Driving down from Indy, any tips?

[lilasmom]

Well we're going to do it! We're going to drive it. There will be 4 of us in my PriusV, my DH, DS9, DD4 and myself. I plan to leave Fishers around 3pm on a Friday, drive until 11pm, get a hotel room and sleep until 7am, then finish the rest of the leg arriving around 3pm Saturday. I would love any advice anyone has to offer. Thanks!

 

[MacDalt]

Good luck! We just did it over spring break in April. I keep telling my family that we are never doing it again. But we always do! Be careful in Nashville- we always sit in traffic there regardless of the time because of construction. If you go thru Atlanta, take the bypass-much quicker. Watch out for the bypass around Macon-it sneaks up on you. Stop at the first test area in Florida to get pictures with the Welcome sign. Have fun and be careful!

PS. I'm from about an hour west of Indy.

 

[MacDalt]

Btw, if you have an iPhone, there is a free app called iexit. It shows gas stations, restaurants, rest areas, etc coming up on the interstate. It's cool and helpful.

 

[sjc011]

One thing that my parents always did was to stop on the way down or the way up at a place with historical significance (such as a monument, a small museum, or a battlefield). One that was really powerful and interesting was Andersonville... But there are plenty of others.

I think I am in the minority that every adventure should have a learning component, but if you're going to be in the area, why not?

We used to drive from NWI, so we had even longer of a drive! We had to leave by sunrise. lol But I do remember our parents making me and my sisters comfortable so we'd sleep for awhile. We'd stop at rest areas and did carry-out so we didn't spend too much time wasted. However, every six hours, we were forced out of the car to stretch our legs and not have cabin (or mini-van) fever. One way to combat that was we each had our own bag of stuff to keep us occupied: CD player with CD holder and HEADPHONES (I date myself lol ), books, coloring books, information about the parks, etc. It worked well, I would say. At one point, there was a DVD player, but I can't remember. And of course, there's always license plate bingo and I Spy.

 

[Marshel]

Good luck! We just did it over spring break in April. I keep telling my family that we are never doing it again. But we always do! Be careful in Nashville- we always sit in traffic there regardless of the time because of construction. If you go thru Atlanta, take the bypass-much quicker. Watch out for the bypass around Macon-it sneaks up on you. Stop at the first test area in Florida to get pictures with the Welcome sign. Have fun and be careful!

PS. I'm from about an hour west of Indy.

Good advice about Nashville, this weekend is CMA Fest and there'll be giant concerts at LP Field every night; if you're going I65 to I24, you can take Briley Pkwy East north of town and bypass downtown, it will take you to I24, it's basically a eight lane highway except for the last mile and a half, and it's still a divided highway there.

 

[lilasmom]

We're not going until September or maybe October. I need to start planning it out now though. My next steps are to find a hotel to stay that night and find the best choice if headrest DVD monitors. I downloaded i exit, thanks! Any suggestions on either the DVD players or the hotel? Thanks!

 

[GaBelle]

I definitely would plan your overnight stay ahead of time. From Fishers, Nashville is about 8-9 HR drive. I would actually drive a little further and stop in Murpheesboro. ( easier access back to hwy and less traffic). PP suggestion of the Briley Pkwy alternate is great...definitely keep that in mind as you're traveling. It can be a huge help if there is any traffic delays in I 65 or I 24.
Also factor in delays. They almost inevitable!

 

[LadyBeBop]

A few things.

1) I was in Nashville about a month ago, and I don't recall seeing any construction in town. There was some construction about an hour and a half north of Nashville, around the Mammoth Caves area. But it shouldn't slow you down too much.

2) Indianapolis to Nashville is much less than 8-9 hours. It's more like five hours.

3) If you want to stop at 11, you'll be somewhere between Dalton, GA and Marietta, GA. I don't think there's much between Dalton and Marietta; however it takes over an hour from Dalton to Marietta. Mapquest has the trip between Fishers and Dalton at 7 hours and 25 minutes (arrive at 10:25), and the trip between Fishers and Marietta at 8 hours and 28 minutes (arrive about 11:30).

Normally, I'd suggest not stopping until the South Atlanta suburbs (arriving around midnight). However, since you'd be going through Atlanta on a Saturday morning, you should not hit bad traffic. I would not take the Atlanta bypass. I would stay on I-75, riding the carpool (far left) lane.

4) I would, however, take the Macon bypass. That is a shorter route.

Good luck.

 

[GaBelle]

2) Indianapolis to Nashville is much less than 8-9 hours. It's more like five hours.

