Driving with kids

[EmmMOM2]

We are thinking of driving 20 hrs from CT to orlando for our vacation to save money on plane tickets.
We have a 6 year old and 3 year old and have never driven further then 3 hours with them before.
Should we do it?
What do we bring to keep them occupied ? (we do have a dvd player in the car)
Where should we stop to sleep as a good halfway point?
Will we be too tired when arriving on vacation as my hubby is worried about that.

[Goofy4TheWorld]

How many days is your vacation?

[EmmMOM2]

Our vacation will be about 10 days in Disney....
So we will leave 2 days before we need to check-in at disney....

[Mickey'sGirl]

I would do it, and I have done it! We've been driving to WDW regularly from Toronto since our youngest was 6 months old. It's about a 22 hour trip, and we have it down to 1 1/2 days of driving. We have found that by stopping only once, the children travel much easier. "After we wake up from this hotel, we will drive and get to Disney at X o'clock." We take books and music and the almighty DVD players, and the kids have their PSPs, and it's all part of our adventure.

This year we had to make some last minute changes, and we are now flying instead of driving ... and honestly, we're going to miss our road trip and overnight pizza stop a bit!

I say GO FOR IT!

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

We regulary take DD (now 12) on long drives, since she was a baby, and it really isn't that bad at all!

For us, we start early in the AM, so she sleeps for part of the trip. Once she wakes up, we stop, stretch and get her something to eat.

We have a "rule" that she can't watch the DVD player until after lunch, so it is "special" and gives her something to look forward to. For the morning, we bring colouring (we use a "breakfast in bed tray" as a table), activities, little games (from the dollar store), etc to keep her entertained. We also do a lot of singing and story-telling.

Once we stop for lunch (which we put off as long as possible), we whip out the DVD player, and she watches movies for the afternoon part of the trip.

I would drive as long as you can the first day, so you have a short drive the second day, and you'll feel more refreshed.

But, we've driven to Disney a bunch of times, and it works just fine.

[EmmMOM2]

If we need to check-in to Disney on a Monday what day should we leave to make it in time??

[Mickey'sGirl]

If I were checking in on a Monday, I would leave on the Sunday morning. I would leave my home between 6 and 7 and drive as far as I could. Normally we split the ride into 1/3 and 2/3s. Your trip is 20 hours, I would look to stop somewhere 14hours along. Leaving at 6ish, you would be stopped for the night by 8ish, then you could sleep in a bit, and leave at 7ish the next morning, and you will be in WDW shortly after lunch. That's how I'd do it.

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

I think that's a great plan

[Goofy Pluto]

Last time we went we went to bed really early the night before and left at 3:00 in the morning from around Philadelphia. This way the kids were able to sleep in the car for about four hours and that's less time they have to worry about travelling and a LOT less traffic to worry about. Then we made occasional quick stops for meals and watched DVDs all the way down. They really do wonders and make the time fly.

We travelled for about 14 hours and made it all the way to the GA/FL border before my 3 yo son had had enough. It was only about another 4 hours the next day.

We're doing the same thing again in three months!

[EmmMOM2]

Can you make it from CT to Savannah, GA to stop to sleep there in one day?? Or is that not possible?

We would like to stop somewhere that is less then 6 hours or so to Disney, so we wont have much longer to travel the second day...

[Daisy'sMom]

Try to make it to South Carolina. And make sure you make frequent stops. Get out and walk around. Don't rush just to get there. You will end up tired and cranky if you put a a time limit on driving.
When we lived in CT, we would drive down several times a year. It can be boring, but we played lots of games. We didn't have dvd players then or video games, and so we would count how many Cracker Barrell signs we saw, how many red cars, anything to keep the kids busy. Have fun, and remember this. The kids will be gone someday and you can look back on this trip and smile. Enjoy your trip

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

Yes, you can stretch it and get all of the way to Savannah, but it will be a long go, and you won't have a lot of time for breaks or stops.

We have done the Toronto-Atlanta drive a couple of times in one day (about the same distance), and although tiring, it is doable!

[trynkat]

Ditto on driving longer on the first day!
Also, we went to the dollar store and stocked up on new books, coloring books, activities, etc., for the car ride.
I LOVE road trips! It's a great way to see the country.

