Driving from Columbus, OH?

[TravelinSouth]

My husband and I, believe it or not, are considering making the 16 hour trip from Columbus to Orlando. We will have a DH6 and DH4 at the time. Has anyone made this trip before? Any tips or advice on how to make this more bearable and not be exhausted for the week at Disney?

Are we crazy to consider this?

 

[pepe of ohio]

We're from northeast Ohio and used to drive alot to WDW, back in the 80's, we took the PA turnpike route to DC and 95 south. We then began taking the I77 route, 95, I4 when 77 opened up. We have also used the I75 route, which we prefer, don't care for all the mountains on 77 but it's a 5+ hour drive to Cinncinati for us and driving all that way west before heading south seemed to defeat us. Anyho, we gave up on driving, we use Amtrak for the past 15+ trips but the last driving trip was via I71 to I75 south to WDW. It is a very pleasant trip, except for Cinncinati and Atlanta Georgia. Those 2 cities, hold onto your hats folks cause it's a race track, we never found the by passes, blowing along with all the other cars didn't leave must time for sign reading or lane changing. It's mostly 3 lanes and not too many trucks and the countryside is nice to watch, not like them huge mountains on I77. If we ever decide to drive again, it will be via I71 to I75 but for our sanity and comfort, Amtrak is doing us great. Enjoy the trip and drive and mostly the time in WDW.

We were going to do it straight thru like we used to, but age has caught up to us and we had to stop around 10pm that first night after driving 10+ hours somewhere in Kentucky. We got up early, very early the next morning to get to WDW as fast as we could, we wanted to be there by 7am that morning but.....we arrived around 5pm the next day. Coming home is alot harder, no one wants to leave and then be in a car for 16+ hours, boring. But, it is doable and a nice trip, if you take your time.

 

[dburg30]

I guess I'm just used to the 77 route, we goto NC a few times a year and really dont think they are that much worse then 75. I actually felt that 75 was twistier and turnier then 77.. I still do the US 35, along the kanahwa river, pick up 64 over to 77 and then south. US 33 to 77 I really didnt like much.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

You are very brave to want to spend 32 -35 hours of your vacation in a vehicle with small children. I give you a lot of credit.
One thing to plan into your trip are stops as McDonalds that have play lands. This will allow your little ones time to expell some energy.

 

[DisTwix]

I have done this. We left after work, and drove all night. We'd planned to stop in Jacksonville, spend a short night, and have a really short drive in the AM, but when we got to Jacksonville, all the hotels were either booked, or well over $100 a night. So not worth it to roust out sleeping kids in the middle of the night and then only spend 5 hours in bed. We drove on to Disney, slept in the WalMart parking lot for a couple hours, and woke up with the dawn.

We took 33S to 77 to picking up 26S in Columbia, SC, then onto 95. I prefer the 33S route over taking 23 out of town... I go to the mountains of VA pretty often (was just there last weekend!) and it's a better ride, and you pick up 77 a lot faster. Driving in the mountains takes a little concentration - I don't think I'd want that to be what I was doing in the middle of the night, but it's the beginning of the trip (first 5 hours anyway), and the rest is breezy.

We had a car with a DVD player and wireless headsets for the kids - they watched movies, we listened to music. When it got dark, and late, we stopped, just like for bedtime, and everyone brushed their teeth and put on PJ's and made their little nests and were OUT. Of course, they are good sleepers.

As a matter of fact, the best memory is of the 7 year old not waking up until we were at the McDonald's drive thru, in Orlando on 104, the following morning - she had passed out at about 10, in the far back third row, and literally didn't pop up until she smelled McDonalds.

ALSO --- we were staying at OKW. We had the luxury of getting there VERY early - so early the room wasn't ready, so we just went to the pool. We didn't feel the need to run to the park - they have locker rooms and showers and everything t here. We swam and baked and napped a little, and in the early afternoon, after our villa was ready, we showered, unloaded the car and headed to MK. It was a great trip.

And yeah. The ride home SuuuuUUUHhhHHHHUuuuucked. It rained the WHOLE WAY.

 

[kydisneyfans]

We have taken the 77 route from Canton and the 75 route from where we live now in KY. I like the 77 route better, mainly due to less traffic. The only real bad mountain area is the WV turnpike.

 

[buzz1fan]

I live in Columbus, and I am going to brave the drive, with just my 2 and 5 Yr old on the way down. My husband is going to fly down 2 days later, and we will all drive back together. I am going to take 71 to 75, all the way down, until florida then hop on the FL turnpike. I did a google map, and it is only about 5 minutes more than the other route, and this is more direct. Good luck to you!

 

[cjnix29]

Hey from just north in Delaware.....we haven't driven from here yet, but did it from NW Ohio a few years back. Drove straight through and took 75. It wasn't too bad. This year, I got such a great deal on airtran with the travel vouchers, that for $300 to fly for three of us, it wasn't worth driving! Good luck!