I know I know I have claimed it before but in 2016 we are driving. About This Page:

[nurse_mom]

Family plans have finally nailed down into place. We were going to do a extended family trip. Party of 12 next november. After looking at school schedules. We all have elected to go in june of 2016. Looks like according to dads calendar and your 1st visit calendar it should be moderately busy. We are going before local schools let out hopefully. Anyways…….My brother refuses to fly. They live 13 hours away from disney world. While we live 17 to 18 hours. Now this does not included stops and so on. To save money we will drive. This way we can caravan our way to florida. The kids can be switched in vans when they are getting on each others nerves. 13 months and 3 weeks a way and I am already dreading it. Are there any books that suggest games? I thought there was an I 75 guide. Another thought is driving all night long……..and having the wives take over about 5 am. DH works nights so should not be an issue. HAs to share excited I can start planning.

[Her Dotness]

I suggest NOT trying to drive straight through unless you're all commando touring types who can function well on little sleep. Otherwise, you'll arrive exhausted and likely become more so with the pace most of us set at Disney.

We've found it works well to do a two-day drive for our 16-hour drive. We make the first day longer at 9-10 hours depending on stops and then stay off-property upon arrival so as to avoid using a park ticket for a half day. Also, we find that a resort ADR or a few hours at DtD upon arriving get us some Disney without overdoing. Then, we're well-rested for an early check-in to our Disney resort the next day. We stash bags with bell services and head for MK ropedrop for a full day of Disney.

We've no kids to consider so can't advise you there. What age range kids are involved? Are any of them able to help some with driving?

[OhToodles!]

We've driven straight through overnight leaving at dinner time and it works well for us.
I suggest a portable dvd player, snacks, travel games, coloring books. Even books on cd if your kids will listen to them.

[jenifermg0]

Valium.... Just kidding!!!

We have always had to fly long distances with only one child so my suggestions might not work for driving multiple kiddos. However, here we go:

**Portable DVD player(s)/tablet(s) (don't forget the charging cords) with headphones (might include splitter if multiple kids want to watch the same thing
**Coloring books and crayons
**Make up pages of blank Tic-Tac-Toe game boards or Hangman games
**Cooler full of snacks (PB&J tortilla roll ups have always been a fav in our house) and drinks for everyone
**Small sets of Legos (with a cafeteria style tray to work on and contain the pieces)
**Age appropriate books
**Favorite blankets/stuffies etc for nap time
**Play the old "Find all the state license plates" game


Make time for stops to allow kiddos to get out and run (even if only for 10 minutes or so at a time) to burn off a bit of energy. I like the idea of swapping around the kids as they get on each others nerves!!

[allgiggles]

We have made the 15 hour (not including stops) drive many times. We always do it over 2 days so we're not exhausted when we arrive. Plus, as much as I enjoy the drive, 14 hours is about my limit in the car. At that point, I need a good long break and a nice comfy bed and shower to help me relax. :-) The kids (we have 5) also need to get a little more space between each other by that point.

We made several trips with pre-schoolers and I got a lot of good ideas from Car Games, Car Travel Games, and Free Printable Road Trip Games for Kids | MomsMinivan.com My one big suggestion (since you're going in June) is not to take crayons. They melt very quickly in a hot car. I always took colored pencils (and a sharpener) to avoid that mess. I had a very bad experience with melting crayons one time. They were in the car for less than 3 hours on an 80 degree day but it was hot enough for them to melt *AND* leak all over the grey fabric seat of my brand new car.

Now that the kids are older (the youngest was 8 on the last trip -- and the oldest one who joined us on that trip was 14), I let them pack their own activity bags for the car. They usually take their ipods/phones for music, their portable DVD players, a small blanket, and a travel pillow. They sleep for a lot of the drive.

Also, they each pack their own snack bag. I buy a bunch of "mom approved" snacks and the night before we leave we set up a buffet line of snacks on the kitchen counter and they can each choose what goes in their bag (with limits imposed by me). That makes my life easier in the car because I'm not constantly handing out snacks. I keep a small cooler with drinks that I had out sparingly. :-)

We also stop every few hours for a bathroom or lunch/dinner break and to stretch our legs. When the kids were younger, I would do an activity with them at each stop -- throw a frisbee, blow bubbles, play tag, etc. just to get them a little tired.

