1st time drivers!

[Butler_chic07]

So we are driving to WDW for the first time... in about 2 weeks!! Our drive is about 800 miles.

I was wondering if any veteran drivers had any tips or pointers or suggestions for our adventure. Maybe something that we wouldn't think to pack since we are used to flying, or just some ideas to help us pass the time? Anything. We are planning to drive the whole way, the two of us taking turns...

Thank you all so much and can't wait to hear your ideas. I hope you all are having a great holiday season.

 

[newdrama12]

Where are you driving from?

 

[Butler_chic07]

I guess that may be a key piece of information!

Sometimes I think the holidays fry my brain!!

We will be driving from central Indiana.

 

[pepe of ohio]

My biggest concern for that period of time is the weather and road conditions.....no my driving but that of others.

It seems you have a good haul ahead of you so taking thing to occupy your time may be needed. The drive starts out exciting then becomes boring...really bad on the way home. I'm not one to sleep while the spouse is driving. We usually use Amtrak for most of the past trips but this past trip,week after Thanksgiving, we drove with daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter (they wanted to drive since they were taking alot of stuff ( granddaughter was 11 months) so we left a 7 pm since the baby likes sleeping in her car seat and sleeps straight thru till 6:30 am. We were 4 adults and one infant in a Pilot with all the stuff and it's tough sitting in one space and position for the trip....getting out for gas and restrooms really doesn't help but we made it in 16.5 hours by 11pm the following day.

Best thing, stay alert, have a good navigator, we like AAA triptik to follow and a good GPS to follow. Pack some snacks, lunch and drinks, nothing better than a car sandwich and some drinks plus water. Also, when you are tired, switch drivers or pull over....too easy to say you're not tired and want to push on but.....I think most accidents in Florida seem to be people pushing to get to Disney and are so tired hitting Jacksonville and push on to Orlando that they are exhausted and create the highway havoc I read about. Anyway, have a safe journey!

 

[Dis_Dreamin]

We did a drive just this May. We ended up stopping (planned to) about 2/3 of the way down in Byron Georgia. Our friends, who were going with us left earlier and had planned on driving straight through. They ended up calling the hotel we were at and stayed the night with us. It made the next morning drive much easier.

So, I would recommend stopping for the night. But if you are driving straight through be sure to switch off as often as possible, and drink lots of coffee. Try to plan your route so you miss rush hours (morning, lunch and evening) in Indy (yeah, you're probably familiar with that one), Cincinnati, and Atlanta.

To give you an idea of what we did, we left at about 6:45 am from Indy, got through Cincinnati just after rush hour, and were south of Atlanta and checked into our hotel by about 5:30 pm. From there it's only another 5 hours or so to WDW.

route we took: I-74 to Cincinnati -- I-275 around the south side of Cincinnati -- I-75 all the rest of the way into Florida. From there it's probably a couple of tolls along the expressway and you're there. Tolls aren't terribly expensive. Total was maybe $3 going in and $3 coming home. I think we may have bypassed Atlanta on the Southeast side on I-285, but, I'm not 100% sure.

It wasn't a hard drive, but GA is a long, boring state. Just when you think you are through it, you are halfway through. The stop in Byron, GA (just south of Macon) was very welcome, as was the hotel pool and a reasonable bedtime.

Also, there is a thread on here for 2000+ miler (round trip) drivers, and that thread has a wealth of information. I know I spent hours on there getting suggestions on what to do for our drive and the best routes to take.

 

[sharadoc]

Hi and Welcome to the Driving Fraternity!!

If you haven't already, check out the "For 2000+ mile drivers" Thread here. Yes, technically your trip is around 1,600 but we'll let you in

We drive just around 1,000 miles each way and usually split it into two days, especially because it gets dark so early in the winter which makes you think "tired." Our limit has been around 12 hours the first day, then the second day is a quick, short drive to Disney World.

We like to switch drivers every 2-3 hours max, and go out of our way to find music that we haven't listened to in a while or have always wanted to but haven't found the time. We find that it's more interesting than the same old stuff on your iPod or the radio. We have kids, so having the time behind the wheel and the front seat to talk to each other with less interruption is great. You won't have that issue, though since it's just you two!

Pick up a good interstate exit guide, or find some websites if you have a smartphone and look for local restaurants. Please don't eat at a Cracker Barrell or Waffle House unless you need to! There are some awesome local places that are happy for the business, will give you good homemade food and usually a nice friendly atmosphere to boot! Roadfood.com is a great website to search for local eateries.

Don't exhaust yourself by driving for too long, then you won't enjoy the Disney World time.

We look forward to seeing you on the Driving Thread. Really friendly folks and we always have lots of answers to ANY question you could have about your drive.

Take care,

 

[Butler_chic07]

Thanks for all the tips so far! They are helpful.

So now I may ask some silly questions. For everyone that stops do you usually book your hotel in advance? or do you just wait to see where you want or need to stop?

While your driving how much time do you plan for pit stops, bathroom breaks, food, gas, etc? I know that our times may be a little different since we don't have kids in tow.

Since this trip just popped out of no where I am just trying to be prepared as much as I can. I am not sure we will stop - but if we need to will we be able to find a reasonably priced hotel? My fiance is a late night person and if he needs to he can sleep well in the car, sometimes i think he sleeps better in the car than any other time.


Thank you all for your support. This is a trial run because I am sure we will take many trips by car in the future. We are considering driving for our wedding so we can pack a lot since we will be there for about a week and then will be flying to Hawaii. (would send the car home with a family member).

 

[Dis_Dreamin]

Personally, I'm a planner. I like to know where I'm stopping, so I have a target to hit.

I highly recommend the Comfort Suites in Byron Georgia. It's just south of Macon, close to plenty of places to eat. Recently renovated (within the last year or so), really nice rooms. Plus it's affordable.

We had two kids in tow and still didn't make many stops. Only long enough to fill up the gas, change a diaper, and hit the restroom for everyone. We took a cooler of food and just ate on the road. We did stop for dinner out, but that's because we were also stopping for the night.

 

[sam_gordon]

My thoughts...

1) Get a 'Georgia' and 'Florida' book from AAA. Have the navigator look up coming up hotels when you're about ready (within an hour) to stop. I don't like planning where to stop because if I made better time than I thought, I can get closer, and if I don't make as good time, I'm not 'forced' to push to my scheduled stop.
2) You should be ~9hrs from Atlanta and ~10hrs from being through Atlanta. I'd try to be through ATL by 4pm or after 6pm. Plan accordingly.
3) You could be dealing with weather, especially in Southern KY/Northern TN.

Personally, I'd try to leave about 5am, no later than 6am. You'd be getting daylight from Cincinnati through Atlanta (the area where they don't know what to do with a couple inches of snow).

As far as bathroom/food stops, I like making them one & the same. Stop at a convience mart, get gas, bathroom stop, and pick up a sandwich, chips & drink on the way out. With all adults, you should be in/out in about 20 minutes.

I "plan" 60mph (but drive 72... 77 in TN). It makes it easy to figure out how long until a certain exit and generally plays out well with bathroom/gas stops. Eating in a restaurant will of course slow that time down. Weather might also slow you down.

 

[disneymayz]

We leave about 7PM and drive through the night. I drive till about 5-6 AM and then wife drives for a couple hrs. The only time we stop is to get gas and for breakfast. We do this with 2 kids (3 and 8). The great thing about being 2 adults is that if you think you can't go any father you can just stop at a rest stop and take a hour or two nap which will give you a nice burst of energy to move on. I would say wing it with the hotel. If you have something booked you may feel obligated to stay even if you believe you can go farther. There are plenty of hotels.