Driving from CT

[Tink9295]

Hi everyone,

I know someone has the answer to this question. We are driving from Connecticut to DW. What is the half way point? It is 1,250 miles door to door. I'm guessing North Carolina.

 

[JoeCathyAngelina]

When we drive down from Boston our 1/2 way mark is Rocky Mount,
North Carolina.
Our trips go like this:

My wife hates to fly.
The first time we went to Walt Disney World, April 2004 with my 3 year old daughter We decided to go to WDW a couple of months before we went with little planning. We rented some points off the DIS forum, checked the airfares a couple of times and picked up a trip tick from AAA.

We drove from my office in downtown Boston to WDW Old Key West stopping only for gas and bathroom breaks.

After the first 3-4 hours in the car driving the rest of the way to WDW isn't that bad; more like a series of short trips.

Our Trip to WDW started Friday, 3/26/04 at 1 pm: Miles, Stopped, Time

Leaving, Boston to Walt Disney World: Friday, 3/26/04, 1:00pm
1, Boston to New Jersey 212 212 6:00pm
2, N J to Aberdeen MD 183 395 9:07 pm
3, MD to Rocky Mt NC 266 661 1:36 AM
4, NC to Florence SC 209 870 4:40 am
5, SC to S Newport GA 210 1,080 7:58 am
Arrived, GA to WDW 251 1,331 12:00 PM

Started, Friday, 3/26 0 1:00pm
Finished, Saturday, 3/27 1331 12:00pm
A 23 hr trip with 5 stops along the way down
76 gallons of gas, $131 for the gas, 17.78 mpg 58mph
Driving around WDW 21

The Trip Home started Friday, April 2nd 11 AM: Miles Stopped Time

Leaving Walt Disney World to Boston:Friday, April 2nd 11:00 am
1, WDW to St Augustine FL 116 116 12:44 PM
2, FL to Savanah GA 178 294 3:55 PM
3, GA to Florence SC 174 468 6:22 pm
4, SC to Battleboro NC 181 649 9:30 pm
5, NC to Aberdeen MD 295 944 2:17 am
6, MD to Bloomfield NJ 181 1,125 5:30 AM
Arrived, NJ to Boston, MA 237 1,362 9:30 am

Started, Friday, 4/02 11:00 am 0
Finished, Sat, 4/03 9:30 am 1362
A 22 1/2 hr trip with 6 stops on the way home
81 gallons of gas $126 for the gas 17.58 mpg 60.5mph
Driving around WDW 62

157 gallons, $257 for the gas, $44 tolls, 17.68 mpg, 59.2mph 2776


The traffic was a mess from Hartford through Delaware on the way down.
It rained from North Carolina to Boston, Mass. on the way home

Me and my wife alternated turns driving our Nissan Xterra when we stopped for gas. My 3 year old held out a lot better than I thought she would on the way down and on the way back to Boston, WITHOUT, tapes, DVDs, video games, just a lot of singing and sleeping.

It's not that Bad!!!

April 2005 we caught a break in fares and flew down and back out of Logan on a non-stop with American Airlines , $504 round trip total for the 3 of us.

April 2006 we caught a break in fares so we flew down and back out of Logan on a non-stop with Song/Delta , $496 round trip total for the 3 of us.

The 2007 story and stops are pretty much the same as 2004.

We drove from my office in downtown Boston to WDW, Orange Lake Country Club, stopping only for gas and bathroom breaks.

After the first 3-4 hours in the car driving the rest of the way to WDW isn't that bad; more like a series of short trips.

Our Trip to WDW started Friday the 13th of April 2007, at 3:45 pm:

Destination, Miles, Total Miles from Boston, Time

Leaving, Boston to Walt Disney World: Friday, 4/13/07, 3:45pm
1, Boston to New Jersey 208 208 7:49 PM
2, N J to Laurel MD 219 427 11:44 PM
3, MD to Rocky Mt NC 250 677 3:36 AM
4, NC to Manning SC 219 896 7:00 AM
5, SC to Kingsland GA 226 1,122 10:30 AM
Arrived, GA to WDW 203 1,325 2:00 PM

Started, Friday, 4/13/07 3:45 PM
Finished, Saturday, 4/14/07 2:00 pm
A 22 hr trip with 5 stops along the way down
63 gallons of gas, $175 for the gas, 21 mpg


The Trip Home started at 9:45 AM, Saturday, April 21,2007
Destination, Miles, Total Miles from WDW, Time

Leaving Walt Disney World to Boston: Saturday, April 21st 9:45 AM
1, WDW to Kingsland Ga 194 194 12:44 PM
2, GA to Manning SC 226 420 4:16 PM
3, SC to Rocky Mt. NC 218 638 7:42 PM
4, NC to Aberdeen MD 292 930 12:26 AM
5, MD to Newark NJ 170 1,100 3:27 AM
Arrived, NJ to Boston, MA 246 1,346 7:30 AM

Started, Saturday, 4/21 9:45 AM 0 Miles
Finished, Sunday, 4/22 7:30 AM 1346 miles
A 22 hr trip with 5 stops on the way home
62 gallons of gas $175 for the gas 21 mpg

Total miles 2,671, about 21 mpg, about 70 mph
Total gas 125gallons $350
Total Tolls $50

April 2008 we caught a break in fares so we flew down and back out of Logan to Tampa, 4/19-4/26, on a non-stop with AirTran , $753 round trip total for the 3 of us.

April 2009 we caught a break in fares so we flew down and back out of Logan to MCO, 4/18-4/25, on a non-stop with Delta , $627 round trip total for the 3 of us.

