NJ to FL? driving? Money??? Suggestions requested!

[LoDivaLoca]

Hi there -

My boyfriend & I are very poor...lol. That is, I'm currently unemployed (but have a few bucks in the bank) - and boyfriend works P/T. HOWEVER, I REALLY wanna convince him that a week at WDW is possible.... (I have some odd jobs lined up). Now, what I need from you nice people - is some suggestions. I've been to the 'world' twice now in the last 2/3 years, but I stayed inside before, and flew. Don't think either of those are an option now..... (so I have a 16 hr drive to look forward to, I suppose...)

Any suggestions - would be MOST appreciated!

 

[dg39]

We drive every year & will be again in 2 weeks. Its MUCH cheaper than flying. Pack up your car with snacks, drinks, sandwiches,books magazines. We leave areound 4am. I make bagels for the early ride. I also pack a cooler with drinks, sandwiches and fruit. We're in Central NJ and we drive til Savannah Gateway to stay over night. The hotel is around 65.00. I think thats the average price for an overnight stay. It costs us around $200. or less for the drive down. That includes two breakfast stops, gas and a dinner stop.(and some other snacks the kids might want). All this for a family of 5. You can even make it cheaper if you drive straight through and don't stop at restaurants on the way. Just bring a cooler & fill it up with your own food & stuff. THere's alot of rest stops with picnic tables you can eat at along t he way.

Oh, I forgot, go to usahotelguide.com, they have tons of resorts/hotels to stay at in and around disney that are really inexpensive. Type in orlando and it has pages & pages & pages full of places. Some are really nice.

 

[bartleby1]

We have always driven down from NJ - actually, I quite enjoy the ride! I just can't imagine lugging the car seats, pack n play, strollers, etc through the airport. We are going down in two weeks and driving with our 3 year old and 1 year old. My 3 year old is really excited about the long car ride (I've been psyching her up) but I have to say, I'm a little worried about keeping my very active 1 year old happy, lol!

Anyway, if money is really tight, you may want to check out priceline.com for your hotel. You can usually get a 2-1/2 star or 3 star hotel in the disney or universal area for around $30-35. Check out biddingfortravel.com for details on how to bid and get the best price. We used priceline for our trip and will be staying at the Rosen Centre on I-drive for $36 per night. My parents just decided that they will be joining us and can't get a price lower than $119 per night by booking directly through the hotel and that was with an AAA discount. We are also staying a few days at the Hyatt Orlando for $35 per night. With priceline, you bid on a "star" level and area, but can't choose the specific hotel.

I agree with dg39 about packing a cooler. Bring food for the trip down and make sure you either bring snacks and sodas for your room or stop at a supermarket once you get down there. We use a brita on--the-go water bottle in the parks and fill it up at water fountains as needed to save on drinks. We also bring snacks to the parks with us.

HTH some! Good luck!

 

[barbeml]

You can do it!

After years of flying to WDW, we drove down from central NJ last fall for the first time and we are now driving converts. Driving cost us about $200 round trip--we left at 5:00 AM on a Friday and, after plenty of rest stops, got to Richmond Hill, Georgia Hampton Inn by 6:00 PM. Books on tape/cd make the time fly!

I packed breakfast, lunch and dinner in a foam cooler with ice packs. Hampton Inn had fridge/freezer and micro, so I refroze ice packs and nuked dinner right there in the room. Breakfast at Hampton Inn is included with room (about $65 per night with Hilton Honors or AAA discount). This particular Hampton Inn is an easy I-95 on/off and has interior corridors--very nice, we recommend it.

The next day, we left at around 8:30 and checked in at WDW by 1:00.

To save more money, you can stock your cooler with juice boxes, yogurt and other breakfast food and do breakfast in your room. Have any PS meals you want to do at lunchtime, and then counter service for dinners. We bring wine, beer and sodas and use the cooler as our in-room mini bar.

Good luck!

