Driving from Minnesota/Upper Midwest

[zulaya]

The 2,000+ mile driver thread is currently 176 pages long. It looks like a majority of the discussion stems from people driving down the East Coast and I-95.

I don't have time to wade through all the posts to find the ones that are most relevant to my drive, so I'm wondering if anyone who has driven from my neck of the woods has any tips, tricks and routes they'd like to share.

I'm contemplating driving down in June.

Thanks.

 

[momofsamandeden]

We did it once from Oakdale and it was okay. It cost us 747 with gas for mini van, a hotel for the night, meals and tolls. It was a long drive even divided up in two twelve hour blocks of driving with adding on a hour for stopping for gas and meals per day so 13 to 13 plus a night of 8 hours at a hotel. So we ended up almost driving two whole days and it took us another two to recover driving then we had to get back in the van and do it all over again. Long story short we are looking at flying non stop with Delta Tuesday to Tuesday for 757 for four seats so that will be the option we go with this time

 

[zulaya]

If I could get that kind of a deal, I would fly. Right now, the least expensive flights at crappy times are sitting at $375 per person for my dates. With 4 people that's $1500. I'm not really jumping at the chance to pay that.

We're not going to commando drive both ways...maybe on the way down. But we plan on taking our time getting back.

 

[bgohre]

OP, your problem (like mine) is that you live in an area without much compitition for flying. Hopefully with Southwest coming into the picture that will help, but you'll have to connect. We are driving (from Waconia) in September. Should be fun. Not looking forward to the drive. But with 3 kids and 2 adults, I think it the best option for us.

 

[dudspizza]

OP, your problem (like mine) is that you live in an area without much compitition for flying. Hopefully with Southwest coming into the picture that will help, but you'll have to connect. We are driving (from Waconia) in September. Should be fun. Not looking forward to the drive. But with 3 kids and 2 adults, I think it the best option for us.

so far, SWA has done nothing to bring down prices. The Delta/NWA merger tightened Delta's stronghold on the MSP market, for now. SWA prices are horrible from here, IMO.

OP, we had some friends drive last year at spring break. We flew and me them there. To each their own, but I will fly every time. On the other hand, they are already planning to drive the next time they go. They stopped 1 night along the way and really enjoyed the time together......

Duds

 

[zulaya]

We normally fly. It's my preference, too.

However, with it being after school is out, we have more time...we aren't crunched to be back for school.

Plus, we haven't roadtripped east of the Mississippi and my kids liked the last road trip out west.

DH has a boatload of vacation time...carried over a lot from last year...so we can tour our great country a bit as well as get to Florida.

With prices being what they are for my dates, it seems the planets are aligning for a road trip to work out.

We'll probably make the mad dash down to FL...too much anticipation to get there....and make our way home at a more sedate pace.

I was thinking of making St. Louis a stopover for sure because my kids have never seen the arch. And there seems to be quite a bit to see and do there as well.

I just wasn't sure if anyone else had other suggestions as far as route, especially if we're just going to commando on the way down.

 

[tink_lover]

Did it once and wouldn't do it again. 2 adults, 3 kids. Actually, would probably do it but spread it over a few days both ways. We got okay pricing on Delta over spring break this year - but I have also priced flying SW out of Omaha, anything out of LaCrosse and also, Duluth now has Alegient (sp?) air that I thought was flying direct to Orlando. Will probably check that out for next trip. One of the funny things I remember about driving was that our Sunday night stay in Georgia was in some dry county - What no wine for Mommy???

 

[tlenzendorf]

I've done it from WI 3 times. Never again. Its just really long and its so much time in the car. If you're willing to drive that far, why not drive to a airport thats a little further away? Like Minneapolis, Rockford, Chicago, or Des Moines?

If you are going to use it to tour the country I guess it would be a good drive, but other than that its a long one!

 

[zulaya]

OK, people...let me set the facts straight.

1. In general, I prefer to fly to FL.

2. Yes, I know it's a long drive.

3. Price is a minor factor BUT see #4

4. Since we own DVC, we've talked about driving one of these trips at a reasonable pace. Maybe not on the way down if we are hot-to-trot to get there, but certainly on the way back and actually making it a way to see some sights the kids have never seen before.

Summary:

Please don't tell me it's a long drive or tell me you prefer to fly. I know it is and I prefer to as well. See my signature: I've flown each of those times because I know it's quicker and convenient.

I just wanted route suggestions from people who've done it before so I can take them into consideration as I finalize our plans if indeed we decide to do a road trip and not only visit Florida, but some of the other states as well.

 

[sue Z]

who ever is the one flying from MN if you can get to the minneapolis airport
check out some of these deals!! i found on southwest


i was lookinf for Boston to MN and boston orlando and plugged in minnie instead of boston
http://www.southwest.com/flight/shortcut/select-flight.html?int=&companyName=&cid=&alaCarteItemInShoppingCart=false&memberName=&disc=0%3A20%3A1266793763.659000%3A5186%408ACD2EA73DFFEF0C869C9A52866C448956B38B0C&ss=0&dest=

 

[tink_lover]

Sorry OP - but you specifically asked about "tips, tricks or route". I gave you my tip. FLY. No need to get so snippy.

 

[nelle]

We drove our motorhome down in Dec and had a blast. We went straight through IL bypassing Chicago.
We left here at 3:30 in the afternoon and drove to normal, IL. Woke up early and drove to N. GA I think it was Calhoun???(Stayed in walmarts). Woke up early drove though Atlanta(all I can say is traffic) stayed at a campground in Elko, GA. We had tire issues so thats why we only went from North of Atlanta to South of Atlanta the 2nd day. Woke up had about a 6hr drive to disney.
On the way home we did the drive with only one night and the drive was brutal so..
When we go again I would drive through IL and stop in KY or TN then stop in Elko, GA (just south of Atlanta) finish the drive the next day. So two nights enroute.
I used google maps for directions as well as our GPS(must have for a trip like this)
Here are the directions we used: In atlanta we drove straight through the city no bypass cause that was easier with the bus.

