Any drivers from Central PA?

Disneyonmymind

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jan 27, 2005
Messages
964
What route do you take? How to avoid the DC nightmare? :scared1: How long did it take? Where did you stop for the night (assuming a stop)?

So many questions... :confused3


:banana: :rotfl: :cheer2: :woohoo: :dance3:
 
I'd shoot for Savannah, Ga, which is approximately 725 miles from Altoona, Pa., and 295 miles from WDW.
 
We live in Glen Rock--take I-95, but we leave at 3:00 AM to be ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN we're BEYOND DC prior to 6:00 AM.
BY 4:30-5:00 we're in Brunswick Ga, and we stop there at the Hampton Inn.
 
Mapquest tells me it will take 15.5 hours. Does that seem reasonable? I was guessing longer...
 

Probably a little longer than that--our trips take about 16-16 and a half hours. A whole lot depends on traffic, of course. And how often you need "rest" stops, etc.
We used to do it all at once, but were so tired when we got to WDW that we went right to bed!! Now we just do that first leg to Briunswick, then only 4 hours or so next day to WDW.
Coming back we get up to Emporia Va., stay at the Hampton Inn there, then home next day
 
Would you say that's 16-16.5 hours of normal driving time without any traffic problems?

Here's my dilemma - We want to be in WDW at 3-4 PM on a Saturday (end of April). We can't leave before 12:30 or 1:00 PM Friday afternoon. I'm afraid of DC traffic on Friday afternoon. Are there any decent alternative routes?

Thanks for your help!
 
That route isn't exactly "decent"--a longer distance and will take extra time. BUt you do avoid Baltimore and DC. Have a look at a map and see if that route is do-able for you.
ON 95 IF you put the pedal to the floor and don't stop except for gas, you can do it quicker than 16 hours. But don't forget--you ALSO need to get through Baltimore and Richmond on Friday afternoon, and neither is a pleasant drive. One accident or just a bit of bad weather can cause a huge delay. Once past these spots, only Jacksonville will present any real traffic problem. But that for you will be a Saturday, so at least there won't be any rush hour.
Should say that if you leave at 1:00 on Friday, you will most likely run into DC's rush hour, which usually starts around 3:00 or so and can last until well after 6:00-6:30 PM.
Now you will certainly get through at some point, but it is a very hectic drive.Your nerves will be shot when you finally get clear of heavy traffic, which may not even be until you are well past Fredericksburg VA.
 
But none of them are exactly "decent"--most are longer distance and will take extra time. BUt you do avoid Baltimore and DC. Have a look at a map and see if that route is do-able for you.
ON 95 IF you put the pedal to the floor and don't stop except for gas, you can do it quicker than 16 hours. But don't forget--you ALSO need to get through Baltimore and Richmond on Friday afternoon, and neither is a pleasant drive. One accident or just a bit of bad weather can cause a huge delay. Once past

these spots, only Jacksonville will present any real traffic problem. But that for you will be a Saturday, so at least there won't be any rush hour.
Should say that if you leave at 1:00 on Friday, you will most likely run into DC's rush hour, which usually starts around 3:00 or so and can last until well after 6:00-6:30 PM.
Now you will certainly get through at some point, but it is a very hectic drive.Your nerves will be shot when you finally get clear of heavy traffic, which may not even be until you are well past Fredericksburg VA.


Not knowing exactly where the OP is driving from I've picked your state Capital of Harrisburg which to me seems to be in Central Pa, but I 'm not a local so don't flame me.

The below estimates times do not include, meals, calls of nature, stopping at South of the Border, Nascar Museum or Sheetz.

When we drive, from just west of Toronto, Ontario,to WDW, google estimates the drive at 21 hours we usually spend 24 to 26 hours on the road.

