Driving from Columbus Ohio, looking for where to stay 2 hrs from WDW

[cerberus]

So we will be driving down to WDW on Jan 30. Last time we drove straight through the night (which was a piece of cake since hubby works nights and the kids slept). This time we want to drive til about 2 hours outside of Disney, stay at a reasonable price hotel <$100 with an indoor pool where hubby can get some sleep and flip back to being a day shift person. We want a place with an indoor pool so the girls an I can hang out at the pool. Last time I think we came down I-4. Can anyone suggest what town or area I should start looking in for a place to stay?

The plan the next morning is to get up early, head to FW cabins, drop off our luggage and then head to a park for the day!

 

[LadyBeBop]

I'd look at Gainesville. Last time we went to Orlando (about ten years ago), we stopped at a nice Holiday Inn there. We took back roads from Gainesville to Orlando, so it took us a little over two hours to get there, but if you stay on I-75 and the turnpike, you should get to Disney in a little under two hours.

I'm pretty sure the Holiday Inn had an outdoor pool. Dunno about places with indoor pools (although I'm sure there should be some). We went down in July that year.

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

It looks like Gainesville is about 2 hours away. Do a little online research at places like hotels.com and/or tripadvisor.com to determine rates, quality and pool details.

 

[cerberus]

Thanks for the Gainesville suggestion, that gives me a place to start looking!!

 

[P.I. Squirrel]

Anything from Lake City south would be within two hours driving time. This includes Gainesville and Ocala, also.

Gainesville exit 384 has all the hotels, food, and gas you could ask for. It's also about 1.5 hours from Disney.

 

[bobcat]

Are you driving down 75? Ocala or Gainsville will be your best place 2 hours away. If you are driving 77 to 95 then you will need to stop before you get to Daytona. When we drive that way I usually stop in Kingsland, GA lots of hotels, cheap gas and we can stop the next morning at the Florida welcome center for OJ to get us in the mood. It's about a 4 hour drive from there.

 

[cerberus]

Anything from Lake City south would be within two hours driving time. This includes Gainesville and Ocala, also.

Gainesville exit 384 has all the hotels, food, and gas you could ask for. It's also about 1.5 hours from Disney.

Cool, thanks!!

Are you driving down 75? Ocala or Gainsville will be your best place 2 hours away. If you are driving 77 to 95 then you will need to stop before you get to Daytona. When we drive that way I usually stop in Kingsland, GA lots of hotels, cheap gas and we can stop the next morning at the Florida welcome center for OJ to get us in the mood. It's about a 4 hour drive from there.

Thanks for the info! I think we plan to drive down 95 again.

 

[JDUCKY]

I'd look into staying at Jacksonville or St. Augustine. Priceline a room or something.