[Tink#64]

I know alot of people drive straight thru, but "I" can't stand it! DS's now 12 & 14 have always done great on road trips but it's me that can't stand to sit for more than about 9 - 10 hours! So we drive about 3/4's of the way on the 1st day & then stop for dinner & sleep & then we finish the last few hours the next morning, that way we arrive refreshed and ready for our vacation rather than tired and sluggish from driving all night. This works great for us as at WDW, our arrival day has always been our time to visit DTD & shop & have dinner & DS's can have a little pool time before getting some sleep & being ready for our 1st park day!

We always take lots of snacks & drinks, one of our personal fav's is hot dogs! I steam the dogs, bun them & wrap them individually & this is lunch for our 1st drive day! DH & DS's just love them! DS's watch movies, listen to their Ipods & now they're all about their phones & texting! They never ask - "Are we there yet?" - that's my line! lol

[5MemphisTiggers]

I say do it. On basically all of my family trips growing up we drove -- from Memphis to San Diego, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Sanibel Island FL. That was back in the days before DVD (in fact, it may have been back before seatbelts, but I'm not going there). Lots of fond memories.

We've also driving on our family vacations -- often camping when the kids were younger. If your kids are anything like mine were at that age, they will likely spend a lot of time sleeping. When awake, in addition to the things mentioned by others, you can always try to find the alphabet on signs and license plate, count McD's or Cracker Barrell signs, etc.

The DVD player can help pass the time as well. Watching Disney movies always puts us in a better mood. On our last family trip we watched, among others, Swiss Family Robinson. For the first time, my kids found the treehouse interesting on that trip.

As for checking in, can't you check in online before you leave?

Good luck, safe travels and have fun!!

[disneykid@hrt]

I was soooooo nervous about making the 18 hour trip with 2 and 6 year olds, but I can honestly say I have NO complaints. They weren't miserable whatsoever. I think I said "are we there yet?" more than they did.

I packed a picnic basket full of chips, granola bars, and candy. We had Disney movies in the DVD the whole way.

We drove 15 hours the first day and stopped in Valdosta. Then we woke up the next morning and left around 8 to drive the last 3 and a half hours to Disney. It was perfect! We were in the park by early afternoon!! Good luck. It's not going to be as bad as you're imagining!

[g8rgirl29]

I would have a few baskets of toys/activities for the children. We drive back and forth to NY a lot and we have gotten it down pat what will interest our 6yo DD. DVD player, MP3 player with her favorite songs (mostly Disney), color wonders (no melting and no staining), paper and stickers, mini etch a sketch, mini magna doodle. Things like this but I break them out sparingly, always need a back up. A friend of mine gift wraps these things and lets her children pick things out based on good behavior. DD was given a great toy for travel, it is called "Find It" A contained Adventure. It is a tube filled with confetti like beads and little items that you have to try to find by shaking it around. There is a check list of items to find. You can find it online, just do a google search and they sell it at Target too.
I hope you have a great trip/adventure!!!

[florida girl]

I LOVE driving with our family from Iowa(22-24 hours)!! We have DD4 and DS2 and have driven with them both 3 times now. I love having my own car and car seats.

MY 2Cents would be to drive straight through!! It sounds crazy and the first time we were going we had originally planned to stop in Atlanta and stay but when we got there we were only 7 hours from Orlando and decided to call and see if we could get a room for that day and GO FOR IT We would leave one day right after lunch. That way the kids would watch a DVD(a must for traveling with small kids) and our smallest would nap. From there we would stop around every 3 hours and try to keep our stops with everyone getting out to rest areas. We would let the kids run and on a couple of the trips we took small wrapped gifts for them to open at each stop. This was fun for them and it was maybe a little bribery if they started to whine in the car

Hubby would do most of the driving and I would try to rest as early as possible and then help him out in the middle of the night. You really aren't as tired as you would think when you get there the next day around check in time. Then you just check out the hotel that day and get to bed early and ready to go the next day! If you have to stop for an hour or so and sleep at a rest area.

Staying at a hotel for one night can be such a pain b/c you are getting there late, most likely leaving early and you have to haul all your stuff in

Just a little plug for GOING for it!!! I'm sure your road trip will be fun and with kids it really goes faster I think. You are more concerned with them and it takes your mind of off how many more hours you actually have!!!