Anyone have problems with hotel availability on they way?

[dman11]

We are planning on driving to WDW in November. My plan is to just get in the car on Friday after the kids get out of school and drive until I need to stop. At that point just stop and find a hotel by the highway. Basically the same thing on the way up. Just stop when I get too tired to drive anymore.

My question is: Has anyone had any problems finding a place to get a room when they just stop wherever they get tired? The last thing I want to do is get stuck having to drive around for an hour looking for a place that has a room available when I'm tired.

And I guess another question: I'm driving down from PA, any places I should avoid stopping at all costs?

 

[Gooofy-Blade]

I've done this many times and have never had serious problems. However, there have been times when I have stopped in an area that had no vacancies and may have had to travel 20-30 more miles down the road. It really all depends on your timing and if their happen to be local events that book the usually unbooked rooms along the interstate. Also, I do know some hotel chains have agreements to keep "emergency" rooms open until 11:00 pm and then can book them for first comers. I had that experience once...simply had to wait from 10:30 to 11:00 p.m.

 

[THEDISFANS]

We have never had a problem getting around a few times we payed a little more than I thought a place was worth but we were @ WDW the next day

 

[iluveeyore]

I've done this many times - my best tip is to stop at the welcome center of whatever state you think you might stay over in and get the travelers coupon book - we usually get a room for around $45-50 for the night, plus the books have directions as to where you find the hotels (usually right off the Interstate).

 

[Brook1099]

We will also be driving to Disney in November.From NJ Well be leaving on Sat. the 4th. Our first Nov. trip we just decided to stop didnt pick a hotel prior and had no problem getting a room same for the way home. We always drive to SC. Booked the next 2yrs rooms in Santee SC. Nice area. Also last year we left on Fri. after kids got out of school it was a bit of a nightmare with traffic 3 hour delays from Wa to VA We will never do that again SaT. mornings for us. So all in all I dont think this time of year is a problem at all
getting a room. Holiday drives I wouldnt chance it.

 

[Minnie824]

We drove the first time and wanted to stop around Gainesville. I called about a month ahead of time to book, just in case. Everything was sold out cuz there was a huge football game going on. That may be the only thing I'd caution on...check their game schedule, unless you're planning on stopping further out.

 

[Pembo]

Just drove down on Easter and had no problem!

 

[riaesq]

Drove home Easter Week thru WV and were pooped 2 am-ish. We were surprised that we had to go to 3-4 places before we could get something. So you never know. Couldn't hurt to have something that you can cancel if you change your plans.

 

[NotUrsula]

When in November? If it is the Thanksgiving holiday period, don't try it; get a reservation. If you are stopping in a college town, check the event schedule first; football games are not the only events that can fill every hotel room.

Also, calling or making a ressie online is usually cheaper than the walkup rate. Best to plug the 800 numbers of the major roadway chains into your cell phone and call from the parking lot.

 

[NancyIL]

I might've left things to chance in my younger days, but I always have reservations now when driving. I usually fly to Florida, but I was on a spring break roadtrip with my son in March, so we drove to WDW via the grandparents' homes in SC and FL. We left after school on Friday, so I decided how far I wanted to drive, then got a Priceline hotel in that area. In this case, I got Amerisuites (now Hyatt Place) near the Cincinnati airport with a $42 bid. I decided while on the road to drive farther the 2nd night, so I called a few hotel chains, then had my husband check rates online for me from home. Moral of the story - next time I'm on a roadtrip, bring the AAA Tourbooks with me so I'll know where there are hotels!

 

[chasbos]

The one and only time we drove to Florida, we had problems - we fly now!

We drove in December from Ontario and the first night we left late and had planned on getting a few hours of driving in before stopping for the night. Well, it had ice rained in Ohio that day and when we went to stop we had to try 3 or 4 different hotels before we got a room. Everyone else had also decided to stop that night!

The next day we made it to Atlanta and things were going great - well we hit the worst traffic jam by the airport and were there for hours. We decided to call it a night and went looking for a room - so had most of the other people who were stuck in the traffic jam! We ended up getting a room after 3 or 4 stops but ended up paying $300 for a suite!

Now that is all just bad luck in my opinion - but it does happen.

 

[CPT Tripss]

I've done this many times - my best tip is to stop at the welcome center of whatever state you think you might stay over in and get the travelers coupon book - we usually get a room for around $45-50 for the night, plus the books have directions as to where you find the hotels (usually right off the Interstate).

And, use your cell phone to call ahead . . . we found that most of the places in these books will tell you if they are full or not. While you may lose out on an available room in the 15-20 minutes it takes you to get there, you are not stopping at a place that already is full.

 

[Pembo]

And, use your cell phone to call ahead . . . we found that most of the places in these books will tell you if they are full or not. While you may lose out on an available room in the 15-20 minutes it takes you to get there, you are not stopping at a place that already is full.


That's what we did. In fact I called one place about 2 hours before I knew we'd get there and made a ressie and they took my coupon when we got there. Saved $60 on the rate.

 

[dman11]

Great info! Thanks a ton. Our drive down is going to be the Friday before Thanksgiving week and the trip back will be Monday after Thanksgiving.

We'll be joining AAA so I'll definitely be getting the guide books for the areas I'm hoping to stop.

I've thought about making ressies somewhere based on the comments here but I'm reluctant to make any because I'm afraid we may run into traffic or other troubles somewhere along the way and be delayed and I might be too tired to continue driving. Or I might get to where I made the ressie and bot be close to being tired enough to stop.

I'm thinking the best thing might be to get the AAA guide books and look for places with AAA discounts along the way and call when we get close to needing to stop to try and get the best deal. I guess I should also try and find the college towns along the way and mark them down somewhere and make sure that we don't try and stop there since it will be a Friday during football season. Does that plan sound reasonable? Any more suggestions?

Thanks again for all the info!

 

[NotUrsula]

I guess I should also try and find the college towns along the way and mark them down somewhere and make sure that we don't try and stop there since it will be a Friday during football season.

Just FYI, college football games are normally on Saturday, not Friday. In the South, Friday night is normally reserved for high school games. (Some tailgaters will book a hotel for the entire weekend, though, especially at the really serious football schools.) For the largest games at the largest schools, take a look at www.secsports.org and www.theacc.org -- those are the conference websites for the two largest intercollegiate athletic associations in the East/Southest, and will list the schedules for every school that belongs.

As you are driving, you will know fairly quickly in a given state if you are driving toward an area where there is a big game going on that day. You will normally see LOTS of vehicles with team flags flying above the car, clipped onto the window frames.

Also, a lot of the major chains that locate along highways will have a 6 pm cancellation deadline before your CC would be charged. You can always make multiple ressies that have that provision (be SURE of the policy and that it applies to your rate) and then call before 6 pm to cancel the ones you do not want.

 

[dman11]

As you are driving, you will know fairly quickly in a given state if you are driving toward an area where there is a big game going on that day. You will normally see LOTS of vehicles with team flags flying above the car, clipped onto the window frames.

Sounds a lot like Steelers Sunday's here!

Thanks for the info that will be helpful. I'm imagining I'll be on 95 most of Saturday morning and early afternoon.