Overnight Road Trip Tips

HouCuseChickie

HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
We leave for our overnight road trip to WDW exactly one month from today. We've had road trips to WDW and a variety of places, as well as a few overnight ones some time ago. I'm just starting to prep, and while I'm sure we all employ a number of similar strategies when hitting the road...I was hoping people could share some of their favorite WDW road trip tips. Never know when you may pick up a new and wonderful tip :)
 
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luv

luv

Well-Known Member
I really liked the Exit Now books a LOT!! But I don't know if they're still making those. "The Next Exit" is pretty good, too.

It's hard to help without knowing where you're driving from or who will be in the car.
 
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HouCuseChickie

HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
If it helps...we're driving from the Houston area, but really- just looking for general tips that would be applicable whether from Houston or really any point of origin. i.e. how do you help stay alert on the road at 4am :)
 
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S

Susan Savia

Well-Known Member
We drive from VA to WDW. We like to listen to Sirrus radio, especially the comedy and oldies stations. We keep plenty of WDW music on hand, too. When we go past Pedro there's never but a few cars around it and we wonder how they stay operating....
 
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luv

luv

Well-Known Member
It's no harder to be alert at four in the morning than it is at four in the afternoon. If you are well rested, the time shouldn't matter.

The trick to staying well rested is to stop when you are tired of driving...walk and stretch. Don't log too many miles each day...stop overnight when you are sleepy.

Listen to music you like. Open the window once in a while.
 
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sydney

sydney

Active Member
HouCuseChickie said:
If it helps...we're driving from the Houston area, but really- just looking for general tips that would be applicable whether from Houston or really any point of origin. i.e. how do you help stay alert on the road at 4am :)
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For my CP my mom, dad, and I drove from the Houston area to WDW all night as well..listening to music and singing really loud kept us awake :)
 
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hankhill

hankhill

Active Member
The last two years we have driven from Philly to WDW on the 23rd of December. 13 hours m ay not seem like alot but whew it was all we could handle. First we made the deal that we switch at gas fill ups. I start and we can get about 425 between fill ups so we switched a few times and that helped. We set off at 330AM each time to avoid the DC traffic and get some miles under us prior to everyone waking up. Stops for Lunch and Dinner prior to arrival. Pandora Disney stations to begin, followed by the Comedy stations work great. COFFEE! (caffine addiction had to get one in there). Really not a bad trip at all. Dont mind it and would do it again...Enjoy your family and trip and the time you get to spend with them....Have fun
 
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HouCuseChickie

HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
zurgandfriend said:
The signs are funny however the last time I was there the place was a real dump.
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agreed. Back in my east coast days I stopped once...and just once to get a pic in front of the sombrero...the rest just scared me.

luv said:
It's no harder to be alert at four in the morning than it is at four in the afternoon. If you are well rested, the time shouldn't matter.

The trick to staying well rested is to stop when you are tired of driving...walk and stretch. Don't log too many miles each day...stop overnight when you are sleepy.

Listen to music you like. Open the window once in a while.
Click to expand...

I have the day off, so I plan on some serious nap time before dropping off the dog, getting the kids and loading up the ride for departure...so hopefully that helps. If we make good time, the drive time w/o stops is between 14-15 hrs. So, it's not awful, but not wonderful either. If it gets really bad...we'll find a hotel to sleep for a few hours. Good call on stopping to stretch and putting the windows down. Thanks!

sydney said:
For my CP my mom, dad, and I drove from the Houston area to WDW all night as well..listening to music and singing really loud kept us awake :)
Click to expand...

Yeah- I think I'm going to have to blast music through one of my ipod headphones since I don't want to keep the kids awake. Still- it is probably the best way to keep me awake.

hankhill said:
The last two years we have driven from Philly to WDW on the 23rd of December. 13 hours m ay not seem like alot but whew it was all we could handle. First we made the deal that we switch at gas fill ups. I start and we can get about 425 between fill ups so we switched a few times and that helped. We set off at 330AM each time to avoid the DC traffic and get some miles under us prior to everyone waking up. Stops for Lunch and Dinner prior to arrival. Pandora Disney stations to begin, followed by the Comedy stations work great. COFFEE! (caffine addiction had to get one in there). Really not a bad trip at all. Dont mind it and would do it again...Enjoy your family and trip and the time you get to spend with them....Have fun
Click to expand...

We used to do something similar when we lived in NJ since the DC traffic can be a nightmare. Our equivalent on this end (and it's bad, but not that bad) is the bridge through Baton Rouge...should be fine middle of the night though. You just reminded me that Pandora may be a good friend for us for this trip. I didn't even think about that. I need to spend the next month really exploring on there. It's funny...this is all for the drive there, but I think excitement is probably going to be the strongest factor keeping me alert. We will likely stop for the night on our way back since we'll be starting from South Florida for that leg of the trip. Really, we don't mind driving...so just trying to just be as prepared as possible. Thanks for the suggestions!
 
