Driving from Long Island, NY

[brasey]

For all you LI'ers that drive to Disney:
What time do you leave to go?
Do you drive straight thru?
We are leaving on Dec 14th and aren't sure what time we should leave.

 

[Bob P]

Hi,

There's a similar thread a little farther down the page. Check out Ducklite's specific response to driving from LI.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1632986

 

[Mich Mouse]

Hi! We've done this trip many times over the years....We always left LI early to beat the city traffic....Wanted to clear the Verazanno by 7:00 or so...Smooth sailing from there! We never drove straight through, always made an overnight stop in NC or SC, having made ressies in advance...except one time. The distance is about 1100 miles and takes us approximately 19-20 hours, including a bit of traffic here and there.

One time we thought we'd drive as far as possible and started to look for a room in GA. Well.... it was the week of Daytona 500 and we could not find a room between Savannah and Tampa. We slept in the truck! After that experience, we always charted our course and made a hotel ressie.

Driving now costs us much more than flying/rental car since my DH is self employed...He'd rather spend those missed days at WDW than on the road. We now fly but I really miss the old days of driving to WDW with the family.

Have a safe trip!!!

 

[nyfinfan]

For all you LI'ers that drive to Disney:
What time do you leave to go?
Do you drive straight thru?
We are leaving on Dec 14th and aren't sure what time we should leave.

I might be trying this myself for the first time in April. I'm going with the idea to NOT be going through NYC or D.C. in either AM or PM rush. My thought is to get a good nap in and than leave around 9PM getting past DC around 3AM. Hopefully get into Orlando by 6PM. Coming back I would stay over in NC/SC so I would adjust our driving time's. Let us know how it goes.

 

[goofygal531]

In order to beat the rush, DH and I left at 2am once (we went to Myrtle Beach, not WDW). We left NYC at 2am and I drove straight to SC while DH slept. It was the best way to beat NJ and DC traffic.

I had AAA do a trip book for us so we had a detailed map with rest stops, gas etc... listed. This was back in the day before GPS.

Be careful around DC, it's a little complicated around there.

On the return trip, we spent the night in Fredricksburg, VA which was very nice. Lots of stores, gas stations, hotels, restaurants, etc... I actually think that might be the halfway mark from Maine to Orlando???

All I can say is plan plan plan and you'll be fine.

 

[The Prophet]

As early as you can...We usually leave around 2:00 / 3:00 AM
Leaving this early almost guarantees you a traffic-free trip

We usually stop over in Florence or Santee, SC for the night.
This leaves about 6 or 7 hours left to reach Orlando


The Prophet