How many DVCers drive to Disney?

[ZerasPride]

I'm thinking of altering our HH reservation to include some days at Disney over Thanksgiving and I'd like comments from those who drive. According to a couple of internet direction sites I've looked at, the drive should be about 17 hours. I was thinking of leaving the Thursday before T-day and staying at HH Thursday night and Friday night and then finishing the 5 hour drive to Disney on Saturday staying at the World until Friday, then driving back to HH (spending the weekend) and then finishing the drive home on Sunday. Since HH costs so many points on the weekends, I was thinking about staying on cash (hopefully get a DVC or AAA discount) for those weekend days.

Anybody else do this before or something similar? My family appreciates any advice that can be shared. We did the 12 hour drive from Cleveland to HH this past December and it really wasn't bad so I am thinking what's 5 more hours to visit the happiest place on earth? Thanks again for any comments/opinions! :D

Lisa

[Doctor P]

We have driven to Disney twice as a family and I drove there another five or six times from Illinois with my parents and/or sisters. It is a long drive (about 20 hours of actual driving) but it really is not that hard and is kind of interesting. The drive home really drags though!

[cgcw]

We have drive to both HH and WDW from Illinois. We have little kids with us and they pass the time either reading books or last year we bought a tv/vcr combo that really helped. As we now own at both, we are planning on continuing to drive over the next 41 years many, many times. The hardest part for me is the traveling through the mountains....I just keep thinking that we are going to go over the side. I have to sit in the passenger seat with my head down, not looking out the windows at all. And then I panic when DH says to the kids -- hey, look over there because I know he doesn't have his eyes on the road. But, I'm not much of a flyer either so given the choice, we'll drive whenever we go. As Doctor P said, it's the drive home that's the hard one.

[DiznEeyore]

We drive from the Detroit area. It's about 20 hours. We spend one night each way -- the way down in Macon, GA and in Knoxville, TN on the way home. We did the drive once in our little Saturn (dh, ds & me) -- when we came home we went out and bought a conversion van! :D

We really don't mind the drive, and the drive home seems to be the "faster" leg for some reason!

[sunking]

we usually drive down from the philadelphia area...it takes us about 15 hours to drive...we drive straight thru...we start out in the middle of the night to avoid the crazy traffic around washington dc...flying down is just too expensive when you are a family of four flying out of philadelphia...wife and i flew down on our only kidless trip....

as stated above, one advantage to driving is that you are on your own schedule and not at the mercy of an airline...that can be a real pain in the butt....

have fun....
sunking

[ZerasPride]

Thanks so much for the experiences and opinions guys, they are helpful! I did find the drive home from HH to seem to be the longest part too!

I've got a little bit of time to decide and flying is not an option for the four of us this time so it will either be 10 days at HH or taking that additional 5 hours drive to Disney. These are the fun type of decisions I don't mind having to make! :)

Lisa

[gary in florida]

We always drive! :rolleyes:
But of course, we only live 1 1/2 hours away!! :smooth:

[tiffany123]

Hi Zebra's Pride----We're driving from near Columbus, OH to HH and WDW this summer. We'll drive straight through to HH and spend 5 nights, then on to WDW for 9 nights to be followed by 3 nights at Vero. Looking forward to the drive and seeing the sights along the way. Flying is unpredictable and expensive so we'll drive this time and see how it goes. No kids this trip.

[ScottOKW2K]

Living in Mississippi we find WDW to be about a 12 hour drive from our home. For us, it is about the best way to go - we will have a vehicle available for us while we are there without the expense of a rental car, and once you calculate the total amount of time you spend flying (get to airport long before check-in, fly, lay-over, fly, debark plane, pick up luggage, get rental car or tiffany town car, etc. - you really don't save that much time !

Plus, like thedscoop said, it is really nice having that extra $500 to spend there, instead of spending it getting there :D !!

[CarolA]

I have never driven, but I am thinking about it for next December. Hmm... I really like having a car there and since I have a convertible I would probably REALLY like that! We will see.

