How to get from NC to WDW?

[beachwarmer]

:scared::scared1:

I am hoping for some expert help.

We are moving from Canada to NC in a few weeks. This is unexpected and incredibly bad timing since I have just had a baby in July. Our WDW vacatiovn is scheduled for the last week of January. Do you drive to WDW from NC? Jetblue who we usually fly from Syracuse seems to route you through JFK in NY then back down. Southwest we have never done and with two children the mass boarding and no reserved seats scares me.

Any help will be appreciated.

P.S. As i am getting ready to pack...I know to leave the snowblower but what about snowsuits for the kids? I saw the schools have snow days....probably not like a Canadian snow day...

[NC Belle]

We are driving Saturday from the Raleigh area. We use I-40 to I-95 S (staying on I-95 until Daytona, FL to the I-4 exit).

Southwest is out of RDU and has an easy layout. There is pre-boarding for families after the Business class/extra perk people and the A groups.

[beachwarmer]

Thanks so much NC Belle....

How long is the drive? We are use to the 22 1/2 hours from Canada...my guess is 9 hours....

I think we are moving to your area...Cary is where my husbands office will be.

My DD6 was most excited becuase we would be half way to WDW...:)

[wdwfreeksince88]

Depending on where your coming from in nc anywhere from 8 to about 10 hours. I live in Daytona Beach and go back to NC quite a bit to visit family and it takes me 8 to 8 1/2 hours where I am going.

[MomofKatie]

Cary to WDW takes around 9 hours. It is an easy drive- I-40 to I-95 to I-4. Straightforward and realtively hassle-free. The only real city you go through on the way is Jacksonville. We drive from Charlotte whenever we go to WDW, and it is a very pleasant drive. We usually head out very early in the morning (4am or so), and are pulling into the WDW Maingate at around 1pm.

**OH! You can leave the snowblower and snowsuits in Canada. The non-mountain areas of NC get snow maybe once a year, and if it is any more than an inch, the whole city shuts down. Most of the time, the snow is melted by the end of the day- there isn't even enough to sled on, really. DD used 2 snow days last year- one during MLK week, one about 2 weeks later. But, she didn't need any for the couple of years before that.**

[sorul82?]

The drive should be about 8-9 hours, but the past few times it has taken 10-11 hours because of construction in GA and traffic in Orlando.

[Justin Jett]

The drive take 9.5 - 10 hours from Greensboro to WDW. A total of 613 miles from here to Downtown Disney (Hotel Plaza).

I-85 to Charlotte
I-77 to Columbia, SC
I-26 toward Charleston
I-95 to Daytona
I-4 to Orlando/Lake Buena Vista/WDW

Allegiant Air has $39-$50 One-way fares to Sanford Airport from KGSO.

Amtrak Silver Star runs overnight between Raleigh, Orlando, and Kissimmee. Full Coach Fare is $100 round trip. AAA, Senior, and Military discounts are available. Train Trip is 13-14 hours each way.

[beachwarmer]

Thanks to all the NC experts. We are off the the boarder now to get our visa. I am sure I will have alot more questions.

9 hours is the same length of time as to travel to my in-laws from where I live now.....but WDW is so much better....what a better use of 9 hours in a car...:lmao: WDW is like heaven and my inlaws in like....:rolleyes1

I was all prepared to move to NYC so this is really sent me scrambling.

[mainegal]

The drive take 9.5 - 10 hours from Greensboro to WDW. A total of 613 miles from here to Downtown Disney (Hotel Plaza).

I-85 to Charlotte
I-77 to Columbia, SC
I-26 toward Charleston
I-95 to Daytona
I-4 to Orlando/Lake Buena Vista/WDW

Allegiant Air has $39-$50 One-way fares to Sanford Airport from KGSO.

Amtrak Silver Star runs overnight between Raleigh, Orlando, and Kissimmee. Full Coach Fare is $100 round trip. AAA, Senior, and Military discounts are available. Train Trip is 13-14 hours each way.

Justin, you are a font of knowledge. I am impressed! :thumbsup2

[carol1231]

We also drive from NC. Occasionally we will fly via Southwest.

Good luck with your move!!

And you can definetly leave your snowsuits behind. Only time we need them is when we take weekend trips to the mountains to go tubing. We are Chicago natives and will not go back north in the winter.

[Justin Jett]

We also drive from NC. Occasionally we will fly via Southwest.

Do you fly out of KRDU or KCLT????

[Justin Jett]

Justin, you are a font of knowledge. I am impressed! :thumbsup2

:):):):):):)

[NC Belle]

Thanks so much NC Belle....

How long is the drive? We are use to the 22 1/2 hours from Canada...my guess is 9 hours....

I think we are moving to your area...Cary is where my husbands office will be.

My DD6 was most excited because we would be half way to WDW...:)

It is close to 9-9.5 hours from Cary...depending on the many construction projects in SC and GA. Last year, it took us over 11 hours due to a bad accident that closed I-95 near Santee, SC for over an hour. We have a little longer drive this weekend because of our house location and we are dropping our dog off Saturday at her favorite kennel. We like to take breaks every couple hours to walk around/stretch our legs.

[WDW Freak]

We fly out of RDU on Southwest to Disney with 2 small children at least once a year with no problems. (We can't take the long drive in the car with kids just yet.) We check-in 24 hours in advance and get A-20 something passes every time.

Good luck with the move!

[bigbrian-nc.com]

I'm trying to do this from memory so all times/distances are very rough approximations. but yes 9-10 hours is a nice trip with a couple of rest stops not pushing too hard.


