Driving from Boston with 4 1/2 year old

[ellamom]

DH and DD and myself will be driving from Boston this fall.
I have a lot of activities for the rides, have a VCR in the van also but I am worried about the drive.

DH and I thought that leaving in the evening 8pm and driving for some or all of the evening would be a good idea. DD would most likely be sleeping and it would also get us past the rush hour traffic in NY and DC. We would then stop in am for break /breakfast then drive for day and stay at hotel the second night and then proceed to disney the next day.

I'm soo excited about this trip. We been planning for awhile and everything is set. But, I keep thinking about this drive. Will we need naps more than our daughter while touring disney after this drive? Of course we are going to take it easy the day we arrive and just hang at the hotel but........

Any one with any experience with this drive , please share!

 

[abaldacci]

we just did a six hour trip with our almost 5 yr old, and he about drove us crazy asking are we there yet. so we started counting mile markers with him and it help. we thought it would be a short trip no problem because he has been on many trips but his age must have come in to play. plan better than i did take things she likes to do

 

[Barb D]

We drive from Maryland. We did the all-night drive twice. We left at about 6 in the evening. The kids were asleep within a couple of hours (before they got TOO bored) and slept through the night. We got to WDW about noon the next day.

The advantage, of course, was sleeping kids. The disadvantage is that DH and I were REALLY wiped by the time we got there. (Him especially, since he did 90% of the driving.) We had called ahead and asked (begged!) for early chieck-in into our room, and got it. We got in immediately; the person before us in line had to wait until 5PM. Call the front desk of your hotel 3 days ahead of time to request this. They won't guarantee it, but it worked for us.

Anyway, DH was able to sleep for a few hours until it was time for our Chef Mickey's ressie. I took the kids to the pool so it would be quiet for him, and it refreshed me a bit.

I have to say, though, that it really affected how tired I was for the next few days.

The last couple of trips we've left early in the morning, driven until 9 at night, and gotten a hotel. We still get in about noon the next day. I like this method much better. Yes, you have to keep the kids occupied in the car, but I think everyone gets there more rested and ready to go. With the TV/VCR and a 4yo I think you'd be fine doing it this way.

 

[CamColt]

I responded to your other post about the ride, but I just saw this one. When we arrived at WDW at 3:00, after DH & I both slept very very little, and in a car at that, we werent tired at all. We actually had the adrenaline pumping and were set to go. We wanted to swim, but it started raining so instead we washed up(a shower helped energize us too) and then we went off to the Boardwalk to eat as ESPN. We were out until probably 10:00pm which is late for me on a regular night, but we really werent tired. We were too excited. The kids werent tired because they got their sleep in the car. Coming home was a different story though. I think the whole week and the drive caught up to us then and we were both pretty grumpy for that day. But, like I said in my other post, we are doing it again, so it obviously wasnt that bad.

 

[tinofan]

ellamom,
I would suggest investing in (or borrowing from a friend) at TV/VCR for the trip. Circuit City has them for under $200. We had to do the trip last September and this was a savior! We actually had our laptop with us, we played DVD's on it. We had a car adaptor for a CD-walkman, and used that to plug into the cars speakers. The kids (8,8 and 3 1/2 at the time) loved the surround sound.
That and CANDY (lollipops were the best, they took the longest!) got us through.
We left early in the AM (from Disney), drove until 1/2 through NC, spent the night, then finished the next day.
We did take advantage of rest area's, and we made sure our hotel we stopped at had a pool so we could release some energy.

We were going to CT (Fairfield County). You would have about 3 more hours than us...

Good luck to you!

 

[tinofan]

ellamom,
sorry, I forgot you mentioned you had a VCR in the van, I think you'll be all set!

 

[The Duchess]

We dove from Plymouth, MA two years ago with two-year old.
Going again this year with now four-year old.
Take lots of tapes for VCR in car. I also invested in a good child harness so he could run around at rest areas without me panicking.
Took a big cooler with milk, chocolate, fruit, yogurt etc.. and also brought a battery operated blender to make milkshakes (milk, yogurt, banana, chocolate syrup) in case meal stops were sporadic.

Took I84 a big chunk last time, not again...too many BST (Big Scary Trucks) for a two lane highway. We're looping around NYC then rejoining I95 this time.
Route : Rt 58 to 495 / 495 to 90 / 90 to 84 / 84 to 209 / 209 to 33 / 33 to 22 / 22 to 476 / 476 to I95

Grandparents driving in second car so we won't be driving at night. Staying over two nights...Fredericksburg, VA and Savannah, GA (little side trip.)

ETA Disney 7pm, staying one night at Wilderness Lodge to take in outdoor movie/sing-a-long and water parade, then moving to Yacht Club next morning.

 

[toystorymom]

We just made this drive in June with 3 children ages 5, 3, and 1. Everyone said we were nuts but we survived and it was worth every minute of it!!

The tv/vcr is a huge plus. We brought lots of movies and I had also taped several of their favorite tv shows. The cooler with cold drinks and snacks is also a must. I second the lollipop suggestion - these worked great. Kept the kids happy and quiet!

We drove through the night because we wanted to get a big part of it done while the kids slept. They didn't sleep as well as we had hoped but it still worked out ok. We left MA about 3 in the afternoon and were at our hotel about 4 the next afternoon. (We had taken a couple different hour long breaks to let the kids run and play, once we even walked around WalMart for a bit, just to get out of the car.) We just toured the hotel, swam a little, had dinner and all went to bed reasonably early. The next morning we were ready to go! I think the excitement of being in Disney World is just too much to think about how tired you are.

On the way home, we had lunch and left the hotel by 1. We drove until about midnight and stopped for the night. The next morning we had breakfast and drove all day, we were back in MA by a reasonable time that night.

We drove mostly I 95. The rest areas in the South are nice, clean and well lit. They are nothing like the rest stops around here which are basically empty dark parking lots. Also, avoid the George Washington Bridge in NYC at all costs!

I think you will be fine whether you decide to do the day or overnight driving. My 5 year old says all the time that he would do it again in a second. As he puts it, "anything to go to Disney". Good luck!

 

[Jacksmom99]

Last year we took 3 days to make the trip with our then 2 year old DS. It was fine, we could'done it in two days easily. This year we will have DD who will be 12 weeks old. We are planning on leaving Thurs. night at 9pm while kids are sleeping and driving until noon or so the next day before stopping for a hotel room. If we feel O.K. we may keep going. The reason we are not driving straight through (we will have MIL for a 3rd driver too) is that DD needs to be fed every 3-4 hours and we have to stop for that, so we don't think we'll make great time. We leave in 17 days, so I will post when we return to let you know how it went and how long it took us. Right now we plan to be in WDW by Sat. afternoon. If DD is cooperative, we may make better time- let's hope!

As for the route, we took I95 the whole way, BUT stay away from the George Washington Bridge!!! The Tappen Zee is a better route. I do not think the Mass Pike route is better, it seems much longer to me.