13 Hours to WDW - 1 or 2 Days?

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

Would you plan on driving 13 hours in 1 or 2 Days?

And if 2 Days, how many hours would you you drive the first day?

There will be 3 kids: 12, 4, and 1 year old.

Thanks!

 

[jesusluvsu2005]

We have about a 12hr drive. We'll drive all the way through and are packing lunch and snacks to save even more time (and money). Honestly, I find the drive down so exciting! The anticipation makes it fun. The way back, on the other hand, is a different story. We're going to drive to Valdosta and stay at the Drury Inn and Suites there. They serve dinner and breakfast included in your stay so that's another money saver. Then drive the 8hrs home.

If you do split it, I think I would do the bulk the first day that way you arrive early in the day with time to do things.

HTH!
Amanda

 

[jesusluvsu2005]

By the way, we also have three kids. 8, 10 and 13.

 

[LadyBeBop]

That's tough. Is it 13 hours straight through, or 13 hours including stops?

To compare, we are about 13 hours to Shreveport, LA where my daughter lives. We used to do it in one day. However, it's now too much for us. We take two days.

Oh, and we're about 14 hours to WDW. We're taking two days. Hoping to get to Tifton or Valdosta the first day. Coming home, we're hoping to get to Knoxville.

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

That's tough. Is it 13 hours straight through, or 13 hours including stops?

13 hours straight through.

DS1 can't do lunch/snacks in the car while driving, and I don't think DS4 would do too well either, so we'll have to stop to eat, whether it's restaurant or brown bags.

Valdosta is 4 hrs from WDW? We're near DC, so if we do the 9/4 split, that'll put is in Savannah.

If we drove straight through, left at 6 am, and made three stops, I'm thinking we'd arrive at 10 pm? Does this sound right and doable? Or am I being too optimistic with a 1 yr old?

 

[jesusluvsu2005]

I did a mapquest to double check and it says 3hrs and 19min from Valdosta, GA to Orlando, FL. Your estimate sound good but it's been so long since I had a 1 year old that I couldn't say for sure.

 

[jesusluvsu2005]

And if I remember right, savannah is about 4hrs away as well. Because I've always wanted to go and toyed with the idea of stopping there instead of Valdosta. It was only like a 30min difference from Valdosta. But we decided to wait til some other time.

 

[tms295psu]

13 hours straight and start the trip around 3 am, assuming you can trade off drivers for a short nap. Kids can sleep in the car for a few am hours.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

Definitely 13 hours straight through, otherwise you lose too much time by stopping for the night. Our drive is about 19-23 hours depending on traffic. We used to drive for about 14 hours and then stop overnight but found that we lost so much time (and didn't feel as well rested as we though we would) by stopping for the night. The past 2 trips we've driven straight through, switching drivers when necessary and sometimes even stopping for an hour or two at a rest area.

 

[goofyfigment]

We are 17 hours away and drive straight thru

 

[disneymom06]

Drive straight through, 13 hours can be done easily if you drive most of the time when the chuldren are sleeping thru the night. We started driving our 18 hr trip when the children were 10, 8, 4, and 1. Ten years later, they still like the drive. It does build the excitement and for our family is cost effective. We like to leave at 1 am. Our best arrival time was 8:30pm standing in front of the checjk in desk at POR.

But we are always aware that for whatever reason, traffic, weather, fatigue, that we may have to stop somewhere along the way for the night. You just have to be prepred for the possibility.

 

[CopperWife]

We did a trip to Myrtle Beach when the kids were 9months and 3.5 years old. It was a 16 hour trip and we did 12 hours easily. We left at midnight and drove until noon the first day. The kids slept most of the way, so it was nice.

If your trip is only 13 hours, I would try this route. Our drive to Disney is about 19 hours and we do it straight through (granted, our kids are 9 and 6 now!). We leave around 5 CT and roll into Disney around 1pm ET. DH and I switch off driving/resting. Are we a bit tired when we get to Disney? Yep, but we just use the first day to relax, hit the pool, and get situated in the hotel. Plus, you get that extra rush because you are in DISNEY! We hit the hay early so we can get an early start the next day

 

[shell8558]

We are 12 hours away and we drive straight through . We drive all day on Saturday and get a cheap hotel near disney for the night , then we check into our resort hotel around 7:30 am on Sunday and hit the parks !

