Those who drive from Virginia...

[starsgleam]

We live in northern Virginia. I totally get why people drive straight through, but we always stop. I think it just depends on your personal preference, habits, etc. We are always looking for the most relaxing vacation possible. After trying several different methods, decided the easiest way to do this is to stop in Jacksonville (after getting through the downtown area.). Exit 344 has a bunch of hotels all together with several restaurants so it's a good place to stop. This allows us to get a good night's rest and have a really short ride (under 3 hours) the next morning. This way, we get to Disney before noon and can have a pretty full day on our first day there, without feeling completely tired from pushing the drive too hard. We feel this sets us up for a good schedule for the week, as well.

PS - if you like good southern cooking, stop at Ralph's just over the NC border from VA right off of 95. Awesome buffet with excellent NC-style BBQ.

 

[sorul82?]

Check out this thread:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2465424

The OP has a good list of hotels with links.

 

[susanab]

We like to stop at Walterboro, SC. It's an hour north of Savannah. The next morning there are 6 hours left to drive, which means we arrive at WDW just about check-in time. There are plenty of hotel and food chains there. We have stayed at the Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn Express and the Ramada Inn. Next time we will stay at the Microtel Inn, and eat across the street at Cracker Barrel.

Thanks for this!

And thanks to everyone for the ideas

 

[susanab]

Check out this thread:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2465424

The OP has a good list of hotels with links.

I didn't even realize we were on page 3! I missed a bunch of great replies, so thank you all.

Had to say that this link will be very helpful in our decision making!

 

[mommyof2princesses]

HI neighbor! We are also from Charlottesville. When we drive we usually stop around Jacksonville, Fl as we like to get most of the trip out of the way on the first day. That was we can be rested and arrive at WDW ready to hit the parks after checking in at the hotel. Once we got excited and decided to leave at midnight and drove all night.Neither of us got any sleep and we were dead by dinner the next day. We won't do that again. It can be done in one day but it is a long one!!

I think we might try this. Jacksonville is pretty close to Disney. I really would like to spend the day at the parks instead of just hanging out at the resort on Sunday!

 

[derricksonb]

This thread has been very helpful. We are leaving 12/23 from Central PA and have been planning on two days travel down and auto-train back. A co-worker traveled to SC last year on the 23rd and said the traffic was very heavy the entire way. I'm looking at the possibility of staying in the Walterboro area, an 11 hour drive per mapquest. POOHsie did you have a favorite hotel there?

tefrench- If you are leaving for your rip on 23DEC keep in mind the route in which you will travel and the time of year. The federal government in DC is off on Friday the 24th and will probably dismiss early on the 23rd so traffic in and around DC will be extremely heavy during extended rush hour times. The same applies for areas with a large military/government presence like the National Capitol Region (Baltimore through Richmond), and Jacksonville, FL. You'll also want to keep this in mind when planning your return trip.