Driving from Houston to Orlando..advice needed please!

[Mama Mouse]

We'll be leaving on May 18 to make the drive from Mid Missouri. Mapquest has it at a little less than 18 hours but I'm guessing it might take us a little longer once we make stops from time to time. Going to try to get in a good 12-14 hours before we stop for the night and take the last stretch on the 19th. We'll have six disney days and a Universal day and then we'll drive to the coast and spend a day at the beach before heading back home.

 

[Disnewbie76]

yayy where are you staying?? we did the longer days last time when we were driving but the money we are saving on the less days boarding the dogs this year let us buy the flights. (3 big dogs and one cat $115 a night!!) we honestly dont have any trustworthy neighbors to take care of them so we feel much safer just boarding them. May is a lovely time of year to go. This is when we always go every year when its not so busy and not too hot. I hope you have a wonderful vacation. My 4yr old has flown before when he was 18 months old but cant remember what it was like so he will be super exicited, all he can talk about is how he wants to fly on a plane in the sky. We will tell him nearer the time as you know what he will be like...we will never hear the end of it!!!

Oh wow...I misread your earlier post. I thought you were going this year again in march. . We'll be there from march 6th to the 16th. My DW booked a 3 bedroom condo at Windsor palms. It'll be our first time staying there, but I always read good things about that place here on the boards so we will see. We have exactly 2 weeks from today until we leave, and it's still to far away!

 

[jrsharp21]

Did a Google search for driving from Houston to WDW and this thread popped up. A great thread of info. We are looking at driving to WDW next year for Spring Break (early March) and this thread was exactly what I was looking for. Thanks to all for the info. Anyone have any recent or new info or tips?

 

[::danielle::]

I recently spent some time planning our drive from Houston to Orlando. We're flying now but I thought I would share some of my research.

If you want to spread the trip out into manageable chunks, here are some suggestions:

~~~~
Houston to Baton Rouge - 4 hours (get a jump start the night before)

Baton Rouge to Tallahassee - 6.5 hours
or
Baton Rouge to Gainesville - 8.5 hours

Tallahassee to Disney - 4 hours
or
Gainesville to Disney - 2 hours

~~~~

If you want to do the trip in 2 days with time to stop and swim at the hotel pool or see the local sights at night, you can do this:

