with you guys. ;)

We talk about our previous trips, remembering stuff, blaming each other for stuff. We yell at the kid who promised to tell us when he farted so we could open the windows, but didn't and has now filled the car with noxious fumes...and listen to him giggle and say, "I lied!"

We play car games like "Dead Varmint"...you just call out the dead varmint you see. The first to call it gets a point. If you call one and it is a bag or something, you lose a point. You also lose a point if it turns put to be a dog or deer or something that cannot be classified as a varmint. This would not be something all families would want to play. We also play Horse, Cow...pretty much anything you might pass, you can call and get a point...but they're all different games. You can't win at Dead Varmint by calling cows. Duh.

We do the wave and say, "Woo!" When crossing state lines.

We argue about the fact that my sister cannot read a map to save her life and its not fair that I should have to do all the driving as well as all the map reading.

We talk about what we are looking forward to doing. We talk about where we should eat. If we haven't booked a hotel, we can spend hours going back and forth over that, lol.

Sometimes, they fight and I turn up the radio to drown them all out. Nobody can yell at each other louder than my speakers can go!! Then they sit and sulk for a while, which is better than fighting.

It's all good and overall, it's a LOT of fun. Many of the best trip memories we have are from the drives. :)
 
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Mrsdonaldduck

Mrsdonaldduck

Well-Known Member
luv said:
Nobody in my car would ever put up with 30 minutes of Disney music, let alone hours of it. I'm going to start traveling with you guys. ;)

We talk about our previous trips, remembering stuff, blaming each other for stuff. We yell at the kid who promised to tell us when he farted so we could open the windows, but didn't and has now filled the car with noxious fumes...and listen to him giggle and say, "I lied!"

We play car games like "Dead Varmint"...you just call out the dead varmint you see. The first to call it gets a point. If you call one and it is a bag or something, you lose a point. You also lose a point if it turns put to be a dog or deer or something that cannot be classified as a varmint. This would not be something all families would want to play. We also play Horse, Cow...pretty much anything you might pass, you can call and get a point...but they're all different games. You can't win at Dead Varmint by calling cows. Duh.

We do the wave and say, "Woo!" When crossing state lines.

We argue about the fact that my sister cannot read a map to save her life and its not fair that I should have to do all the driving as well as all the map reading.

We talk about what we are looking forward to doing. We talk about where we should eat. If we haven't booked a hotel, we can spend hours going back and forth over that, lol.

Sometimes, they fight and I turn up the radio to drown them all out. Nobody can yell at each other louder than my speakers can go!! Then they sit and sulk for a while, which is better than fighting.

It's all good and overall, it's a LOT of fun. Many of the best trip memories we have are from the drives. :)
Click to expand...
Luv,
We will totally pick
You up on our way down so that you can listen Disney music with us, but you may have to review the rules to playing dead varmint with us. You crack me up!
 
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foreverbelle

foreverbelle

Well-Known Member
We try and mix up flying and driving from Northern Virginia in hopes that it will save not only a little money from time to time, but driving also extends, or at least makes the vacation feel a little longer. When we drive, my son usually has on a Disney video has we roll up to the sign. We try to get all excited and yell when we see the sign, but the moment we get into Fl, and start seeing the signs, well the magic starts hitting us.
 
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Prince-1

Prince-1

Well-Known Member
luv said:
LOL, I told my nephews that next time, I'm going to bring Benadryl and force them to swallow it if they misbehave!!

I was joking, of course. I won't OD the children. I'll just beat them. ;)
Click to expand...

That's why I take the drugs, so my kids can do what they want and I am curled in a fetal position in the front seat drooling on myself. Now my wife on the other hand certainly may use other methods to cope with them!!
 
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Kristamouse

Kristamouse

Well-Known Member
You could listen to the Kingdom Keeper books by Ridely Pearson. They are for the young adult crowd, a la Harry Potter, but they are about the parks and were given Disney's stamp of approval. We have enjoyed them and it was fun to picture scenes from the books as you got to the parks. I think there are 3 now, we have listened the First two.
 
