Just returned-drove from Chgo to WDW

[Lucy6]

...and would do it again in a heartbeat!!

We left at 6:30PM Thursday from the south burbs and drove straight through, arrived at Pop at 3:00PM FL time the next day. So 19 1/2 hours total(would have been less, but hit a rain storm while going through Atlanta, which slowed us down).

We decided to leave in the evening so that ds13 and dd9 might sleep for most of the trip. This worked like a charm. The kids didn't sleep all night, but did sleep from about 11PM until 5AM. We had planned to stop for breakfast after going through Atlanta, but ended up going to a drive through McD's and kept on going.

Yes, we were tired when we got there, but had no plans, just hung around the pool, settled in, got to bed early. We were up for rope drop the next morning, no problem.

Coming home, we decided to take two days. We stayed over in Chattanooga for the night, went up to see Lookout Mountain, then back on the road. The drive home took longer, we hit alot of traffic going through Atlanta(it was approx 4PM on a Saturday?), and hit quite a snow storm upon our return to Illinois(what the heck, it's April?).

We have already decided that we will be driving from now on...we were able to pack whatever we wanted, had the car for side trips, and saved alot of money. We estimated that we spent approx $200 on gas(three fill ups down and three back), $100 on hotel in TN(which included full breakfast, thank you Holiday Inn Express), and approx $50 on other food. We could not have flown for that amount!!

Overall, a great experience for my family. The drive through TN and KY was beautiful. The kids even thought it was a great experience, and agreed that this was a great way to go! Hope this helps others.

 

[TheDshow]

Thanks for the trip report. We are planning on doing the same thing this summer. It will be our first driving trip so I am a bit nervous about driving straight through. We are leaving from Northwest Indiana so it will be about the same trip for us. Any things along the way you would suggest or tell us to stay clear of?

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

To anyone who considers driving straight through:

Impaired driving due to tiredness is a major cause of auto accidents and auto fatalities. (Other major causes are alcohol and distractions such as cell phones.)

I'm not saying that people can't drive straight through from the Midwest to Florida. But if the driver experiences any difficulty in keeping his or her eyes open (or any other signs of impaired driving due to tiredness, such as drifting across lane lines), it's time to stop at the next hotel.

I would not trust myself to drive straight through to Florida.

 

[Lucy6]

I certainly did not do the straight drive by myself!! My dh and I switched off, one driving while the other slept. We both knew our limits, and had discussed before this trip that we would be very honest about our limits. It worked out great!! We had a tentative plan, but did not stick to it if one was the least bit sleepy. We really liked the drive at night better than during the day actually. We would definitely do this again.

 

[westjones]

We are in NE Indiana and have driven through before the way you did (leave in the evening and arrive the next afternoon). Our friends did it a bit differently and we are considering their approach. They left at around 4:00 am (went to bed and slept until 3:30 am with the car packed and ready to go). They got there around 11:00 at night. I am wondering if we would be less tired that way. Also, road side rests are kind of scary from around 11:00 pm to around 5:00 am (at least to me).

Anyway, just a thought for another option for someone wanting to do this.

We also took turns driving (but I would say it was more of a 70/30 split with DH doing most of the driving).

We haven't decided what we are doing on our next trip (which isn't until next March for spring break). But if we drive, we will try doing the straight through on the way down and stop one night on the way back also.

DJ

 

[SeedsLuvDisney]

We always leave about 1AM, we pack the car the night before and I get to bed by 7, at 1AM we throw the kids in the car and take off.. We are into Tennessee for breakfast, south of Atlanta for lunch and Ocala for dinner where we spend the night.. Then at rope drop the next morning...

 

[torquelover]

Thanks for the trip report. We are planning on doing the same thing this summer. It will be our first driving trip so I am a bit nervous about driving straight through. We are leaving from Northwest Indiana so it will be about the same trip for us. Any things along the way you would suggest or tell us to stay clear of?

We have driven down twice since we had the DDs, and left home on Monday in the early afternoon both times. Worked pretty well, as the young DDs slept for most of the drive.

