Atlanta and other short hop DVC'ers

[kellydizfan]

I would love to live that close to drive - we are looking at moving to GA over the summer before our kids start school - I would drive everytime as the cost for 5 of us would not pay! Gas prices are still cheaper in Orlando than here in NY - sometimes not by much but still cheaper.

 

[WithDisneySpirit]

Huntsville is not in the path of I65, Decatur is. It takes us at least an hour and a half to get to H'ville from Birmingham and that is by way of I65. They still might save a little time that way, but it sounds like they drive to drop their dog somewhere too My DH maintains that we save time by going to Atlanta first too. It doesn't save miles but there are less lights and two lane.

Lisa

 

[Dean]

Huntsville is not in the path of I65, Decatur is. It takes us at least an hour and a half to get to H'ville from Birmingham and that is by way of I65. They still might save a little time that way, but it sounds like they drive to drop their dog somewhere too My DH maintains that we save time by going to Atlanta first too. It doesn't save miles but there are less lights and two lane.

Lisa

I guess it depends on where you start in Huntsville but I can confirm that one can drive to Orlando in 9.5 hours and be very reasonable with the speed limits going the route I mentioned. But you have to know how to get through Montgomery to make it work. I'd do almost anything to avoid driving through ATL during anything that resembles rush hour.

 

[Tooneric]

toon.........i just noticed youre from the big easy........we are coming down the weekend before fat tuesday and are leaving on the lundi gras for a cruise with 30 family members who live in new orleans too............i think we will hit ernst cafe for bacchus!!!!

That sounds like fun! I'm looking out of my 10th floor window at a beautiful cruise ship right now. I know of quite a few people from here who take cruises during Mardi Gras, and quite a few like me that do WDW.

Ernst Cafe is a great spot for Bacchus. We'll be gone by then, but will be parading this weekend. DS is marching in his first parade Sunday. And I get to chaperone the band since DW is nervous about her 13yo baby in a parade.

 

[kweaver]

Katie - that was pretty dang funny!!!

I agree with everything you say. It really isn't worth it and by the time you add up everything you mentioned you really wouldn't be coming that much on top anyway.

We flew to Orlando numerous times before kids and 9/11 and it was rather quick. But, those days are long gone...

If it's just the two of us, we usually fly. When that happens, it's usually business for DH...so his ticket (and sometimes mine) is paid for...so it's a no brainer.

We enjoy having all of that time in the car to talk...life is so busy the rest of the time!

 

[Lesley]

Katie, your post is exactly how we feel about flying with the kids! LOL

I find it really weird that it takes the same amount of time or longer to get to WDW from Atlanta as it does from Columbia. I guess easy access to I95 makes it fast for us.

 

[lenshanem]

Good thing we leave next weekend instead of this one with all the ice on the roads!

 

[deerh]

Hi,
We always drive to Orlando and live in Roswell/Woodstock area. It takes us 7.5-8hrs to drive. Our kids are older (15),(11), so we put them in the Expedition with the DVD player with LOTS of movies, and it is like they are NOT there!! My 15 year old listens to music, sleeps, so it is not a problem.

When the kids were younger, we flew almost all the time, (I can remeber when RT air to MCO was $88!!!) Those days are long gone, and it is too expensive to fly now, as the air is $150+RT now!! That is $600 we can use at WDW!!!

DeerH

 

[mckryan]

I live in Newnan (45 miles south of Atlanta). We've always driven and can make it in 7 to 7.50 hours...with one stop for gas, stretching, in Valdosta. Since my son is 16, he can now help drive and it is an easy trip I would like to fly down sometime - maybe when I take a solo trip down the road.

Do you drive a small 4 door car? I live in Newnan, too, and I saw a car with a DVC license plate on the front! I have a DVC sticker on the back window of my Yukon.

How do you go to FL? The last time we went 16 over to 75, and it was much easier than going around 285 to 75.

 

[Kewz1]

I would think both the easiest and quickest way from Huntsville to Orlando to be South on 65, 231 to I 10, somewhere around 9-9.5 hours driving time depending on specifics. LIkely a full hour savings over going through Atlanta even if you don't hit rush hour in ATL or Macon and a lot less stressful.

We've tried it that way and it was not quicker. We've actually tried a few ways and straight down 75 through Atlanta works quickest for us. You do have to time the rush hour thing though. Thanks!

