"Driving straight through" experiences

[TheTurners]

We will be leaving the Philadelphia area at 6pm and will drive the 15 hour trip without stopping. My wife will take over for 4-5 hours while I sleep. The little ones will hopefully sleep from 8pm to 6am like they normally do. Does anyone have experience with a trip like this? How was it? Were you wrecked for the first few days of vacation? We are going to take 2 days to drive home at the end of the trip. But I think we'll be fine going down, especially since we have done other trips of 9+ hours. I think excitement and iced coffee will keep us going. We have reservations at WL for that first night there and ADRs for the first day as well so I'm not looking for "stay over half way down" advice because that's not going to work with our schedule. Thanks a lot!

 

[3BoysRDisneyFreaks]

no advice, just a good luck. hopefully the kids will sleep for you. i have heard a lot of the time they won't or don't. parents thought they would because they would fall asleep going to the grocery store, but for some reason the long drive kept them awake.

 

[Scott'sAuntJill]

We're from the Philadelphia area also and have done this trip many times - actually we usually stay on I4 a little further to get to family about an hour to the west.

It's doable without being a wreck the next day. It's a long drive (South Carolina in the middle of the night seems like the longest stretch) and can be really boring, but it isn't a hard drive . . . you just sort of point the car south and go. We are more likely to stop these days since these aging bones just can't pull an all-nighter like they did 5 years ago, but we've done it many many times without feeling like we lose the first few days in a sleep deprived fog. When you do have to stop to eat or for a restroom break, take a little walk and stretch. I always found that a book on tape or a podcast kept me more awake than the radio - and it wasn't as tempting to sing along and wake up the rest of the car.

If you are going soon, the heat may make it a little tougher to bounce back, but I think if you plan a slower pace that first day and an early bedtime you will be okay. Have a great time!

 

[TandLMommy28]

We do a 15 hour drive 3x a year to see my parents and we never stop halfway unless we do something on the way (this summer we stopped at Cedar Point so obviously after a day there we didn't keep driving!). 15 hours is totally doable and really not that bad at all. I usually start to get antsy at about 13.5 hours but at that point, there's surely no point in stopping!

Just make sure you are scheduling in some time to get a nap once you get to WDW. After 15 hours in the car, even if hubby does most of the driving, I feel pretty drained. When we get to my parents, hubby and I usually crash for 2 - 3 hours if we can and then we are up and normal (if we drive through the night anyway).

 

[#1 Goofy Fan]

We left Philly area around 7 p.m. and were checking into the CBR by noon the next day. Only stopped for coffee when needed gas and breakfast - kids woke up at each stop (They didn't know where we were going until we crossed the FL state line). We rested for an hour and were off the parks - (DH did all the driving - I stayed awake).

Coming home the kids slept - no excitement in heading home Tough ride home - hit heavy rain the entire ride. We were glad to have the day to rest before getting back into a routine.

 

[nancyjvanwyk]

We drive through from York Pennsylvania taking turns driving. We dont have any children so that is not an issue. We stop liberally and make sure we stay hydrated and we switch driving about every 4 hours.
But we do end up taking a nap of a couple of hours after we check in and then go get something to eat and walk around some and then get to bed early and ususally dont feel any ill effects.

 

[jasko5990]

We will be leaving the Philadelphia area at 6pm and will drive the 15 hour trip without stopping. My wife will take over for 4-5 hours while I sleep. The little ones will hopefully sleep from 8pm to 6am like they normally do. Does anyone have experience with a trip like this? How was it? Were you wrecked for the first few days of vacation? We are going to take 2 days to drive home at the end of the trip. But I think we'll be fine going down, especially since we have done other trips of 9+ hours. I think excitement and iced coffee will keep us going. We have reservations at WL for that first night there and ADRs for the first day as well so I'm not looking for "stay over half way down" advice because that's not going to work with our schedule. Thanks a lot!

With the exception of taking Amtrak's Auto Train in 2008, we have driven from the Philadelphia, PA area every trip since 2002. The first time we drove the kids were 5 & 6 years old. We left at 10pm and I drove straight through and was spent when we arrived. After trying different departure times, my current strategy is to wake up around 6am the day we are leaving, then go back to bed around 4-5pm and sleep until about 11pm. We leave around midnight and drive straight through on I-95. My wife & kids stay awake that day until we leave, then they sleep in the Avalanche and don't wake up until we are in North Carolina where we stop for gas and a Cracker Barrel breakfast around 7am. We then hit the road again, only stopping for one more gas stop and when bathroom breaks are needed. The trip lasts 16 hours, + or - 1/2 hour. By leaving when we do we miss all of the morning traffic in the northern section of I-95 (especially around the Washington DC area), and when we stop for breakfast we avoid a lot of the traffic during the morning rush. When we arrive around 3-4pm I'm not tired and since it's usually around check in time we have time to shower & change clothes before our dinner ADR's. I have tried other departure times, routes, and also stopping for sleep along the way, and have found this current strategy to be the best for us. The long drive and hours aren't a problem for me since I work rotating shifts and spend up to 13 hours a day in a vehicle and am used to being awake all night in a car. The few times I needed a power nap my wife drove for a short time (usually less than 45 minutes) so I could rest. Also, be careful with the coffee since it will probably add several bathroom stops along teh way & increase your overall travel time.

