For 2,000+ Mile Round-Trip Drivers Only! (III)

[Chuckles21]

Got back last night from our first trip ever to WDW and obviously our first drive there as well. We were definitely nuts on how we did it, but our schedule dictated things.

Left Sunday 10/23 afternoon on at 5:00pm from Fond du Lac, WI (1 hour north of Milwaukee) would have left earlier if not for my wife having to work most of the day. The only saving grace for leaving at this time was we hit all major cities pretty much at night so no real traffic issues. Drove straight through to about Chattanooga before having to take a quick 1 hour nap in a parking lot to let my eyes rest. Then back on the road and to our only delay of the trip outside of Atlanta before the bypass splits off. Once past this we set the cruise again and never had anymore delays. Arrived at WDW around 3:00pm on Monday the 24th.

One way mileage was 1334 miles and we made it in 21 hours (taking out the time change). Not to bad for having 1 hours bad rest in 36 total hours. We did stop for the night on the way home as we were not as rushed and this made the trip a lot easier.

 

[dvczerfs]

Got back last night from our first trip ever to WDW and obviously our first drive there as well. We were definitely nuts on how we did it, but our schedule dictated things.

Left Sunday 10/23 afternoon on at 5:00pm from Fond du Lac, WI (1 hour north of Milwaukee) would have left earlier if not for my wife having to work most of the day. The only saving grace for leaving at this time was we hit all major cities pretty much at night so no real traffic issues. Drove straight through to about Chattanooga before having to take a quick 1 hour nap in a parking lot to let my eyes rest. Then back on the road and to our only delay of the trip outside of Atlanta before the bypass splits off. Once past this we set the cruise again and never had anymore delays. Arrived at WDW around 3:00pm on Monday the 24th.

One way mileage was 1334 miles and we made it in 21 hours (taking out the time change). Not to bad for having 1 hours bad rest in 36 total hours. We did stop for the night on the way home as we were not as rushed and this made the trip a lot easier.

glad you had a nice drive.

 

[sticker231]

We got back last night. It was 72 leaving Orlando, with a high of 75 in Jacksonville. Cracked below the 40's right at King's Dominion and kept creeping down. We hit the snow in Maryland. Final temperature on the car thermometer was 31. Took about 15.5 hours with the weather.

Another wonderful trip in the books. Thinking May for the next adventure. Or maybe an adults only trip in February.

Safe travels to all my fellow 2k plus trippers!

 

[dvczerfs]

We got back last night. It was 72 leaving Orlando, with a high of 75 in Jacksonville. Cracked below the 40's right at King's Dominion and kept creeping down. We hit the snow in Maryland. Final temperature on the car thermometer was 31. Took about 15.5 hours with the weather.

Another wonderful trip in the books. Thinking May for the next adventure. Or maybe an adults only trip in February.

Safe travels to all my fellow 2k plus trippers!

welcome home.

 

[BC1836]

Greetings from Emporia, VA (which is not to be confused with Lake Buena Vista, FL). Twelve hours from the Boardwalk to here, our stopover for the night. No traffic problems at all during our 735-mile drive.

Our home temp is reportedly 28-degrees right now; a few days ago it was 82-degrees at EPCOT!

Full report upon on our safe arrival home tomorrow afternoon.

All the best.

 

[WI_DisneyFan]

Got back last night from our first trip ever to WDW and obviously our first drive there as well. We were definitely nuts on how we did it, but our schedule dictated things.

Left Sunday 10/23 afternoon on at 5:00pm from Fond du Lac, WI (1 hour north of Milwaukee) would have left earlier if not for my wife having to work most of the day. The only saving grace for leaving at this time was we hit all major cities pretty much at night so no real traffic issues. Drove straight through to about Chattanooga before having to take a quick 1 hour nap in a parking lot to let my eyes rest. Then back on the road and to our only delay of the trip outside of Atlanta before the bypass splits off. Once past this we set the cruise again and never had anymore delays. Arrived at WDW around 3:00pm on Monday the 24th.

One way mileage was 1334 miles and we made it in 21 hours (taking out the time change). Not to bad for having 1 hours bad rest in 36 total hours. We did stop for the night on the way home as we were not as rushed and this made the trip a lot easier.

