Road Trip!!

[LoriSue]

Hey All...
We're getting ready for our trip in 47 days, driving for the first time. I'm starting to get stuff together as opposed to buying it all at once and got to thinking.. what do you have to have on a road trip? I need orange slices and sunflower seeds (the seeds for when I start to get tired), DH needs jerkey.

 

[LoriMistress]

There are a few things that we need to know:

*How many people (and their ages) will be in your vehicle?

*How long will it be before you arrive at WDW?

*Are you making any stops along the way? (ex: staying a motel/hotel for a night or two, visiting family, other destinations, etc.)

 

[RiversideBunny]

Except for certain parts of TX and LA, you will be driving through civilized areas so you can just stop and get whatever you need as you go.

Good luck.

 

[zurgandfriend]

Not really on the subject but on one road trip south my DS then age 6 asked if we could stop and South of the Border(yuk), on the way there he kept asking, “do you think you can find it dad?”

 

[Dwarful]

I have to have wet wipes, advil, peanut m&m's and diet coke. My girls love bottled water, crayola color wonders - to color, twizzlers, reese's pieces and of course dvd's and books on cd. My husband has to have....his girls happy so he can drive or sleep in peace.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

For me, gotta have my shades, a pillow, my iPhone car charger, tons of good music, & addresses for all Starbucks locations between here & there programed into my nav system map.

Between San Antonio & Houston on I-10 you must stop at Buc-ee's. Clean, spacious restrooms & the store is an experience unto itself. Seriously. Buy a tshirt. The place is awesome. Between Houston & Beaumont a good bit of the construction is done. I can give u a better update after next weekend. Coming thru Beaumont beware of the 'tards driving slow in the fast/passing lane. I never go anywhere without getting behind one & it makes me insane. One of these days I'm gonna shove one out of my way. I never had a problem screaming & cursing other drivers until we moved here. Oi! Between the Lake Charles, Louisiana & Lafayette there is a whole lot of nothing to look at. I almost always sleep this stretch. On the Atchafalaya Basin bridge look for gators down in the water. It's fun. Do NOT drive thru Baton Rouge at rush hour (morning or evening) on weekdays. If you find yourself stuck doing it anyway, take a last potty break after you get off the basin. We have sat in traffic in BR for hours more times then I care to recall. After Hammond, Louisiana there's a whole lotta nothing until you get to Covington. When you pass the Highway 21 exit wave to the left! That's where we wish we still lived. Mississippi should go pretty quick after you spent an eternity going across Texas & Louisiana. Alabama, too. Oh! When you go thru the tunnel in Mobile try to hold your breath. It's tradition. Stop at the Florida welcome center. It's nice! Love the Blue Angel A4 Skyhawk. As you leave Pensacola enjoy the new bridge across the bay. It sure sucked when the old bridge was taken out by Ivan & during the construction of the new one. Between Pensacola & Tallahassee is another booooring stretch I try to sleep thru. When you make Tallahassee you're like 5 hours from The World! Yaaaay! When you get to your turn south in Lake City let the giddiness begin! From there on in have fun, sing with the radio shamelessly, and try hard not to get going too fast. I always get faster and less patient the closer I get to being there!

Have fun!!!:wave:

 

[LoriMistress]

If you have kids in the car, I would make sure you bring plenty of things that would entertain the kids for the trip like card games, coloring books, Gameboy DS, etc. I would also bring tons of snacks, first aid kit, roadside assistance kit, etc. Also bring your MP3 player with tons of music (including Disney music--like park audio, or your favorite WDW podcast).

 

[LoriSue]

I was just curious about what other's HAVE to have. We have AP's for DL because we live in Albuquerque, I always overpack so we have tons left over but for snacks those are our must haves. I need my iPod, I take a book but do most of the driving so don't read much. I just bought the WDW Trivia Books so I look forward to reading those on the way. My daughter is 16 so we may even brave letting her drive part of the way (with one of us awake, of course!)

 

[trr1]

portable dvd player, video games

 

[Raven66]

On our first trip our daughter was 5. She hadn't been on a long road trip since she was 2 months old. We weren't sure how she would do. We brought so much stuff. We wanted her occupied for as long as possible. We took pillows, blankets, portable CD player with headphones, barbies, coloring books and crayons, disney CD's,snacks, drinks and of course first aid things. Luckily she did wonderful. That trip was from Michigan to Florida. She would put on her headphones and sing at the top of her lungs. That had us laughing for awhile.

