1st time driving to WDW from Mass... Any tips?

[ncligs]

Originally posted by leebee
Well, I don't see that as any worse than having no control over traffic, having to drive all night and leave places at 4 a.m., etc. Besides, with the price of gas (currently $1.59/gal midgrade here in the frozen north), tolls, and a hotel room, not to mention wear and tear pm the minivan, how could driving be "cheaper", given the time involved (time=money on a WDW vacation) and exhaustion factor? I'm with whoever posted above- FLY!!!

leebee,
I agree with you 100%, for us anything over 5 hours in a car,
we fly.Especially since for us it is only 2 of us most of the times.But I can understand if familes have 4-6 airplane tickets to buy. The exhaustion factor is the key for us.......you are wiped out after the drive down.

 

[markm0926]

yes, we'd have to buy 6 airplane tickets. thats why we've decided to drive.

 

[Uncleromulus]

leebee:
Don't forget the cost of parking your car at the airport for 7 days--and the cost of renting a car at WDW for a week--both can be quite expensive.
And the Southwest flight from BWI (when we used to fly) left quite early in the AM. These days, what with all the strip-searches and bomb sniffing dogs, etc etc etc, we'd still have to leave for the airport at 4:00 AM just to make our flight!!
But no doubt that flying IS faster, so if time is of primary concern, that's probably the way to go.

 

[chach]

We drove from Central Mass at the beginning of December. We opted for the RT 84-81-77-26-95 route on the recommendation of a friend. We loved it! We have driven Rt 95 several times and each time, regardless of the time we leave (usually 4am), 95 is a parking lot.

Going through the lower Blue Ridge Mountains was great. We hit very little traffic,and there were lots of rest areas on 81.
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I'm glad I came across this post. We have done this drive
from Southern NH twice. We wanted to fly down this year but
the cost were extremely high so we are driving (end of Feb).
I have always taken Rt 95 (no traffic at all because we
drive all night). The AAA agent highly recommended the route above and we plan on trying it. My only fear is that we will
hit bad weather with the higher altitudes.
How much longer is the inland route vs. the Rt 95 route ?
Do you think we will run into worse weather inland ?

 

[Uncleromulus]

My guess would be a much better chance for ice/snow problems in Winter. We have driven the I-81 area several times (but not all the way to WDW) and the main problem we encountered was FOG.

 

[WendyKris]

chach,

uncleromulus is right......we hit fog going through the pass that leads from the higher elevations in Virginia down into the piedmont of NC. As a matter of fact the fog was so thick we couldn't see more than a few yards in front of us. It's a 7 mile long drop out of the mountains. Fog must be fairly common, as the white stripe on the sides of the road was double the width, and seemed to have reflectors in it. I hope the next time we travel down south, there is no fog or clouds to go through, I imagine the view is spectacular.

We actually drove through the ice storm that hit that area at the beginning of December. We got off the highway about 3 hours sooner than we normally would have, due to the fact that we slid across a bridge. They don't treat their roads down there like we do. It got slippery very quickly.

We would definitely use this route again. If you choose to go in the winter months, just be prepared to stop and get off the road.

 

[BCVOwner2002]

We have been to WDW too many times to mention and have never driven! Although there are usually 4 of us, airfares aren't too bad (around $200 R/T each). We always catch the early flight (7AM) and use limo to/from WDW and this works out perfect. We were going to drive in June but started to figure out the time involved, cost of staying over-night, food along the way, etc. and decided 3 hours compared to 24 - 36 hours was a no-brainer for us. Annmarie

 

[sheryl0521]

I am so glad I found this thread! We are seriously considering driving from CT to WDW in Feb., and all the tips here are a great help!!

Thank you all!

Sheryl

 

[chach]

Now I'm really confused ??
Should I stay with the inland route which is
less traveled but may be dangerous because of
icy roads or should I take Rt. 95 ?

What do you all advise ???

 

[WendyKris]

chach,

I was worried to....I spent the week before we left checking the Weather Channel site, getting updates for the areas we'd be driving through. The ice storm was predicted, but we went anyway. I don't think it would have been much better on the coast at that point. That was a pretty bad storm. Not your average storm we seem to be getting every 3 days up here.

We left at 4am and still got all the way to Roanoke, VA before we had to stop due to the weather. I would go this way again, especially after driving home on 95. As soon as we got north of Richmond, the traffic was horrendous, and it was in between rush hour.

