Tip Tuesday: Road Trip

Spring break for the twins is next week and since we've learned that we have to time our vacations with their time off school, we are going to Disneyland. More specifically, we are driving to Disneyland. 

So here are my road trip tips:

• Portable DVD players + library = win. My kids have portable DVD players, their own headphones, and we pick up DVDs for free from the library prior to our trip. It's a great way to keep them occupied.
• MP3 player + kids CD books & Music. Again, the library to the rescue. My kids have MP3 players (which you can pick up for about $15 now). We then grab some music from the library along with a couple of CD books - The Magic Treehouse series is popular with both kids at the moment. More hours of keeping them occupied while they look at the scenery.
• Build in interesting stops along the way. We haven't fully determined where we are going to stop, but we have lots of options along the way. Santa Cruz Mystery Spot, Gilroy Gardens, Monterey Aquarium, Bubblegum Alley and the Children's Museum in San Luis Obispo, the beach and Chumash Painted Caves in Santa Barbara. We planned for lots of different options since we don't know when or where we'll need to stop.
• Pack a travel bag. Cookie sheets make great travel desks and can usually be picked up at the dollar store. Then you can toss in paper, crayons, magnets, magnet clips to hold the paper, etc. We also threw in some window markers so they can draw on the windows while we drive and some other little toys (Pokemon cards are hours of fun right now)
• Pack snacks/drinks. Pack snacks and drinks for the road trips. It helps avoid some stops and is significantly cheaper than making purchases at gas stations/rest stops along the way.
• Buy souvenirs in advance. Since we are going to Disneyland, we purchased some little things for the kids from the Disney store near our house which is significantly cheaper than purchasing stuff at Disneyland. 

Do you have any great road trip tips to share?