Cincinnati to Disney

[XavierUMommy]

Hi!

We're driving from Cincinnati to Disney in the fall. We're obviously taking I-75, and we're going to do the drive in two days since we have small children. We can't decide where to spend the night. It seems like we could get further than Atlanta on day one, but Macon seems to be the only larger city past Atlanta until we get to Florida (which seems too far to travel in one day). We don't know anything about Macon, and we're not sure if it's a good place to spend the night. We want to stay in a hotel that is nice, but not super expensive. It definitely needs to have a pool so the kids can swim. Any suggestions about Macon? Or, does anyone have a better suggestion for some place to stay?

Thank you so much for you help!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

If you do stop in Macon I would recommend going on the I-475 Macon Bypass, get off exit 3 because according to my Along I-75 book there is a Hampton Inn. Well they have very fair prices, always clean and each morning they offer a complimentary continental breakfast.

However if you are able to driver a little farther I would also recommend staying in Valdosta, Georgia. Staying there means you are only 15 minutes away from the Georgia - Florida Border and are only 4 hours away from WDW. In the past my family and I stayed at a Hampton Inn & Suites located off exit 16. Next month we are once again staying in Valdosta the day before we arrive to WDW, although this time because we had enough Marriott points we are staying for free at a Courtyard By Marriott off exit 18.

 

[LadyBeBop]

Both Macon and Valdosta are good places to stop. We've stayed at nice places in both towns.

However, there are several towns with a number of motels between Macon and Valdosta. We've stayed at Perry, Cordele and Tifton. All are right on I-75.

We usually try to make it to Tifton. That's about 30 minutes north of Valdosta. Most of the chain motels are there. It's about 45 minutes to the border and free orange juice at the welcome station.

Even if you aren't staying in Macon, make sure you take the bypass, I-475. It's actually more of a straight shot than if you're going through Macon.

 

[XavierUMommy]

Thank you both so much! This is exactly what we needed to know. We've never driven to Orlando before, and we saw these "smaller" cities on the map, but we weren't sure if they were good places to stop or not. You've really helped us out. Thank you!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

You're welcome and I hope you have a wonderfull time driving down.

 

[DznyCrzy11]

I grew up in Chattanooga, TN so we always drove to Disney World. We would always stop in Valdosta which is right near the GA/FL border and I believe only 4-5 hours North of Disney World.

 

[tkldisney]

We drove last year for first time and stayed at Courtyard in Valdosta. Unfortunately, because of the ice storm, took us longer getting through ATL. There was a Courtyard in Tifton which you come to first, but based on maps we chose the further drive for less time next day. (3.5 hrs) Two adults no children. We are driving down again in Dec. and are stopping over in Macon. Staying at Marriott City Center. Fairly new hotel and though we're using points, I didn't think rates to bad. Our Condo won't be ready until 4, so will take our time next day. Leaves about 5.5 hrs driving next day to WDW.

We live about 30 min. north of Cincinnati!

 

[Familyof4lovesDW]

I was wondering wher would be a good place to stop on the way home? I am sure that the OP needs to know also considering if they are stoping on the way down, I would assume they will stop on the way home. I was thinking somewhere in TN or North GA, figuring we would make it that far before we would stop for the night.

We drive straight through on the way down and have on the way home also, but we are thinking about stopping on the way home this time. It is much easier on the way down because we leave at 5 or 6 pm and the kids sleep most the way.

Leaving a week from Sunday. I can't wait, my kids have no idea.

 

[TinyDancer]

Glad I saw this thread! I'm in SE Ohio, and I've been wondering how far to drive on the first day also..

to PP, how fun that you are surprising the kids! I'm going to try to do that next year too, if I can keep it a secret...

 

[tkldisney]

I was wondering wher would be a good place to stop on the way home? I am sure that the OP needs to know also considering if they are stoping on the way down, I would assume they will stop on the way home. I was thinking somewhere in TN or North GA, figuring we would make it that far before we would stop for the night.

We drive straight through on the way down and have on the way home also, but we are thinking about stopping on the way home this time. It is much easier on the way down because we leave at 5 or 6 pm and the kids sleep most the way.

Leaving a week from Sunday. I can't wait, my kids have no idea.

Last year we stopped in Knoxville, TN, this year we're stopping about hour earlier in Chattanooga.

 

[dizanimator]

My dad and I drove down when we went to WDW this year. We went through Cincinnati, and took I-75 south. I ended up being the one to drove south through Atlanta, and I'm not used to that many lanes on a road. You might want to find out if you can use the HOV lane since it looked like that was less crowded. We did stop overnight both ways, but were just looking in the AAA book for a hotel with beds. When driving down we stopped in southern Kentucky because we left a bit late, and got to WDW pretty late in the day the next day. I can't remember as well where we stopped on the way back, I just remember trying to look at the AAA book in a moving car and use as little light as possible.
The reason we left late when driving down was that I had my dance recital that day, so after that we had to finish packing and get everything in the car. One nice thing about driving is that you aren't limited to just what will fit in a suitcase and not make it too heavy.
One suggestion if you're planning to stay overnight: pack what you will need for that night in a smaller, lighter bag and not in a heavier suitcase. I didn't think about that for the drive down and had to get my heavy suitcase to a second floor room when I was tired. For the way back I put what I'd need for one night in a separate bag and left the heavy suitcase in the trunk.