Driving down from the GTA

[Cheerio]

Need some ideas for places to stay/eat on the way down. We're travelling with 3 children, 6, 4 and 18mos. First off, do you find the 79/77/95 faster?

Our plan, is to leave here Friday night at about 7pm (DH will be sleeping all day, as he worked midnights on Thursday) drive right through until breakfast, stop, eat - I'll drive while DH naps. I'd like to stop later afternoon for the day, so the kids can get in some recreation before dinner. I read someone mentioned Valdosta in GA?? That's taking the I-75 right? If we don't take that route - any suggestions where to stay??

Coming home, we'd like to do the 79/95/77 as we want to spend our last day in Daytona Beach. Any hints on where to stop for the night would be good too - we'd probably only get in 4-5 hours that day.

Is there a book for the 79, kind of like the "Along the I75"??Also, have you ever tried to just "wing" getting a hotel room somewhere along the way? That way if travelling isn't so great, we can stop sooner and if the kids are tolerating it, we can drive a little further or is this a BAD idea for mid-October?

Thanks!

 

[cslittle999]

We've driven the I79/77/26/95 route twice and find that it takes us 21 hours door-to-door to get to WDW. The I75 route (which we've never taken) would be an extra 3 hours.

We keep a journal of our trips so I can give you are approximate travel times. All times include gas/food/bathroom breaks. Are kids are older, DD9 and DS7, so you'll have to factor that it. I do all the driving and I drive 5 to 10 mph over the speed limit. Since I'm not sure where you are starting from I'll try to give times from Buffalo.

From the Peace Bridge at Buffalo to WDW is about 19 hours. We normally leave early in the morning (5 am) and then stay over night close to Charlotte, NC. The next day we reach Orlando by 5 pm.

From Buffalo it takes us about 12 hours to get to Charlotte, NC. There are lots of places to eat starting about 2 hours north of Charlotte. It's about an hour and a half to the I77/I26 interchange. You will have driven around Columbia, SC and there are places to eat at each interchange.

Since you're driving at night you need to manage the fuel stops. There are a few stretches were there may not be late night gas stations. There obvious from the road maps.

You'll spend about an hour on I26 to reach I95. It's a little over an hour to the Georgia border from there. Another 90 minutes to the Florida border.

Jacksonville may be a good place to stop. Lots of hotel and food choices. It's about a two hour drive to WDW from there.

On the way home you should be able reach SC/Georgia border in 4 to 5 hours.

I wouldn't wing it with the hotels. What I would do is make a couple of reservations about two hours apart and make sure that the reservations allow you cancel the room by 4 to 6 pm. That way you can either stay at the close or far hotel and cancel the other one.

No specific recommendations on hotels as your stops won't match ours. I usually choose by hotel chain. I prefer to stay at Holiday Inn Express. They are usually newer and have a good breakfast.

Let me know if you want any other trip details.

 

[caa1000]

Need some ideas for places to stay/eat on the way down. We're travelling with 3 children, 6, 4 and 18mos. First off, do you find the 79/77/95 faster?

Our plan, is to leave here Friday night at about 7pm (DH will be sleeping all day, as he worked midnights on Thursday) drive right through until breakfast, stop, eat - I'll drive while DH naps. I'd like to stop later afternoon for the day, so the kids can get in some recreation before dinner. I read someone mentioned Valdosta in GA?? That's taking the I-75 right? If we don't take that route - any suggestions where to stay??

Coming home, we'd like to do the 79/95/77 as we want to spend our last day in Daytona Beach. Any hints on where to stop for the night would be good too - we'd probably only get in 4-5 hours that day.

Is there a book for the 79, kind of like the "Along the I75"??Also, have you ever tried to just "wing" getting a hotel room somewhere along the way? That way if travelling isn't so great, we can stop sooner and if the kids are tolerating it, we can drive a little further or is this a BAD idea for mid-October?

Thanks!

