Oh how I hate that drive-make it better!

[parrothed26]

We travel to WDW about once a year and always drive (can't afford airfare). For us straight through its a 12 hour drive stopping only for gas. It can be downright miserable with small children. I realize some others drive a lot further but I'm wondering what do you do to make the drive not as bad? We play games like Disney alphabet, etc. but it gets old especially on the drive home. Any ideas?

[Basket Mommy]

I hear ya. Our drive can be between 8 and 10 hours depending on traffic and bathroom/food breaks. Our kids are now 10, 12, 14 and 17, but when they were small road trips were hard. We relied heavily on videos and DVDs. I hate to say it, but the screens really entertained them the longest. I wouldn't have let them veg in front of a screen that long at home, but car rides were different. Now they're older and they read (and of course play on their phones).

[MushuGrl]

I'll be doing my first straight 12 hour drive in February and I'm a little skert myself!

No more small children in our group (youngest is 19...sigh...I'm old) but even then, we would make road bingo cards. Make a bingo card with things you know will be on the way (railroad tracks, water towers, etc) and add in other things like certain kids of cars, license plates from certain states...

I kinda want to do that now.

[Basket Mommy]

I'll be doing my first straight 12 hour drive in February and I'm a little skert myself!

No more small children in our group (youngest is 19...sigh...I'm old) but even then, we would make road bingo cards. Make a bingo card with things you know will be on the way (railroad tracks, water towers, etc) and add in other things like certain kids of cars, license plates from certain states...

I kinda want to do that now.

My kids love those scavenger hunt type of games. My oldest printed some out for our last drive down. I think she just Googled car games or something like that. It was fun.

[disneymom15]

To make the car bingo game a bit more exciting for the kids, you could buy a bunch of $5 Disney gift cards or make Disney coupons (dole whip, Mickey bar, etc)
And give them to the winner!

[buzznwoodysmom]

We did all sorts of things to keep the kids occupied on road trips when they were younger. By far the best tip is to have a DVD player and lots of movies. Nothing seems to captivate them more than their favorite movies.

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

The drive can be challenging, can't it?

When DD was younger, we had a "trip bag" that we filled with car-friendly activities, like new books, new activity books, small games, and some favourite snacks. We brought the DVD player and DVD's, and we had a rule that you couldn't watch them until after "lunch" (which was really the 1/2 way mark.

It gave her something to look forward to, and entertained her when the other stuff seemed "old", but kept her interested in the other stuff until then.

For us grown-ups, we found that a good book on CD/iTunes was way better than music, and DD would listen too ... we were actually surprised at how well she followed along.

[CanadianWDWFan]

I hear you on the airfare costs!! For that very reason we have been doing the drive every year since our youngest was 6 months, he is now 11. For us it is a 20+ hour drive, sure it does seem like a long drive but we break is up with a 14+ hour first day and then a nice "short" 6 hour on the second day.

For us, our must haves for the trip are
-DVD system, preferably one that will play through your car’s stereo system. After all, the driver deserves to enjoy themselves on the drive as well! :drive:
-Books, games and game systems and tablets/iPod.
-Pillows and blankets
-Maps for everyone to follow. Got to love AAA maps for this one!
-Snacks

Frame of mind is a big one as well. If you go dreading the trip then you will have a hard time making the most out of your road trip. For us the drive is part of the vacation. Our trip starts the second the car leaves the driveway.

Though I have to admit the drive home seems like it takes FOREVER!!:D

[Disneyfun]

We used to play the alphabet game - you had to find the letter of the alphabet on a sign along the road. To claim a letter you would have to call out the letter and the sign it was on - "O - Orlando 430 Miles"

Once a sign was 'called' it could not be used by any other player regardless of letter. Any sign on the side of the road was valid.

Once you get to the harder letters - Q, V, Z, they can drag the game out for a while. Strategy of calling a sign that someone else needed also played into the game.

[lawgirl]

The last time we drove from Memphis, my little ones were 3 months and 2 years old. We had to stop in Atlanta...there was no way we could have handled that long stretch all the way through. We rented a huge Expedition so everyone had plenty of room, took a portable DVD player that hooked onto the back of the seats, and just let them watch movies. And I think I made a little goodie bag with treats from the dollar store for my son. Little trucks and some fun books. And they actually napped quite a bit. Splitting up the trip made it alot more reasonable for us. And I think we had Hilton points so our stay was free. If a hotel stay isn't an option, I would at least research state parks/ good rest stops along the way. We stopped in Chattanooga and let my son run around and play. That helped too.

[Eric87]

I just got back from a 18 hour drive (Chicago) and did the same last year as well. I have a DD 5 and DS 1. The little guy was good being entertained by his sister and my DD had her iPad to keep her occupied last year. This year we brought my DW best friends daughter, who is 3, and they all played games with each other and shared screen time on the iPad. Every time it was time to stop and eat, I would pick up some food, but instead of eating in the car, I would stop and the next rest area, eat, and let them run around for 10min before we started back again. I love the long drives, but my DW, not so much.

