Hi all! Just returned home to Winnipeg Manitoba from driving to Disney World and Disney Cruise on the Fantasy,if you have any questions i will be glad to answer. I will try to post a trip report later.
driving to disney world
- Thread starter gizmom29
- Start date
keltiesmom
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2012
I have been dreaming about driving from the west coast. DH has no interest so it will probably never happen but it think it would be an amazing journey.
chrispeto
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 1, 2009
We live near Windsor, ON, we drive all the time takes about 21 hours, we split up the driving into 2 days.
One year we drove out to Missoula Montana to visit family and then we drove to WDW, it took us 3 full days to drive from Montana to Florida and was a fun and scenic drive.
One year we drove out to Missoula Montana to visit family and then we drove to WDW, it took us 3 full days to drive from Montana to Florida and was a fun and scenic drive.
I would be very interested in hearing about your drive down! We are planning to drive down from Brandon in August so I would love hear about your experience driving from Winnipeg! Did you drive straight down or take a more leisurely route? How did you find the trip--doable or painful? Which route did you take? Thanks in advance 
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BananaCupCake
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2014
We are planning to drive down next time from Toronto. Just came back and the flight tickets cost a lot! Looks like it's a 21 or 22 hours driving. Where do you guys usually stop over at the 1st night?
Hi rennep22 We drove down on Feb 23 arrived at Disney World (Port Orleans French Quarter)on Feb.25th 3 days driving,i was the only driver.We made two stops for the night,first stop was in Madison Wi. at the Hampton Inn second night in Murfreesboro Tn. Hilton Garden Inn.We did not look at it as one long trip but as three short ones,we only drove about ten to eleven hours a day,we had a ten mouth old baby with us so our stops were pretty much every two-three hours to feed and change,what time we lost we always got back, as traffic was light that time of year.We also timed it to miss rush hours in Nashville and Atlanta.As for the route we toke 75MB,29,94,694,39,57 and picked up 75 south to Florida in Tennessee.We did the reverse on the way back home.On this trip we did Disney Feb.25-26,Universal Feb.27 and Disney Cruise on the Fantasy Feb.28-March 7,so the drive was worth it, we saved a lot of money.The wife is in planning stages for our trip next year,we will also be driving down again because it is not that bad a drive,but you have to like driving. Only pain was our Manitoba highways, worst roads on the whole trip.Check Google they show you two routes i toke the one that was best for us,good luck and enjoy the ride.I would be very interested in hearing about your drive down! We are planning to drive down from Brandon in August so I would love hear about your experience driving from Winnipeg! Did you drive straight down or take a more leisurely route? How did you find the trip--doable or painful? Which route did you take? Thanks in advance
Thanks so much for the info! It's so nice to hear from someone who has already taken the route we will be taking. I will be driving down with four kids (17, 15, 13, and 2) and am hoping to only stop for two nights as well. We were looking at the cost of driving versus flying for the six of us and, like you said, the savings are significant. I love driving and road trips so it should all go well as long as my gang cooperates . My husband will fly down shortly after we arrive (due to work) and then we will all drive back together and hopefully take a bit more time on the way back to take in some of the sights. Thanks again!
. My husband will fly down shortly after we arrive (due to work) and then we will all drive back together and hopefully take a bit more time on the way back to take in some of the sights. Thanks again!
RatherDrive
DVC - BWV
- Joined
- Nov 25, 2013
That is some drive!! For us from Toronto it is typically 20 hours driving and one overnight. We like to see the sights heading down and maximize our time at the parks then make a quick drive home.
How did you like the Fanatasy? We did the Christmas cruise on the Fantasy and LOVED it!!! In fact we booked another trip on board. We are cruising this August on the Fantasy and are driving down for some time at Vero Beach then the cruise. No park visit this year, we are kinda parked out since our annual passes just expired.
How did you like the Fanatasy? We did the Christmas cruise on the Fantasy and LOVED it!!! In fact we booked another trip on board. We are cruising this August on the Fantasy and are driving down for some time at Vero Beach then the cruise. No park visit this year, we are kinda parked out since our annual passes just expired.
Hi RatherDrive The Fantasy is a beautiful ship,the cast and crew were great, our room attendant Raj was one of the best we ever had. As i said earlier we had our 10 month old grandson with us and Raj took great care of us with what ever our needs were.The food was ok not bad, not great. The room service was great as in quick and food ok. Cabanas was good but sometimes a mad house.The pool areas on deck 11 during the day were crazy crowded.The wife and i are not people to lay in the sun and tan but if we wanted to we would have had to get up and out to put a bag or towel on a lounger at 7-730 in the am to have a place to lay.We went to the adult pool area to have a drink,even with signs that say you must be 18 or over people still brought kids in,not babies, kids 5-6 and up and no crew member or cast member said anything to the parents,and this happened a few times.But over all the 7 day cruise was great, the ports of calls were great,the wife and i love St Maarten.San Juan was ok did not spend much time there,would love to go back. Would i go on Disney again no,would i recommend this ship to someone with children yes, just to try it to see the difference between cruise lines.