Take I-90 E to

4. Take the I-39 S/US-20/US-51 exit toward Rockford

5. Merge onto I-39 S/US-51 S

6. Take the exit onto I-39 S/US-51 S toward Bloomington Normal

7. Take the I-74 exit toward Peoria/Champaign

8. Merge onto I-55 S

9. Slight right at I-74 E

10. Take exit 179A to merge onto I-57 S toward Memphis

11. Slight right at I-24 E (signs for I-24 E/Nashville)
Passing through Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia
Entering Tennessee


12. Take exit 185A to merge onto I-75 S toward Atlanta
Entering Georgia

13. Slight right at I-475 S (signs for I-475 S/Bypass to 1-75 South Valdosta)

14. Merge onto I-75 S
Entering Florida

15. Slight left at FL-91 S (signs for Orlando/Florida Turnpike S)
Partial toll road

16. Take exit 267A toward FL-429/Apopka/Tampa

17. Keep right at the fork to continue toward Florida 429 Toll S/Western Expy and merge onto Florida 429 Toll S/Western Expy
Toll road

Follow signs to your resort(I deleted the rest of the directions cause they were to Fort Wilderness)

Keep in mind we averaged 65mph so driving for us takes longer. I'm not sure where you live in MN but if in the cities you would take 94 to 90 (I think).

Going around Chicago might be a option for you but it wasn't for us since we had the motorhome.

It's a fun drive with lots to see depending on what you like. We loved the Atlanta area.
If you stop south of Atlanta for the night stay around ELko and go eat at Yoder's they have the best food I've ever eaten and it's cheap!!! Do not eat here if you are on a diet
In IL you can stop in Metropolis for the superman statue..
Here's a fun site that lists odd stuff to see along the way:
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/
We've never driven before but think that unless the price for airline tickets/fees fall we probably won't fly it again.
You can PM me if you want more info
Sorry this was so long

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

I see that Airtran tickets for June are about $249 a person. Oh if you go to www.littledebbie.com and register for the chance to win a trip, they will emai you a $10 coupon. We entered the contest 4 times using 4 different email accts and received a total of 4 of the $10 coupons. I then booked 4 oneway tickets and use one $10 coupon per oneway ticket for a total of $40 off of our trip. So that would bring the $249 price down to $229 a person. So $229 X 4 = $920 for tickets and as a PP stated they spent $747 in gas so by flying it is not go to cost you much more. Plus look at all the extra time you will get to spend at Disney and not in your car. Hope this helps.

If I could get that kind of a deal, I would fly. Right now, the least expensive flights at crappy times are sitting at $375 per person for my dates. With 4 people that's $1500. I'm not really jumping at the chance to pay that.

We're not going to commando drive both ways...maybe on the way down. But we plan on taking our time getting back.

 

[tlenzendorf]

If thats all you wanted to know, then I would suggest getting a GPS device. That way you can put points of interest in or search for them before you leave for the day. They are pretty cool for doing that. Going from WI, we drop straight thru the bottom of IL, drive a bit thru KY, then hit TN, GA and FINALLY hit FL.

I would suggest on the way back, maybe drive the panhandle of FL, do some beach cities. That would put you closer to St. Louis for seeing the arch.

 

[mortimor]

We drove down over Christmas vacation. Non-stop from the Brainerd area. We had three adults and two kids. We were able to keep driving with having two adults awake up front. We had small presents the kids opened each state we went through. Each kid has their own dvd screen and can play their own movies, which saved alot of fighting.

My advice would be to stay on the interstates if you want to make good time, but it is pretty boring. Avoid Atlanta if you are anywhere near the am/pm rush hour.

We had planned to stop a day or two on the way back, but we left WDW late afternoon and by the time we got going, we would have had only a few hours on the road before a hotel stop. When you figure normal check out is 10-11 am, it was not worth the time or money for us to stop. We drove straight through on the way back and had an extra day at home to recooperate.

It went smooth enough that we are driving down the end of March for an additional trip. We normally fly, but the prices are so high around Christmas and spring break that we will be driving on the holiday trips from now on.

 

[CapnJacksGirl]

A stopover in St Louis would be a bit out of your way unless you want to get creative with your route. It would likely add a couple of hours at least to the best available plan. We live in MN as well and my family lives on the IL/KY border. We take 94 through Wisconsin, then 39 south to Bloomington, IL, 74 over to Champaign, and 57 down to Marion, then 24. It's not a terrible drive, and there are plenty of places to stop along the way. Metropolis, IL is a cute little stop if your kids like Superman. Get out, stretch your legs, take a pic with the Superman statue, then on to Mickey's.

We used to drive to Disney from there before I moved up here, and it wasn't terrible either. Yes, it's long, but I think of it in segments. Paducah to Nashville, Nashville to Chattanooga, Chattanooga to Atlanta, Atlanta to the Florida line (where we always stop at the rest area and get OJ...makes you feel like you've made it), then the state line to Mickey's place.

Obviously, it's not your first choice, but it won't be awful, I think. I'd be happy to help answer any questions you might have, if you want to PM me. Good luck and enjoy your trip!!

 

[zulaya]

CapnJacksGirl -

Thanks for the info. I might be PMing you.

Mary