Driving from Long Island?

[LIGrumpyGirl]

I am having a Disney "itch"...can't wait until July! Thought about a short trip in April but airfare in out of control during our break.

Was thinking about driving...how long is it from LI? I did it a few years ago but can't remember. Is it better to leave at night? Will it be really hard on DD4.5?

Any advice is welcome!

 

[jcodespoti]

If you take I-95 be prepared for traffic through D.C. I'm sure you know how NY/NJ traffic can be. You could leave at night but sometimes construction crews work overnite and that can lead to massive delays, which in my opinion are worse than delays than during the day (its all in the mind). You might want to consult AAA for construction delays and/or other traffic websites to choose your best route.

As far as kids, if you can keep them occupied (DVD player, games etc) it might not be to bad. Are you going to stay overnite somewhere or drive straight thru? By the time you get to WDW they (and you) might be going a little crazy. But since I have no kids, I am by no means an expert.

Joe in CT

 

[SomePixiedust]

We've done the trip down from LI several times . We always leave on a weekday morning and are on the road by 5:30 am . This way we avoid the SS/Belt traffic and are usually on the Jersey Tpke without any traffic. We drive as long as we feel like it, getting the bulk of the driving done the first day. We usually stop in Southern South Carolina, or sometimes just into GA, it depends on how the day goes. We keep a Hampton Inn and Comfort Inn book with us, and about 2-3 hours before we figure on stopping we figure out about where that should put us and we call ahead for a room. I would definitely do this as it sounds like you will be traveling on the Easter/Passover break. If you don't, you may have to make several stops before you find someplace (this has happened to us on several occasions--we now have learned our lesson ). We usually wind up stopping in the 7:00-8:00 time frame. It depends upon the time of year. In the winter when it's dark we get tired earlier, in the spring/summer we'll go until 9. Then the next day we get on the road by 8 AM. We have anywhere from 4 1/2 hours to 6 1/2 hours the next day with a short lunch stop.

We've done this when our DD was 4 and she was just fine--but of course every child is different and you know what entertains your child . Ours was happy with a little tape recorder and her music tapes--at the time it was Barney, Sesame St. and of course Disney--and of course now a portable DVD player works wonders. We also brought along some picture books, coloring books, and some flash cards. She was happy looking out the window too.

Hope this helps a little.

 

[crzy4dsny]

We have driven several times from the middle of the Island. We leave at 2:00 am and either drive straight thru or stop in Kingsland Georgia. Leaving that early is ok for me because I normally get up at 3:00 for work. So it is just a little earlier than normal. Leaving at that time you miss all the New York and DC traffic.

If you go straight thru with short stops you could be in Disney by 8:00 or 9:00. When we stop over night Kingsland is right on the border of Florida. When you leave the hotel you are on Florida in under 10 min. We like doing it this way so the second day is only about two and a half hours of driving. Getting most of your driving done on the first day is the way to go. This way it doesn't feel like you have spent two days in a car.

With gas prices as high as they are I don't feel it is worth driving. On our last trip in August we were there when Katrina hit. I was watching the news and seeing the price of gas going up to $5 a gallon mostly in southern states. I was real nervous about driving home. It turned out not to be so bad I think the most we paid was $3.40 a gallon.

With the night in a hotel on the way down only, gas, meals, and tolls, I think we only saved about $200 by driving. To me that is just not worth it. We have a Disney Cruise in May. We got airfare for 5 for a little over $800. Even with the price of gas now, which is still high, I think it would still cost about $500 to drive. I won't be driving again until the gas prices come way down.