Anyone drive from St. Louis to WDW?

[Momma2PrinceNPrinces]

Do you typically stop for the night or drive straight through? We drove it last May. We were planning on driving straight through on the way down, but around 11 pm, DH couldn't do it any longer. We stopped in Tifton, GA (about 4 hrs outside of Orlando). It was a MESS trying to get the kids back to sleep in the hotel. So we drove straight through on the way home and was in our own beds around 4:30 am (luckily the kids stayed asleep this time during the transfer!)

For this trip, DH is adamant about stopping for the night at a decent hour. Our plan is to leave earlier this time around (last trip we didn't get out of St. Louis till after 9:30). He was thinking like 5:30/6 at the latest. My mom is coming with us and I'm going to try to get her to spend the night here so we don't have to get her on the way like last time. I'm just trying to figure out where should we stop?

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Check out the Chicago to Orlando thread on the Transportation board. Lots of suggestions about where in GA to stay. Chattanooga is about 1/2 way & lots of fun stuff to do there, but I think you'll want to be through Atlanta so you can start the next day w/o having to deal with that. 6:00 a.m. start might put you right in the middle of ATL evening rush though

 

[Momma2PrinceNPrinces]

6:00 a.m. start might put you right in the middle of ATL evening rush though

Yikes!!! I totally didn't think about that I'll check out that thread. Thanks!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Yikes!!! I totally didn't think about that I'll check out that thread. Thanks!

Yeah, I'm trying to sort that one out myself. I want to get past ATL, but we'd have to leave WAY early to be through there before rush hour (especially since ATL is Eastern time & we're Central in STL).

Watch out for Braves games too. Don't want to be trying to get past the stadium 45 minutes before a game starts

 

[NotUrsula]

Well, we don't drive to WDW, as DH simply refuses, but we do drive to visit family on holidays at a similar distance, so I'm familiar with the drill. I'm with your DH; plan ahead to stop for the night.

What I would shoot for if I were you would be staying not too far south of Atlanta. The best way around the rush-hour dilemma is to deliberately stop for a break mid-afternoon somewhere about an hour north of Atlanta, where the kids can run around and exhaust themselves, and then eat an early dinner there. Then go through Atlanta at the tail end of rush hour and stop at around 7-8 pm. Have the kids swim to tire them some more and refresh yourselves (funny how being in water has those opposite effects for kids and adults), and then go to bed at a decent hour.

The most deadly thing that you can do on a family road trip is to concentrate on "making good time" and in so-doing let the kids sleep in the car for a long time. It seems like a good idea, but then when you stop they are bursting with energy just when the adults are dead on their feet.

Personally, I love breaking the trip through Georgia at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mtn., even though it is a bit out of the way. It is a very soothing place to be, I find.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

What I would shoot for if I were you would be staying not too far south of Atlanta. The best way around the rush-hour dilemma is to deliberately stop for a break mid-afternoon somewhere about an hour north of Atlanta, where the kids can run around and exhaust themselves, and then eat an early dinner there. Then go through Atlanta at the tail end of rush hour and stop at around 7-8 pm.

It's a little further away, but killing time in Chattanooga is one possibility I've considered depending on how our trip is going (last time to FL, we left 2 hours later than planned ). We love the aquarium, and that whole area (even if you don't go in) is a good way to kill some time. Eat a pizza for early supper, let some time pass, then as you suggest hit ATL just after rush hour ends

 

[senoragilbert]

We usually stop in Marietta, GA and leave early the next morning, or stay in Macon, GA to get through all of that ATL nonsense. Priceline has some great options for both areas if you are on a tight budget.

 

[Momma2PrinceNPrinces]

It's a little further away, but killing time in Chattanooga is one possibility I've considered depending on how our trip is going (last time to FL, we left 2 hours later than planned ). We love the aquarium, and that whole area (even if you don't go in) is a good way to kill some time. Eat a pizza for early supper, let some time pass, then as you suggest hit ATL just after rush hour ends

We actually stopped in Chattanooga on the way down for a late lunch. We didn't hit ATL traffic until our ride back (and that was early...like around 3:30/4).

 

[Momma2PrinceNPrinces]

We usually stop in Marietta, GA and leave early the next morning, or stay in Macon, GA to get through all of that ATL nonsense. Priceline has some great options for both areas if you are on a tight budget.

How long was the drive from here to there?

 

[.:allisonr:.]