We drive straight thru. total time approx 24- 25 hours. Leave just north of TO and drive I75. Doesnt matter what time you drive, you will be driving in the night. We do like taking off just after dinner time, have dd4 and dd8 in pjs and head out. By the time we reach Disney its just after dinner, we get a full nights sleep there and then have the first day as a down day. Hang by the pool, go downtown, shop, and relaxing. Would rather that then spend couple of days on the road.
RatherDrive
DVC - BWV
- Joined
- Nov 25, 2013
Hi gizmom29, Thanks for sharing your experience on the Fantasy. We sailed over Christmas on a sold out cruise and really never found it that crowded. Maybe since we just came from WDW and were used to the crowds there!! We visited the same ports you did and really liked San Juan, We had no tours planned just walked up to San Cristobal and walked along the shore to El Morrow. We had a great time just simply walking around. I agree with the food, good on some days and just ok on others. The Deck was never really busy and never had any issue getting a lounge, in fact we noticed that the CM's removed towels that were on empty chairs after about 1/2 an hour. We have two cruises planned in the next year and both on the Fantasy. We are driving to Vero Beach before our cruise this August and are looking forward to staying there the first time.
We visited the same ports you did and really liked San Juan, We had no tours planned just walked up to San Cristobal and walked along the shore to El Morrow. We had a great time just simply walking around. I agree with the food, good on some days and just ok on others. The Deck was never really busy and never had any issue getting a lounge, in fact we noticed that the CM's removed towels that were on empty chairs after about 1/2 an hour. We have two cruises planned in the next year and both on the Fantasy. We are driving to Vero Beach before our cruise this August and are looking forward to staying there the first time.
Krikir
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2015
We are driving down from Toronto at the end of December this year and we plan on stopping in Beckley, West Virginia. We have stayed there previously on a couple of trips to Myrtle Beach. There are quite a few hotels right off the highway. Be careful driving through the US, especially the Virginias and the Carolina's....a lot of the highway patrol like to stop out of country/state plates. It's good to stick to the speed limit through there.
Hi gizmom29, I'm glad to hear that someone has driven down there and made it back. We have flown the last two times and I was thinking about driving down. If you could pm me or the average cost, for example last time we went down, including EVERYTHING was close to 10500. On another matter how'd you feel after each day driving,how much rest you got and when you actually arrived, plus the reverse, you know after day to day at the parks you kinda feel beat. thanks for the response.
celebrationgamer
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- May 4, 2015
We followed Gizmom29's route almost exactly, as we were from Madison, WI. I can tell you a few things about the route:
- Make a serious decision over using your own vehicle (vs. Renting) before you make the trip. If your vehicle already has some age and wear and tear to it, consider that you're going to be driving through actual mountains and that you'll be doing it in warmer weather than maybe that which you're car is familiar. We drove our family minivan both times we made this trip, and it'll never make it a 3rd time.
- Illinois and Georgia are crazy long.
- Check your brakes before you go. At the very least, get new pads put on. It's an inexpensive fix that will save you some stress when you're driving down the slope of a mountain, and you have to ride the brakes so you don't go over 85mph.
- Use a GPS or Google maps with near-real-time traffic reports. In Tennessee, in particular, if there is construction or an accident, you can see people stacked bumper to bumper for dozens of miles. The problem there is the semi's acceleration capabilities: Even after the road is cleared, it will take them some time to get back up to highway speeds. Usually, highway patrol will be out there trying to warn people away, but sometimes the backup can happen too quickly.
- Always time your travel to avoid Atlanta during high traffic periods. Be very careful driving around or through Atlanta, regardless, as residents tend to drive very aggressively.
- If you add up expenses, and it's more than 200/person for the trip, consider flying. Even with the best of conditions, that long of a road trip can end up really putting a damper on your vacation. Fares, round-trip, to Orlando (from a major airport) are typically 200/person.
Georgia is definitely a killer! I agree about Atlanta. On our way down we hit Atlanta at 5am on a Sat - no issues. At about 4pm on a Sat on the way back & what a mess! There's a huge mall/shopping complex outside Atlanta & the locals trying to merge onto I75 after a day of shopping was all it took to back us up 2 hrs. We got $200 USD per person last Aug Detroit to MCO, but unless you are going at a very slow time & can travel midweek I haven't seen $200 this year. Best we could get for Aug 21-28 this year was $260 USD.
Hi golflnks Like i said i love to drive so the driving was no big deal,we stopped every two-three hours to stretch our legs or for gas.As for how i felt after each day,a little tired but after a hot shower,food and cold beer,and good night of sleep i was ready to go again.We would try to leave between six and seven in the am.It helps when we stayed at hotels with great beds,no motel 8, Days Inn etc. which added to the cost, but for us well worth it.As for arriving at Disney World we got there around six, the first night the wife and i stayed in and relaxed.For the drive back i relaxed on the cruise ship so i was ready to hit the road,we stayed at the same hotels on the way back home as we did going down.I think we saved about 1200-1500 dollars for five of us which i think is great and we saw some beautiful country down and back.
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