Wow, this thread is an incredible resource and motivator LOL. Some people's road journeys and frequencies of going are very impressive. I've only been twice as a child, and currently in beginning phases of planning out the roundtrip from Vail to Denver and then onwards to Orlando. Looks like it's about 1,800 miles/ 27 hours. We have a 2 year old and a 4 year old. The longest we could probably spend driving is 5-6 hours/day, which is just fine as this is going to be a "road trip" style vacation. Looking to take 3 weeks off work in August. 2 weeks driving back and forth and 1 week having fun at Disney.
Question:
Does anybody have any "must see" kid friendly destinations along the way from Colorado to Florida? My wife and I love hiking/outdoors, and the kids enjoy it also (though not for prolonged periods of time obviously)
Thanks y'all.
Howdy almost neighbor! I live in the Tulsa area, and we frequently drive down. We tend to do 400 miles per day (on average) and typically stay in the Memphis TN area and either Marianna FL or Dothan AL before heading on to WDW. (And yes - we book ahead for every trip, but we book directly with each hotel; we are "regulars" at several hotels, and I require rooms with a roll-in shower that will be friendly for my mobility issues).
If you stop through Tulsa, I can highly recommend the new park on Riverside Drive for the kiddos;
The Gathering Place has won awards and gets high praise from local families with children of all ages. Overnight in Tulsa, I would stay in Broken Arrow to avoid rush traffic; the Rose District there is a charming slice of their old downtown that the adults will enjoy - a great place to stroll around in the evenings.
All along the route we take, there are "Giant" things to look at; several giant animal statues, a water tower painted like a giant peach, even a statue of a giant peanut!
(Oh, so many signs for boiled p-nuts! LOL) and we always keep a lookout for our first "wild palms" - those are palm trees that are not deliberately planted as landscaping, and they have become a family tradition! As my mama used to say, there are parts of this trip that have "a big case of the scenics", so keep a camera handy!
From Tulsa - take the Muskogee Turnpike East/South to I-40, then go east to Memphis, (to avoid rush hour the next morning, stay in Southaven MS, or Olive Branch MS) then it's 22 east across Mississippi... One note here: You may be tempted to stop at the Starbucks that *appears* nearest the highway in Tupleo - be warned, it's a 30 minute detour off the interstate to get to it, because of how they designed the exits. You can see the highway from the Starbucks, but you can't get there from here! It's a quick 10 minutes back on to the highway though... LOL ...on to Birmingham AL where you will follow 65 south to Montgomery (say it like a native: "MONT-gom-rhee") and then State road 231 down through Troy to Dothan; you *can* go east here to Bainbridge GA, but rooms there are often hard to find on the fly, especially since Hurricane Micheal flattened them a few years ago. Better luck in Dothan AL (Holiday Inn Express or TownPlace Suites), or Marianna, FL (Fairfield Inn & Suites) where we will pick up I-10 east, cross into the Eastern time zone, and then pass through Tallahassee. If you want a fun stop in Tallahassee proper, look for
Lofty Pursuits - they are just off the exit of I-10, and I can highly recommend the old-fashioned cherry phosphate! (Also, their YouTube channel is just cool to watch LOL)
After Tallahassee, you are not far now - take 75 south, and then catch State 91- the turnpike - to 427 South (also a toll road). Last exit for us is Western Way... and (pre-COVID, pre-50th repaint) you get this:
That's *our* trip, from Tulsa to WDW - all in all, it's exactly 1201 miles from our front door to POFQ.
Sorry I don't have more kidlet-friendly ideas for you; there are (of course) tons of places that will happily separate you from your money along the way, but there just aren't a lot of playgrounds or even attractions that I think might be interesting to littles along the way. Having said that, I think I can find my (now adult) daughter's old Sesame Street cassette tape that we used to listen to non-stop in the minivan - I still know all the words to "Honker Ducky Dinger Jamboree" and "Ten Tiny Turtles"!!!
I hope y'all have a great trip - be sure to keep an ice chest in the car with lots of cold water; it gets *hot* that time of year, and I promise, you'll be glad you have it! (pro tip: fill up the ice chest every morning when you fill up with gas; get one with a drain plug for ease, and if you use hotel ice, don't use it for anything but keeping stuff cold!)
