Wrapping up my thirties at Disney in an electric SUV, plus what charging cost between Savannah and Sarasota.
Is a 10-day, 5-city EV road trip too much to handle for a Millennial mother and her preschool-aged daughter? Most people thought I was crazy for taking this trip. What a huge risk, going that far on your own, in a battery electric vehicle, with a four-year-old. Truth be told, I was nervous about the trip too, especially the night before. I hardly slept. We were scheduled to leave at 5am, so everything was packed and ready to go the night before, with charging stops already planned out, investigated, and verified. But I still woke up throughout the night wondering if I was forgetting something.
Thanks to the disrupted sleep, I was more tired for the actual drive than I originally expected to be. When your car does most of the driving for you, and all you have to do is keep your hand on the wheel and your eye on traffic, it can be tempting to nod off. But even if I was driving a Tesla powered with full self driving (FSD) mode, I would still need to keep caffeinated with eyes on the road at all times. The downside of one driver doing all 600 miles alone.
My husband, who supported my midlife crisis trip all the way, made a wager before we left. How many tantrums does it take to drive a four-year-old to Florida? He guessed 11. Since we’re counting the drive down and the full day in Savannah, we ended up with four documented tantrums. Three meltdowns were on the drive down, to be expected as she was incredibly overtired, missed her brother, and struggled to control the tablet on her own. The most surprising one occurred as we neared Disney, as she cried because she thought we were going to the beach that day. It’s hard to explain an itinerary to a child who expects everything to happen right away and doesn’t understand one day from the next. Were there other fits? Sure. But all meltdowns were to be expected due to the high-packed, overstimulating week we had in store for us.
If you’re interested in the story about the drive down and my pre-planning process, read EV Road Trip with a Toddler: 600 miles on I-95 in a Kia EV9. I talk more about the charging stops, share the full trip log, and evaluate the gas vs. EV costs.
Below is the trip log of driving and charging from our arrival in Savannah through the following Saturday in Sarasota. Total out of pocket: $126. Now that includes the cost to refill the battery after driving from Florence, SC to Savannah, GA. That $45 could have been much lower if I was able to charge at the hotel.
For a better comparison, the miles driven (512 miles) represents 130 kWh, and at the rates I was paying ($0.39 at IONNA, $0.46 at BP Pulse, and $0.56 at Electrify America), that’s about $65 worth of electricity, plus taxes and fees. The same 512 miles in a Kia Telluride, the gas equivalent of my EV9, would have burned about 24 gallons. Gas was near record highs in April, so call it $98 at $4 per gallon. A hybrid sedan may have done it for closer to $50, and I’d have spent the week wishing I had the trunk space.
But here’s the number that actually bothers me. Two of my four charging stops shouldn’t have happened. The hotel charger in Savannah was occupied, so I paid $45 at an Electrify America. My friends in Sarasota weren’t comfortable letting me plug in, so I paid another $25. That’s $70 of avoidable spending, more than half my total, at chargers I only needed because I couldn’t plug in where I was sleeping. At home, that same electricity costs me about $0.20 per kWh, or $26. As for my friend’s house? At Sarasota rates of $0.14 per kWh, they would have added $5 to their energy bill for me to charge to 80% in their driveway.
Let’s take a look at the first three cities we visited: what we did, how much we drove, and how we charged.
Savannah, GA
We arrived in Savannah on Saturday afternoon after 11.5 hours of driving 616 miles, including three charging stops plus one extra stop to use the bathroom. We had about 10% battery at arrival, but the hotel’s Level 2 charger was in use. So we drove over to the Electrify America at a nearby Walmart. In that same shopping center we grabbed ice cream for dinner at Marble Slab Creamery (yes, it’s my birthday trip, so we get to have ice cream for dinner).
Tip: I treat hotel chargers as a bonus right now, as they have consistently been a hit or miss for me. Always have a backup fast charger option nearby. The charger provided by a hotel could be broken, in use, or even too inconvenient (I’ll go into this in the Orlando section). Don’t rely on it, but use it if you can.
