Driving from Nebraska to WDW - anyone?

[disneygrandma]

Hi, we're thinking of driving this trip. Does anyone have any experience with it? If so, how long did it take and which route did you drive? What about winter trips?

There are so many posts about people driving down from the East Coast, but I'm hoping to find some one from Nebraska or the Dakotas. Maybe from Kansas City? Anyone?

We could sure use some input on this. Thanks!

 

[Dreisewerd]

We have driven from St. Louis to Disney on several occasions. KC is about 3.5 hours away. The drive isn't too bad, We last drove this in August 2008 with a 9 and 5 year old. They are really quite good in the car especially with a DVD player.
The drive varies between 16 and 18 hours depending on how often you stop and for how long. The last two times we have made it in 16 hours which is driving about 9 over the limit and gas stops every 5-6 hours with a rest stop or two in-between. We have gotten pretty efficient. I drop the kids and my parents and wife off at a fast food restaurant while I get gas. I get my food and we are back on the road.

From St. Louis we take I-64 to I-57 to I-24 to I-75 Florida Turnpike and then SR-429 Toll into Disney.

We did drive it in January /February of 2004. It snowed a couple of inches in Illinois and then in Tennessee and Kentucky on the way home. Both added a few hours and some tension to the van, but it wasn’t awful.

If you drive through St. Louis in 2009 watch it I-64 is CLOSED for reconstruction. Take I-70 or take I-270/I-255 around.

 

[svalencia1]

If you drive through St. Louis in 2009 watch it I-64 is CLOSED for reconstruction. Take I-70 or take I-270/I-255 around.

Thanks for the heads up. We are driving from KC to WDW in June. I think the best thing for us to do is just stay on I-70.

 

[disneygrandma]

Thanks for the info, Dreisewerd. Do you drive straight thru, or stop somewhere? If you have stopped, I was wondering where. Any suggestions of where to stay? (or places NOT to stay)

Thanks again!

 

[Dreisewerd]

I have always driven straight through. We have left St. Louis about 4:00pm and arrived at 10:00 am. It was rough for the driver (MOSTLY ME) to stay awake between 3:00am and 6:00am. No we pretty much always leave about 3:00am and arrive sometime before 10:00pm don't forget the time change. My parents have driven several times and they always stop just south of Atlanta. I don't like getting the kids and luggage out of the car. Its rough getting everyone back in the car. Sorry for the typos I am on my phone and I all thumbs.
We always play games in the car like I am thinking of a ride/show at Disney. The portable DVD player is a must if you have kids going.

 

[DISFANSTHREE]

We have made the big drive several times from SW MO. 18-20 hours. WE go Spfd-Memphis- Nashville- Atalanta-WDW.. If we have 2 weeks we drive, if just one we fly. Also need to factor in price of gas, hotels, food,time VS fly..

 

[Dreisewerd]

I agree about comparing all the prices, Disney is making flying much more competative with Magical Express. That is another reason we drive straight through, (Nebraska is probably a little far to do that) The only thing I can advise for hotels is use Trip Advisor (hope I can say this on here)

 

[NavyDotz]

 

[disneygrandma]

We're thinking that our gas for driving will be a little less than what it would cost to rent a van in Florida. (We always rent a van or car for our trips off property. Plus we would rather drive ourselves to the parks each day.) So then it comes down to the hotel cost versus the plane fare. Also, we don't have any options for non-stop flights from our area. Not looking forward to changing planes, going thru security, etc. Our thinking is that it will take us longer to get there, but in the long run it might be less stressful. ???

We're about a 6 1/2 hr drive out of St Louis. So I guess we're looking at about 24 hrs for our drive. That's what I was thinking it would be before posting this question. I was really hoping to be proved wrong and find out it would be much shorter.

When I looked at the map earlier, it seemed like the area around Chattanooga was mountains. If so, we wouldn't want to drive that stretch in the dark. (Not only because of safety reasons, but also in order to see the scenery there.) Am I correct about there being mountains in this region? If so, how long does it take you driving from St Louis before you get to the mountainous area? If we wanted to stop before getting to Chattanooga, what city would you suggest?