[Luv2Dream]

we'll be taking this same trip last week of May to HH for one week then down to BWV for one week. We've driven twice now but we've never had a stay at HH. Our usual trip is leaving about 1 on Friday afternoon, staying in Virginia that night, then drive down to upper Florida and sleep for another night, then into Disney next day. The drive home we only stop in Virginia and then make it home the next day. It's a long trip but it's been so nice to have all the extra stuff with me.....and Boy, can I shop down at Disney!!!! We drive an Expedition so you see I could really fill it up!

[MikeScott8]

My fiancee and I drove a few weeks ago. It is good for me as I am a big guy and the airplane seats are tight for me and uncomfortable. Also the air and the motion usual gets me sick to my stomach. So I prefer to drive. We live in Western NY (Rcochester), and a highschool buddy moved to Raleigh a year or two ago after his marriage, so that is right around the middle point.

We drove 12ish Hours on a Saturday and spent the night for FREE (well we did buy them suveniors) with them. and then 10-11ish hours to Tampa area to spend the night with my mother. We drove an hour or so to OKW on monday and we did the reverse order on friday after a day at the park.

So most likely we will drive most of the time so we can see our friends in NC, and mostly likely will cut out the stay with my mother since SOON we will be members and not renting points.

AND another reason is that Rochester airfare is OUTRAGEOUS! So we save the money and around $100 in gas and oil changes, we get there and back and see friends on the way! I think it is great doing it that way.

Mike

[msdis]

We are hoping to drive from now on. We were at WDW on Sept. 11th. We kept the rental car and drove 25+1/2 hours straight to get home. :( We must be nuts to want to do this again:rolleyes: But as everyone else pointed out, flying is even less than it was cracked up to be before Sept. 11th. I calculated we will have $750 min. to play with for what a rental car and airfare for 2 would be. I think we can beat that driving and staying 1 night each way in VA or NC. Any tips for us from anyone in the far northeast. Any advise on where to stay that is safe and reasonably priced. Thanks!


That is great for those of you that HH is 1/2 way or so for you. For us it would still be a 20 hr drive and would turn the drive into 3 days down, 3 days back. BUT, I am looking forward to the day when DH says we can stay at HH for a vacation. He says he can't stand the thought of driving all that distance with ONLY 5 hours to go and NOT go to WDW. LOL!!!


CarolA- my DH thinks HE needs a new corvette to drive to WDW with. I told him when he moves me to Celebration he can have his new corvette. How's that for smooth talking?

[eva]

We usually drive from the Peoria area in Illinois. It takes about 19 hours. We usually drive straight through. Going down isn't a problem, but coming back is a bummer. This trip we have decided to stop in Chattanooga on the way back. We traded in our Grand Caravan this year so the drive might be a bit much in a Cavalier. Our girls are not driving with us this time though. They will be flying down after finals in May. When we take them they usually listen to CDs or watched DVDs on our laptop. I'm big on books on CD. This year we bought The Lord of the Rings on CD and will listen to that during the drive. Crackle Barrels also rent books on tape and you can rent and turn them in at any Crackle Barrel. I find that time really flys when you are listening to a good book.

P.S. I'm afraid of those darn mountains too! I try to get to sleep before we get there.

[hoosiergirl]

We drive from the Toledo area--it takes us around 18 hours. Our most recent trip was on 1/2/02 and my DH got us up and on the road by 5am! Thank goodness he did--we got through Atlanta around 3:30pm when the snow just started coming down so we totally missed that "big snow" they got! We made it to Valdosta by 7:30pm and would've driven all the way to WDW but there were no rooms to be had at the AS (where we would be staying the next 3 days.)

Our trip home was from Vero and that was longer but still worth the drive over flying--money, hassles, etc.

[chris1gill]

We've only driven once, but we did exactly as you are suggesting... We stopped at HH on our way back from Disney. For us it was about a six hour drive, I think we stopped on the way. Our drive is 24 hours (from Boston. Lately we've been getting the 100.00 rt fares, so it's made sense to fly, that's the only reason we haven't driven since our first drive 2 years ago....

