Driving from Mississauga to WDW - any tips?

[stefanospops]

All - we will be doing our first drive to WDW. DW, DS9, DS7 and DD5 plus me. Going the I79/I77 route. Plan to leave at 4am and hope to get to at least Charlotte on the first day.

Has anyone done this trip this summer? Any construction issues, tips to share? I have read past reports to not speed whatsoever on US19. ANy other speed traps? I typically set my cruise control to a few miles over the speed limit, say 3 or 5. Anything else you have found helpful? Thanks!

 

[csm101]

We do that route all the time and we make Rock Hill SC around 6pm. Nice town with lots of food places/shops/hotels etc.

We didn't go this year but we never have a problem with the Police as far as radar goes. I do 5 to 10 km over the limit no problems . We find Pennsylvania to always being under construction somewhere in that state. US19 can be hit and miss as far as traffic goes.

Have fun and enjoy the ride!

 

[minnie mum]

Do you belong to CAA? If you do, you can make a triptik for your trip that will help with published construction zones, warnings of congestion areas, and mileage markers. Even though we have GPS in the car, we still do a fresh triptik for each trip.

 

[bdoyledimou]

after making that trip 9 times -- the best tip i have for you is -- stop in Buffalo and catch a plane


the trip DOWN to Disney is magical and beautiful and amazing -- its the trip home that's horrible ---

we always went straight through -- but we stop at Cracker Barrel for Lunch, dinner and breakfast --

great food for good prices.

 

[csm101]

Minniemom - wise!! good use of triptix I'm remember that one.

 

[stefanospops]

I already had a CAA triptik planned out. Thanks!

We usually fly from Buffalo but because the timing this year was the last week of August the cost of flights were as high as flying from Toronto. We are going with another family who waited too long to decide on flights and prices skyrocketed within a few days. Besides, DW has always wanted to drive down. I am counting on a miserable experience so I never have to do it again!

 

[bdoyledimou]

at least your seeing the positives here!

For me, its jut that i am too old for the drive now -- both the wife and i get cranky -- it is a beautiful drive, lots of scenery and can be fun !

i wouldn't have done it so many times if it wasn't worth it!

 

[Mikeyjtecumseh]

Is. I75 not faster??

 

[greenclan67]

Was laughing at the replies here. We drove to Williamsburg Va from Northern Ontario. My husband says we can now drive to Florida in March when we have 2 weeks. I can handle the drive there but not home. We have 14 & 12 year old girls that are wonderful in the car begging him to fly instead. What they dont know is I booked flights for Xmas to Florida so we may not have a choice money wise.

 

[migel]

I did the drive from Grimsby (near hamilton ) with my daughter June 28. This was my first time driving. We did the 79/77 route with no major traffic concerns. The I 26 will be backed up for the return drive, but okay on the way down. There is also a slower haul through Virginia with stop lights, but all in all, not too bad. Lots of Police, but also plenty of 65 & 70 mph limits. The I 95 into Georgia is the smoothest haul. We stopped overnight in Columbia SC on the trip down, and on the way back in Wythville west Virginia. Split the drive nicely, leaving the second day a couple hours less driving. It was fun, although I probably won't drive again for a couple years. Flying later today out of a buffalo to join the family. Good luck!

 

[dancin Disney style]

Is. I75 not faster??

From the GTA the I-75 adds on 3 hours.


We've made the drive a bunch of times. The warning not to speed on the US19 is no joke. Literally, 1 mile over the limit and you're getting a ticket. It is the towns main source of income.

We tend to leave home around 2:30am and drive until about 9pm. Which gets us, usually, to Savannah. My DH will go to bed the night we are leaving by 9pm so that when we are leaving he's had a least 5hrs sleep. While he sleeps I pack the car and putter around the house. I stay awake until we cross the border and then I sleep for a few hours until it's breakfast time. We pack all our food/drinks except dinner.

 

[stefanospops]

Update DAY 1. Well, we planned to leave at 4am. DIdn't get out the door until 6:30am. Peace Bridge had about a 15 minute delay. We then stopped at the first rest stop because kids had to use the washroom. This went on every hour or hour and half for until about 4pm. If going the Pittsburgh route be aware the highway shrinks to one lane just past the Grove City Outlet.

At one of our stops we pulled off the highway to a gas station because the kids really had to go to the washroom. Again, the are 5, 7, 9 so I get it. Small kids, small bladders. I'm going to dehydrate them for the drive back, if only I could. Well the gas station only has port o potty's. The 9 year old who had to go the most used it. The 7 year old looks inside, sees the poop and turns around exclaiming, "I'd rather pee my pants." So we get back on the highway and get off at the next exit where we find an acceptable washroom.

Had hoped to make it to Charlotte before dark. Still an hour away from there so we got the last room at the Fairfield Inn Elkin/Jonesville. $89 for two double beds and includes breakfast. Going to bed now then we have about 7+ hours to get to my cousin's house in Jacksonville for a few days before getting to other "home" and Animal Kingdom and Bay Lake.

Of note, no speeding tickets. WIll keep you all posted, whether you want to hear it or not!

 

[greenclan67]

Oh small bladders!!!! Sad part in my car it's me with my Mommy bladder. My 3 pregnancies destroyed that. Throw a coffee or two in there in the AM and even more stops!! My hubby threatens to leave me behind on most vacays!! Hope tomorrow is a good travel day.

 

[rics143]

left saturday morning just before 6am. Arrived at Charlotte around 8:30pm.
no major delays on the road. saw a lot of Ontario cars on the road with us.

