Driving from MA to WDW any tips?

[Curious & Curiouser]

Hello yall

My family & I are planning our very 1st ever road trip to Disney World
Buttttttttt we have never ever gone farther then 3 hours away and to be honest im really kinda lost DH wants to "wing it" but I want to plan every minute out lol

So I am looking for some tips or hints to make our trip the best it can be and to make me feel better about how to go about it.
Looking for some websites that i can use to map it out. And some great places to stop on the way. ANYTHING
Can't wait to hear all the great advice

 

[dvcmom72]

Hey! I'm from MA too...when my brother and I were younger my parents used to take us to Disney by car ALL the time. We LOVED it. I should say, we loved the trip down...the trip home was never as much fun.
AAA has these things called trip-tiks (sp?)...they are very cool. I'm not sure if you have to be a member to get one, maybe check their website.
Driving straight through is so tempting, but tough...I would recommend stopping at least one night to sleep. We used to leave basically in the middle of the night and go all day, then stop, then the second day was a breeze.
If you have a portable DVD player you should bring it...if you don't, you should get one...lol. We didn't have those when we were kids but I sure wish we did!!

For our last 2 trips which included myself, my mother, and my son, we drove to VA and took the auto train. Expensive yes, but I don't think my son (who was 1 on the first trip and 2 on the second trip) would have tolerated that amount of time strapped into the car seat. We are actually doing it again in September. When he's a little older, I will definitely drive down. Unless I get up the courage to fly. But I like to be able to just pack everything up in the car and not worry about packing for the plane!

 

[Curious & Curiouser]

Well nice to meet someone else from MA who drive thanx for the AAA tip i checked it out and you no longer have to be a member to use it and it is AWESOME ! i sat with the computer for a few hours and in that little time i maped out the trip there and back !!!! i love the idea of not worring about luggage at the airport! worrying about weight n stuff! and bringing a couple cases of water and other things i could never get on a plane We are going to drive to South of the Boarder for lunch and to just get out of the van for a while. Then drive for 4 or so more hours, find a hotel about 2 or 3 hours away from The World. Have dinner then bedie buy. Then up around 8 or so, have breakfast, then on the road and end up at Pop Century by noon. Get settled in then off to Magic Kingdom. Then on the way home we want to stop at the caverns in VA and seaside heights.

I'm thinking it will work. Thinking? more like hopeing lol

we are going sept 12! so maybe you can let me know how traffic is in sept Where do you like to stop?? We have, well at the time we go a 13 year old, and a 8 & 9 year old. I'm thinking they will be all good. Def getting a DVD player though lol and loading up our Disney Movies lol plus i always like to make them activity book (gonna be alil dif this time from the airplane ones) and travel bags filled with new goodies to keep them busy....for maybe a couple hours

 

[dilligaf212]

I am also from Mass and as a kid we use to drive down to WDW.We also used AAA maps.We felt like the griswalds It was always very cool as a kid looking for the south of the boarder signs along the way..

We stayed at POP this past Feb and loved it until my kids are older i can't see staying at anywhere else hope you have a great time

 

[buzz5985]

I live a little north of Boston, and we have driven several times. We are heading out again August 12. I will let you know how it goes!!!!

Janis

 

[Curious & Curiouser]

so great to know i'm not alone our family thinks we are crazy i really want to see the country instead of just flying over it and why not make a 10 day vacation into a 14 day vacation

can't wait to hear all about your trip you must be soooo excited

 

[kidd_freeper]

I just came back

I came from Hartford, but I think much of my experience applies to travel from MA

Here is a copy of what I put on another thread. I hope it helps:

= = =

Background:
We travelled roundtrip using our Ford Windstar minivan (Hartford-Kissimmee). There were 6 of us (me, DW, DD18, DS11, DS10, DS9). We left July 2 and returned on July 17. This was our second trip driving to WDW (took the other one in July 2010).

The Trip There:
July 2: Hartford-Jacksonville. Left at midnight on July 2.

