Driving from Appleton Wi. to Disney? Are we crazy???

[abbysmom]

Hello,
Anyone with tips or advice on how to get there. We have never driven this before and am kind of nervous? Is there a specific route? Any info would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[weluvpluto]

Hi
We've driven 3 times from Milwaukee with our 4th time coming in July, so maybe I can help a bit

My first advice would be to get a triptix if you're a AAA member.

Next, we've taken two different routes, one through Indiana and the other through Illinois. I like the Illinois route better, because you avoid more major cities. We do try to get thru Chicago very early (like 4 AM early )

The routes:
Illinois route
I94 to
I294 to
I57 to
I24 to
I75 to
Florida Turnpike

Indiana Route (this is the one AAA will give you)
I94 to
I294 to
I80 to
I65 to
I24 to
I75 to
Florida Turnpike

We try to make it to somewhere in Georgia (past Atlanta if we're lucky) the first day so we don't have as long the second day.
It takes about 12 hours to reach Chattanoga from Milwaukee (south side) and going thru the mountains during some daylight hours is easier than at night.
We don't like to make reservations for our one night on the road because we never know how far we're going to make it; ie... we would hate to have gotten stuck in a traffic jam or two, or bad weather, then be hard pressed to make it to that hotel reservation.
We have a TV/VCR for the car, I try to tape stuff the girls haven't seen before or for a while so it holds their interest. They also bring their gameboys, cd players, and maybe a few other small games to play, coloring books, books to read, snacks and a cooler.
If I think of more I will add it later or if you have more ???s

 

[Esmerelda]

nope...not crazy...lol

just be sure and do one thing...sit down and go over driving expenses. Tally up gas usage....meals...hotels...incidentals, time off from your work place...etc. (I work in a hospital and its hard to take a long stretch of time off) Then look for good airfare and compare. I know personally, we were going to drive this year and I had a van all set and reserved. It actually came out cheaper to fly believe it or not.

just a thought,
Esmerelda

 

[dzneelvr]

We drove once thinking that we were going to save money, hassle at the airport, etc. NEVER AGAIN.
The extremely long drive--my DH and I share driving duties and drive straight through--coupled with the 3 days it took in total to get to/from and that were spent in the car, showed us that it just isn't worth it to us. We probably saved some money that time because gas prices were alot lower than now and airfare was high because it was right after 9/11.
We're back to flying....TMA out of Rockford, IL at $79 a ticket each way (DH, DS, DD and me). We will spend a total of 4 hours in a plane and another 3 hours in a stretch limo being transported from Sanford to/from ASm.
From one family who's done both--my advice is go ahead and do it once but you will be wasting alot of precious vacation time in a car and you should check out other options on your "next times". There are better airline deals out there now to grab.

WDW ON JUNE 24

 

[weluvpluto]

We would love to be able to fly each time we went to Disney World but that would mean a lot less trips

The cheapest airfare I found out of Milwaukee for when we're going is $163 Roundtrip * 4 = $652.
Then we'd have to add in a rental car for two weeks which would be well over $250 (haven't even seen any good rates for July yet, because I've been watching just in case we change our minds.) Plus we'd have to add in parking at the airport, plus any airport snacks or meals.

We've budgeted $250 for gas roundtrip and $85-90 a night for a hotel stay (one on the way down and one on the way back) plus $50 total for meals (we'll take breakfast items, sandwiches, snacks, and beverages in the car with us). So for us flying would mean double what it would cost to drive.

You need to go in the right frame of mind... if you think you'll hate driving then you probably will. If you go thinking "hey, I'm going to Disney World" or on the way home "home sweet home" it will hopefully be better.
It is about 20-21 hours of driving from Milwaukee, but my husband and I take turns, and my daughters are very good about it

 

[abbysmom]

Thanks for the advice from everyone. We are thinking of driving just because we have never done this before, not because of the price of airfare or anything, we just thought this might be a good adventure for our family and since we have the time off (26 days) we are in no hurry getting there and back.

 

[manning]

If you want to bypass Milwaukee, Chicago area ( I-80/95 in Gary is a mess) Indianapolis, Louisville, take I-39 out of Madison to Normal IL, pick up I-74 go to Champaign, pick up I- 57. go the tip of IL south of Marion, Pick up I-24. This will take you thru Paducah to I- 65 in Nashville.


If you have time take I-65 down to Mobile AL and see the battleship Alabama then take I-10 to I-110 in Pensacola go south to US 98. take 98 to Gulf Breeze and continue on SR 399 (Pennsacola Beach Blvd) to Pensacola Beach.

At the T intersection if you go west you will go to a national Park where Old Fort Pickens (civil war) is located. If you drive around you will see WWII shoreline battery placements and bunkers. Last time I was there the artillery pieces were still in place preserved.

Take sr 399 east out of Pensacola Beach to US 98. On 98 you will drive thru Destin , Fort Walton Beach, Panama City, Apalachicola (eat at Gibson Inn) and on to Perry FL (there is a Hampton Inn here). There is a nice rest area on the beach at Carrabelle (has wash rooms and picnic tables (a nice place to stop and walk on the beach and have a picnic lunch).

From Perry take US 27 to US 192 (right on top of Disney) and US 192 to Disney.

It's a nice drive if you are not in a hurry.