"For 2,000+ Mile Round-Trip Drivers Only!" (Part V)

ginny_lynn · May 18, 2015

89 days until we leave for our third drive from Nova Scotia

disneydad1000 · May 18, 2015

90 days until we leave for our 7th year in a row drive from upstate ny..can't wait :drive:

Simba's Girl · May 18, 2015

89 days for us leaving from central MA...

BC1836 · May 18, 2015

Sharadoc: Are you suggesting that state 417 is the way to go for now (during I-4 construction)?
Exit #3 onto Osceola Pkwy and then onto World Drive? :confused3

All the best. :thumbsup2

patclairesmom · May 19, 2015

BC1836 said:
Sharadoc: Are you suggesting that state 417 is the way to go for now (during I-4 construction)?
Exit #3 onto Osceola Pkwy and then onto World Drive?

All the best.

We're planning on taking 417 to avoid the construction and I hate I-4 anyway. I believe you can also get off exit 6 which doesn't have a toll.

baldy6060 · May 19, 2015

We drive from Indiana. We went down last October. Found out 1 year old gets carsick. yay. We are trying to plan our next trip where we can drive in flatter, straighter areas while he's awake and do the mountainous, curvy areas overnight. That doesn't mean he won't wake up & get sick (I think his first time was north of Atlanta around 2 or 3 am after we stopped for gas). So we'd probably leave around 5-6 pm. Any tips? Do any of you go a route that allows you to avoid Atlanta entirely (we've done the bypass and it doesn't help much so we just try to hit it around 1-5 am or on a Sunday morning). Also, any tips on how to drive all the way through Georgia without wanting to stab myself in the eyeball with a pencil around what seems to be hour 1,242 in that god-forsaken state? It never ends. Sorry to offend anyone but we've had nothing but bad times in that state. Last year we were packing up our car after an overnight stay in a shady hotel north of Atlanta. The manager kept watching us and Buford Pusser parked his police car right in front of ours for a long time and didn't move until after I paid and got in the car. After I started driving I noticed my gas gauge said it was nearly empty. I filled up not long before we stopped!

LadyBeBop · May 19, 2015

Couple of things.

1) I've never had any problems with Georgia, and I've stayed overnight there too many times to count. Just stay in the relatively populated areas, and you should be fine. Also, I'd get beyond Atlanta (either coming or going) before stopping for the night.

2) What part of Indiana are you coming from? That will make a difference in when you should leave. The worst part for you would probably be the mountains just north of Chattanooga.

disneydad1000 · May 19, 2015

Can't believe i got our countdown wrong ..we leave Friday night around 10pm..now its 87 days....stop at Delaware welcome center..245 miles ..i will need to use rest room..kids and wife will wake up..no biggie,they need to stretch out also.After that stop we are going to Savannah..920 miles total..next day to Disney only 280 miles :thumbsup2

..I Love the drive..the Freedom..no schedule(while on the road)The awesome thing is that i have wife that is 100% on board..I love the drive and she hates flying..perfect combo. :yay:

baldy6060 · May 19, 2015

LadyBeBop said:
Couple of things.

1) I've never had any problems with Georgia, and I've stayed overnight there too many times to count. Just stay in the relatively populated areas, and you should be fine. Also, I'd get beyond Atlanta (either coming or going) before stopping for the night.

2) What part of Indiana are you coming from? That will make a difference in when you should leave. The worst part for you would probably be the mountains just north of Chattanooga.

We are from north central IN. About an hour north of Indy.

Dis_Dreamin · May 19, 2015

baldy6060 said:
We drive from Indiana. We went down last October. Found out 1 year old gets carsick. yay. We are trying to plan our next trip where we can drive in flatter, straighter areas while he's awake and do the mountainous, curvy areas overnight. That doesn't mean he won't wake up & get sick (I think his first time was north of Atlanta around 2 or 3 am after we stopped for gas). So we'd probably leave around 5-6 pm. Any tips? Do any of you go a route that allows you to avoid Atlanta entirely (we've done the bypass and it doesn't help much so we just try to hit it around 1-5 am or on a Sunday morning). Also, any tips on how to drive all the way through Georgia without wanting to stab myself in the eyeball with a pencil around what seems to be hour 1,242 in that god-forsaken state? It never ends. Sorry to offend anyone but we've had nothing but bad times in that state. Last year we were packing up our car after an overnight stay in a shady hotel north of Atlanta. The manager kept watching us and Buford Pusser parked his police car right in front of ours for a long time and didn't move until after I paid and got in the car. After I started driving I noticed my gas gauge said it was nearly empty. I filled up not long before we stopped!

We are from Indiana as well. Which route are you planning on taking? I much prefer going through Cincinnati and riding 75 all the way rather than 65 through Nashville. I think the worst hill you'll go over will be around Jellico on 75 IIRC. We're planning our drive down currently. One of our preferred stops is just south of Macon in Byron GA. There's a comfort suites there that we have used on both of our drives, and will likely do the same this drive. That's about 10 hours from Indy, so tack on an additional hour for you. You can back up the time to miss traffic at each of the major metro areas of Cinci, Lexington, and Atlanta from there.

I've looked at routes to avoid Atlanta, but that puts you way out of the way and adds an hour or more to the drive. I've resigned myself to just planning to miss rush hour in ATL, and expect delays. I have done both the 285 bypass around ATL, and taken the HOV lanes through downtown. While the HOV lane is nice, it was just crazy driving. It went from a "leisurely" 65-75 up to a breakneck 90 to a dead stand still when we went through downtown. I'll always choose the bypass from now on.

amcnj · May 20, 2015

BC1836 said:
Local (Wawa) regular gas up to $2.55.

