1/2 way from Memphis?

[SnowWhite12]

This is the first time to drive, and I dread it already. But does anyone know the half-way point from Memphis to WDW, and a good place to stop there and spend the night? We'll only be able to drive about 7 hours first day b/c of other issues.

 

[Dis_Dreamin]

Looks like Dothan Alabama would be about your limit on the drive. There are plenty of name brand hotels along the insterstate there. If you want to cut it a little shorter, you could stop in Montgomery Alabama instead.

As for specific spots, I can't really help you there. I would personally stick with hotel chains I know and trust (i.e. Holiday Inn Express, Comfort Inns & Suites, etc).

If you go to maps.google.com and center your map on those areas and type Hotels in the search bar, hotels in the area will be displayed on the map for you to see where they are, and get more information by clicking on them.

 

[Stumpy]

Depends on the route you go. Dothan is probably the best mid-way point if you're going through Alabama and avoiding Georgia. When we drove from Memphis (former Memphis and proud U of M alum), we took the route through Atlanta. If you do this, I would say that your best midway point might be Macon, GA. As I recall, Macon looked like a decent area as we drove past and you'd likely find a decent chain hotel near the interstate.

We chose the route through Atlanta because it is all interstate from Birmingham on in and having driven through southern Alabama many times, the route from Birmingham down can be slow at times. Plus, at the time there were some major detours (but this was years ago, I'm sure the roadwork is done now) and we drove straight through at night, so I felt more comfortable on the interstates.

If you use Google maps and enter Memphis to Orlando you'll notice the route through Dothan (US78-E) is about 30 miles shorter than the route through Atlanta (US78E and I75S), but time-wise it's minimal because of the faster speeds you can travel going through Atlanta.

All in all, the drive wasn't bad. I think it took us 14 hours total, but at one point we had to pull to a rest stop and sleep.

 

[SnowWhite12]

Anybody have any other suggestions? We aren't going through Dothan or Atlanta. We are using the Expedia directions. Will definitely be avoiding Atlanta.

 

[tigerfanrob]

I was looking at the expedia directions, and it looks like alot of 2 lane highway with alot of exiting/entering. Having made the drive several times, I would agree with the poster above and opt for the Atlanta route. It takes us right at 12 hours, but we drive through the night. Macon looks like it would be a perfect resting point after 7 hours. The advantages are that it is all major interstates all the way down, no 2 lane highways. While Atlanta traffic can be bad, once you are out of it it is clear sailing and easy directions. It really is quite an easy drive going that way.