Driving from Dallas

[Cheshire Figment]

This is one time I would agree with MapQuest. I have looked at a large area map and I-55 goes almost directly South.

I would go I-20 to Jackson, I-55 to Hammond LA, I-12 to where it merges into I-10. Head South when you pick up I-75 and follow the Florida Turnpike to I-4 (Westbound) in Orlando to the WDW signs and get off at the Osceola Parkway Eastvbound (marked to Animal Kingdom as WWS. You can't miss PC.

As far as ocean, the closest you will come to beaches is just East of Pensacola.

 

[Tyeepup]

We're leaving on the 12th and driving from College Station. We'll just head to Houston and pick up I10 there.

We're considering a day at the beach along the way, but wonder if things are too crowded with college-age spring breakers. Anyone have any insight or advice?

 

[Deb & Bill]

The beaches at Biloxi and Gulfport a fairly close to the interstate. To get to the Pensacola beaches, you have to travel a good distance since you have to drive over all the islands to really get to the good beaches. There is a lot of public parking at Gulfport and Biloxi, but the beach isn't quite as nice as Pensacola or Destin. Ft Walton has even better beaches.

 

[Troyfus]

Deb & Bill,
Would you happen to know which beach might have the best seashells that my boys might find? A few choice shells would make great souveniers for them to remember their first ocean view. Is low tide the best time to look for them?

 

[Deb & Bill]

I haven't found too many really good shells at the beach, mostly small ones. Found some really nice ones in the stores along the beach, though.

 

[dizagain]

Ok - gotta put in my 2 cents!!

We drove to WDW from Flower Mound (Dallas metro) last May. We drove all the way to Tallahassee that day which put us sailing in the next morning after only about 5 hours in the car. We went I20 to HW 49 in Jackson and headed south. There's another highway you switch to( and I think Mapquest gives it to you) which cuts about 30 minutes . Then you hop on I65 for a short while and on to I10 in Mobile.

We decided to come home the Louisiana way to try it out. We drove all the way home in 18 hours or so and it was THE SAME AMOUNT OF TIME AS THE OTHER ROUTE. Plus, the Jackson way seems shorter with more to see - THERE IS NOTHING IN LOUISIANA FOR HOURS AND IT WAS SCARY!!

Whew...I know your trip will be wonderful no matter what - your destination is MAGIC! I just wanted to give you a different opinion, one that I know is shared by many people I know. HAVE FUN!

 

[Nebsky]

Dizagain, Thanks for the input.

Had a friend that just came back from Bike Week in Daytona and they drove from DFW-TLH on the way there via the DFW-Shreveport, Lafayette, Baton Rouge, Tallahassee way. Said it was extremely boring. On the way home they went the way you discribed. From Mobile, Take US98 to US49 in Hattiesburg MS the link up with I20 in Jackson and take that all the way into Dallas.
Said that way "seemed" to go a little quicker and the roads werent all that bad. Some rough spots, but nothing major.

Now I got some deciding to do...UGGH!!!

and by the way....Hello Neighbor!!!

 

[dizagain]

Thanks for the HW name - 98...that's it!

Anyway, the trip from Jackson down 49/98 to Mobile takes about 4 hours or so. I used to live in Jackson and made that trip on the way to the beach MANY times. It's not so bad at all. It's between 6 and 7 hours from here to Jackson with Shreveport almost a dead center. To me, the longest part of all is the Florida panhandle and you have to do that no matter which route you take!

All in all, my family is used to long car trips as we have always had to drive between 6 and 12 hours in one day to visit relatives.
We were familiar with the Mississippi route, and maybe that's why we like it. We really did get nervous in Louisiana and we kept worrying that we must have missed a turn or something! I like seeing some evidence of life now and then when I travel!

Everyone who's going, have a blast!! I'm not going until May '05...sniff! sniff!

 

[cfbarker]

Hi kalebjaxonsmommy!

Since I'm from Lafayette, I say stop here!!! It's going to be dark on your way here so you can't see anything, anyway! It's a pretty nice highway from Alexandria to Lafayette, if I remember correctly (haven't headed North in a while!) From Lafayette, it takes about 2 1/2 to 3 hours to hit Mississippi. The ride from Lafayette to the border isn't bad. You do get to see a swamp and our Capitol (to the left in Baton Rouge) - nothing too exciting.

Christine

 

[rottendog]

You guys are great! We'll be headed from Ft. Worth to Disney in August and I'm printing this thread now and filing it in my "stuff" for the trip.
And for the Muskogee people, I'm headed through there on Friday on our way to Missouri. Spending the night there even.

 

[kangareaux]

Just a traffic tip. When you get off the bridge (Mississippi river bridge) in Baton Rouge and take the 10 exit, it will take you onto I-10. It merges down into one lane to get back onto I-10. Stand your ground and be careful....traffic is brutal here! I think (If I am remembering right) it is best to take the middle lane coming off the bridge. The I-10 exit is the 2nd exit, and is on the right. That exit will turn LEFT and you will have to merge left into *10/110* traffic. After you make it through that exit, you will be on I-10. AS SOON AS POSSIBLE after navigating that bridge exit when you have made it onto I-10 (it's 3-4 lanes going *east*, so you'll know when you hit that stage) get into the left lane. There will be several exits before you come to the *10/12 split*. All the exits will be on the right. The interstate divides at the split. I10 goes on to New Orleans. Take I-12 to bypass New Orleans. The I-12 splits to the LEFT. Take either of the 2 left lanes and you should be fine.