I'm about an hour and a half east of St. Louis, and will making the drive in June. Our plan for the way down is to stop for the night in Macon, GA. It's about an hour south of Atlanta, and had really reasonable priced hotel rooms. On the way home, we're going to drive until we can't drive anymore, and stop somewhere for the night.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

We actually stopped in Chattanooga on the way down for a late lunch.

Yeah, last time down we didn't hit Chattanooga until almost 4:00 Eastern We were thinking lunch by Paducah. If we could get to Chattanooga in time for a late lunch, that'd be perfect for zinging through ATL

 

[Tara D]

So has anyone from St Louis driven straight through overnight? We are tossing around the idea of leaving around noon-2 pm after picking DD up from school a little early... making some fun stops along the way to let them run around a bit... dh and I would take turns driving during the night and then we would get into Orlando mid-morning the next day. (It sounds awful but IDK... I hate to give up a whole day of Disney just to drive, lol)

 

[jackilvsmath]

We live 3 hours northeast of st. Louis and we drove straight through last October. We left at 11 pm on Thursday night. The plan was to stop Friday night just outside of WDW and find somewhere. However, we made such good time (we were through Atlanta before lunch) that we spent the night on the somewhere north of Daytona beach. Headed out to WDW the next morning and it was only 2 hr. we are planning to drive again next time, it wasn't that bad at all.

 

[Momma2PrinceNPrinces]

So has anyone from St Louis driven straight through overnight? We are tossing around the idea of leaving around noon-2 pm after picking DD up from school a little early... making some fun stops along the way to let them run around a bit... dh and I would take turns driving during the night and then we would get into Orlando mid-morning the next day. (It sounds awful but IDK... I hate to give up a whole day of Disney just to drive, lol)

We drove it straight through on the way back. We left Orlando around 10 am and was back home by 4:30 am. That also included gas/bathroom stops and dinner at a Cracker Barrel somewhere. Oh and a stop in Chesterfield to drop my mom off. IMO if you can drive through the night and stay up the entire next day until bedtime, then go for it. DH and I personally couldn't function with no sleep for over 24 hrs!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I have a co-worker who's made numerous straight through trips with up to 4 kids from Washington, MO to Jacksonville, FL to visit his mother-in-law. They leave in the evening & the kids sleep. I used to be able to do that in my youth, but not anymore

 

[AshleeH]

We live a few hours south of St. Louis and stop near Valdosta. Last year we pushed it to Gainesville and we were all so miserable that it was an exhausting day. This year I think we're going to drive to Macon on Friday (we usually leave Saturday) and drive the rest of the way Saturday. It's still in the TBD stages.

 

[Tara D]

So what is there to do it Chattanooga if we stop there on our way home? And how far is it from Orlando to Chattanooga? Thanks!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

So what is there to do it Chattanooga if we stop there on our way home? And how far is it from Orlando to Chattanooga? Thanks!

Ruby Falls (cave tour)
Lookout Mountain (supposedly see into several states - it is a nice view & free)
Rock City (touristy, but fun)
Aquarium (our favorite Chattanooga attraction)
Chattanooga Choo-Choo (yes, you can take a ride)

And the entire area around the Aquarium is fun just to wander around with shops & restaurants. Outside the Aquarium is a series of fountains the kids can splash around in.

Chattanooga is roughly 1/2 way from STL to Orlando, so still a good 8 hours away from your destination whichever direction you're headed.

On a side note, we sometimes stop at the Gander Mountain in Paducah to wander around a bit. It's like a small Bass Pro or Cabela's.

 

[Momma2PrinceNPrinces]

Ruby Falls (cave tour)
Lookout Mountain (supposedly see into several states - it is a nice view & free)
Rock City (touristy, but fun)
Aquarium (our favorite Chattanooga attraction)
Chattanooga Choo-Choo (yes, you can take a ride)

And the entire area around the Aquarium is fun just to wander around with shops & restaurants. Outside the Aquarium is a series of fountains the kids can splash around in.

Chattanooga is roughly 1/2 way from STL to Orlando, so still a good 8 hours away from your destination whichever direction you're headed.

On a side note, we sometimes stop at the Gander Mountain in Paducah to wander around a bit. It's like a small Bass Pro or Cabela's.

Huh, I never knew there was so much to do there! This was the place we always stopped on the way to WDW as a kid and like I said, stopped on the way down last time. We only had lunch in the train station and walked around the trains. Maybe on the way back we can stay the night around there and tour around the next morning