Book ahead or wing it??

[molly2004]

For those of you who drive to WDW and stop over, do you book a hotel room ahead of time or do you drive until you feel like stopping and then find something in the vicinity? How do you make sure you get a good rate?

 

[4formickey]

we just came back from driving and we prebooked the room. It allowed the kids to unwind and it gave us a break. Sometimes rooms book up and you get a better price when you prebook. Check different web sites as well as the hotel web site. Choice hotels(comfort inn,daysinn, etc) is great and you can find many discount codes to drive the rate lower.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

My family & I always take Intersate 75 down to WDW & we always pre-book Hampton Inn locations in Cleveland, Tennessee & Valdosta, Georgia going South. Going North bound back home we pre -book Hampton Inn locations in Dalton, Georgia & Troy, Ohio. We like Hampton Inn's because the rooms are always so clean & their continental breakfast in the mornings is amaizing. Also sometimes during these stays we were only able to get king study rooms or we would find out that they are sometimes completely sold out, so we don't want to take chances & book them around mid April when we would stay at them in the end of July when driving down & mid Augusut when going home.

 

[MidgeD79]

Our family drives I-75 all the way down and we never pre-book. I am all too aware that things can happen that may prevent me from getting to an exact place. WDW is the only place that we set a time frame for. We stop at every welcome center at each state and pick up the hotel guides that have huge discounts. We use the cell phone to call and see if there are any rooms available. We may have to make a couple of calls , but we always get a room.

 

[molly2004]

Thanks. I was wondering how to best do it. We went for a long car drive with the kids for the first time over the 4th (15 hours). Much too long of a drive for the first time out. It was a little unpredictable when everyone started to get cranky.

The welcome center idea is a good one. Something to think about.

Thanks again!

 

[QT Pooh]

We never pre-booked - especially coming from New England in the wintertime! You never know when you're going to hit inclement weather, traffic or construction. If you'll be coming down 95, there is a website that shows what's at all the exits. I'll try to find the name of it for you.

 

[molly2004]

We never pre-booked - especially coming from New England in the wintertime! You never know when you're going to hit inclement weather, traffic or construction. If you'll be coming down 95, there is a website that shows what's at all the exits. I'll try to find the name of it for you.

Wow, excellent point. So you use that exit guide to find a place to stay as you get there? How do you make sure you get a decent rate? I won't have an internet connection on the road.

 

[Hef4545]

I pre reserve. I am particular as to what exit we stop at and where we stay.
Before that, I had gotten stuck in some real uncomfortable places and they were no bargain. I book 2 about 100 miles apart. Most hotels will allow you to cancel before 6:00pm with no cancellation charge. By that time of day, we know where we will be stopping for the night.
The web site with I95 exit info for hotels and restaurants is
www.drivei95.com

 

[QT Pooh]

So you use that exit guide to find a place to stay as you get there? How do you make sure you get a decent rate? I won't have an internet connection on the road.

No, I use it as a guide before we start traveling. Before we go, I'll print out the sheets and then research what the rates are/reviews, etc. and then bring it with us. The website is actually part of this one! It's www.wdwinfo.com/transportation/V-I95.htm The exits start in the state of Virginia and then go all the way to Florida. I would think that if all goes well and your family can do a 15 hour drive (depending on which part of NE you're from) - you'll wind up in North Carolina & possibly South Carolina.

If you have any questions about the trip down or need any suggestions, I'd be more than happy to help. How old are the kids?

 

[molly2004]

QTPooh, the kids will be a month shy of their 3rd b-day. The last trip we took was 15 hours, including breaks. We figure that long of a trip this time around, 2 days in a row would be too much.

My thought for this one is this: leave at 4 AM and drive to about Fredericksburg, VA (~9 hours via Mapquest, but for us, probably 10 1/2). That would have us stopping at around 2 or 3 PM. Kids got antsy at around 4 PM on our last trip, so I thought I'd head that off. We'd get a chance to eat real food for dinner. Kids won't touch fast food (except for french fries, which they won't eat much of). We'd do the same thing but to Savannah the next day. Get up at 5 AM and drive the nearly 5 hours to Disney.

Does this sound crazy?

I think the previous poster had a great point, to reserve 2 hotels about 100 miles apart. I might do that.

Thanks for all your help!