Driving adventure to Disney!!

[mom2brats]

Looking for any and all advice as I try hard not to over plan our first family drive to the Magic Land! My kids are 10 and 14 and will be no problem. It is mom( aka me)that does not do well being in the car for long periods of time.

So far the plan is to leave Mississauga around 8:30pm ( after DD's soccer game)and drive maybe 4-5 hour to get a jump start on the drive. Where is a good spot to stop at this point?? We do plan on stopping the next night too I think. Not sure about this. Looking for some fun spots to stop and stretch out legs.

Also thinking about taking our time on the way back and we will have a few extra days. Where should we stop and what adventures can we find on our way home??? Perhaps stop and see the largest ball of Twine lol

Is it worth it to get a triptix from CAA??? DH keeps telling me to relax and not to over plan but I CAN'T HELP IT !!!

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

Do you have a planed route, as that can be a little more helpful when it comes to suggestions on where to stop for the might?

 

[mamaCta]

Start creating yourself a route in google maps. I did it by making each day's drive a different section and color based on how many hours we want to spend on the road that day. Then start researching things that are around that map and add a distinct pin to mark the things you are interested in seeing.
Do you want to hit some Diners, Drive ins, and Dives locations along the way? There is a website that lists them all. Add some of those to your map.
Have some hotel preferences? Add those to your map.
Have some friends or family to see along the way? Add them to your map.
Be sure to use a different pin style for each type of stop and put full information in the notes field.

I have made a comprehensive map of our whole trip and I've tied it to our calendar of events.

And stock up on Gravol if you need it for the car ride. It doesn't exist in the US.

 

[abdmom]

And stock up on Gravol if you need it for the car ride. It doesn't exist in the US.

It's called Dramamine in the US.

 

[maryrego]

Below is the route we take we have driven several times and this is by far the fastest (I live in Brampton)

1. Queen Elizabeth Way/​Niagara and merge onto Queen Elizabeth Way
2. Continue onto Peace Bridge Plaza Entering United States (New York)
3. Take the ramp on the left onto I-190 S 10.6 km
4. Take exit 54-61 to merge onto I-90 W toward Erie Partial toll road Entering Pennsylvania 152 km
5. Take exit 22A to merge onto I-79 S toward Pittsburgh 231 km

I would stop along here in Grove City. Lots of hotel options right off the highway and the outlet mall is there

6. Take exit 21 to stay on I-79 S toward Morgantown Entering West Virginia
219 km
7. Take exit 57 to merge onto US-19 S Partial toll road 111 km
8. Keep left at the fork, follow signs for I-64 E/​Bluefield/​I-77 S and merge onto I-64 E/​I-77 S
9. I-77 S Partial toll road Entering Virginia 119 km
10. Keep left at the fork, follow signs for Interstate 77 S/​Interstate 81 N/​U.S. 52 S/​Charlotte NC/​Roanoke and merge onto I-77 S/​I-81 N/​US-52 S
Continue to follow I-77 S/​I-81 N 14.2 km
11. Take exit 81 to merge onto I-77 S toward Charlottte NC Entering North Carolina 59.7 km
12. Keep right to stay on I-77 S, follow signs for Statesville Entering South Carolina 308 km
13. Keep left at the fork, follow signs for I-26 E/​Charleston and merge onto I-26 E 85.0 km
14. Take exit 169A to merge onto I-95 S toward Savannah Passing through Georgia Entering Florida 368 km
15. Keep left to stay on I-95 S, follow signs for Interstate 95 S/​Jax Beaches/​Daytona Beach 146 km
16. Take exit 260B to merge onto I-4 W toward Orlando

Hope that helps

 

[Stitch'sCousin]

As part of our driving adventure in 2007, we included the Amtrak Autotrain as part of our return trip. You load your vehicle onto the train which leaves around 4pm from Sanford Florida (close to Orlando) and does an overnight run up to Lorton Virginia. From there it is a 10 hour or so drive back to the GTA. It is not cheap, but you don't have any hotels to pay for on the return trip and 1200 km less driving so there are significant gas savings too. If you book far enough in advance, you can also get better rates. Our 3 kids (6yo, 9yo and 12yo at the time) thought it was great and we would highly recommend it. You can check out the following thread if you are interested http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=402667