[Snowgod]

DW and I recently drove down from NH. We use the oportunity to stop and visit family in the Trenton area and then drive 16 hrs from there. Have trip home planed next summer and have big conversion van we will fill with eight people. 150 days and counting:smooth:

[ZerasPride]

I appreciate all the additional comments from you guys, they are really helpful! It doesn't sound like my plan is too far fetched - I've just got to convince hubby. We love Hilton Head but I have a feeling if we don't do the Disney trip this year, it won't happen for a few years (buying a new house and son's high school graduation are in the semi-near future, plus I'm planning a big formal shindig for our 10th anniversary next year).

Anyway, thanks again for your experiences. I'll keep you guys posted on what we end up deciding to do.

Lisa

[marley]

If I'm reading your post correctly, just wanted to point out that driving back the Sunday directly after Thanksgiving is always a nightmare in itself so you might want to consider leaving on Saturday. It is not uncommon driving the interstate to have an additional 3 hours added to my 5 hour trip home to MD from NC if I drive on that Sunday regardless of how early I leave. Just a suggestion :)

[SnowWitch]

We always drive! Granted its only about 8.5 hours for us. Like others posters have said we love the anticipation Macon, Valdosta, Fla state line, Ocala Disney visitors center and then bam we're there!

[Zimbubba]

We have gone in a variety of ways. Drive from central PA is not bad, we have done the autotrain, and flown. We are considering driving this July and taking longer to stop at places along the way that we have wanted to in the past.

[caveat lector]

This will be our 5 th consecutive year of driving. It's about 17 hrs. from St. Louis. We leave before dinner, get an 1 or 2 under our belts, and then stop for a relaxing dinner. After we eat, we hit the road and let the kids watch videos for a couple of hours, until they fall asleep. By the time they wake up the next morning, we're in FLA, and the excitement begins to build.

As noted above, my reasons are:
1) Control (come and go whenever I want, no delays,etc.)
2) Savings-My time investment saves the family several hundred dollars.

my own personal reason:
3) I prefer to keep the kids off the airplanes until they are a little older. It just doesn't seem like the healthiest environment. It's just my opinion, and I'm not a zealout about (I would let them fly if needed).

Just my two cents.

[caracarn]

We drive when we go anywhere and have just been down to Disney last Thanksgiving. We are in the Chicago area and the trip takes about 24 hours, with stops and everything, since we have two small girls under 5. We leave about 1:30-2 am and then arrive around midnight. Driving stright through is the best way, but some people cannot stay awake very well. I function well on little sleep, so the wife and kids nap from about 2-7am and by then we're past Inidnapolis and well on our way. The only problem with this plan, is we hit Atlanta between 5-8 pm depending on how often we've stopped before, and if we are traveling during the week, you can imagine how much fun that is. We do it to save the money, since a family of four out of Chicago and then a rental car can cost a bundle.

[Bennet]

the philadelphia area...it takes us about 15 hours to drive...we drive straight thru

That is some good time. Best we have done is 17 hours.

Once we flew down and drove back. (Sept 12)

FIL is building a house in N.C. so we may be doing more driving and visiting PopPop in route.

[RAD]

We used to make the drive every year from the Chicago area, about 21 hours on the road (used to really drag when the speed limit was 55 all the way). The first few times were OK but when you know every gas station and fast food place on the trip it really gets to be a drag. We finally decided to just spend the $'s and fly, besides eliminating the drive we felt that not spending our vacation time loaded into the family truckster for four days was well worth the money.

[mickey7861]

We live in SE Mass. and drive down quite often. We enjoy the ride and we have our favorite stops along the way. The ride is about 24 hours, a little less now with the rise in speed limits (70 in the south). We just get on 95 in Providence and follow it down. When the kids were little we'd leave around 8 at night, the kids would be asleep by 8:30 and would sleep until breakfast in NC. Now DS is 19 and helps with the driving. We take 3 weeks for our trip so the drive time isn't a big deal.

[mickeys#1fan]

ZerasPride-

Living in NC our drive time is about 10 hours, sometimes less on good traffic days. That was key in our decision to fly this past Christmas. If you do drive, you've got to come and go on the right days. Sunday after Thanksgiving is definitely the wrong day! Traffic on 1-95 can come to a dead stop, and that would be your route on and off of HH.