 

[bookwormde]

I get 4-5 hours of sleep before we leave at about 10 pm and drive straight through. the kids do no wake up until we are well into NC and clear of the cities. DW is there to relieve me if needed but I usually do all the driving.

I am a little tired on the day we arrive but we are past the comando touring days so it is no big deal.

bookwormde

 

[heatherwillmom]

I wish you luck! We "only" drive 12 hours. We always drive straight through, trading drivers. We usually leave around 6-8pm. We used to leave around 3 am, but we always hit more traffic. DH is a night owl & I'm a morning person so we are alert at different times. We trade off frequently at first until I start getting sleeping around 11pm. I am wide awake around 2-3. The kids, although teenagers now, watch movies which seems to help keep the driver alert. We keep the temperature cool in the front to keep the driver alert. Whichever of us isn't driving has ear plugs & a blanket. When we get to the resort, we change clothes, get our KTTW cards, & go to a park.

 

[dblr]

Your drive should be fine, leaving @ the time you say you should not hit much traffic, when you get south of Balt. tune into 103.5 FM it is a 24 hour news station that gives traffic reports on the 8's can be very helpfull. Also just incase the last Wawa stop is somewhere around the 45 mille marker in Va. we stoped there on the way one time and the kids got all excited thinking we were home.

 

[GranddadTom]

Done the "through the night" drive many times. Since I'm the only driver, the next day is pretty much a wipeout for me. I always get some good sleep right before the leave. At first I used to be concerned about being able to buy gas in the middle of the night but that is not a problem. There are plenty of stations that are open for credit card purchases even though the buildings are closed and no one is there. What does become a small problem is bathrooms. We always stop at the welcome centers at the beginning of each state and "take care of business" and that works fine for us.

 

[Missytara]

Friends of mine do it all the time from Delaware..... they go down the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel direction and avoid the Bay Bridge traffic back-ups that can occur, especially around beach season.

 

[mousebymarriage]

We have driven a few times and we have found the following works best for us (we live in northern NJ about 6 miles from the GWB)

We leave around dinner time or early evening.
-That day I try to sleep/nap as much as possible (we tend to go during the winter months/early spring so the kids are in school during that day so it's easier for me to sleep).
-Kids usually wear comfy clothes for the car ride like sweats etc. because they feel funny wearing pj's when we make restroom breaks.(they also bring their own pillows, and blankets.)
-DH works during the day we are leaving so he drives the first part of the trip.
-When DH gets tired, usually after midnight then we stop for gas fill up and bathroom break. then I take over for the overnight driving since I slept during the day.
-DH puts in earplugs and reclines his seat so it's easier to sleep.
-I plug in my i-pod (only 1 earbud so i can hear emergency vehicles etc.)
-the kids are asleep, DH is asleep and I am bopping away to my favorite tunes while heading down 95.(I try to make sure i-pod is loaded with some really energizing songs).
-Snacks while driving help break things up a little (m&m's, grapes, goldfish crackers). I try not to drink too much water or soda because then I would need a pit stop.
-The kids sleep through the night and by the time they wake up it's almost time to stop for breakfast.
-After breakfast DH takes over driving and I put the earplugs in and sleep for a while.

When we arrive neither of us is exhausted because we were both able to sleep in the car, earplugs are a lifesaver when the kids are awake. Our arrival Disney day we usually have ADR at Chef Mickey's for dinner and hit the bed early so that we are ready bright and early for our first park day.

Driving through the night definately cuts down on the "are we there yet?" from the kids.

When the kids were younger we would try to stop at fastfood places that had a "play area" so the kids could burn off some energy for about 30min. after they ate. We also bring a nerf football and a frisbee so when we stop at a rest area for a bathroom break the kids can have a little fun, even if it's only for 15minutes.

*just remember that if you feel drowsy then pull over and sleep at one of the rest areas for a little while. you would be surprised how much better you feel after a nap even it's it's only for an hour or two. We have taken naps at the rest area before and it was never a problem, tons of people do it.