Took 84-684-Tappan Zee Bridge-87-287-78-81-77-26-95

The Tappan Zee bridge is far better than taking the George Washington Bridge. I-81 is a beautiful road and the speed limit is 70 mph most of the way. Saw lots of patrol cars (perhaps 100 - between Tappan Zee Bridge and Charlotte NC); I tried to stay 5 mph over the limit and never got pulled over. The kids slept until 9:30 am and we had breakfast just south of Christiansburg, VA. The construction just north of Christiansburg was very minor and really didn't impact travel at all. The truck traffic on I-81 wasn't an issue at all, but we were done with I-81 in the early morning before most of the trucks were on the road.

Hit heavy traffic in Charlotte, which turned into stop-and-go-traffic just north of Columbia, SC, which turned into stopped traffic just south of Columbia. Traffic was light once we made it to I-95. Made it to south of Jacksonville about 8pm.

July 4: Jacksonville-Kissimmeee. Left at 4pm after visiting relatives. No issues.

The Trip Back:
July 16: Kissimmeee - Wilson, NC. Left at 9:30am with a planned stop in Wilson, NC. Last year we "winged it" for our overnight stop - big mistake. it is much better to have a planned stop.

Took I4-I95. No issues with traffic/construction/police. However DS10 had the stomach flu, with the first barf coming an hour after we left. Made stops every couple of hours. Stayed at the Hoilday Inn Express in Wilson, NC. I highly recommend it. DS10 kept barfing through the night, so I didn't sleep well.

July 17: Wilson, NC - Hartford.
DW stayed with DS10 while we went to early church. Left at 10am.

Left I95 at Emporia, VA to take the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. DS10 felt completely better after some applesauce and crackers, so everyone really enjoyed going over the bridge. Travelled up the Delmarva peninsula. On the advice of this board, we took the eastern route (Route 113) to avoid speed traps. However, there are a LOT of traffic lights this way and it probably would have saved time to stay on Route 13 and simply go 5 mph under the speed limit.

When we got to NYC, I ignored the advice of my GPS and took the George Washington Bridge Big mistake. Waited an hour to get over the bridge. Made it home by midnight.

Summary
I-81 is a great road. However Charlotte-Columbia (I-77 and I-26) traffic was very heavy. There are side roads that may avoid this...be ready to take them. I'm not convinced that I-81/I-77 through VA/NC is better than I-95 through VA/NC...the traffic encountered around Columbia, SC was almost as bad as the I-95 traffic...thus the extra travel distance that is required to take the 81/77 instead of 95 may or may not be worth it.

Wilson, NC is a good midway planned stop. Lots of new clean hotels, restaurants and it is easy to access. The Holiday Inn was immaculate.

If you take the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (which adds 45 minutes to the trip over going through Washington DC), consider taking route 13 instead of 113 through Delaware...just drive well under the speed limit.

Avoid the George Washington Bridge. The Tappan Zee is a better alternative in every respect.

Be prepared for a sick child on the trip. Have plastic bags, paper towels, ice, crackers, applesauce, bottled water. We had all of these and I don't know what we would have done without them.

Have you car thoroughly checked out before you travel. We did and our minivan has 136,000 miles on it and we had no car problems at all.

 

[francie57]

We just came back from Charlotte, NC and had absolutely no problems with the route listed above (84, 684 (we take the Saw Mill off 684 to connect to 87/287 just before the Tappan Zee) 287, 87, 81, 77. As far as the traffic in the Charlotte area, before you get to Charlotte take the exit for I-485 and it will take you around Charlotte and connect again with 77 just short of the SC state line. Brand new completed route and it is great. We didn't hit any construction delays and as a pp stated the speed limit through VA/NC is 70. We saw one cruiser the entire route. Also, gas is much cheaper on that route, at least much cheaper than what we pay here in CT. On average it was $3.59. Lots of rest areas and well marked signs for what it at each exit.