Flying has its plusses, especially if you are more than a days drive away. It just takes less time, which gives more time for actual vacationing. Now that security is so time-consuming, any less than a day away makes flying time and driving time almost a wash. I understand the anticipation of crossing the Florida line, it's a biggie for us, too! But arrival at OIA is just as exciting. I know that when we step off that plan, vacation has really begun.

On the other hand, driving gives you some flexibility you won't have unless you rent a car. We have all kinds of family and friends in Central Florida, and several days are non-Disney. Renting a car for a week or more during any holiday season is expensive. We'd rather spend the money on fun!

For us, anything longer than a long weekend will spent in the car. Whatever you decide - have a blast!

Brian

[ZerasPride]

Again, I appreciate all the comments guys! I just wish I/we could make up my/our mind(s)! I can't believe the sky-high prices of plane tickets, especially considering we have waited so long to possibly purchase tickets for the busy Thanksgiving week. Driving is looking more and more appealing but carriers like Southwest haven't released their prices for this time period yet so I guess there is still hope of paying less than $275 per ticket. I wish we were like Mickey7861's family and could spend several weeks on vacation, then driving would be a no-brainer. Oh well, decisions, decisions . . . :)

Lisa

[EROS]

I actually think that I'd enjoy the drive from Boston.................,but our 4 year old wouldn't be crazy about it;) . Since we have such limited vacation time, I think that we'll always choose a 3 hr. flight.

[ncligs]

ZerasPride,

I think the key to your question is how much time you have on vacation. If you only have 1 week, it makes more sense to fly. We are from Ohio also, and it doesn't make to much sense to spend 2-3 full days sitting in a car, out of your 7 day vacation. When we retire, and spend 2-4 weeks down south (DVC). Then we may decide to drive. Then we would break up the trip and stop at HH for a day or 2. Then proceed to OKW.But our personal preference right now is to fly and take a 2 hr flight. And you are more rested then when you just have driven 15-17 hrs.:bounce:

[tarzanman]

I have to put in my 2 cents. My DW and I drive every time. We live 29 miles from the Ohio line on i-75 in Michigan. It takes us 17.5 hours averaging 73mph the whole way. That is straight though. Gas and fast food. Good luck with your decision.

[musical2]

We have always flown down from Maryland. However, this December we are planning on driving down. The plan is to start on Saturday evening at 7:00 pm and drive through the night to avoid traffic and rest/Sleep on Sunday and Start the day anew on Monday at WDW.

Of course if we find incredible deals on either flights or Autotrain at the last minute, we'll do that.

Bart

[DsnyGeek]

We drive every summer from Kansas City. We leave at 4:00am and arrive in Ocala around 9:00pm (~16 hours). We spend the night in Ocala and drive the final ~1.5 hours on Sunday morning. The drive is not bad at all. The kids play plenty of car games, watch videos and sleep to pass the time.

It was a definite improvement when we bought a van though. The van makes "fights" for seat room almost nonexistent because each child has their own "row" to lounge around in. Plus, with a 25 gallon gas tank, we don't have to stop as often for gas!!

I prefer driving over flying because it allows us to spend time enjoying things as a familyand it is definitely a savings versus flying a family of four.

[msdis]

For those of you who stop in the south Va., NC area to stay overnight where do you stay? We are looking for a CHEAP, but clean, SAFE, and convenient(right off I-95) place to stay. We don't care too much about amenities such as pools or sit down restaurants as we will just want to get a good night sleep and a quick bite to eat. And DH mentioned since this will be on a Sat. night, we would prefer to stay away from a place that has a bar, or nightclub. Any ideas? Tx!

[oldkeywest91]

We are now retired and drive from South Jersey to Tampa to spend the winter months with realtives. It takes about 17 1/2 hours to make the trip, and once we pass the DC area it's a breeze. We take two days to make the trip, and it's nice to have your own vechicle! The worst part of the trip is the ride home, it's seems like such a drag! We usually go to OKW a couple of times during our stay, in fact we just made reservations for Feburary and March and had no problem.