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Figgy1

Figgy1

Well-Known Member
luv said:
LOL, I told my nephews that next time, I'm going to bring Benadryl and force them to swallow it if they misbehave!!

I was joking, of course. I won't OD the children. I'll just beat them. ;)
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There's always the threat of dropping then at the nearest bus terminal! or duck taape
 
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Figgy1

Figgy1

Well-Known Member
luv said:
My sister always says she's going to sell them on eBay. It was so funny when her youngest found out you can't do that, lol. Like maybe there had been some real chance!

Kids. Dumb.
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Print out a list of bus terminals that will scare them:D You can ship minors on Greyhound:D
 
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T

tmantuano

New Member
To drive or to fly that it always the question. I've done it both ways. My wife and I live in NJ and the first time we went together we flew. That time we stayed off the Disney property and we rented a car we thought that was fine. The second time we went we decided to drive. Now we knew that since we were going to be driving straight through we needed to do some planning. We figured that it would take us 11-12 hours to drive. The best thing that we did was leave at like 8 at night the day before we planned to check into our resort, on Disney property this time. We alternated who was driving, one drove one slept. It worked great until we argued on who was going to drive under the Welcome sign. Now I understand that the buses are for transportation for resort guests to get to and from the parks and attractions but it's more gratifying when you can come and go when you want, not having to wait for a bus. I'm all for driving every time. It's cheaper to drive, but it takes longer. The anticipation makes it fun.
 
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Kristamouse

Kristamouse

Well-Known Member
I agree, espicially with our stroller and kids. I am assuming most of you are glad we drive to the parks too, since you don't have to with our 4kids and our stroller on the bus. I also think you all are glad not to sit next to us on a plane;)
We don't mind the drive from KY, in fact on this trip I am looking forward to 14 hours of sitting still! A sad testament to my insane life...;)
 
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Evil Genius

Evil Genius

Well-Known Member
From Nashville it's not even a ten hour drive and we're going to be doing it over night so it'll be even easier!

Both the GF and I are road warriors so driving long stretches don't effect us at all. We'll listen to podcasts...audible.com...and before we know it we'll be there.
 
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M

McDiane

New Member
We stop frequently at rest stops and "Geo-Cache" while we are there - (Geo-caching: a treasure hunt using your GPS) - Most of the rest stop caches are designed to be found easily for traveling families and you get to keep a "prize" from the cache if you leave something for the next person (think coins or happy meal toys) - Nice way to stretch our legs and a quick activity to break up the drive - check Geocaching.com
 
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Minnie1976

Minnie1976

Well-Known Member
mebucko said:
Hi Unomas!
Know I'm probably dating myself, but there used to be an AM radio station as you enter WDW by car (I forget the frequency), as some places do for traffic reports, etc. The narrator was Jack Warner, one of the original voices for the monorail - the one that gives the Spanish, "Please stand back from the doors....."
As an aside he was the "soda jerk" in the original "Ozzie and Harriet" TV show.
The station gave the park hours, special events, etc.
Sort of like a mini DME without the pictures!
Its special no matter how you arrive!
Have a great time!
Cheers,
Bill
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Yes, we talk about that radio station when we drive and are reiminising. It also use to tell you if there were vacancies at the hotels. Of course there were only the Poly and the Cont plus the campgrounds then.
 
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mebucko

mebucko

Well-Known Member
minniemouse0830 said:
Yes, we talk about that radio station when we drive and are reiminising. It also use to tell you if there were vacancies at the hotels. Of course there were only the Poly and the Cont plus the campgrounds then.
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Hi minniemouse0830!
Glad you also remember!
THAT meant we were THERE!!
The next for us was, the Cast Member at the gate, after seeing our hotel resv., would tell us, "Stay to the right of the orange cones, and follow the blue line"!
Directions to fun and dreams come true!
Cheers,
Bill
 
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Evil Genius

Evil Genius

Well-Known Member
One thing the GF and I are planning to do to stay awake all night during our drive is sing through ever original cast recording of every musical we can find on Spotify.

We're both very involved in musical theatre and while confined in our vehicle there's no one we can drive nuts with this but each other. : )
 
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