Booking hotel stay for our drive to WDW?

[kteesmumma]

We will be driving down from Boston at the end of May. What is the best way to figure out our overnight stay during our drive? How have people done this?

Should we plan ahead and try to book a cheap room before we leave? Should we just wing it and stop when we have to and find a place to stay? I am trying to stick to a budget, so any help would be great. We plan on leaving around midnight-1am Friday and arrive at Disney sometime on Saturday (our check in day). Hopefully we can get to Disney before noon, to get at least half a day at the parks.

Does anyone know of a good hotel to stay at on the way down??

Thanks

 

[Jaaaacki]

I would love to hear others suggestions too. We will be driving from CT. I've been thinking we would stop in GA or SC.

 

[lovealatte]

I'm also curious! But we're coming in from MI and would probably be stopping somewhere in TN or northern GA.

 

[lucyem]

Over in the travel forum there are threads on long distance driving. A lot of us drove down from the northeast. You should read up on the tips there for driving, roads, hotels etc - very helpful info including hotel recs.

 

[RangerPooh]

When we were living in Maryland we would map the route on google maps to determine where would be reasonable to stop for the night. For example on our last trip we stopped near Savanna GA for the night on the way down. This meant that the bulk of our day was spent driving, and we'd be on the road far less the next day.

 

[3boymthr]

We drove down in May of 2009 (also live in MA) and we were very, very glad we had a reservation. The snowbirds were all flocking home for the summer and the hotels were all full.

If you live in Southeastern MA, your halfway point is approximately Roanoke Rapids/Weldon, NC. (Per my Trip tik from AAA it's @ 9 hours 45 to there from Foxboro, MA and @ the same from there to Animal Kingdom) We stayed at a very nice hotel in the area only a mile or two off of Route 95. There is approximately a 60 mile drive in either direction without a hotel. If you are north of Boston you might want to look at Emporia VA which is about 60 miles north of Roanoke Rapids but would be closer to halfway.

 

[brymolmom]

If it is a busy travel time - I highly recommend a reservation. We were going to NC a couple summers ago and was amazed that it was so difficult to find a place. On our way home we had to drive about an hour or two past our exhaustion point to even get to a town with availability. ANd then we ended up taking the last room at a hotel - and it only had one bed - we squeezed our ds in bed with us and luckily had a pack n play in the car that we put dd into. While we were checking in 2 others were turned away with no vacancy. I will have a reservation next time.

 

[ah1126]

Just make sure if you book ahead of time that you take all your info with you! Once on a trip we booked ahead. We stopped at the hotel and they couldn't find our reservation. My mom was sure we were at the right place and argued and argued with the guy at the desk. We ended up with a room. Come to find out, when my mom got back, we had been at the wrong hotel!

 

[happily single]

We drove from Pawtucket, RI to Orlando in April. We left Pawucket, RI approximately 3:00 a.m. After many many restroom breaks we finally stopped at Fayetville, NC (just a few exits from South Carolina border) at approximately 3:00 p.m. We had reservations at a Red Roof Inn in Fayetville, but when I realized (at check-in) that their pool was closed I went down the road to a Super Motel 6.

On the way home we stopped in Fayetville on the way home and stayed at some small hotel. Luckily we got the last room.

Either way the rest areas have plenty of hotel deals

 

[csharpwv]

We have made the drive twice - we live in WV about 30 minutes from the PA Line about and hour 1/2 south of Pittsburgh.

Our first three trips to WDW we flew - but we decided we wanted to drive to see what we were missing on the highway.

So last December (2009) we had a 3 night cruise booked followed by a week at WDW. SO - we decided to book on property at BLT for one night before our cruise to assure we were in closer proximity to the port a day before we had to be.

Our cruise left on Thursday, so we decided to leave home very early Tuesday morning.

We got home from work on Monday - didn't want to dirty the dishes so we went out to eat. During dinner I said - "What if we left tonight and just stop when we get tired to get a hotel so we get on property sooner - and might even get to go to a park?" My wife who isn't a fan of spontaneous decisions said - "For once I am going to say whatever - as long as you know we can get a hotel for the night." Of course I said we could! HAHA

We left dinner - went home - packed the car - and got out of town around 10:30 - 11:00pm

We drove all night - stopped a few times for restroom breaks - slept for 1/2 hour at a rest area - and slept for an hour or so around 5:00am - then woke up and continued driving. Around 7:00am we realized that we WERE going to make it on property that day. SO we said what should we do?

