Driving from Mass

[kribit]

Hi,

Not sure if this is the appropriate place to post this...hopefully someone will offer their advice if they have done this trip. My family is driving to WDW next month from MA.

We have a hotel booked in NC and one in SC, but as I reviewed my trip tik, I noticed it's only 9 hours to Orlando from NC (the first leg from MA to NC is approx. 12). SO...I'm trying to determine if we should just drive the full 9 hours from NC and arrive in Fl a day early (perhaps stay at Universal)? We've never been there. We currently have a hotel booked on the Beach at Hilton Head (never been here either). Any advice, recommendations, etc...would be so helpful. I honestly would prefer getting to Fl sooner than later, but I don't want to exhaust ourselves either. My dh said it's up to me. I can't make up my mind, as I've changed the travel down itinerary at least 10 times already.

btw - We have 4 yo twins (who have no problem in the car). We're lucky.

 

[TheWog]

If it were me, I would skip SC and go straight there.

 

[JoeCathyAngelina]

My wife hates to fly.
The first time we went to Walt Disney World, April 2004 with my 3 year old daughter We decided to go to WDW a couple of months before we went with little planning. We rented some points off the DIS forum, checked the airfares a couple of times and picked up a trip tick from AAA.

We drove from my office in downtown Boston to WDW Old Key West stopping only for gas and bathroom breaks.

After the first 3-4 hours in the car driving the rest of the way to WDW isn't that bad; more like a series of short trips.

Our Trip to WDW started Friday, 3/26/04 at 1 pm: Miles, Stopped, Time

Leaving, Boston to Walt Disney World: Friday, 3/26/04, 1:00pm
1, Boston to New Jersey 212 212 6:00pm
2, N J to Aberdeen MD 183 395 9:07 pm
3, MD to Rocky Mt NC 266 661 1:36 AM
4, NC to Florence SC 209 870 4:40 am
5, SC to S Newport GA 210 1,080 7:58 am
Arrived, GA to WDW 251 1,331 12:00 PM

Started, Friday, 3/26 0 1:00pm
Finished, Saturday, 3/27 1331 12:00pm
A 23 hr trip with 5 stops along the way down
76 gallons of gas, $131 for the gas, 17.78 mpg 58mph
Driving around WDW 21

The Trip Home started Friday, April 2nd 11 AM: Miles Stopped Time

Leaving Walt Disney World to Boston:Friday, April 2nd 11:00 am
1, WDW to St Augustine FL 116 116 12:44 PM
2, FL to Savanah GA 178 294 3:55 PM
3, GA to Florence SC 174 468 6:22 pm
4, SC to Battleboro NC 181 649 9:30 pm
5, NC to Aberdeen MD 295 944 2:17 am
6, MD to Bloomfield NJ 181 1,125 5:30 AM
Arrived, NJ to Boston, MA 237 1,362 9:30 am

Started, Friday, 4/02 11:00 am 0
Finished, Sat, 4/03 9:30 am 1362
A 22 1/2 hr trip with 6 stops on the way home
81 gallons of gas $126 for the gas 17.58 mpg 60.5mph
Driving around WDW 62

157 gallons, $257 for the gas, $44 tolls, 17.68 mpg, 59.2mph 2776


The traffic was a mess from Hartford through Delaware on the way down.
It rained from North Carolina to Boston, Mass. on the way home

Me and my wife alternated turns driving our Nissan Xterra when we stopped for gas. My 3 year old held out a lot better than I thought she would on the way down and on the way back to Boston, WITHOUT, tapes, DVDs, video games, just a lot of singing and sleeping.

It's not that Bad!!!

Last year, April 2005 we caught a break in fares and flue down and back out of Logan on a non-stop with American Airlines , $504 round trip total for the 3 of us.

This year, April 2006 we caught a break in fares so we flew down and back out of Logan on a non-stop with Song/Delta , $496 round trip total for the 3 of us.

April 2007,
If all goes well,
The creek don't rise,
and there ain't no melt down,
We'll do it all again next year.

Good Luck all,
Joe

 

[kribit]

Thank you so much for the detailed info. We're still trying to decide whether to go through the cities or AROUND the bridges, tunnels, and traffic! I hate bridges and although we're from Boston, I don't particularly like driving through cities unless it's absolutely necessary. I've seen trips around but it adds on quite a bit of time...I'm going to have to research a bit more.

thanks again!

 

[Disneydreaming6]

I have made this trip many many times. I love the drive down. We plan a special stop on the way home so it makes the vacation seem longer. I also have to agree with JoeCathyAngelina, after the first couple hours. the ride is nothing. We drive straight thru, take turns driving, we stopped for gas every 3-4 hours for gas/bathroom break,that is when we switched the driving. We have made the trekk with just our ds (1st time he was 1) and have added kids (previous marriages) to make the drive with a total of 6 kids. I wouldnt make the second stop, after driving 12 hours, the last 9 are nothing.

 

[Slsguy]

If you do it right you can do it with one stop. My parents used to take my brother and I to GA and FL for winter vacation all the time. We would leave our house in the North Shore at about 5am and stopped in Richmond VA and then leave early the next morning and drive to either Southern GA or Daytona Beach.

It makes the last leg pretty long but we seemed to never get into much traffic - we did that same trip every winter for at least 5 years.

I wouldn't suggest trying to drive thru the night but I don't think two stops is neccessary. Of course if you have the time why not, maybe stop in Savannah GA and save the last 4 or 5 hours for 3rd day...

Happy and of course safe

 

[zephyr667]

I don't know that I would stay all the way in Hilton Head on the way down. It is a good ways off the interstate. I can't remember exactlyhow far, but probably a good 30 minutes. (It always seems a long way because I am soo excited to get there!) Plus NOTHING is found very easily in Hilton Head because of their sign ordinances, so if you are not familiar with the area that will make it even worse.

Now if a day or two at the beach is what you are looking for it is a Great place to visit. One of my favorite.

 

[kribit]

I'm so excited...we're stopping in NC for 1 night (cancelled Hilton Head), then as a surprise I booked an extra night at the Wilderness Lodge to make it an 8 night vac. We're actually staying at POR, so leaving WL will probably be hard, but it will still be fun and it's Disney! We're going to go around the cities, so I know that's going to add on a bit to our trip, but with traffic, etc..I'd rather add the extra miles on than sit on the highway.

Anyone ever switch Disney hotels mid vaca? I wonder if they would let us upgrade and keep the free Disney Dining. I already asked my Travel Agent and she said no go. Maybe we'll get lucky...