 

[pepe of ohio]

Were 16.5 hours away... We leave home around 5 am.... Thought we would drive straight thru but fatigue overcame... We're going to get a motel room in Kingsland Ga. But said " hey, we close to the Florida Welcome Center, lets stop for a few hours and push on"...

Yup, that 2 hour stop rejuvenated us and we made WDW by 5:30 am.... We were at the check in counter at 6:30am, checked in and waited for food court to open at 7 and off to EPCOT before opening....

It's like we gained an extra day, motel stop would have cost us 100.00+ for what, 5 hours of rest and arriving in WDW noonish..

Preferred it how we did it.... Traffic confusion, accidents and what not attributed to the rest of the time....

 

[nono]

If you can get up early, do it in one shot!

Oh and the 1 year old -- not a problem, assuming he/she's not potty training. My son decided to train up 1 week before a trip from the NJ shore to Minnesota. Yep....

Oh and you want to pack food and snacks for your rest stop breaks on the road, not for necessarily eating in your vehicle.

Also, we pack a piece of colored rope that we drop at the rest area and have the kids do a few races...really helps. That and a lightweight ball that we can throw around barehanded are the only things we need to get our blood moving at the rest stops.

 

[buckeev]

We're about 16/18 hours away. We've made the drive in one day before, but it was pretty tough on us. My favorite way to split it is to put about 80% of the miles behind us, get a shower-catch a few winks, then get up as early as we can the next morning and hit Orlando by lunch time. You can get to your resort, check in and have your luggage stored if your room isn't ready.
THEN HEAD TO THE PARKS! (Or do something like DTD).
Even when we fly, we like getting to MCO as early as possible and heading promptly to the resort.

 

[Danibelle]

Mapquest shows Savannah to be 4 hrs. 47 min. drive from WDW. I live near there and it takes me 5-5/12 hours to drive. I don't usually take a meal stop; I just stop for gas and a quick break.

I am one of those travelers who would break up the trip if possible. I would drive about 8 hrs. the first day and then have a short second day. Especially with a one year old.

 

[GranddadTom]

My first question would be exactly where are you "near DC"? North of town of south? Makes a big difference even at 6 am. Then, what day of the week are you driving or better yet, the date? Next, what are you doing even being near Valdosta? That's on I-75. I-95 south of Washington heading south in the morning (against rush hour traffic) is still very congested and slow until around milepost 130. If you can get on the road even one hour earlier - 5 am - that would help a lot. We've done the drive in one day many times from Rockville but that's without little ones along. I would plan on more than three stops.

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

My first question would be exactly where are you "near DC"? North of town of south? Makes a big difference even at 6 am. Then, what day of the week are you driving or better yet, the date? Next, what are you doing even being near Valdosta? That's on I-75. I-95 south of Washington heading south in the morning (against rush hour traffic) is still very congested and slow until around milepost 130. If you can get on the road even one hour earlier - 5 am - that would help a lot. We've done the drive in one day many times from Rockville but that's without little ones along. I would plan on more than three stops.

We're checking into our hotel (offsite) Saturday 8/17. We're coming from Montrose and I-270. We could add a day, if we did a one day trip and arrived in FL late on Friday.

We're not going through Valdosta; that was someone else who posted.

When you drove down in 1 day, what time did you leave/arrive? How many stops did you make?

DW isn't sure she can get Friday off yet. So, we're thinking about departures of early Friday morning (PP suggested as early as 3 am), Friday after lunch (if DW gets half day off) or Friday 4:30 (and hopefully get in front of the worst of the rush hour traffic via EasyPass Express).

DW may not know for sure until that week if she can get the day off, so we're making plans for each possibility.

 

[bbak3030]

We are ab 13 hours away. We plan to leave around 8:00 pm after dinner and baths. DH will sleep during the day and do most of the driving. I will take over when necessary. Hoping to pull into WDW by 10:00 the next am. Check-in and probably hit the pool. If our room is ready, maybe a little nap. I am planning some flexibility into our day. I hope it works out ok! Our girls are 7 and 4.

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