Any DVC Folks drive from the east coast?

[edk35]

We are driving down for the first time in MANY YEARS. We have been DVC members for almost 3 1/2 years, so it will be kind of interesting to drive in instead of fly in. I feel like we will pack completely different. What do you bring that you WOULD not bring if you flew in???

We live in MD. Our plan is to leave on Sunday around 2:00 in the afternoon and drive until about 10:00 then get in the next day earlier than if we got up at zero dark thirty on Monday morning and drove straight through. I think we might avoid some DC beltway traffice by doing this. Not sure if this is a good plan or not? Our dogs can't be dropped off until 1:00 on that Sunday. That is the day we had planned to drop them at the kennel even with the Monday morning departure.

Our other choice is to pay another day's kennel fees, drop them late on Sat. and then head out Sunday morning maybe around 8 or 9. What do you all think? Especially if you live around this area? To me it seems to make more sense to leave on a Sunday than rush hour Monday.

 

[Chic]

We always fly into Orlando from North Carolina. Southwest airlines offers a nonstop flight from here and it takes only an hour in the air. The drive takes about 11 hours and we have two very young children so we avoid the long hours in the car. Have you ever driven to Disney before? Absolutely everyone I know from here who has made the drive, never did it again. They all fly now!

 

[bbluvsdis]

We live in VA and have done it both ways. Last week we flew from Richmond but in November we will be driving. When we drive it takes about 14 hours from here and we do it in 2 days. One time we got so excited we left at midnight and drive thru the night. We will never do that again!! We arrived at 2 in the afternoon and went to the parks. We were so dead tired by dinner we couldn't hold our heads up! We try to drive as far as we can on the first day (maybe Jacksonville) so we can be there by lunch on the second day. You have a few more hours than us but I think your plan will work. The only things we pack differently are golf clubs and Dr. Pepper. I hate having to drink Coke all week!!

 

[edk35]

We always fly into Orlando from North Carolina. Southwest airlines offers a nonstop flight from here and it takes only an hour in the air. The drive takes about 11 hours and we have two very young children so we avoid the long hours in the car. Have you ever driven to Disney before? Absolutely everyone I know from here who has made the drive, never did it again. They all fly now!

Funny you say that. We drove ONE time from MD and that was in Nov. 02. A very long time ago. After that we have only flown down. Now it was NOT bad going but coming back it was HORRIBLE. We were at DISNEY during Thanksgiving week. We departed the Sat. of Thanksgiving weekend. It took us forever to get out of FL. We could not find a hotel on the way home to spend the night. I think we found one at like 1 or 2 in the morning. Then the next day on Sunday 95 was a nightmare with lines in the parking lots of rest areas. Needles to say we never drove. NOW fast forward 7 1/2 years later and OUR KIDS WANT TO DRIVE. Our oldest is dd 19, ds 16 and ds 11. ALL THREE WANT TO DRIVE IT. They want to ROAD TRIP. Plus our oldest son wanted a beach trip too so we combined Vero and Disney. Also, he wanted to visit a couple of the water parks off site. SO...we are driving. It might be the first and last summer road trip to FL...we shall see.

 

[DVC Mike]

We always fly into Orlando from North Carolina. Southwest airlines offers a nonstop flight from here and it takes only an hour in the air. The drive takes about 11 hours and we have two very young children so we avoid the long hours in the car. Have you ever driven to Disney before? Absolutely everyone I know from here who has made the drive, never did it again. They all fly now!

I drive from NC to Orlando 4 times a year. You must be near Raleigh, as we don't have Southwest. The drive takes between 8 and 8.5 hours and we don't have any kids in the car, so it's managable. I've flown a few times as well.

Driving is nice for three reasons:

1. We can bring whatever we want - we just throw it in the car - no need for an Owner's Locker
2. We have a car and don't have to rely upon Disney transportation - we can go off property for groceries
3. Don't have to deal with airports and airlines!

 

[smcabee]

We drive from Columbia, SC. Takes me between 6.5 and 7.5 hours depending if the DW sleeps or not. I love having a car and being able to pack what I want to.

 

[lucyem]

We always fly into Orlando from North Carolina. Southwest airlines offers a nonstop flight from here and it takes only an hour in the air. The drive takes about 11 hours and we have two very young children so we avoid the long hours in the car. Have you ever driven to Disney before? Absolutely everyone I know from here who has made the drive, never did it again. They all fly now!

