Driving to Disneyland with Babies and Toddlers

Hi again! We covered flying with kids, so now we'll tackle the more daunting task of driving with kids. While Andrew and I definitely prefer flying, we also understand that it can get super pricey, especially if you have a big family. If driving just makes more sense for you and your family, we totally get it. We've made the trek from Utah to Anaheim more than once, so we have some wisdom to share there as well.

The trip from the Salt Lake area is about 680 miles, or about 10 hours if you drive without stopping. Which, let's be honest, is absolutely impossible when you have kids. The drive will end up taking anywhere from 12 to 14 hours, depending on how many stops you take. In other words, it's a long drive, and it can be exhausting. But it is also usually far less expensive than flying, so the trade-offs might be worth it.

If you have children that sleep just fine in the car, it might be worth looking into either leaving really early so they'll have a couple more hours of sleep during the first part of the drive, or leaving after bedtime and driving overnight in the hopes that your kids will get an okay night's sleep in the car. Our girls are not great car sleepers, so we like to give them a good night's sleep the night before we leave, otherwise they'll both be monsters the entire day.

I don't know how this was comfortable, but it worked for her.

My first piece of advice when driving long distances with small children: Snacks, snacks, and more snacks. This is not a time to worry overly about your child's nutrition. Bring your kids' favorite snacks, and maybe throw in some extra treats they don't get very often, and hand them out as needed to keep them happy. When we drove with both girls back in February, Goober had a constant supply of goldfish crackers, fruit snacks, fruit leather, chips, and so on. It may seem like an excessive amount of snacks, but it kept her happy and occupied, so it was necessary.

Piece of advice number two: Toys and activities. Lots of them. We packed a tote bag full of random toys and activities for Goober. We raided dollar stores and the dollar section at Target to find some new coloring books and little toys that wouldn't break the bank if they got lost or ruined. We also got her one bigger toy that we gave her for the first time in the car. This was all in addition to some of her favorite toys from home. Most of the smaller items didn't hold her attention for long, but there was always something else we could hand her. And don't discount random things from home that your toddlers like playing with; during our drive last May, Goober's favorite thing was Andrew's broken PlayStation controller. You never know what will hold their attention.

Number three: Bring that iPad (or other tablet)! I know that it's really important to watch your kids' screentime. I get it. But when you're on hour 10 of a 14-hour trek and your kid is screaming and no food or toy is helping, you're going to want the option to turn on their favorite movie, TV show, or app. Before our trips, we download shows from our DVR and movies from iTunes to the iPad. More often than not, we don't have to resort to the iPad until later in the drive when Goober is exhausted and sick of being strapped in a car seat. Watching a show was a great way to pull her attention away from her misery.

We let Goober climb around the car during one stop. She loved it.

When we last drove in February, Peanut was only five months old, so obviously none of the above items worked for her. Which actually made her fairly easy to deal with. We stopped every couple of hours to stretch our legs or get food or get gas, and we timed those stops with when Peanut needed to eat. But for the most part, she was content, which was nice.

One other thing we've done on occasion is stop in either Las Vegas or Mesquite for a night to break up the drive. Las Vegas is a little more expensive (even if you stay off the strip), but even the cheaper hotels are nicer. Mesquite has really cheap hotels (like $80 a night cheap), but there's a reason they're cheap. While it is nice to get out of the car and have that break, it does add the cost of an extra night at a hotel and another day of eating out. It also makes for two long travel days as opposed to one incredibly long day, so take that into consideration and consider how your littles will handle both situations. Our girls also seem to have this weird sixth sense when we're only going to be in a hotel for one night, and they both sleep like crap. Then magically they sleep better at our hotel in Anaheim. I don't understand it, but it has happened every time we've stopped for the night.

What good's staying in a hotel if you can't pull all the toilet paper off the roll?

The last important note I will make about driving to Anaheim is the Primm effect. Primm is this tiny town about 45 minutes outside of Vegas that only exists because it has a couple casinos, and the highway goes from four lanes down to two. It's also the border between California and Nevada so you have to go through the California checkpoint to say you don't have any fruits or vegetables. Even if the checkpoint isn't open, you still have to slow way down to go through it. If you hit Primm at the wrong time on the wrong day, you will be stuck in Primm for hours. When Andrew and I drove down with my parents in November of 2014, we were in nearly standstill traffic in Primm for two hours. It was ridiculous. You definitely want to pay attention to that when you're deciding to leave for this trip.

So why is Primm such a crazy traffic spot? Because Southern Californians love hanging out in Vegas. If you're traveling on a weekday, you're probably going to be fine. But if you're heading down to Anaheim on a Sunday, unless you can get through Primm before about 10 am, expect to hit traffic until about 6pm, as that is usually when Californians are heading home from Vegas. This also applies for Monday holidays. Just don't drive down on a holiday weekend. In 2014, we headed down the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It was awful. And when you head back north to Utah, just don't drive back on Friday if you can help it, since that's when everyone is heading out to Vegas. This might seem trivial, but seriously, the traffic gets awful. No sense adding 2-4 more hours onto an already long drive.

While driving to Disneyland can be daunting, it is absolutely doable, even with little ones. I mean, it's not exactly fun, but the actual travel part of traveling with little ones rarely is. But the destination makes the trouble worth it, right?