Post-senior year road trip

[Sunnibunni]

Hello!
So me and 3 other friends thought it would be really fun to road trip after our high school graduation and we were thinking it would be cool to drive up to New York. I decided to post here because I would like some advice if this is possible or not and how long the trip should be etc. here's some background information.
Our starting point would be Fort Worth Texas, and we would like to stop at New Orleans and Florida (go to Disney world if possible)
We are all very comfortable with driving and also have jobs, we were thinking we would all contribute about 2k each, is this enough?

Thanks in advance!

[DonnaR57]

Welcome to RTA!

Congratulations on making it through HS! You'll always be glad you finished, especially if you are going on to college.

First things first ... are all 4 of you at least 18 years old? The reason I ask -- not all HS seniors are already 18, and someone who is under that age is going to make it difficult for you to get lodging along the way. Now if you're camping, that usually isn't a problem. Another issue with the under-18 is medical care. We wouldn't want to wish that on anyone, but accidents and illness happen, and if it happens to a 17 year old traveling without parents, it could be almost impossible to get care.

Second.....without any sightseeing whatsoever, your plan would involve 4000 miles of driving. This equates to about 8 days on the road. That's driving about 500 miles per day, which is about enough when you're young, even when there are 4 of you to drive. Then you add time for each day you want to spend sightseeing -- a day or two at Nawlins, three or four days at WDW, and a few days in the Big Apple. Plus anything in between that you might want to stop at.

Third....be sure that you are all on "the same page", or similar thinking, before departure. This includes how you are going to pay for things (so that the owner of the car doesn't get stuck paying for all the gas, for instance). You might want to take this really fun quiz together, because it will bring out a lot of things that you may not know about each other. In that regards, too, you will want to find places in your trip where you agree to separate for a few hours, then meet up -- WDW is a prime place for this. Even the best of friends need breaks from each other.

Speaking of paying for this.....you said you all have jobs. To do this trip so that you can really enjoy it, you are probably looking at 3 weeks if you have the funds. 21 overnights. 21 days of food to pay for. Theme parks which are expensive. Can you get that much time off of your work? And finally, who is going to pay for a repair if the car has a mechanical need (it can and does happen, even to almost-brand-new cars)?

Anyway, those are things to think about, for all 4 of you.


Donna

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

In planning any trip, money is only one of the factors that you have to budget. In this case, a total or $8,000 should prove quite sufficient to your needs, even with the rather expensive admission charges at Disney World, sleeping in comfortable mid-range motels, and eating at decent restaurants. Gas will run you in the neighborhood of $400, maybe a bit more if you do a lot of driving to places that aren't directly on the routes between your major stops.

But, as noted, there are other 'costs'. One you haven't mentioned is time. You would need at least two weeks to make this trip both safe and enjoyable. You're looking at covering a minimum of 3800 miles and that would take seven solid days of driving. With two weeks, you'd still have to spend half your time in the car. Then there's the time distribution. You can easily be fooled by on-line mapping routines which give unrealistic driving time. Remember that when they give estimates, they assume that you'll be sitting in the car and driving at the speed limit for every second of that time. Do you really want to just sit in a moving car for 8-10 hours at a time? Or would you rather build in breaks during the day to see some local sites or just get out of the car and stretch for a bit? And no, having multiple drivers will not help you drive farther in a given day. Sitting in a car is every bit as enervating as driving, and to be alert behind the wheel you will need real sleep in a real bed, not a quick nap while sitting up in a noisy moving environment.

Finally there will be the cost to your friendships. Yes, I know. You're all the best of buds. But even the strongest friendships have a hard time enduring 24 hours of togetherness, especially in the close confines of a car and motel rooms. Be sure before you go that you are all on the same page as to what you want to see and do as well as the pace you are going to set, the 'style' you'll adopt while traveling, and other factors. This 'quiz' will supply some ideas that you should all talk over before you set out.

AZBuck

[Sunnibunni]

Thanks for all the feedback! Things that I didn't think about you definitely mentioned and will be considered. Thanks again :)