Coming back home, leaving in the late morning on Saturday was horrible both times, as traffic and construction through Georgia, especially Atlanta, was very heavy. Anyone have any insight on when a good time to leave Kissimmee/Orlando would be? Maybe late at night?

Oh yeah, at the rest stops in Northern Indiana, between West Lafayette and 80/94, there are some of the most potent hand dryers I have ever experienced. Anyone else stop there?

 

[Jumba17]

Lucy6 - did you take 57 or 65? We are leaving in 3 weeks and debating which route to take.

 

[u4ik]

...and would do it again in a heartbeat!!

We left at 6:30PM Thursday from the south burbs and drove straight through, arrived at Pop at 3:00PM FL time the next day. So 19 1/2 hours total(would have been less, but hit a rain storm while going through Atlanta, which slowed us down).

We decided to leave in the evening so that ds13 and dd9 might sleep for most of the trip. This worked like a charm. The kids didn't sleep all night, but did sleep from about 11PM until 5AM. We had planned to stop for breakfast after going through Atlanta, but ended up going to a drive through McD's and kept on going.

Yes, we were tired when we got there, but had no plans, just hung around the pool, settled in, got to bed early. We were up for rope drop the next morning, no problem.

Coming home, we decided to take two days. We stayed over in Chattanooga for the night, went up to see Lookout Mountain, then back on the road. The drive home took longer, we hit alot of traffic going through Atlanta(it was approx 4PM on a Saturday?), and hit quite a snow storm upon our return to Illinois(what the heck, it's April?).

We have already decided that we will be driving from now on...we were able to pack whatever we wanted, had the car for side trips, and saved alot of money. We estimated that we spent approx $200 on gas(three fill ups down and three back), $100 on hotel in TN(which included full breakfast, thank you Holiday Inn Express), and approx $50 on other food. We could not have flown for that amount!!

Overall, a great experience for my family. The drive through TN and KY was beautiful. The kids even thought it was a great experience, and agreed that this was a great way to go! Hope this helps others.

Lucy6 - great to hear of your successful drive. We will be driving from NE next week and are doing a similiar strategy. We are leaving at 8pm on a thursday driving til 3pm, stay overnight in GA and then finishing the trip the next morning with 5hrs remaining. Did you do anything to keep the kids busy besides DVDs and videogames?

 

[Lucy6]

Jumba17, We decided to take 65 instead of 57 because we thought it would be a more interesting drive. 65 also ended up being a 3 lane hwy for most of the way as opposed to 2 lanes on 57. An unexpected perk was that the speed limit was 70 mph for most of the way also. Once we got beyond some construction before Indianapolis, it really was a nice highway.

If you have not driven to FL before, TN and KY are beautiful states. We are so used to boring IL roads, these states were really a pleasure to drive through. We went through in the dark on the way down, but really enjoyed them on the way home(look kids, another curve in the road, another hill )

u4ik, we did have the dvd and ipods, my ds13 has an itouch also. Leaving at 6:30PM, the kids just looked out the window for quite a while, started dvd's around 9, we turned everything off about 11PM, and they slept...more dvd's during the next day. I printed out a map of the U.S. and they checked off license plates, played tic tac toe. I had a book on cd that worked out great for me to pass the time(can't read in the car, get carsick) and my dd9 had one too. I brought a package of peppermint lifesavers that really helped with the occasional upset stomach due to motion also.

Because this was such a positive experience, we are even thinking about a road trip out to the Grand Canyon next summer.

 

[of the seas]

We'll be doing that in a couple months! We used to take 57, but I think this time we will take 65 cuz like you said they raised the speed limit. I love driving through the hills in TN. It's beautiful.

I say go for the drive to the Grand Canyon. We did it in 05 and had a blast! We stopped in MO, then TX, then the Grand Canyon. stayed there a couple days, drove to Vegas for a couple days, drove to Disneyland then went on a Mexican cruise. It was our best vacation ever!