[chefmickey3]

We have driven from near Philadephia every year for the last nine summers. My kids are now 9, 11 and 13. When we talk about what they are looking forward to most about vacation, they answer the road trip along with the mountains and favorite dining. I used to do a small prize when we entered a new state. We played games - they made the scavenger hunt. A working crane was worth 10,000 points! With all the construction on I-95, there were some high scores. I liked the coloring books with the magic markers that don't right on anything else (not sure if they still make them). On the way there, we still do trivia. I agree that the way home is not nearly as much fun as the ride there. If you have access to portable DVD, it can help to show a favorite video or one they have never seen before. If you do it year after year, they will come to love it. We went to California last year and we missed our road trip.

[azcavalier]

You probably won't like my suggestion, but I would say to break it up over two days. Our drive is about 11 hours. We leave Friday after work, eating a packed dinner in the car. We stop for the night somewhere in Georgia, after about four or five hours of driving. We usually stay at a hotel that sleeps five or six, includes free breakfast in the morning, and is usually about $100-$110/night.

Then, the next morning we get on the road around 8am, and we're in Orlando by 1pm. We either hit the Outlet mall, or we just go check in and hit a park. Works for us, doesn't wear us out. I mean, you're already spending $$$ on your Disney vacation. It's worth it to break up the drive.

Have we done it straight through? Yes, definitely. Our kids were older, though.

[BigRedDad]

With all of the technology today, the ride can be MUCH easier for passengers. They have iPads, phones, handheld games, etc. They can watch movies, play games, or whatever else. I am making the 10-hour drive starting Thursday. We are not going straight through because we won't hit the road until 1PM. We'll get into JVille at about 8PM.

We had to buy a new car. When we were looking, we thought about all the ride times we will have over the next 10-15 years. We opted for the entertainment package. In the end with the incentives, it was cheaper to get it than not. We have 2 separate screens, both with their own HDMI and AV jacks. If needed, they can plug in 2 separate XBox consoles and play games against each other. They can watch separate BR movies on each screen. It is basically a 1st class ride down.

[Speedy1998]

The portable DVD player made it easier when my kids were younger.

Also have you considered not driving straight through. Usually we leave after work on Friday, and drive for 5 to 6 hours (we always reserve the hotel room in advance). That makes the drive on Saturday much shorter.

[allgiggles]

We have a 16 hour drive that we break up over two days but we try to do at least 12 hours the first day (with gas/bathroom breaks and a stop for lunch it's closer to 14-15 hours on the road that day). We have 5 kids and they've all made the trip several times -- usually from the time each of them turned 4. The youngest one is now 10, so for the last 2 trips, the kids have taken care of packing their own things to keep them occupied in the car (mostly electronics). When they were younger, the portable DVD players were a godsend. They each had one so they could watch whatever they wanted. I'd pick up a few new movies before a road trip. I also had a headphone splitter so that if 2 kids wanted to watch the same thing at the same time, they could. They also had CD players (now MP3) and I'd buy a few new "kid song" CD's before a trip. Each kid would have a small drawstring backpack with a few things to play with on the trip (paper tablet, colored pencils <no crayons, they melt too easily in a hot car>, stickers, small figurines, pipe cleaners/Bendaroos, etc.) I would also keep a stash of extra "fun" things in a bag in the back of the car so that if they were getting bored with what they had in their bags, I could pull out something new at the next rest stop. I also kept some things for the drive home so they had something new. I picked up odds and ends of things at Dollar Tree, Five Below, and the birthday party favor sections at Walmart and Target. The website momsminivan.com has a lot of good ideas as well.

We don't rush through our bathroom breaks or meals. When the kids were small, I'd take bubbles, a small frisbee, and a tennis ball or two so that we could spend a few minutes letting the kids run off some energy whenever we'd stop. If we stopped for lunch at a fast-food place that had a play area, we'd let the kid play there while DH & I would eat lunch at a table nearby. When we were ready to leave, we'd order lunch for the kids and they'd eat their food while we drove. That combination was good at inducing a nice nap when they were finished eating. :-)

I also gave each kid their own bag of snacks for the drive. Actually, I would set up a buffet of mom-approved snacks the night before the trip and give them each a large ziploc bag to fill with the treats they wanted from the buffet (with limits -- "you can choose 4 snacks from this group; 6 snacks from this group; etc." They never eat everything they pack -- they have enough for the drive there and back and plenty left over.). That way I'm not constantly handing out snacks. I do control the drinks, though -- we don't want to make a bathroom stop every 5 minutes. :-)

Each kids also has their own travel pillow and blanket to use in the car. My kids tend to sleep a lot when we're in the car -- even now that they're older. We did the drive to Disney a few weeks ago and I think the 3 kids (ages 10, 14, & 15) slept several hours during our long day of driving. I will admit, when they were younger I'd try to get them really tired the day before we were leaving and kept them up a little later than normal that night. Then we'd get up and leave by 5:00 a.m. and they'd usually sleep for the first 2 or 3 hours of the drive.

