Driving from Chicago to Orlando - Where to stop for overnight?

[preschoolmom]

We are thinking south of Chattanooga and north of Atlanta? Can anyone give me a good idea of where to look for a hotel? I'd like to have a reservation...

Also - Anyone have a good idea for our return trip? Perhaps somewhere heading north after Chattanooga?

Thanks!

 

[JonS99]

A lot will depend when you are driving.. If during the week, stop south of Atlanta, if on the weekend its not as big of a deal.. When we go down in June, our goal is Macon..

 

[preschoolmom]

find a safe hotel south of Atlanta? We are traveling during the week - is the Atlantic morning traffic terrible? (If it makes a difference, we leave at like 3am).

 

[JonS99]

We live in Kankakee County and leave around 4:00A, so if you leave at 3:00A you will be on about the same schedule as us and this is sort of what we always plan..

4:00A, leave home and get on 57.. Stop for breakfast around 7:00A in Mt. Vernon or Salem, by 9:00A be into KY, into TN by 10:30A and Chatanooga by 12:30P (1:30 EST) for lunch.. Then by 3:30P into the Atlanta area where we do hit a little traffic, but not horrible, have heard that if you hit it at 5:00-7:00 its awful.. At that point, anything we get passed Atlanta is "gravy", just see how much the kids can take..

You will find areas with nice hotels just south of Atlanta and then an hour or so further in Macon..I guess my thought is that if you are going to leave at 3:00A, stopping north of Atlanta at 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon doesn't make sense, might as well drive until dinner and be beyond there and set yourself up for a 4-6 hour drive the second day..

 

[preschoolmom]

This is exactly the info. I was looking for!

We live just west of the city - so we should be in good shape to get south of Atlanta, then!

Thanks!

 

[tmonferdini]

We usually stop in Manchester, TN at the Ramada Ltd. It's a nice hotel. They have cont. breakfast in the morning. There's a pretty good chain restaurant right next door (can't remember the name of it) and Starbucks & Walmart right across the street. It's right of the interstate. I believe it's about 8 or 9 hours from Kankakee County (1 hr south of Chicago).

That's where we were planning to stop this year, but now we're flying! yay!

 

[cbrfan]

We make it a point to stop past Atlanta regardless of the direction we're travelling. We made the mistake of stopping in Dalton on our way down once. We left the next morning and backup started about 20 miles south of there.
We like to stop off Exit 3 of the I-475 bypass (Eisenhower Pkwy).

 

[DVCKennyD]

Hello,

I would like to add to what JonS99 said... We normally leave around 3AM and shoot for a late afternoon arrival somewhere south of Atlanta... This allows the kids some down time before dinner and enables us to swim and relax before driving the final five hours or so into WDW the following morning. Last year we stayed in the town of Warner Robins, just south of Macon. It is home to Warner Robins AFB and has several nice hotels and restaurants located minutes from I75.

We prefer the I65/I24/I75 route, but getting an early start is the key or you will encounter either Indy or Louisville traffic.

Ken

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Going South I would recommend the Hampton Inn located off exit 333 in Dalton, Georgia. There are a good number of restaurants to eat at and every year driving home from WDW that is where my family and I stayed there.

Going North I would recommend another Hampton Inn, this time one that is located in Cleveland, Tennessee off exit 27. Once again their are a fair number restaurants to choose and this the location my family and I stay the 1st day of driving when we are going towards WDW.

I know that traffic going threw Atlanta can sometimes be a bit messy and etc, however if you left Dalton at a early time you can be driving past Atlanta 2 hours later and if the traffic is good you will get by ok with no problems.

 

[cbrfan]

Going South I would recommend the Hampton Inn located off exit 333 in Dalton, Georgia. There are a good number of restaurants to eat at and every year driving home from WDW that is where my family and I stayed there.

Going North I would recommend another Hampton Inn, this time one that is located in Cleveland, Tennessee off exit 27. Once again their are a fair number restaurants to choose and this the location my family and I stay the 1st day of driving when we are going towards WDW.

I know that traffic going threw Atlanta can sometimes be a bit messy and etc, however if you left Dalton at a early time you can be driving past Atlanta 2 hours later and if the traffic is good you will get by ok with no problems.

