Kids and Long Car Rides

[eponinepontmercy]

DD is 4.  We're driving to Disney from Delaware at the end of the month.  We're planning on splitting up the trip, but the discussion is where to stop and how much to drive the first day.  If we drive the long leg day 1, we'll be in the car about 9-10 hours Saturday and then 6-7 on Sunday.  If we split it up differently, it will be about 8-9 hours on Saturday and 8 hours on Sunday.

My view is that it's going to suck either way, and we might as well spend an extra hour in the car so we have more time to relax and swim at the hotel and maybe do Disney Springs Sunday night.  My mother also reminded me that DD will know where we are going the second day so we should probably keep that drive shorter so she doesn't get too annoying.  

How long have your kids been okay in the car?  

Notes:
My parents will be with us so there will be other people to distract her.
We'll have a tablet loaded with amazon prime stuff and games. 
At least 3 of us will be splitting the driving.  
I've limited DH to one Cracker Barrel stop on the way down and one on the way back.
We're stopping at a hotel with a pool so DD can get some energy out.

[frlcb]

We do a 12 hour drive several times a year (each way, so 12 up and 12 down), and we just did a huge road trip from ATL-DC-Boston-Maine-Quebec-Montreal-Vermont-Philly-DC-ATL. It was over 2.5 weeks and a lot of time in the car.

By the end of the 12 hour trips they are done. They are done by about hour 10. But 8 or 9 is usually okay. My kids are 7 and 4.

[arch01]

We did NC-IN and IN-OH-NC a couple weeks ago. NC-IN could be done in 9hrs, we did it in 11, stopping in each state. We weren't in a rush. It was just me and DS; we did OH-NC in 8 hours (7ish without stops normally) and he was fine. He was considerably better on the way home since he had a better grasp of time and the distance we were traveling.

I'd do a longer stretch the first day.

[eponinepontmercy]

Oct 2, 2015 14:14:39 GMT -5 @choco said:

I would drive as far as possible on day 1 so that day 2 isn't as bad. Are you willing to drive at night so that she might be asleep for most of the ride? My 4yo didn't have issues during our road trips, but they were 7+ hours each way with multiple stops.

Put a small box under her feet so she can rest her legs comfortably during the long ride instead of having them dangle.

Let her run around as much as possible at every stop.

The timing of leaving late at night doesn't really work, since I have to work the day before we leave and DD has a half day of school.  DH wouldn't get to sleep before he started driving.  DD doesn't sleep in the car as well as she used to so I'm afraid it would mess up her schedule for the week.

DH wants to get past DC and then we'll stop every 2-3 hours as needed with time to stretch and run.

I hadn't thought of the bolded part.  I'm sure we'll have a suitcase or cooler that will fit there. Thanks for the suggestion!

[cherry1111]

We did New Orleans to Dallas after arriving in NOLA from a cruise and finding flights to Dallas cancelled due to ice in Dallas. The minivan we rented had a DVD player and that thing saved us. We picked up some DVDs from Wal-Mart before starting the drive. So lots and lots of movies and snacks you may not usually let her have is my suggestion.

[Deleted]

We've done two days of 8 hours (each way) and it was ok. I'd do the longer drive on day 1. It'll be fine with a 4 year old. It's the littler ones that go crazy.

[jeaniebueller]

We drove from Michigan to Florida last year with my 5 year old (and I was 25 weeks pregnant) and it was fine. The first day, we drove about 12 hours and the second day it was maybe 6? I won't lie, by the end of the first day, DS was D-O-N-E with the car and wanted out. I highly recommend a portable DVD player and playing lots of I spy.

[KKD]

I agree that a longer drive on the first day is probably a good idea.

I think with a 4 y.o. it will go better than you're expecting, especially if you don't mind unlimited screentime. We took several 9+ hour drives this summer, and my 5 and 7 y.o. were perfectly happy watching movies the entire time, with lunch and plenty of snacks when they got hungry. I had backpacks full of carefully chosen activities for each of them, but they were barely touched except when I insisted we give the iPads a rest.

My toddler was the tough one but thankfully he napped a few hours each time. Just keep the car moving once anyone falls asleep!

[CrazyLucky]

Oct 2, 2015 14:18:50 GMT -5 eponinepontmercy said:

Oct 2, 2015 14:14:39 GMT -5 @choco said:

I would drive as far as possible on day 1 so that day 2 isn't as bad. Are you willing to drive at night so that she might be asleep for most of the ride? My 4yo didn't have issues during our road trips, but they were 7+ hours each way with multiple stops.

Put a small box under her feet so she can rest her legs comfortably during the long ride instead of having them dangle.

Let her run around as much as possible at every stop.

The timing of leaving late at night doesn't really work, since I have to work the day before we leave and DD has a half day of school.  DH wouldn't get to sleep before he started driving.  DD doesn't sleep in the car as well as she used to so I'm afraid it would mess up her schedule for the week.

