Anyone ever drive to WDW from Toronto in late Dec?

[Susan2771]

We are playing around with the idea of driving down to Florida in late December and was wondering if anyone has done the drive during that time of year? Would it be possible to do in 2 days with tricky weather? In what state does the weather get better and we don't have to worry about snow covered highways? Is the second day of the drive typically better driving conditions? I'm very nervous about driving down during that time of year and trying to get a good idea what we would be in for if I agree to this. Thanks for any info!!

 

[nat1234]

I'm interested in the answer to this question too. I'm thinking of driving down the end of November and coming back December 7th. I would love to know what kind of weather that I might expect to have.

 

[Mickey&JoshNut]

We have driven down twice at the end of December and driven home in early January. We take the QEW/I-90/I-79/I-19/I-77/I-26/I-95 route.

Our trip in 2006/2007 was a clear drive - no snow on the drive down or the drive home. Our drive in 2007/2008 was a different story. We had a blizzard the day before we left and the drive from Hamilton to Pittsburg was a little tricky as the roads were still snow covered....by the time we hit West Virginia the roads were clear and we were able to make it through the mountains no problem but then we hit a bit of wet snow in South Carolina and they do not know how to drive in wet snow...there were cars all over the place. That trip our drive home was in early January and we had stopped in Jonesville NC for the night....when we woke up there was quite a bit of snow - and basically no warning - we watched the 10 o'clock news and they said a "slight" chance of snow....our normal 2 hour drive to Beckley WV took over 4 hours.....I was ready to get a room and stay the night until we found out that the roads on the I-19 and further north were clear. Just keep in mind that some states (like Virginia and West Virginia) seem to wait until the snow stops to send out the plows....we were lucky enough to follow a Fed Ex truck (thanks Fed Ex) most of the way from NC to WV .

As we have experienced, each year could bring different weather, if you do decide to drive, keep an eye on the weather and stop if you have to...and remember to stock up on windshield washer fluid before you leave because the windshield washer fluid in Florida is not made for "cold" temperatures.

 

[twokids0204]

Have driven many times in December...

If there are storms, then you have to take extra caution, but generally I have never hit any problems.

I have never taken I79 / I77 in the winter, it tends to be a bit more curvy and mountainy then I-75.

If taking I-75, the only real bad part I have noticed is between London and Windsor on 401 West. It tends to be big open fields and if there is snow, you will see a lot of blowing and heavy winds.

Besides that you will be fine... don't let it stress you. Common sense will keep you safe.

 

[MCFADDEN5]

We have drove down many many times, the drive is easy we think. We have 3 kids they travel good. You need 22-24 hours of driving time + eating and sleeping. I 75 route is the easiest because there is no hyw. switching, we go on google earth and check out hotels to stop at and book them. If you can drive 12- 14 hours a day then look for hotels in the middle of the route. We usually do 16-18 hours the first day ( pack muffins, and fruit for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch. Bananas and oranges or any meat products can't cross border.) Second day is a nice 5-6 hours arrive in Disney and un pack before supper. Around $100 for gas $120 for nice hotel with full cont. breakfast(Holiday Inn Express) plus food. We drove at Chirstmas last year and never seen any snow on the hyways. Fog in Tenn. & Kent. mountains can get bad but they have bright markers in road to help. The Weather Network has a travel helper. Enter in your route and it will tell you the weather in major cities along route for the next 3 days. ANY MORE ? I can help answer.

 

[candielips]

we did the drive down for Christmas a few yrs ago and the weather was fine. It really started to get warm well into Tennessee. We took the I75 as it is a straighter drive a little safer in case you do encounter bad weather.
BTW we did it in 26 hrs.

 

[irisesareblue]

when you say that you take I-75, which border crossing do you use into the US - I am looking at driving from Hamilton to Orlando on January 1and am planning on requesting my TripTik from CAA soon. TIA!

 

[Thumper_ehhhhh]

We have done the trip many times. Last time in dec was in early 90's and cant remember the road conditions. We are heading out Dec 12th this year for disney and plan on 2 days. and coming back on the 27th in 2 days. Well thats the plan. We will have a few route planned out before we leave incase of bad weather. This is our route of preference QEW/I-190/I-90/I-79/I-19/I-77/I-26/I-95/I-4. Oh we plan on being in Kissamee one day earlier just in case we need the extra day for driving.

 

[Susan2771]

Thank-you all so much for posting your experiences, I really do appreciate it. I don't know if I feel better about driving or not still I am worried about the weather part and also the part of driving down with a 2 year old and a 4 year old and their patience level for this type of trip. It really helps to know you were all able to do it in 2 days.

Did you decide to drive your own vehicle or did you rent a vehicle for your trip? I don't know if anyone can answer this question but if you have CAA coverage, can it be used down in the states in cause of car trouble? Do the benefits of the CAA include the States?

 

[Thumper_ehhhhh]

Why worry about the weather. Just have a couple of routes ready just in case. At this point we dont know if its going to be sunny or snow. Thats like saying any other time of the year your worried about tornados. You deal with the weather just like any other trip. As for the 2 and 4 year old. Make sure you have lots for them to do. DVD. games, toys. Hit the dollar store and give them a new toy every couple of hours. We have always driven our own car. CAA is the same as AAA. Yes you are covered in the US. I would make sure your upgraded to the plus with more towing milage. I beleive the basic one gets you 10 km or nearest garage over 10km. The plus gets you over 200km hopefully you wont need it but if needed that will put you closer to a dealership with mini trips of 4 to 5 hrs with no stops. Oh just so you know we trained or kids at a early age for long driving trips. We did the first trip with the kids when they were ages 5 and 2 and we stopped every 5 hours or so. We also stopped at the welcome centers to some states for a stretch and bathroom brakes. We got fuel when we stopped for food. They saw the Disney planning videos along with as much stuff online and understood what the end result would be. We also told them it will be a 3 day drive. So when we did it in 2 they were happy. Hopefully this will help.

 

[Tower]

As others have posted, we've also driven the I-90-70-19-77-95 route. No one can predict what the weather will be like. Just go and if the weather looks too difficult to you, be prepared to pull over to a motel for the night or at least a restaurant until it blows over. You're traveling to have a good time. If it looks like you'll be a day late for any reservations, have the phone number of the resort handy and change them.

I'd rather arrive a day later than never.

P.S. We once drove to Orlando after leaving Mississauga at 1:00AM. Traffic was great! No 'other guy' to worry about for the most part. Took us 5 hours to reach and get past Pittsburgh before the morning rush hour. After that, no major cities until Charlotte, NC and that was just in time for lunch anyway. By leaving at night, you're going to have the kids sleeping while (hopefully) 2 of you switch driving and dead-heading there. Less chances of 'Are We There Yet?'. It kept my sanity.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

when you say that you take I-75, which border crossing do you use into the US - I am looking at driving from Hamilton to Orlando on January 1and am planning on requesting my TripTik from CAA soon. TIA!

Well when going on I-75 you can cross at the Ambassador Bridge or the Detroit–Windsor Tunnel. Whenever my family and I have taken I-75 we always croos at the Ambassador Bridge.

 

[LLWDW]

Another thing to keep in mind is holiday traffic. The time we left on Dec 26 it was a weekend and the traffic from south Georgia to Orlando was terrible, down to a crawl in some places and stops along the way were busy. It was a lot of local people coming home after the holidays, I guess just bad timing on our part.