Thank you for correcting me! You're right, I was thinking from Fishers to Atlanta. I don't know why I didn't catch that.
With that said, scratch the Murphreesboro suggestion. :0)
You could try around Calhoun, GA. There are several major hotel chains there. This will put you north of Atlanta, but in a safe neighborhood. If you decide to go further south before stopping, my only advice is to not stop around the airport area. It is VERY sketchy!

 

[Miss Monorail 1971]

We are driving from Fort Wayne to Wdw. Do it all the time because I hate to fly. We are leaving about 4 am stopping in Indy to drop the dogs at the place where we are boarding them (long story) then planning on stopping in North Atlanta. Homewood suites in Kennesaw . Staying on Hilton points. I think it would be a smart idea to get reservations ahead of time. Good luck and have fun.

 

[MacDalt]

We're not going until September or maybe October. I need to start planning it out now though. My next steps are to find a hotel to stay that night and find the best choice if headrest DVD monitors. I downloaded i exit, thanks! Any suggestions on either the DVD players or the hotel? Thanks!

I just bought one from Walmart online (they didn't carry it in store) for $49 for duel screen. Uses earbuds so it was great!

 

[MacDalt]

We love Murpheesboro, nice area. We usually stay in Dalton Ga. It's a safe area too.

 

[DJT]

We usually drive from southern Indiana right across the river from Louisville, Kentucky. We leave around 2:00 to 3:00 in the afternoon and stop at Kennesaw, Georgia for the night. It is just north of Atlanta. The last two years we have had terrible traffic when we got to Nashville. It was bumper to bumper and wasted a lot of time.

 

[Miss Monorail 1971]

We usually drive from southern Indiana right across the river from Louisville, Kentucky. We leave around 2:00 to 3:00 in the afternoon and stop at Kennesaw, Georgia for the night. It is just north of Atlanta. The last two years we have had terrible traffic when we got to Nashville. It was bumper to bumper and wasted a lot of time.

Last two summers we went to Nashville for a quick get away and we hit terrible traffic just north of Nashville. Both times road construction was the problem. Took 2 hours longer. I would possibly use a traffic app the check it out. A detour might be in order.

 

[HoosierDisneyDad]

There are several nice hotels right off I-75 in Kennesaw, GA, on the north side of Atlanta. And that's good that you're thinking about getting a hotel room -- unlike the other thread in the Transportation forum that discusses which rest areas to sleep at on your way to WDW, which seems like an uncomfortable and dangerous idea.

 

[lilasmom]

Bumping for any more tips. We leave in 6 weeks!

 

[Dis_Dreamin]

15 minutes north of you (Pendleton), we like to drive down and stop south of Macon. Given that you'll be leaving Fishers around 3 pm, you'll be hitting Indy traffic all the way around to 65. You might be consider heading south through Cincinnati and Knoxville rather than Louisville and Nashville. That's the route we take and I think it's a pretty easy drive. Maps out to maybe 5 - 15 minutes longer of a drive, but whose counting?

Definitely get a room in advance. I think you've gotten some good recommendations on where to stop for the night.

Don't forget to check each state's DOT (511) page to check your route for construction. I know I'd hate to have a night closure and run into traffic somewhere when you are getting tired or are ready to be at WDW.

http://511.ky.gov/
http://www.tn511.com/
http://www.511ga.org/
http://www.fl511.com/

 

[LadyBeBop]

15 minutes north of you (Pendleton), we like to drive down and stop south of Macon. Given that you'll be leaving Fishers around 3 pm, you'll be hitting Indy traffic all the way around to 65. You might be consider heading south through Cincinnati and Knoxville rather than Louisville and Nashville. That's the route we take and I think it's a pretty easy drive. Maps out to maybe 5 - 15 minutes longer of a drive, but whose counting?

It's about 30 miles and maybe about a half hour longer. But then, who's counting?

I like driving I-75 through Knoxville much better than I-65 through Nashville. Maybe because I'm used to it more. The drive through the mountains on I-75 is pretty; however you'll be driving in night, so you'll miss the scenery.

If you do take the Cincinnati/Knoxville route, make sure you take the Cincinnati bypass (I-74 to south I-275 into Kentucky). You definitely don't want to hit Friday rush hour in Downtown Cincinnati. You'll pick up I-75 about seven miles south of Downtown, in Erlanger, KY (my hometown ). You aren't out of the woods yet...metro Cincinnati extends about six or seven miles further south into Florence. But I don't think you'll hit too much traffic.

