Debate-Chattanooga to WDW

[3girlsfun]

Help DH and I solve a debate.

Where is the "best" place to stop if we would like to be no more than 3 hours from WDW on arrival day. We are hoping to leave Chattanooga, TN around 5:00pm on a Friday afternoon. That will allow for us to somewhat "miss" the Atlanta traffic.

Where should we plan to stop for the hotel?

We are hoping to somewhat "skip" dinner, just have the kids eat in the car, and only stop for potty breaks and gas.

I would like to be at WDW by 11am or noon on that Saturday.

 

[DC7800]

Valdosta, Georgia would be a bit more than 3 1/2 hours from Walt Disney World but would be my first choice in the area for a place to stop. Lake City, Florida is about an hour closer.

There is a fairly new Fairfield Inn in Lake City, and a very nice Holiday Inn, among others. Valdosta has even more lodging choices; I'd go with Comfort Suites or the Country Inn & Suites.

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

I agree with either Valdosta or Lake City.

The wild card here is whether you experience any delays driving south before you stop and sleep. Valdosta should be easy to achieve Lake city might be pushing it a bit if you have any delays. Your plan of eating in the car sounds like a good one.

The last 3.5 hours from approx 8am-11:30 on Saturday morning will be pretty low key and not a big deal as far as traffic goes.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I would highly recommend Valdosta. In the past my family and I stayed at the Hampton Inn & Suites located off exit 16, however this August we are staying at the Courtyard By Marriott located off exit 18 because we had enough Marriott Rewards points for a free night.

 

[3girlsfun]

Thank you everyone for the awesome advice!

Should we make a reservation at one of these, or just drive and see how far we get, then pull off at one of the hotels? Are the areas super congested as far as this goes.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

We always make reservations in advance no matter the city we happened to be staying at along I-75. There have been times when we stayed in Valdosta or other cities and found out our Hotel was sold out for that night, which you might find surprising for small cities.

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

get a reservation

and get gas there......it is cheaper than FL