Kristen

 

[cinderminnie]

We also live in the Atlanta area in Woodstock and I can soooo relate to Katie's post on flying with children. Flew to AZ at Thanksgiving with DD 7, DD 2, DH, DM, and DF. Four words - NOT FUN! Never again!
We have drove each time to WDW and will continue to do so thru the years because of the control of leaving on or off time (dh is always 15-30 min late), being together, watching our favorite Disney DVDs on the DVD player, listening to Disney music ("welcome to our family time") and it just fits our schedule. We leave early in the morning and we are there by check in time. We then head to Downtown Disney to eat at Fulton Crab House and shop at the World of Disney. Finish with ice cream and head back to room to snooze. The traveling of 6.5-7 hours is worth it to get to see that magical place, I think.

 

[Disneyaholic]

WOW!!! I am seeing a lot of Atlanta-area DIS-ers on here that I don't know if I've ever seen before! (Or at least not realized that they're from the Atlanta area...)

What ever happened to the DISmeet we were thinking about for after the first of the year??? Anybody game????

 

[lenshanem]

I'd go to a meet.

 

[tinkgrl]

Hi,

We are from NC & drive! We split it into 2 days. I'm in wheelchair & its easier to take our van.

Allison

 

[debbiedoo]

Would love to meet up!! Now that the holidays are over. .. . .where would we all like to meet?????

 

[poohj80]

We live in Huntsville, AL and it takes us about 11 hours.

Hey Neighbor! Do we need to have a Rocket City DVC meet?

We usually drive too (even though we now have direct flights to Orlando) and it usually takes us 9.5-10 hours. 7 hours from Atlanta sounds about right depending on road construction on I-75 south of Atlanta.

I would think both the easiest and quickest way from Huntsville to Orlando to be South on 65, 231 to I 10, somewhere around 9-9.5 hours driving time depending on specifics.

Actually Dean, that is even longer than Kristen's way. We go HWY 431 south to I-20 then over to Atlanta and take the bypass to I-75. It only takes us 3 hours to Atlanta this way.

I also have to echo the wonders of technology as XM Radio and portable DVD players make any drive SO much easier!

 

[Kewz1]

Hey Neighbor! Do we need to have a Rocket City DVC meet?


That would be fun! Are there any other northern AL DVCers?? We could always go over and crash the Atlanta meet!

Kristen

 

[poohj80]

That would be fun! Are there any other northern AL DVCers??

There's at least one other in town as she works across the hall from me and is the reason we became members in the first place.

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

Glad to see my thread is yielding some side benefits. I can see where traveling with two or more people it just wouldn't be cost effective to fly. However with just me it takes somewhere between 6.5 and 7 hours. I can drive five hours on my own easily (did it a lot from North Jersey to Vermont) but the extra 2 hours especially in daylight is a bit of a killer.

I've never had a problem navigating Hartsfield...especially once I figured out I can just take MARTA to the airport. But I guess I can see that flying would only save me an hour or two. Plus its annoying that it costs the same to fly to MCO from ATL as it does from EWR.

Oh I tried the leave at 4AM get to Disney by Noon thing. It left me somewhat out of it once I got there and checked in etc. I'll probably do it again while I've got an AP but won't waste a days pass that way in the future.

Sooo...any bus people? I'm surprised no one has come up with an Express bus from Atlanta to Disney. There were plenty of those from NYMetro up to various ski resorts or down to Atlantic City.

Maybe I should go into that business....the Pixie Dust Express.

 

[lllovell]

I would LOVE to be able to ride on a bus straight from somewhere in Atlanta all the way down. That is one of my concerns about flying as well - transportation to Disney itself. I know they have the new program in place (starting with the celebration) where you can get from the airport to WDW free along with your luggage, but right now, it would cost a lot of my family of 4 to get there.

We are also spoiled by the fact that we have ALWAYS had our car on property. I am sure I could get by without it, but it is just so much nicer to me to hop in the car and jump from the hotels to the parks (with possibly the exception of MK - but for now, we HAVE to ride the monorail or my sons flip OUT). Its a bit of a hike from the bus terminals as it is, so I am not sure you are saving all that much and I NEVER have to wait to walk out of the hotel and get into my car.