Oh how I hate that drive-make it better!

I hear ya. Our drive can be between 8 and 10 hours depending on traffic and bathroom/food breaks. Our kids are now 10, 12, 14 and 17, but when they were small road trips were hard. We relied heavily on videos and DVDs. I hate to say it, but the screens really entertained them the longest. I wouldn't have let them veg in front of a screen that long at home, but car rides were different. Now they're older and they read (and of course play on their phones).

I'll be doing my first straight 12 hour drive in February and I'm a little skert myself!

No more small children in our group (youngest is 19...sigh...I'm old) but even then, we would make road bingo cards. Make a bingo card with things you know will be on the way (railroad tracks, water towers, etc) and add in other things like certain kids of cars, license plates from certain states...

I kinda want to do that now.

MushuGrl;2463024 wrote: I'll be doing my first straight 12 hour drive in February and I'm a little skert myself!

No more small children in our group (youngest is 19...sigh...I'm old) but even then, we would make road bingo cards. Make a bingo card with things you know will be on the way (railroad tracks, water towers, etc) and add in other things like certain kids of cars, license plates from certain states...

I kinda want to do that now.

My kids love those scavenger hunt type of games. My oldest printed some out for our last drive down. I think she just Googled car games or something like that. It was fun.

To make the car bingo game a bit more exciting for the kids, you could buy a bunch of $5 Disney gift cards or make Disney coupons (dole whip, Mickey bar, etc)
And give them to the winner!

We did all sorts of things to keep the kids occupied on road trips when they were younger. By far the best tip is to have a DVD player and lots of movies. Nothing seems to captivate them more than their favorite movies.

The drive can be challenging, can't it?

When DD was younger, we had a "trip bag" that we filled with car-friendly activities, like new books, new activity books, small games, and some favourite snacks. We brought the DVD player and DVD's, and we had a rule that you couldn't watch them until after "lunch" (which was really the 1/2 way mark.

It gave her something to look forward to, and entertained her when the other stuff seemed "old", but kept her interested in the other stuff until then.

For us grown-ups, we found that a good book on CD/iTunes was way better than music, and DD would listen too ... we were actually surprised at how well she followed along.

I hear you on the airfare costs!! For that very reason we have been doing the drive every year since our youngest was 6 months, he is now 11. For us it is a 20+ hour drive, sure it does seem like a long drive but we break is up with a 14+ hour first day and then a nice "short" 6 hour on the second day.

For us, our must haves for the trip are
-DVD system, preferably one that will play through your car’s stereo system. After all, the driver deserves to enjoy themselves on the drive as well! :drive:
-Books, games and game systems and tablets/iPod.
-Pillows and blankets
-Maps for everyone to follow. Got to love AAA maps for this one!
-Snacks

Frame of mind is a big one as well. If you go dreading the trip then you will have a hard time making the most out of your road trip. For us the drive is part of the vacation. Our trip starts the second the car leaves the driveway.

Though I have to admit the drive home seems like it takes FOREVER!!:D

We used to play the alphabet game - you had to find the letter of the alphabet on a sign along the road. To claim a letter you would have to call out the letter and the sign it was on - "O - Orlando 430 Miles"

Once a sign was 'called' it could not be used by any other player regardless of letter. Any sign on the side of the road was valid.

Once you get to the harder letters - Q, V, Z, they can drag the game out for a while. Strategy of calling a sign that someone else needed also played into the game.

The last time we drove from Memphis, my little ones were 3 months and 2 years old. We had to stop in Atlanta...there was no way we could have handled that long stretch all the way through. We rented a huge Expedition so everyone had plenty of room, took a portable DVD player that hooked onto the back of the seats, and just let them watch movies. And I think I made a little goodie bag with treats from the dollar store for my son. Little trucks and some fun books. And they actually napped quite a bit. Splitting up the trip made it alot more reasonable for us. And I think we had Hilton points so our stay was free. If a hotel stay isn't an option, I would at least research state parks/ good rest stops along the way. We stopped in Chattanooga and let my son run around and play. That helped too.

I just got back from a 18 hour drive (Chicago) and did the same last year as well. I have a DD 5 and DS 1. The little guy was good being entertained by his sister and my DD had her iPad to keep her occupied last year. This year we brought my DW best friends daughter, who is 3, and they all played games with each other and shared screen time on the iPad. Every time it was time to stop and eat, I would pick up some food, but instead of eating in the car, I would stop and the next rest area, eat, and let them run around for 10min before we started back again. I love the long drives, but my DW, not so much.

We have driven from near Philadephia every year for the last nine summers. My kids are now 9, 11 and 13. When we talk about what they are looking forward to most about vacation, they answer the road trip along with the mountains and favorite dining. I used to do a small prize when we entered a new state. We played games - they made the scavenger hunt. A working crane was worth 10,000 points! With all the construction on I-95, there were some high scores. I liked the coloring books with the magic markers that don't right on anything else (not sure if they still make them). On the way there, we still do trivia. I agree that the way home is not nearly as much fun as the ride there. If you have access to portable DVD, it can help to show a favorite video or one they have never seen before. If you do it year after year, they will come to love it. We went to California last year and we missed our road trip.

You probably won't like my suggestion, but I would say to break it up over two days. Our drive is about 11 hours. We leave Friday after work, eating a packed dinner in the car. We stop for the night somewhere in Georgia, after about four or five hours of driving. We usually stay at a hotel that sleeps five or six, includes free breakfast in the morning, and is usually about $100-$110/night.

Then, the next morning we get on the road around 8am, and we're in Orlando by 1pm. We either hit the Outlet mall, or we just go check in and hit a park. Works for us, doesn't wear us out. I mean, you're already spending $$$ on your Disney vacation. It's worth it to break up the drive.

Have we done it straight through? Yes, definitely. Our kids were older, though.

With all of the technology today, the ride can be MUCH easier for passengers. They have iPads, phones, handheld games, etc. They can watch movies, play games, or whatever else. I am making the 10-hour drive starting Thursday. We are not going straight through because we won't hit the road until 1PM. We'll get into JVille at about 8PM.

We had to buy a new car. When we were looking, we thought about all the ride times we will have over the next 10-15 years. We opted for the entertainment package. In the end with the incentives, it was cheaper to get it than not. We have 2 separate screens, both with their own HDMI and AV jacks. If needed, they can plug in 2 separate XBox consoles and play games against each other. They can watch separate BR movies on each screen. It is basically a 1st class ride down.

The portable DVD player made it easier when my kids were younger.

Also have you considered not driving straight through. Usually we leave after work on Friday, and drive for 5 to 6 hours (we always reserve the hotel room in advance). That makes the drive on Saturday much shorter.