Best time to leave Orlando

[michael's mom]

So, in 3 weeks we'll be driving from Boston to Disney and there is so much information about the best times to do that. What I can't find is any info on the best time to leave Orlando for the return trip to Boston. Best places to stop on the way home overnight?

We can drive at night (in the dark) but overnights are a little too much for us. Especially after 11 days of magic.

Any advice/recommendations welcome!

 

[crazylady]

If I'm traveling through Atlanta, I would time things that I am through Atlanta by 330 or 4 pm.

 

[Tink-aholic]

Agreed. However, Atlanta is the least of the three traffic-centered cities on that trip, so plan carefully around D.C. and NYC, too. I've done that trip and spent hours in traffic, just sitting outside each of those cities.

 

[Bostonbeans99]

It took us 3.5 hrs just to drive 1 hr from Orlando. Same thing once we got to Virginia. Traffic & construction sucks this time of year.

Good luck to you! I would be so exhausted (from Disney) I would be taking 2 days to get home and relax in a hotel if I were in your shoes.

 

[kydisneyfans]

Driving to Boston from Disney is likely an I95 deal instead of the Atlanta route.
As for departing, I would not do it during the Orlando morning rush since you have to go through Orlando-same thing but in reverse for the afternoon rush. I'd also stay away from Jacksonville morning/evening rush hours. Not sure there are other pinch points until Richmond, VA to avoid due to rush hours-then you have all of the big cities.

The days of the week you are traveling will make a huge difference in traffic flow.

 

[Wild4Walt]

My husband and I are debating the same thing - we are driving from Orlando to Chicago. Right now, we decided to have breakfast, check out and be on the road before lunchtime. We're keeping our fingers crossed that it will minimize the traffic out of the Orlando area.

 

[michael's mom]

It took us 3.5 hrs just to drive 1 hr from Orlando. Same thing once we got to Virginia. Traffic & construction sucks this time of year.

Good luck to you! I would be so exhausted (from Disney) I would be taking 2 days to get home and relax in a hotel if I were in your shoes.

Definitely doing two days. Stopping in NC I think overnight. Thinking we’ll leave around noontime

 

[pklein09]

We're from NJ, and have done that drive via I-95 a few times. We usually have breakfast and head north, but not at the crack of dawn. We find that about 12 hours of driving (includes rest stops and food breaks) will pretty much get us to Emporia, VA. It all depends on traffic. We've hit slow traffic in Jacksonville, but after experiencing NYC and DC traffic jams, we didn't think Jacksonville was too bad.

When you decide you're ready to stop for the night, figure out which exits are large exits. They'll have a variety of hotels from which to choose and better food choices. You'll see this when you're driving south. Also, we never made reservations in advance. We just picked an exit and stopped.

Safe travels!