All the best.

Did your gas price stay up at this level? I was expecting ours to follow suit, but they have stayed at 2.38, where they have been for at least a week now.

baldy6060 · May 20, 2015

Dis_Dreamin said:
We are from Indiana as well. Which route are you planning on taking? I much prefer going through Cincinnati and riding 75 all the way rather than 65 through Nashville. I think the worst hill you'll go over will be around Jellico on 75 IIRC. We're planning our drive down currently. One of our preferred stops is just south of Macon in Byron GA. There's a comfort suites there that we have used on both of our drives, and will likely do the same this drive. That's about 10 hours from Indy, so tack on an additional hour for you. You can back up the time to miss traffic at each of the major metro areas of Cinci, Lexington, and Atlanta from there.

I've looked at routes to avoid Atlanta, but that puts you way out of the way and adds an hour or more to the drive. I've resigned myself to just planning to miss rush hour in ATL, and expect delays. I have done both the 285 bypass around ATL, and taken the HOV lanes through downtown. While the HOV lane is nice, it was just crazy driving. It went from a "leisurely" 65-75 up to a breakneck 90 to a dead stand still when we went through downtown. I'll always choose the bypass from now on.

I took 75 the first time but the last 4 times I took 65. I prefer 65 once I'm outside of Indiana but inside Indiana it's like a country road. Awful! I may switch it up next time but we'll see. I know what you mean about the HOV lane. I feel like I'm in a racing video game when I choose that option. I didn't have much better luck on the bypass rather than driving straight through Atlanta but I'll probably give it another try. I've asked trucker friends for tips and they all agree that Atlanta is a pain and Georgia is long and boring but they don't have any better options for me. Early Sunday morning going through Atlanta is a dream but I can rarely plan it out in a way to hit it just right. Thanks for the tips!

BC1836 · May 20, 2015

amcnj said:
Did your gas price stay up at this level? I was expecting ours to follow suit, but they have stayed at 2.38, where they have been for at least a week now.

Yup: price at $2.55 for the last week.

All the best. :thumbsup2

amcnj · May 21, 2015

BC1836 said:
Yup: price at $2.55 for the last week.

All the best.

I guess the station owners are trying to finance their next trip to WDW!

Liisa1965 · May 21, 2015

sharadoc said:
We are in Limerick, and we have found that the best time to leave is 9 am. We miss rush hour in Baltimore, DC and Richmond, then we're on the easy 95 with no more rush hour issues until Jacksonville.

This implies a 2 day trip. We've left at 4 am and have run into more traffic and constructions issues in the "overnight" shift than we have during the day. Our worst delay in DC was at 5:30 am. So we like to leave at 9, drive until 10 pm (with a meal stop), then get up and leave the next day at 9 am and get to WDW by 3 check-in. Perfect schedule for us, no lost sleep, rested and ready to go when we arrive!

Sharadoc, we're not far from you, in Montgomery County, and we like to leave around the same time, maybe a little earlier. Going by 95, where do you usually end up stopping for the night? We took the inland route and only got as far as Orangeburg, SC, so we're probably going to try 95 next time.

BC1836 · May 21, 2015

How does one utilize 417 (instead of I-4) to get to any of the hotels on Hotel Plaza Blvd? [We always stay at one upon our arrival in Lake Buena Vista. We walk to DTD, and drive to our WDW resort the next morning.]

All the best. :thumbsup2

cranbiz · May 21, 2015

Take 417 to SR536 World Center DR and take that to Buena Vista Drive. Head to DTD and there you are.

OR

Take 417 to SR536, turn onto SR535 (Apopka Vineland Rd) and follow that north until you pass under I4. Hotel Plaza Blvd on the left and is across from the Goodings Plaza.

BC1836 · May 21, 2015

cranbiz said:
Take 417 to SR536 World Center DR and take that to Buena Vista Drive. Head to DTD and there you are.

OR

Take 417 to SR536, turn onto SR535 (Apopka Vineland Rd) and follow that north until you pass under I4. Hotel Plaza Blvd on the left and is across from the Goodings Plaza.

Thanks, cranbiz. We are aware of the "long way" around via Epcot Center Drive to Buena Vista Drive but were concerned about the traffic approaching the Buena Vista Drive-Hotel Plaza Blvd. intersection. Of course, it's much worse turning left onto Hotel Plaza Blvd via Apopka, especially weekend evenings.

Depending on the hour of our next arrival in June (drive #37 to WDW since 2002), we'll make a choice between the exit #68 route off of I-4 or the aforementioned "long route."

The construction around DTD is brutal; hopefully the new pedestrian bridge at Buena Vista Drive and Hotel Plaza Blvd. will soon be working (the traffic lights should be readjusted to compensate for the reduction in pedestrian traffic crossing the intersection).

All the best! :thumbsup2

cranbiz · May 22, 2015

If using I4, you can also get off at Sand Lake Rd, go right and take Sand Lake Rdto Apopka-Vineland Rd and then head south. That now gives you a right turn onto Hotel Plaza Blvd. It's a good option if I4 is backed up in the Sand Lake Rd area.

BC1836 · May 22, 2015

cranbiz said:
If using I4, you can also get off at Sand Lake Rd, go right and take Sand Lake Rdto Apopka-Vineland Rd and then head south. That now gives you a right turn onto Hotel Plaza Blvd. It's a good option if I4 is backed up in the Sand Lake Rd area.

We just checked out your info on Google maps and will consider it as a possible route. Thanks!

[Would the Universal crowd, though, favor that route upon exiting their park?]

All the best! :thumbsup2

"For 2,000+ Mile Round-Trip Drivers Only!" (Part V)

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