We stayed at that Hampton Inn when we stayed in Dalton. While it was a decent hotel, don't take a room on the side next to the Interstate. It's really noisy as this hotel has (or did when we stayed a few years ago) outside entry to the rooms, not corridors. But I agree that it's in a great area as far as restaurants, etc. are concerned. If you get there early enough, it's in a outlet mall.
If were were to stay in Dalton again we'd prefer to stay at the Country Inns & Suites off the same exit, just on the other side of I-75. Alot quieter, nicer rooms and a really nice hotel in general. Great breakfast in the morning.
And definately leave early in the a.m. from Dalton. We left at 7 a.m. and that's when we hit the back 20 miles later.

 

[JonS99]

We prefer the I65/I24/I75 route,

Ken

Just curious.. Why???

 

[MarthaJr.]

We're driving from Milwaukee area this year. We are thinking of leaving about4:30 PM on Thursday before Easter and driving as far as we can before stopping. Hoping we won't run into a ton of Chicago traffic as we are heading into the city. Is this wishful thinking? We haven't driven in about 6 yrs. DH thinks we can drive straight through. I think he's nuts! I'm sure we'll end of stopping for a few hours of sleep south of Chatanooga and hit the road again early the next morning.

Just wondering... when you leave at 3AM--are you able to sleep before you leave? I think I would be too hyped up.

 

[JonS99]

Just wondering... when you leave at 3AM--are you able to sleep before you leave? I think I would be too hyped up.

I always make myself go to bed by 9:00, then getting up at 2:30 and on the road by 3:00A isn't that bad... Then two hours of driving before the sun comes up and by breakfast we have 300 miles done...

 

[preschoolmom]

I think this thread has me more excited than any other (and that says a lot, as I've been planning for 9 months, now!)...

Probably because this is some of the last detail we have to work out.

When we leave at 3:00am, we go to bed at 9 or 10. My husband does the first shift driving (from 3:00 until 7:00ish) to get us through the city, until we stop for Breakfast...

The kids generally sleep until close to breakfast, too (major, major incentive for getting those first 3-4 hours in peace!).

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

We stayed at that Hampton Inn when we stayed in Dalton. While it was a decent hotel, don't take a room on the side next to the Interstate. It's really noisy as this hotel has (or did when we stayed a few years ago)

Whenever my family and I have stayed there and our room happen to be on the side where Interstate 75 was, we did not hear any noise coming from there. Unless was your room located at the very end of that side?

 

[cbrfan]

Whenever my family and I have stayed there and our room happen to be on the side where Interstate 75 was, we did not hear any noise coming from there. Unless was your room located at the very end of that side?

It was an end room - upstairs

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

It was an end room - upstairs

Well that answers the question then. Usually if we had a room on the Interstate side it was either at the begining or middle part. Now we might get a end room like you did on that side when we stay there this August, however since were only there 1 night it won't be so bad.

 

[yooperfan]

We are thinking south of Chattanooga and north of Atlanta? Can anyone give me a good idea of where to look for a hotel? I'd like to have a reservation...

Also - Anyone have a good idea for our return trip? Perhaps somewhere heading north after Chattanooga?

Thanks!

Off topic, but, what is your local news saying about the weather Wed. morning for Ohare? We are supposed to fly out of Marquette with a stop in Green Bay and only 35 min. to catch our connecting flight to Orlando. The weather is looking a little dicey here for Wed. I've got my fingers crossed. Thanks.

 

[preschoolmom]

Wednesday is your best day!

We're expecting snow on Tuesday and a storm on Thursday!

http://www.weatherunderground.com/US/IL/Chicago-O'Hare_International.html

 

[rosegirl]

We're driving from Milwaukee area this year. We are thinking of leaving about4:30 PM on Thursday before Easter and driving as far as we can before stopping. Hoping we won't run into a ton of Chicago traffic as we are heading into the city. Is this wishful thinking? We haven't driven in about 6 yrs. DH thinks we can drive straight through. I think he's nuts! I'm sure we'll end of stopping for a few hours of sleep south of Chatanooga and hit the road again early the next morning.

Just wondering... when you leave at 3AM--are you able to sleep before you leave? I think I would be too hyped up.

Maybe by 6 pm, which is when you'll arrive in Illinois, things will have died down SOME, but even going "against" traffic, I would expect some delays, especially if it's raining. I do not think you can go "straight through" in other words. Hope I'm wrong!