Besides, if you take the I-65 route you'll probably hit rush hour in Louisville. I know nothing about Louisville rush hour. Or any bypass from Indiana (I'm familiar with both Louisville bypasses, I-264 and I-265. But only from I-71. I think there is a way to get to either I-264 or I-265 from Indiana. But I'm not sure how).

 

[Dis_Dreamin]

...If you do take the Cincinnati/Knoxville route, make sure you take the Cincinnati bypass (I-74 to south I-275 into Kentucky). You definitely don't want to hit Friday rush hour in Downtown Cincinnati....

I agree whole heatedly with this statement.

We made the mistake of driving back from Gatlinburg and following google maps on my phone straight through Downtown Cincinnati right in the midst of Friday rush hour this summer...I was not very happy about that one. LOL! Bumper to bumper traffic just crawling.

I'm a big fan of the bypass around Cincinnati and around Atlanta. I know there's a HOV lane that we can use, but when you're driving 90 mph and someone's right on your tail, it's a bit stressful. From now on, all our drives will bypass around Atlanta

So the route I would recommend is:
I-69 -> I-465 S -> I-74 E (into Cincinnati)
I-275 S (along west side of Cinci) to I-75 S
Follow I-75 through Lexington (you'll stay along the North and East of the city) all the way to Knoxville. Once you get to Knoxville, you'll follow I-75/640/40 west and pick up I-75 on the west side. Follow that to Chattanooga, and keep on I-75 until you hit Atlanta.

This will probably be your stopping point since you are leaving Fishers in the afternoon.

Then it's I-285 around Atlanta to I-75 again. Stay on I-75 until Macon, pick up I-475 through Macon, then I-75 all the way to the Florida Turnpike. Pay your toll ($3.00) to get on, then travel along the turnpike until you get to the Western Beltway (429), pay a second toll on 429 ($1.50) and that's all the tolls for this route. Follow 429 south to the Disney World exit (Exit 8, Western Way). Follow the signs once you are in there to your resort.

Toll Information:
Florida Turnpike Toll Information PDF

For diversions on the drive home
One of our favorite stops on the way home along I-75 is up in KY. It's the Kentucky Artisans Center in Berea. If you it it at the right time, you can get a decent fresh meal in their cafe and do some shopping for hand made crafts and foods.

Pretty neat little distraction from the driving if you ask me.

Here's a URL for their rest stop:
http://www.kentuckyartisancenter.ky.gov/

It's worth a look if you have time, or a desire to stop on your way home. Not sure if they would be open, or if you would want to burn time on your drive down though.

 

[lilasmom]

I agree whole heatedly with this statement.

We made the mistake of driving back from Gatlinburg and following google maps on my phone straight through Downtown Cincinnati right in the midst of Friday rush hour this summer...I was not very happy about that one. LOL! Bumper to bumper traffic just crawling.

I'm a big fan of the bypass around Cincinnati and around Atlanta. I know there's a HOV lane that we can use, but when you're driving 90 mph and someone's right on your tail, it's a bit stressful. From now on, all our drives will bypass around Atlanta

So the route I would recommend is:
I-69 -> I-465 S -> I-74 E (into Cincinnati)
I-275 S (along west side of Cinci) to I-75 S
Follow I-75 through Lexington (you'll stay along the North and East of the city) all the way to Knoxville. Once you get to Knoxville, you'll follow I-75/640/40 west and pick up I-75 on the west side. Follow that to Chattanooga, and keep on I-75 until you hit Atlanta.

This will probably be your stopping point since you are leaving Fishers in the afternoon.

Then it's I-285 around Atlanta to I-75 again. Stay on I-75 until Macon, pick up I-475 through Macon, then I-75 all the way to the Florida Turnpike. Pay your toll ($3.00) to get on, then travel along the turnpike until you get to the Western Beltway (429), pay a second toll on 429 ($1.50) and that's all the tolls for this route. Follow 429 south to the Disney World exit (Exit 8, Western Way). Follow the signs once you are in there to your resort.

Toll Information:
Florida Turnpike Toll Information PDF

For diversions on the drive home
One of our favorite stops on the way home along I-75 is up in KY. It's the Kentucky Artisans Center in Berea. If you it it at the right time, you can get a decent fresh meal in their cafe and do some shopping for hand made crafts and foods.

Pretty neat little distraction from the driving if you ask me.

Here's a URL for their rest stop:
http://www.kentuckyartisancenter.ky.gov/

It's worth a look if you have time, or a desire to stop on your way home. Not sure if they would be open, or if you would want to burn time on your drive down though.

Thank you so much for your very thorough advice!!