Anyone from Georgia?

[Sugar Jones]

We are driving to Disney in two weeks. It is a 22 hour drive

We plan on taking two days to drive. The first day we are going to "try" to go about 14 hours (with stops) so that puts us HOPEFULLY into Georgia.

The towns right off I-75 I've been looking at are:

Dalton
Cartersville
Kennesaw

Are any of these towns more "preferrable" than the others? I just want to make sure we stop in a nice safe place.

 

[monicastanner]

I live in Georgia, about 35 minutes from Kennesaw and Cartersville. About an hour or so from Dalton. Any of these 3 areas you would be totally safe. I'd feel good about any of them.

Dalton has outlets and a Cracker barrel
Kennesaw has a mall, a small version of our Varsity
Cartersville is just a nice medium-ish size down a beautiful park and close to Red Top Mountain and the Lake

Are you purely stopping to sleep in a bed or are you going to rest and have a few hours?

Feel free to email me: monicastanner@aol.com

We'll be headed home about the time I think you're headed down, the 25th. We leave in 9 days and are staying 2 weeks Thankfully it's only about 8 or 9 hours and I even complain about that.

 

[amyren]

I live in Kennesaw. There are several nice hotels at the Barrett Parkway exit off of I-75. If you are staying in the area on a week night be prepared for morning traffic as you continue south through Atlanta. It can be pretty miserable. DH and I usually leave for WDW at about 5 - 5:30 am to get ahead of the traffic and we end up in Orlando just after lunch!

 

[Sugar Jones]

Oh that is so good to hear!!! I've got Best Western giftcards, but I would prefer to stay at a Fairfield Inn. The Best Western in Kennesaw got good reviews on Tripadvisor so our goal is to get to it.

We are going to be in Georgia (cross your fingers we make it that far the first day ) on Sat. Sept. 18th.

The stop over is pretty much to eat and sleep, especially for dh since he's doing all the driving. I will probably take the kids swimming in the pool, but other than that, no site seeing or shopping I wish we had more time to enjoy our drive down, but we don't have enough time.

We hope to up and on the road by 7:00am on Sunday morning. Do you think we should plan on heading out sooner to avoid traffic?

 

[TheRatPack]

Dalton has some hotels right off the exit, as does Ringgold. Ringgold is only 30 minutes or so from Dalton and it'll be on your way as well. Cartersville is nice and still far enough out of Atlanta that you'll be able to get on the freeway the next morning without hassle. Since you're going during the weekend Kennesaw would be safe as well....but on a weeknight I wouldn't try it LOL unless you're prepared to get up really really early to get past the traffic. Those entrance ramps are murder during rush hour.

 

[NJtoATL]

Also live here in Georgia. Any one of those towns will be find. Happy driving.

 

[Pixie Princess]

I live on off I-85, but am a familiar with the towns the OP mentioned and agree with other posters; any would be fine.

In south GA I-75 seems to be in a constant state of contruction. You may want to check out the state's DOT website closer to your trip to see what is scheduled for when you'll be traveling. In my experience, the construction doesn't generally hold you up much, but it is nice to be prepared.

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

Well, I grew up in Dalton, went to college in Kennesaw, and bought our first house right outside of Cartersville. IMHO, Kennesaw is probably the best place to stop. Probably the "nicest" of the towns. We liked it so much and hated the Cartersville area so much that we now live very close to Kennesaw. In Kennesaw, you have a choice of nice hotels by the mall (Barrett Pkwy exit, #369) and a couple of hotels by the college (Chastain Rd. exit, #371). Enjoy your stop in our "neck of the woods!"

 

[amyren]

Oh that is so good to hear!!! I've got Best Western giftcards, but I would prefer to stay at a Fairfield Inn. The Best Western in Kennesaw got good reviews on Tripadvisor so our goal is to get to it.

We are going to be in Georgia (cross your fingers we make it that far the first day ) on Sat. Sept. 18th.

The stop over is pretty much to eat and sleep, especially for dh since he's doing all the driving. I will probably take the kids swimming in the pool, but other than that, no site seeing or shopping I wish we had more time to enjoy our drive down, but we don't have enough time.

We hope to up and on the road by 7:00am on Sunday morning. Do you think we should plan on heading out sooner to avoid traffic?

7am on a Sunday is fine. There shouldn't be anyone on the road. We will actually be headed down on the 18th! How funny. We are doing a DCL cruise that leaves on the 19th then 3 nights at WDW.
Enjoy Kennesaw.

 

[newtodcl]

Kennesaw will have more restaurants nearby that will be open early on a Sunday (well, except Chick-fil-A) if you do not have breakfast included. There is also a Costco on barrett pkwy for cheaper gas if you happen to be a member.

 

[travelfanatic]

7am on a Sunday is fine. There shouldn't be anyone on the road. We will actually be headed down on the 18th! How funny. We are doing a DCL cruise that leaves on the 19th then 3 nights at WDW.
Enjoy Kennesaw.

Amy we live in Acworth & I think we will be on the same cruise the 19th?? How funny! We are heading down on the 18th. Maybe we will see you on the cruise. We are also staying in WDW for 3 nights after the cruise & going to MNSSHP on the 23rd, when we get off the ship. Getting very excited! We leave 2 weeks from today!!!

 

[AnnMarBill]

Hello Sugar Jones!
I live in Cartersville. There are hotels here and a lot of fast food joints. You will be approximately 8 hours from WDW. Kennesaw has a mall right off the interstate (Town Center) which has a Disney store on the second floor! There are a lot of great places to eat around the mall as well! PLEASE, PLEASE be sure to come on a Saturday or Sunday because south bound I-75 Monday - Friday is a parking lot (unless you can get up and out well before 6am!) All the people trying to get into Atlanta makes for interesting travel until about 9:30 am. Hope this helps and have a great trip!