On Sunday, we drove downtown to the bike shop around 10am and rented an e-bike with a child seat in back. This was my first e-bike experience, and first with a kid behind me. And it was a blast! Once I got the hang of how much heavier an e-bike is, especially with a 40-pound child in tow, and figured out the buttons that made us go zoom without me doing all the work, we were flying. The only downside was having to stop and look at the map. If you’re not familiar with the city, definitely do a bike tour to get the lay of the land!
We rode around Forsyth Park under moss-covered trees, visited the water fountain inside the park, played on the playground there, and watched a frisbee tournament nearby. Then we rode around more historic squares, stopped into church for mass (and to cool off), had waffles at Mirabelle Cafe, rode over to City Market for some ice cream, and later dismounted for River Street, which is accessible by hidden staircases (let’s find the sneaky steps! so fun for a kid). Here we were able to relax, cool off at a splash pad (of sorts), grab a refresher from Starbucks, then head back to the bikes to return to the shop. We ended up going back near our hotel for dinner at Mellow Mushroom (pizza is always an easy win, plus their restaurants are eclectic and fun).
Orlando, FL
The drive from Savannah to Orlando involved one stop at a BP Pulse in Jacksonville. We arrived at the station with 12% battery (32 miles of range left) after driving 157 miles over nearly 2.5 hours, and it cost $32 to charge back up to 80%. This was probably my favorite charging stop because of its convenience. The chargers were close to the travel center (no long walk which is common at certain chargers), so it was easy to quickly go inside and use the bathroom, grab something to eat in the convenience store or the attached fast food options, and there were picnic tables outside so we could actually sit and eat! Thirty minutes later, we were back on the highway. We arrived at Disney around 2pm after two additional hours of driving, or 138 miles.
Now let me take a moment to explain how I chose our accommodation, Disney’s Polynesian Villas and Bungalows. Originally I was going to book a stay at a value resort to save money, but I was feeling a little spicy and decided to splurge on a deluxe resort. As the only adult traveling with a young child, it was important to me that we be close to Magic Kingdom. Being able to take a stroller on a monorail instead of having to fold it up onto a bus is a win. Being able to take a mid-day nap back at the hotel is also a win.
Still, I like saving money, so I requested to purchase Disney Vacation Club points through a DVC partner. How it works: you put in a request for up to three resorts, and you receive notice of which one you get based on availability. My first choice was actually The Contemporary as it’s the closest to Magic Kingdom, but I was happy to get the Polynesian as we are big Moana and Stitch fans in this house. I ended up shaving $400 off the hotel room price by booking this way, and we got a kitchenette, two bathrooms, and three beds (studio sleeps up to 5).
Honestly, once we were in the Disney bubble, I was happy to leave the car behind for a few days. After checking in, our room wasn’t ready, so we went straight to the pool. Once the text came in that our room was ready, we took our things up from our car. This was my least favorite memory of the trip as I was the only adult carrying all of the bags, and the walk to the car was at least 30 minutes. Ok it was more like three minutes. But in 85 degree heat (Fahrenheit of course), trying to navigate a resort you’ve never been to and all the buildings look the same, it felt much longer.
Tip: There are plenty of charging options at Disney. If you’re driving to the parks, they all have ChargePoint chargers near the front of their parking lots, but just like everything else Disney, expect them to fill quickly around rope drop and be occupied all day. Only three Disney properties actually have charging stations: Coronado Springs, Riviera, and Wilderness Lodge, all operated via ChargePoint. Disney Springs offers Level 2 chargers in their standard parking garages and fast chargers near Cirque du Soleil. At the Polynesian, PlugShare shows a charger in between Polynesian and the Grand Floridian, an unmonitored single stall. I never bothered to check this one out as it was on the other side of the resort and not convenient. I could have charged at Disney Springs, but I ended up going into the city of Orlando to charge at an IONNA instead.
That evening, we absolutely stuffed ourselves at the Kona Cafe on resort property. The Bao Buns and Dynamite Roll were delicious, and the Polynesian atmosphere was a great treat. After, we watched the water pageant show on the beach while lounging in Adirondack chairs. Fun side note, my cousin and her family also booked a trip to Disney separately but at the same time as us, so we coordinated the two overlapping days to spend them together.
