Advice on drive from VA to WDW

[MsMagical]

We are driving to stay to WDW for the first time this summer and are staying at SSR. We have flown many times, just never lived close enough for the drive. We moved to Richmond, Virginia from Seattle in September and we are very excited to be so close to Florida. Our kids are 3 and 6 so we are planning to drive 5 or 6 hours on Friday and stop for the night and then finish the drive early in the morning. We have done one drive to upstate NY this year (9 total hours there and 11.5 back!) and decided it was a little long for the kids.

Any advice from those who drive? Good places to stop along the way and the best place to stay the night along the way? Any other thoughts on the road trip down are appreciated.

 

[vicki_c]

We stop overnight in Florence,SC which about 1/2 way for us in MD, so about 2 hours closer for you.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

You'll pass by us about an hour and 45 minutes into your trip. We do it in one fell swoop that's generally 9.5 hours door-to-door. Do it 3-4 times per year, and we've done it since our DD (9) was born. We do it on 2-3 gas/bathroom stops every time. Leave 5:15a and pull in at the resort at 2:45 such that you can set your watch buy it 9 times out of 10, literally. Then, we go till park closing after check-in, crash hard and start over the next morning, just not too early that first morning.

Go 550 miles and take a right.

There is no way I'd waste overnight somewhere from Richmond, but that's just us. Put me there in 11 hours baby and give me an extra one-two days at WDW.

 

[ldo]

florence has hilton garden inn, hapmton inn, residence inn, springhill suites. There is also a chic filet and golden corral. It's still 6 hrs to WDw the next day. Sometimes, we stop for dinner @ golden corral, then drive more to Savannah, which is only 4 hrs to WDW. We like the Embassy suites, right off I95, but it is usually $150+ per night.

 

[Anal Annie]

From Richmond I would just try to drive it straight thru. It's probably about 10 hours or so. We live in MD and the last time we drove it we stopped in Savannah for the night on the way down (mostly so we could get there earlier on our check in day). We drove it straight thru on the way home...because of storms, DC beltway traffic & road construction in No. VA it took us 16 1/2 hours which was a little much. But if we didn't have to deal with the No. VA traffic it would have been more like 14 hours. From Richmond tho I think straight thru would be a piece of cake and I wouldn't waste money on a hotel room.... But if you feel you MUST stop then Savannah is a good spot.

 

[EPCOTgrl1]

We live in MD and we normally just drive straight thought. We have been doing this since I can remember. I do remember my parents driving overnight when we were younger, now we leave before rush hour (trying to get through Richmond before it starts) for you if you are able to leave early enough you will miss it both where you live and in Florida.

You can set the kids up with a computer or iPad with some movies on it and hopefully that will keep them occupied during the drive. You can always stop at South of the Border to have the kids run around and get some of the energy out. My parents always did the same thing with us at rest stops when we were young. Depending on what time of year and what time you leave you might be able to get some park time in when you get there, or maybe even pool time.

 

[gdrj]

A couple of thoughts from NOVA.

Haven't driven with young kids for awhile but when we did we were able to drive straight through because they would sleep in the evening. With that said I fully understand stopping, especially for timing if you are leaving early Friday evening.

One suggestion I have is to try to get as close to the Florida state line as possible. That will leave you about 3 hours of driving. While 11 hours might be to much for the kids, having the 2nd day of trip in the car when you could be in Magic Kingdom is just yucky.

 

[MsMagical]

A couple of thoughts from NOVA.

Haven't driven with young kids for awhile but when we did we were able to drive straight through because they would sleep in the evening. With that said I fully understand stopping, especially for timing if you are leaving early Friday evening.

One suggestion I have is to try to get as close to the Florida state line as possible. That will leave you about 3 hours of driving. While 11 hours might be to much for the kids, having the 2nd day of trip in the car when you could be in Magic Kingdom is just yucky.

This is what I was thinking. We are leaving Friday afternoon after my husband is done with work and driving all night would mean exhausted parents and, probably exhausted kids, on Saturday. Seems better for all of us if we are not tired on our first day and can spend some time at the parks while we wait for check in.

