This post is sponsored by Enterprise. All opinions are my own.
Hey friends, It’s Chantea and today I am excited to share with you my 5 tips for planning an epic Disney Road trip with kids. I will be including things to pack, when to leave and my favorite routes. I would like to thank Enterprise the Official rental car company of Disneyland for sponsoring this blog post and I am so honored to be part of the Enterprise Always On Squad.
Things to Pack for an Epic Disneyland Road Trip with Kids
Snacks
When I asked my 12-year-old daughter for help with this list she literally said “snacks, did you write snacks??” And to her defense, what is a road trip without snacks? My favorite snacks for a Disney road trip are anything that is easy to snack on that doesn’t require water to wash down. That’s right we are leaving the graham crackers, goldfish crackers, and extra salty snacks at home. Mostly because the more they drink the more times we have to stop for potty breaks and that is NO fun!
Blankets for the car ride
Regardless of the time of year we always bring blankets for the kids during a road trip. Bringing travel blankets helps minimize the complaining about the temperature in the car. I typically pack one for each child so they can cuddle up or ball it up for a pillow. Just trust me on this one, you will thank me later… or wish you would have listened when one child is freezing and the other is sooo hot! Hehe
Disney-themed coloring books
I’ve learned that no child is too old for a coloring book, especially on a road trip. Whenever I take my kids on a Disney Road trip, I make sure to pack at least two coloring books. One for my big kids to share, and one for the little kids to share. Amazon has a great variety of books and I’ll link my favorites in my Amazon store here. Another great tip is to opt for colored pencils instead of crayons. Crayons melt! And trust me getting melted crayons out of seat cushions is the worst!!
While we are talking about packing, in the trunk of my car I always include these items to make the most of my Disneyland adventure.
- Change of clothes – warmer clothes for cooler nights, or a second outfit for drying off.
- Sunscreen – duh!
- Extra socks – for easing and preventing sore feet.
Times to leave
Travel time to Disneyland from my home in Central California is about 5 hours depending on the time we leave. We have experimented with the best times to leave many times and here are the pros and cons of each and a few of my recommendations.
Early in The Morning
I have left as early as 4 am. And the Pros are that you arrive when the park opens. AND you will miss most of the morning traffic. Another pro is that the kids can sleep on your road trip and will be ready to go when you arrive at the park. The Con is that if you are doing a turnaround trip driving home is so rough on the driver. This option works great if you have two drivers and one can sleep on the way there and the other can sleep on the way home.
Mid Morning Turn Around Road Trip
If you wake up leisurely and leave around 10 am you will also miss morning traffic and should be rested enough to make it all the way to see the fireworks at Disneyland and possibly still awake enough to make it home safely.
Overnight Road Trip
To me, the safest and most enjoyable way to road trip to Disneyland with kids is by staying one night. Either the night before or the night of. Doing a Disneyland turnaround is totally doable with kids but it’s rough!
I prefer to get up early in the morning when we are traveling there and arrive pretty close to the park opening then spend the night at a hotel close to the resort then leave the following morning.
Let me know if you would like a list of my favorite hotels and I am happy to share it in a future post.
Best Route from Northern CA
There are two major routes from Northern and Central CA for a Disney road trip with kids. Either the 99 South or the 5 South. Both are dependable routes and once you get into LA I strongly suggest you use an app like Waze to navigate the Southern CA traffic. Traffic patterns vary greatly depending on the time of day. And most map apps will help you get there most efficiently once you are close to the park.
(Bonus tip) : Enterprise the Official Rental Car Company of Disneyland
Regardless of your route, Enterprise is the perfect partner to help you get to Disneyland with a breeze. I love the variety of cars Enterprise offers, the cleanliness of their locations and vehicles, and their customer service. Enterprise has many locations across California and the United States to help make your next Disneyland Vacation a breeze.
I hope you have been following along on this journey and I have loved sharing all things Disney this month with you on my Instagram and here on my blog. I hope you found these tips helpful.
Please tag me on your next Disneyland Adventure. I love to hear from you guys especially when you use my tips!
Xo
Chantea
