Driving from Chicago to Walt Disney World

[skiingnow4376]

We're planning on driving from Chicago to WDW in mid to late June. This will be our first time driving down, so I'm looking to get as much advice as I can. We'll likely stop and spend 1 night somewhere on the way there, but I'm not sure where or how far along the route I should be planning to do this. Any tips and advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[macraven]

Probably Chattanooga would be your half way mark so plenty of places to stay in that area.

 

[skiingnow4376]

I was just looking at the map and thinking that Chattanooga looked like it was about half way. Thanks!!

 

[macraven]

For a cheaper room, drive the 20 minutes past Chattanooga and get a cheaper room in Georgia

 

[sethschroeder]

Personally done a few long hauls. I am a push on person.

I would at least get to FL boarder area after a full day of driving leave at like 4am. Would get me through Indy by 7am and through Atl by 4pm. So you miss both rush hours. Hit FL boarder by like 7pm and call it a night.

Valdosta, GA is like 3-4 hrs out and would be an easy drive for a day/evening at Epcot with later park opening hours.

I find 1k miles/day to be my limit so I am a little different I know.

 

[LadyBeBop]

What day of the week are you traveling?
My initial thought, especially if you’re traveling on a weekday, is to stop just south of Atlanta. If you stop in Chattanooga or Dalton (just south of Chattanooga), you run the risk of hitting morning rush hour traffic going into Atlanta.
However, if you decide to get through Atlanta before stopping, you run the risk of hitting evening rush hour traffic coming out of Atlanta.
Depending what you decide, just make sure you avoid Atlanta rush hour traffic during the week. If it means stopping earlier or later than you want, do it. Also, if it means leaving at 8 AM out of Chattanooga instead of 6 AM, do it.
Also, try to avoid rush hour out of Nashville as well. I hate Nashville traffic more than Atlanta‘a.

 

[macraven]

If you hit Atlanta at rush hour, take 285 and you’ll miss that traffic

You will save a lot of time then.

 

[skiingnow4376]

What day of the week are you traveling?
My initial thought, especially if you’re traveling on a weekday, is to stop just south of Atlanta. If you stop in Chattanooga or Dalton (just south of Chattanooga), you run the risk of hitting morning rush hour traffic going into Atlanta.
However, if you decide to get through Atlanta before stopping, you run the risk of hitting evening rush hour traffic coming out of Atlanta.
Depending what you decide, just make sure you avoid Atlanta rush hour traffic during the week. If it means stopping earlier or later than you want, do it. Also, if it means leaving at 8 AM out of Chattanooga instead of 6 AM, do it.
Also, try to avoid rush hour out of Nashville as well. I hate Nashville traffic more than Atlanta‘a.

We are most likely going to leave on a Friday, and the plan that's starting to come to shape is to spend the night Friday and then get back on the road early Saturday morning. If we spend the night around Chattanooga and head out early Saturday, would we not have to deal with bad Atlanta traffic? Or is traffic just generally bad there?

 

[Disneyfan754321]

Probably Chattanooga would be your half way mark so plenty of places to stay in that area.

This is what I was going to say... my boys love staying in the choo choo hotel. So we use to always stop there.
Watch your times you do not want to pass through Atlanta at rush hour. So we always map it out.. and you will be fine. The highway is like 6 lanes wide each direction if that tells you anything. Use waze

 

[EACarlson]

I would at least get to FL boarder area after a full day of driving leave at like 4am. Would get me through Indy by 7am and through Atl by 4pm. So you miss both rush hours. Hit FL boarder by like 7pm and call it a night.

Valdosta, GA is like 3-4 hrs out and would be an easy drive for a day/evening at Epcot with later park opening hours.

I find 1k miles/day to be my limit so I am a little different I know.

I basically agree with this, but the Indy time is wrong unless you are right on the IL/IN line. With the time change it would be 8 when you get through Indy, not 7. Valdosta is 200 miles from WDW, if you were out of the hotel at 7, puts you there at 10.

 

[MM1102]

We're from northern Indiana and have made that drive nine times in the last year (sloooowly moving to a new home in the Orlando area). Really depends on how early you want to get into the WDW area. Chattanooga is dead center so gives you about eight hours each way (driving time, doesn't count bathroom and food stops). Atlanta is very doable on a Saturday morning. Check Google Maps as to whether to go straight through or around 285. McDonough and Warner-Robins are good stops if you want to get past ATL on the first day Make sure you hit Buc-ee's at exit 144 south of Macon for breakfast. Highlight of the trip!

 

[johnsbelt]

When we've driven from Dayton, OH, we've tried to make it south of Atlanta the first day (when leaving in the morning). It makes the second day a little shorter and allows us to get perishables and get settled in.

We opt not to go to a park on arrival day as it seems to us as a waste. We would rather take the evening and decompress from the drive and hit the parks refreshed.

The one thing to ask yourself is how tired do you want to be on your first day in the parks. A lot will depend on the ages of your kids (if any) and how they travel.

John

 

[KrazeeK120]

I’m in Bloomington, so a bit south of you, but when we drive, we stay in Chattanooga. We’ve also driven as far as Atlanta the first day, but that was before our son was born. We leave Chattanooga at like 5 AM to avoid Atlanta traffic... we did a Saturday/Sunday drive both times we did the drive with our son.