Thanks for this update! I live in the Sheboygan area, and we are planning our first drive next September. (We just booked our room last week, so we are officially going!) I've been planning on about 20 hours on the road, so seeing your 21 hours gives me a good indication that I'm not far off, considering your 1 hour "power nap". We will, however, be stopping for the night somewhere south of Atlanta because i don't think I could handle 20 hours on the road with just a quick nap. Could you tell me what route you took? Right now I am leaning heavily towards taking I-57 all the way down through Illinois and hooking up with I-24 just north of the Illinois/Kentucky Border. But all of the online mapping tools, as well as my GPS, tell me to take I-65 through Indiana and Kentucky, which then turns into I-24 around Nashville. Once I hit Nashville, both routes end the same, with me getting on I-75 at the Tennessee/Georgia border. The I-65 route is what other people I've spoken to have taken as well, so I'm just curious to hear what route you took. Thanks again!

 

[sharadoc]

i hope you were able to make your night out in ac!!!

Yes we did! By the time we got to Conshohocken, the snow was pretty much gone. Best part is the parents took my kids overnight, so we could enjoy ourselves, take our time and be alone for the first time in years!!

Had a great time - saw Duran Duran who were awesome!!!

 

[dvczerfs]

Yes we did! By the time we got to Conshohocken, the snow was pretty much gone. Best part is the parents took my kids overnight, so we could enjoy ourselves, take our time and be alone for the first time in years!!

Had a great time - saw Duran Duran who were awesome!!!

thats great!!! i had a feeling you may have been ok with the snow. we got 8 inches. alot of trees and power lines are down. we got lucky, our power goes out in the rain and for some reason, our stayed on this time. tammy and i seen 38 special in epcot a few weeks ago. glad you guys had a good time!!!! i forgot to tell you, tammy got the job!!! now its just to train someone for her job and for her to learn her new job. she has to go into nyc a few times in the next two weeks. its all in h.r. , working for the same person so im sure she will be fine.

 

[BC1836]

We're back home! Drive #24 complete.

What's with this cold weather? And the poor folks in northern NJ have no power (and that includes fwd facing tentacles). Damn.

Here's our travel record from WDW to home (our departure details from home to WDW are found on reply #110):

Sunday

8:45 a.m. left Boardwalk
11:57 a.m. GA
1:35 p.m. SC
4:38 p.m. NC
7:16 p.m. VA
8:48 p.m. checked in at Peterburg, VA hotel

Monday

9:16 a.m. left Petersburg, VA hotel
11:09 a.m. stop and go near mm #173 in northern VA. Only lasted a mile.
11:18 a.m. MD
1:03 p.m. DE
1:19 p.m. NJ
2:50 p.m. home (1,072 miles from WDW to home) [73 miles driven in WDW]
{total miles driven: 2,208}

gas varied from $3.25 to $3.43

Tolls in MD increase by a $1 tomorrow (Baltimore tunnel: $2 to $3) (I-95 toll: $5 to $6). We just made it! [They'll get us in December upon our return.]

All the best.

 

[dvczerfs]

welcome home bc. you thought i was joking when i said we will shovel the driveway.

 

[Chuckles21]

Thanks for this update! I live in the Sheboygan area, and we are planning our first drive next September. (We just booked our room last week, so we are officially going!) I've been planning on about 20 hours on the road, so seeing your 21 hours gives me a good indication that I'm not far off, considering your 1 hour "power nap". We will, however, be stopping for the night somewhere south of Atlanta because i don't think I could handle 20 hours on the road with just a quick nap. Could you tell me what route you took? Right now I am leaning heavily towards taking I-57 all the way down through Illinois and hooking up with I-24 just north of the Illinois/Kentucky Border. But all of the online mapping tools, as well as my GPS, tell me to take I-65 through Indiana and Kentucky, which then turns into I-24 around Nashville. Once I hit Nashville, both routes end the same, with me getting on I-75 at the Tennessee/Georgia border. The I-65 route is what other people I've spoken to have taken as well, so I'm just curious to hear what route you took. Thanks again!

We took I-90/94 straight to I-65 all the way down to Nashville where we then hit I-24 to I-75 as you have described. We didn't have any bad traffic issues going this way so it was not bad at all, but I can see this also being a horrible path if you would hit some of the big cities at bad times.