[Luv2Dream]

msdis,
i can only mention upper VA that has a cheap, clean, safe place to stay. We took the autotrain one trip which leaves out of Lorton, VA which is just south of DC. We stayed at a Comfort Inn in Lorton right off 95 and it was comfortable and inexpensive and clean. You even got a continental breakfast in the morning. I also stayed at a holiday inn express i believe it was on a return trip once in Mechanicsburg, VA. Also inexpensive but clean. No fancy stuff at these hotels.

[lyndon1]

In August 2001 our family drove for the first time from Lancaster Pa to WDW. The trip down was a long 18 hours mostly because I misjudged the traffic around Washington DC. Our daughters had fun counting the number of "Pedro" signs before arriving at "South of the Border". And yes we did stop to check the place out. It was the shortest rest stop on record I am quite sure of that.

Having a car and valet parking worked well and we decided after staying at AKL for 8 nights that DVC was the right thing for our family. With that said we are now happy owners at VWL and will be heading home for the first time for Easter 2002.

The drive home was a breeze, less than 17 hours with my wife driving well over 1/2 of the time. Knowing where we are going and where to stop and grab a nice meal and a good stretch make it much easier. We are looking forward to 7 nights at OKW and again on the 7 day western cruise in August.

The Girvins
Lancaster PA

[slc224]

We always drive unless our trip is for just a few days. It is an 18 hour trip from central IL. We will be detouring to Hilton Head on our way home this June. Can' wait.:)

[loribell]

The only time we have flown was this past summer when it was only 4 of lus. Every other time there has been 6 or more so it is way to expensive to fly. This summer there will be 10 of us going so of course we will be driving. We have a conversion van and my inlaws are letting us borrow theirs for the trip. Since we have a 3 year old and my niece will have an infant we are breaking the trip up into three days each way. Not planning to drive more than 7 1/2 hours per day, afraid it would be to much for the little ones.

We plan to stay in Memphis and Atlanta on the way down and staying offsite in Orlando the first night we are there. On the way home we will return through the Florida panhandle and stay 2 nights in Destin, then Memphis again before we hit home. If anyone has any suggestions on where to stay in Memphis, Atlanta, or Destin I would appreciate the advice.

Thanks

Lori

[Candace]

When coming through Memphis from OK, you will take I-40 East toward Nashville, I assume (if you are going to Atlanta). There is a Fairfield Inn on Macon Cove Road which is nice, but budget in price. This puts you on the East side of Memphis when you get ready to leave the next morning, and that's the side you would need to be on. There are a lot of other hotels in that area also, many near the Wolfchase Galleria mall. This is a nice safe area. I just like Fairfield Inns when I need a good place to stay with a good (free) breakfast. There is another one at I-240 and Perkins road, but then you would have to drive through a lot of morning traffic to get to the eastbound part where you will be heading. Hope this helps!

[deerh]

We drive to Disney as well. From Atlanta, it is about 7hrs or so, depending on stops in all the important places: Fla line to get the free OJ, and Maybe Ocala to see the mouse. If we did not do that, maybe we could get there faster. The key is to time the Atlanta traffic, and get out of town before the Rush hour in Atlanta. We also like to fly when the airfare was reasonable, I can remeber $85RT air fare from ATL a few years ago, NOW that was resonable!, But with air fare $150+, we will be driving down, and the kids are older now, 9 and 13, so it is a lot easier. With small kids, I would think flying would be a lot better, at least it was for us..
Counting down, HHI in 4.5months!
deerh

[nelle]

We will be driving down for the first time next dec its about a 23 hour drive from here. We plan on driving all night so the kids can sleep and we don't have to hear "are we there yet " a million times:D . My husband is a paramedic so sleep deprivation is part of his job and with three young kids I don't get much sleep either:D so driving all night should be ok for us. We have the first two nights booked at AKL so we can rest and enjoy the resort before we head over to BWV's for the rest of the trip.

Nelle

[QueenAnne]

We drove to HH last summer from Springfield, MO and drove 13 hours to Atlanta to stay the night and then about 3 1/2 hours to HH. I enjoy driving. We plan to drive for all of our vacations. This summer we are driving to Vero. Driving 17.5 hours to Jacksonville, FL and then continuing 5.5 hours to Vero. My DD is only 3 and is used to car rides to Grandma's so it is easy for us!:)

[msdis]

Thanks, Luv2dream, I'll check it out.

