Driving from Michigan

[JJIRmom]

Okay so we have taken this trip quite a few times and always have done the same thing. Leave Michigan around 3 p.m, arrive in Atlanta about 3 a.m. We have been so fortunate to have family in Atlanta that we stay with. We stay for exactly 24 hours. From 3 a.m to 3 a.m the next morning, then finish our journey to Disney usually getting there around noon. That 24 hours at relatives house gives us enough time to recoup and get ready for the rest of the drive. This plan has always worked wonderful because DH and I both prefer driving at night. I hate driving in the day with lots of traffic. So the problem this year is we don't have our relatives house to stay at anymore!
So my question is what does everyone else do that is coming down from around Michigan? Should we just drive straight thru maybe stopping off at a rest stop for an hour or 2 to rest our eyes (we would be exhausted but its doable since on our way home we always drive straight thru)? Should we stop for a hotel around 3 am and then check out at 11 am to finish the drive (issue is we wouldn't get to Disney until night completely throwing away our arrival day plans, and we would be driving in the day for that second part of the journey which I despise!!)? Or pay for 2 nights at the hotel and follow our usual schedule (leaving at 3 am, obviously this is the most costly plan)
Ugh I am wracking my brain trying to figure out options. Any advice is appreciated!!

 

[SteveH]

We made a similar trip, later start, from Missouri. We hit Valdosta, GA and I was completel done driving. Worked out great, I crashed at the hotel and my wife and kids swam for while then dinner and then back to sleep. We were up about 7AM and had an easy 3 hour drive. That worked well for us. Good luck!

 

[MM1102]

We just moved from N. Indiana (about 30 miles from the MI line) to the Orlando area. Over a year of getting the house built and moving, we made the trip way too many times (didn't want to fly for COVID reasons). Google Maps said it was 16 hours of driving time, so where or if we stopped depended on what time we wanted to get to Orlando. A leisurely split was staying in Chattanooga. We'd go to Atlanta for a shorter second day. If you stay south of Atlanta (like McDonough) you're already through Atlanta the second day and have shorter trip to WDW. We did it straight thru (when we moved the cat)--left at 4a-ish from Indiana and got to Orlando at 10p. Don't want to do that again unless it's really necessary.

 

[Herding_Cats]

I live in northern MI (about 4 miles from the border) and we take i-75 down. I'm NEVER a fan of driving straight through as the very real possibility of falling asleep at the wheel scares me a lot (there's about an hour and a half of Kentucky that I can't remember from one trip.) We have driven straight through 2x and NEVER AGAIN.

I will preface this with the fact that we are usually traveling with some in-laws and about 5-7 kids, so we try to make the trip down part of the vacation and not just gut it out and have super long days in the car. We typically stay one night in northern KY (just over the border from ohio) and a 2nd night south of Atlanta (near the FL state line). This makes for 2 short days and one long-ish day in the car, which our kids are MUCH better for. We get a hotel with a pool for the 2nd night.

If your goal is to NOT spend money on 2 nights at a hotel, we have also:
Stopped just north of Atlanta (Acworth area usually) and then be on the road no later than 3am to get through atlanta before crazy traffic hits.

or
Drive long the first day and stop in Perry or tifton (south of atlanta) late the first night, hitting atlanta after 8pm.

 

[sam_gordon]

I'm in Central Kentucky, and have made the drive the last couple of years. It's about a 12-13 hour drive (granted, with little traffic since we drove on Christmas Day). Chattanooga is ~4 hours from us. If I were you, I would leave at some point to get to Chattanooga around 1-2p in the afternoon. Check into the hotel for the night. Leave about 4-5a. I would think that gets you THROUGH Atlanta before 8am (probably actually in Macon by 8am), and at Disney by early afternoon.

 

[JJIRmom]

Thanks all! I think were most likely to stop somewhere south of Atlanta for the night. Probably planning on leaving quite a bit earlier that first day from Michigan to hopefully be south of Atlanta by 1 am. Crash for the night then continue down the next morning.

 

[trying2photo]

I'm in Central Kentucky, and have made the drive the last couple of years. It's about a 12-13 hour drive (granted, with little traffic since we drove on Christmas Day). Chattanooga is ~4 hours from us. If I were you, I would leave at some point to get to Chattanooga around 1-2p in the afternoon. Check into the hotel for the night. Leave about 4-5a. I would think that gets you THROUGH Atlanta before 8am (probably actually in Macon by 8am), and at Disney by early afternoon.

I'm in Central Kentucky, and have made the drive the last couple of years. It's about a 12-13 hour drive (granted, with little traffic since we drove on Christmas Day). Chattanooga is ~4 hours from us. If I were you, I would leave at some point to get to Chattanooga around 1-2p in the afternoon. Check into the hotel for the night. Leave about 4-5a. I would think that gets you THROUGH Atlanta before 8am (probably actually in Macon by 8am), and at Disney by early afternoon.

Any problems finding gas or food when you travel on Christmas Day?

 

[sam_gordon]

No. But, before we left, I created a chart of truck stops (Love's and Flying J). So I knew ahead of time what exits they'd be at.

 

[MrKnight]

Okay so we have taken this trip quite a few times and always have done the same thing. Leave Michigan around 3 p.m, arrive in Atlanta about 3 a.m. We have been so fortunate to have family in Atlanta that we stay with. We stay for exactly 24 hours. From 3 a.m to 3 a.m the next morning, then finish our journey to Disney usually getting there around noon. That 24 hours at relatives house gives us enough time to recoup and get ready for the rest of the drive. This plan has always worked wonderful because DH and I both prefer driving at night. I hate driving in the day with lots of traffic. So the problem this year is we don't have our relatives house to stay at anymore!
So my question is what does everyone else do that is coming down from around Michigan? Should we just drive straight thru maybe stopping off at a rest stop for an hour or 2 to rest our eyes (we would be exhausted but its doable since on our way home we always drive straight thru)? Should we stop for a hotel around 3 am and then check out at 11 am to finish the drive (issue is we wouldn't get to Disney until night completely throwing away our arrival day plans, and we would be driving in the day for that second part of the journey which I despise!!)? Or pay for 2 nights at the hotel and follow our usual schedule (leaving at 3 am, obviously this is the most costly plan)
Ugh I am wracking my brain trying to figure out options. Any advice is appreciated!!

Have you thought about taking the Auto Train? You could drive from Michigan to Lorton, VA (DC metro area) and hop on the Auto Train with your vehicle, if possible book a roomette which includes private accommodations and a full dinner. The Auto Train arrives the following morning in Sanford, FL which is a quick 1 hour drive (sometimes less) to WDW..

 

[jimmymc]

I live in Michigan and have always flown, because it makes more sense as a solo or pair of travelers.

But I know some families who have multiple drivers and will go straight through. Usually they leave around 5 pm and dad will drive all night while mom sleeps until around 4, then he will sleep while mom finishes the drive, and they get there around lunch time.

 

[Spaceace5150]

I've made the drive several times from Northern Ohio and on the way down usually stop south of Atlanta (Perry, GA or Macon area). Then wake the up the next day and get to the hotel by check in time. On the way back I usually try to drive straight through with swapping out drivers for a nap. Good luck!