 

[angwill]

Thanks for this update! I live in the Sheboygan area, and we are planning our first drive next September. (We just booked our room last week, so we are officially going!) I've been planning on about 20 hours on the road, so seeing your 21 hours gives me a good indication that I'm not far off, considering your 1 hour "power nap". We will, however, be stopping for the night somewhere south of Atlanta because i don't think I could handle 20 hours on the road with just a quick nap. Could you tell me what route you took? Right now I am leaning heavily towards taking I-57 all the way down through Illinois and hooking up with I-24 just north of the Illinois/Kentucky Border. But all of the online mapping tools, as well as my GPS, tell me to take I-65 through Indiana and Kentucky, which then turns into I-24 around Nashville. Once I hit Nashville, both routes end the same, with me getting on I-75 at the Tennessee/Georgia border. The I-65 route is what other people I've spoken to have taken as well, so I'm just curious to hear what route you took. Thanks again!

I am right near the WI border in IL and always take I57 vs I65. Our first trip we took I65 and I hated it. It is just so much easier IMO taking I57 there just seemed to be less trucks and traffic. My GPS always tries route me over to 65 but AAA and google maps stear me down 57 as the fastest route. HTH It takes us about 18 hours. If we start early enough we try to make it to Tifton, GA and if not we make it to Macon, GA and stop there for the night.

 

[WIDisneyFan]

Thanks for this update! I live in the Sheboygan area, and we are planning our first drive next September. (We just booked our room last week, so we are officially going!) I've been planning on about 20 hours on the road, so seeing your 21 hours gives me a good indication that I'm not far off, considering your 1 hour "power nap". We will, however, be stopping for the night somewhere south of Atlanta because i don't think I could handle 20 hours on the road with just a quick nap. Could you tell me what route you took? Right now I am leaning heavily towards taking I-57 all the way down through Illinois and hooking up with I-24 just north of the Illinois/Kentucky Border. But all of the online mapping tools, as well as my GPS, tell me to take I-65 through Indiana and Kentucky, which then turns into I-24 around Nashville. Once I hit Nashville, both routes end the same, with me getting on I-75 at the Tennessee/Georgia border. The I-65 route is what other people I've spoken to have taken as well, so I'm just curious to hear what route you took. Thanks again!

We have made the drive twice this year (once to Disney and once to Jacksonville to visit family) and took the I-65/I-24/I-75 route without any major issues. We did leave the Milwaukee area about 4:30AM and stopped off in Dalton, GA for the night making it a 2 day trip. As for the duration of the drive the 20 hour number sounds about right based on my experience.

One thing that has been of great use for us is our GPS with traffic service. It has helped route us around a few backups taking much of the stress of just how bad a back-up is.

 

[WI_DisneyFan]

We took I-90/94 straight to I-65 all the way down to Nashville where we then hit I-24 to I-75 as you have described. We didn't have any bad traffic issues going this way so it was not bad at all, but I can see this also being a horrible path if you would hit some of the big cities at bad times.

I am right near the WI border in IL and always take I57 vs I65. Our first trip we took I65 and I hated it. It is just so much easier IMO taking I57 there just seemed to be less trucks and traffic. My GPS always tries route me over to 65 but AAA and google maps stear me down 57 as the fastest route. HTH It takes us about 18 hours. If we start early enough we try to make it to Tifton, GA and if not we make it to Macon, GA and stop there for the night.

Thank you both! I have a feeling my final decision will come down to which route has less construction next September. Or if everything else is equal, I might take one way down and the other way back home so I can experience both. I've heard the "less truck traffic on I57" comment before, and that is very appealing to me since my wife will be doing some of the driving, and she gets white knuckled when she has to follow or pass a semi. Anything to reduce her stress is a definite bonus.

We have made the drive twice this year (once to Disney and once to Jacksonville to visit family) and took the I-65/I-24/I-75 route without any major issues. We did leave the Milwaukee area about 4:30AM and stopped off in Dalton, GA for the night making it a 2 day trip. As for the duration of the drive the 20 hour number sounds about right based on my experience.

One thing that has been of great use for us is our GPS with traffic service. It has helped route us around a few backups taking much of the stress of just how bad a back-up is.

Hey, I remember you! When I first joined the Disboards, you commented on our similar user names. Anyway, your timeline sounds like what I was planning. I was going to leave home around 4:00 am (or earlier if my usual pre-trip anxiety keeps me awake), and I was looking at a few places to stay in Dalton. Glad to see I'm not far off on my planning.

