Are you road trippin’ to Walt Disney World for the big 40th Anniversary celebration? My husband and oldest son do not like to fly, so four out of the five times we’ve been to Walt Disney World, we have driven the 18-hour trek from Texas.
The first year, 2006, my kids were 9 months, almost 3, and 11. We left about 9:00 PM and drove through the night, stopping only for gasoline and bathroom breaks, as well as diaper changes and baby feedings (I was nursing the baby at the time). We stopped at Cracker Barrel for breakfast. Good food, clean restrooms, a fun shop and a rousing round of checkers, then back in the car til we reached another about 4 hours down the highway.
Each trip has been a little different, except for the Cracker Barrel obsession, but we’ve found these general “road rules” get us there and back pretty smoothly.
- Get some good rest before you leave. Even if you’re too excited to sleep the night before, try to close your eyes and let your body relax.
- Pack a small cooler with caffeinated beverages to keep the driver alert, and bottles of water and/or juice boxes for the passengers.
- Keep a box of snacks handy. No need to pack too much, because you can always stop at a convenience store en route to replenish the supply.
- Provide younger kids a backpack of small toys and crafts. Some hobby shops sell lap trays designed for car travel to keep crayons, etc., from rolling off.
- If your vehicle is not equipped, buy or borrow a portable DVD player and bring with you lots of movies or videos. Make sure you also pick up a headphone splitter and multiple earphones to allow several passengers to tune in together.
- Bring an iPod loaded with the kids’ favorite Disney music.
- If you’ve got little bitties, stock up on diapers, wipes and other baby necessities.
- Older kids will likely text all the way to Florida, so remind them to bring their cell phone chargers.
- Have paper towels ready to clean up the inevitable spills and a trash bag to clear away the mess.
- And anti-bacterial hand sanitizer is a must. After all, Cracker Barrel’s only open from 6:00 AM til 10:00 PM. Some of those after hour rest stops just don’t compare!
Basically, drive until you need a break. Trade drivers so noone gets too sleepy to drive safely. Load up on the things that will prevent “I’m bored!” and too much “Are we there yet?” from being uttered from the back seat. Enjoy the scenery. Sightsee. Play car games, like mapping out all the Cracker Barrels you hit along the way. Most of all, relax and keep in mind that your destination is the Most Magical Place on Earth!
What do you pack for your road trip?
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I make the drive from Tx (San Antonio) also sometimes. We don’t drive thru the night. We leave early get to Gulfsport MS and enjoy a hotel and a good meal. Head out about 5a get to WDW about 2 or 3. I pack all snacks. They are too expensive to buy on the road. I can spend that money in Disney. Have made the drive grandbaby since he was 2. DVD player, iPod, hand held games, favorite toys and new toys are a must. I bathe grandbaby the night before and put him on really cute (Mickey Mouse) pj’s. When we leave in the morning I take him straight from bed to the car and he’ll sleep 3 or 4 more hours.We stop at McDonalds when he wakes up, get him dressed, etc and allow him to enjoy the playground to wear himself out. Same routine when I’m heading back home.Cracker Barrel is my favorite breakfast spot so we usually stop there the 1st morning for breakfast.I like having my car available when we drive but as I get older I’m disliking the drive time. The last 3 or so trips we flew. Like we will in Dec. Grandbaby parents are Marines so at 4 he’s an expert on the plane and enjoys traveling. Especially with Grandmommy.
Wow, great tips, everyone! I esp. like the little “gifts” and the 2 different sets of car toys. Good ideas!
When we lived in Texas we drove up to NY to visit family at least 5 times. A good tip about the DVD player if everyone wants to listen and your car has a spot for an AUX wire. Put the Aux wire in where the headphones go then you get surround sound.
If you have kids you can even pack sandwiches/donuts and stop at a rest area and eat lunch/breakfast. That way the kids can run around and get some exercise and you can save on food. My family did this many times and it always worked fine. The only bad thing about stopping at rest areas is we ended up having to stop again to get gas 🙁
Pipe cleaners keep young kids busy, as well as a small cookie sheet with letter/ doll magnets. We also hand out “dollar store” gifts along the way. I wrap them up like it is a birthday or Christmas. When I feel a melt down coming on I hand out a present and that will normally keep them busy for an hour or so.
I just can’t see my family driving from Maine to Florida…..yuck!
We just came back from our trip yesterday. Wasn’t too long of a drive for us…but I still packed a couple snacks, energy drinks, and water. Just easier to have than to have to buy, but also cheaper. We stopped for gas and potty breaks…and fast eats once. On the way home though we bought Earl of Sandwich and ate that twice. 🙂
We live in northern Indiana so we travel I-75. We take the Along I-75 guidebook with us. It has interesting tidbits about sites along the way. Includes Exit information & also has side trips which come in handy when someone insists they can’t stay in the car any longer. Saw the Colonel Sanders Museum because of this complaint.
Definitely going to pack car activities for each of my kids (we have 3, oldest will be 6 when we take our 10 hr car ride to WDW!)… someone gave me a great tip… have 2 sets of car activities.. one bag packed for the ride down, a new set packed for the ride back! AND, disposable cameras for each of the kids.. bc we might get some interesting pictures of the trip from the kids’ perspectives! I also pack a roll of toilet paper. Especially with small kids. You never know when that restroom you had to stop at bc it was an emergency might be out of tp…
Good tips! We live in MA and I’ve thought about doing the drive but my kids get car sick 3 or 4 times each just down to MD, so we’re thinking of taking a RV down.