Disney World to Gatlinburg Drive Time

[Beast2Prince]

We are thinking about driving up to Gatlinburg on our way home this year (no better way to start the final leg of the drive than with cinammon french toast from Pancake Pantry!). Both Google Maps and Mapquest put the drive time at over 11 hours. But at 650 miles I would think it would take less. Has anyone done this drive and remember how long it took? Is it because of the winding roads through the Smokies that make it take longer? If it does in fact take this long, then we will probably skip it.

 

[LilyWDW]

It takes me 10 hours to drive from Johnson City Tennessee to Disney (give or take depending on traffic). Gatlinburg is 1.5 hours from here to the west. So, yes, it does seem about right. I can't see it taking any LESS time then it would take me to get home, so I would plan on it being at LEAST 10 hours.

 

[NotUrsula]

Yes, it is because of the winding roads and the steep grades you have to climb. We fell into that trap once on a trip there from where we live. We looked up the mileage on a national atlas, and we estimated the drive time at about 6 hours. It actually took just around 10.

 

[grimley1968]

We are thinking about driving up to Gatlinburg on our way home this year (no better way to start the final leg of the drive than with cinammon french toast from Pancake Pantry!). Both Google Maps and Mapquest put the drive time at over 11 hours. But at 650 miles I would think it would take less. Has anyone done this drive and remember how long it took? Is it because of the winding roads through the Smokies that make it take longer? If it does in fact take this long, then we will probably skip it.

Yes to the bolded question. It would probably be 9.5 hours or so to Gatlinburg, if I-75 went closer to it. There are some decent roads to get there from the north, but not so much from the south or west.

 

[Beast2Prince]

We usually come from the north, so I was shocked to see the extra 150 miles would add 4 hours to the drive time. Oh well, we may visit Gatlinburg again next year. Thought it would be a good break from the drive home, but the 10 hour drive would not leave us much time to do anything.

 

[grimley1968]

We usually come from the north, so I was shocked to see the extra 150 miles would add 4 hours to the drive time. Oh well, we may visit Gatlinburg again next year. Thought it would be a good break from the drive home, but the 10 hour drive would not leave us much time to do anything.

If you are going sometime to, say, Knoxville or Charlotte, then Gatlinburg is a fun diversion pretty easily traversed from those places. But coming up on I-75 or I-95 from Florida, it's just way out of your way. It's too bad.