Driving Advice

[cygnus]

We are planning on driving for the first time to Disney this March break. We are considering the 77/79 route (I know about the weather concerns). We are checking into OKW on Sunday and are considering a couple of different driving options. One option includes a stop at Disney Hilton head because my parents are DVC memebrs and so we have some points we could use there. I have mapped it out on Map quest but wanted your opinions about the following plan:

Leave Thursday afternoon around 4 pm and drive to Pittsburgh arrive arond 11 pm (with a short dinner stop)

Leave Friday Morning around 8 am and arrive at Hilton Head around 10 pm (with a couple of stops)

Stay at Hilton Head for the day and then Leave Saturday around 6 pm to drive to Jacksonville and arrive around 9 pm

Leave Jacksonville Saturday morning and arrive at OKW around noon.


For those who have driven before does the timing look reasonable? Any input would be appreciated.

Cygnus

 

[F4disneyfan]

If you are looking for a room at HHI for this March break you may allready be out of luck you should have your parents call and check for availability before just planning to stop there. HHI is pretty busy from March through till the end of Sept.

 

[cygnus]

Thanks we are just considering if it is even the right thing to do from a driving perspective but I will get them to check. Because we are just there for the one night we will just do a studio.

Cygnus

 

[Bonnie40]

Hi!

We just returned from WDW yesterday and drove the 79/77/95 route. We've also driven this route for March break. Weather will be a huge deciding factor and you can't really know that until close to departure. We left Guelph at 2:30 p.m. and arrived in Clarksburg, WV by 10 p.m. and that was with a very long line at customs and construction. We were up and on the road by 7 a.m. and arrived at POR at 9:30 p.m. Total: 22 hrs.

We left Disney on Monday morning at 5:30 a.m. and drove until 9:00 p.m., landing in Washington, PA. On the road yesterday at 6:30 a.m. and we were home by noon! Total: 21 hrs.

I think you'll find you cover more ground (barring bad weather) than you think...

I would forget about stopping at HHI and just stay the course and make it down in two days. JMHO...

Let us know what you decide!

 

[Mortlives]

You don't say where you're driving from or how many drivers you have. Where are you starting from that 6-7 hours is plausible for a drive to Pittsburgh? Have you factored in rush hour? Possible delays at the border? If it's only one driver, 8am to 10pm is beyond the average endurance. IIf you have more than one and are planning to switch off, it should be okay. Also, what kind of car do you have? Is it comfortable for that period of time?

By the way, starting Thursday after school is our traditional itinerary, but we normally stop at Erie, PA.

 

[cygnus]

There will be two of us driving. Originally we were planning on stopping at Erie PA but when we were considering the stop at HHHI I thought we would push on to Pittsburgh. We are leaving from Aurora (just north of TO) and according to mapquest it would be about 5 hours and 45 minutes. I figured that we would make up time since that is calculated doing 100 km per hour and wasn't sure how much to add in for rush hour and border crossing. If it takes us longer to get to Pittsburgh, then so be it.

How long does it normally take you to get to Erie and where are you leaving from?

 

[Mortlives]

We leave from Toronto, getting on the Gardner at the eastern end. We leave around 4:30, and normally make it to Erie around 10 or so. Rush hour traffic is the main problem., but then, we have to go through the city. I'm not sure what route you'd be taking, but if you can avoid the 401, 427 and QEW, you might make much better time than we do.

 

[cygnus]

Thanks for the information. We will probably take the 407 across the top of the city all the way to Niagara to avoid the rush hour traffic. Do you know how long it would take to get to Pittsburgh from Erie?

 

[OntFamily]

It's a little less than 2 hours