[Charlie97]

We made a 18 hour trip back in '2012 with a 1yr old , a 5 yr old, 13yr old, and a 14yr old. Almost every stop everyone got out to stretch, walk and run a bit. It did help. We had to drive straight thru on the way to FL because we were pressed for time. The trip back we took it at a slower pace and stopped off in Orange, TX for the night. We had snacks, movies, coloring books, & tablets for the smaller rugrats to play with.

This next trip (6/16) will be an experience. There will be 4 teen girls (HS graduates) one teen boy, a 9yr old boy, and a 5 yr old girl. We will have two cars (the grads in one car and the rest of us in another. I think my best friend from Houston will join us this trip, so the girls will be in between us. We have pretty much the same stuff from last trip...movies, tablets, and coloring books. We plan on making more stops to stretch, which really does make a big difference.

Good luck to you.

[MikeL]

Originally Posted by Her Dotness

I suggest NOT trying to drive straight through unless you're all commando touring types who can function well on little sleep. Otherwise, you'll arrive exhausted and likely become more so with the pace most of us set at Disney.

We've found it works well to do a two-day drive for our 16-hour drive. We make the first day longer at 9-10 hours depending on stops and then stay off-property upon arrival so as to avoid using a park ticket for a half day. Also, we find that a resort ADR or a few hours at DtD upon arriving get us some Disney without overdoing. Then, we're well-rested for an early check-in to our Disney resort the next day. We stash bags with bell services and head for MK ropedrop for a full day of Disney.

We've no kids to consider so can't advise you there. What age range kids are involved? Are any of them able to help some with driving?

I am in agreement with ALL of what Her Dotness has to say. We left home Just north of Dover De on our first trip at 1am and where checking in at 7pm that evening. Took all we had just to go to Trails End Buffet for a nice dinner and return to our cabin to shower and go to bed. The next day was a quick breakfast at TEB walk around Pioneer Hall area Blacksmith Shop, Pony Ride, Stable and Marina before heading to Typhoon Lagoon and just hang out after Lazy River trips. Now we stop at least one night on the way down. Some time around Dinner time eat relax and enjoy the prospect of next day and what lies ahead. This way too we can stop along the way if we want to walk around, shop, have a nice meal all with little pressure to get there

[JerseyDad]

......I'm SOOOOOO glad I never had to plan for "little ones" type of activities during our WDW drives!! The DVD thing my wife has in her Freestar .....provided ME with more 'entertainment' than the kids!! While driving, I liked to listen to some of the 'classic' movies they played ....and blurt out quotes from the films as they happened:

"You can't handle the truth"!!

"We're gonna' need a bigger boat"

"You'll shoot your eye out"

.....if you 'caravan' with others ...it does seem to make the time go faster as you 'pace' each other in the cars. We did that twice ...and on one occasion which was an overnight drive ....you don't feel so alone on the road with a friend's car in front of you and one behind you.

...the leg stretch thing at rest stops is a must ....and if you're like me (which many people aren't ..as I've found out) ....you hug a palm tree when you get far enough south that the rest stops have them.

[jenifermg0]

Originally Posted by allgiggles

My one big suggestion (since you're going in June) is not to take crayons. They melt very quickly in a hot car. I always took colored pencils (and a sharpener) to avoid that mess. I had a very bad experience with melting crayons one time. They were in the car for less than 3 hours on an 80 degree day but it was hot enough for them to melt *AND* leak all over the grey fabric seat of my brand new car.

I would not have thought about this!!! I live in Alaska so the car getting hot enough to melt crayons is not something we would normally have to worry about even in the hottest part of summer. Good advice!!!!!!!!!!!

[DScottRN]

We drive I75 South every trip. If you are in Ohio stopping in Georgia is highly recommended. I would suggest Dalton, Macon, Tifton or Valdosta. Avoid Atlanta at all cost. We drive 8.5 to 9 hours and often stop in Valdosta which is 3 hours from WDW. There is an online exit guide at www.i75exitguide.com

[wheezie]

We driving, but we "only" have a 10 hour drive. For our next trip, I really want a bigger car. (Well, it wouldn't be just for the trip! ) Just make it seem like a big adventure-and then separate the kids when they've had enough. LOL

[Coop]

We love the "Along I75" book by Dave Hunter. We do (sometimes) drive from Detroit and it really makes the time pass. There's plenty of interesting tidbits and great suggestions all through it!

Along Interstate-75 (Along Interstate 75): Dave Hunter: 9781896819228: Amazon.com: Books


We also bought the "Along Florida's Expressways". Although I didn't find that one as easy to follow.