Route A ( google picked this route)
Harrisburg to WDW via
US 15, I-270, I-95, I-4
982 mi – about 15 hours 29 mins
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=...885931,-81.166992&spn=15.906665,29.882813&z=5

Route B. (I slightly modified the original route)
Harrisburg to WDW via
I-83,I-695, I-95, I-495, I-95, I-4
994 mi – about 15 hours 32 mins

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=...496456,-79.584961&spn=15.789091,29.882813&z=5

Route C (my preferred route.
Harrisburg to WDW via
1,025 mi – about 15 hours 59 mins
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=...452218,-80.771484&spn=15.989086,29.882813&z=5

Between the three routes there is no more than 30 minutes or 3% more time by taking route C over the shortest route in estimated time.

With the OP leaving sometimes Friday afternoon By taking route C, the longest in time and distance, the only large metropolitan area they will hit will be Charlotte, NC 7 1/2 hours after they begin their trip

Not sure what you define as "decent" but an extra 30 minutes on roads with less congestion, for me, is the way to go.

Before planning a route to also want to look into whether or not when your traveling there isn't major road construction or road closures.

Happy Motoring.

j0400472.jpg
 
It takes us about 17 hours and we're near Harrisburg. We usually hit some DC traffic because we always left late Friday afternoon but DH says to go another way would take us longer to get there. This time we are leaving on a Thursday, I'm hoping it makes a little difference.

We drive straight through. Once we leave the house we're like kids. We can't wait to get to the magic! :banana:
 
This is great information and I really appreciate everyone's input. I live outside of Harrisburg and they call this area "Central PA". Never could figure why :confused3 - it's not exactly in the center of the state.

Last summer, we took a trip to VA Beach and took the DC route on a Friday night. We thought we timed it so we would miss the PM rush hour traffic (left Hbg around 5PM) but it didn't work. We were stuck in a traffic jam on the other side of DC and we were delayed for 4 hours. Nightmare! :scared1: I was stressed, to say the least. An accident caused the closure of the interstate going the other direction (not ours) so we could not understand why it was sooo bad for us.

Anyway, what worries me for this trip is that we will be leaving at the absolute WORST time (Friday at 1PM) and what you said, Uncleromulus.
Now you will certainly get through at some point, but it is a very hectic drive.Your nerves will be shot when you finally get clear of heavy traffic, which may not even be until you are well past Fredericksburg VA.
That is my issue, exactly. Not a good way to start a 16-17 hour drive. :sad2: My DH is the main driver and he likes driving the open highway but the city traffic wears him out. Therefore, the alternate route is looking like our best choice.

HamHam- How do you get mapquest to prepare that route? I only know how to put in cities and let it pick the route. I used that method to enter cities along the way and it ended up 16hrs 21min but I like your time better. :)
 
we drive from Scranton, PA (northeast) we take the route mentioned...
81 to 77 to 26 to 95 to 4
it takes about 18 hours for us. we enjoy the drive, I prefer it b/c I hate driving around DC, I get too nervous.
 
we drive from Scranton, PA (northeast) we take the route mentioned...
81 to 77 to 26 to 95 to 4
it takes about 18 hours for us. we enjoy the drive, I prefer it b/c I hate driving around DC, I get too nervous.

I heard the extra truck traffic was pretty bad. Is that true?
 
When we travel back to PA we never travel around DC. From southern PA, take US 15 to Frederick MD continue to near Harper's Ferry, continue south on 15 to US 17 and bypass the entire area and come out south of Fredericksburg, VA.:surfweb:
 
I-81 is FULL of big rigs. We took it down and back to Asheville NC one summer and I was beginning to think every truck in the U.S. was right there with us.
I-81 is a pretty hilly stretch--meaning those trucks are doing 80+ down the hills and 30+ back up. And I don't just mean single trucks--they travel in packs of 15-20 trucks before you'll even see a car. Very scary!!
 


Disney Vacation Planning. Free. Done for You.
Our Authorized Disney Vacation Planners are here to provide personalized, expert advice, answer every question, and uncover the best discounts. Let Dreams Unlimited Travel take care of all the details, so you can sit back, relax, and enjoy a stress-free vacation.
Start Your Disney Vacation
Disney EarMarked Producer






DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest DIS Tiktok DIS Twitter

Add as a preferred source on Google

Back
Top Bottom