Driving from CO to MI at Xmas time with 2 kids under 5...

[Mammabruski]

The title says it all... is it a crazy idea? My DH brought this idea up at dinner tonight. It would save us some $$, but it would also take at least another 2 days of travel more than if we flied. We're talking about 23 hours of driving (per google) in good weather.

I was thinking we would leave about 6pm on one night, and drive through the night. We would stop the next day when we reached our max. I figured we could find a hotel using our smartphones a couple hours before we were ready to stop for the day - perhaps giving us time to enjoy a mall or the pool at the hotel. We would hopefully reach MI by mid-day, on the "third" day, after waking up from the hotel and driving the rest of the way.

Our kids will be almost 5 and almost 2.5, both little girls. We do take a fair amount of short road trips throughout the year (4-7 hour trips), and they do ok then. I just don't know if the savings is worth the time and potential headaches of driving in winter (and with two little ones).

Opinions? Experiences? Advice?

Thanks!

[SBETigg]

We drove to MI from MA when my kids were older than yours, ages 9 and 11,11 hours. So not worth it for me. But the kids were really not the issue as much as the tension of the drive really got to my husband and me. It would have been better for us to plan to take it slower. If you'll enjoy the journey as much as the destination, I would advocate for driving. But if the lengthy drive is going to take away from your enjoyable downtime, just pay the extra and fly.

[CanadianWDWFan]

We drive all the time from the Toronto area to Disney so our travel times are similar. It takes us just over twenty hours. What we do is leave at 5pm after we are all home from work. We put about 5 hours in the first day before calling it a night. The next day we will be on the road before 7am and will arrive at Disney late that night. As you can see we do drive pretty hard without driving through the night.

We have done it where we took three days of driving and stopped to see some of the sights along the way. But personally I would rather just get there. We have two boys aged 13 and 7. The youngest has been driving every year since he was 6 months old. Both guys travel extremely well and our many long drives have never been a problem for us.

We do sometimes stop for the night at a hotel with a pool so we can all unwind before bed. As for in the car, we have a DVD system, games, books as well as hand held game systems.

But for your drive during winter, you could easily run into snow related problems that could add considerable amount of time to your journey. You might have to factor that into your plans. With the price of airfare driving should save you some money not to mention the cost of renting a car at the other end. I am a huge advocate of driving since it is always cheaper for us to drive.

[Dulcee]

Growing up we drove to WDW from NJ every summer, about a 24 hour drive all together.

I will tell you the one year we regretted it miserably was when we did what your planning, tried to drive through the night. Those night time hours are really, really miserable and when the sun comes up you don't want to keep driving.

What always worked for us in the past was day one getting on the road in the middle of the night/early morning (after getting to bed real early the night before) so around 1 or 2 in the morning. Driving until 6 or 7 that night, stopping at a hotel and then finishing the drive the next day.

I would be concerned about weather, where your traveling you have a real risk of ice and snow, both of which could make the ride longer and dangerous.

Its a toss up for me. I know the allure of saving money is there but with gas/food/hotel/aggravation it may just even out to book the flights.

[Janmac]

Besides the probability of snow, you might be dealing with ice. I know if it's just me and DH we're apt to drive more in winter but with little kids along, we're more cautious. But then I can remember being stranded or having car trouble as a kid, on winter trips with my parents.

I would recommend you check into Amtrak. You'd probably have to drive to Denver, or the station just west of it - can't remember the name right now. There are several Michigan routes, like to Grand Rapids, or over to Port Huron. If you were going anywhere near those places, Amtrak may be your most comfortable bet. You'd be on the train about half the time it'd take you to drive.

And the times are decent. No ugly 3 am connections, tho there is that pesky lay over in Chicago. Your family could get tickets now for about $800. There are also discounts, like AAA. Best to reserve as early as possible.

Train seats are more comfy than airline seats. And you can get up and move about the train, go to the bathroom when you want to, etc.

One year we - DH, me, my sister and her DD, maybe age 11 - were going to drive from mid-MO to NE New Mexico over Thanksgiving. The weather patterns were making me nervous, so at the last minute I tried Amtrak and got a good price for tickets.

Sure enough, a big storm hit Colorado, Kansas and Missouri the day we were to leave. The trip usually takes about 11 hours but with all the snow delays we were on the train for 24 hours. I figure we got twice the ride for the same price.

The train route parallels the highway through much of Kansas. We could look out the windows and see the cars stranded. One woman said, "I can't complain. I'm warm, I'm comfortable, and I'm moving." We had all seen, before we left, the videos on tv of folks stuck in the airports, sleeping all over the floors, etc.

I'd recommend you figure your gas and hotel and meals, and then figure the Amtrak costs. You can see their dining car menus, with prices, and the costs of the snack car offerings. We always bring snacks along, too. If your destination is anywhere near one of the Michigan stops, your safest bet, weather wise, may be riding the train.

If you do decide Amtrak is a good alternative, be sure to bring some small pillows, maybe neck pillows, and blankets. I've seen folks also use those eye masks, and ear plugs. And most trains have AC plug-ins at each pair of seats, so you can bring a lap top or some such to play movies for your kids.

Kids in our family have always loved riding the train.

Jan

[DVC2004]

We didn't do it so I can't speak from experience, I have driven from IL to FL (Key West actually) with my kids when they were small. And they were fine, had DVDs to watch, etc. But it was summer and the roads were good... My only concern would be the weather. Snow storms, ice, etc. That would deter me. It could also delay the travel time and you might end up getting another day or two added in to your travel...not trying to scare you, just the weather can be so unpredictable that time of year espc. here in the midwest.

I would also say train or plane if you can.

[Mammabruski]

Thanks for the input, everyone!

I think the risk of bad weather is too great... I'd rather wait until summer to try and take a long road trip like that...

The train is appealing, but I think we might as well just fly, my girls are pretty used to that process!