 

[Belle1962]

Another Kennesaw/Acworth resident here. The Best Western in Kennesaw is literally a 45 second walk to a Cracker Barrel----(parking lot to parking lot). It is also a direct shot to the mall (2 minutes by car). What ages are your kids?

There is a Monkey Joe's about 6 minutes from the hotel and a Chuck E Chesse about the same time/distance. They might enjoy the opporunity to run and play. There is also a free play area at the mall--upper level near JC Penny (and the Disney Store is upper level near the JC Penny wing---how cool!!!)

The BW is an older property and assuming it hasn't changed ownership in the past few years, run by decent people. They used to let us meet for our vanpool there (leaving the van 24/7 and our cars during working hours-before the park n ride lot was built) and I know they took in many Hurricane Katrina refugees.

 

[amyren]

Amy we live in Acworth & I think we will be on the same cruise the 19th?? How funny! We are heading down on the 18th. Maybe we will see you on the cruise. We are also staying in WDW for 3 nights after the cruise & going to MNSSHP on the 23rd, when we get off the ship. Getting very excited! We leave 2 weeks from today!!!

It looks like we've planned the exact same vacation We are leaving on the 18th and staying one night at the port before the cruise. After the cruise we are headed to WDW for 3 nights. We are also doing MNSSHP on the 23rd!!! Where are you guys staying at WDW? I talked DH into GF for 3 nights! I'm so excited.

 

[Sugar Jones]

Another Kennesaw/Acworth resident here. The Best Western in Kennesaw is literally a 45 second walk to a Cracker Barrel----(parking lot to parking lot). It is also a direct shot to the mall (2 minutes by car). What ages are your kids?

There is a Monkey Joe's about 6 minutes from the hotel and a Chuck E Chesse about the same time/distance. They might enjoy the opporunity to run and play. There is also a free play area at the mall--upper level near JC Penny (and the Disney Store is upper level near the JC Penny wing---how cool!!!)

The BW is an older property and assuming it hasn't changed ownership in the past few years, run by decent people. They used to let us meet for our vanpool there (leaving the van 24/7 and our cars during working hours-before the park n ride lot was built) and I know they took in many Hurricane Katrina refugees.

Thanks so much for all the information you guys, I appreciate it so much!!!

The Chucky Cheese might be a great idea to let the kids run around and blow off steam after a along car ride! Although I've heard awesome things about Cracker Barrel. We don't have Cracker Barrel or Chick fillet (sp?) in Canada so it would be awesome to try them out!

I actually would be interested in going to the Disney store at the mall as well. The kids each have $90.00 U.S. cash given to them as gifts for the trip that I would like to change into a gift cards for them. Much easier than trying to remember who has how much money left, etc... and then adding in the confusion of your money -it's all the same colour!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

I actually would be interested in going to the Disney store at the mall as well. The kids each have $90.00 U.S. cash given to them as gifts for the trip that I would like to change into a gift cards for them. Much easier than trying to remember who has how much money left, etc... and then adding in the confusion of your money -it's all the same colour!

The mall has a pretty good food court (with a Chick-fil-a...you MUST try it!), and also a Ruby Tuesday's inside the mall. There are several restaurants in a ring around the mall, as well. The mall has the soft play area and a train for kids, though I don't know how old yours are. You can do all you need to do right in the mall, maybe!

 

[travelfanatic]

It looks like we've planned the exact same vacation We are leaving on the 18th and staying one night at the port before the cruise. After the cruise we are headed to WDW for 3 nights. We are also doing MNSSHP on the 23rd!!! Where are you guys staying at WDW? I talked DH into GF for 3 nights! I'm so excited.

We are staying at the Dolphin after the cruise. We are very excited as we have always wanted to try it out. We stayed at Boardwalk on our last trip & love the access to Epcot. Next year we will stay at the Contemporary because we want to try staying at a monorail resort. We are driving down to Jacksonville on the 18th & staying the night then heading to the port the next morning. I have to work that saturday otherwise we would go straight down. That is too funny that you are doing the Halloween party on the 23rd too! We are in cabin 2607 on the cruise. I have a 4 year old & an 11 yr old. Both boys. Hopefully we can meet sounds like we have a lot in common!

 

[hoosiergirl7]

I currently live in the Kennesaw/Acworth area as well and the Chastain Road exit and Barrett Parkway exit have lots of hotels right there. Chastain is one exit north of Barrett. We stayed in a hotel off of Barrett Parkway in the mall area when we were looking for a house to rent. There are a ton of restaurants in that area. Chick-fil-A is a fast food restaurant but very yummy. The one in that area also have a play area for the kids to blow off some steam. If you are coming in on a Saturday you will want to avoid Chuck E Cheese like the plague. I can guarantee you it will be packed with birthday parties.

As for Sunday traffic you should be fine leaving at 7 am. If you encounter any traffic it will be church traffic and although the Atlanta Falcons have a home game that day, I doubt many people will arrive for tailgating much before 9 am and the majority of the game traffic should be around 11ish.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[Bearshouse]

Has anyone eaten at the Big Pie in the Sky?? We will be that way in December trying to decide if it is as good as the travel channel says.

Thanks

Bearshouse

 

[Figment1983]

I would say Kennesaw would be your best bet, like the others have said, lots of hotels and restaurants. I live in Acworth which is between Kennesaw and Cartersville. I work in Kennesaw right off Chastain, and there are plenty of places to stay and eat either on Chastain or Barrett Pkwy. We will be on the same cruise as well. We are heading down Friday for 6 nights in Disney (2 at AKL, 4 at BLT) before the cruise.