Driving from Long Island

[BcIcemen]

Who has done this drive and if so:
What time did you leave LI?
Did you make a overnight stop?
Where did you stop?
How long was the drive?

TIA. Covid precautions still unsure about flying.

 

[BlackTea]

We did that from north PA in December, left house 6:30PM, drove overnight, finally set foot in GFV 1:30PM the next day. Mentality was, 'if we are going to catch virus, let's catch it towards the end of the trip', so we avoided hotels.
Conclusion: super exhausting, very exciting, and we may do it again...

 

[RebelScum]

We did that from north PA in December, left house 6:30PM, drove overnight, finally set foot in GFV 1:30PM the next day. Mentality was, 'if we are going to catch virus, let's catch it towards the end of the trip', so we avoided hotels.
Conclusion: super exhausting, very exciting, and we may do it again...

We have the same approach. We live just north of NYC. We have made two round trips to WDW since the pandemic started. Both times we "napped" in the car and also brought enough food with us to not have to stop for food. The only thing we stopped for while on the road was gas.

 

[GrumpyInPhilly]

We made the trip from Philly last Oct. staying overnight in SC. Hilton's Clean Stay along with wiping down the room with Lysol wipes and using a room air purifier gave us the comfort level needed. Brought food with us from home and the hotel so we only had to stop along the way to use the restroom and get gas. Wife doesn't like to fly (not even pre-Covid).

 

[Disney1fan2002]

When our kids were little, we drove from MA every year. It would take us between 18-24 hours depending on traffic in CT, NY and the Jersey TP, driving straight thru (stopping only for food and bathroom breaks). We switched off driving. I am someone that has to be either driving or sleeping in a car or I get car sick. So, I did the bulk of the driving. My husband drove from around 11p-5a.

Driving was fun, it really did become part of the vacation.

 

[WickstarRunner]

Did it in 2018 from the Hudson Valley. 16.5 hours on the road, however had to stop to pickup the rest of our party in Baltimore. Overnighted in Emporia, VA because of this. Left Emporia at 5am and pulled into Pop Century at around 230pm. Biggest traffic around Washington DC during Rush Hour and again on I-4 in Florida due to heavy construction (not sure on the status of that in 2021.

Doing it again in 4 weeks, overnighting in Santee, SC. Then again in Nov/Dec, but due to scheduling (Leaving Thanksgiving Sunday) going to do it without a stop, leaving at 8pm to arrive in Disney by early afternoon.

 

[Stargazer65]

Doing it again in 4 weeks, overnighting in Santee, SC

That's where we sleepover often, and we get food at Lone Star Barbecue.

 

[Matty B13]

Avoid Washington DC pretty much from 6 AM to 7 PM if you can, I think there traffic is worse than NYC traffic.

 

[yaya74]

My family has driven three times from north NJ in early August. We took 95 would leave no later than 5am. We noticed a difference between Friday vs Saturday on the way down. Friday traffic was a bit better. There was always traffic in Virginia. Once passing Richmond, the rest of the drive was smooth. Our pre-covid stopping point would be Savannah GA. Then next morning we would leave no later than 8am and arrive at WDW by 2pm.

Enjoy the drive!

 

[CraigInPA]

We did that from north PA in December, left house 6:30PM, drove overnight, finally set foot in GFV 1:30PM the next day. Mentality was, 'if we are going to catch virus, let's catch it towards the end of the trip', so we avoided hotels.
Conclusion: super exhausting, very exciting, and we may do it again...

I did a similar trip in December (a few years ago) leaving the house at 2am so we would be past Washington DC by the morning rush. We got to WDW in the late evening, had dinner, and went right to bed afterwards. We woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed for rope drop the next morning.

 

[AnnaS]

We drove down middle of February. We were staying almost 2 1/2 weeks. We split our stay with Disney Vero Beach resort.

Normally, DH likes to leave at 3 am or so. This trip we left a day earlier trying to avoid the snow. We left around 9:30am (after getting ashes/mass) or we would have left between 8 and 9 am. We stopped at Santee, SC overnight around 8:30 pm. We have been bringing our own food for the drive down for a few years. DH got sick once and we worry about some of the places. We also brought with us a tub of commercial huge sanitizing wipes. We wipe everything we will come into contact with at the hotel we stay - as much as we can. Chairs, bottom of chairs where you grab it if you want to move it, remote, bathroom sink, toilet, door knobs, etc. etc. Hard to do anything 100% but we try.

I told DH I felt like a human being when we arrived the next day. We have also driven straight through. Not happy about that and no reason for it.

We did fly in October. We had mask and shield. We did not wear the shield. We had our wipes. JetBlue handed out wipes too. Back then middle seat empty.

Good luck whatever you decide.

 

[The Jackal]

We drive down 2 times a year from MA. We leave The house between 3 and 4 AM, we bring snacks and lunch with us. We stop in Palm Coast FL around 9PM or so, depending on traffic. We have relatives there and spend the night. Wake up have breakfast and drive to WDW, it’s about 1.5 hours from Palm Coast. We try to get to WDW before noon. Our vehicle can go 700 miles between filling up, so we can drive for a while before stopping for gas. One trip we left at 11:00 PM and we stopped for the first time in Virginia around 08:30. Once your below Richmond VA it is usually smooth sailing till Jacksonville FL, unless there is an accident.

 

[Dano1182]

Watch your speed inVa.
Troopers all over.

