Avoiding Traffic in Orlando

[Woodmnky]

We are thinking of taking a last minute trip to WDW next month. We will be driving from NC via I-95. In the past we have gotten off on I-40 and headed to WDW, however, we always seem to get stuck in horrible traffic that ends up adding an extra hour or more to an already long day. Are there any better routes? We can't really change our timing much as even with leaving before 6am we will still be in the Orlando area around 3-4 pm.

 

[Detailor]

We are thinking of taking a last minute trip to WDW next month. We will be driving from NC via I-95. In the past we have gotten off on I-40 and headed to WDW, however, we always seem to get stuck in horrible traffic that ends up adding an extra hour or more to an already long day. Are there any better routes? We can't really change our timing much as even with leaving before 6am we will still be in the Orlando area around 3-4 pm.

You mean I-4, right?

You might consider getting off I-4 in the Lake Mary/Sanford area and taking SR 417 which takes a wide loop around the most congested part of I-4 that stretches from north of Orlando through downtown Orlando/the Florida Turnpike interchange during "rush hour" traffic periods. Exit 101B takes you from I-4 to SR 417.

Part of 417 requires you to pay tolls. I think that going that way would add about 18-20 miles to your trip as it loops to the east of the city and takes about fifty to fifty-five minutes to get to Disney area (SR 417 exit 6, to SR 536 (World Center Drive which becomes Epcot Drive). If you spend an hour stuck in traffic by taking I-4 all the way that means that you'd save about 45 minutes by taking that fairly easy alternative route.

Dick Taylor

 

[Woodmnky]

Thank you. Yes I did mean I-4 (I-40 is my local interstate) . I appreciate the info. It is nice to have a back up idea since being stuck in traffic is hard on everyones nerves after a long day of driving. I would rather add a few extra miles and just keep moving than to be stopped.

 

[brownhaired_girl]

SR 417 is an easy stress free drive.

 

[bcuinohio]

If you do take 417, bring quarters and singles for tolls. Not all exits and entrances have a manned toll booth.

 

[Woodmnky]

If you do take 417, bring quarters and singles for tolls. Not all exits and entrances have a manned toll booth.

Thank you. Now I am trying to figure out how to have Mapquest plot this route for me. All I can get are directions that include I-4 all the way there.

 

[medic5399]

Thank you. Now I am trying to figure out how to have Mapquest plot this route for me. All I can get are directions that include I-4 all the way there.

Google Maps is much better for changing routes. You can just drag to point along the route you want to go and it will figure it out from there

 

[joelkfla]

Thank you. Now I am trying to figure out how to have Mapquest plot this route for me. All I can get are directions that include I-4 all the way there.

Google Maps is much better for changing routes. You can just drag to point along the route you want to go and it will figure it out from there

MapQuest does that now, too. Just drag a point on I-4 near WDW to the part of SR 417 that runs east-west, until you see the route change to where you want it.

You can run into traffic on 417 if you hit it at just the wrong time, or if there's an accident on either 417 or I-4, but it's still usually much better than I-4.

If you're driving straight thru to WDW, there is only one possible unmanned toll booth right at the end, depending on how you enter WDW. A dollar's worth of quarters should be sufficient, along with some small bills for the manned toll booths.

If you have NC Quick Pass, you won't need any cash for tolls at all.

 

[Andrea464]

It'll also depend on timing. What time are you leaving NC?
We hit the road by 0600. It's about 30 minutes for us to get to I-95 in Wilson. We stop about 3 hours in at the SC border to stretch/bathroom. We'll stop again near Savannah (around the 6hr mark) for lunch/potty/gas. We'll stop again either at the Florida line or just past Jacksonville to bathroom again. Depending on how long we take for lunch that puts us in Orlando around 3-4. The first time it was a breeze. Last time I-4 sucked and added an extra 40 minutes!

ETA- That timing is with me doing at least 80 mph and stopping to eat at a restaurant for lunch. Next time we'll probably just hit a fast food place instead to save some time. We eat breakfast in the car (hello Bojangles)!

 

[Woodmnky]

It'll also depend on timing. What time are you leaving NC?
We hit the road by 0600. It's about 30 minutes for us to get to I-95 in Wilson. We stop about 3 hours in at the SC border to stretch/bathroom. We'll stop again near Savannah (around the 6hr mark) for lunch/potty/gas. We'll stop again either at the Florida line or just past Jacksonville to bathroom again. Depending on how long we take for lunch that puts us in Orlando around 3-4. The first time it was a breeze. Last time I-4 sucked and added an extra 40 minutes!

ETA- That timing is with me doing at least 80 mph and stopping to eat at a restaurant for lunch. Next time we'll probably just hit a fast food place instead to save some time. We eat breakfast in the car (hello Bojangles)!

We are in Winston Salem, so we head south through Charlotte and at Columbia we go east and pick up 95 near Charleston.

Last time we hit I-4 at 3pm and were excited that we were going to get in a bit early, however, thanks to I-4 traffic we didn't arrive at AOA until just after 5. It is rare that we ever see traffic jams near us so we are extra grumpy about them. I told DH last time that I imagined that there had to be another route because we didn't see one Magical Express bus the entire time.

 

[cranbiz]

Just did the run from Durham to WDW about 2 weeks ago. I4 traffic is getting worse that it was when I lived there. We hit traffic at Maitland Blvd about 2pm and it took about 45 minutes to get to DTD.

I don't like toll roads and really dislike the FL toll roads but 417 would have been worth th4e $6 in time.

Carry a roll of quarters if you don't have a Sunpass/NC Quick pass. The exact change lanes on the Greenway are almost always faster that the attendant lanes at the main line tolls and the exits are all unmanned.

 

[bumbershoot]

Along with having a trusted map like googlemaps or mapquest to follow a route with, I would also get a good *city* map. That way you aren't relying on cell signal and updates and all of that fuss, when you really just want to know "where THAT exit we're coming up on might possibly take us in the middle of all this traffic". And if you take that exit, you have something you can look at, that's not going to change or glitch or get hung up while refreshing, to see which direction you should go.

 

[cranbiz]

The easy thing about taking 417 is that you stay on it until you enter Disney property. 417 exit 6 runs into World Center Dr which becomes Epcot Center Dr and if you stay on it long enough, it ends up on World Dr. If you miss the exit, you have the option of exiting onto I4 and taking the next exit which is World Dr. It's actually pretty hard to get lost.

With the construction finished in Sanford, 417 is pretty easy to get on to.

 

[Woodmnky]

The easy thing about taking 417 is that you stay on it until you enter Disney property. 417 ends on World Center Dr which becomes Epcot Center Dr and if you stay on it long enough, it ends up on World Dr.

With the construction finished in Sanford, 417 is pretty easy to get on to.

That's nice to know. We would actually be staying at Windsor Hills, but at least it will get us all the way to the Disney area.

 

[Woosterguy]

We have been getting off of I-4 at Maitland and taking 414 over to 429. Parts of 414 are stop and go but I think it's only a couple of lights till you get on the toll road. You get off 429 at Western Way and enter WDW by Coronado Springs. Works out nicely and very little traffic on the 429.