Any Advice on driving to Disney World from Nova Scotia

[cantwaitforwdw]

Last year we went to WDW. It was great and we were not really planning to go this year - BUT my DH is driving me crazy to go so we are thinking of driving from Nova Scotia in May. There would be three of us myself DH and DD who will be four in May.
Also this will be our first time not staying on a resort so any advice on a place to stay that has a kitchen and is close to WDW at a reasonable price would be great too.

 

[Bea]

We have driven from Halifax 2 times, with 2 small kids. We really enjoyed it . We stay in Boston the first night and North Carolina the 2nd night (that was a long day). The third day we arrived in Orlando. I have a book called "Driving i95" and it starts in Boston and ends in Florida. Gives maps, distances and information of all exits along I95 and what ammenities are at each one. It names specific restaurants by name, gas stations with ABM, 24 hour restaurants, etc. Very good resource.

We stay at Cypress Pointe Grand Villas in a 2 bedroom condo. If you check out alpharooms.com you can usually get a good deal. I think we paid around $65.00 a night in August. If you search the boards you will find more information. It is close to disney, has pools for the kids, mini putt, close to grocery store, full kitchen.

Good luck in your drive!!

 

[MegKate]

If you need any info or recommendations on Boston, please feel free to hit me up! I'm originally from Massachusetts. (I hang around on the Canadian boards as I live on the border of New Brunswick!) I would be happy to help you out!

 

[cantwaitforwdw]

Thanks for the great info...

 

[tribus121]

There are other routes to consider other than I95 all the way .From NB I take 95 to just before Boston then I84 to I81 south to 60 then 60 connects with 95 just before Richmond Va although i have only used this rte in February it would be stunningly beautiful in the spring .

this rte is longer but you avoid the largest citys ( Boston NYC DC Phil )and lots of tolls

I can provide turn by turn directions if anyone is interisted

 

[momdad4kids]

There are other routes to consider other than I95 all the way .From NB I take 95 to just before Boston then I84 to I81 south to 60 then 60 connects with 95 just before Richmond Va although i have only used this rte in February it would be stunningly beautiful in the spring .

this rte is longer but you avoid the largest citys ( Boston NYC DC Phil )and lots of tolls

I can provide turn by turn directions if anyone is interisted

We've driven both ways different times and the !84 to I81 then back over across I60 to the 95 is my choice.As a bonus you can also check out Hershey in Penn as a side trip. Traffic from Boston thru to Washington is heavy and fast ,I dont need that much stress in my life to save couple hrs driving

 

[caisland]

I'd recomend staying away from I95 around Philly, Wash, NY if you want a quick drive.

We werre stuck in 23 miles of bumper to bumper aound washington. took an extra 3 hours at least.

Boston is a good long first day. At the border between NH/Mass then head inland to Hartford Conn. works well.

 

[SplashMom]

We drove in August 2006 from Cape Breton. It was a long drive but we really enjoyed it. Our kids were older teenagers and we had a new comfortable vehicle so it was fine. We took our time and stopped at several rest stops as well as other places. We shopped a little, and spent one afternoon in Washington DC. We usually left around 8:30/9:00 in the morning and drove until 6 or 7. We didn't want any night driving because it was fast and unfamiliar.

We stayed on the I95 the entire way and although it was stressful at times, we didn't mind. We were lucky because we didn't have any traffic problems but the opposite direction often had traffic backed up for miles because of accidents/construction. I kept a journal so let me know if you have any specific questions about places to stay, etc. We are flying this year but I would love to drive again sometime! Where in NS are you?

 

[DISDANCEMOM]

Hi there...since I live near Toronto I don't have any advise for driving to WDW but I do have a suggestion for location. Windsor Hills...its very close to WDW and you can get a condo for as low as $399 a week depending on the time. Check out www.vacationcentralflorida.com to see the facilities.

 

[bluenosemickey]

We have driven many times with our three kids and even had the van packed with another kid and mom! It's a long trip, but we like to drive through the night to get in some good travel time through the nyc-dc section.

My husband does almost all of the driving and he likes the stimulation of the big cities. It is fast and you need to be used to big city driving. But the kids look forward to the trip down, the way back, not so much. But we stop in Freeport ME to shop and that breaks it up.

I95 is a very easy route to take and there are lots of signs and lanes available. You don't have much difficulty staying on the right course.

I'm sure there are even faster routes, but you need to know where you are going and hope you are not re-routed along the way.

 

[pumpkinboy]

There are other routes to consider other than I95 all the way .From NB I take 95 to just before Boston then I84 to I81 south to 60 then 60 connects with 95 just before Richmond Va although i have only used this rte in February it would be stunningly beautiful in the spring .

this rte is longer but you avoid the largest citys ( Boston NYC DC Phil )and lots of tolls

I can provide turn by turn directions if anyone is interisted

I will also cheer Tribus's recommendation. Avoiding the major east coast US cities is good advice. And in May the route through the Shenendoah Valley in Virginia ought to be gorgeous.

For my part, I'd wait to get off I-81 until you hit I-77, then go straight south thru the Carolinas. This is straighter than heading back to the coast via I-60 and the biggest cities you'll hit will be Hartford CT and Charlotte NC (just try to avoid those two around rush hour). The computer and GPS all assert that the "fastest" way is I-95 via NYC and Washington DC, but heading up into the mountains will save you hours of traffic in the major metropolitan areas. It has the added advantage of having no tolls south of Massachusetts.

I did the better part of this ride in September when I brought my sons's new (used) wheechair van up from Atlanta to Boston. Even in the rain I could see it was beautiful.