I did one trip in 1999, from Orlando FL to Columbus, OH. When I did the Orlando to Columbus trip (I did not drive, cause I payed a Greyhound bus line), most of the trip was on I-75. However only one portion, from Orlando to Savahnna Georgia, was on I-95. So if you are coming from way north, I'll recomend the I-75 corridor and you can go, thru Cincinatti, OH, Knoxville, Tennessee, Atlanta, Macon and Valdosta, Georgia. Then in Florida, you go thru Gainesville and Ocala. Then you have to drive thru the Turnpike into Orlando and then on I-4 to Disney World. Hotels are always visible around the I-75 corridor. If you go to Daytona Beach, on I-95, then go north on I-95 and I would take I-26 towards Columbia and Greenville South Carolina. That will merge into I-77. However, I'm not familiar with the I-77/79 corridor! Hope this would help!

 

[Mortlives]

We love driving down. We always take the I-77...I-95 route since it's faster, and we did not enjoy our one experience on the I-73.

We are stopping in Charlotte on the way down this time, as we did one time previous. We would recommend not stopping at the Days Inn in Charlotte, since we had problems with the desk staff and the room was dingy and in ill repair. We'll have to let you know what the Best Western is like in a little more than 7 weeks. Not sure when you're going?

If you are going through to Georgia, I can' t really help you with a place to stay since we have only ever stayed in Savanna (Comfort Suites-- nice hotel in a not-so-nice neighbourhood. We passed the parole office on the way to the historic district). However, once you get far enough south you will start to see signs listing Sonny's as one of the restaurant choices. We love Sonny's. Really cheap tasty barbecue, with your choice of sauces. They leave squeeze bottles on the table so you can mix and match. Be cautious though, they give you huge meals.

By the way, driving through Georgia in the morning is an experience. We have a Glen Miller CD we reserve for this drive.

Our current plan is to wing a hotel on the way back. We'll let you know how that goes.

 

[Cheerio]

Thanks! We're not going until October, so we have lots of time to plan and figure our route out. I just know we're leaving here the Friday night and check-in at Disney on Sunday sometime, after stopping overnight

 

[polyhm83]

We also take the I-77, I-95, route every year. We are just north of toronto and find the drive more scenic and alot faster tham I-75. We also leave at night and drive straight through. We usually make it to St. Augustine and stay at what in now The Clarion Casa Del Mar on Vilano beach near St Augustine. It's a fairly new hotel with a great free breakfast, a nice pool and hot tub and it is right across from the beach. It makes for a short couple hour drive the next day to Disney area.

 

[Cheerio]

What time do you leave here (I'm right in Toronto) and what time do you get to St. Augustine? I think driving right into FL might be pushing it with my kids

 

[OntFamily]

www.roomsaver.com has plenty of hotel coupons (there are the same coupons that are available at many rest stops).

We've driven the I-79/77/26 route many times. It's a good route. We've always "winged it" on hotels. However, there have been a couple of times where we've had a problem finding a room (because we didn't start looking for a room until after midnight, so he had to go to four or five hotels to find a good room).

The next time we drive (probably in late May) I'll probably make a hotel reservation (first night probably around Charlotte, NC).

 

[polyhm83]

We live an hour north of Toronto and we leave around 5:00 pm and arrive in St Augustine around 3:00 pm the next afternoon. We stop for a big breakfast around 9 or 10 in the morning and then we get subs from subway when we get there, and eat around the pool. My kids have their moments, but they are getting a little older now. Good luck what ever you decide.

 

[Cheerio]

Thanks! That sounds similar to what we'll be doing. I just found a Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites in Brunswick, GA for $79/night with an indoor pool. Mapquest says about 17 hours, which I believe is do-able

 

[OntFamily]

I'm sure you built this into your time budget, but in case you haven't - keep in mind Mapquest times do not include the time you'll spend at rest stops, eating,etc. Over a 17 hour trip, you'd probably spend at least 2 hours stopped (even in commando mode). In non-commando mode, it would probably be closer to 4 - 5 hours.

It's never fun to be tired and still 2 hours from your hotel reservation (and you've already gone beyond the reservation cancellation time).

 

[TreesyB]

Only thing I can suggest when driving, is map your trip, weather wise via CNN weather. You can choose the closest city for your weather tip. The thing I would be concerned about at that time is the hurricane season. It's really frightening driving through the tail end of a hurricane (even if it's only a day or two after it's passed).