Calling all who drive from NY

[goofygal531]

This will be our first time driving down to WDW. DH has driven to FL hundreds of times as a kid, but for us, this is our first trip.

I have a few questions for all you pros out there:

1) Best route?
We live in NYC and we're planning to drive straight I-95. Is this a mistake? We are leaving on a Wednesday just after rush hour and plan to drive for at least eight hours that evening.

2) Best hotel at half way point (NC/SC)?
Any nice safe area you can recommend? When we drove to SC, we stopped in Fredricksburg, VA which was very nice. Very populated with tourist, so I felt safe. Hotels and restaurants were literally a few feet off the Interstate. Has anyone found a nice four star hotel somewhere off the Interstate? Hyatt, Marriott, Four Seasons (just joking!)

3) Decent restaurants along the way?
Anyone find a hidden gem of a restaurant with good food on I-95? DH HATES Cracker Barrel!!! Is the Waffle House like an IHOP?

4) Any tips or advice to make this drive PLEASANT?

 

[Pat_Elliott]

We've never driven from NYC, but have several times from Philly and South Jersey. Can't be that much different! We now go from Central PA, but when driving, there's not a whole lot of difference once you get down to DC. I'll answer what I can, then look for Native New Yorkers to fill in the blanks.

Best Route: I've spent enough hour researching this to drive there and back twice, and gave up five years ago. Bottom line, there's no better directions than the simple ones: Get thee to Rt. 95 South, stay thee on Rt. 95 South to Daytona, get thee on Rt. 4, get thee to Orlando. It's not always pretty, it's not always exciting, but hey: it's the fastest way to get a long way. We find the last thing we want to do with a 20 hour trip is extend it for scenic purposes.

A note: Do WHATEVER you can to avoid Baltimore and DC in rush hours. Your plan sounds like it does that. But that alone can add an hour to your trip.

Best Halfway Hotel: It probably isn't the NICEST motel, but we're not Four Seasons' kind of folk. We usually stay in the Comfort Inn in Gaston, Garysburg, or the Hampton in Roanoke Rapids. Both are right over the line. They are what they are: Safe places to drop dead for eight hours while driving the length of the eastern seaboard to get to Orlando. For fancier digs, I'd suggest sticking with your idea of Alexandria, or going a little further to Raleigh/Durham. Then you'll find some nice places (I can directly recommend the Durham Courtyard by Marriot, stay on concierge level).

If you're really into a fancy joint and if you can drive a little further, make it to Savannah, GA (this is a HAUL though) and stay at the Savannah Hyatt Riverside. What a fine place. Disney-esque.

Restaurants along the way: This is a tough question to answer. We've eaten at so many restaurants over the years and they're usually picked not by repetition, but by what's on the right hand side of the road at the first exit after hunger hits.

I will, however, make a suggestion of where NOT to eat. South of the Border, South Carolina. If you've never been to South of the Border, keep it that way.

Ways to make the trip pleasant: You mean besides not going to South of the Border?

We have many little things we do. First off, we take two days to get down, but three days to get back. Excitement and adrenaline make us want to get there as fast as possible. But on the way back, with Disney in our rearview, we don't have quite the energy and the trip is a little longer. We have all sorts of parlor tricks, such as making Disney Park music CD's (tape them right off Live 365 radio); doing the final phases of planning the touring, etc. But our "get there" strategy is mainly one of raw excitement to see the Orlando skyline. We DO find it fun to make a big deal of each border crossing (we often videotape each state line). But the thrill of getting there makes the trip down pleasant.

The trip back takes a little more care. The following idea requires extending your trip significantly, but it's one of the best times we've ever had. Head to western Carolina and take the Blue Ridge Skyline Drive up to Maryland. An incredibly beautiful drive with tons of scenic and historical stops all along the way.

Hope that all helps!

Pat

 

[stevepete]

Waffle House is not like an IHOP. It has a diner atmosphere to it. Our last trip my DH wanted to stop and I just was not in the mood for such a place . We walked in and I was ready to walk right back out but once we sat down and actually ate, it was really good. We ended up stopping to eat at one once more on the way down and twice on the way home. It is one of our planned stops on the next trip ~ the kids even love it

 

[AspiringCindy]

We just made the trip last summer from Bergen County, NJ (just across the GWB). We opted to leave early in the morning and managed to miss DC traffic. We have done the trip south 3 times and have yet to find a good place to eat. We usually eat at Shoneys-I think it is the Fayettville exit. We usually travel as far south as possible. We stopped at Santee, SC and stayed at the Holiday Inn. It was very nice for an over-nighter(even for tri-state standards). You may want to push the driving to get to a more southern spot like fayettville- there are plenty of hotels there! Being that this is you first trip, don't worry! It is not a bad ride. It was actually fun. You have to really like your family to stay in such close quarters for 18 hours though!GOOD LUCK!