NORTH CAROLINA ...AND SOUTH CAROLINA
We get on I-77 southbound in Charlotte, crossing into SC just a few miles south of where we get on I-77. From there it is something like 90 miles until I-77 ends just south of Columbia SC from there we get on I-26 eastbound (really it is more south than east I think for the time we are on it) and if memory serves correctly it's something like 40 minutes to I 95 South at which point we are something less than an hour from GA,

GEORGIA
We are in GA for about two hours before crossing into FL, the roads in GA are in MUCH better shape than SC, though the slow but sure widening of I-95 through the peachtree state has meant it has almost always had construction zones every trip, still they are done well enough to keep things moving.

FLORIDA
If I recall correctly Jacksonville is less than an hour south of the border, and in my experiance it is ALMOST never worth the time it would take to bypass JAX so I have only taken the bypass one or two times in the MANY trips I have driven this route, going right through JAX is the way to go even though we sometimes hit it at "rush hour" sure it will be slow for a short section or two, but I guess the real deciding factor is how comfortable you are with big city traffic I've had to deal with it most of my life so to me it is no big deal, on the way down the stretch from St. Augustine to the junction with I-4 always seems way longer than it actually is (whereas on the way home it is the stretches in SC on I-95 and I-26 that seem that way) once we get on I-4 I tend to figure is about an hour until I am either at the gates of a WDW park or at a hotel room.

[chrisw127]

We fly SW out of RDU usually. It takes about 90 minutes, although we've gotten there in an hour before (guess the pilot was in a hurry).

When we drive, it takes about 10 hours (this is from the Triangle area). We usually make a couple of stops to let the kids run around. There's a mall with a Barnes & Noble right off I-95 in Florence that is a great place to stop. We also map out the McDonalds with play areas. It's not a bad drive, although there always seems to be tons of highway patrol in SC. Not that I speed or anything. Ahem.

Have safe move--I hope you like NC!

[carol1231]

Do you fly out of KRDU or KCLT????

When we fly via Southwest we fly out of RDU.

[SGB13]

Welcome to NC! :goodvibes

[beachwarmer]

Thanks for all the great info. We are very excited about the move and looking forward to the warmer weather. Today we had frost and the children are wearing mittens to school.

We will head down in a few weeks to find a house/school.

[kathrna]

This has been great info for me, too, as we are new to driving SOUTH to the Mouse. (Driving four hours North rocked!)

Good luck in your move!

[HowlinNC]

Southwest is really great about boarding families with children first, regardless of their number.

We just love SW, flying it to Tampa, Orlando, Baltimore, anywhere we can.

We fly out of Raleigh.

We drive from just outside 540 and it takes 10 hours, 540 to I-40 East, to I-95, to I-4.


Going back November 7th for 9 days!

[dmccarty]

We live in the Triangle of NC and used to live in Cary. The trip to WDW is 10-12 hours depending traffic, bladders, and stomachs. :rotfl2: Our trip this spring took 11-12 hours due to traffic on I95. It was bumper to bumper from I40/I95 to the WDW gate. I am NOT kidding. It was a mess. Just as bad returning.

Our first trip in October 2007 with the kids took 12 hours. Not because of traffic but because the kids had to go to the bathroom what seemed like every 30 minutes. :scared1::confused3;)

One of our trips we flew SouthWest since they had the best prices from RDU. Trip down was not bad but we had weather delays due to rain on the return trip. We left MCO a couple hours late and we got to RDU even later due to heavy rain. They flew low and slow for what seemed like an hour or so. We fnally landed close to Midnight. We should have been in our house at 10:00pm. The plane was a few feet from the gate when there was lightning so we just sat for 30 minutes waiting for the thunder storm to pass! :scared1::scared1::scared1:

So close but yet so far. :confused3

We just drive to save time and money now. :rotfl2:

With Southwest you can check in I think it is 24 hours prior to the flight and at least confirm which section you will be in. I think we knew what seat rows we would be in. Magic Express from MCO was easy for the most part. Just at the other end of the airport it seemed. ;)

Welcome to NC!
Dan

[beachwarmer]

We live in the Triangle of NC and used to live in Cary. The trip to WDW is 10-12 hours depending traffic, bladders, and stomachs. :rotfl2: Our trip this spring took 11-12 hours due to traffic on I95. It was bumper to bumper from I40/I95 to the WDW gate. I am NOT kidding. It was a mess. Just as bad returning.

Our first trip in October 2007 with the kids took 12 hours. Not because of traffic but because the kids had to go to the bathroom what seemed like every 30 minutes. :scared1::confused3;)

One of our trips we flew SouthWest since they had the best prices from RDU. Trip down was not bad but we had weather delays due to rain on the return trip. We left MCO a couple hours late and we got to RDU even later due to heavy rain. They flew low and slow for what seemed like an hour or so. We fnally landed close to Midnight. We should have been in our house at 10:00pm. The plane was a few feet from the gate when there was lightning so we just sat for 30 minutes waiting for the thunder storm to pass! :scared1::scared1::scared1:

So close but yet so far. :confused3

We just drive to save time and money now. :rotfl2:

With Southwest you can check in I think it is 24 hours prior to the flight and at least confirm which section you will be in. I think we knew what seat rows we would be in. Magic Express from MCO was easy for the most part. Just at the other end of the airport it seemed. ;)

Welcome to NC!
Dan

Thanks Dan. I think we will just drive. We are looking for schools in the area and one of the private ones has interviews the Saturday and we are to be in WDW on the Sunday. 10 -11 hours is the same trip we are doing today to ge tto my in-laws for Canadian Thanksgiving.