 

[bartleby1]

Forgot to add that we are staying in a Sleep Inn in Florence, SC on the way down for $49.95. Before we had kids, we would find a cheaper (and often pretty yucky) room for the way down since it was just a place to crash for a night. Now that we have kids we want something a little nicer, cleaner. Roomsaver.com has some decent deals that you don't have to book ahead of time if you don't know where you will be stopping. They have coupons that you print out and present when you stop at the hotel. We did that last trip, but this year our stop over is on the 4th of July and we didn't want to chance not getting a room so we booked ahead of time.

 

[Cindy B]

We are driving from S.Jersey this year as well. We used to drive from the Philly burbs area, but have since moved.

We are taking 295 to Delaware Memorial Bridge, and I 95 'ing it all the way down.

This will be our third time driving.

 

[disneysteve]

We have driven from South Jersey many times - next trip is in November. Total travel time (not including overnite stop) is about 17 hours. We usually leave around 8am. Stop for the nite in South Carolina. Leave there 8 am and arrive at WDW around 1 pm.

Round trip costs about $200. I don't recommend making hotel reservation in advance for the overnite stop. There are plenty of cheap hotels along I-95. Stop at the state visitors center when you cross the border and get the coupon book to help find a place and great rate.

As for accomodations in Florida, there are tons of cheap but clean hotels. We've personally stayed at the EconoLodge Maingate Hawaiian a couple of times. Its usually under $30 off-season (when are you going, by the way). There are lots of other places - Knights Inn, Super 8, Days Inn, etc. where you can find rooms for under $40/nite.

Try to eat breakfast in your room (unless hotel includes it). There are a few supermarkets in the area where you can pick up the basics. Also, eat some meals off Disney property where restaurants are abundant and prices are much more reasonable.

Have a great time.
Steve

 

[CUTIEGIRLHICE]

Hi!
My husband and I just returned from Disney. This was our 3rd time driving.... We leave around 8am, drive to Jacksonville, stay at the marroitte overnight and then we are in Disney by noon... We pack sandwhiches, cakes, water, candy, nuts, chips etc... We only stop to use the bathroom and to walk around for a little... The ride down is cheap and actually a lot of fun... It's the ride home that kills ya!!!
Florida has a lot of hotels along (I4) which advertise cheap... I only said out of the resort for one day.... But if you go to www.disney.com and book by 6/29 you can get a great deal with the fairytail vacation... You get 7 nights for the price of 4... This includes tickets to the parks... I hope this helped...
Michele

 

[Banshee]

It's nice to see all the folks from Jersey! And great advice!! I love these boards! Have a great time in disney! You can convince your boyfriend you only live once!!

 

[Blake]

make sure you check out The I-95 Info Guide
It gives you construction updates, the best rest stops (rated by the users) and recent gas prices along the way.

 

[fumipappa]

I am also from NJ(Northern)..

I kind of found out almost of all stay at the hotel around GA or SC.
How about when you come back?

You stay at some place or drive up to NJ without any rest??

 

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by fumipappa
I am also from NJ(Northern)..

I kind of found out almost of all stay at the hotel around GA or SC.
How about when you come back?

You stay at some place or drive up to NJ without any rest??

We stop on the way home as well. We stop somewhere in N.Carolina.

Steve

 

[Crazy4mandms]

Just a little tip about roomsavers. I had to travel to FL for my dad's funeral back in Feb w/my brother. We would pick up those roomsaver books on the way and the deals are great, esp cuz we weren't sure where our next overnight stop would be! However, every time I tried to walk in to use one they told me there were no rooms at that rate and that I would have to take one at reg price (knowing I was pooped from traveling and wouldn't go anywhere else!). Sooo, the tip is, I would call the hotel from my cell about 10-15 mins before we planned on pulling in and ask them if they had that rate. That way when I got to the front desk and handed them my coupon they couldn't give me the line about no rooms at that rate. Worked like a charm!! Hope this helps!

 

[tarabl]

Make sure and stop at the Welcome Areas for each state when you know you are getting tired. You can go into the lobby and there are books that have coupons for hotels in that state. It lists each exit and what hotels are there along with discounts.