 

[BigTigger]

I just did this trip for the sixth time last week. I prep for these trips by going to bed earlier starting 4-5 days ahead so I can go to bed on travel day in mid-afternoon for a late evening departure. I'm a bit further north than you (starting from central MA), but our total on the road time was 19.5 hours with about 3 hours off the road eating meals and stopping to stretch/use the bathroom and covered about 1250 miles total. We left at 9 pm. We stopped at the Clara Barton rest area just after exit 2 on the NJTP for gas and a leg stretch/bathroom break at 1:40 am which would be almost equivalent to your Philly starting point. We have an EZ-Pass, so the tolls from NJ to MD were a non-event. If you don't have one I'd recommend getting one.

We hit torrential rains in the DC area, but the eastern I-95 route is well drained and well lighted. We crossed the bridge into VA at about 4:45 am and kept going through VA on I-95 (Richmond traffic was light so we didn't take I-295). We crossed over into NC a bit before 7 am and used the nice NC Welcome rest area there for a leg stretch/bathroom break. I also took a power nap here that lasted about a half hour before a car door slamming nearby woke me and I was full awake. We stopped for breakfast at Cracker Barrel in Roanaoke Rapids, NC which was just a bit south of the rest area. We were back on the road by 7:50.

It takes just under three hours each to get through both NC and SC on I-95. Rest areas are well spaced for 5 minute stretch breaks. Speed enforcement was heavy on Wednesday 8/18 when we traveled through. We set the cruise to the speed limit for the whole trip and still made excellent time. We crossed into GA just after 2 pm and continued to just south of Savannah and had lunch about 20 miles into GA where an exit had tons of food choices and easy on/off.

We were back on the road about 3:15 pm and hit the only construction from exits 58 to 42 in GA. Speed was reduced to 60 mph for the stretch, but no backups slowed us. We drove straight through Jacksonville at evening rush with no slowdowns on I-95. We stayed right at SeaWorld and were at our hotel at 7:30 pm. Add 10-15 minutes and 8 more miles to get to Disney.

We made the trip in a 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid Sedan. It was fine for two people and a ton of college items and we only had to fill the tank three times enroute. My daughter only slept a couple of hours in the NC/SC stretch, but was otherwise good company as was the Sirius/XM channels for music and traffic as needed.

I was very tired at the end, but a 3 hour "nap" re-charged me and we went swimming about 10:30 pm and then had a normal night's sleep. I was not tired at all the next day.

Have a safe and fun trip!!

 

[TheTurners]

I just did this trip for the sixth time last week. I prep for these trips by going to bed earlier starting 4-5 days ahead so I can go to bed on travel day in mid-afternoon for a late evening departure. I'm a bit further north than you (starting from central MA), but our total on the road time was 19.5 hours with about 3 hours off the road eating meals and stopping to stretch/use the bathroom and covered about 1250 miles total. We left at 9 pm. We stopped at the Clara Barton rest area just after exit 2 on the NJTP for gas and a leg stretch/bathroom break at 1:40 am which would be almost equivalent to your Philly starting point. We have an EZ-Pass, so the tolls from NJ to MD were a non-event. If you don't have one I'd recommend getting one.

We hit torrential rains in the DC area, but the eastern I-95 route is well drained and well lighted. We crossed the bridge into VA at about 4:45 am and kept going through VA on I-95 (Richmond traffic was light so we didn't take I-295). We crossed over into NC a bit before 7 am and used the nice NC Welcome rest area there for a leg stretch/bathroom break. I also took a power nap here that lasted about a half hour before a car door slamming nearby woke me and I was full awake. We stopped for breakfast at Cracker Barrel in Roanaoke Rapids, NC which was just a bit south of the rest area. We were back on the road by 7:50.

It takes just under three hours each to get through both NC and SC on I-95. Rest areas are well spaced for 5 minute stretch breaks. Speed enforcement was heavy on Wednesday 8/18 when we traveled through. We set the cruise to the speed limit for the whole trip and still made excellent time. We crossed into GA just after 2 pm and continued to just south of Savannah and had lunch about 20 miles into GA where an exit had tons of food choices and easy on/off.

We were back on the road about 3:15 pm and hit the only construction from exits 58 to 42 in GA. Speed was reduced to 60 mph for the stretch, but no backups slowed us. We drove straight through Jacksonville at evening rush with no slowdowns on I-95. We stayed right at SeaWorld and were at our hotel at 7:30 pm. Add 10-15 minutes and 8 more miles to get to Disney.

We made the trip in a 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid Sedan. It was fine for two people and a ton of college items and we only had to fill the tank three times enroute. My daughter only slept a couple of hours in the NC/SC stretch, but was otherwise good company as was the Sirius/XM channels for music and traffic as needed.

I was very tired at the end, but a 3 hour "nap" re-charged me and we went swimming about 10:30 pm and then had a normal night's sleep. I was not tired at all the next day.