We've found that the more things they have to make their trip comfortable (toys, snacks, blanket, etc.), the happier they are. And giving them the ability to get out of the car and run around every 2 or 3 hours really helps as well.

[polarbear72834]

We drive from Arkansas , thats 18 hours straight through.. We start out in the Afternoon and get to Disney mid morning.. I take my laptop and DVD's and watch movies.. My hubby likes to do all the driving.

[Imalismom]

Another vote for in car movies

I usually did a plastic container with coloring books, crayons, color pencils, paper dolls, snacks, etc. Each container was tailored for what each child liked.

When movies came along - that was a saving grace!!!!

[Priority Four]

We drive from Texas. 18hr total. When our kids were small, I left super early like 4am. The kids would sleep till about eight. I know it takes longer, but we found stopping to eat helped a lot. Breakfast out of the car at a restaurant of some kind. Fast or whatever and lunch at a rest area with sandwiches and a ball or frisbee to throw around. Just getting out helped. Our kids are in their twenties now. We still drive, but we have to stop at the bigger rest areas because they can throw a frisbee a long way now.

[Cass&KenziesMom]

We're stopping a little over halfway this time because I had enough hotel rewards points to get a free night. We usually drive straight through though. We pretty much drive all night so the kids will be sleeping most of the way there. DH will nap most of the day so he can drive the first part and I sleep in the car so I can drive most of the last part. DVD players are our friends and we always make sure the kids' tablets and iPods are charged.

[momof3+twins]

Stickers and notebooks are a life saver. The tv with every movie we own always helped too. And lots of snacks.

[mandaep]

I don't think we will drive anymore, after last time DH said it would take a miracle to get him to drive again. I think it could have been a lot better had we not tried to make it over night in one shot. The kids did fine actually, they could have been a LOT fussier, it was us who were the mess. I was sick the last couple days at Disney and I felt like I had pneumonia on the way back. DH drove most way and I think he almost had a breakdown. Looking back it wasn't safe for us. I KNOW you just want to get there and get it done, but, look at the option of taking couple short spurts. Start driving during day time when they are not ready to lose it from exhaustion and when they are in better moods. Spend the night somewhere, I guess if you can afford it?. It will be worth it. Then eat an awesome breakfast somewhere fun, get the best pancakes you can, and start off again and those 5-6 hour drives are not as bad. I thought taking breaks was for the weak but oh lord I would never drive without breaks again. It's just not worth it.

[j2k]

Echoing what others have said ... a DVD player and movies were perfect entertainment. Our SUV did not have a built in DVD player but we had a portable player that my DD put on her lap with headphones. She was 5.5 years old when we took our longest road trip (to WDW of course !!).
She also had a Leapster electronic game, coloring books, colors, sticker books to keep her occupied. I bought things at the dollar store that would occupy her.

Good luck!

[CanadianWDWFan]

I don't think we will drive anymore, after last time DH said it would take a miracle to get him to drive again. I think it could have been a lot better had we not tried to make it over night in one shot.
Funny how I say that we will never fly again like others say the same thing about the drive. :D I LOVE to fly, it is just the airport masses that get to me. First thing about driving is to not drive overnight. Stop, have a good meal and a good night sleep and get up in the morning well rested. Rushing through tired is no way to safely travel on the roads. I know folks are excited and just want to get there but if you drive through you arrive at WDW exhausted and have basically a wasted day ahead of you. We like to stop one night and then have a "short" drive to arrive at Disney in the early afternoon rested and ready to go!

[Mrs Bus Driver]

I don't think we will drive anymore, after last time DH said it would take a miracle to get him to drive again. I think it could have been a lot better had we not tried to make it over night in one shot. The kids did fine actually, they could have been a LOT fussier, it was us who were the mess. I was sick the last couple days at Disney and I felt like I had pneumonia on the way back. DH drove most way and I think he almost had a breakdown. Looking back it wasn't safe for us. I KNOW you just want to get there and get it done, but, look at the option of taking couple short spurts. Start driving during day time when they are not ready to lose it from exhaustion and when they are in better moods. Spend the night somewhere, I guess if you can afford it?. It will be worth it. Then eat an awesome breakfast somewhere fun, get the best pancakes you can, and start off again and those 5-6 hour drives are not as bad. I thought taking breaks was for the weak but oh lord I would never drive without breaks again. It's just not worth it.
Totally agree with you, I use to do a 6 hour drive from AZ to DL with just DD and I. This was when she was around 12. First time we went just the 2 of us, I got the hotel for just 2 nights. At the end of the last day (day 3) got in the car and drove home. Will never do anything so stupid again, I was exhausted and falling asleep, had to pull into a rest stop for a nap. After that trip I always paid for a 3rd night and left first thing in the morning.