2 Days to Go - Preparing to Drive from Maryland to Florida

The longest drive we have ever had to make with all 3 kids has been about an 8 hour trip to North Carolina. They've always done pretty well in the car. Now we're preparing for a trip about twice as long, so it requires extra planning to keep everyone happy and comfortable. We also won't have the luxury of spacing them out more in the minivan and instead they will all have to sit NEXT TO EACH OTHER in the back seat for the entire trip. That alone may be tough for them to handle.

First of all, I've stocked up on movies for the trip. Yes, most of them are Disney movies. Even though our minivan is equipped with an entertainment system, it is old enough to be VHS-based and of course most of what we have these days is DVD-based. This is easily rendered by hooking up a portable DVD player to the system and that works just great. However, I thought it would be nice if kids could be watching different movies, so I've purchased an additional DVD system with a second external screen. This will be hooked to the back seats and only used for the entertainment of the back seat passengers. The external screen has the ability to hook up other devices, and we'll take along some TV-based battery-operated travel games to add a little fun for the trip for the boys.

We also have older Gameboy Advance systems. Along with the games we already own, I purchase a few new games the kids haven't seen yet and also some cartridges that just have tv show episodes on them. They aren't the highest quality, but they should keep the boys entertained especially.

All this talk of the boys, but what about the girl? Well she is not really interested in television or movies so much, so for her there is a bag packed with coloring books, sticker books, stickers and crayons and markers. They are contained in a small travel lap desk that I know she'll enjoy using.

Of course, there are also snacks for the trip and drinks which we'll try to keep to a minimum so we don't have to stop every hour for bathroom breaks.

I also found a cool site online that allowed me, for a small fee, to download a PDF booklet which details all exit stops from Maine to Florida along I-95. Each exit gives details about restaurants, hotels and gas stations there. This will be very helpful for those times when somebody needs a bathroom, or we need food or fuel and we'll know exactly how far we can drive to get to the appropriate exit without having to rely on those signs on the side of the road to tell us where to exit.

I also have the GPS programmed with some potential stopping points and our route to Disney is mapped out on it as well. I'll be packing some books to read for myself but I'm sure I'll keep busy trying to keep the kids busy also.

I know my husband is dreading this drive, but I'm hoping that he'll be surprised at how well everybody does for the trip. I'll be updating my mobile blog during the trip as much as possible too.

9 Days to Go - Dining Plan Here We Come!

So it's been a while, but not too much has changed.

Ok, so it's me, and you know I have made changes.

First of all, I finally broke down and decided to schedule Noelle for some princess pampering at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. I figured since each of the boys had their very first "professional" haircut at the Main Street Barber Shop in Disney, why shouldn't Noelle get a chance for a professional style at Disney. The prices ranged from $44.95 to (get ready for it) $179.95. Now, that last package would include a costume and accessories and her very own photo session with photos. Well, she has a perfectly good Snow White costume from Halloween and I have plenty of camera power, we opted for the middle package, because that includes nails at a price of $49.95. I think she'll be thrilled. We're having this done just a few hours before a planned dinner at 1900 Park Fare with Cinderella, so even better. I can't wait to see her face when she is being pampered by the Fairy Godmothers at Disney!

Next, after going back and forth many times I decided to bite the bullet and get the Disney Dining Plan for the first part of our stay. I know it will be way too much food, but it will still save us money based on the meals we have already scheduled for the first part of our trip. I am sure just having it to use for our meal at LeCellier steakhouse will be worth it. It will be nice to not have to really worry about buying food for the most part for those first five days of the trip. Plus, I have the Disney Dining Experience card on it's way to me as well, which will save us 20% off the rest of our restaurant meals, and includes the alcohol which I know we'll have a few times. I will be sure to save my receipts later so I can really calculate the true "savings" from our trip and share them here.