Thanks again.

 

[Megan07]

Hello fellow Nebraskan.

When are you going to Disney? I'm going in June but we're flying. I don't think I could drive from Nebraska to Disney..it's too long. In case you might be interested in flying. Download Ding! from southwest airlines if flying out of omaha is reasonable to you. I wish there was nonstop flights to disney but there isn't. I'm connecting through chicago midway and I'm not concerned because I have so much faith in southwest.

Happy Travels!

 

[oberjen]

We are driving from KC in June also.

 

[disneygrandma]

Our next trip will be the end of November - first of December, which is why I'm worried about driving thru some sections. But at the same time, I don't want to have to change planes, especially in Chicago, during the winter. On our last winter trip, our SW flight coming home was cancelled.....but not until we got to the airport. Some time later they were able to get us to St Louis and then we had to find another flight once we arrived there. We do fly out of Omaha, and try to get the SW flights that stop, but don't change planes. We have also driven to KC & then took Midwest non-stop. Sadly, those days are over.

I do have Ding, but it seems like the prices I've been seeing are much higher than in the past.

We're still a long ways out, and considering all options, but we're leaning more & more towards driving. Atleast that way I don't have to worry about the liquids I pack, how many bags we take, whether the airline has changed our flight times or switched us to a smaller commuter plane, or being stuck in an airport because of weather cancellations in some other city. We'll still have to worry about the weather, either way, but atleast with driving it will only be in the areas we travel through. Dollar-wise it looks like driving is a little bit cheaper, and if we're delayed driving due to the weather it could end up costing the same.

Thanks everyone for all your suggestions and advice. I am still wondering about driving thru mountains if that's what's around Chattanooga. Once we get all the facts on driving we'll be able to make a more firm decision. Afterall, I have to do some planning since we have a long way to go before our 90 day window for ADR's!

Thanks again!

 

[DISFANSTHREE]

WE fly SW from KCI to Orlando, non stop all the time. Might check into that..

 

[disneygrandma]

I realize there are still nonstop flights from KC, however it is the Midwest flights that we sadly miss. Once you've flown Midwest, no other airline can compare. Years ago they had flown nonstop from Omaha. We loved that!

We've also looked at the Airtran nonstop flights from KC. Does anyone have experience with Airtran from KC?

 

[Folklore]

We drove from Iowa last Sept/Oct. I did the price comparision for us flying out of Omaha or KCI and it was cheaper for us to drive since we wanted to drive ourselves to and from the parks.

I didn't think the roads in TN were too bad. They are a little narrow and wind around but if you are a little cautious you should be fine.

Having flown once and driven once we did make the decision that we will be driving down from now on. We love road trips and it was so much better having our own vehicle down there.

 

[MOmousefan]

Driving to WDW from central Missouri is an adventure I enjoy greatly. My son and I did this in early December and drove straight through in 18 hours. We took the I44-St.Louis-I64-I57-I24-I75-SR429 route to the World. Disneygrandma makes a good point about driving through the mountains in Tennessee. This is some of the most beautiful country I have seen. We left home at 3:00PM and drove most of the trip in the dark. There wasn’t much traffic, but there isn’t much to see.
If you travel on I44, there is now a bypass around St.Louis. Take I270 East which turns into I255. I255 will go north and connect with I64 in Illinois. It saves a lot of time and tension.
My son is 22YO and did most of the driving so I enjoyed the ride. It is also nice to have a car at WDW to go to the Outlet Mall and WalMart. We did not use the car to go to any parks as the transportation works for us.
Nashville and Atlanta were the biggest traffic jams we encountered coming home as it was a Saturday around noon in Atlanta.
I will drive down again for the next visit to Mickey and it will also be non-stop.

 

[oberjen]

We are driving from KC in June and making it a 2 day drive. We are going to be staying just south of Nashville on the first night and then staying in Orlando on the second night. There are 5 of us so it is going to be cheaper to drive then fly.