We drive from the Philly area and usually end up stopping mid way through South Carolina or the early parts of Georgia depending on the traffic. Weekday traffic is heavier than weekend morning traffic. We drove twice and are headed again in August. I thought I would HATE to drive but actually we enjoy it.

My kids are 15 and 12 and we have found it is an enjoyable ride to play license plate games with them, get them to read the maps, and also is an opportunity for "family time". Majority of the trip they do watch dvds on our laptop that we bring along but it's a great way for us to start the vacation and end the vacation on a good note.

 

[Banshee]

Originally posted by Blake
make sure you check out The I-95 Info Guide
It gives you construction updates, the best rest stops (rated by the users) and recent gas prices along the way.

Cool Blake! Great site,I never even heard of it before!

 

[cpl100]

Originally posted by Crazy4mandms
Just a little tip about roomsavers. I had to travel to FL for my dad's funeral back in Feb w/my brother. We would pick up those roomsaver books on the way and the deals are great, esp cuz we weren't sure where our next overnight stop would be! However, every time I tried to walk in to use one they told me there were no rooms at that rate and that I would have to take one at reg price (knowing I was pooped from traveling and wouldn't go anywhere else!). Sooo, the tip is, I would call the hotel from my cell about 10-15 mins before we planned on pulling in and ask them if they had that rate. That way when I got to the front desk and handed them my coupon they couldn't give me the line about no rooms at that rate. Worked like a charm!! Hope this helps!

Actually, when I first heard about those roomsavers coupons I wondered if hotels did that exact thing. Suspicion confirmed!

 

[mickeyc]

When we drive from North Jersey it usually takes us 21 hours. WE drive all day Saturday and stop in the latter part of South Carolina or Georgia. We arrive at Disney near noon.

The over night stay along with dinner usuallly cost us $150 to $200 including the gas. We are DVC members so rooms are not at issue. However, when we did stay off Disney property we stayed at many places. The cheapest I recall was at a Days Inn about 25 minutes away from the parks. I think the suggestions offered above are good and it seems like you can get a nice place nearby at a good discount.

Final thought--How are unemployed and part time employee able to go to Disney? Don't mean to prie--you must have found a better way! ( smile) Enjoy your trip!!

 

[jilljill]

We drive straight thru so no motel bills for us either way. We leave in the evening to avoid a lot of the traffic. We only stop for gas and bathroom breaks. I pack a cooler of food and drinks to keep us happy for the ride and a day or so of our trip.
Last year we drove down twice in 3 weeks. The ride really isn't that bad, except it seems the construction will NEVER be finished anywhere along I-95.
Good luck.

 

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by mickeyc
Final thought--How are unemployed and part time employee able to go to Disney? Don't mean to prie--you must have found a better way! ( smile) Enjoy your trip!!

Actually, I did the same thing about 3 years ago. In Feb. 2000, I finally got fed up with my job and quit. About 1 month later, still unemployed, I came downstairs one Tuesday morning and asked my wife (a stay-at-home mom) if she would like to go to WDW. She asked when and I said how about Saturday? I went online and made reservations at EconoLodge for $23/nite, we already had AP's so admission wouldn't cost us anything. We loaded up the car and headed off to Florida for 10 days. As I recall, the whole trip cost us about $1000.

Just so you know, we are very thrifty, compulsive savers with no credit card debt. I ended up being out of work for nearly 3 months. During that time, we also spent a week in Las Vegas that had been arranged prior to quitting - that was for a professional conference that I still wanted to attend.

I figured when else would I have the opportunity to make a spur of the moment trip like that and be able to extend it a little past the usual 7 days I get when I'm working.

Steve

 

[amcnj]

I am originally from North NJ but now near Atlantic City. I leave around 2:30 in the morning and am in NC by breakfast time. Once I stopped in Jacksonville area (arriving around 6:30 pm) , but now go to the Altamonte Springs area so it is a very short drive the next day. Coming back no one except me wants to leave that early, so I only make it to NC the first day.

Leaving so early keeps everyone else asleep and quiet for the first 5-6 hours, and I get past the DC area realtively trouble free.