Driving home from wdw, any places of interest to stay

[cottontail]

Hi:

For all those people who drive, is there any place or town of interest about 5 to 8 hours out of wdw towards ontario to spend the night and look around, or shop. We usually do ormond beach but want to go a bit further next time.

Thanks,

Deb.

 

[DSNY FN]

Try the Valdosta area maybe not as far as you would like but they do have a bunch of outlet stores there.

 

[juniorbugman]

We have stopped near Atlanta and toured the Coca Cola facility and the Atlanta underground shopping complex.

Stay outside of Atlanta though hotel prices are high in the downtown area.

 

[pkitty]

Hey... Just got back and left orlando late at about 5 PM. Now thats very late and would never recomend leaving that late, unless your buying a DVC like we did. YIPPEE... we're so exited about that.

We drove on and stopped north of Atlanta. exit 172 on the I75. Fairfield Inn. very new and clean. was 69 bucks with my goverment discount. we wanted to get north of Atlanta to avoid the rush hour traffic the next morning and also put us that much closer to home. I think the drive from orlando to exit 172 is about 8 hours. What is funny about this is that we arrived at this exit and realized it was the same exit we took off last year. we ended up staying at the same place. Anyways thats not a bad place to stop but if you can put yourself even closer to home do it and just drop into a place thats clean and Im sure you wont have difficulty getting a room. going down though we booked a Best Western in Macon. it was great too. Bottom line is to avoid that rush hours in Atlanta comming and going. and then its not so bad. good luck.

 

[pumpkinboy]

Originally posted by juniorbugman
We have stopped near Atlanta and toured the Coca Cola facility and the Atlanta underground shopping complex...

The Coke Museum is a Hoot! They are nearly as indoctrinated as Disney CMs, if you know what I mean , and it is a culture unto itself. But great fun; plsu if you missed any of the flavours in the Epcot Igloo, you can taste 'em there. The underground shopping thing did nothing for me, but lots of folks like it. CNN headquarters is also right there if that holds any interest for you. Of course a drive thru the South would not be complete without Soul Food; I recommend Fat Matt's Rib Shack near the botanic gardens (we liked that too) in central Atlanta, for Blues music and great food, fairly inexpensive too. Outside Atlanta is also Stone Mountain with some cool rock carvings, visible from some distance; I guess that would be easier if you were driving around the city.

For an interesting place to stop on the way back to Ontario, Atlanta would be high on my list.

 

[cottontail]

Hi Everyone:

Thanks for all your suggestions.

I was thinking about savannah georgia either on the way there or on the way back. We could go 77/79 there and 75 back.

We have done the drive 5 times since l990, my son just dosen't think he can stand the drive again and is thinking of flying, I am terrified to fly that is why we drive. So I said why don't you fly one way and drive back with the rest of us.

Deb.

 

[pumpkinboy]

Savannah GA and Charleston SC should both be interesting and really pretty (tho the latter a bit out of your way). I was thinking you were looking for a bit more progress a long the way home.
Hey, you could always rent some DVC points and have a night at the glorious Disney Hilton Head Island resort! HHI is an hour out of Savannah, plus you get one more dose of the Disney "magic" before the rest of your drive home. To look at it ahead of time, visit the website for HHI. The rack rate prices are up there, but renting from a DVC member makes it a good deal.

Just a thought.

 

[KIRSTIN'S MOMMY]

I live here in Savannah, and there are lots of things to do here if you like historic kinds of things. Plenty of historic houses, Civil War forts, Juliet Gordon Lowe's birthplace (she started the Girl Scouts here), etc. We also have River Street, which is a lot of fun. We also have a beach here, about 30 minutes from the historic district. Will it be a day trip, or will you stay a while? Let me know if I can help!

 

[Yzma and Kronk]

I'm here north of ATL, if anyone needs further info, I'd be glad to help. Since we moved here 2 1/2 yrs ago, we've been to The World of Coke 5 times! It is the best place to take visitors from home, it's fun, interesting and you can drink all you want at the end.
We also just returned last weekend from Disney's HHI Resort.
It's great! However, you'd need at least 2 or 3 days - overnight would feel as if you didn't get any time there. We had a great time and would highly recommend it.
There is also the Tanger Outlets on I-75 about 1 hour south of ATL. That would be a good stop if you just want an overnight. Just don't forget about the rush hour traffic - but again if you use the HOV, drive with the flow of traffic, stay on I-75 right through the city and stay in your lane you shouldn't have any problem - even at rushhour!
Happy motoring!

 

[cottontail]

Hi: Depending which way we go the world of coke looks good, as well the tanger outlets.

Also if we go the other way, we were thinking of Savannah, or HiltonHead.

Yazma: A question for the world of coke, is the area safe to walk around in.

Kirstens Mommy: Someone once told me to be very careful in Savannah, are there areas that we should watch out for, as for a motel would we want to be on the I 95 or in the historic district.

Just wondering?

Deb.

 

[KIRSTIN'S MOMMY]

The hotels in the historic district are very nice, just be careful walking around downtown at night. It's very well lit, and there are usually plenty of people around, but just as with anywhere else, you never know, so it's better to be alert and aware of your surroundings. The hotels on I-95 are more "budget" type places, and depending on traffic, it could take a while to get to downtown in order to see anything. During the summer, River Street is always jumping, as is City Market. Lots of live music and dancing. There are stages on River Street, and in City Market there are a few clubs, as well as street musicians. As for the forts and things like that, they close pretty early in the day and aren't located in the historic district, so I would feel very safe there. Let me know if you have any more questions!

 

[Yzma and Kronk]

Cottontail - Hi!

Yes, it's OK near the World of Coke. It's right by Underground Atlanta.

If you get off 75 and travel on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive there is a parking lot attached to WofC. I always park there.

check www.woccatlanta.com for hours (I believe they close at 5pm)

Have a great trip.