I would think you'd want to spend the first night somewhere in Mass, perhaps the Worcester area (taking I-290 thru Worcester is usually fastest, and there are decent budget hotels between I-495 and Worcester). The second night will depend on how ambitious you are; I would think any place past Roanoke, VA would work well. You will want to avoid staying someplace that will put you into Charlotte traffic during rush hour though.

It's an awefully long drive though. Mightn't it be worth it to drive to Portland Maine or Manchester NH and fly down?

Good luck!

 

[Cdn Gal]

BIG TIP!! Keep lots of change up front with you for the tolls. I went to Mt. A. and for grad we all drove down to Myrtle Beach for spring break. (entire graduating class) Good times by all Anyway, that is one thing that I remember most about the drive was the need for $$ quickly for the road tools. Also about 2 hours drive in we exchanged money at par. They just took whatever we had- it was great! It was about the same rate that it is now. Later on though they didn't know what we were talking about. Oh well, hope you have a great vacation!

 

[3guysandagal]

Head south and drink lots of coffee!

 

[pumpkinboy]

BIG TIP!! Keep lots of change up front with you for the tolls. I went to Mt. A. and for grad we all drove down to Myrtle Beach for spring break. (entire graduating class) Good times by all Anyway, that is one thing that I remember most about the drive was the need for $$ quickly for the road tools. Also about 2 hours drive in we exchanged money at par. They just took whatever we had- it was great! It was about the same rate that it is now. Later on though they didn't know what we were talking about. Oh well, hope you have a great vacation!

If you're going to be on a lot of toll roads (on the I-95 route), I would recommend looking into getting yourself an E-Z Pass transponder. With this mounted in your car, you breeze through toll booths without having to stop. As for which one to get, I'd go with the system where you get the best discount. We have a Maine E-Z pass, and save about 25%-50% on our tolls in Maine (depending on the exits used). I think in a couple of states the transponder is free; you just have to link it up to your car and credit card. I think this is the case with NY and NJ. In any case, if you're driving I-95, the E-Z Pass will pay your tolls from Maine to Virginia (does not work in Florida tho).

If you go inland, as I recommend above, you will only have tolls in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, with I-84, I-81, I-77 and I-26 being toll free, and I-95 south of Virginia also toll free.

Good luck!

 

[cantwaitforwdw]

Thanks for all of the great tips and advice...We are really flexible on the dates and if we see some cheap flights we may take advantage. Hoping Westjet may have some deals posted in February or March...I think they did last year. Still looking for places to stay as well, there is so much selection. Any specific places anyone stayed would be great to know the names and any promos or flight deals would be appreciated as well. I usually look right on the Westjet sight every day. I refuse to fly Air Canada after last year.

 

[MegKate]

I would think you'd want to spend the first night somewhere in Mass, perhaps the Worcester area (taking I-290 thru Worcester is usually fastest, and there are decent budget hotels between I-495 and Worcester).

I wouldn't go through 290. The road is constantly under construction and hey even native Worcesterites don't like going on it.

 

[Bea]

If you were considering driving the whole way to Florida, have you thought of driving to Portland,Maine and flying from there? We flew from there last August on AirTran for $210.00 each. It was about a 9 hour drive from Halifax. . Jetblue now flies out of Portland and they often have good seat sales also.

SWA flies out of Manchester,NH which is further but they have great airfares as well. Others have found deals out of Bangor but we have never been able to find anything.

Just wanted to give you a few more options. Since you are flexible with your dates, you are sure to come up with some good deals.

 

[pumpkinboy]

I wouldn't go through 290. The road is constantly under construction and hey even native Worcesterites don't like going on it.

We have been finding I-290 to be faster, amazingly. The portion north of Worcester is wicked fast and nice & smooth. And on holiday weekends when the Mass Pike is backed up (Southborough to Sturbridge) it has been a life saver; plus you save a little on the tolls and you get a glimpse of scenic downtown Worcester.

As for the "Fly out of Portland or Manchester" suggestion, that is also a good idea. Manchester is almost as far as Boston, given that you have to divert off the interstate, so if you can do Portland, so much the better. I would recommend JetBlue out of Portland as the best airline hands-down (AirTran is OK, but JetBlue rocks, and both go PWM-MCO non-stop). If you're considering Manchester, you can also look at Boston, since it's about the same coming from the Maritimes or most of Maine. If you can get a decent park-n-fly deal and a good airfare then go for it.

 

[amberg@eastlink.ca]

we drove from hali to pa this summer with our then 2 yr old and one yr old, liek others have said lots of change for the tolls, or perhaps looking at getting an ezpass. altho i thought i read somethign this summer that said they dotn sell out of the country online. perhaps im wrong.

also if you havent gotten a portable dvd player for hte car- get one!!! best 70 dollar investment to keep our kids entertained i ever made!!! we did here to nb then nb to maine then spent two nites there and went 7 states in one day to get to sesame place. i think me to pa was a horribly long trip adn we had a gs leader whom i met up with in maine give us impeccable directions. most importantly have fun!!!

 

[momdad4kids]

What about the auto train,have you given it any thought?
http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/Conte...te_Page&c=am2Route&cid=1081256321200&ssid=136
thats the link,its roughly $700 USD round trip from Lorton Va to Sanford Fla.Maybe not the least exspensive way to travel but if you fly and rent a car or take into account wear and tear on your vehicle and your self it may be an option . Check the website but i think it includes meals and room on the train as well. Also right now on Delta from Boston as per pumpkinboys suggestion its $165 USD roundtrip to Orlando,