 

[mgarbowski]

We live in Queens, near the Woodhaven Blvd LIE exit, and have driven down 4 times, though the last time was in December 2015. I think we usually aimed to be fully loaded into the car and ready to pull out by 6am. On a weekend, that is early enough that the drive through the Midtown Tunnel/midtown/Lincoln Tunnel is traffic free enough that it beats going all around the Belt and through Staten Island. Adjust according to your specific location on LI.

That is not early enough to avoid DC traffic, but we never wanted to get up in the middle of the night to start an all day drive and that's what you need to do to beat DC rush hour, even on a weekend. We often took a bypass down the Crain Highway a bit east of DC in Maryland [Route or Highway 301]. I think we usually got to that from 695 around Baltimore, to 97 to 301. It links back to I-95 around Richmond. But we also found that area got more developed over just the 3-4 years we drove it and ended up getting backed up there as well. Hard to say what's the best of mostly poor options. Check your favorite GPS/MAP planner for your best judgment on that.

We usually eat dinner somewhere in NC, and try to push on to Santee, SC for the overnight stop. You can also overnight on Florence, SC which is an hour closer to New York. Santee leaves you ~6 hours from WDW, Florence, about 7.

Coming home, we usually overnight in Rocky Mount, NC. In our experience, there are, frankly, no ideal or even good options for passing through or around DC and approaching NYC on the return trip. The Crain Highway again is a possibility, but seems to work less often than going south. You especially can never leave early enough that you won't hit traffic in the NYC metro area. I suppose you could time it hit your first bridge or tunnel some time between 1am and 5am, but we've never had the stomach for that.

Also, coming home, traffic can be rough until you hit I-16 near Savannah and lots of people peel off to head towards Atlanta and assorted Central Time Zone locations. Then it usually clears up, but can slow again when you hit SC where I-95 goes down to 2 lanes.

We've never done the all day no stop option, though as others have noted it can work. It's just not for us. In all, we try to do 60-70% of the driving on day one, and leave less for day 2, in both directions. We also find stopping for meals is refreshing enough that it justifies the time taken. My wife and I always split the driving. It's both fun and tiresome. Everyone should try it once.

 

[BcIcemen]

That's where we sleepover often, and we get food at Lone Star Barbecue.

What hotel do you prefer

 

[Stargazer65]

What hotel do you prefer

I'm a Marriott Reward member so we stay at the Fairfield Inn and Suites.

There's a park nearby where you can rent some really nice cabins although we haven't done that. They even have some that are on the lake that remind me of a rustic Poly Bungalows. We talked to the ranger and he said you have to book them early, they get booked fast. If you have a few hours to spare for some nature, there's a trailhead there with a short loop trail that takes you around sinkholes which are a feature of that area.

 

[BcIcemen]

I'm a Marriott Reward member so we stay at the Fairfield Inn and Suites.

There's a park nearby where you can rent some really nice cabins although we haven't done that. They even have some that are on the lake that remind me of a rustic Poly Bungalows. We talked to the ranger and he said you have to book them early, they get booked fast. If you have a few hours to spare for some nature, there's a trailhead there with a short loop trail that takes you around sinkholes which are a feature of that area.

I am Hilton member and I saw there was a Hampton Inn there that is why I asked

 

[Stargazer65]

I am Hilton member and I saw there was a Hampton Inn there that is why I asked

Oh yeah, they're right next to each other. I always look stupid and accidentally turn in at the Hampton driveway, and then I have to loop around and go back out because the parking lots don't connect.

There's a Bojangles right next to the hotels as well. They don't have them in CT, and I have a thing for their biscuits. I usually bypass the complimentary hotel breakfast in favor of an assorted bag of things from Bojangles in the morning.

 

[BcIcemen]

Oh yeah, they're right next to each other. I always look stupid and accidentally turn in at the Hampton driveway, and then I have to loop around and go back out because the parking lots don't connect.

There's a Bojangles right next to the hotels as well. They don't have them in CT, and I have a thing for their biscuits. I usually bypass the complimentary hotel breakfast in favor of an assorted bag of things from Bojangles in the morning.

How about the drive home? Where is your target stop heading back North? Thanks for your help. I haven't driven since 1995 when my kids were small, now we might caravan with my son and grandchildren.

 

[Stargazer65]

How about the drive home? Where is your target stop heading back North? Thanks for your help. I haven't driven since 1995 when my kids were small, now we might caravan with my son and grandchildren.

Oh, it depends. We often stop by my parent’s house in Hanover (near Gettysburg, PA) which takes us out of the way of a direct route. We went directly to Florida, last month, but poked around on our way back. So our trip to Florida last month looked like this:

Day 1: Home (Southeastern, CT) to Rocky Mount, NC (586 miles)
Day 2: Rocky Mount to Daytona Beach, FL (583 miles)
Day 7: Daytona Beach to Vero Beach
Day 9: Vero Beach to WDW
Day 14: WDW to Hilton Head, SC (328 miles)
Day 17: Hilton Head to Santee, SC (104 miles)
Day 18: Santee to Hanover, PA (555 miles)
Day 19: Hanover to Home (381 miles)

Sometimes we’ve gone the long way: Stopped in Hanover, PA, Harrisonburg, VA, Atlanta, GA (we have family there too)

Sometimes we don't have any plan at all except to start driving and have 5 or 6 days to get there. So we road trip... just mosey around in the general direction of FL and sightsee and I can't recall all the places we stopped but some are:
Quantico, VA, Fredericksburg, VA, Savannah, GA, Pigeon Forge, TN (Yeah that was way out of the way lol), Andersonville, GA