Tips on car/driving entertainment?

[Bunchkin]

Our drive is 22-23 hrs to WDW.

On our long car trips we do bring the tv/vcr. Along with a ton of other activities. I usually bring a tote bag full of things to do as well as our DD bringing things she has picked out and put into her backpack.
We usually bring along:
Crayola Color Wonder markers and books
Walmart carries small Disney activity/sticker books, we bring a few of these
We already have tons of children CD's in the mini van, we just rotate stock
Small wrapped 'suprise presents' for good behavior
A few new childrens books to read and a childrens magazine or two
A favorite stuffed toy and blankey
Disney Winnie the Pooh magnetic tic tac toe, these were sold at the Disney Store a couple years ago
A few small toys
Dry erase child activity boards by Crayola
A Atlas map and highlighter to mark the path we are driving.
Travel size Connect Four and Don't Wake Daddy

This upcoming trip to WDW DD will be 6yr old by then and the baby will be 1 1/2yr old. First driving trip with the baby so who knows what else we may have to bring!

I think we will also let DD bring the Gameboy Advance and her kid games for it.

 

[pstepka]

One of the things I do is buy (on eBay) a ton of Fast Food toys (unopened) and pass them out every hour or so. The kids love them, it keeps them busy for a while, and I don't care if we throw them out when we're done. I usually spend about 25.00 on various toys (and mini beanies from McDonalds) on eBay and it's worth every penny. My kids LOVE Beanie Babies (they call them their 'pets') so I'll pick up a couple of them for each one. All in all I probably spend an average of about $50.00 for 'stuff' for them for the trip there and back but, as I said, for us it's money well spent. The fact that they don't know WHAT I brought, or even if there are more surprises helps alot.

The TV/VCR is also a must for us!! We have the one that the screen comes out of the bag and can be mounted anywhere (on the back of the front headrest, etc.). We actually have two of them, as we have 3 kids -- this way the one in the third row can see, also.

Pam

 

[Paul G]

We have the TV/VCR combo and it helps alot.

This year I am going to try bringing the Nintendo 64 game system and using it with an DC/AC voltage converter. The N64 should work as it is based on cartridges not CD and should not be affected by a rough car ride.

My two DD can play Mario Party for hours!

Anyone else try this?

 

[Deb & Bill]

My son started playing Categories in Kindergarten during lunch time. So we have been playing that for a few years. Each of us come up with a category - i.e. Favorite Disney Snack. Then each of us come up with an answer. We can make this last a good long time. We also listen to Harry Potter on tape. Maybe we'll try some other books as well. Our son also has his Magical Moments games, his Gameboy, and the Disney Trivia electronic game.

When we lived in Montana, we used to look for water towers.

 

[threeboysmom]

It takes our family exactly 24 hours to drive to WDW. We leave first thing in the morning, drive straight through the night, and by the time the kids wake up the next morning, we are in Florida!! Ages of boys are 12, 11 & 5.

Our favorite things to pass the time are books on tape (including an adult one to listen to at night when kids are asleep - helps the driver to stay awake). We like playing travel bingo (easy to make or you can purchase different versions), license game - kids color in the state on an outline map printed from the internet when they see that particular license, alphabet Disney (name a character beginning with each letter). We make up games too as we drive. Our cheapest & most time-consuming fun things are a roll of tin foil per child (they create all sorts of things), and a bag of pipe cleaners for creating things also. My oldest enjoys keeping track of our progress so I always get an extra Trip Tik (from AAA) for him. It's fun to keep flipping the pages as you travel along Also, plenty of snacks!! As long as the boys' mouths have something in them, they are happy!

 

[disneyfan551]

...I just found overstock.com today, and found great deals on Elmo movies for $2.99 (even for a 2 set Elmo Christmas!). For those of you with the tv/vcr's in the car, you may be interested in the Disney SingALongs they were selling for around $10! That would be a great way to pass the time & keep up the magic!