Have a safe and fun trip!!

Wow, one of our cars is an 09 HCH but we're not going to take it because we won't have enough room. Our girls are 3 and 1 so we have 2 carseats in the backseat. We'll also be taking 2 umbrella strollers in addition to the luggage. There's just no way we could fit everything in the Hybrid. We did take it down to GA before our second daughter was born and it was great, especially because of the Sirius and Nav. Luckily our ES350 has both as well so it should be a comfortable trip, especially with the big backseat and trunk. But I will have to sacrifice the mpgs (28 vs 44 on the hybrid).

Thanks eveyone for the experiences and tips! You're giving me great advice!

 

[grafxgirl]

This is exactly how we drive. We drive 14 hours from Harpers Ferry, WV. Usually leave around 8 or 9 pm. We get the car loaded up with two suitcases (don't need a lot since we have a washer/dryer in our villa), toss a small cooler with some snack foods and bottles of water for snacking into the front of the car, put the kids in their pajamas, and off we go! The kids are usually sleeping about an hour into the trip, and pretty much sleep the entire way except when we stop for gas/bathroom breaks. DH and I take turns driving. We usually drive for 3 or 4 hours each while the other one sleeps. I also make sure we do on-line checkin 10 days prior to leaving because it allows you to enter an arrival time, so I usually enter an estimated time for arrival, which is pretty early in the morning. They have usually had our villa ready for us within 2 hours of our arrival. Most days we are so excited that we just go through the day without any naps and crash at the end of the evening. Other times we've just chilled by the pool or taken a nap.

 

[yoopermom]

The one thing I would think about is how are your kids about riding in the car for "shorter long" distances? We live 4 hrs from our extended families, so ever since he was little DS has known he might as well settle down and relax once he gets in the car, cuz it's apt to be a long ride. If your kids never have to ride longer than an hour or two, it would be good to really prepare them for it. An adult can stay awake/alert for that long of a trip a lot easier if the back seat isn't rioting.

Terri

 

[2DisPrincesses]

We will be leaving the Philadelphia area at 6pm and will drive the 15 hour trip without stopping. My wife will take over for 4-5 hours while I sleep. The little ones will hopefully sleep from 8pm to 6am like they normally do. Does anyone have experience with a trip like this? How was it? Were you wrecked for the first few days of vacation? We are going to take 2 days to drive home at the end of the trip. But I think we'll be fine going down, especially since we have done other trips of 9+ hours. I think excitement and iced coffee will keep us going. We have reservations at WL for that first night there and ADRs for the first day as well so I'm not looking for "stay over half way down" advice because that's not going to work with our schedule. Thanks a lot!

We drove straight through from MI in June.

We left around 4 pm. DH and I took turns driving and sleeping like you're talking about and it worked well.

Our girls slept well in the car (they woke up once when we stopped for gas but went right back to sleep).

We stopped around 6am at a Cracker Barrel for breakfast. We cleaned up a bit, changed the girls, let them run around on the porch, and had a good breakfast.

We arrived around 1:30pm to check in. We did turn in early that night, but were not exhausted. We hit the Parks early the next day and were fine.

The dual dvd players were priceless if you can do that. I also packed bags of snacks and new toys/stuff from places like the dollar store and Michael's. I gave them out one-by-one and saved them for when they really needed a distraction.

Good Luck!

 

[sticker231]

We do the trip straight through also and I will offer most of the same tips that others have, because they work for us. We leave around 7 pm. It keeps with the kids normal sleep schedule and gives you valuable quiet time during your driving. I do all the driving and the only stops we take are for bathroom and gas. We bring along snacks and drinks, but try to limit the drinks, to avoid excessive stops. We have a dvd in the car and will by one or two new movies for the car to keep their interest during the trip. We take 95 all the way down. Good luck and have fun on your trip.

 

[Ksquared]

This will be our 2nd trip from the southern NJ area. Last time we left at 2:00 a.m. and drove straight through, our longest stop was at South of the Border-I stopped here many times as a kid but it certainly was not how I remembered it!

This time around we were going to leave xmas night after visiting w/ family. However, I'm starting to rethink this. Mainly because we most likely won't get to sleep early on xmas eve (by the time we get gifts set up etc), we won't have any chance to nap/rest during the day, and I'm worried about people drinking with relatives then getting on the road that night. I'm thinking we should start out on the road after kids open presents, etc. (maybe by 11:00) and then stopping getting a good night's sleep and maybe just leaving about 4 hours for the next morning....just not sure which scenario I like better.

I like the idea of getting sleep but I also like the kids sleeping in the car and if we leave during the day there's not much chance of that unless they fall asleep that night for a bit before we get to the hotel.

Any thoughts on xmas driving....should I be concerned with traffic during the day going to their relatives?