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42.2 million. That’s how many people AAA says were traveling this past weekend. That’s a lot of people. If you were one of them, I hope you had a safe trip and a good visit. Many of the travelers were by air, but a lot of them drove. That’s how we usually travel; unless it’s for a long weekend away to Disney or something like that. As I have stated before I like driving to Disney, because I like having a vehicle when I get there. We have also found that when we drive we have many more Magical Experiences. So, today I offer to you, the Unknown Magic of Driving to Disney.

When you drive to Walt Disney World, there is a different kind of Magic that happens. First of all, the anticipation/excitement factor grows more and more as you drive along. We live in New Jersey, and it takes us about 19 hours to drive to Disney World. We have found that 10 hours of driving is about as far as we can go in one day and still want to be with each other when we get there. Two years ago, when we were driving down, we went a little further than we should have, about 12 hours and my wife and I were both done when we stopped for the night. It wasn’t a nice night. But that’s from the buildup of anticipation. When you start out, you figure 19 hours, how do we split it up so that we can get there as early in the day as possible? That’s when you start driving a little further than you should. And with every state welcome sign you pass the excitement grows a little more, until you finally are welcomed to Florida. Only to realize you still have a few hours more to get to Walt Disney World. Then when you turn onto I-4 your excitement starts all over again. And again you still have a few more hours. When you get to the Orlando city limits, you start getting the feeling that you are almost there (finally). Then your excitement may
start getting the better of you and you might start taking pictures out the windows of things that later you will have no reason why you took them, except that they were on the way to Disney and you were close.

The excitement during the drive isn’t the only part of the drive that can be Magical. We found that we can’t even be Disney Commandoes when we are driving down. We like to take our drive easy and make stops along the way (kind of the same way we do the parks.) This is when we have had some Magical Experiences. We’ve stopped at some amazing places, on our way to and from Walt Disney World. We have stopped at the Babe Ruth Museum, the Ty Cobb Museum and even the Uncle Remus Museum ( where Disney got the stories for the Song of the South; which Splash Mountain is based on.)

We’ve also seen some cool things while driving down to Walt Disney World, some natural wonders that have just amazed us. Although, my wife is still upset we haven’t seen any alligators in the roadside canals, we have seen some very pretty birds and other animals. We’ve even seen some neat cars and trucks that have gone by us. Many times NASCAR vehicles can be seen around North Carolina, the home for many of the teams.

Another Magical Experience you can have driving to Disney is by experiencing local flavor. Most of the time when we are on the road, we try to eat at a Cracker Barrel, because we know what we’re going to get and we don’t usually do fast food. There have been times though when we have stopped to eat and there wasn’t a Cracker Barrel, so we weren’t sure where to get a bite to eat, so we just kind of hoped for the best. And most of the time, we have lucked out. Of course not always, but even if the food hasn’t been good meeting the people where we have stopped has always been fun.

Of course the most Magical thing about Driving to Disney is when you are actually on Disney Property and you can decide to go where you want. You can pull off the side of the road to take pictures and sight see (don’t just stop in the middle of the road, it is dangerous). None, of the busses will do that for you. Or when you start driving somewhere, notice a different thing and decide to stop there instead, for example when you are driving to Disney Hollywood Studios and decide to turn right instead of left and end up at the Boardwalk; They won’t do that for you either.

The best part of Driving to Disney though is getting to spend that much time with my family. I enjoy the fact that for at least a few of the hours we will spend talking and laughing and enjoying each other’s company. Whoever is not driving might take some time to sleep and watch DVD’s and read, but that will only be for a short time of the many hours we will be driving. The rest of the time is family time, which is my favorite part of the trip.

So, now you know, Driving to Disney can help you to have Magical Experiences before you get to Disney World. You can make memories for you and your family by stopping at different places or maybe with the things you will see as you are driving. You can also stop where you want and go where you want when you are finally in Disney, but even with the excitement and anticipation on the drive, the best part of it will be the time you get to spend with your family.

Picture of the Ty Cobb Museum from: http://mysite.verizon.net/charliesballparks/stadiums/royston.htm