have you drove there? About This Page:

[suzq62982]

I'm throwing around the idea of driving to Disney. We have a van and we'd have 4 drivers. But we would drive about 20 hours with a 5, 3 1/3 and 8 month old.. Have any of you attempted this? It would save us about $600 if we drove instead of flying..

[oldmom]

We have driven from mid-Missouri. It's not bad, except the last time I believe the whole interstate through GA was being repaired. I'm sure they are done by now. Get maps and Tour Guides from AAA and have a good time. We picniced on the way down instead of resturants and found good hotel deals, so savings do add up.

[lura008]

We drive from middle TN, so it takes approx 15 hrs (including bathroom breaks). There are 5 of us, DH, me, DD1 (17), DD2 (9), & DS (2 1/2). We went last year and drove into lake city, fl. We just took our time. Both girls has MP3 players, and thank goodness for the portable DVD player. It was a life saver for DS. This time we are leaving about 3 am, so hopefully he will sleep a while before we need to stop.

I think the biggest advantage was having our own car while on property. There is a super target & super walmart on 192. We got our snacks and a lot of the same shirts that were on property for about 1/2 the cost. I have never flown and I doubt I would because I just prefer to have my own car. If we need something, we just go get it without paying the extra cost on property.

[home4us123]

We drove down in Feb. from Upstate NY. We left about 9 at night and arrived around 4 the next afternoon. Just about 20 hours. There was my husband and I, our 2 boys ages 8 and 2 and my parents. My father and husband drove the entire trip (they are to afraid to be in the car with my mother or I driving......say they arent sure where we will end up, probably right) We have a DVD player in the van but brought the other portable one so they didnt have to watch the same movies. Kids had toys, DS, MP3 Player and snacks. I have to say it was a much better experience that I had thought it would be. I was sure my husband was going to jump at some point but he made it. We plan on driving again next year to. Good luck.

[mamapajama]

We drove last summer from Long Island with a 13 & a 10 year old. We stopped at a motel to sleep. The trip was a lot better than I thought it would be. We saved a lot of money on airfare & we are planningon driving again next summer if we have a bigger vehicle. I'm about to have a baby and our cars are too small to make a trip that long with everyone in the car!

[minushka72]

We drove once when my son was 7 months. 24 hours of driving. We spread it out over 2 days down and 3 days back but we had 2 weeks of vacation time and took our time. We also visited family on the way back. If your kids are well behaved for road trips, then i say go for it. Train them for long trips now while they are young. That is what my parents did with me and my sis growing up. Long car trips are fun if you make them that way.

[cmhand30]

We drove from Columbus, Ohio. OMG, about 13 years ago. DH was home for his mid-tour from Korea. DS#1 was about 4 and DS#2 about just over 2.
These were the days before portable DVD players. Can't remember how long it took. Probably too long. But they were in the back of my Dad's Cadilac. I don't remember it as being a nightmare. I have pictures of them smiling in the back seat. Must have been a good time.
Everytime we have driven since luckily we have lived closer in GA or northwest FL.

[Nalagh]

Hi,

We drive with the kids all the time and camp and have since they were newborns. We go to the keys each Christmas with our trailer in tow. We pack lots of movies, toys, games, snacks and meals. We have never had a really bad experience.

However, this time we are flying to WDW. At the price of gas, we can fly to Florida for less than it is to drive 36 hours both ways. Even for our keys Christmas break we will be flying and camping in camping cabins. We waited until we got great deals, and then we booked.

Good luck with whatever you decide!
Nalagh

[Principessa_di_Fata]

We drive every time from Memphis, TN (all the way west, on the river). Takes us a little under 12 hours, usually, if we don't stop at all except for gas.

DD was 7 months the first time we went and she's done numerous 14 hour + road trips since. It's really easy. We have a portable DVD player that plugs into the cigarette lighter, and that keeps her entertained for HOURS. Then there's coloring books etc. We have a travel tray that hooks up with her car seat, and it's got cup holders and space to color and stuff. So she's easy in the car. We stop once each way for a meal and a leg-stretch so it will take us about 13 hours all told, with stops. Easy-peasy!

I way prefer driving, and would do it for sure in your case. Saving $600 is great, and you can bring whatever you want (no stupid TSA rules) and have an adventure!

[SARH7]

We drove from Buffalo, NY in May..took us 22 hours with a 5 y/o and a 4 mo old. We had to stop fairly often to feed the baby. They were actually really good. DS toward the end did not want to get back in his car seat after stopping to eat, but within 15 minutes he stopped crying. Going down we drove through the night, coming home we stopped and got a hotel....not sure which was worse. Going down was long, but coming home was 2 full days of driving. I know we'll never do the drive again. I get carsick- major headaches and sometimes nausea, so all i can do is sit there, no reading or anything, so it makes for a really long ride. I did drive sometimes, but can;t do it at night...made me so nauseas.

[sillyolebear2380]

We are driving down from Va in November.. I think it is about 10 hours..my kids are 13 and 7.. But we did drive from Ca to Va when we moved here and they were good during that trip because of ipods,and dvd players. I always place a cooler in the back so they can get there own drinks and a snack bag of there favorite snacks for each of them. Now that i have my new car (dodge 2008 with the table) we drive to Pa at least 1 time a month and that is an 8 hour trip and they love the table because they can play board games, and sit and play with the computer on the internet they are very happy to get in the car... WOW how did my parents do it without all this stuff now.. but to be honest we drove to WDW when I was 10 from Brooklyn and it must not have been to bad because I have wonderful memories of that whole trip.

[PURPLEPRINCESS]

There is still major road construction going on in GA especially in downtown Atlanta area. From 9pm on Friday nights to 5am Monday morning, three lanes of the I75/85 is closed through downtown Atlanta due to the road construction and redoing of the 14 street ramp/bridge. This is where the Ohio students bus accident occurred. Yuou can get up to the minute info on the road improvements in Ga by calling 511 on your cell phone (once in Ga) or you can go to Welcome to the GDOT to get information about the construction and alternate routes to take.

I think your drive should be okay you may stop to rest after 12 or 16 hours but I think you should be okay.

Dawn

[katskids]

We drove from northern OH and it took about 19 hours. We left at 8 at night so the kids slept part way and that hepled. We had 12 people (2 mini vans) 5 kids (12, 10, 8, 6, and 3). It was not as bad as we thought. I think that the kids did better than the adults did.

[doccoc2002]

We have never drove and probably never will. We had friends that drove down there in April because flights were so expensive. They said the trip down was great the way back they were ready to hop a flight home within 4 hours of driving...kids were miserable(they were 4&1). I thought about it if I ever want to do South of the Border I would Rent a car for the ride down then fly home. I think the drive home would be the worst unless you are stopping at places along the way. Good Luck...

[Michoubi]

We also plan on driving down. We're in Ottawa, Ontario and I think it will take 24 hrs without stops. We have a 17 & 4.5 yr DS.

We do plan on doing about 15-16 hrs the first night/day (we're leaving at 9pm) and stopping at a hotel, hopefully we're in NC by then. Then the next day all the way to Daytona Beach for another night We will enjoy the evening and the next morning/afternoon at Daytone before leaving for Orlando.

We check into our rental home at 4 pm so we will have plenty of time to relax at the beach before driving to Orlando.

We will have a laptop and portable DVD player to keep the boys occupied, plus coloring books, ect. We will keep a small cooler with snacks and drinks so that we won't have to make too many pit stops.

Good luck!