Houston to Ft. Walton Beach - 8.5 hours

Ft. Walton Beach to Orlando - 6.5 hours

~~~~

There are rest areas along I-10 if you need to stretch your legs or use the restroom:

-Mississippi State area in Hancock, MS
-Alabama Grand Bay (East Bound, may be closed)
-Baldwin County (West Bound)
-Florida Welcome Center at mile marker 4
-Santa Rosa, FL Rest Area at mile marker 29 (has a walking trail)
-Okaloosa, FL Rest Area at mile marker 60 (has a walking trail)


Please note that all drive times are approximate and do not include stops. I have not personally driven this route to know if this information is accurate.

Hope this is helpful!

 

[jrsharp21]

Thanks Danielle. Very helpful info! We are not sure if we are going to split up the drive or try to drive straight through. A co-worker of mine drove a few weeks ago and left around 5pm and got to WDW the next day around 9am. We are looking at leaving around the same time. I guess it all depends on how tired I get driving. I am hoping the excitement will give me an extra energy boost and keep me rolling. When we moved to Houston from California I drove out and did about 16 hours straight.

 

[ValiantHeart]

Howdy neighbor!

I'm about 2 1/2 hours south of Houston, and we drove it last summer and also drove it about two weeks ago to drop me off for my DCP!

Time one: We got stuck outside of Baton Rouge for what felt like forever, and we ended up stopping about three or so hours from Orlando at like 2 AM.

Time two: We were at the exact same spot (actually stopped at the same hotel!) about 10 PM. The drive is possible in one day, but only if you don't get hung up on I-10 through Baton Rouge!

Good luck and I hope this helped!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

From I-10 Eastbound get off at Exit 296, which is I-75. Go South to Exit 328 which is the Turnpike. Continue South to Exit 267 which is the Western Expressway. Go South to Exit 8, which is Western Way. Follow the signs to Disney World and you will (in less than a mile after exiting) go through The Gate. Western Way ends at Buena Vista Drive at a traffic light at a "T" intersection.

For AK, AKL, All Stars Resorts or BB turn right. For everything else turn left..

 

[jrsharp21]

Howdy neighbor!

I'm about 2 1/2 hours south of Houston, and we drove it last summer and also drove it about two weeks ago to drop me off for my DCP!

Time one: We got stuck outside of Baton Rouge for what felt like forever, and we ended up stopping about three or so hours from Orlando at like 2 AM.

Time two: We were at the exact same spot (actually stopped at the same hotel!) about 10 PM. The drive is possible in one day, but only if you don't get hung up on I-10 through Baton Rouge!

Good luck and I hope this helped!

Did you hit Baton Rouge at rush hour? We are thinking about leaving the Houston area around 4pm. Hoping that by the time we get to Baton Rouge th rush hour traffic will be gone.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

I live in the Baton Rouge area. If the traffic is awful, it can foul up your plans, no question about it and no way around it. A bridge on I 12 was recently completed that has significantly helped with bad traffic for the Disney bound.

However, my best advice is to get through BTR at non-rush hours. Our traffic is bad and not likely to get better. There was talk of a loop, but all the various local governments and residents squabbled so much over where it would be located that the matter was dropped.

 

[jrsharp21]

I live in the Baton Rouge area. If the traffic is awful, it can foul up your plans, no question about it and no way around it. A bridge on I 12 was recently completed that has significantly helped with bad traffic for the Disney bound.

However, my best advice is to get through BTR at non-rush hours. Our traffic is bad and not likely to get better. There was talk of a loop, but all the various local governments and residents squabbled so much over where it would be located that the matter was dropped.

How is the traffic around 10pm through Baton Rouge?

 

[snarlingcoyote]

How is the traffic around 10pm through Baton Rouge?

Dead. You can speed through easily.

 

[purplekicks]

I just did this trip Monday from Silsbee. I had to catch a flight in Orlando Tuesday morning.

I left at 1pm and got to Baton Rouge right at the 4pm rush hour. It went slow in the beginning because of some bad rain until I passed Lafayette. Rest of the trip went smoothly outside of some stops for diaper changes.

I stopped in Lake City for the night. I got there about 11:30pm. Got up about 4 to finish the trip and was at the airport at 6:45am for my 9:50am flight. I could have slept longer.

 

[jrsharp21]

I just did this trip Monday from Silsbee. I had to catch a flight in Orlando Tuesday morning.

I left at 1pm and got to Baton Rouge right at the 4pm rush hour. It went slow in the beginning because of some bad rain until I passed Lafayette. Rest of the trip went smoothly outside of some stops for diaper changes.

I stopped in Lake City for the night. I got there about 11:30pm. Got up about 4 to finish the trip and was at the airport at 6:45am for my 9:50am flight. I could have slept longer.

That looks like you made good time from TX to Lake City. Especially since you lose an hour crossing time zones. Is the estimate that Mapquest provides an estimate on the longer side? Seems like most people, if they don't hit the big traffic jams, make the drive in an hour or two shorter than Mapquest shows.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

On the matter of hotels, I just thought I'd toss this in. We drive in from about 40 min. north of BTR and have 2 different "paths." If I work the day we start out, I go in early at 6ish and leave at 2ish, then we drive to somewhere near Live Oak in Florida, get up really early and finish the drive. We can usually do everything we want to do at HS the afternoon of the second day. (We go during low seasons, though.)

If I am taking that day off, we get up, put the dogs and any geriatric/special health needs cats into boarding (the others get a pet sitter every other day), and drive to Ocala. We get up at o'dark thirty on the second day and can make rope drop at our park of choice, or we get up at a sensible hour and can do AK or HS and meander DTD for a while that day.

Now, the Ocala thing is also part thriftiness. If you have points on the Marriott, Holiday Inn or Hilton clubs, you can get a really nice room in Ocala for only a few points. (For example, there are two nice Marriotts in Ocala that are level 2 hotels.) Between DH and I, we usually do have those points. Any closer in and you burn through a lot of points and it makes more sense to pay cash instead. (The same level of hotel at a Marriott any closer in is about a level 4 - so double the points, but it is the same $ amount to pay cash.)

On our return home on our last day we do a long day at the park, then we drive to Ocala (again on points) and crash, then get up at our leisure and drive home.

Bookending is a good money saver; we bought DVC last spring, so now it's a good way to get more room for our points.

 

[jrsharp21]

About how many tolls are there from Houston to WDW?

 

[snarlingcoyote]

About how many tolls are there from Houston to WDW?

It depends on how you go, but you can get to WDW from Houston, if you choose, for 0 tolls.

 

[jrsharp21]

It depends on how you go, but you can get to WDW from Houston, if you choose, for 0 tolls.

I would be going the simplest route. Straight over and down. Can't think of the highways right now.

 

[jrsharp21]

Anyone make the drive lately?

 

[papap]

We had planned to drive pickup to save on fuel, but decided to drive motorhome. Will be leaving SW Louisiana around noon. Wife wants to eat at The Shed(BBQ place on TV) for supper. Then I'll drive till tired and most likely just pull in a rest area or truckstop. Then just sleep a few hours in motorhome. 29 day till our trip begins. This works well for us. The grandkids can nap while we travel.

 

[Hootch]

at The Shed but have had their competition barbecue a few times. I'm on a team that does Memphis in May each year. Several years in a row, we were next to The Shed team. They are consistently in the top 5 (better than our finish) in whole hog and they won it this past May.

Competition barbecue is different than restaurant barbecue, but it would seem a good choice.