1 night stay advice needed

[mrsparker13]

We will be driving down to Disney on Saturday Sept 14, we need a nice, clean, safe location & inexpensive hotel to stay at for 1 night as we don't check in at Disney until the 15th!! Looking for something along I-95 or I-4. Don't want to be but a few hours away from Disney. Any advice would we much appreciated!

 

[mrsparker13]

*bump* can no one help me? : (

 

[pepe of ohio]

Here's what we do... We also drive lately and it's 1050 miles... We like to make Kingsland Ga. It's just short of the Florida border... Hampton Inn..

That's on I 95... and nothing's cheap that I want to stay at... With AAA discount it's about 100.00, and they do a free breakfast that decent ... Then you have about a 3 + hour drive from there to WDW...

Last trip we made Kingsland around 10 pm and decided to push on to the Florida Welcome Center on I95.... We asked there if we could take a few hour snooze before going on, they said no problem, there were others and night time security patrolled the center, we parked next to his truck...

We rested and dozed off for a few hours and continued on beating the traffic thru Jacksonville and especially I4.... At 4am no one was on the 4 to WDW, we arrived at 6am, checked in (room not ready) and had breakfast at the food court....

 

[mrsparker13]

Here's what we do... We also drive lately and it's 1050 miles... We like to make Kingsland Ga. It's just short of the Florida border... Hampton Inn..

That's on I 95... and nothing's cheap that I want to stay at... With AAA discount it's about 100.00, and they do a free breakfast that decent ... Then you have about a 3 + hour drive from there to WDW...

Last trip we made Kingsland around 10 pm and decided to push on to the Florida Welcome Center on I95.... We asked there if we could take a few hour snooze before going on, they said no problem, there were others and night time security patrolled the center, we parked next to his truck...

We rested and dozed off for a few hours and continued on beating the traffic thru Jacksonville and especially I4.... At 4am no one was on the 4 to WDW, we arrived at 6am, checked in (room not ready) and had breakfast at the food court....

Thank you. I was looking at Kingsland as a possible place to stay. Our drive is only 592 miles. Not too bad but we are leaving Saturday at 1:00pm (late start but DD has a cheerleading thing that morning) and want to drive about 8 hours so that we have about 2 hours or less left for Sunday! Was thinking maybe Jacksonville but haven't heard anything good about that city!

 

[pepe of ohio]

Thank you. I was looking at Kingsland as a possible place to stay. Our drive is only 592 miles. Not too bad but we are leaving Saturday at 1:00pm (late start but DD has a cheerleading thing that morning) and want to drive about 8 hours so that we have about 2 hours or less left for Sunday! Was thinking maybe Jacksonville but haven't heard anything good about that city!

Personally, I want to get thru Jacksonville as fast as possible, never seen so much concrete in my life... Roads, overpasses, lane changes... Glad we get thru there in the middle of the night before the main traffic starts, sane with Orlando...

We thought Daytona would be a good stop but decided, you know, we're almost to WDW, why stop there and spend the money, lets get to WDW, pay for an extra night and enjoy a whole extra day...

We hit the Florida border after driving around 12 hours, it's close to 11pm, planning on getting up early to get to Disney and the fun, so a motel at a 100.00 for say 3-4 hours.... That's why we chose to nap at the Florida Welcome Center and push on before the big cities wake up... But it's just the wife and I.... With children probably not feasible...

Kingsland has quite a few motels at that exit, a lot of fast food restaurants and easy access off and on I95....

 

[mrsparker13]

Yeah if it were just my husband and myself I wouldn't mind a bit staying at a rest area. Having the kids with us makes that impossible! They need to be able to stretch out!

 

[winboo213]

I too, am worried about if we stop (1200 miles) where it will be. We usually get half way through GA, but the last time just about killed me. . We stayed at a acceptable hotel and it had beds so hard I woke up in extreme pain. We got back in the car and realized we would be in the world if we had just kept on driving. I figure on day one we are going to be wrecked no matter what. We will lay by the pool, rest and go to a park much later in the day, have a nice dinner and show and to be to bed early. So this time we are going to attempt to drive straight thru or at least get thru GA. I was thinking the same thing, catching a couple hours rest at a welcome center. I hear people do it all the time, and most have security guards. If we stay at a hotel, its is a lot of money for about 5-6 hours of rest, and it takes 8 hours (showers, eat, reload car) out of our driving.
Any idea how early we can check in? Is 2 am frowned upon?

 

[PolyLover]

A good area to stay in Jacksonville is around St. Johns Town Center, which is an awesome outdoor shopping mall with hotels, great shops and restaurants, and a Target. It is a few miles off of 95 heading east. Google it for more specific info. Its a great rest area to re-charge, have a good meal, and buy last minute things at Target!

 

[karenklo]

WE drive from Indiana-right on Lake Michigan near the Michigan border. It is a haul, but we have fun. WE stayed at Lake City at a Country Inn and SUites. Got a good deal and we were up first thing in the am. Made it to POFQ by 730-checked in (room ready thanks to online check in!). And was at MK for RD!!!

 

[vdoucet78]

We stayed at Holiday Inn Express in Ocala the night before our check-in one year. About an hour I think to Disney and had an I-Hop next door. Last year we spent our first night at Art of Animation Little Mermaid before checking into POR the next day. Super convenient to already be on property and cost us only $13 more than Holiday Inn Express.

 

[vdoucet78]

Here's what we do... We also drive lately and it's 1050 miles... We like to make Kingsland Ga. It's just short of the Florida border... Hampton Inn..

That's on I 95... and nothing's cheap that I want to stay at... With AAA discount it's about 100.00, and they do a free breakfast that decent ... Then you have about a 3 + hour drive from there to WDW...

Last trip we made Kingsland around 10 pm and decided to push on to the Florida Welcome Center on I95.... We asked there if we could take a few hour snooze before going on, they said no problem, there were others and night time security patrolled the center, we parked next to his truck...

We rested and dozed off for a few hours and continued on beating the traffic thru Jacksonville and especially I4.... At 4am no one was on the 4 to WDW, we arrived at 6am, checked in (room not ready) and had breakfast at the food court....

We did the exact same thing our first trip!

 

[laceyinwonderland]

We stayed at Holiday Inn Express in Ocala the night before our check-in one year. About an hour I think to Disney and had an I-Hop next door. Last year we spent our first night at Art of Animation Little Mermaid before checking into POR the next day. Super convenient to already be on property and cost us only $13 more than Holiday Inn Express.

This is us too!! We needed a 1 night stay b4 free dining starts! Most hotels are 100 at best, and even at that rate, quality can be iffy! So we snagged a LM room at AOA thru expedia for 130! Excited to be on property a day early and experience this resort!