 

[vicki_c]

This is why we stop in SC. We leave after work-ish and by the time we deal with traffic getting out of Maryland, and we are wiped from getting up early and working all day - it's a challenge for us even to drive until midnight to get to one of the hotels we usually stay at (and one is not even in Florence but further north in SC). 15 years ago, we could leave after work on Friday and drive 20 hours straight to get to Florida without much issue - we lived in WNY - but no more, middle age is taking its toll, I guess!

We do drive straight through coming home usually - on a Sunday - but we leave early in the morning after a good night's sleep.

 

[kittylady1972]

Lots of god advice here already. We've done the drive several times from MD with three kids who are now 14,12 and 10. When they were younger (7, 5, 2 our first time) we would just drive as far as we could until they got cranky and stop. Some kids don't do well sleeping long periods in car seats. We stopped somewhere in SC that first time.

Our last trip was in Nov and this time we pushed through until Savannah. It is definitely nice to have that shorter drive the 2nd day if you can swing it.

We usually manage to do the trip home in one day, leaving early and pushing through even if it means arriving late at night since we are coming home and the worry or settling into a hotel room isn't there.

Best of luck! We do another drive this July!

 

[Kingdome8]

We have driven twice from Baltimore md.
First trip we stopped in savannah for the night and drive in next day. Kids were
9,5,1

Last September we drove right thru both ways. We left at 10pm Friday night. That way kids slept thru most of trip. 10 ,6,2.
Kids are great during ride. Especially when their sleeping. Lol. We got there around one checked in and went to Epcot for askerhus castle. Had plenty plenty of energy once got there.

 

[My2Qtz0205]

I have driven straight from Suffolk, VA in one day, but my kids were 7 and 10. We left at 6:30am, and got there around 8pm. We stopped for meals and stretch breaks, including the Florida Visitor's Center.
We made the next day our Epcot World Showcase day, which doesn't open until 11, anyway.
On the way home we stayed in Hilton Head, but that was an hour off of 95.

 

[gdrj]

This is what I was thinking. We are leaving Friday afternoon after my husband is done with work and driving all night would mean exhausted parents and, probably exhausted kids, on Saturday. Seems better for all of us if we are not tired on our first day and can spend some time at the parks while we wait for check in.

Of course the excitement on the way down keeps you going, its the drive home that is the killer. Have Fun!

 

[WilsonFlyer]

Of course the excitement on the way down keeps you going, its the drive home that is the killer. Have Fun!

That is a bummer. You're right. I try not to focus on that leg of the trip as it tends to have a severe detriment on my attitude about the trip.

 

[EPCOTgrl1]

We got there around one checked in and went to Epcot for askerhus castle. Had plenty plenty of energy once got there.

It is always amazing how much energy you do have when you get there.

 

[thepops]

To combat that "downer" on the way home, you could take the Auto Train. It will put you about an hour north of home, but it would be something different (and you wouldn't have to drive all day!)

 

[clambert1273]

We will be driving from Hampton Roads area... about 11 hours so we will probably just half it up between us. I can drive 5.5 hours no problem .. hubby on the other hand.......

 

[com_op_2000]

On the way back home how about going to HH , that way you are still at a DVC resort. It is only @5-6 hours from WDW to HH.

 

[gules]

florence has hilton garden inn, hapmton inn, residence inn, springhill suites. There is also a chic filet and golden corral. It's still 6 hrs to WDw the next day. Sometimes, we stop for dinner @ golden corral, then drive more to Savannah, which is only 4 hrs to WDW. We like the Embassy suites, right off I95, but it is usually $150+ per night.

This. If you make it to Florence, SC and feel like you can still drive, move on to Savannah and stay there. If not, stop in Florence and call it a day. There are a lot of places to eat and lots of decent hotels in the area, plus Wal-Mart and Target in case you realize you forgot something. Less pricey than Savannah too, although you'll be sacrificing some time.

 

[jbish]

We are looking at doing our first drive this fall. We are in Loudoun County, per Google, 12 hours 20 mins to BLT with no traffic. Originally was thinking that we would drive to Savannah and split it into two trips. But DH would like to push through and, frankly, so would I. So now we're looking at leaving maybe 3 am on a Friday morning, plan to arrive at BLT around 5 pm - does that sound reasonable (two hours for stops)? I guess that puts us in Orlando during rush hour - how bad is it? Should I tack on another hour for planning purposes?