The long drive, how do you do it?

[tink2006]

Just curious how people plan the long drive. We drive from Indiana to WDW which is about 2000 miles r/t. We do this once a year. Travelers: DH, DS15 and myself in a minivan. DH does most of the driving. I pack drinks, snacks etc for the trip. We also have a bigger cooler and snack bag for the week long stay at WDW. We leave around 5AM. DS is still in sleep mode at this time. We have a DVD player in the van and DS usually takes a game machine. I prepare a "goody bag" for him with new movies, video games etc to keep him entertained (I started doing this when he was 2 so it has become a long trip "tradition"). We stop for breakfast at a Denny's, stop for lunch at a fast food place. We arrive in Valdosta around 5PM (depending on traffic). I pack a seperate bag for the trip down/back. Do not want to take the big suitcases in just for one outfit. We relax, swim and order a pizza. The following morning (around 8:30 AM) we start our last leg into WDW. We pull up to the WDW hotel around 11:00 AM.

The return trip (not as much fun) we leave WDW around noon and drive until we are tired. We spend the night and continue home the next day. We arrive back home around 6PM.

We feel that when we pull out of our drive way to start the trip, we are in vacation mode on the way to our happy place :mickey:

Just curious to see how other people do the long drive :blush:

[sleepingbooty]

The last few times we've skipped the long drive in favor of flying - but we may drive again this fall. When we did drive, we left on a friday right after hubby got home from work, ate in the car while driving, and drove until about 1 am. We stopped in Calhoun, GA for the night. Got up and left aroung 9, and drove another 8 hours to get there. We brought videos, etc for the girls, but one thing that really helped them pass the time was to look at a homemade map of the US I made. I drew our route, and put a dot for each town we'd pass through. Then they'd be on the lookout for that town so they could put a star on the map. I'd definitely do that again, it was a lot of fun!

[Speedy1998]

950 miles one way from Houston, last time we drove straight through leaving at 4am. This time we are leaving around 8 am after we bring the dogs to the kennel. We hope to make it to Tallahasse to spend the night.

[sassafras]

We drove once from Indiana and my husband swears he will never do it again (at least with me). We split it up much like you did, but I kind of freaked out about going thru the mountains in Tennessee (that's what happens when you're raised on the prairie!). Then we got stuck in a traffic jam down around Gainsville because of a wreck. We just decided it 's easier to spend the half day, going to the airport and flying rather than driving!

[amyjo76]

We drive from MI to FL and I have gone 4 times with DH and 2 year olds (who are now 12 and 8) I have found the easiest thing to do is leave late around 5 pm and drive through the night. My husband usually drives at night because he's a night owl. I drive during the day. This way the kid's sleep in the car and by the time they wake up we are almost there. We will grab drive through either on the way out or shortly after and have snacks in the car but it cuts down on having to buy food along the way (unless you like to stop and eat.) We usually only stop for gas and at rest areas if needed. We are on a mission to get there! :thumbsup:

[BigRedDad]

There is no way I could do a drive like that. I would want to get there so bad, I would speed too much. I live in NC, so it is about a 9 hour drive. I have not driven it, but I have to my parents 2 hours further south.

The way you do it is the way I would do it. Pack lots of food and drinks. Make sure no one eats or drinks earlier than 1-hour before the next stop. I can't stand driving a long way and stopping every hour for potty breaks. If it got too bad, I would probably have to leave them at a rest stop. My patience would wear to thin. I have to be able to drive through a full tank of gas before stopping. Otherwise, I get miserable.

[CleveSJM]

We are like amyjo76. We've driven from Ohio numerous times (to Fort Myers mosty +2 hours from WDW). Every couple years I swear I won't do it again and we fly the next, then we want to save $ and drive again. It's pretty easy. We try to leave around 2-4 pm. Seems to beat all the rush hour trafic that way except for Orlando in the morning if we tke longer than expected. It's nice driving with everyone asleep. I can make the Florida line around 4am and then my DW has to take over. I get a couple hours and take over around I4.

