Every time we go to Disney, the Elrods start out our trip the same way.

Early.

Now, I was raised in a family where when it was vacation time, it was vacation time, so we would load up the car and hit the road by 6am, regardless of where we were going. The reasoning is really just not wanting to spend a whole day on traveling. We typically vacation in FL, be it Disney or Ft. Walton Beach, so we like to get to our destination by lunchtime so that we can have the rest of the day to kick back, relax, and feel like we’ve gained an extra day of vacation. Lucky for me, Tim likes to start out his vacations the same way.

In fact, he likes to start them out even earlier.

I’m not what you’d call a “morning person”. I don’t mind getting up early, and I actually prefer it to staying up late, however, I just love sleep and it takes me a while {and often times, several cups of coffee} to get myself up and running. Tim can pop out of bed and start getting stuff done, clarity of mind, right away. {It’s only a few hours into it that he gets grumpy if an iced coffee has not been included somewhere in the mix.}

This year, he had us up and out the door by 4:45am. Yes folks, you read that right. 4:45am. And yes, he is our resident driver, so if he’s willing to get behind the wheel that early, I’m willing to reap the benefits.

Here’s a silly little vlogging clip I made, explaining some parts of our travel mornings to WDW. 

This year, during our breakfast stop in Tifton, we surprised the boys with a new DVD to watch on the remainder of the ride down. It was fun! We are thinking of making it a little Elrod tradition. “Which Disney movie is Mom gonna surprise us with this year?”

Oh, and the sheriff badges Jack and Cole are wearing? A small group of officers were having breakfast at Chick-fil-a while we were there. They thought our kids were cute, so one gave them badges to wear. It’s amazing the free stuff my kids get for being cute. I need to be cuter.

So here are the official Elrod WDW Tips for traveling by car:

1. Leave early. As early as you can get your family up and going. Pack the car the night before, so all you have to throw in the next morning are bodies and maybe a bathroom bag or two.

2. Pre-plan your stops. Our stops are exit 62 in Tifton GA, and a good gas station before we get on the FL Turnpike. This trip we found Loves on exit 358 in FL.

3. Make check-in easier by doing online check-in before you leave!

We have several friends in WDW right now, and many more leaving in just a couple weeks for the school break in October; so drive safe and happy travels!

With love, Malorie