April 2010 we caught a break in fares so we're flying down and back out of Logan to Tampa, 4/17-4/24, on a non-stop with Delta , $717 round trip total for the 3 of us.

April 2011...for our 4/16/11 - 4/23/11 trip we booked a 2 bedroom at the Silver Lake Resort, Fly? Drive? I'll update this at the end of May 2010.

If all goes well,
The creek don't rise,
and there ain't no melt down,
We'll do it all again next year.

Good Luck all,
Joe


As the story goes;
I always compare the cost and time of flying with the cost of driving.
If flying cost more than twice the cost of driving and it's not a non-stop round trip flight then we drive.
This year, back in May, when the April 2010 spring break fares and schedules came out we caught a break with a Delta non-stop, round trip Boston to Tampa flight, $717 total for the 3 of us.
Driving for us, gas and tolls cost about $400 round trip.
Along for the ride we take a couple bags of snacks, a big cooler and a small cooler filled with sandwiches and drinks.
We stop for gas, breaks and to switch drivers every 200 miles, 3-4 hours, that takes about 10-15 minutes. That's all we need unless we decide to grab something to eat at one of the mall/trip centers where we stop for gas, that usually takes an extra half hour.
We don't take our time and we don't try to hurry it up, we just do what we have to or want to do.
It's really not that big a deal, it's Just bunch of short 3-4 hour trips, not a long 22 hour drive.
Good luck all,
Joe

 

[huskies90]

We did it last February from CT. We always fly and will be flying in August this year, but driving was a fun adventure to do once. It wasn't that bad. I much prefer flying but I wouldn't rule out driving again someday. I too tracked all the statistics like the pp but I won't copy them all down. They are similar. We have a Honda Pilot, so we used all three rows and packed around the seats. This way each of my 2 daughters had their own row and could sleep most of the way. We also drove straight through leaving at about 4PM both ways. I drove through the grave yard shift 2AM - 8AM which was fine going down but harder coming back after a day at EPCOT. We took 84 to 684 then over the Tappan Zee bridge and down the Garden State Parkway til we hit the turnpike then 95 the rest of the way. This way we avoided NYC at rush hour and by time we reached DC it was already well into the night.

 

[dgaston]

We have taken longer routes to avoid DC. (I've been caught in traffic there at 3am )

I like 84 to 81 to 64 to 95 to 4 or
84 to 81 to 77 to 26 to 95 to 4.

These are longer, very pretty, easy drives, but with trucks. I just hate DC traffic and their mixmaster traffic jams. The first route puts you on 95 just south of Richmond.

These are not snowy weather routes.

 

[csarenz]

We drove down from West Haven in January. We figured that the half way point was right around Wilson, NC. We ended up driving down to St. George, SC the first day, which was too far in our opinion. If we do it again, we would go down to Florence, SC, which is more than half-way but not too far.

We just took the 95 route with some parallels (Merritt to Hutch/Cross County/Saw Mill/Henry Hudson to GWB, 495 around DC, 295 around Richmond), etc...

 

[Missytara]

We have taken longer routes to avoid DC. (I've been caught in traffic there at 3am )

I like 84 to 81 to 64 to 95 to 4 or
84 to 81 to 77 to 26 to 95 to 4.

These are longer, very pretty, easy drives, but with trucks. I just hate DC traffic and their mixmaster traffic jams. The first route puts you on 95 just south of Richmond.

These are not snowy weather routes.

You can also go straight through DE/MD and take the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. There are several lights through DE, but it is a pretty easy ride.

 

[JWollman]

we have also driving from CT many times. Normally leaving at night to avoid NY and Dc.. last 2 trips- stayed at DVC In Hilton head.. and then to WDW to make trip in two days with toddler.

I was impressed w/ the #'s from boston.. it makes me want to drive again- I love having my own car in WDW... to explore Orlando and such

 

[sanibelover]

Just drove from New London, CT to Fort Myers nonstop last week (1401 miles door to door - 23 hours!), then back from Fort Myers to New London and stopped in Rocky Mount on the way home. We made it home from Rocky Mount to NL in 9 hours and 45 minutes. The traffic was great - only trouble the whole trip was West Haven.

When we drove down, we left at 7 pm and went straight through. (I would do it again in a heartbeat but that depends on the age of the kiddos - ours are 16, 13, and 9) Took the GWB on the way down and the Tapp on the way back. Checked traffic on the iphone and it was right on.

We stayed at the Hampton Inn in Rocky Mount and would highly recommend it! The staff was on the ball and very pleasant - could have 5 in one room, they even had the roll away in the room when we arrived which has never happened before. The hotel has been recently refurbished and our room was very clean - I wouldn't stay at a Hampton while on vacation, but for an overnight, we were very pleased.

We drive to FLA quite regularly and have found that if you don't leave in the pm, then the key for us is to be on the road by 5 am. (You miss out on the free breakfast at the Hampton, but it is worth it to make good time)

Of course so much depends on traffic, but the drive is not bad at all - I think it is a mindset. We are flying in April but will back on the road this summer! Good luck and have fun!

 

[Tink9295]

Thanks everyone for all the great info.

I have driven down before, but always stopped. We have another family in our caravan that wants to spend a couple of days somewhere around the halfway point. I think they want to make the ride home less painful. (Which it is.)

We are planning on leaving the Mystic, CT area around 2am and hope to beat all the traffic. The goal is get through NY, NJ, Del and hopefully DC before it gets too bad. It's really the way home that is the problem. Timing is everything and sometimes even that doesn't work.

I too would rather fly Non-stop. I'd rather spend 3 hours in the air and 3 hours at airports than 20+ in a car. But like the 1st poster it's all about cost. Plus my DH would rather drive.

Thanks again.