Now that you are on I-12, you will go through several exits. Things should thin out around Millerville exit. (Sorry....don't know the #'s) After Millerville comes O'neal. Traffic seems to bottleneck here because the lanes narrow from 3 to 2. And it may slow down even more after O'neal as people get off at the next exit (Denham springs is the next exit.)

If you find yourself around Baton Rouge near lunch, and don't mind fast food, I'd suggest bypassing Baton Rouge altogether. Drive a few more miles and stop in Walker, Louisiana for fast food. (It is the exit past denham springs) It is a much smaller town, and it's a lot easier to get back on the interstate there.

You will stay on 12 until hammond or around that area. It will merge back into I-10.

Be wary of the I-55 exit near hammond. It sneaks up on you. (It's the first exit after the weigh-station) It is a clover leaf and traffic has to slow a LOT to let cars on the interstate and exit the interstate. Again, take the left lane or you might have to slow down to as slow as 30 mph to accomidate traffic. If you are really lucky, there won't be a wreck there that day and traffic will flow smoothly! LOL!

Hope this is understandable and not too frightening. LOL! I like to know what to expect when driving, so hope someone can give me these tips one day.

Have fun!

~T

(PS.....even though this sounds like an awful strip to drive through, it's a bazillion times better than going the long way through New Orleans! )

 

[kalebjaxonsmommy]

Many thanks to everyone who gave such wonderful input on this thread!

I am leaving in less than 48 hours and this has made my driving plans much more defined.

I am so excited right now that I can't even sleep!
Tomorrow is a bug day packing, and loading the van.

Wish me luck that I don't forget something important!

To everyone going next week or sometime soon, Have a wonderful time!

Trish

 

[Tigger1]

Many of you were to make the trip soon after your post. How did it go? We leave in a couple of weeks.

Tigger

 

[Nebsky]

Hi Tigger1

We made the trip back in March and it was great.
We left Dallas at 4:00am Central and made it to Lake City Florida (where I10 and I75 cross) by 7:00PM Eastern.

We took I20 to US49 in Jackson MS and then changed to US98 in Hatiesburg MS. Took that all the way down to Mobile and jumped on I10 all the way to Lake City. It was a very good drive and one that I will do again. It was alot of fun.

We woke our 5yr old son up at 4am and said lets go for a ride. 30 mins later he was watching Finding Nemo. 6 hours later we were in Jackson MS and our son was saying he was going to throw up. We quickly pulled into a gas station and wife took him to the restroom. He came back and said....."wow, after pooping I dont feel sick anymore..." We just started laughing. He then tells us he wants to go home because he is bored riding in the car.
At this point wife and I look at each other and decide to tell him the truth. I swear we needed a fork lift to pick his jaw up off the ground. After that, he was great. Heck he was great the whole trip. Never once did he say, how much longer, are we there yet, etc.

We did have a DVD player in the car and if you dont have one, I would strongly reccommend you borrow one from someone or get one yourself. They are a great addition. Made the drive so much easier. Heck, 1/2 the time I was in the back seat watching movies too. Same with wife.

Total drive time was 17 hours and 30 mins from Dallas and we didnt even use a Radar detector. Gas prices back in March were good. We had planned on an average of 1.75 per gallon but most of the time it was at 1.65ish. Two nights of hotels ran us 90.00. On the way down we stayed in Lake City. On the way home we stayed on I10 near Eglin AFB in between Tallahassee and Pensacola.

I would definitely drive again.

Have a great trip!!!

 

[Tigger1]

NEBSKY

Your trip sounds like it was great. Was it your sons first time?
He sounds so cute. I can just imagine his mouth wide open and then a big smile.




How was the route from Jackson on 49 and 98 to mobile.

Was there alot of small towns you had to slow down in and do stop lights? I think I took this route once going home but started from Gulfport and not mobile. Do you take a certain highway around Mobil on the west side? I think I saw one on the map.

Thanks for the info.

Tigger

 

[Nebsky]

Nope. It was his 3rd time in 18 months..
We went in Aug 02, Aug 03 and then in March 04.
We are kinda spoiling him, but he is an only child and has a pretty good head on his shoulders. He understands that alot of kids dont get to go there at all, let alone 3 times.

US49 to Hattiesburg and then US98 down to Mobile AL was pretty much 2 lanes in each direction. The roads were rougher than the interstates, but it really wasnt a problem. There were a few towns that we were supposed to slow down in and we did a little bit. It wasnt too bad. From the Alabama state line to Mobile it does go down to 1 lane each way and that is a little slow but for the most part it is 65mph the whole way. US98 comes to an interstate just west of Mobile and we took that down to I10. I cant remember the name of it, but it was pretty easy to navigate.

Lots of different places to eat, as well as the usual McDonalds, Wendys, Burger King etc. Heck, we went through there right at the beginning of Crawfish season and I was so very tempted to pull over and eat some. I didnt though. Id still be sitting there drinking beer. Man, what was I thinking...I should have

I have to tell you the worse part of the trip is the Florida Panhandle from Pensacola to Tallahassee. Uggh. It seems like it lasts forever. At night after a full day at the park its even worse!!
Plan ahead.