According to the AAA trip-tik, the mileage for the inland route is only 100 miles longer than taking 95, however the time estimated was the same. I would agree. We never hit any traffic jams. We left early enough to avoid Hartford in the morning, and pretty much sailed right through. Unless the weather service is predicting bad weather for the area, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Pig Pen]

We have driven down from Vermont numerous times using different routes. We have found that going straight down 95 is much quicker. Our best schedule is to leave VT at 6:00 pm. This puts you through DC around 4:00 am, missing all the traffic in the northeast corridor. DH and I take turns driving, but he always drives through the cities. From there down is a piece of cake!

Last time we drove till Georgia, then stopped for the night (about 3:00 pm).

We were in Orlando at noon the next day.

Of course we have decided to fly from now on......

 

[ncligs]

Originally posted by Pig Pen
Of course we have decided to fly from now on......

Good choice......

 

[Jjacqjob]

I'm thinking of going down last week of June beginning of July, but I would be only driver with DD,7, driving from MA. I would be able to stop and visit friends in VA and family in NC this way. I was thinking of taking about 9- 10 days. Just looking for tips from any other people who have done this trip being the only driver?

Thanks!!

 

[rbuzzotta]

We have driven several times and I actually enjoy it!! I love have my suburban with me instead of flying and having a rental car. We go for 2 weeks in the summer and last summer we flew........this summer I want to drive again.......so I haven't bought my tickets yet!!! We take 2 days down, and 2 days back but I would like to take a little longer down or back and stop to see some sights.

Good luck.

 

[mm6mm6]

Our drive from Chicago this past June was wonderful. We are doing it again in August '03 because it went so well. We have a Ford Windstar and just my wife and DD5 so room was plentiful. The tv/vcr was a must have item. My DW packed games and magnetic play boards which kept DD5 busy. The plan was to stop for bathrooms or food whenever anyone needed. Speed limits are high compared to 10 years ago and we barely saw troopers anywhere. Georgia is 75 all the way down and we just pegged the cruise control at 79 and had no worries. We brought a giant igloo cooler on wheels stocked with 24oz plastic bottles of our favorite pop/soda (12 six packs!) which saved us a fortune since we bought them on sale for just $2 a six pack. You can go on www.mapquest.com for a trip report if you're not a AAA or Mobil/Shell/BP Motor Club member. Otherwise, the motor club reports are bound and include current maps of where you're going. When we were about 1 hour from stopping for the night, I called my Mobil Auto Club 800 number and reserved a room one hour ahead at a hotel that had an indoor pool. Once we got to WDW, we parked the van and never moved it again. Just used the buses, monorail and boats. But we did drive to Daytona for four days after our trip. Good luck, driving is easy. Our total gas and hotel cost round trip was only $349. Best airline cost for the three of us in June from O'hare to Orlando was $1800. So we saved a ton! And I enjoy driving and seeing our country!

 

[NandP]

I am from NY at the crossroads of Rt84 and the NYS Thruway.. and we are planning on driving down to Disney in April... Any tips on a route?

Stay with I95 or is it a good Idea to use US81 till you get past the DC area?

Any other tips on a route?

Staying in Santee, SC on the way down, and Fayettville, NC on the way back... sound good???

 

[Cyndiu]

We're from Connecticut and haven't ever used 81, however, we've found that I95 is just fine as long as our timing is planned so that we are through D.C. in the early morning. Rush hour is a nightmare there. We leave New Haven at 11:30 p.m. so we're through DC by 6 a.m. and it's been very easy. I guess it's sad to say but I95 is just easier for us cause I don't have to change roads and that way I can't get us lost when it's my turn to drive!

In terms of staying overnight, we stop in Walterboro, SC on the way down and Lumberton, NC on the way home, but I've read about Santee a lot on these boards in a positive way.

Have fun and drive carefully!

 

[drewc]

I've seen many mentions of avoiding rush hour, or even average day time traffic along this part of 95. Very understandable. However, we'll be driving on the weekend. Is it safe to assume that rush hour shouldn't be a problem on a Saturday or Sunday?

 

[Pat_Elliott]

Originally posted by Cyndiu
On the way down we stop for the day in Walterboro, SC and stay at the Holiday Inn there.

We've driven once, probably won't do it again but it was a neat experience. But I have to applaud the idea of staying at the HI in Walterboro. I thought we were the only one's! It's a nice hotel, and the perfect length from Orlando for the final day's drive.

Another suggestion: Stay away from South of the Border. Whadda letdown.

 

[Mikeyboy]

South of the Border so so funny. They start building it up 800 miles away and when you get there it is the biggest dump on the planet. I am convinced it has the dirtiest bathroom ever and yes I have been to Tiajuana. I agree that driving to WDW is a fun experience but once was fine with me.