We are DVC members - so we called Member Services and sure enough - a Studio was available for one night - at our absolutely FAVORITE resort - Wilderness Lodge.

We literally rolled up to Wilderness Lodge as the clock changed from 3:59 to 4:00pm - SO we went in - AND our room was ready! YIPEE We just added an extra day to our vacation!!!!

So we got into our room - which was an amazing ground floor room with a beautiful wood meadow view with bunnies and squirrels - we showered and said what now - so we went out to pick up a few last minute things - went to dinner and then made our way back to the room to get a good night's rest.

The next morning we slept in - got things packed up to move to Bay Lake Tower. We had the dining plan for that one night with a reservation at Ohana so we spent the day at the Magic Kingdom and then went back to BLT in time to enjoy the fireworks from the Top Of The World Lounge - and THEN to dinner - we made it back to our room around 10:30 or so and really started to get into cruise mode!

I would HIGHLY suggest leaving as soon as possible - driving through the night - and leaving your schedule open for ... whatever!

One variable that we did not have to worry about - kids - we don't have any (yet!)

If you have a reservation and it turns out you could have driven further - or possibly even made it all the way - you will just lie in bed thinking of ALL the fun and good times that await you at WDW!!!

On our 2nd drive things were different because I had recently reconnected with my god parents - and wanted to spend a few hours with them - so we drove to Charlotte, NC - making in in shortly after midnight - and then left the next day around Noon - making it to WDW by around 7:00pm if I remember correctly.

I travel a lot for work - so I have hotel reward points to use - so all I have to do to get a room on the road is call the rewards program hotline and tell them where I am - what I am looking for and how long I want to stay.
I am not guaranteed a room (unless I book 48 hours in advance) but if our schedule is totally flexible - it doesn't matter where we sleep.

We have stayed in Columbia, SC, Charlotte, NC, and Jonesville, NC.

As we are usually traveling on weekends - we always find someplace to go to Mass (we are Catholic) - and we have had some really great experiences doing that! We've really seen some beautiful Christian communities that really made us feel welcome. We also enjoy visiting the Basilica of the Shrine of Mary Queen of the Universe when we are at WDW. Such a cool experience to worship with a congregation of folks literally from every corner of the globe.

But anyway - as I always say - have a great solid plan.... to be FLEXIBLE!

While yes, we have been lucky in always finding a room where we needed one - we have also always been flexible enough to do what we had to do.

If you are traveling with young ones - it may be a good idea to think of a few scenarios, and make more than one hotel reservation (being sure to check the hotel's cancellation policy) The hotel chain I stay with when traveling for work has an almost across the board cancel before 6:00pm with no penalty which I think is really great as it allows me to be flexible and maintain a schedule and make a decision after I finish up a day's work about where I'll spend the night.

In the end - pack a pillow - be prepared for an exciting drive - and bring along at least 1 extra book!

 

[Ericandjenng]

We've been using Hilton Honors for years (Hiltonhhonors.com)--and sorry this post is going to sound like a plug for Hilton brands. Even though we're in Tennessee and could drive to WDW in one day, we like to drive (when we drive that is) to Lake City and stop there so that we only drive for about 2 hours on the morning of our arrival. Hilton Honors makes it easy to book ahead of time and frequently they have online deals at one of their hotel chains that are just phenomenal. It's also one those point earning loyalty deals so that every stay counts toward earning points for free stays. We've also used free points to stay on the way there or back on some trips.

Pretty much anywhere we travel besides WDW, we use Hilton Honors. We love the Embassy Suites but have also used Hampton Inn, DoubleTree and Hilton brands that are all apart of Hilton Honors.

Like a PP said, if you have AAA, have them do a triptik for you and make suggestions for points for stopping. If you don't, use yahoo maps and just play with it. We were going to Vero Beach and WDW for the MNNSHP this Oct and planned on driving (had to cancel). Anyhoo...even though I have AAA, I got online with two browsers open. One I had Yahoo maps pulled up with the route I wanted to drive and #2 had Hilton Honors where I could check for hotels at various points along the route where I would/could consider stopping.

Good Luck planning!

 

[HeatherC]

i would suggest also trying to get as far as you can the first day since the next day a shorter drive will be much more enjoyable.

