Anyone Drive to Disney From Pittsburgh?

[mtakac]

I thought it would be fun to drive to Disney and managed to convince my husband not to fly. I never took road trips as a kid so I'm kind of excited. We'll both be driving and are leaving on 10/21 which is a Saturday and checking in 10/22. We would like to drive as much as possible on Saturday and stay overnight somewhere. Is it foolish not to have a hotel reservation along the way? I thought that I would put together a list of places to stay 10 hours, 11 hours, etc... to Disney. We want to get as much driving as possible done that first day.

Also, I got a trip tik from AAA. Is this the best route to follow or is there a better way to go? Again, I'm a road trip novice so any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[pepe of ohio]

We've done the road trip many of times in the past from northern Ohio and we mostly took the Rte. 77 way to Florida, only made a few changes once near Charolette. I believe its rt.26 to I 95 and when we hit the I 95/ I 4 exchange we used to stay on I 95 and tsake the Beeline Expressway to WDW. I 4 gets real nuts going into Orlando at the wrong times and you can fly down 95 to Cape Kennedy and buzz on the Beeline, alot of tolls on Beeline but I'm sure there are better ways to go now, its been a few years since we made the I 77 trip. Last driving deal was I71 to I 75, I hate the mountains and I 75 is hardly used and mostly flat, 3 lane super slab. As for rooms, its not necessary to reserve ahead but we always do, make for a target and security in a place to stay. In the dark, them hotels aren't very easy to see. We always tried to get the most under our belts the first day, usually left late at night and drive 12 plus hours to leave a short drive for the next day and liked to get into Disney real early to start our fun. Have done the straight through drive many times too, with 2 drivers its doable and nothing beats getting to WDW around 5:30 in the morning. Grab your suit and jump in the pool, sometimes the rooms are ready, depends on the time of year but even at that it could be ready early.

 

[bunny]

Southwest just started an airfare sale today- $117 RT non-stop from Pittsburgh to Orlando. For 2 people, this would be cheaper than driving and a lot faster too.

GO STEELERS!!!

 

[bunny]

I just checked Southwest for your dates and the sale is only through 10/15. Sorry about that. But the fares are still really cheap- $350 for 2 people. Or you could wait for a ding. We are only paying $548 for 4 people for Oct 6 through Oct 15.

 

[sheri236]

we've done the drive several times from pittsburgh (not by choice!!) we take the pa turnpike to breezewood then I70 to I270 to the beltway around dc to I95. fayetteville, nc serves as a pretty good stopping place for us.

 

[keishashadow]

We attempt to skip PA turnpike (even though it's closer mile-wise for us) thus avoiding DC metro area whenever possible.

We head south out of Pittsburgh on I-79, pick up Rt. 19 in sutton (watch out for speed traps!!!!), then I-77 past Charlotte & Columbia, SC; you'll run into I-95.

Hope you enjoy your adventure Since there are such good deals on airfare to mco out of pit, we wouldn't consider driving...crunched the numbers & getting a hotel, food & gas, etc...it was more expensive over the last several years. I like a road trip too but, 20 hours is way too long for me.

 

[Twende]

We attempt to skip PA turnpike (even though it's closer mile-wise for us) thus avoiding DC metro area whenever possible.

We head south out of Pittsburgh on I-79, pick up Rt. 19 in sutton (watch out for speed traps!!!!), then I-77 past Charlotte & Columbia, SC; you'll run into I-95.

That is our favorite way to drive there too. It is such a beautiful trip but with gas prices high and SW fares low we have flown the last three trips.

 

[mtakac]

We've done the road trip many of times in the past from northern Ohio and we mostly took the Rte. 77 way to Florida, only made a few changes once near Charolette. I believe its rt.26 to I 95 and when we hit the I 95/ I 4 exchange we used to stay on I 95 and tsake the Beeline Expressway to WDW. I 4 gets real nuts going into Orlando at the wrong times and you can fly down 95 to Cape Kennedy and buzz on the Beeline, alot of tolls on Beeline but I'm sure there are better ways to go now, its been a few years since we made the I 77 trip. Last driving deal was I71 to I 75, I hate the mountains and I 75 is hardly used and mostly flat, 3 lane super slab. As for rooms, its not necessary to reserve ahead but we always do, make for a target and security in a place to stay. In the dark, them hotels aren't very easy to see. We always tried to get the most under our belts the first day, usually left late at night and drive 12 plus hours to leave a short drive for the next day and liked to get into Disney real early to start our fun. Have done the straight through drive many times too, with 2 drivers its doable and nothing beats getting to WDW around 5:30 in the morning. Grab your suit and jump in the pool, sometimes the rooms are ready, depends on the time of year but even at that it could be ready early.

Thanks everyone! I know that it would be cheaper to fly but we have the time, no kids yet so we thought we'd give it a shot.

After the beeline, did you take the Florida turnpike, then 417 (Central Florida Greenway) and follow signs to Disney from there? Last time we flew, we made a stop in our rental car at an Albertson's to pick up water. It was right off the road we were traveling on and the only thing that makes sense is if we went to the one on 417. Now, this was three years ago so maybe the store we went to is closed and it was off of another road. I recall being advised to avoid as much as I4 as possible even coming from the airport.

 

[kimmy kay]

I live in Sarver Pa which is 20 miles north of Pittsburgh. We've driven to WDW 2 times.
Following the same route. We are going in March of 2007. I've been looking of deals on airfare for that time but haven't found any yet. We might be driving this time too.

 

[danalee]

Ok guys I hope my hubby dosent see this post

We live in Kittanning PA (about 35 north of Pittsburgh) and he says "lets drive down next time" and I said, "are you crazy nobody from up here drives down!"

Who Knew!!!

 

[cranbiz]

If you decide on going I95 to the Beachline (Beeline) you can get off at SR417 and take that down to Disney. You can also just stay on the Beachline and take it to I4. I4 at that point is past Orlando proper and is not usually too bad at this point. Tis will also let you hit the discount Disney outlets for cheap souvineers, etc.

Personally, unless it's a rush hour timeframe, I'll just take I4. It is more direct and cheaper. If you are travelling on a weekend, the traffic is not usually bad.

 

[cslittle999]

We drive through Pittsburgh on our way to WDW. We take the I79/19/I77/I26/I95/I4 route. From Toronto the total trip is about 21 hours and we stay overnight just north of Charlotte. That gives us a 12 and a 9 hour drive. Those times included a fair number of stops plus meals (we have DD9 and DS7).

The drive from Pittsburgh would be about 15 hours. With just the two of you I would be very tempted to try it in one day. Leave around 5 am and check-in at WDW in time for a late dinner.