[loribell]

I'm glad you mentioned staying on the East side. I hadn't even thought about that and we will be there on a Thursday night. Sure wouldn't want to get stuck in rush hour traffic. Do you have suggestions for the West side on our trip home? I'm thinking we will be there on a Sunday night.

Does anyone have suggestions for the Atlanta area?

Thanks,
Lori

[LiLPrincess]

Lori, I'll be interested to know how the drive goes. We are going in June and I am thinking about driving. I'll have 2 teenagers with me !!! :eek:

[DaveH]

When we travel we like staying at either Hampton Inn or Fairfield Inn. Slightly more expensive than Quality inn/Comfort INN and those guys. I would look online at The Quality Inn group, Fairfield Inn, Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn/Holiday Inn Express, Red Roof Inn, Super 8(I have had a couple of bad ones of these) and any other you can think of and see advertised anywhere. One of the reasons we like Hampton and Fairfield is the continental breakfast and the rooms at all of them we have stayed at have been clean and safe. I hope this helps.:)

[loribell]

LiLPrincess,
Thanks for the invite. I'll try to make it. When in June are you going? We will be there the first 2 weeks.

Thanks for the advice to everyone else.

Lori

[Candace]

Loribell - On your return trip heading west on I-40, I believe I would try to get on through Memphis before stopping. It won't be that much further at all. I would get on across the Mississippi River bridge on I-40 West and stop in West Memphis, Arkansas. There is a Hampton Inn on the interstate and also a Holiday Inn, I believe. Hamptons are really nice, and like DaveH, Hamptons and Fairfield Inns are my favorites of the budget line hotels.

[loribell]

Thanks again Candace. I'm writing all this down in my planning book and will make some reservations this week.

Now if I could just get some advice on where to stay around Atlanta I would be all set. I've never been there and would really like some input on a safe area.

Thanks again

Lori

[rbuzzotta]

We've driven several times from Boston. Takes between 24 and 28 hours depending on "pit" stops for the 3 DD's!!! We just drove this past December and stopped in Lorton VA at the same Comfort inn as a previous poster. Clean and appeared safe. We stopped at a Holiday Inn in Fredericksonburg MD on the way home. This was a short trip (we stayed at AKL only 4 nights) and we were pretty tired. Normally when we drive we stay for 2 weeks!!!

Have a safe drive if that's what you decide to do.

[LiLPrincess]

Lori, we'll be there the first week in June.

Lisa

[DiznEeyore]

Originally posted by loribell
Now if I could just get some advice on where to stay around Atlanta I would be all set. I've never been there and would really like some input on a safe area.

Thanks again

Lori
Lori:

Are you willing/able to drive a bit south of Atlanta? If so, we stayed at a really comfortable Rodeway Inn in Macon. It was a nice size room with a fridge and a micro, two queen beds & hair dryer. It was off I-475, exit 3. It was $40 plus tax, AAA rate. They had donuts for breakfast -- we skipped those.

[ShirleyKME]

24 hours driving time from central Maine.
Its a long road but have done it several times. Sometimes straight thru sometimes stopping in lower VA .
Will be doing it Feb. 14th and possibly again in April!!:smooth:

[ZerasPride]

I've got one other question. Do you make advance reservations for the drive back home? How do you know where you'll be stopping? I know going down we'll spend the night at Hilton Head. But coming back home, I figure to want to put at least 10 hours between Disney and getting home. But who knows, we may want to drive further or stop sooner. Do you guys who drive make a ressie at a hotel going home or just "wing it"? I like the idea of the Hampton Inn chain. They are very reasonable and clean and we've stayed with them before so that is probably who we will go with. I envision just stopping when we're tired and getting a room. Does that sound reasonable or should we go ahead and make a reservation somewhere? Thanks for the further advice guys!

Now I'm going nuts waiting for the 7th month window to open!

Lisa

[DiznEeyore]

As far as reserving something on the way home, we've done it both ways. The first trip, we didn't reserve anything, and ended up going to 4 hotels to check rates/rooms.