We drive from New Hampshire (23 driving hours). We have gone straight through, stopped for 1 night and stopped for 2.

Check out the transportation board. Lots and lots of people drive. They are very helpful with when to leave home, roads to take and where to stop etc.

We certainly do have a lot more packing freedom.

 

[3 Hobbits 2 Disney]

I would absolutely leave on Sunday...not only is there the traffic is DC but also Richmond. With respect to the Beltway, they have stopped all the construction for the holidays but if you are coming down from the Bethesda side you have the HOT lane construction in the Tysons area and then the Beltway construction down by 95. If you are going over the Wilson bridge you only have the Telegraph Road area construction. Also, I don't know if you heard, but VDOT was advising people to take the Merrimac Monitor bridge tunnel around Richmond...don't know if that is on your flight path.
Many a year ago my husband and I drove to Sarasota -- in one 22-hour day -- never again. But doing it in 2 is probably doable -- though not my choice.
Have a great time regardless -- those family trips will probably become fewer and harder to have going forward.

 

[lanand3]

I wish we lived closer to drive. Driving 22 hours from Mass is too much for me.We drove to MD one year for a beach trip,I think it was about 12 hours and that was pretty close to my limit.It costs a lot for my fam of 5 to fly,and if we lived at least 6 hours closer we could make more trips

 

[tjhsr]

We have driven from Md. several times. I would leave Sunday and try for southern Ga. Good luck!

 

[cpdwiz]

We just drove from mass and enjoyed it and we had a 7yr old...stopped and enjoyed Hilton head down and back

 

[sssteele]

I assume that you live close to DC. But if not an alternative to consider is I- 81 south to I-77 through Charlotte and Columbia and then on to I-95. 35 miles further for us, but we avoid metro DC and Richmond/

 

[Connears]

I wish we lived closer to drive. Driving 22 hours from Mass is too much for me.We drove to MD one year for a beach trip,I think it was about 12 hours and that was pretty close to my limit.It costs a lot for my fam of 5 to fly,and if we lived at least 6 hours closer we could make more trips

We have been driving to wdw from Natick since DS was 6,(he is now almost 20). We go at least once a year and also drive to HHI at least once a year. We usually stop for 2 overnights for wdw, (richmond, va and jacksonville, fl), but have done it with only one. We love having the car and wouldn't dream of flying now. We are kind of on auto-pilot by now..we know all the rest area on 95 and where we like to eat. We are leaving Sat for HHI and are strying a new route(one others have told us about for years): 84 to 81 to 77 to 95 in SC. Mapquest says more miles, but without the 95 traffic, we are trying it.

Connears

 

[edk35]

I assume that you live close to DC. But if not an alternative to consider is I- 81 south to I-77 through Charlotte and Columbia and then on to I-95. 35 miles further for us, but we avoid metro DC and Richmond/

We live between Baltimore and Annapolis. My parents always take 301 when they visit from AL but we don't like all the stop lights. So we usually take 95. I will mention this to my hubby though as an alternate route.

 

[edk35]

We have driven from Md. several times. I would leave Sunday and try for southern Ga. Good luck!

Do you think we can make GA by 10 or 11 at night if we leave at 2:00 or is that pushing it??

 

[DVC96]

We are here in Northern VA just off of I-95. We make the trip twice a year, nearly every year, since 1994. We generally leave on a Friday morning around 4:30 or 5 am so as to avoid traffic around Richmond. 95 South backs up around the Woodbridge/PW Pkway exits every afternoon but generally lets up once you pass the weigh station and the HOV merge around Quantico. We can make it from our house to Orlando in 14 hours - including a long stop for breakfast in NC and many more quick stops after that. Lately, we have been driving to Jax/St. Augustine and stopping there for the night. I think you'll be fine leaving at 2 on a Sunday, as long as it's not a holiday weekend. The HOVs should be heading north so that will eliminate the merge congestion around Quantico. Drive safely and have a wonderful time!

