Anyone drive from Dallas to WDW?

[Heidi]

Was supposed to fly out on the 15th. I called WDW and rescheduled for next month. I also extended the vacation to have the time to drive. Just wondering how long the trip is and if it is 'senic' at all. The ups and donws of it.

I have a conversion van with a TV/VCR. And we will have people that can switch off drivers.

Where is a good place to stay also? Probably will drive most of the way the first day.

 

[rascalmom]

Hi Texas!

We drove in June from Oklahoma City, that is about 3 1/2 hours more than your trip. We actually had fun! The kids were stocked up with Game Boys, books & car games. Hubby & I packed in all our favorite "oldie" CD's & off we went. We left in the afternoon & drove to Shreveport for our first night. You obviously could go much further. We were pleasantly impressed with the type of roadside accomodations that appeared to be available throughout the trip. As far as scenic - lots of trees. You sometimes feel as if you are in a tunnel. It is pretty, I just prefer the wide open spaces like we have around here & Dallas. We made the trip back in two days also, drove from Orlando to the New Orleans area (Covington) & stayed the first night. We were home by 8 or 9 p.m. including a stop for a nice dinner at a favorite steakhouse in Dallas. Have fun!

 

[Deb & Bill]

We drive from Shreveport all the time - I-49 to I-10. We leave after school (about 2:30) and usually get to Daphne AL by evening (it's about the halfway mark-just across the bay from Mobile). They have a nice Comfort Suites there (we've stayed there so many times that they know us now). Also a Hampton Inn right on the bay. Then we get up early in the AM and get to Orlando by 2:30 PM. Takes us about 14 hours to drive. It's a pleasant drive. You can cut off along the Gulf coast around Biloxi - Gulf Port. It adds a little time, but it's not bad. You cross the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge (don't go to New Orleans, take I-12 to bypass it and save time). Mobile Bay is pretty, too, and you can see the USS Alabama.

Or you can take I-20 to Jackson MS and cut off on Highway 49 to Mobile. It's about the same. You can go by the Battlefield at Vicksburg on the way to Jackson. You cross the Mississippi near Jackson. This way takes about the same amount of time since you leave the interstate and take the state highway (or US highway, can't remember what it is).

You can go on towards Pensacola or Tallahassee, but it makes it a bit harder. We drove all the way from Orlando to Shreveport on Christmas Day one time. It was a long trip. We also drove all the way from Shreveport to Ocala one time - very long trip. Hotels in Pensacola are not as close to the interstate. More in Tallahassee along the interstate. If you can make it all the way to Gainesville (I-75), there are a bunch of hotels around there. It's a bit of a long drive in the FL panhandle. If you can get to Gainesville, you are only about 2-3 hours away from Orlando. There are a few rip-off gas stations along this long stretch between Pensacola and Tallahassee.

Just after you get to Ocala, you turn off on the FLA Turnpike and you can see all the orange and grapefruit groves along the highway. The Turnpike is not that expensive - about $2-4 each way.

 

[melme26]

We drove from Dallas in march 2000. We split the trip into 2 days. left Dallas at 5:00am,
arrived in Biloxi, Miss about 4:00pm, had dinner and spent the night. left Miss. the next day
at 5:00am and got to WDW right at 3:00pm check in. It was not a bad drive at all - lots of
trees and my daughter enjoyed seeing the gulf of mexico.This year, we are going to fly! We would rather spend all that traveling time at WDW!!!! Have a safe trip!

 

[Planogirl]

I drove one year from Dallas with just me and DS. I was bored out of my wits since DS mostly played his Gameboy and read. I think it wouldn't be so bad with another grownup to chat with. Just allow two full days and plan where you'll be stopping in case you get sleepy. It seemed to take me forever to find a decent hotel in Lousiana on the way back.

 

[slimplaw]

We've driven 3 times from Irving. We prefer going across 20 to Jackson Ms. and then going south. We usually stay in Mobile. We've stayed at a Hampton Inn, Drury Inn and Red Roof Inn. I don't plan on going back to Red Roof. I like the other 2 much better and they both serve a small breakfast. We like going on to Jackson because the drive from Shreveport south to I-10 seems so long and there is not much on the way. Also, twice we got to I-10 and found a lot of construction, even had to go back north 15 miles once because I-10 was closed.

 

[MikeP]

We drove on our trip in '95, but flew both last year and this year. The worst part of it for us was I-10 it is long and it is boring. We stopped just after getting over the border of FL for the night, I can't remember where. Personally we won't drive it again. For us it was a waste if 4 days vacation.

 

[Kermit]

I grew up in Quinlan (about 45 miles east of Dallas) and we drove twice. We took 20 to Shreveport, then 49 down to 10. One time we divided it up into 3 days because we stopped in New Orleans to pick up an aunt to take with us (and we dropped her off on the way back home, of course). I think we stopped in the town where you get off of I-10 in Florida. We drove it in 2 days the other time and stopped somewhere a little east of Pennsacola. We didn't make ressies anywhere either time so that we could drive until we were tired. If there's something filling up all the rooms in one town, you can always drive to the next town. There aren't really any long stretches without big towns and motels in that part of the country.