13 Hours to WDW - 1 or 2 Days?

[monorailsilver]

I would but I wouldn't plan much the next day, it can be a pool day or check in somewhere else outside the world (assuming you are staying in the world) cheaper, sleep, wake up the next day at some point & then go to your hotel for the rest of the vacation.

We just drove to Ft. Myers from CT. Lets just say the first day was not fun! I want to say we drove 15 hours, well dh did all the driving. It was more of the bordom of the southern states that don't have much to see other then trees & more trees that made us so sleepy & that was partially in the day time. Night time was worse since there was nothing to see.

We had another 9 hours the next day. That included stops both days.

So 13 hours I could do easily.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Yup, get up extra early and knock it out in one day

 

[kandb]

We left from NJ at 3am and stopped at Savannah, GA., got there around 5pm. We got a good night sleep and got to disney the next day by around 1pm. I don't know how people go to the parks after driving all night and not sleeping. I would be too exhausted to enjoy a park after a night of driving/no sleep. Everyone is different.

 

[goofyfigment]

We left from NJ at 3am and stopped at Savannah, GA., got there around 5pm. We got a good night sleep and got to disney the next day by around 1pm. I don't know how people go to the parks after driving all night and not sleeping. I would be too exhausted to enjoy a park after a night of driving/no sleep. Everyone is different.

We drive straight thru get to Orlando around 6pm and just relax our first park day would be the next day.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

We live 12 hours away in Richmond, Va. We have driven down and back twice. My teens (one is 6'4") and I just can't stand being in a car for 12 hours straight so we break it up usually 4 to 5 hours and then 7 to 8 hours.

This last time DS16 and I split the driving. We couldn't leave until 10:00 PM Friday night. Drove 3.5 hours, stopped in Fayetteville, NC, then drove 9 hours the next day (too long for us). Coming back we split it in half (6 hrs and 6 hrs) and stayed in Santee, SC. On previous trips we've stayed in Florence, SC on the way down and Pooler, Ga on the way back.

 

[molliewalks]

We live near Harrisonburg VA and drive straight through on trip down. We usually leave around 9pm and let the kids (teens) sleep. One adult will nap during day and start driving shift while other sleeps. After a few hours we switch. Usually in orlando by 11 at latest. On trip home, will usually make a 2 day trip. Easier that way for us.

 

[Haley]

We are driving for the 1st time - from MD so about 14 hours.

I think we'll stop somewhere in South Carolina and get some rest at a hotel and continue in the morning.

My only worry is that we'll wake up dd (2) and she won't go back to bed at the hotel.

If you drive through aren't you worried you'll fall asleep at the wheel? that's what makes me nervous.

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

Thanks everyone for their thoughts. We're still considering he options, but leaning heavily towards leaving early Fri morning, 3 am.

That is, if DW gets Fri off.

But, if she works half a day on Fri, we're still debatng between leaving around noon, and stopping in Savannah, or leaving in the evening, and driving the overnight, straight through. Hopefully, we won't have to decide on this!

 

[rt2dz]

We are 15 hours out, not including stops. We've done it both ways.

On the way down anymore, we drive straight through (stopping for breaks, just not overnight), if we leave early in the morning. If we leave in the evening, we stop at around midnight-1 am. It's easier on my ASD son to stop. My other 3 could care less. On the way home, we almost always leave early in the am and drive straight through with only necessary breaks. I want as much time at Disney as possible.

If our trip is 5 days or less, we fly.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

If you drive through aren't you worried you'll fall asleep at the wheel? that's what makes me nervous.

Yep! That's why we break the trip up and take 2 days each way. Way back before we had kids DH and I tried to drive straight thru to North Miami Beach from Virginia. At about 3:00 AM he started nodding off on the road. We took the next exit, found a hotel and got some sleep. We were only 3 hours from our destination at that point, but we really wanted to get there alive!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Thanks everyone for their thoughts. We're still considering he options, but leaning heavily towards leaving early Fri morning, 3 am.

That is, if DW gets Fri off.

But, if she works half a day on Fri, we're still debatng between leaving around noon, and stopping in Savannah, or leaving in the evening, and driving the overnight, straight through. Hopefully, we won't have to decide on this!

If you can't get the early start, I'd really lean toward stopping somewhere. Just my $.02

 

[Howgreat]

We are 12 hours away and always drive straight through. The last 2 times we've driven all night--once with a 21 month old and once with an 11 month old and 3 year old. Both times have gone off without a hitch. This time, we're going to drive all day. DH and I enjoy the drive and anticipation and it's not worth it (to us) to spend extra (Disney) money on a hotel.