Long Long...Over 15 hour drive to Disneyland

[firsttimer2007]

This is a thread for people who are planning to or have already made a long drive to Disneyland.

Post: Advise, tips, interesting stops along the way.

Post: Questions for the trip.

 

[NWTmagic]

We'll be doing a 15 hour drive from Hay River, Northwest Territories to Calgary, Alberta, followed by a 3 hour flight to LA.

You can check out the 12 Foot Davis Center in Peace River, or the West Edmonton Mall.......I know, not what you had in mind. Couldn't help it.

 

[Quilter007]

It's a 20 hour drive for us. We recommend a DVD player, mad libs and a lot of chips!!! What highways are you taking? Obviously, my 80's retro bowling alley stop in Hurricane, UT isn't going to help you if you are driving down the coast!

Katrina

 

[firsttimer2007]

We are driving from Texas.

My kids took their first "long road trip" to Florida last year. We always flew before. They wanted to drive, so we did. They LOVED it and now they are planning a trip to CA and/or Colorado.

I just thought it would be fun to share our tail of woe. While waiting for our next trips

 

[Quilter007]

Ok -- well my spots might not help you, but if you get WAY off the beaten path, here are some of our favs:

- just off the 15 in Southern Utah (about 10 miles N of St George) is a little town called Hurricane -- it's got a really funky 80's time warp bowling alley -- it was such a strange experience that I forgot to take photos!
- also off the 15 at the Nevada/Ca border -- we like the log ride at the casino there. They've also got a decent food court & Tony Roma's. The log ride has target that you shoot from the ride. When you hit some of the targets, they shoot water back at you.
- Craig, Colorado has the best McD's we've ever seen! The interior is themed like the GCH, it has a huge playplace AND Dippin Dots
- Palisades, CO (off the 70) -- get off the freeway & start roaming around looking for orchards -- the best fruit ever!!!!
- We like to go through Zion's east of the 15 in Southern Utah -- plenty of places to stop & get local food -- good place to pretend you are doing your own Food TV exploring show
- Off the I-80 between Evanston & Green River in WY -- the original Little America -- great diner -- get a photo with the fake dinosaur
- Any In-N-Out -- we gotta stop at one on the way into CA!!!

OK -- we're going to spend a couple days @ the Space Center -- any recommendations for local food spots off property? We're not going until July -- so we got time to plan! We'll have MIL + 2 picky kids (one doesn't eat anything squishy & the other doesn't eat anything crunchy -- yes, it IS fabulous -- every meal is a buffet at our house!)

Katrina

 

[endy]

- just off the 15 in Southern Utah (about 10 miles N of St George) is a little town called Hurricane -- it's got a really funky 80's time warp bowling alley -- it was such a strange experience that I forgot to take photos!

Hi Quilter
Is this easy to find? We usually stop in St George for gas. This sounds like something my son would really enjoy.
Which casino has the food court? I find the food in the mall to be over priced. Where is the log ride? We always watch the roller coaster. But I 'm not brave enough to try it out tho my son would love to try it. We sometimes will stop at the outlet mall at the CA/NV border mostly to stretch our legs tho I find it somewhat pricey. Something new to try this summer.
Thank you
Wendy

 

[carj]

Hey! We are driving from Texas also! We flew last year to WDW so this will be the longest road trip for our family.

We live in the DFW area. The shortest route would take us through El Paso and Phoenix. We decided that with the current border violence that we would take the slightly longer route through Amarillo, Albuquerque and Flagstaff. I know that it is probably perfectly fine. I am a worrywart though and it makes me feel better. I am disappointed though that we won't be able to make a quick little run into Mexico. When I was a kid, I thought that was so amazing to be in a different country. I know that my children would enjoy that too.

We are leaving after my husband gets off work and driving 6 hours to Amarillo. We will drive 9 hours the next day to Williams AZ. The last day, we will drive another 6 hours into Anaheim.

I am going back and forth on the whole driving thing. What keeps pushing me to drive is the cost of the rental car if we choose to fly. Why are rental cars in LA so expensive?

Also, the cheapest airfare is a little under $1000 for the 4 of us out of Love Field.

There are not any direct flights out of state from Love Field so we would have a stop, probably in Phoenix. I am not crazy about flying and our daughter isn't either. I don't like taking off and landing any more than I have to! All the NS flights from DFW are closer to $300 per person plus fees and fees for checked bags. It ends up being more like $1400 for the four of us.

I am such a complete goofball. I have the drive planned out with the stops along the way. I went to the McDonald's website and searched for the ones with indoor playplaces. It will be the end of June when we travel so things like parks may not be a bearable!

We are going to have a theme for the day. Each theme will have a set of movies that relate to the theme. One day we are going to watch HSM 1,2,3. (My husband MAY jump out of the car.) We are doing this on the day we pass through Albuquerque. Some of our other themes are; Under the Sea day, Future day, Adventure day and Zoo day. I have been stashing little activities and crafts for the trip that go with each theme.

I know that sounds a little OCD, but I think that the kids will do better with a plan! We may not always stick to the plan, but we will have one!

I am also planning on buying my 8 year old a couple of nice long books. He just read the first Harry Potter book so I will probably get a new one of that series. I will have to see which one he is ready for then.

My 5 year old daughter loves to read too but she can't read longer books just yet. She will have some books to read too. She loves to write stories and draw so I am going to make sure we have plenty of art supplies for the car.