 

[archdandy]

Update DAY 1. Well, we planned to leave at 4am. DIdn't get out the door until 6:30am. Peace Bridge had about a 15 minute delay. We then stopped at the first rest stop because kids had to use the washroom. This went on every hour or hour and half for until about 4pm. If going the Pittsburgh route be aware the highway shrinks to one lane just past the Grove City Outlet.

At one of our stops we pulled off the highway to a gas station because the kids really had to go to the washroom. Again, the are 5, 7, 9 so I get it. Small kids, small bladders. I'm going to dehydrate them for the drive back, if only I could. Well the gas station only has port o potty's. The 9 year old who had to go the most used it. The 7 year old looks inside, sees the poop and turns around exclaiming, "I'd rather pee my pants." So we get back on the highway and get off at the next exit where we find an acceptable washroom.

Had hoped to make it to Charlotte before dark. Still an hour away from there so we got the last room at the Fairfield Inn Elkin/Jonesville. $89 for two double beds and includes breakfast. Going to bed now then we have about 7+ hours to get to my cousin's house in Jacksonville for a few days before getting to other "home" and Animal Kingdom and Bay Lake.

Of note, no speeding tickets. WIll keep you all posted, whether you want to hear it or not!

I'm looking forward to the updates! I understand completely about the smaller bladders, I think I have an inhumanely small bladder and have to go every half an hour if I drink something like tea or pop

 

[dancin Disney style]

In our house the tiny bladder belongs to DH. Every time we are road tripping someplace the girls and I lay down the law about his frequent stops. We have even threatened getting him some Depends. Coffee goes through him in about 5 minutes. It drives us all nuts. I will say though that due to his need to stop we have seen some very fancy rest areas in the US and had our first experience with the turbo hand dryers. The hand dryers provided DD and I a good 5 minutes of entertainment a few years back.

 

[csm101]

Thank you for the updates, I actually can recall most of the places your posting about. Please keep it up and have a save trip

 

[Ken_Breadbox]

We've gone that route once. Never again.
Now, granted, we're coming from Kitchener. But we found both Google and Bing were waaaaaay off in their time estimates. First day, left 3:00 am, probably averaged 75mph to the border, the border took all of 45 seconds to cross.
So far so good.
We got to Charlotte at 6:00pm on the dot with minimal stops. That's fifteen hours of pretty much straight driving. The next day we left at 6:30am and pulled into OKW at 4:10pm. Now, granted, there was a hell of a backup in Orlando less than fifteen minutes from WDW...probably cost us 45 minutes--but still. It was supposed to take about twenty hours of driving and it took 25+. Brutal.
Without something like ALONG I-75 to eat the miles, the miles ate us. We took I-75 home: 21 hours of driving--LESS time than Google suggested it would take. That book is a godsend.
77/79 is considerably more scenic, I'll give it that.

 

[csm101]

Last few trips we've hit major congestion near the Sandford area. 95 to 4 then west on 4 can be brutal at times. I find there really isnt a way around it and most congestion stems from car accidents which can't be predicted. One of these times I'll try the 75 route......meh maybe not

 

[stefanospops]

UPDATE 2: SOrry for not updating the thread sooner. So we had an enjoyable stay at the Fairfield Inn. My DW found a brochure in the lobby for the Andy Griffith museum. Apparently this is where he grew up. DW was VERY excited. However, the museum was 30 minutes from the hotel, meaning an hour there and back to the highway. So after some discussion, when I usually submit and give her what she wants, she relented. Lots of surprises this trip.

So off we go, leaving Elkin/Jonesville. Keep in mind, our plan is to first visit Jacksonville before going to WDW. So our route may be a little different than others. More of the same yesterday as the day before. We left at 9:30 with 6 hours of driving based on the GPS. By 10:30 we stop for a washroom. By noon we stop again for a washroom and lunch. Back on the road at just before 1 and stop at 1:30pm for washroom and a Starbucks. Stop at 2:30 again as I needed to expel the Starbucks. Here we stop at a Pilot Truck stop. My wife advises it is the smelliest washroom she has ever encountered. SO bad she almost threw up. Yet my 7 year old used it just fine, so I think she exaggerated. At 4pm we stop again for a washroom break. This time a Dairy Queen and the kids get an ice cream. So if you were paying attention, left at 9:30am with 6 hours drive time by GPS. So we should have arrived by 3:30. Well, GPS says we are still two hours out.

At this point, 4pm on Monday afternoon, I declare that there will be no more stops until we get where we are going. We finally pull into Jacksonville at 6:30 after facing traffic in Jacksonville. I promptly ran to the washroom, we had dinner and went to bed.

Spent this morning today at Micklers Beach. It was awesome. Hot, sunny, great water, not a big surf. The kids had a blast and we saw at least 5 or 6 stingray breaches and countless fish jumping out of the water. We left at about 1pm when someone else says they saw a shark. I saw the same thing and personally believe it was a stingray on its side, but we were all pooped that it was a good excuse to get the kids out of the sun. THey are now showered and waiting for dinner. Probably an early night tonight.

Now our plan was to stay here for another night, but the family (in other words, everyone but me) advise that they want to go to Clearwater to see Winter the Dolphin. So here goes another 3.5 hours driving and a stay in Clearwater. on the road at 7am tomorrow so we can spend time there before getting up early Thursday for our reservation at AKL. I'm so happy we drove <sarcasm>.