Need tips for driving to Walt Disney World? It was 10 hours from our house in Alabama to Disney when we drove and I always came up with fun ways to keep them entertained to make the drive easier on all of us.
Something New Every Hour
Try to find something new for them to do every hour. They know as soon as the clock rolls over to the next hour, they get something new and exciting to play with.
I pick up a bunch of stuff at the Dollar Tree and put them in a bag that I keep in the front seat. I’ve gotten things like coloring sets, small toys, games, activity books, stamp sets, etc. At the top of each hour, I give them a new item from the bag.
Disney Movies
Bring your favorite Disney movies from home and watch them on the way. Get your kids excited to meet the characters from the movie.
Car Games
My kids love playing games in the car. Here are a few of our favorites:
- ABC Disney – Start with the letter A and try to name all the Disney characters you can think of – Alice, Brother Bear, Cinderella, etc
- I’m Going to Disney World – This is a variation of the game “I’m going on a picnic.” You start with the letter A and name all the items you can think of that you might bring with you on your vacation. You each take turns naming the items and you have to name what was already said. For example: “I’m going to Disney World and I am going to bring an Alice in Wonderland Costume.” The next person would say: “I’m going to Disney World and I am going to bring an Alice in Wonderland Costume and a banana.”
- Disney Movies – The first person names a Disney Movie — Aladdin for example. The next person has to think of a Disney movie that starts with the last letter of the previous movie — Nightmare Before Christmas. The next person would pick a movie that starts with S. And so on…
- 20 Questions – One player thinks of a Disney Character. The other people in the car can ask the player 20 questions to figure out who the character is. All questions must require a yes or no answer. Example — Was this character in an animated movie? Is this character a girl? Does this character have long, blonde hair?
Coloring Pages
Disney Snacks
Load up on snacks that feature Disney characters. You can also get Disney juice boxes at the Dollar Tree.
What do you do to keep the kids entertained for long car rides?
Here are more tips on how to keep entertained while traveling to Disney.
Learn more about traveling to Walt Disney World and the perks of using a Disney Travel Agent.
We will drive down this November, can’t wait. For us it’s about an 18 hour drive from NJ, will probably leave around 5pm. We did this two years ago and the kids were great one slept most of the time while the other watched movies or played games. Now their 13 & 6 I’m sure little one will still sleep most of the time. But they’ll have their tablets, DVD’s, and DS. I’ll make sure my youngest has coloring books and stuff since she likes to draw. Honestly we bring a bag of their toys and they don’t get played with. I really can’t wait to get away I love WDW.
Thank you so much for all of the ideas! We are driving for the first time from Michigan. We always fly, but this year the flights are way too expensive for the four of us!
You can also find Disney Ziplock baggies at the dollar store! These are great to store small items like crayons or cards. You can also save some money by buying larger packages of snacks like chips and crackers, then packing personal portions in the fun Disney baggies :) Then keep the magic alive when you get home with a Disney bag in their lunchbox!
My kids love those Disney ziplock bags :)
When my three boys were little, I would make a photo album for each of them in which they were the “star” to present to them on the car ride to Disney World. I used the four by six plastic albums from Walmart or Target. Each album had photos from when they were babies until that day. They loved seeing the pictures of birthdays and other fun! Then they had the fun of looking at each others albums as well! This provided lots of entertainment and enjoyment for us. Today my boys are 24, 21 and 18 and we still love Disney!
We drove to Disneyland and I had a backpack full of things for the kids, however, they were so entertained with their dvd’s that they really did not even open the bag. When we got home, they took interest in some of the things in the backpack!?!?! Go figure!
My kids love to play the Disney Trivia CD game- it really is “hours of fun” like the cover says… plus I don’t mind listening to it because it makes me feel like I’m riding on the Disney bus on the way to a park :)
http://www.amazon.com/Imagination-Games-Disney-Trivia-Game/dp/B001BA7W1I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334246807&sr=8-1
how safe is the food at those dollars stores??? for the price, always make nerves to buy juices or groceries over there.
Usually it is name brand products in smaller packaging. I don’t usually buy their generic.
it is posts like this that make your couponing blog the most fun one ever! i love how you help me plan.
For us, we wake up at around 4 or 5 AM and get at our resort at around 7 PM. Our kids (13 and 10) have gone to WDW so many times in the car that they know how to handle themselves. They normally watch movies, play most of the games you do, plan what they want to do in Disney World, and the license plate game. They also like to play games on their iPod Touch or do their summer workbooks for school.
One thing I do to help my son pass the time is create a “Florida Bingo” game for him. On my computer I make up a couple of Bingo sheets, but the squares are photos of things we might see along our drive (we live in upstate SC and it takes us between 8-9 hours). I put in photos of regular things like a boat, airplane, stop sign, etc, but I also put in the Interstate-4 sign, Universal Studios logo, the word “Disney”, an orange, major cities along the way (Jacksonville, Daytona), and so on. We know that when we start seeing billboards for Disney and Universal that we are getting closer. Helps build the excitement! Oh, and as an added tip, I like to laminate the cards I make and give him a dry erase marker to use to mark them off that way we can use them over and over again. :)
Since our drive usually takes about 15-16 hours with stops we try to leave in the evening so the kids sleep a good portion of the ride. One game we play once they wake up we call the ABC game. You start with A and work your way to Z. Each time someone sees a word (must be 3 letters or more) outside of the car they yell it out and we move on to the next letter. When we stop and are waiting for food we also play Disney charades.
Do you research well in advance & know the best spots to stop along the way: restaurants with play areas, parks, rest spots with a picnic area, children’s museums (as part of our membership to our local one – we get discounts to other ones around the country), etc… Everybody (driver included) is more pleasant & focused when they’ve been able to get the squirmy sillies out.
I usually wrap their new stuff so it takes up more time plus it’s like a present!
That’s a good idea!
You can save Happy Meal toys and toys from birthday parties to open up on the car ride, if your kids are in on the trip, they can help stash things up until the day of departure. My kids love maze and puzzle books, if you are doing the every hour something new rule, you can give them pages from different books every hour. Can nap time be included in the hour?