They both have Nintendp DS games. I might let them get a new game before the trip. Probably not though, they have quite a few and they really play the same ones over and over anyway.

My other terrible secret is that I have stashed some of their Christmas presents for the trip. They get so many things from extended family members that they didn't even notice when I packed up the paper airplane kit and the origami set. Both of those things should make for interesting road trip activities.

We are driving from Texas.

My kids took their first "long road trip" to Florida last year. We always flew before. They wanted to drive, so we did. They LOVED it and now they are planning a trip to CA and/or Colorado.

I just thought it would be fun to share our tail of woe. While waiting for our next trips

 

[valmomma22]

We are Driving from BC's interior, it is a 27 hr drive. We are taking about 4 days to do this drive as we have small children. We are bringing dvd players travel games ect. We are looking forward to stopping along the oregon coast and driving through the redwoods. Anyone else coming from the north??

 

[Quilter007]

Endy,

I'll see if the Garmin still has the bowling alley address. The log ride & food court are in the casino w/ the roller coaster -- can't remember what it's called.

Katrina

 

[BC Disney Lover]

valmomma22:

Where are you driving from? We did the trip a few years ago and we're from Mission, BC. We went straight down that trip but have done the Oregon Coast on other trips and it's beautiful!

 

[Quilter007]

The famous Hurricane bowling alley is called the Hurricane Bowl & Fun Center --- 55 N 3700 West, Hurricane, UT. I would print out a map -- it's about 10 minutes off the 15. Now that you know it's 80's retro, it might be fun to get some pink hairspray & punk out the kids hair!!

Katrina

 

[firsttimer2007]

Hi Carj,
We are from DFW too. We are planning to go in September/October. We hate the airport. Long lines and lots of waiting just to get one a cramped plane. My kids have flown many times but love being able to spread out and really relax in their own car. We get them jammy's and blankets with their names on them.
Last year we hooked up the wii. They played for hours. We forgot to pack the nun chucks (I know nothing about games--so I forgot. It was a surprise trip for the kids so I did this alone) Not having the nun chucks made the kids figure out how to play w/o them.

Right now we are planning to drive through flagstaff on the way there. Then take the southern way back. We are planning on going to the grand canyon first. We are planning on stopping once on the way there and once on the way home. DH is a road warrior.

If you are a AAA member you can get trip tik it will tell you all the places to stop off. We found this easy to use.

Please report back after your trip to give us hints on great and not so great places to stop.

 

[carj]

I will definitely report back!

I thought about hooking up the Wii but my daughter really doesn't play it much. She just got a Nintendo DS and she will play that and draw for hours at a time.

Truthfully, I am a a little apprehensive about the drive. I have visions of us in Wichita Falls, 2 hours from home, and someone throwing up or having a meltdown. What I would like to do is to drive all night the first night, stop and rest and then drive the rest of the way. That way, the kids would be asleep for a long portion of the trip. My husband thinks that is a bad idea and since I need him to help me drive, I am not going to try to convince him. This will be fine too. We will be able to stick to a fairly normal sleep schedule.

Our kids are 8 and 5, the 5 year old will be a month away from being 6. I know that people drive much further but this is the longest trip that we have ever made by far! We drive west to see my brother, about 4 hours away and we drove to San Antonio a couple of years ago, about 5 hours away. This trip is in an entirely different league at 20 plus hours!

We don't have AAA but I was thinking about getting it for the trip. You just never know what might happen. I feel safe at home because we are never that far from civilization.

We are thinking that we might stop at the Grand Canyon on the way home. We are not telling the kids because I don't know how exhausted we will be. I am going to have to sneak around online to get information on it! I have only been there once and that was 15 years ago.

I am excited about the trip and so are the kids. My husband will get excited when we get on the road.

 

[firsttimer2007]

Has anyone made the drive yet? Any good reports?

 

[MOMTOCUTESTDOGEVER]

Ok -- well my spots might not help you, but if you get WAY off the beaten path, here are some of our favs:

- Craig, Colorado has the best McD's we've ever seen! The interior is themed like the GCH, it has a huge playplace AND Dippin Dots
Katrina

I was born and raised in Craig. Funny to see it mentioned here as I didn't think there was much to like about it.

 

[JustMickey]

Another DFW'er here driving to CA next year. No kids, just me and my BF. I have so many fond memories of taking road trips out to California as a child that I can't wait! Oh yeah and Disneyland will be fun too

 

[firsttimer2007]

Another DFW'er here driving to CA next year. No kids, just me and my BF. I have so many fond memories of taking road trips out to California as a child that I can't wait! Oh yeah and Disneyland will be fun too

Which route are you taking? North or South?

We are taking the northern route to CA and the southern route home?

 

[JustMickey]

I've always done the I-20 to I-10 route, I guess that's South?. Are the other routes better/more scenic?

 

[firsttimer2007]

I don't know I have never made the drive before.

That is why we are going one way up and the other way back. I'll let you know when we get back. I am a little concerned over the border violence though. My TA said we should not have any problems so I think we are going to try it.

 

[carj]

I don't know I have never made the drive before.

That is why we are going one way up and the other way back. I'll let you know when we get back. I am a little concerned over the border violence though. My TA said we should not have any problems so I think we are going to try it.

The violence near the border was the reason that we are taking the northern route. It is about 90 minutes longer than the southern route for us. When you are making a 20 hour drive, 90 minutes just doesn't seem like that big of a deal.

I think that you will probably be fine. Hopefully the situation will improve near the border.