On our Magic Kingdom morning, we were out the door at 8am and on the line for Winnie the Pooh by 8:30. By 9am we were enjoying the mined jewels on display in the line for Seven Dwarves Mine Train. Around 10:30am we were chatting with Skuttle on the line for The Little Mermaid, and by 11am we were watching the walls grow tall in the elevator for The Haunted Mansion (this one scared her!).
By 12pm we were in the loudest, smelliest, tiniest cars on the Tomorrowland Speedway with a four-year-old driving like a lunatic whipping the wheel left and right. This ride reminded me that I do not miss gas guzzling vehicles! Shortly after 12:30 we were flying high with Dumbo, then around 2pm we spotted Olaf, Elsa and Anna singing with Mickey and Minnie on the Castle stage. By 3pm we were desperate for a little shade, so into It’s a Small World we went, followed by Buzz Lightyear’s Space Race and the People Mover.
By 5pm, baby girl was out cold in the stroller, but that didn’t last long as we had to find some pirates at 5:30, then have dinner at the Skipper Canteen around 6pm. I got the “tastes like chicken” entree, and I don’t need to tell you what baby girl ate because it’s always mac ‘n cheese. We couldn’t leave the park without enjoying Aladdin’s Magic Carpet Ride, the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse, or the Tiki Hut bird show, but we most certainly left before the big parade at 8:30 as neither of us had the stamina to last any longer.
Our second full day at Disney was spent at Epcot, and if you thought the first day was long, well we didn’t slow down on the second. We did, however, skip rope drop as I stupidly got on the wrong monorail (the one at the Resort goes to Magic Kingdom but the one at the Ticket Center goes to Epcot), so I ended up taking a much longer route to get there. If you’re staying at the Polynesian, just walk the 5 minutes to the Ticket Center and save yourself a 30 minute monorail loop.
Epcot’s Flower & Garden display was on full bloom, making the park even more beautiful to walk through. We started with my favorite ride, the Gran Fiesta Tour, then Frozen Ever After, then Gran Fiesta Tour again. We met Snow White, who was very sweet, had pizza in Italy (again, because why not?), swam with Nemo in the Seas pavilion, chatted with Crush in Turtle Talk, played with magical musical water in Moana’s Journey of Water, and reached for the stars in Spaceship Earth. We cooled off in the play area in Mission: Space, rode a boat through Living with the Land, met Mickey and Pluto, and injured ourselves on a play structure. We zoomed around with Remy, which apparently scared her, before heading off to Japan for a little shopping and dinner at Teppan Edo. This was such a long day that it was dark and the fireworks were happening as we left the restaurant. And by the way? It’s a 20 minute jogging walk from Japan back to the entrance of Epcot to get the monorail back to the Polynesian.
By Thursday morning, we were absolutely exhausted while we were served a delicious breakfast at Ohana’s. Stitch-themed waffles were the big hit, and meeting Lilo, Stitch, Pluto, and Mickey too. Somehow our meal was comped, but we don’t know by who. I asked for the check when the little girl told me she needed a bathroom, which was outside the restaurant. I figured we’d wrap up since we had seen all the characters and ate our fill. They brought me a blank receipt with a handwritten note saying “one of our cousins took care of the check today.” Thank you to whoever that was!
We checked out of the room, packed everything into the car, then went back to the Children’s Pool. I sat and relaxed while baby girl slid down the slide a hundred times, splashed and squealed and made five new best friends. Later we took the monorail around to visit The Contemporary and The Grand Floridian, a little resort hopping if you will. But this backfired for us when the monorail broke down at The Contemporary. We were instructed to take the walkway back to Magic Kingdom (a 12 minute walk), then take the water taxi back to the Polynesian. Since everyone else had to do this too, the water taxi ended up being very crowded. It makes you wonder if we should have visited Disney Springs instead, as we could have charged there while visiting the shops. I had considered stopping in there, but as it was already 2:30pm, I decided it was time to hit the road to Sarasota.
Sarasota, FL
After stopping at the IONNA in Orlando for a 20 minute, $24 charge, we drove in heavy traffic to Sarasota. Let me just say this next part directly to Florida: y’all ok? Your traffic is a nightmare! And I’m a born and bred New Yorker! Anyway, we arrived around 6pm after driving 119 miles over 2.5 hours. We met up with the friends we were staying with and had dinner at Trattoria Bella Napoli (no way! pizza again?!).