 

[sharadoc]

thats great!!! i had a feeling you may have been ok with the snow. we got 8 inches. alot of trees and power lines are down. we got lucky, our power goes out in the rain and for some reason, our stayed on this time. tammy and i seen 38 special in epcot a few weeks ago. glad you guys had a good time!!!! i forgot to tell you, tammy got the job!!! now its just to train someone for her job and for her to learn her new job. she has to go into nyc a few times in the next two weeks. its all in h.r. , working for the same person so im sure she will be fine.

That's awesome! Other than the travel to NYC, which can be time consuming. I'm so glad for her. We really need to go out and celebrate!

 

[WIDisneyFan]

Thank you both! I have a feeling my final decision will come down to which route has less construction next September. Or if everything else is equal, I might take one way down and the other way back home so I can experience both. I've heard the "less truck traffic on I57" comment before, and that is very appealing to me since my wife will be doing some of the driving, and she gets white knuckled when she has to follow or pass a semi. Anything to reduce her stress is a definite bonus.



Hey, I remember you! When I first joined the Disboards, you commented on our similar user names. Anyway, your timeline sounds like what I was planning. I was going to leave home around 4:00 am (or earlier if my usual pre-trip anxiety keeps me awake), and I was looking at a few places to stay in Dalton. Glad to see I'm not far off on my planning.

We both have great taste in user names!

As for places to stay in Dalton - we have stayed at the:

Hampton Inn Dalton
1000 Market Street, Dalton, Georgia, USA 30720
Tel: 1-706-226-4333 Fax: 1-706-278-6443

It is right off the interstate with plenty of dining options around including an Outback Steakhouse right across the street. The rooms do have doors to the outside, but rooms were clean and comfortable, and get a nice free hot breakfast to start the day.

If you have any specific questions on our experience on the drive down feel free to drop me a PM. We will be making the drive 2 times next year as well (visiting the in-laws and then our annual trip to see the mouse)

 

[BC1836]

With the possible elimination of the 40% "bounce back" (booking while one stays at a WDW resport) offers in 2012, the number of times we drive to WDW will be reduced.

We'll never catch up to dvczerfs' all-time drive record (see the first post on page one, which was updated yesterday).

All the best.

 

[wdwchamp]

Thank you both! I have a feeling my final decision will come down to which route has less construction next September. Or if everything else is equal, I might take one way down and the other way back home so I can experience both. I've heard the "less truck traffic on I57" comment before, and that is very appealing to me since my wife will be doing some of the driving, and she gets white knuckled when she has to follow or pass a semi. Anything to reduce her stress is a definite bonus.



Hey, I remember you! When I first joined the Disboards, you commented on our similar user names. Anyway, your timeline sounds like what I was planning. I was going to leave home around 4:00 am (or earlier if my usual pre-trip anxiety keeps me awake), and I was looking at a few places to stay in Dalton. Glad to see I'm not far off on my planning.

The I-65 route at Louisville has a major delay due to the bridge closure. You may have to reroute via I-74 through Cincinnati instead.

 

[angwill]

Thank you both! I have a feeling my final decision will come down to which route has less construction next September. Or if everything else is equal, I might take one way down and the other way back home so I can experience both. I've heard the "less truck traffic on I57" comment before, and that is very appealing to me since my wife will be doing some of the driving, and she gets white knuckled when she has to follow or pass a semi. Anything to reduce her stress is a definite bonus.



Hey, I remember you! When I first joined the Disboards, you commented on our similar user names. Anyway, your timeline sounds like what I was planning. I was going to leave home around 4:00 am (or earlier if my usual pre-trip anxiety keeps me awake), and I was looking at a few places to stay in Dalton. Glad to see I'm not far off on my planning.

Talking truck traffic your wife is right to worry when following a truck. Last year my husband was driving home from Disney behind a truck that had a tire blow and we got hit hard with the flying rubber. That was a very scary experience. I will never drive behind a truck again it is safer to go around.

 

[WIDisneyFan]

The I-65 route at Louisville has a major delay due to the bridge closure. You may have to reroute via I-74 through Cincinnati instead.

I had heard a little about that but not alot of details - do you know if there is any timetable on a fix?