A Travel Series, By Kimberly Teichrow { part 2 }

Welcome to part 2 of my travel series on Disneyland – I’m hoping that by sharing our family’s experience, you’ll feel a bit less overwhelmed with planning your own family’s vacation – and be able to tailor to your own family’s personality. Check in often and follow our family’s experience, including a selection of our favorite photographs!

Planning Ahead: “Wings or Wheels – how to get there”

This question of whether to drive or fly can certainly be influenced by factors somewhat beyond our control… like a strict budget. If you are lucky enough to truly debate – here are a few thoughts on each option – weighted heavier on the driving aspect, as that was our choice.

Wings. The Pro’s & Con’s.

You’re there faster (nice!). You could have a flight delay or worse, cancellation (bummer!). If you are focusing your vacation simply at Disneyland the immediate area – you really won’t need a car. You may wind up spending more on food or snacks… as it is a bit more challenging to hit the market for sundries.  If you do want to wander around Southern California – you’ll be renting a car.

Wheels. The Pro’s & Con’s – and a few Teichrow road trip tips.

First of all, let me share that our boys are currently 7 and 9 years old. We’re (way) out of diapers, and their attention span is longer than a single 30 minute TV show (we used to measure time by Dora’s – or the amount of time it took to watch one Dora the Exporer show).  Having stated all of that, we’re not afraid of a 30-Dora Road Trip (each way)!

From Central Oregon, Anaheim is approximately a “30-Dora” or 15 hour road trip. We break it up into 2 days, as we’ve had to depart mid-day each of our 2 trips. We over-nighted in Redding one year, and Sacramento another – depending on when we were able to leave town. This year, we arrived in Anaheim from Sacramento around 4pm on a Sunday, and were able to spend about 6 hours at the park on our first day in town. Disneyland closed at midnight that day – and we welcomed the opportunity to walk around after two days in the car. Not to mention, the boys were obviously insanely excited to be there, and we didn’t have to delay the Disney-gratification long. Last bonus – We managed to see the fireworks show that night, the only evening it was available, as in the off season they only show it during the weekends.

Onboard entertainment: The boys really enjoy books on tape. In fact, one 8-hour road trip I took with them by myself up to Washington, they spent 7.5 hours of it listening to a Harry Potter book straight through. I was quite impressed, and found it hard to be too disappointed that I couldn’t listen to my photography podcasts! We’re currently into Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series – in fact both my husband and I enjoy them as well – and when the boys are not engaged in a movie or knee deep in another distraction, we listen to books as a family.  When the boys are tired of listening to books, and ready for a change, they typically turn to movies. We try to bring a decent variety, so they don’t get bored of only one or two movies. Redbox has been great – as it is a very affordable and convenient way to treat the boys to a “new” movie while on the road.

Heading south - out of Central Oregon

Print a Map! While you certainly can track your progress on a hand GPS or fancy phone, it’s been fun for our kids to track our progress by simply crossing off towns on a map. Since they’ll be marking it up, I simply print a map from Google Maps (http://maps.google.com/), with our route highlighted. Depending on how it prints, I’ve added a few towns or landmarks if there is a particularly long stretch without anything interesting (like the stinky cow-smell near Harris Ranch!). I’ve also added the exit numbers – and the boys have to count down to the Anaheim exit. From Central Oregon, once you hit Interstate 5 at Weed, the exit signs all have the mile-post numbers on them. With mileage starting at the Mexican border, the numbers will start quite high, 747, and the exit for our hotel is 109. If you’re feeling ambitious and your kids are at the right level, you can turn it into a math game… How many miles from this exit until we arrive at our Disneyland exit?

The Mom-tographer's idea of fun and games.

More fun and games: Now, I’m not great at reading or writing in the car – so I shy away from games where I have to participate in that way… but here are a few ideas that most kids, in one way or another, can manage on their own:

Scavenger Hunt

You can come up with your own, or print off a road trip scavenger hunt from one of these sites:

Family Fun 

Road Trip Planning

License Plate Game

A classic – you can print of a list of all 50 states, or a simple map, and mark them off as you find them, or find an app for your fancy phone. I list my favorite apps in an upcoming section, called Get Techy! Here are a couple of resources to print your own:

National Atlas (this is a great site for customizing maps to view/print):

More US Maps: http://www.united-states-map.com/

Enjoy the view. Central Oregon is beautiful – but I love the rolling hills of the I-5 corridor in California. I grew up in Stockton, and the scenery has a certain sense of nostalgia for me, particularly the stretch south of Stockton, through Kettleman City – as that was my childhood “over the river” to my grandparents in Santa Barbara. That same stretch is one of the most fertile valleys, and if you are lucky enough to travel in the spring – you’ll be treated to an explosion of tree blossoms!

Pack an ice chest & pantry box! We leave town with a good supply of drinks, minimizing sugar and caffeine – as a buzzed child contained in a car for 15 hours isn’t a pretty sight. But, we do push the fluids – as a dehydrated road-tripper can be prone to headaches and a generally “yucky” feeling. Personally, I’d rather make the pit stops for stretch and bathroom breaks, than try to “camel-up” and push the travel too hard. We still manage to make good time. In addition to the beverages, we pack at least one full deli-style picnic. This supply of “real” food gets us over the minor hunger bumps… and we manage one significant meal-break at a sit down restaurant for both the break from the road, as well as a full, mostly-balanced meal. This works great for our family, but of course, your family’s methods will vary, depending on the ages of your kids, as well as eating habits. Putting the “pantry” items in a clear plastic tote keeps any crushable snacks intact, and keeps them organized in one place.

Our Road-Trip-Ready Pantry-box contained:

Trader Joe’s Lite Kettle Corn

Turkey Jerky

Granola Bars

Chips

Licorice (a Teichrow road trip tradition)

Various wheat-free crackers (While I’m not allergic to gluten, I do avoid wheat if I want to feel good… )

Crystal Light packets

Hoagie roll buns

Paper towels, a small supply of additional Ziploc bags, a couple of plastic knives, a small cutting board and one sharp knife for cutting apples – all kept together in one large Ziploc bag.

Our Road-Trip Ice Chest contained:

100% Juice Capri’s Suns

Water bottles

Diet Pepsi’s (the driver’s caffeine fix)

Coconut water (my favorite – and so good for you!)

Deli Meat and Salami, Assorted sliced cheeses

Apples

Carrot sticks

Previous Article: Part 1 - Planning Ahead: "Where to Stay - location, location, location!"

Up Next: Part 3 - Planning Ahead: “What to wear (bear with me)”

Kimberly Teichrow, staff photographer for True North Parenting, lives in Bend, Oregon with her family. They love to take adventures, and Kimberly loves to capture them through her lens.