On our second trip, we made a reservation for a hotel in Knoxville (where we'd stopped on the way home the first time) but ended up wishing we hadn't! We got stuck in construction just north of Dalton, GA (sat in it for 2-1/2 hours!) and had to continue on to Knoxville 'cuz we'd guaranteed with a credit card and didn't want to get charged for a room we didn't use. We pulled in at 12:30 a.m. at the not-so-Quality Inn. Turns out it was right next to train tracks that were actively used all night! :(

So, I think when we go next May, we're just gonna wing it on our way home and see where we end up. YMMV. ;)

[loribell]

Amy,
Thanks for the response. I would consider Macon but my husband was in the air during the attacks on Sept. 11 and they basically did a nose dive when the pilots were told to land. He was stuck in Macon with no way out for 3 days (he works for our AFB and was on TDY so no rental cars were left by the time he was able to get approval to rent one) and says he would prefer not staying there so we probably won't want to try it. Although it would be a little nicer to drive a liitle farther then Atlanta.

Thanks,

Lori

[ZerasPride]

I just wanted to thank you Amy for the advice. I am leaning toward your suggestion of just winging it. There seem to be so many hotels off the highway that we should be able to find something. One co-worker suggested calling ahead a few hours if we can figure out where we want to stop and reserving a room at that point. That might be a good suggestion. Again, I appreciate your insight!

Llisa

[loribell]

ZerasPride,

You might try picking out possible locations along the way that you think would be in the right area drive time wise and an hour or two either direction of that. Then find the type of hotel in those cities that you would like to stay in. That way you could have the baaic hotel picked out and have the numbers with you so you could easily call a little ahead of time like your co-worker suggested to hold your room. My only problem with winging it is that I never seem to get them to give me a decent rate if I just walk in off the street without some type of ressie ahead of time. This would also allow you to check rates on the internet ahead of time to know what to expect.


LiLPrincess,

I have driven down twice before and it is a long drive but it is easily done in 2 - 2 1/2 days. We have always driven to Dallas, Shreveport, and Lafayette then straight East. Our van got broken into the last time we did this outside of our hotel room in Lafayette so we have not driven this way since. We came home through Jackson MS on that trip. This year we are going through Memphis. Hopefully it will be a better drive.

We are only taking three days this time because we are taking a 3 month old with us and we aren't sure how she will handle the travel. We don't plan to actually have more then 7 - 8 hours driving time on any day.

Maybe we will see you there. We'll be at OKW June 2nd - 8th and VWL June 9th - 13th.

Lori

[DiznEeyore]

Originally posted by ZerasPride
I just wanted to thank you Amy for the advice. I am leaning toward your suggestion of just winging it. There seem to be so many hotels off the highway that we should be able to find something. One co-worker suggested calling ahead a few hours if we can figure out where we want to stop and reserving a room at that point. That might be a good suggestion. Again, I appreciate your insight!

Llisa
My pleasure! I've always gotten so much from these boards that I'm glad I might be able to help even a little. :)

And Lori, I can sure understand why your dh would want to skip Macon! I hope you find something that works for you! :)

[qqq]

We drove for the first time after flying many times. Its a tossup from Chicago. Saved lots of $$$ on airfare and rental car. But the extra 3 days travel can really take a toll. Need an extra day on each end of the trip to rest and recover!

[ncligs]

qqq,

We agree with you. I think if you can "afford" it, it is better to fly. The toll of being in a car for 10 hrs a day takes a toll on you. I would rather be "rested and fresh" when I am on vacation!!!!!!:D
We always fly, maybe when we are retired and have more time to break up the trip with a stop at HH, then we would drive once in a while.:D

[Towncrier]

We drive from the Cleveland Ohio area to WDW every year. I guess that we are crazy because we all look forward to the drive. HHI is a good stopping place (although we stayed at Hardeeville on our last trip). We allow 20 hours for the trip including rest stops and one meal stop.

[sgtpet]

We are planning on driving to WDW in the future. We may occasionally fly but with last years events we feel more comfortable driving at this point. We are driving to HH this year which is about 13 hours from home.