We've done this with one DD1 thru the current DD16, DD13, DS6, and DD4.

Red Bull is a great invention. Grapes are the perfect road trip snacks. Stop a lot to at least stretch your legs and get fresh air. Avoid chips and sugars. Pack one bread slice mini-sandwiches and use those to control hunger. We usually stop for one bigger meal (dinner or breakfast) and "drive thru" for the other. We don't have a problem with this but I'm usually up to 1-2am anyway. The excitement of a FL vacation makes it real easy.

I setup my laptop between the front seat arm rests with velcro. We'll play DVD's or road trip games when the kids are not sleeping. Now, the otler ones have iPods and personal DVD players so that helps as well.

On the way home, my wife drives quite a bit more and sometimes we'll take two days like you do. Hotel, in room pizza, and they swim, I sleep. :thumbsup:

[merlinmagic4]

We drove in 1998 when my oldest was just one and we swore we would never do it again! But........we're doing it again in April this year because if we didn't drive, we couldn't go.

We are leaving at 2pm when my DH is out of school and driving straight through until we get there. It seems crazy (1300+ miles and 21+ hours) but the kids will sleep most of the trip (DS11, DD8, and DS2) while we drive overnight.

We'll bring DVDs, books, music, games, snacks, etc. and make the most of it. We should arrive somewhere between 11am-2pm if all goes well and we don't hit lots of construction and/or traffic.

[Young@Heart]

We drove in 2006, and we're driving again this summer. With 5 of us, flying is not an affordable option. But, I love to drive, and my DH and DC are willing passengers, so we make the most of it. :mickey:

We plan on leaving just before midnight and driving straight through (other than stopping for fast food/bathroom breaks) until 4 or 5 pm the next day. Then we'll stop at a motel for the night, get some more fast food, swim, and go to bed early. The next day, we're up and on our way around 4pm. With luck and light traffic, we can drive through the gates by 10 am.

The ride home isn't as fun, of course. But we take our time going back. We try to leave in the late afternoon and drive for 4 or 5 hours. Then, after getting some rest, we head out again. We might plan one more stop the next night and maybe stop at a point of interest along the way.

[disneylovinmom]

We too live in Indiana, and there is no way I will ever drive to WDW. I hate riding in the car. My daughter gets very car sick and it is just not worth it to me to have to drive. My family drove to Florida when I was a teenager and it was 20 plus hours of sheer misery. I always plan my trips about a year in advance and keep checking Expedia for as soon as the airfares come out and usually can get a fairly decent rate. I just flew to Orlando in December for $87 each way. You can't really beat that price. It would cost that much to drive. I also do not want to have to give up a whole 2 or 3 days of my trip just for traveling.

[ncrohrs]

We did me, DH, DD age 5, DS age 3, and DD age 1 1/2 in 2006 from Ohio. Doing it again here in a few days!

For us, its best to break up the trip, which of course needs more travelling days (the only bummer really). We will stop this time in KY to leave our dog with my SIL. That will be 3 hours or so. Visit for a couple hours then back in the car to drive through TN to Chattanooga where we will spend the night and continue in the morning. Then off to my sister's in Gainesville to visit for a night. Then she is just 2 hours from WDW! We can leave refreshed and ready for fun.

I pack DVD's, small toys, snacks. Kids last time really loved the scenery and change of pace, Ohio is very flat, so its cool to drive through mountains. Its also great to have the weather warm up as you go!

[c&d]

From Massachusetts it's about 1300 miles for us. I pick up DS at school at 2:20 then DH at 3:00 and off we go. We usually stop in Stafford, VA. for the night then get up the next day and drive into Disney.

DS takes movies and games and the game cube to entertain himself. I pack snacks always including the jumbo size box of Goldfish. It's the official road trip food can't leave home without it. :D