 

[hearts8701]

my DH drives straight thru from chicago we leave at 6:00 am and arrive around 11:00 pm(don't forget time change) my DH does all the driving we drive about 4 times a year we used to take 57 but 65 is much faster and once you see the sign welcome to illinois its not 5 hours from home when you take 65
we also love the drive so much easier i can bring what i want and buy what i want i understand all the rules on the airlines but if i want to buy perfume or a snowglobe i can if i drive
i can bring as much luggage as i want with to having to pay for it and i leave when i want no delays no over booking and if the trp is going great i stay an extra day without fees

 

[marius97]

For you Chicago people, how long from when you leave to when you pull into Disney does it take you? I'm in Southwestern MI, so it is just a hair shorter than you guys. Mapquest tells me 18 1/2 hours, but my experience says that they over estimate time by about 20 minutes per 3 hours. Plus, I don't know how much time to figure in for gas breaks.

 

[Jumba17]

Lucy6 - thanks! I was wondering how 65 construction was - someone posted last week that a stretch of 65 north of Indy was down to 1 lane because of construction.

We have driven to the World before and have always taken 65, but I was considering 57 because of the construction on 65. We are leaving extremely early in the morning (2am), so I am hoping to avoid any back-ups, but goodness knows I have been caught in traffic on 90/94 at all hours of the day!

 

[Lucy6]

Marius97, From our door to check in at Pop was almost exactly 19 1/2 hours. Mapquest and AAA said approx 18 hours.

The ride home took longer as we drove during the day, hit a snowstorm upon arrival to IL, and took a detour to visit friends in Louisville for a short time. So not including our visiting time, we estimate the ride home was closer to 23 hours. We went through Atlanta at 7AM on the ride there and it was raining pretty hard, but this did not take us nearly as long as going through the same area going north on the way home. We couldn't figure it out, we could only go about 30-40 mph for quite a while south of Atlanta. We thought for sure there had been an accident, but when the traffic broke, no visible sign for the delay.

Jumba17, I can't remember exactly, maybe someone else can say for sure where the construction in IN is, but we are in Naperville, and hit the construction about an hour and a half into the rodetrip. So it must have been about 8PM, after rush hour. It sounds like your timing may help you to avoid rush hour also.

We thought the drive through the night was the way to go, it was so much easier for us. We had planned on stopping for breakfast, but hit a drive through and kept going. Gas stops were only for gas and bathroom breaks. Good luck drivers!

 

[BC1836]

Lucy6: You should repost your initial message on the "For 2,000+ Mile Drivers Only!" thread. Folks there would appreciate your info.

All the best.

 

[mookie]

Lucy6 - did you take 57 or 65? We are leaving in 3 weeks and debating which route to take.

Great thread...thanks so much Lucy for the tips! Jumba....if I remember right we are leaving at about the same time, right? We gonna follow each other?

We are still debating the 65/57 option. I think we are leaning more towards 57. Have a great trip!

 

[Jumba17]

Mookie - we are taking 65. We have always gone that way, and are hoping that at that hour of the morning there won't be too much traffic!

See you on the road! 17 more days to go!

 

[hearts8701]

we have taken both 57 & 65 i like 65 it seems shorter it has 3 lanes where 57 has 2 and when the sign said welcome to illinois i'm 1 hour from home not 5 hours maybe its all in my mind but i hate when i think i'm almast home and i have 5 hours to go!

 

[1hero2princesses]

I live in the chicago area and my parents moved to tampa when I was 18. I have made the drive probably 15 times in my life including when I was a kid. You are a stronger person than I. I have absolutely no desire to ever do that long, painfully boring drive again. When my dad died 3 years ago we almost had to do it cause we couldn't find flights - we go lucky and got berevement fares (I begged). When I first started checking flights for fall it was about 400 a ticket (we have 5) and it was looking like no disney. My DH suggested we drive and me (the big disney freak) just looked at him like he had lost his mind (he has never made the drive let alone with a 6, 4, and 2 year old which is how old they will be when we go). I have even driven it alone many times, gives me the wileys just thinking about it!