[TriciaT]

Hey, sgtpet, we are neighbors! We drove for the first time during our last trip. I thought I would hate it, but we loved it. It was great to have our own car and be in control of our own schedule. We just drove to HH in November also and thought that was a simple drive. It was tempting though to be five hours from Disney and not keep going. DH and I will be going for a long weekend in June without the kids and of course will fly, but for longer family vacations, driving is great for us.

BTW, a nice area to stay is Fayetteville, NC which is exactley halfway for us. Lots of motels with low rates and free breakfasts.


Tricia

[kel3420]

We drove from Chicago this last Thanksgiving week to Vero. This was our first time driving, and as someone else mentioned I was leary of flying so we cancelled our air and drove instead. It wasn't half as bad as I had imagined :) We used our minivan which gave myself, dh, ds (14), dd (13) and dd (5) enough room to be comfortable. My husband and I bought some new DVD's for the kids to watch on the trip down and it worked out great. He figured out how to hook up three sets of headphones, each with individual knobs for volume control to his laptop. The kids also brought lots of things to keep them occupied, such as books, drawing ativities, game boy, CD player. I thought we were really indulging our kids with the laptop and DVD's until my husband noticed a SUV next to us with three seperate television sets in the back of the seats, all showing different movies.

We winged it in regards to getting a room. The actual driving time was around 22 hours for us. We left around 5 p.m. on a Thursday drove till around 2 am, got a room until 7 am, hit the road again until 9ish, where we got a room right out of Ocala. Got up the next morning, met my grandma who lives in Ocala for bfast and headed off to Vero, pulling in around 1:00. The trip home, we left early Sat morning, drove until about 9, I think we were in TN, but could be wrong, got a room somewhere off the interstate, got up early the next morning and made it home to the far NW burbs of Chicago by dinnertime.

I am not too keen on driving again, but would "consider" it, lol.

Good luck, and have fun,
Kelly

[msdis]

Hi Shirley, We will be departing central Maine in April and since you are familiar with the route down could you tell us what route you usually take and any tips and/or shortcuts. What time do you usually leave Maine/Disney (down/back)? Do you find certain days better/worse than any other? When you do stop, do you have any tips of where, location wise, and any suggestions of accommodations. You mention southern Va. and that looks like a good stopping point to me. Sorry so many questions, but we do not want to fly anymore and the thoughts of driving 24-25 hours is stressing us out. We were at WDW Sept. 11th and drove straight back 25 + 1/2 hours in our rental car dead tired and are not looking forward to that torture again, but we refuse to stop vacationing! Thanks a million in advance for any help you can give.

[sueg]

For yrs., our family flew to WDW. One trip, DS (now 7, then 2) got a bad ear infection at WDW & we were advised not to fly home. So we traded our local rental for a long distance rental and drove. Not a good trip--no time to plan, sick child etc.
DH & I were scheduled for a special adults-only trip in Oct. After 9/11, our late night flight down was cancelled (& I'm still fighting w/ Delta to get our refund) and we drove. Two adults, some good books on tape and pre-made ressies to stop once up & down. The trip was great and a sharp contrast to our earlier one-way sprint.
We were going to drive in March. Even discussed getting Harry Potter on tape for the drive. But we have a few days left on my & DH's APs (because of our Oct. trip) and our departure time is set by the start of DSs' school vacation. So although I'm angry w/ Delta & we are alittle nervous about flying, we will fly, altogether, for the first time since 9/11.
I will add that I don't like winging it, although it probably depends on the time of yr. When we drove in March, several yrs ago, AAA strongly suggested a ressie for a motel along I-95. They were RIGHT. There were no vacancies & people we actually fighting at our hotel because they couldn't find a place to sleep. In Oct., we probably could have found a place, but I got good rates w/ breakfast inc. thru advanced planning on the internet. Plus, I feel that a ressie gives a structure to a long trip (Like South of the Boarder signs!)

[Lyndarella]

We have driven several times from IOWA! It was 30 hours or so, usually had several drivers, and never stopped! We were young then and had more time than money. I can't imagine doing that now.