Driving from Louisiana- Stay in Tallahasse?

[brandip22]

Hello! We will be driving to Orlando from Baton Rouge, LA and are thinking we'll go ahead and book a room since we are going Labor Day weekend. After looking at the map, we are thinking we'll stop in Tallahasse, Fl. How do you all think that sounds? There may be an FSU game that weekend so we need go ahead and book now. Plus, we picked there, because it's far enough to get us at least halfway there and will be a good stretch. We'll have DS (3) and D Neice (10) and want to drive as long as we can while they sleep. We won't be leaving BR until 4:30 that Friday- Sept 2nd, so we are thinking we'll drive until midnight or so. I think Talahasse is about right. Any ideas ro suggestions? Thanks in advance!

Brandi

 

[darlene9947]

We're leaving from Slidell on the 20th of this month and staying in Lake City, not far from I-10/I-75 junction. We're leaving around 11:00 in the morning and planning on a picnic lunch at the FL welcome center. My understanding is that I'll be looking at about a 3-hr drive the next morning.
I'm not sure how much farthur Lake City is from Tallahassee.
Maybe someone who lives in FL panhandle will be able to let us know!

 

[speedyf]

We were supposed to drive down for our trip in June and I had Tallahassee as our stopping place as well. Of course, once the $39 each way plane tickets were released by Southwest, we decided to fly instead.

I liked the idea of driving to Tallahassee because my DS5 would have slept from about 9pm to midnight that night during the drive (we were planning on leaving at around 5pm. Then, you are only about 4 hours out from Orlando...so, you can leave the next morning and be to Orlando by early afternoon at the latest.

If you are staying onsite, arriving early helps your chances of getting any requested buildings or rooms. We were going to drive until Midnight....then, get up and be gone again by about 8am to get to Disney around lunch.

Last year, we flew into Orlando and arrived at Pop Century at around 5pm....I requested 50's or 70's building and we got stuck with a 90's building room. We were able to move the next day to a 50's building.

This year we are flying out of MSY at 6:30am and will be arriving in Orlando at 9:15am...so, we should get to the resort early for check-in.

Speed

 

[darlene9947]

Early arrival is great if you're flying! However, driving all night and getting to the resort around 10 AM is a HUGE mistake we will never make again
We drove straight thru in July, 2003 got to POR around 10:30am, no room ready. It was HOT and we were all tired and cranky!! Went to the pool to try and cool off, but it was no fun changing in the pool dressing rooms. We finally got 1 room released around 1:30pm. We had 3 booked. It was not a great start to our trip. That's why this year we are sleeping in Lake City and then hoping to get to the parks for around 10:00am bright eyed and bushy tailed!!

 

[brandip22]

Looks like Lake City is another 160 miles from Talahasse. I don't knwo if we can go another 2+ hours! I'll ask DH- thanks!

 

[brandip22]

So Dh agrees with Lake City- and the hotels are cheaper! Thanks- we'll be booking asap- darlene, where are y'all staying?

 

[darlene9947]

We're staying at the Lake City Best Western on Hwy. 90 W. I booked 2 rooms in February - 1 with a king and the other with 2 queens. $55 each plus continental breakfast which we will just grab and go!!
On Saturday I have 1 room at Buena Vista Suites booked thru Dreams Unlimited Travel. I think I used a special in one of the MouseSavers newsletters. than, 1 week @ Vistana Resort - FREE!!! YAY!!!
Ya'll have a great time....I know we will!!

 

[mhochman]

Perhaps I shouldn't comment on this because my experience was about 12 years ago. But my then girlfriend (now wife) and I drove from Tulane to WDW the day after exams. We went all the way through and to me it made the most sense to do it that way. We left early in the morning and arrived about 10 hours later (7 or 8 pm, if I remember correctly). It was too late to do a park (unless you have an annual pass, then who cares if you only get one hour in), but certainly you can go to bed early for the next day, or go out to PI or whatever and blow off the steam from that drive. Or spend the evening in the spa at the pool. Point is, you can get an early start the next day. I know some people arrive late at night and stay off grounds for that late arrival, but to me I want the magic to start right away. Anyway, just thought I'd share.

 

[leebee]

My BIL and DSis drive strainght through from New Orleans (now Gretna!). If they left NO early or aren't tired upon arrival, they do a late character dinner or go to DTD to get in the mood. Usually an early bedtime works best and they are rarin' to go the next morning.

 

[DISNEYWORLDBORN2SHOP]

We make the drive from Metaire at least once a year. When we leave early in the morning and drive straight through it is a 9 1/2 - 10 hour drive depending on bathroom stops. If we leave in the evening, we stop in Lake City which is a 7 1/2 hour drive. Lake City is approximate 1 1/2 hours past Tallahasse. Lake City is always our stopping point of choice. The hotels are much cheaper and it is an hour closer to our final destination.

 

[cajunmommy]

Tallahassee used to be the mid-way point for us. We would leave from Prairieville and arrive in time for supper. Spend the night & have a very manageable drive in the next day.

This time we drove it straight (DSs are 6 & 4). Left about 5am, boys had breakfast in the van, stopped for picnic lunch, bathroom breaks at the rest areas, a snack in Pensacola, and we were checking in at ASMo for 6pm! We had enough time to unpack, stretch out and grab a relaxed bite to eat. Not enough time to visit a park (early closing @ Mardi Gras time), but we were at DISNEY!!!

This may not work if you're wanting to leave after work, but give it a thought. It really isn't that tough of a drive if you leave early in the a.m.

 

[OKW Lover]

We have friends that regularly drive from NOLA. They tell us that they prefer to stop in Ocala because they can find a nice room for a lower price than they would have to pay in Tallahassee.

 

[brandip22]

Thanks guys. We are leaving Friday evening right after work. I'd rather jsut get on the road than wait an d leave early in the morning- especially with the kids. They can sleep a good bit of the way. If we alot 7 1/2 hours to get to Lake City, that should put us there around 12:30 or so, which is what we were wanting. The hotel prices were much better than Tallahasse, too. Plus, a much shorter drive the next morning. I'd rather them be as rested as possible when we check in just in case we can't stand it. Thanks again!

 

[Ariel Wanna-be]

Hi Brandi--

We're about 20 minutes from BR, and twice in the past two years we've made the same drive you're making.

Both times we left around 2 or 3, and drove 'til about 10 (remember you'll lose an hour getting there.)

Before we left, I went to roomsavers.com and printed off a bunch of coupons for different hotels in several cities around where I estimated we'd be at our stopping point. Tallahassee, Lake City, Ocala, and quite a few more.

That way, if we made really good time and wanted to keep driving past where we'd planned on stopping (like we did our first time), or if we made really bad time and had to stop not as far along as we'd planned (like we did the second time) we'd be covered.

This may not work for everyone, but it worked great for us.

Driving home we drive straight through. Last year we made record time because DH was fresh off the Richard Petty Driving Experience!

Have a great trip!!

PS: Be sure to have something in the car to occupy your DS and DN when you're driving through the "WE BARE ALL!" billboard gauntlet!