We are going to Disney World in a month, and will be driving about 6 hours to get there with our little boy who will have just turned 2. Our original plan was to go at night, so our son could hopefully just sleep, but those plans were not working for us, so we will be taking a day trip. My in laws will be in the back seat with our son, which I am thankful for because I won't have to do ALL of the entertaining. I am planning to put together a bag or box of special things to keep him entertained, and was wondering of anyone had any good suggestions. I will also be planning for snacks and meals, and we will be taking as many stops as are needed. We are hoping to stop at some playgrounds and will most likely stop for at least 1 meal at an eatery.
1: Have you taken a long car drive with a 2 year old before? How did it go?
2: Any suggestions on what to bring to make the drive easier?
3: How can we figure out where there are parks, or pit stops with playgrounds to stop at along the way?
4: Any other words of wisdom?
I agree with the ones that say get a portable DVD player. I have used those with my boys and they have been a lifesaver. Yes they are older but still it will keep him occupied for a lot longer.
Portable DVD player!!!
Hopefully he'll fall asleep for at least part of it.
Stop and eat somewhere where he can play too! Or pack lunch and then just stop at a park/roadside. Take a ball or something for him to kick around and chase (run!).
It sounds like you have lots already. I would only recommend that you not bring out the toys or start entertaining until it seems like he needs it. For the first 30 minutes or however long your son can be content just being in the car and looking around. I wouldn't wait until he's crying or upset but just watch to see when he's starting to get bored. Also, I would give him the toys, crayons, etc before putting on the dvd player. I would use movies as the last part of the plan.
Just got home late last night from a 12 hour car trip. (Drove up on Thursday and back on Monday.) Have a 2.5 and 5 y.o.
*DVD player is a must. (ours actually crapped out 2 hours into the trip and we pulled over and bought a new one at Walmart....so worth the money)
*NEW (as in not been seen lately) movies/shows. I found a lot for less than $5 at Target and Walmart.
*Bag of toys that haven't been played with in awhile (we keep a separate bag so they don't get bored).
*Lots of books for the in-laws to read to him or for him to look at.
Use Rest Areas for leg stretches and potty time. Encourage him to run as much as possible while there. (I had the girls running races in the lobby and down the sidewalks.....of course being mindful of others.)
When stopping for meals, let him play while you eat. Let him eat while you drive.
Pack snacks and drinks for the rest area breaks. It's cheaper and quicker.
Plan for it to take at least 2 extra hours than what mapquest says it will take.
Use your phone or look-up the rest areas for the trip. There are free apps for that as well as the Maps app will search for you when you ask it to.
We scheduled our stops for every 2.5 hours +/- with a convenient stop in mind.
Use the Gasbuddy app to find gas stations and the best price for fuel.
Prep the in-laws that it will take longer and that you only go as fast as your slowest person (your son). You don't need aggrivated old people on top of having a cranky 2 y.o.
In all honesty, your in-laws will annoy you more than your 2 y.o. :)
Good luck and have fun! It's really not that bad!
We did a 17 hour drive with a 2 and 4 y/o. No DVD player, but we did have plenty of snacks, toys, songs, books. One of the best things I got was a couple of cheap cookie sheets at the dollar store. They were used as trays for playing, coloring, and they were great for the magnetic toys I brought. Some of the billboards for fast food restaurants along the highway will advertise playlands...
Wee sing tapes! Silly songs, Bible songs. Lots of books. Ok, you can tell I did this in the 90s! Only it was 12 hours. Truly a lot of great memories.
Make those memories BEFORE you resort to the DVDs. I vote for Veggie Tales for the DVDs! Rest stops work for 2 yr olds. Usually enough room to play ball. Take extra clothes you can get to. Ditto snacks and children's meds. A couple new toys never taken out till they start to have a break down. You can not only do this, you can enjoy it!
Hit your AAA office for map stuff. They may even have travel with kid tips. Stop every 2 hours or more to stretch, pee, etc. McDonalds and Chick-fil-A have play areas, usually. Don't expect her to travel like an adult. Your trip may take closer to 8 hours because of diaper changes, eating, etc. Let it happen how it needs to happen.
We went to San Diego in July with a 2 year old and a 4 year old. it was a 8 hour trip each way without stops. We brought a portable DVD player, a TON of movies, tons of snacks, and the following toys,
-dry erase boards and markers
-coloring books and crayons
-Crayola color wonder paints and color wonder paper
-Our two tablets with kid apps
-and 2 etch a sketch's
Plus, plan to make many stops. At least every 2-4 hours. Lets just put it this way, Our 8 hour trips, turned into 12 hour trips. Patience is key.
Good luck!
Leave EARLY in the morning. Buckle the little one in and chances are he will sleep for a few more hours. Lunch time comes, find a McDonalds, Burger King, any thing with a playground and you're good to go.
This always worked for us.
K. L-
We took a 22 hour flight with a 22 month old. Then we followed it with a 14 day road trip which had us in the car 8+ hours a day.
