have you drove there? About This Page:

[allgiggles]

We always drive to DW when we go. It's about a 17 hour drive for us (1,000 miles). DH does all the driving (his choice). On our last trip (in 2004), the kids were 17, 15, 5, & 4. They're all really good travelers (as is the latest addition -- now 3.5). What works for us is to leave home in the afternoon. We drive about 5-6 hours and then get a room for the night. The next day we do about 10-12 hours and again stop overnight. Then the last morning we only have about a 3 hour drive. I like to arrive at DW in the early afternoon so we can unpack, relax, and get a good night's sleep before hitting the parks in the morning. The drive home we usually split between 2 days rather than 3 because we're all ready to sleep in our own beds.

While driving, we make a stop either just for a potty break or for lunch/dinner every 2-3 hours. We also try to find a hotel room by the 7:00 at night -- that gives us time to swim or watch a movie before bedtime. Our kids travel best with frequent short breaks -- though they've gone as much 4 hours without a break. At rest stops we play a quick game of tag or throw a frisbee or something to run off some energy. When we stop for lunch, we usually go to a McDonald's or Burger King with a play area. DH & I (and the older kids) eat while the little ones play on the play equipment. When we're ready to leave, we get the kids meals to go and they eat in the car. And our big rule is that if the young kids are sleeping, we keep driving!!

Each kid (young and old) gets their own bag of various snacks and a bag of travel-friendly toys. That way there's no fighting -- they each have a personalized bag. I keep a bin of new toys/activities in the back of the van and if the kids are getting bored with the stuff they have, I'll break out something new at the next stop. I also usually buy a new board or card game to take along in case of a rainy day at DW or just for something new to do at a hotel during the drive down or back.

We really enjoy driving on all of our vacations -- it allows us to stop where we feel like it and enjoy the sites along the way. Even with the price of gas today, it's still cheaper for us to drive (and pay for extra hotel rooms along the way) than to buy 7 plane tickets. I'd definitely recommend driving if it's something you want to do -- especially if you have multiple drivers and kids who travel well.

[crossfamily]

I drove 1 time and will never do it again. What a time to find out your middle son has motion sickness. We stopped so many times and even once for over night but i personally will never do it again.

[eatright]

My sister lived in Orlando for 4 years and my husband did the drive once and said never again. The drive from Maryland was suppose to take 16 hours...on the way down it took 14 1/2 and on the way back nearly 22 hours due to weather, accidents, and general traffic (the flight is just under 2 hours...not including airport time). I'd say take the dollar amount out of it and figure out the value of your vacation time and what you'd be doing with the time if you weren't on the road.

[Fanessa4]

Originally Posted by 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..

I am doing this drive in 31 days from san antonio TX. It wasnt so bad las time we made that trip. bring a portable DVD for the kids,coloring books, etc as for the baby, when we drove to PHX my DS was around that age and was fine. He fussed every once in a while so we would make a stop so he could stretch and then he was fine.

[tater]

we are driving from sherman tx to WDW in mid dec. It will be me my DH and our three girls ages 5 7 and 3.... We would have loved to fly but 3 grand in airfare is not possible!!! and gas prices are going down.. When we started budgeting for the trip I was estamat. that fuel would be close to 5 dollars by now, Im so happy its going down!

[Jocokema]

We have driven twice and hope to do it again in January. It is 26 hours and we pretty much drive straight through. The first time was 6 of us in a truck, the kids were 7,9,11, and 13. We had lots of activities and looked at it as an adventure to keep them from going too stir crazy. It saves a lot of money to drive when there are 6 of us.

[Meggera]

We have never flown to WDW. We drive all the time. From VA, it was about a 12 hour drive, so not quite as long as your drive. We are moving to TX, and the drive will be 18 to WDW and about 21 to DLR. Only two adults and one 13-year-old. We will still probably drive it unless we get incredible airfare deals.

[DisneyBlonde]

When I went for the very first time it was in June in 1990 I was 16 and my parents drove from Wisconsin to my Uncles in Illinois. Then we left stayed the night and drove to Chattanooga, TN and spent the night and then the next day we were there. I liked it because we got to see things but my parents both had two weeks to take and wouldnt fly anyway. My hubby and I are both too busy to take more than a week off so we choose to fly. Maybe when we are retired we will drive. Who knows>

[B.M.]

We flew last time, but plan to drive this time................we live in GA, so it's less than an eight hour drive for us.

[coasties]

We always drive b/c we like the adventure, like having our own car and it is cost effective for us. We drove 14 hours just a few weeks ago and it was wonderful. We like to leave at 9 or 10 pm and drive through the night. The girls watch a movie and then fall alseep. My DH or I sleeps while the other drives. There is less traffic and no need to stop for food, until our traditonal we made it ot FL breakfast. We like arriving at WDW mid-day. We do a room -only on property for that first day and just tour the resort and chill by the pool. We turn in early and are ready to begin our WDW adventure the next morning.
On the way back we mke it a two day trip and plan a side trip. This helps with the time on the road and relieves our Disney let-down. One year it was Busch Gardens and Water Country in VA this year we added a week and went to Myrtle Beach on the way back.
I also make a drawstring backpack suprise trip bag for each DD before the trip filled with snacks, activities, books,etc...and give it to them when we load up. GOOD LUCK!!

[scrapperqueen]

We are driving from Billerica Mass. We were thinking of flying but its too expensive so we driving. We leaving on the 14th and stopping at Lumberton NC to sleep then off in the morning on the 15th and be there after lunch. Very excited!!!!!

[tigger_03]

We drove this time. It was a little over a 20 hour drive split over 2 days. We took 3 days coming home. We had a 3 and a 19 month old. They did wonderfully on the trip. I wasn't sure how well they would do being in the van for several hours at a time. We had a DVD player and took a few movies for them to watch. DD also had a few coloring books, a notebook, and crayons to help pass the the time as well. We had two bags of snacks and a cooler. We don't usually go on any road trip where we don't take even a small cooler with us.

We are seriously considering flying next time. We'll probably rent a car and go over to the beach for a day or two. Having to drive through both a tropical storm and a hurricane wasn't much fun this time.

[shadowpup]

We have always driven down since we pull the camper with us. We're planning our first trip since having our son in early 2010. He'll be almost 2 1/2 at the time. We're worried that he won't sleep at night if he sleeps a lot on the way down. Does anyone have trouble with this or do you think movies & toys will keep him awake in the truck?

[tigger_03]

Originally Posted by shadowpup

We have always driven down since we pull the camper with us. We're planning our first trip since having our son in early 2010. He'll be almost 2 1/2 at the time. We're worried that he won't sleep at night if he sleeps a lot on the way down. Does anyone have trouble with this or do you think movies & toys will keep him awake in the truck?

I was worried about this as well. My kids tend to sleep at some point during any trip longer than 30 minutes. When we stopped we all got out and walked just to give ourselves a break from sitting. The kids enjoyed being able to run around for a few minutes. They didn't have any problem going to sleep once we got to the hotel/stopping point for that night. We also stopped earlier in the evening to help make it easier for them to go to sleep (as close to their regular bedtime as possible). The second night it wasn't as easy since it was a longer drive and we lost an hour (time change). On the way back they worn tired from the week plus being at Disney so they slept pretty good.

They also love to look at the animals, trucks, sights, etc along the way. They can keep themselves pretty interested by looking at cows, horses, trucks, etc.