 

[RAD]

It’s been a long time since I did that drive but check out taking I57 to I24 vs I65. It is a little bit longer but IMHO a nicer drive. Less traffic and you miss Indy and Louisville since there are no large cities until Nashville.

 

[TexanInTheMidwest]

I drove from Ohio back in October - fortunately we had driven to Ft. Myers Beach several years in a row so I was familiar with a lot of the routing.

To be honest, I would stop South of Atlanta. It makes the 1st day drive a little longer, but we ALWAYS hit traffic on 75 once we get into Florida. (We also ALWAYS hit traffic in the Knoxville to Chattanooga area, as you are crossing into GA from TN, and through Atlanta - that's been consistent the last 6 years.)

Though I did the drive straight through to Disney in Oct (14 hours) we do usually stop in Valdosta or push to get over the border and stop in Lake City, FL. Since that's a little long, just getting as far South from Atlanta as possible will make your 2nd day go smoother.

Be willing to leave EARLY in the morning. When I left, I hit the road at 3 AM, which allowed me to get a lot of miles behind me before morning traffic started getting heavier.

USE WAZE! This is a life-saver and saved me HOURS of delays both to and from Disney in October. (It always saves time on long trips). Waze also has a feature that helps you "pre-plan" the best departure time (which is what encouraged me to leave at 3 AM - because it saved me over an hour based on traffic pattern/history)

Oh, and if you already know what day of the week you are leaving, do a Google Maps routing for that same day of the week (So, if you're leaving on a Tuesday, check the routing on a Tuesday morning). It takes traffic patterns into account and will help you see how long the trip is with realistic traffic figures.

IF you don't already have one, consider getting a Sun Pass - you only have to put like $10 on it. This will make it so much easier when you get off 75 in Florida to go towards Orlando.

 

[vinmar4]

We're from northern Indiana and have made that drive nine times in the last year (sloooowly moving to a new home in the Orlando area). Really depends on how early you want to get into the WDW area. Chattanooga is dead center so gives you about eight hours each way (driving time, doesn't count bathroom and food stops). Atlanta is very doable on a Saturday morning. Check Google Maps as to whether to go straight through or around 285. McDonough and Warner-Robins are good stops if you want to get past ATL on the first day Make sure you hit Buc-ee's at exit 144 south of Macon for breakfast. Highlight of the trip!

We did exactly this one year when we used to live in Chicago. Drove 12 hours the first day and stopped at Atlanta for a family party and spend the night. The next day on Sunday, it was a piece of cake to drive to Disney World.

 

[spiders]

Don't assume 285 will be faster to get through Atlanta. Check your phone's live traffic map as you approach. 285 can get ugly, real fast. Yes, it goes around the city but there aren't as many lanes as opposed to 75 and all thru-trucks must use 285. So it can backup pretty easily. There are also HOV lanes on 75 inside of the 285 that can move a little faster. The express lanes on 75 north of 285 are pay-to-use but inside they are just old-fashion HOV lanes with 24/7 enforcement.

Chattanooga is actually a neat little town if you're interested in spending half a day or so before you get back on the road. Otherwise just pick somewhere safe & clean.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

I would push to Atlanta the first day. It’s more than half way, but that drive through Florida is long and boring and feels like longer than it is.

 

[Lizgistix]

So taking my driving experience into account, I have a few thoughts:
If you take I-65: check traffic before you get to Indianapolis. Some times it's easier to go straight through town. Other times it's quicker to take 465 South around. There are electronic signs that will give you time estimates.
In Louisville, I've found I-265 and I-264 to be a waste of time and gas. Just take 65 south. The bridge on I-65 from Indiana into Louisville is electronic toll only. They'll send you a bill in the mail.
Nashville is it's own mess, especially the I-24/I-40 interchange on the south side. You might could follow I-65 around the west side of Nashville and then continue on to I-440 to I-24. Briley Parkway isn't a time saver either because everyone else has the same idea when they take it.

The suggestion of taking I-57 south to I-24 isn't a bad idea. It is longer and not as interesting. Then again you do pass by Metropolis IL which has a Superman statue in town. And then there's Paducah KY, which is fun to say. paDOOkah

I second the comment about stopping in Dalton GA if you need to rest on the first night. Lots of hotels and places to eat right off the interstate.
Atlanta traffic is horrible no matter which way you go. But taking 75 straight through will put you in the congested mess where 75/85/20 meet up. 285 is better if there's no construction. It goes back to awful where 285 and 75 meet up just past the airport on the south side.

Don't forget about I-475 around Macon. No need to go through town if you don't have to.

...the rest is boring until you get to Wildwood FL where the FL Turnpike is. THEN you start seeing Disney billboards!

 

[KiminChicago]

We are also in the drive further the first day and stop south of Atlanta group. The last time we didn't have to hurry the second day and we still made it to WDW by mid afternoon. We use the arrival day to pick up groceries, unpack, and and find a nice place at Disney Springs for dinner -- it helps to have the time to decompress and get to bed early. I hate starting off a vacation already exhausted!