 

[edk35]

We are here in Northern VA just off of I-95. We make the trip twice a year, nearly every year, since 1994. We generally leave on a Friday morning around 4:30 or 5 am so as to avoid traffic around Richmond. 95 South backs up around the Woodbridge/PW Pkway exits every afternoon but generally lets up once you pass the weigh station and the HOV merge around Quantico. We can make it from our house to Orlando in 14 hours - including a long stop for breakfast in NC and many more quick stops after that. Lately, we have been driving to Jax/St. Augustine and stopping there for the night. I think you'll be fine leaving at 2 on a Sunday, as long as it's not a holiday weekend. The HOVs should be heading north so that will eliminate the merge congestion around Quantico. Drive safely and have a wonderful time!

We are leaving on Sunday July 11th so it is not a holiday weekend. Just trying to decide if we want to leave Sunday morning vs. 2 and then we would get in more driving the first day.

 

[crocrafter]

We do the drive every year from northwestern Virginia. Have done it both as a 2 day trip with a stop either just south of Savanna or at Jacksonville and also going straight through. We avoid the DC area, hit 95 at Fredricksburg, take 295 around Richmond and straight down. We decide on 295 around Jacksonville based on the time we get there. When we go straight through we stay off property that night, sleep in and start our Disney stay the next day. Going home just depends on the day. We usually find the worst traffic around the construction in Georgia. Stay around Rocky Mount if not driving straight through. We have musc, DVD's and audiobooks to keep us going.

It takes about 14 hours with a stop every 2 hours for restroom, food or gas.

We pack very differently. Not necessarily more clothes. We actually like to do laundry - it forces us to take down time and since so many of the laundry rooms are near pools, it's perfect. We bring sandwiches for lunch down, our favorite beach towels and pillows, breakfast foods, the Brita pitcher, an electric teapot, and Pepsi! We also stop at the WalMart Supercenter across the interstate from Sea World for anything else like milk, or whatever we find we've forgotten.

We like having the car for trips off site to Sea World or for a favorite fast food meal. Of course it also gives us a reason to buy more souvenirs!

I'd suggest mapping it out and deciding how much driving you and the family can handle in 1 day. With multiple drivers, starting at 6AM Sunday and going straight through might work fine if you plan on Monday being an easy day. Remember that unless you are using reward points, you can always make a quick phone call about a room if you decide on the way down that you can't do it in 1 day. Shouldn't be a problem on a Sunday. I've even managed reward rooms with a 2 hour notice during 1 of our infamous snow storms this last winter. And of course you also have to work around the kennel.

Good Luck - wish I were going along!

 

[Donut23]

We are driving down for the first time in MANY YEARS. We have been DVC members for almost 3 1/2 years, so it will be kind of interesting to drive in instead of fly in. I feel like we will pack completely different. What do you bring that you WOULD not bring if you flew in???

We live in MD. Our plan is to leave on Sunday around 2:00 in the afternoon and drive until about 10:00 then get in the next day earlier than if we got up at zero dark thirty on Monday morning and drove straight through. I think we might avoid some DC beltway traffice by doing this. Not sure if this is a good plan or not? Our dogs can't be dropped off until 1:00 on that Sunday. That is the day we had planned to drop them at the kennel even with the Monday morning departure.

Our other choice is to pay another day's kennel fees, drop them late on Sat. and then head out Sunday morning maybe around 8 or 9. What do you all think? Especially if you live around this area? To me it seems to make more sense to leave on a Sunday than rush hour Monday.

We are not DVC but we just drove from Maryland. Actually, we drove to Beaufort, SC and the following day poked down the coast. We LOVED the drive so much, we are doing it again for our NEXT trip....but driving only as far as Jacksonville (I found a staybridge suites for only $46 for the night.)

Anyway.....of COURSE you take more. We stayed in a 2 BR and Kidani with two friends. We carried all the food we would have picked up near WDW. I packed soft-sided folding coolers with a block of ice on the bottom (frozen in a pastic containers), next a layer of ice midway. We also had all the drinks, beer, wine, etc.

We had our standard free Hertz car rental and this time when they decided to upgrade us....we TOOK the CMG Terrane (Terrance). What a GREAT car....our friends watched Disney movies on the way home.

As I said.....we enjoyed watching the countryside change as we drove....watched for those stupid south of the border billboards. My DH and I can enjoy just about anything so it was easy.

Oh yes, go to the library and checkout some books on cd.....they make the time FLY BY.....good murder mysteries!

Enjoy your drive!

 

[daisyduck123]

Hi!

We always drive down, straight thru, from Maryland...takes 14hours - piece of cake!! Wish we were driving with you!