Driving at Night....HELP

[fottafamily05]

OK! We have drove to Florida many, many times. But we have mostly drove in the morning and day time (leaving at the earliest at 3 am) that way we are there by that afternoon. This time we decided to leave at night and drive straight through. Our plan is to leave at 6:30 pm...that way we will be there by 8 or so the next morning. I was fine with this until recently (we leave next week) now I am terrified to drive at night. I am so afraid for some reason that something is going to happen. DS falling asleep is my main concern...even though he says he will be fine or someone else being on the road that late that falls asleep. So my question to you all is....who has done this? Did you prefer to drive at night or during the day? Thanks for any and all input!

 

[fottafamily05]

I meant DH...not DS lol Sorry!

 

[DonaldTDuck]

We've driven all night back before the explosive growth in Central FLA but now prefer to stop in southern GA and finish the drive the next morning. Then we go in on the toll road.

 

[JennyDrake]

I don't mean to be rude, but if you are determined to worry--nothing any of us can/will say will be of much help. MANY people drive down through the night. Does your DH drive much at night? Does he normally stay up late or is he in bed at 6 p.m? Does coffee help? I have driven it both day and night. Would a book on CD help his stay awake? Can you trade off driving? If you are REALLY scared about his falling asleep--then don't do it.

 

[fottafamily05]

DonaldTDuck....we do sometimes stop in Savannah, GA. We are thinking to leave earlier again and then stop there for the night. Thank you!

 

[Lyndsey]

We usually drive at night from Ohio, my husband works midnights so he is used to being up all night! It is nice to get the majority of the trip done with the kids sleeping. But when we arrive the kids are wired and my husband and I are dead tired..lol I prefer leaving early morning like 5am and arriving late evening because no one is completely exhausted. Enjoy your trip!!

 

[ewehrum]

I always leave at night and drive straight through. We love it. It is so much quicker, no traffic. I usually don't have a problem staying up while driving, If I get tired I usually just stop and stretch my legs, get a snack and a drink. I usually like to leave around 10 or 11 pm if not a couple hours earlier. I am driving from Cincinnati OH and it usually takes 12-13 hours. We plan to drive through the night again on the next trip. I'm always too excited when we get there and don't sleep till that night either.

 

[vicki_c]

We've done it - straight through 20 hours and overnight, after work. It can suck. But I was never afraid of driving at night. There is much less traffic on the road overnight in most places, so actually less other drivers to worry about.

My biggest problem with it was that I would stay awake while DH drove, then we would switch and he would immediately fall asleep once I was driving - so no company!

 

[stargazertechie]

We always drive straight through. It's a 20 hour drive for us, so at least 10 hours of it is in the dark each time.

I enjoy it much more. The time seems to pass more quickly, and there's much less traffic.

 

[DixieBelle]

Driving overnight is how we usually get to Orlando, or about anywhere within 600 miles. Driving down has never been a problem. The excitement of starting the trip is enough for me!

I try to take a nap in the afternoon we go. We usually have an early light supper, get baths and last minute packing and head out. After two hours or so, we stop for gas in South Carolina (way cheaper than NC!). The kids get something to eat and off again. By this time it is dark, tummies are full, and most of them are asleep within an hour.

Coming back is totally different. I cannot stay awake at night on the trip home! If someone else can't drive, we end up at a rest stop for a couple of hours.

The decision tho really rests with your driver. Living where we do, driving distances in the dark happens a lot! Good luck and have lots of fun.

 

[fottafamily05]

I don't mean to be rude, but if you are determined to worry--nothing any of us can/will say will be of much help. MANY people drive down through the night. Does your DH drive much at night? Does he normally stay up late or is he in bed at 6 p.m? Does coffee help? I have driven it both day and night. Would a book on CD help his stay awake? Can you trade off driving? If you are REALLY scared about his falling asleep--then don't do it.

JennyDrake...I simply wanted advice and to hear other peoples experiences with driving at night!!!!!!!!!

 

[fottafamily05]

I always leave at night and drive straight through. We love it. It is so much quicker, no traffic. I usually don't have a problem staying up while driving, If I get tired I usually just stop and stretch my legs, get a snack and a drink. I usually like to leave around 10 or 11 pm if not a couple hours earlier. I am driving from Cincinnati OH and it usually takes 12-13 hours. We plan to drive through the night again on the next trip. I'm always too excited when we get there and don't sleep till that night either.

Thank you so much for the response. I think we would be OK...I guess its just the unknown for me.

Thanks again!

 

[Zuzu03]

I used to not think twice about it, but now, I'm not fond of driving at night! I think I just worry more now that I'm older! Can you do it in two halves?

 

[fottafamily05]

Thanks everyone for your responses! They are very much appreciated. DH says he would be fine to drive all night long. He is a coffee drinker so that would help I think. We could also switch on and off with me driving as well if need be. I think we may just do it! Thanks again everyone.

 

[fottafamily05]

I used to not think twice about it, but now, I'm not fond of driving at night! I think I just worry more now that I'm older! Can you do it in two halves?

We can! I thought about leaving earlier on that Thur and driving to Savannah, GA...that's about 9 hrs for us. Then the following morning (check in day) finishing up the trip which will only be about 4 hrs. The only down side to this is another day missed of school. We shall see though. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[kathie859]

We prefer to keep normal hours during travel--and normally, by midnight, I'm fast asleep!!

OP...not to further worry you but look at what happened over the weekend to those poor people on i75 in Florida.

We've driven ONE time straight thru on a vacation. It was 17 hours. It was miserable and it took a few days afterwards to recoup. My thought is WDW is energy draining enough that I want to start fresh when I arrive.

Do what works best for your family--just make sure if the driver gets tired he knows it ok to pull over.

 

[BuzzLiteyear]

We always leave at 9pm and I drive all night. In fact, I once drove within 1 hour of Orlando and we live about 1,100 miles away . I have no issues driving at night. Only your DH knows his limitations. Good luck with your decision.

 

[cerilene]

We drove down overnight once and it was rough. I like driving at night much more, but we were so stinking tired once we got there and of course didn't go to bed until late that night. I felt like we were running on empty for most of the trip and Disney is exhausting enough on its own! Now we drive down on Saturday, get there around dinner time and stay somewhere cheap. We check in the next morning and hit the parks running!

 

[goofyernmost]

I always leave at night and drive straight through. We love it. It is so much quicker, no traffic.

I would have to offer a bit of an objection to that statement about no traffic. There is considerably less car traffic but the trucks take over the roads at night and there is nothing more intimidating then being surrounded by mountains of 18+ wheelers. Just a thought!

 

[mckinley]

Everytime we drive to Disney we do it at night. Me & DH take turns driving & sleeping. We enjoy the less traffic, DDsleeping so less stopping for eats & bathroo m. It just makes the trip seem faster. When we get to Disney we are a little sleepy, but we just go to bed a little earlier that night.