Driving from Central Illinois to Orlando

Kimberlyfamilyfv

DIS Veteran
Joined
Mar 23, 2003
Messages
927
This is the first time since 1999 that we have driven to florida and I would like everyone's best suggestions for refueling stops and rest stops along the way. Most of my family traveling with me are adults so we will probably drive straight thru. Thank you in advance.

Kimberly
 
It seems the gas is always higher in Illinois and Florida, get it in Ky, Tn and Ga and its cheaper.. Rest areas all seem to be the same, regardless of which state you are in..
 
The rest areas prior to Chattanooga are nice. Pretty mtn views. Definitely gas up way before or way after Nashville (somewhere in KY best before) and gas up in GA before going ino FL, although around Ocala prices are not too bad. Of course the drive in IL is boring but KY and TN are nice. GA is long since you drive the whole state and then you just get excited once in FL.
 
We always get excited to see the FL welcome signs until we look at the GPS and realize we still have 3 and a half hours left.
 

Yep, I will be donig the same drive this month. Try to avoid Atlanta during rush hours. It seems to take forever to get around or through Atlanta.

Lori
 
Hi! We've driven the past two years from Chicago and the thing I've decided to do this coming year is print out maps of the states we travel through so I can write on them (and the kids,too). Our GPS has never failed us, thankfully! When you see a town sign you can see it & how close (or far) you are from Disney or the state border. It sounds dumb, but I've written down approximately how long we'll be traveling in each state. When you get into Georgia...it just seems to last forever. We always think that since we're only 1 state away we're so close. We all start getting ants in the pants:rotfl: Now I can say 5 1/2 hours until Florida! The when we get to FL...3 hours 'til Disney!!!! Yay! Also, if you're able to cut down on pitstops bring at least one meal from home in a cooler. Plus some snacks for the over night drivers :)
 
Every single time we've driven we've been stuck in the Atlanta area from anywhere from 2-4hours!! Granted we always seem to get there between 11 am and 4pm.

Try to drive through there either before 7am or after 7pm and GOOD LUCK!!
 
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not many rest stops after atlanta if your going to stop make sure you do so before atlanta
 














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