Driving From New England - HELP!!

[DNBois]

My husband and I always either fly or take the train down to Disney but decided to save a few extra dollars so we are going to drive down. How good or bad is it? We need some serious help with planning - any help is much appreciated.
-How long does it take you to drive?
-How many people switch off driving duties?
-Where do you stop for the night or grab some grub?
-About how long does it take you to get there?
Any advice is much appreciated

 

[capegirl]

We drive from Massachusetts all the time. We hit the road at 4am, take a quick bathroom break at the last rest stop in Connecticut, then stop for a quick breakfast on the NJ Turnpike. We don't make another stop until we've passed through the DC area, then we'll stop for lunch in Virginia. We always spend the night in North Carolina...then hit the road around 5am. We try to stop at all the major rest areas to get out and stretch, and grab a snack...this really makes a big difference. With this routine we usually arrive at WDW in the afternoon. It is not a good idea to drive straight through...it is not only dangerous, but it will take you 2 days to recover. If you can travel on a weekend, the traffic will be alot lighter.

 

[travel with kids]

Originally posted by DNBois
My husband and I always either fly or take the train down to Disney but decided to save a few extra dollars so we are going to drive down. How good or bad is it? We need some serious help with planning - any help is much appreciated.
-How long does it take you to drive?

We drive every year from ME to FL (last year we drove President's weekend in the blizzard!! ). It takes us 25 hours (but that is from ME). We usually leave very early--3 to 4 am. Like Capegirl, driving on the weekends is much easier.

-How many people switch off driving duties?

Only my dh and I drive. Dh does most of the driving. Works much better this way for a happy, healthly vacation and marriage.

We stop around every four hours.

-Where do you stop for the night or grab some grub?
-About how long does it take you to get there?
Any advice is much appreciated

We stop in Fredericksburg, VA It takes us about 12 to 13 hours (again, from ME). The next day we do not leave the hotel unitl 8 ish (after breakfast) and we do not get to Orlando unitl 9 to 10 pm.

It is not THAT bad. It is always worse thniking about it, then actually doing it. However, this is from the person who does the least amount of driving. If you like to drive and your travelers like to drive, then it probably will not be that bad.

We have a mind set that we are not DRIVING to our vacation, but as soon as we walk out of the house, lock the doors and climb into our minivan, WE ARE ON VACATION. Hence the reason we do not push ourselves to drive straight through. We are content to have all the members of the family together.

some tips: AAA www.aaa.com website has a trip tik (sp?) on line that you can download. Do this a few days before you leave (for the latest updates on road construction, open or closed rest stops, etc.)

http://www.usastar.com/i95/homepage.htm --this too will give you road construction, restraunt and hotel infor

http://www.roomsaver.com -- this is a web site that has hotel (from 4 star to no star) coupons. They are arranged by highway # and town in each state.


Good luck!!.............Lee

 

[magsmom]

We drove last August - 2 1/2 week trip. My parents live in SC (and we have made the trip there numerous times) so we started from MA at 2 or 3 in the morning - the day after the Northeast Blackout! ... We stopped in NJ for breakfast, refilled the car in Maryland and Northern VA, Fredericksburg for lunch and made it to SC around 6 PM or so. SC (17-18 hours) is about as far as we would go in one day.

It's basically a piece of cake after DC.

When we drove from SC to FL, we decided to take a side trip and drive from Jacksonville to Daytona on A1A (shore route!).

DH and I would switch driving every 200 miles or so.

When we drove back (Sunday-Monday of Labor Day, 24 hours of driving total) we stayed in Emporia VA, which is just about 1/2 way. Basically I call this just a place to crash.

Driving is a great way to see how BIG this country is. The more time you have the more you can see. I agree with travel with kids - the vacation has a totally different feel when driving. Only thing is that the trip back can be a big letdown.

I would definitely do it again.

 

[ebhurleys]

Last trip we left MA at 6:30 pm. Our stops probably averaged around every 4 hours or so. DH and I trade off driving. The kids slept the whole first half of the trip. We got into Disney around 6:00 pm ate some dinner walked around with the kids and got to sleep early. The next morning everyone was awake and refreshed.