place to stay south of Atlanta & 2 hrs north of Orlando

[dznyacct]

My sister, BIL and niece are driving from Indiana to WDW in July and need some advice on where to stay on the way down. Our family never drives, so I'm clueless. They want to get through Atlanta and stay a little south of it their first night. The next night they want to stay ~ 2 hours north of Orlando, so they can get a full day in at WDW. I think they're hoping to spend ~ $50/night. Does anyone have any suggestions for a nice, clean place for them to stay? Thanks for any advice you can offer!!

 

[travelbug]

Seems to me that Lake City, FL is a couple hours from Orlando. We stayed there on our way to WDW over Christmas break. We stayed at a Days Inn for about $70 a night (not bad for Christmas week). There's also a Super 8 there and tons of cheap eating places. It was a good overnight stop for us.

I can't be as much help with a place just south of Atlanta. Once I stayed at Tifton, GA for very cheap, but that's pretty far down in Georgia.

Very nice of you to help track down good cheap accommodations. Good luck!

 

[DC7800]

Perry, Georgia would be a pretty good choice on the way down. Most of the major hotel chains are there (we've stayed at the Jameson Inn there, which I can certainly recommend) as well as restaurants, etc. It's just south of Macon, Georgia along I-75.

Most of those same hotel chains are, of course, represented at several exits on the south side of Atlanta, but we prefer to get a bit further south of there before stopping.

Going north, Lake City is a good choice, if somewhat more than two hours up I-75. Ocala looks to be nice also; I've never stayed there, but the presence of the Disney welcome center there usually warrants a rest stop both going and coming from WDW. I know there is a nice-looking (and not outrageously expensive) Hilton at the exit. Gainesville is in the middle of those two options, but I think I'd prefer Ocala or Lake City. Just a personal opinion, however, for really no valid reason.

 

[dznyacct]

Thanks for the advice. I'll let my sister know your recommendations. Personally I like my 2 hour flight to Orlando vs driving, but they are somewhat flying phobic.

 

[Belle1962]

If I read your post right: they want to leave Indiana on Day one and make it to South of Atlanta...then spend the night. Then get to within two hours of Disney on day two and spend the night again. Then get to Disney on Day three? If they make it to South of Atlanta on the first day they really don't need to stop the second day on the road . They could go to their hotel or another Orlando/Kissimmee area hotel on day two and spend the night there and have the next day in the parks. If they get there early enough on Day two--which they will--they can do non park stuff that day. (Downtown Disney, water parks, visit resorts, the free stuff at Ft. Wilderness, etc.) and rest from the trip knowing they're "there". It's only about a 6.5 hour drive from Atlanta to Orlando anyway--if they stop South of Atlanta (not in South Atlanta) that only leaves a few hours of driving time anyway. I live north of Atlanta and consider WDW a days drive away. Here's a sample of driving times using www.freetrip.com from South of the city (assuming they are doing I-75):

City of Atlanta 6.5 hours
Perry, GA 5 hours
Tifton, GA 4 hours
Valdosta, GA 3.25 hours
Lake City, FL 2.5 hours
Gainesville, FL 2 hours
Ocala, FL 1.5 hours


Just a thought. This gets them to WDW faster