Driving from houston to Orlando, 5am leave time. Where to stop?

[overthemoon4mickey]

Hello fellow travelers, we will be doing our first big drive as a family this trip, any tips would be a blessing. Here are the details... Who: Me, DH, DD 14, DS 8. When: Friday, June 6th, for 2 week trip. What: We'll be driving in my Toyota Sienna mini van, all travelers should be comfy and able to spread out and have access to all toys, snacks, etc. I am the driver...I either sleep or get car queasy if someone else drives. I can handle small distances but its best if I'm distracted and not looking out the windows(maybe a movie on the ipad?...hmmm, will have to try that out).

My question to you all... Where should I try and stop for the night? Tallahassee or try for Gainesville? Our plan is to drive to a universal hotel the next morning and then as soon as we can go to the parks. We'll move on to disney in a few days.

On the way home we plan on stopping 2-3 night and maybe spend sometime on a beach or a stop in the Big Easy ( haven't been to New Orleans since before Katrina and I feel the city calling)


Thanks ya'll!

 

[LadyBeBop]

Your drive is comparable to distance than our drive from Cincinnati last month. You are about 50 miles farther. We left at 4 AM Eastern Time and drove to Lake City Florida (about an hour and a half east of Tallahassee and 45 minutes north of Gainesville). Arrived about 4:30 PM ET. Had pizza delivery for supper and free breakfast the next morning. On the road by 7 AM, at Wyndham Bonnet Creek by 9:30 and was walking down Main Street in the MK by 11.

However, we also had three drivers.

As a solo driver, can you drive 700 miles in a single shot? I'd definately suggest Lake City or even Gainesville if you let DH drive a few hundred miles. Else, I'd go no further than probably Tallahassee.

You said you're leaving at 5 AM. Would that be Eastern or Central time? I'm assuming Central. So that would mean you'd be leaving at 6 AM ET.

Assuming normal stops, you'll make Tallahassee by about 6 PM, Lake City by about 7:30 and Gainesville about 8:15.

If you stay overnight in Tallahassee, if you leave by 7 AM, you'll get to Orlando by about 11, and you'll be in the parks by about noon.

 

[bek]

Gainesville to Houston is a very, very long drive! I split it into 2 days and stop in Mobile or Pensacola both ways. The drive between Pensacola and Tallahassee always seems to be endless and I prefer to drive it when I'm fresh.

Otherwise pick the hours you want to drive on your second day. Gainesville is about two hours to Orlando. Gainesville to Tallahassee is also about 2 hours. Lake City is the junction of I-10 and I-75, so it has lots of hotels, food, etc. Of course if you drive like most folks in Houston, you can probably err on the lower side of the two hour estimates

 

[lapatitatx]

Hello fellow travelers, we will be doing our first big drive as a family this trip, any tips would be a blessing. Here are the details... Who: Me, DH, DD 14, DS 8. When: Friday, June 6th, for 2 week trip. What: We'll be driving in my Toyota Sienna mini van, all travelers should be comfy and able to spread out and have access to all toys, snacks, etc. I am the driver...I either sleep or get car queasy if someone else drives. I can handle small distances but its best if I'm distracted and not looking out the windows(maybe a movie on the ipad?...hmmm, will have to try that out).

My question to you all... Where should I try and stop for the night? Tallahassee or try for Gainesville? Our plan is to drive to a universal hotel the next morning and then as soon as we can go to the parks. We'll move on to disney in a few days.

On the way home we plan on stopping 2-3 night and maybe spend sometime on a beach or a stop in the Big Easy ( haven't been to New Orleans since before Katrina and I feel the city calling)


Thanks ya'll!

Howdy! We are going to drive from Houston, Tx this Friday!!! So excited! We love to drive so our stopping point is a Holiday Inn Express in Lake City, Florida. Thats about 2-3 hours away from the Disney World Resort. We drive all the way through on the way back. Let me know if you have any more questions!!!

 

[Colvin86]

tallahassee is 700 miles......a good 12 hr drive leaves 260 atleast 4 hrs
gainesville is 856miles..... 14.5 hrs..... leaves 117 miles 2 hrs

Add to google maps time......Map Quest is a waste of time
Figuire every time you stop for gas 45 min add
bath room ...30 min add

We are driving from shreveport straight through in Dec.... 2 vehicles and a 3month old.....Im hoping for 16 hrs
google says 13.5

I drive For a living