The next day I charged at the Electrify America in a shopping center near Mote SEA, an aquarium. Yes, despite arriving with 46% and staying at a house with electricity, I was not allowed to charge there. So I had to pay $0.56 per kWh, or $25, to charge back up to 80%. No, really, I’m over it.
Tip: I can’t believe I’m saying this, but the chances of your house blowing up because an electric vehicle is plugged in is about the same as if you’re using your toaster oven at the same time as your electric range, while charging your phone and laptop in the same surge protector. While terrifying stories have been told about electricity-induced fires, this is really not common. Here’s what you really need to know: if you’re plugging in a Level 2 portable charger into a 240-volt outlet in your home/garage, like the one used by your laundry’s dryer, then that outlet can only handle about 30 amps. So don’t set your charger to 50 amps, because that would overload the outlet and cause a problem (in my house, I have accidentally started the dryer while the car was also plugged in to the same outlet and ended up tripping the circuit breaker. Y’all, this is an easy fix!). Instead, set your charger to 24 amps, which is much safer, albeit slower. In this case, an 8-10 hour charge on a 48-amp hardwired unit might take 14-16 hours on a 24-amp portable charger instead. Still better than a 120-volt regular household outlet, which might take 2-3 days to fully charge. As a side note, I didn’t make any headway converting my skeptic friends, but you better know I did my best to educate and inform! I don’t expect everyone to want an electric car, but I also don’t want misinformation floating around either!
Anyway, enough about the boring charging stuff. Baby girl and I visited the aquarium and thoroughly enjoyed a slower paced indoor day. We definitely needed it after the previous two days outside in the sun. Plus we were staying with friends who have a child around my daughter’s age, and we wanted to reserve time for the girls to just enjoy playing with each other while us moms got to hang out and catch up. We had dinner at the Spanish-style Columbia’s in St. Armand’s Circle that day, so I can promise you we did in fact not eat pizza. I ordered the Pollo Manchego, but I was supposed to order the “1905 salad” and a Sangria. My bad.
More importantly, we enjoyed the sunset at the nearby Lido Beach, a fantastic way to give the little one her sand time without being out there in the heat of the day. So relaxing to bring a lounge chair and lay out as the sun goes down, all while your child is still in her day clothes, no bathing suit, and you know that she will sit her butt into the water and get all wet and you don’t have a change of clothes! This is how we should all be ending our Disney vacations: a beach sunset. Just bring the bathing suit and towel next time!
On our second full day in Sarasota, we visited Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. The highlight here is the Children’s Rainforest Garden, a huge hit with the little one for the playground. Plus the views of the bay and across to St. Armand’s Circle were spectacular. A special shoutout to the gigantic, wide-brimmed trees providing much-needed shade (the Banyan Tree is 100 years old and the focal point of the children’s area). My daughter loved the monkey statues, the rope bridge, and the winding corridor connecting caves.
After the gardens, we met up with our friends for lunch at The Old Salty Dog, a great British-style restaurant on the bay offering seafood and pub grub. I had a burger but I could have had fish ‘n chips here. The trick is to search for sea creatures like manatees in the water below, that is if you’re seated on the patio. Sadly the manatee was gone before the phone was out of my pocket. We enjoyed the rest of the day hanging out with our friends. It’s always good to leave room on a long, packed trip like this to just have nothing on the itinerary.
Next Up…St. Augustine and Charleston
The way I plan my road trips, I prefer to take a different way home than I took on the way there. This leaves room for a whole second adventure, don’t you think? So where do you stop between Sarasota and Maryland? I chose St. Augustine, which claims to be the oldest city in the U.S., and Charleston, another charming historic southern city like Savannah. Yes, I decided to add two one-night stops rather than one two-night stop like I did on the way down. I’ve been to Charleston before as a child, but you can always go back, am I right?
Anyway, stay tuned for next week’s breakdown of the trip home, including the one night stops in the aforementioned cities. Plus I’ll assess the impact the trip had on my midlife crisis, and whether or not the naysayers were right to call me crazy. Did I spend my 40th birthday the way I had wished? And should we tally all the meltdowns baby girl had? Maybe not. I think I lost count.