DH wants to get past DC and then we'll stop every 2-3 hours as needed with time to stretch and run.

I hadn't thought of the bolded part.  I'm sure we'll have a suitcase or cooler that will fit there. Thanks for the suggestion!

We drive NC to NJ and back pretty often and this is what we do.  The kids go to bed at regular bedtime (8).  We finish last minute packing or whatever and try to get to bed by 9.  We get up at 3am, pack toiletries, put the kids in the car and go.  This way, we get about 3 hours of drive time under our belts before we stop for breakfast.  We end up doing the drive in about 8 hours total, which is definitely longer than without kids, but not bad.  Driving on six hours sleep is reasonable, and the person who is not driving first gets a bit of a nap.
The longest trip we did was this year to the Adirondacks.  We did the thing where we left at 3:30am, and drove until about 6pm.  This was too long, even though we took breaks.  Definitely limit to 12 hours in one day.
There isn't anywhere super great to stop along the way, but my house does happen to be a perfect halfway point  My kids are 3 and 5, so they will wear your daughter out for you!

[eponinepontmercy]

Oct 2, 2015 15:05:54 GMT -5 CrazyLucky said:

Oct 2, 2015 14:18:50 GMT -5 eponinepontmercy said:

The timing of leaving late at night doesn't really work, since I have to work the day before we leave and DD has a half day of school.  DH wouldn't get to sleep before he started driving.  DD doesn't sleep in the car as well as she used to so I'm afraid it would mess up her schedule for the week.

DH wants to get past DC and then we'll stop every 2-3 hours as needed with time to stretch and run.

I hadn't thought of the bolded part.  I'm sure we'll have a suitcase or cooler that will fit there. Thanks for the suggestion!

We drive NC to NJ and back pretty often and this is what we do.  The kids go to bed at regular bedtime (8).  We finish last minute packing or whatever and try to get to bed by 9.  We get up at 3am, pack toiletries, put the kids in the car and go.  This way, we get about 3 hours of drive time under our belts before we stop for breakfast.  We end up doing the drive in about 8 hours total, which is definitely longer than without kids, but not bad.  Driving on six hours sleep is reasonable, and the person who is not driving first gets a bit of a nap.
The longest trip we did was this year to the Adirondacks.  We did the thing where we left at 3:30am, and drove until about 6pm.  This was too long, even though we took breaks.  Definitely limit to 12 hours in one day.
There isn't anywhere super great to stop along the way, but my house does happen to be a perfect halfway point  My kids are 3 and 5, so they will wear your daughter out for you!

I admire your ability to go to bed early the night before a big event.    

The last time DH and I drove to Disney, we stopped in Charlotte for a few days to see friends.  That was so much easier than packing a minivan with a kid and my parents and movies and games and snacks for 5 people...ah, the good old days!

[jenn248]

Are you from DE? I'm from Long Neck (between Rehoboth and Millsboro).

[ginkgoleaf]

We drove from IL to PA a month ago, DS' first long trip. He did great! He watched movies on the iPad, played games, had snacks, etc. we split it up into 2 days on the way there but did the whole way on the way back (think it was 8-9 hours) and both were totally fine. He's almost 4.5, if you're on the app.

Oh and we did the hotel pool the first night, which he loved! Helped get energy out too.

[nsl]

We drove from West Texas to Maryland over the summer, and it was surprisingly pleasant with my 7 and 4 year olds. I had a new book and new small toy (usually one of those surprise things in a pouch that you get for a couple of dollars at target) for them every day, in addition to a few coloring pages and tons of snacks. They were pretty happy with just those for most of the day, and I didn't usually need to break out their tablets until 2:00 or so. I would say 8-9 hours in the car per day was the most they could do without getting antsy.

[eponinepontmercy]

Oct 2, 2015 15:44:31 GMT -5 jenn248 said:

Are you from DE? I'm from Long Neck (between Rehoboth and Millsboro).

Yup! (Well, technically from North jersey.) I moved to Wilmington in 2003.

[jena]

We've done the 16hr drive to wdw twice. I say aim for 10hr, but don't be mad if you only make 8 the first day. I always just pick the hotel using the hotels.com app when we are an hour away from stopping.

We play Simon says at rest stops to get the kids running. I also don't allow them DVDs until after lunch. When I've broken this rule they just end up burnt out on movie watching as it's getting later and they're getting crankier. I'm more equipped to handle the cranky whinyness in the morning.

[eponinepontmercy]

Oct 3, 2015 23:01:57 GMT -5 @bunnybean said:

PM me before you go, my SIL works on Disney property!!

I keep meaning to ask where she is - I'm sending you a PM.

[mrshandy]

We've done the trip to FL before and it sucks! Especially the second day. I like going as far as possible on the first day. The first few hours our kids would usually sleep or they're fine with driving. By the second day, everyone is annoyed and ready to get there.