Anyone drove to WDW from Indianapolis??

[basketrn]

We are making our second driving trip to WDW from Indianapolis, IN. The first time we did it, we didn't plan ahead and ended up stuck a scary hotel

I am looking at suggestion for anyone that has done the treck from Indy to WDW. We plan on leaving Friday around 10am and driving all day. We would like to stop somewhere, but not sure where?!? Then finish the drive on Saturday to WDW.

Any tips would be great!! Thanks!

 

[Laz]

We travel from Bluffton. How far do you want to drive the first Day? If you take 75, I always want to get past Atlanta before I stop. It takes me about 11 hours, so it might take you about 9-91/2 hours. However, after last years construction disaster on 75 in Ga., I think I would take a different route. we were stuck over 6 hours in construction. This was last April.

 

[basketrn]

Any suggestions on places to stay past Atlanta?

What other way would you take to avoid 75?

 

[Kae]

I would start with the chain of your choice & then look up Atlanta, alot of times you will get the surrounding suburbs. Or go to one of the hotels in Indy to get a property books. Somtimes it is easier for me when I see a map. And I would try to get past Atlanta so you do not have do it during a busy morning.

Kae

 

[kydisneyfans]

If possible, leave a few hours earlier and make the drive all the way-it is 12-13 hours from the Man O War exit on I75 in lexington, KY--about 3 hours southeast of Indy.

We did stay in Marietta GA on the way home last visit-it was OK-nothing special but seemed safe.

 

[madge]

If possible, leave a few hours earlier and make the drive all the way-it is 12-13 hours from the Man O War exit on I75 in lexington, KY--about 3 hours southeast of Indy.

We did stay in Marietta GA on the way home last visit-it was OK-nothing special but seemed safe.

It's 12-13 hours from our exit off I-65 in Kentucky (exit 86) and we always drive down in one day and break up the ride home into 2 days. we're never as excited to get home as we are to get there, LOL

 

[stauncie]

*edited to add, that all times are shown driving the posted speedlimits*

We have driven several times from Champaign, IL to Disney. We are a family of 5 (3 kiddies ages 7- 13). We also failed to plan well our first trip down and stayed in a not-so-nice hotel on the Tn-GA line. I almost had a revolt on day 2, because the kiddies (and DH) did NOT want to have to travel for another 10 hours.
We learned ALOT that first year. Its about 20 hours of driving time for us (subtract 2 hours if leaving from Indy) (add time for every stop you make, restrooms, food, stretching, etc.)

We now leave EARLY in the A.M. (like between 5-6 am) and then drive for 12-14 hours. We stop every 2 hours to fill up the tank or take a 10 minute stretch break. We stop for the night in Tifton, Ga.(usually around 8 pm) Its a good sized town with several well-known chain hotels, and many restaurants for a good breakfast before heading out again on day 2. The best part is.... day 2 is only about a 4-5 hour drive to Disney.

 

[WeLoveThePoly]

We've driven from Indy to WDW three times:

2000 - This was a trip with DILs. We were scheduled to check-in at the Poly on a Sunday and DILS wanted to leave on Friday. Friday night we stayed somewhere in GA. We ended up getting to Orlando Saturday afternoon and had to find a hotel there. But it was nice because we got to the Poly really early on Sunday and had the whole day.

2001 & 2002 - This was a trip with just me, DH & DD and we drove straight through both times (16 hours each way!). We will never do that again. Oh, it was hard and we were SO tired when we finally arrived at WDW.

In 2003 we starting flying down. We go in October during DD's Fall Break and don't want to waste days driving.

Debbie

 

[KIANGA]

We Leave @ 6:00 AM I-69 To I-65 South Of Indianapolis, South On I-65 To I-24 @ Nashville, East On I-24 To Chattanooga, Then I-75 South, We Have Always Went Straight Thru Atlanta On I-75, Use By-pass Around Macon, Drove On To Cordele Exit 101/102 And Stayed At The Hampton Inn <very Nice> About 739 Miles And 12.0 Hours. Next AM Back Onto I-75 South To Florida Turnpike, East To I-4 South To Exit 65B <Osceola Parkway> And Voila We're In WDW. Last Leg About 304 Miles And 5.1 Hours.

 

[tubachick]

We always drive from Chicago (so add 3 hours or so from indy) and we stop just past Chatanoga in Ringold GA. There is a hampton that we usually stop at and its clean, and usually not to busy. its close to the highway, and then by the time we go through atlanta the am rush is over. and hit disney by 2ish. but we also like to sleep in late.

good luck.

 

[firecracker]

We're from Warsaw (2 1/2 hours north of Indy) and we've done it several ways:

1. I-74 to I-75 to TN. Spent the night there and had a LONG drive the next day.

2. I-65 to Murfreesboro TN. SCARY hotel...LONG drive the next day.

3. Leave at 4am, drive to Perry, GA, nice Holiday Inn, 5 hour drive the next day.

4. Leave at 3am (we're excited and can't sleep anyway, why not drive??), drive to Ocala, FL. 1 hour drive the next day.

5. Leave at 5pm & DRIVE STRAIGHT THROUGH! Crazy, but doable. If I get an afternoon nap, I'm fine. Since we have a minivan now, I can actually lay down in the back and sleep, so it was fine. DH and I agreed to pull over the moment we were drowsy and that worked. It's tough, but resting at the hotel the day you arrive makes up for the tiredness. Should have take us 17 hours, but an accident and construction changed that to 23 hours of HELL!! Driving back was fine...took us 17-18 hours to Warsaw.

We're trying #5 again in April if we can't get a good Ding from Indy to MCO.

Thanks for listening to my saga!!

 

[Jon99]

Last week we were a little concerned about the traffic on 75 because of construction and took I-75/I-10/Rt 231/I-65/I-74/Rt 41 home to the Kankakee area.. Was an extra 70 miles, trip took 20 hours (18.5 hours on the way down via 57/24/75, hitting 75 middle of the night)..