It's not easy taking a long road trip with small kids. They get bored quickly and start making you miserable. Rest stops can help, but they can also hinder your progress. So to avoid all the headaches, do as much traveling as you can while they're asleep. Instead of having a nice breakfast before you hit the road, get up early, carry the kids to the car in their jammies, and get moving while they're happily in the land of Nod.Sure, they'll wake up eventually, but if you keep them up a bit late the night before (and the excitement of the big trip can help with this), they'll give you a few good hours of peaceful driving time. Once they do wake up, you've got breakfast to look forward to and then, hopefully, you'll be close enough to your destination that you won't have to suffer too much whining.
This worked well for us on a trip to Disneyland, though we didn't get as early a start as we would have liked. And if you're worried that you might join the little ones in getting some shut-eye, here's another tip: bring along a toothbrush. If you start to get sleepy, take a swig of water and start brushing. I've found it's nigh impossible to fall asleep while brushing your teeth. Plus, it's good for your teeth!