There is the i95exitguide.com website that lists all the exits and restaurants and hotels at each. Very helpful.

Also check out the 2'000 mile plus thread over on the transportation board. Tons of info there.

Have a wonderful trip!

 

[gillenkl]

We stayed here last summer - it was very nice and clean - free hot breakfast (waffles and sausage if I remember) plus danishes, bagels, etc... Also right in the same parking lot is a Cracker Barrel where we ate supper. The parking lot was also patrolled by police. Staying here again this summer and I'll definately be booking in the next few weeks. We usually leave our home around 3AM and arrive in Savannah around 4:00pm - we live close to the Philadelphia Airport.

Springhill Suites by Marriott - Savannah, GA I-95

 

[kellydizfan]

We drove July 2009 from NY. We didn't have a hotel reservation but knew where we wanted to stay and we didn't have any problems. We drove to DE and stayed with my DH family over night, left and drove to Savannah GA and stayed at one of the airport hotels and then got up and drove the rest of the way to Disney. We didn't have any problems getting a room. I think it was a Courtyard we stayed out - room smelled musty - that was the only complaint I had. We also used our AAA discount.

 

[DCLbrideSept2009]

August 2009, we attempted to drive through the night (leaving around 7 p.m.) and then keep driving straight through to Orlando (from Dallas), about an 18-hour drive. It was HORRIBLE. We did the same thing coming back, NOT a good idea! It was just way too difficult. Fast forward to March 2010 and DH wants to do the same thing again and I put my foot down! We ended up leaving around 1:00 a.m. Friday night. I had the drive down all planned out. Planned on stopping at a particular Cracker Barrel for breakfast around 8:00 a.m. (this worked out REALLY well!) and booked a Holiday Inn in Tallahassee for Saturday night. Then we were only about 4 hours away from Disney, left early Sunday morning and arrived in Orlando by 11:00. We plan on doing the same thing again in June, although I might do a hotel in Pensacola instead of Tallahassee, we'll see. But I will plan our breakfast stop (probably the same place!) Somehow, we didn't get to Tallahassee as early as we had expected the March trip, can't remember why. But the idea was to let the kids swim, have dinner, and then get a good night's sleep before leaving early in the morning to continue on.

When we did it this way, we weren't exhausted by the time we got to Disney, so we were able to really enjoy ourselves the first day there. I thought about NOT booking a hotel and just winging it, but I really didn't want to get to the point of being so tired and needing a room and then have to FIND one. This way we had our first destination set before we left.

 

[momxx5]

As mentioned, I would plan to drive as far as possible and have a planned stop with hotel booked.
You never know what happens along the way.

Many years back we were traveling and going to wing it.....3+hrs more driving than planned (with a baby) we end up just with no where to stay.

I always pack a seperate "overnight" bag or two depending on what you need. That way when we stop for a quick overnight we don't need to unpack everything. We just bring in our 2 bags, the kids pillows/stuffed animals, and personal items. I have jammies and clothes for the next day packed in these bags. It makes for an easy pack up and to the next morning.

We usually stay somewhere that has a free breakfast. Its really helpful to be able to eat and go....sometimes DH will take kids down to eat while I finish getting ready, etc. Its a good time saver.

Good luck, and safe travels!

 

[savvywifey]

Driven down twice before and we planned a stop once in GA and once in one of the Carolinas. Just find a place half way down or something reasonable. If you book early might get cheaper rates than if you get a room last minute. good luck.

 

[kteesmumma]

Thank you everyone for all the great tips..I was hoping to make it to at least Savannah GA before we had to stop for the night. I was gonna pack lots of snacks for the kids and even make some sandwiches for lunch for the first day drive. Good idea about getting a hotel that has free breakfast...

 

[chabs]

I would definitely not wing it, but that's just me. I have to check and double check different websites to make sure that the place that I'm sleeping is clean and bug free. I know there are no guarantees but I could never just pull into a random hotel and stay there without checking it out first. Plus, you might get a better deal by booking ahead of time.

 

[TickleMeTink]

We drive from Houston and we got the Triptik from AAA which was very helpful. We wanted a short drive into Orlando the next day so we decided to stop at Tallahassee for the night. That worked out really well and we have done the same for the next few trips and plan on doing the same for our trip next year. We always made reservations in advance as well.