 

[cowanfamily]

Leave your house at 9pm. The first 11 hours will be very easy. Everyone will be sleeping but you.

 

[enoe01]

1. First aid kit, advil, Pepto,etc...
2. Wet wipes
3. Roll of paper towels
4. 1 Bath towel
5. DVD's
6. MP3 player
7. books, cloring books etc
8. Snacks, bottled water etc
9. Cell phone chargers
10.Hand sanitizer
11. hard copy of driving directions
12. Lysol airfreshner/sanitizer (for that smell from the back of the car)
13. Small tool kit with roadside emergency bag

Thats all I can think of right now, if i remember more i will let u know.

Dont forget to have fun!

 

[erasure fan1]

Every year I bring:

*Peanut butter M&Ms
*Entenmanns crumbly top donuts.
*bottled water and pepsi
*My Mp-3 player
*My PSP for movies and games
*squeeze cheese and crackers

I also like to go to the store and pick out a few new snacks that look good for something new and different to try.

 

[bigorangeandy]

On our last trip we checked out the Kingdom Keeper's on audio books from our library and we listened to those part of the way down, and all the way back to Atlanta. We try to also pack snacks that will not melt easily, nothing like having the snack and the wrapper become one. If you have to have your chocolate, keep it in the cooler. We also try to buy a case of water and freeze many of the bottle, this keeps everything cold, no melted ice to spill in the car, then you can drink the water later.

 

[bobjl527]

Gotta have my Coca Cola 20oz bottles. I usually go through 12 between Chicago and The World.
Can't forget the beef jerky to gnaw on.

 

[mp2bill]

Not really on the subject but on one road trip south my DS then age 6 asked if we could stop and South of the Border(yuk), on the way there he kept asking, “do you think you can find it dad?”

Only when you get within 180 miles of it.

 

[TigerBravo1977]

My family is getting ready to go on our annual 9-hour drive from Birmingham to WDW later this week. We have a 3 year old and a 9 month old. The baby is the wildcard here. We took him on his first trip to WDW around New Year's and we drove through the night so he would sleep. This time we are not doing that so, we'll see what happens.

The DVD player is the key with kids. I thought we were a big deal when we were kids because we had a small TV in my mother's Astro van for long trips. We got 3 channels of staticy network TV if we were lucky. But today you have cheap DVD's you can buy to entertain them for hours. Younger ones will sleep a good bit and watch DVD's the rest of they way.

As others have said, bring food (homemade goodies are my favorite on WDW road trips) a cooler with drinks, and paper towels, because you WILL need them.

 

[Zummi Gummi]

I've never drive to the World before, but have taken a number of other road trips.

The absolute, must have, can't do without, item is a car charger for your ipod. Actually, scratch that, the most important item is the ipod itself, followed by the charger. Related to that, before I leave, I make a whole bunch of unique, bizarre, different playlists. It's fun to create them, and fun when the randomness begins and you try to remember just what you were thinking when you made this playlist.

Also, I cannot speak highly enough of books on tape (which is sort of a misnomer, since I just put them on ipod). The perfect way to pass large chunks of time in the car is to get a few very light, sort of mindless mysteries. I prefer the Alphabet Murder series (featuring Kinsey Millhone), by Sue Grafton. They're not too "deep" and don't require extensive thought- perfect for a long ride. When I started listening to them, I was shocked at how much time I passed with them on.

 

[mousefanwhat?]

We always drive to WDW, it's about an 8 hour shot for us. The kids always have their nintendo's and music players and all the chargers. I get online and go to a word search site and make tons of word searchs for them to do. It's fun for them and keeps them busy for a while.
For me, I have my zune & charger. I always get chocolate covered espresso beans for road trips, it's the only time I allow myself to have them. lol Wet wipes are always a must, and hand sanitizer. I have a GPS that I've grown to like a lot. If I'm not driving I bring a couple good books to read on the way. Our drive goes faster when I drive, I'm one of those ppl that stops for gas and you get 1 pit stop, otherwise, we are on the road!

 

[Disney_Geek]

Most people drink coffee to keep then awake, I drink, no, chug energy drinks on road trips- thus why the flavor of Monster reminds me of theme park. I have to have my GPS and ipod (plus charger). Candy and chips/ crackers are a must. Also can't leave home without Advil and Pepto- needed for the stop we are compelled to make on any trip to Florida at the Smokin' Pig barbecue restaurant in Valdosta, GA.