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Raven66

Raven66

Well-Known Member
When we drive, I like to have some Mad Libs, those are always fun. We play the license plate game and we do the alphabet game with road signs. And when our daughter and I fall asleep :D, my husband just turns on his favorite tunes loud, and sings.
 
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luv

luv

Well-Known Member
I make people talk to me when I get bored. We play 20 Questions. Many times, we'd leave with no hotel reserved and go over (and over and over) the pros and cons of each. That can take hours, lol, especially when you have multiple people offering up multiple opinions. :)

We do the wave and yell "Woo!" as we cross state lines. Florida gets the biggest, loudest Woo.

We peer into other people's cars and give our opinions of what they do for a living, what kind of house they have (including furniture and how clean it is), we discuss Burger King vs. Dairy Queen for dinner for like 40 minutes. And on and on.

It's easy to kill time if everyone is willing (or can be forced) to participate. :)
 
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HouCuseChickie

HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Raven66 said:
When we drive, I like to have some Mad Libs, those are always fun. We play the license plate game and we do the alphabet game with road signs. And when our daughter and I fall asleep :D, my husband just turns on his favorite tunes loud, and sings.
Click to expand...

ooooo- love Mad Libs!!! These would be really good for when the girls wake up since they should love these. i.e. a lot of laughter should get us past any rough patches that could become "are we there yet" moments in that last leg.

luv said:
I make people talk to me when I get bored. We play 20 Questions. Many times, we'd leave with no hotel reserved and go over (and over and over) the pros and cons of each. That can take hours, lol, especially when you have multiple people offering up multiple opinions. :)

We do the wave and yell "Woo!" as we cross state lines. Florida gets the biggest, loudest Woo.

We peer into other people's cars and give our opinions of what they do for a living, what kind of house they have (including furniture and how clean it is), we discuss Burger King vs. Dairy Queen for dinner for like 40 minutes. And on and on.

It's easy to kill time if everyone is willing (or can be forced) to participate. :)
Click to expand...

It's funny- our drive time in FL takes about 50% of the drive, but definitely a woohoo moment when crossing the state line. :) Love the idea of discussing people in other cars and various levels of pros and cons. And I must say...now I want Dairy Queen! :D
 
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BiggerTigger

BiggerTigger

Well-Known Member
We leave in the middle of night for the first part of our trip (we take two days since we live in Northern New York). I am not good at overnight travel, but the husband is. We keep the sugary drinks and snacks at bay, pack fresh fruit, lots of water, and trail mix. Plan the stops in places where you can stretch, walk around, and still feel safe late at night (we did a gas stop at a place in the middle of no where, were not paying attention to fuel, and it wasn't a pleasant experience). Do not set yourself to a clock, no need to make a goal of arriving at x time, take your time and get there safe and sane.
As for car activity ideas, there are many websites the list ideas, activities, games, and suggestiosn that are age apropriate for everyone.
 
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Cosmic Commando

Cosmic Commando

Well-Known Member
I do all the tricks... 5 Hour Energy, pop, window down, etc. I also found that chewing gum will keep me pretty awake. I think it helps to get your body doing something when you're just staring at a lonely stretch of highway at 4 AM.
 
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luv

luv

Well-Known Member
HouCuseChickie said:
ooooo- love Mad Libs!!! These would be really good for when the girls wake up since they should love these. i.e. a lot of laughter should get us past any rough patches that could become "are we there yet" moments in that last leg.



It's funny- our drive time in FL takes about 50% of the drive, but definitely a woohoo moment when crossing the state line. :) Love the idea of discussing people in other cars and various levels of pros and cons. And I must say...now I want Dairy Queen! :D
Click to expand...
Lol, we really did spend 40 minutes or more debating fast food royalty. Is a king better than a queen? Would we all have to smell the 12yo's farts if he had ice cream? Did DQ have onion rings? The king did. Etc. (The 12yo swore that ice cream would not make him fart and that he'd give us notice if he had to. Then he didn't. When we yelled at him, he managed to choke out, "I lied!" In between his heaving laughter.)

In the car, no conversation is too boring or stupid.

We also spent a lot of time determining how much longer we had to the next Woo (state border).

There is place we pass driving on 77 in North Carolina where there are a bunch of pretty buildings on water. On warm days, people are often out on the water. We always talked about it. One time we had to stop for gas there late at night and we saw a Lady of the Evening at the gas station. Sis said that was why it was so nice there...they were all owned by wealthy whores. Ever after, that area has been referred to as "the whores", lol. It marks our half-way point.

We have names for many things we pass. Sis couldn't pronounce Sesquicentennial and called it Sasquatch Centennial.

So, a big part of the drive is passing stuff we know. Also discussing where we should stop overnight.

Honestly...no matter how long the drive is...if you do it with your loved ones, there is a lot of fun to be had in between the "He's on my side!" crap. :)
 
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