Driving to Disney World, 14 hrs, ideas for the trip, 8yr old, 2yr old.?

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Heather

My family invested in a portable dvd player that has a screen and folds up like a laptop (they have them at walmart for a good price). That always keeps people occupied. Or hey, if you have a laptop, those usually play dvd's too. You can get coloring books or craft kits (maybe making bracelets or something like that) if you have girls. If the 8 year old has an ipod, that will keep him/her quiet. Bring along some toys to occupy the 2year old. You can also get travel games, or little hand-held electronic ones (they make ones for old arcade games like pacman & frogger OR if they have a nintendo ds or psp already, bring that!). make sure to stop every once in awhile so the kids can get out and stretch. snacks are a must. you can play games like "I spy" and "the license plate game" and "the alphabet game." Talk about what you're going to do at Disney World (print a map or a list of rides if you can). You can make little baggies full of pretzels, chips, veggies, etc & hand them to the kids when they're hungry. That way they might be less likely to spill (or at least they won't spill the whole bag of chips!). Bring plenty of water bottles & gatorade (stuff with lids!). Oh and bring pillows for the kids to sleep in the car! If you drive early in the morning or late at night, you might get some peace and quiet.

TTC #2 REALLY want another baby!

I would do all the driving at night! kids will sleep!

Mistie L

We do one 24 hour driving trip a year, sometimes two. My kids are 8, 5 and 3 and each has done their first trip by 4 months of age. What works for us is:

Start driving at around 3-5 PM. Stop get out for dinner, let the kids blow off steam, put on the DVD player, let them watch a movie, and drive as much as possible through the night. My husband and I take turns sleeping in the car. If we both get too tired, only then do we pull over for the night.

Tricks for while the kids are awake include crayons and coloring books, a magna doodle, books, the DVD player, car games (bingo, license plate alphabet/50 states, etc), books on tape.

I make sure each kid has a travel pillow, book light, and blanket. I never forget a favorite toy and always have a few new things (dollar store type stuff). We also stop and get out often; about once every 2-4 hours. I let them stretch (literally) and run around the rest stops/parks. We get out for every meal, preferably someplace like McDonald's or Burger King with an indoor playground.

I pack the car with Lysol, a roll of paper towels, febreeze, and small trash bags. I dump trash every time we get gas. Kids must try and use the restroom or have a diaper change at every stop. Snacks are a must--nothing with caffiene or a lot of sugar, or too salty. A cooler with lemonaid, water, bananas, strawberries, crackers, etc.

rxing

OK, first I make this trip from NY to Orlando about 3 X a year, I have an 8 year old a 7 year old and a 9 month. it take about 17 to 20 hours.

I drive at night, I leave NY at about 6pm and drive through the night, tking turns with my husband. I drive at night because the kids go to sleep and then you dont have to stop for bathroom breaks or deal with the kids, and we get to sleep while the other drives that way we are rested.

I leave at six and stop in NJ to use the bathroom and get coffee, get dinner or eat our sandwiches we bring from home. Around 8-10pm the kids doze off and we just drive straight through, about 11am-2pm we reach orlando. the kids have slept until about 7:30-8am, we stop for breakfast and pop in another movie for them and we are there around lunch time.

Bring DVD's , snacks, drinks and a potty incase your 2 year old is potty training. I make sure the kids have comfy clothes on so we dont have to change.

Alexiss

bring a portable dvd player and takes movies or shows they like.
also bring a coloring book to draw or color.
maybe a music player, so they can listen to music.
bring snacks they will enjoy so you dont have to be stopping alot.

PAULA D

portable dvds are a godsend in long journeys for children also a game for them with they each need to name an item they see with each letter of the alaphabet, also ask them what they would like to do when they are traveling best of luck x

Disney Queen

Buy a dvd portable and rent TV shows that they like from blockbuster.My parents did that when I was four except we allready had a tv in the car.I watched blues clues the whole entire time.They didnt even tell me where I was going.I totally didn't care where I was going because I was obsessed with blues clues but when I arrived I forgot all about blue and became obsessed with disney! I still am. Let them watch mickey mouse clubhouse from playhouse disney! I watch that show and Im 12!!

ness300

I give you alot of credit I have a 9yr old and I loose my mind traveling an hour to the shore. What I found works best is a psp or ds. Pack about 12 games and let them go to town. Also an ipod or mp3 player so you don't have to hear I don't like this song. I would definitely get a dvd player for the 2 yr old, they will be perfectly content watching there favorite movies. Have a great and safe trip

thatashleychick

Portable DVD player is a good idea, but what worked for me (when I was 20!) was making a planned stop somewhere. My boyfriend and I were making a 10-hour trip through the Rockies, and we planned a stop at the hot springs. We spent an hour there, and it made the trip sooo much shorter! I don't know what attractions there are en route, but maybe you could find one and take an hour-long break doing something they'd love to do. Start the vacation a little early :)

Thomas M

Go buy those in car DVD players... guaranteed to make the trip very easy.

Jojo

I drove to DW 6 times. I'm an expert now lol. I'm going next week.
For the trip to DW and back:
Bring small bags of chips so there won't be finding, or individual bags of carrots and stuff
Bring Mad Libs or CD's(maybe an ipod) to listen to
When playing there:
You would want to entertain them while waiting in lines by playing I spy, or 20 questions.

Justin D

Everyone is right. The DVD player and a few new movies is a wonderful thing. Plus, you can have them watch Disney movies that relate to rides and shows they will see. All the electronics are good. As for the crafts and games and coloring, get all new stuff so that they have a car only set of stuff that they have never seen before.

For your driving schedule, I would not break it into 7 hour days. That is like two total days of pain. You can leave in the evening right after school/work and get 5 hours or so in before you stop for the evening. Then do the rest the next day. If everything is going well you can get further then 5 hours. I prefer not to drive through the night because that gets me off my sleep schedule at the beginning of a trip.

This last trip from the Chicago Burbs to WDW, we got up at 3:30 and left at 4:15. We slept that night in northern Florida and only had a short drive the next day. We were in the Magic Kingdom for lunch. The point is, it only felt like one completely wasted day.

A word about stops. We keep our stops to as few as possible and we keep them as short as possible. We only stop when the tank is empty, so nobody gets anything to drink until the tank is half empty. I know some people like to stop more often, but a 15 minute stop every two hours adds about 2 hours to a 14 hour trip. Ouch. You gotta put your butts in the seats and the miles behind you.

There is some info on road trips with kids at the link below.

Socorro A

Yess it is
its thee happiest place on earth!!! :D

haha its like across my street :P

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