My words of wisdom are as follows-
try to keep your kid's usual schedule in mind when planning your stops. if you stop around naptime, its a bit of a wasted stop because they'll be too cranky to get their wriggles out.
pack your own food and picnic, unless your kid can be relied on to withstand a restaurant meal.
highway rest areas may or may not work for your kid. mine had a propensity to want to play with the car/ run around in the parking lot (scary).
have fun in disney.
F. B.
We had a 19 hour drive from Chicago to Jacksonville...which took closer to 24 hours. It's good that you're ok with taking plenty of stops. I think every 3 hours or so is probably a good estimate on how often you will need to stop. Sounds like you are stocking up just fine for in-car entertainment.
Stop at rest areas for potty breaks and you can have a snack and stretch your legs. I would think the Florida Welcome Center would probably be a good place to stop as well. McDonalds and Chick-Fil-A are good bets for restaurants with play areas. Just stop at one with a bunch of other things at that exit and you should be pretty good.
Try and work your 2 yr old's nap in there somewhere. That will help pass time as well. I brought our "lullaby" CD to play in the car to help our little ones sleep. Keep a change of clothes, baby wipes, and paper towels around...just in case!
6 hours wont be so long - in fact, I can guarantee you that your in-laws will feel like this trip is taking 2 days!
You MUST get or borrow a portable DVD player. Don't try this trip without one. Then get a bunch of DVDs he has seen and not seen (try the library).
Also, plan on him taking an hour nap.
Lots of snacks (bring a little garbage bag) and drinks.
I wouldn't plan on stopping more than twice to get lunch and stretch legs. Otherwise it will be a 7 or 8 hour trip. But if you have to, you have to! Be flexible, have some candy for those impossible moments and just go for it. But the DVD is seriously a must.
We used to do four-hour drives each way to see my mom from the time my daughter was born.
I knew you'd get a lot of "DVD player!" responses but I'm contrary. For a 12-hour trip like someone described, DVDs are OK for some of it, but for a six-hour trip or less -- I wouldn't. I feel that TV and movies in the car means kids get so used to having a screen in front of them from an early age that they won't learn to look out the window and eventually won't really know how to entertain themselves without a screen in the car (and everywhere else).
You can do this without a DVD, especially as you have the wonderful benefit of having your in-laws right there flanking your son! Yes, put together a bag of new toys he's never seen before; ensure there are toys with lots of things to do with his hands (buttoning buttons, pulling zippers, things that crinkle, snaps etc.) and books with flaps and things to pull and touch in them. Have grandma and grandad point things out to him in that world outside his windows. Suggest that they play finger games and sing songs wtih him.
Definitely get plenty of books on CD from the library -- you can get kids' books on CD with accompanying books so he can hold the book while he listens to it, and grandparents can turn the pages with him. They also can read to him some too, of course, but books on CDs will save their voices at times. Music CDs are a must too, and not just kiddie music -- try snippets of classical and "sing" along to ones you know -- find some "classical hits" compilations. Young kids love all music, not just kiddie music, until adults make them think it's dull, so this is a good time for all the adults in the car to have fun with classical tunes and show him they're great too.
Intentionally plan to build in a period when things gradually get quiet in the car, so he can go to sleep. At his age, once the grandparents are looking out the window and interacting with him less, and you have on soft music, you're likely to get him to nap.
Don't try to entertain him every single second of the trip. Let him have some time of looking out the window on his own. Yeah, he's two, so that won't last long, but it's the start of building his ability to do this on his own.
I really think you can do it without the DVD, and after all, if I were grandma or grandpa I'd rather have that time to interact with him (even if he's confined and at times a bit cranky) than spend that time seeing him zoned out staring at a DVD and fussing when the DVD goes off. Dump the DVD and let him learn to enjoy the ride rather than expect every ride to be TV time! If the adults treat this as a fun adventure, he will pick up on that enthusiasm and copy it and will feel positive about it too; if the adults have an expectation of "Oh, no, six hours with a toddler, it'll be brutal," he will pick up on that, too, and live down to the expectation. Have fun and he will too.
portable DVD player and make plenty of stops,
like when you stop for gas,or lunch stop somewhere and get everyone out , find a place to for kiddo to run or at lunch/dinner stop a a plce with a playplace. stop at rest area and go to the bathroom there's open spaces for him to run around there too. IT will make the drive longer but it will help. We had to drive cross country, Washington state to Maryland when my daughter was 2. that's the only way we survived.
i have driven 24 hours with my daughter at that age. i just pack coloring books, dvd player and a case full of movies, a new special toy, and a bag/box with toys shes picked out and regular picture books. we bring a small cooler so we can have string cheese and cold drinks and anything else we may want that needs to stay cold.
we never stopped at parks. the rest stops were just fine to get her out and let her move for 15 mins or so. bring a ball for him to run after.
a restaraunt will be good but pick your place wisely since you may have a cranky child by then.
with your inlaws going i really dont see in making the drive longer then it should get there so you can enjoy your day at disney world :)
plus its six hours you will be amazed at how long your son will be intertained in the car.
Make sure he's rear-facing. That's probably the safest thing you CAN do. Plus, he'll sleep soooo much easier that way. As for entertaining him, good luck. :) I know it's hard to travel with little ones.
