Driving From New York To Orlando: Help!!!

[Nana Sue]

We too live in CT so are a little farther from Orlando than you are. We are retired and usually drive down every year so we can take strollers etc. for our grandchildren. Also that way there is a car at OKW to do the airport runs. We leave later in the morning to avoid the NY traffic and drive as far as Chester, VA. Chester has several motels including the Fairfield Inn right off the exit and a lot of restaurants. The second day we drive as far as Jacksonville, FL. Jacksonville is about 2 1/2 to 3 hours from Orlando and is a great second stop so that we can check into OKW early the third day. As we usually fly everywhere else we enjoy the trip down to FL every year and look forward to going.

 

[dcbrown]

I will be heading down to Old Key West just after Christmas this year. Here's my plan.

*start out at 3am ....kids in sweats/pj's asleep in the car....wake them around 9am to do a "Cracker Barrel" breakfast.
* Back in the car and drive till about 3pm...should put us somewhere in SC. Stay in a I95 hotel.
*Back up (not too early) and head to WDW to get there by check-in time.
*We have res for a 1 bedroom but will stay in a studio the first night to save pts as it is a Sat. (and my 50th )
*Go to Dinner at the "California Grill" to celebrate. Do not need park passes.
*Next morn, leave bags for front desk to transfer to our 1 bedroom while we spend day at parks.

Hope my plan is not tooo bold and flys like I want it to....esp the celebrating part!

DCBrown

 

[Snowgod]

We have hit bad traffic in NYC and DC at all hours of the day or night. Last trip we caught the drawbridge up on the DC beltway and night time is when construction crews are out. I95 in GA always seems to be under construction and traffic can be found at all hours. Last trip the GA state police were chasing someone from south to north and traffic was stopped in both directions. Not much you can do but remember that you will soon be at WDW.

 

[NJmouse]

The last time we drove was in 2000. We left on a Sat morn at 4:30 am from South Jersey (approx 30 miles east of Philly). stopped at 6 am at the Maryland House reststop for about 10 mins. I kept a journel of where we were at certain times. We drove through Fedrichsburg, Va at 8 am then Petersburg, Va at 9am stopped for gas around there. Started back again at 9:30 drove through VA/NC border at 10:15. Stopped at exit 124 for ARBY's for lunch, I don't remeber if we stayed there or kept on driving. Next we stopped at exit 68 for Gas & rest in Walterboro, SC at 2:50 pm. Got back on road at 3:12 arrived at FL Visitor Center at 5:45pm Most of the things were closed (free orange juice) just stopped to goooo. On the road again in 5 mins. Stopped at exit 94 at 7pm in St. Augustine FL at the Comfort INN for the night. We ate at the Applebees approx 5 miles away.
Sunday Morn at 7 am we were on the road again and arrived at Mary Queen of the Universe Shrine at 8:35 am in time for Mass. We are debating wether or not to drive this year. We have been flying. Just thinking of a change. and use www.usastar.com it is a terrific website!

 

[New York Minnie]

Thanks for the I95 website info. It has really been informative.

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

Here's a question...

Have any Atlantic/New Englander coaster's tried taking I-81 to I-85 to I-75 cutting over to Orlando on some state highway? If you did how did it work out for you? This is the way we go to Atlanta...the advantage of this route over I-95 to I-85 is that you mess the Baltimore-Washington megalopolis as well as Richmond. But I wonder what the sacrifice is timewise?

...Never mind...I just checked this on mapquest and its an extra 200 miles (call it 3/3.5 hours). I've only encountered a couple of traffic jams that would have made this route a decent alternative.

 

[nezy]

We always drive. the past couple of times we have started out in the evening from Rockland County and driven to around Fresricksburg, Va. there is a nice Comfort Inn/Suites off of I-95. Get up the next morning-not too early, and drive to South of Jacksonville, another Comfort Inn/Suites.
We then get up and continue to WDW-OKW. This works well for us as my DH does most of the driving while I keep the 3 kids occupied and snacks and drinks flowing for all. We also bring a TV-VCR for the car, but do not put it on until we have been driving for several hours.


In Feb. for Pres. week break we are going to try the autotrain. I got a rate of $1033 for a mini-van and a family of 5. Not that much different than flights for 5, but we will have the car.

Good Luck!

 

[nezy]

Where is Mary Queen of the Universe? Do you know the mass schedule?

Another suggestion is to stop en-route at a picnic spot in SC or NC(south). There is usually alot of space for the kids to run around. We bring a ball and have a catch. I bring lunch food and we have a picnic. Saves money of going to a restaurant and the family really gets to move around rather than sitting down to eat. It also is the first sign of warmer weather, especially if coming from the northeast in Feb.!! BBrrrrr!!

 

[Habs_Fan]

I just wanted to add...

We are from montreal.. We have made the trip to Orlando 3 times in the last 8 years.

I just saw last week in the local news paper, a writer just wrote a book on every exit on the trip from here to florida....

Let me see if I can find the name or a resource for you guys..

I looked like a great investment, with info of gas stops, hotels and food places as well.

Be Back if I can find it.

Glen

 

[PamOKW]

Originally posted by nezy
Where is Mary Queen of the Universe? Do you know the mass schedule?

This is very close to DD/Crossroads Shopping and right next to the Premium Outlets.

Take Hotel Plaza and, instead of going straight into the Crossroads/Gooding's Shopping Center, turn right. Go under the highway and at the light turn left into Little Lake Byran. Follow the road and it will take you right to the Shrine.

Here's the website which gives more info and the Mass schedule.

Mary, Queen of the Universe

 

[trainfun]

We're also from Long Island and have made the trip at least 10 times.

We find that a 3 AM departure will get you just south of DC by 8:30 AM. You will have no problems in NY. We use the Southern State/Belt/Verrazzano/West Shore Expwy/Outerbridge to NJ Tpke.

If you go west on the beltway rather than east, you will avoid the infamous Wilson bridge and the exit onto I-95 from the beltway is easier.

Use I-295 to bypass Richmond. Keep close to the speed limit there are unmarked cars, but the traffic is minimal.

We usually stop in Lumberton, NC, which is 20 miles north of the border with SC. There's a Comfort Suites there which is decent. Tons of fast food, too.

From Lumberton it is about 8-9 hours to Disney depending on traffic and weather. If you leave at 6 AM, you'll be there by 2-3 PM. If you don't mind driving in pitch dark and occasionally, fog, you can leave at 4 AM for a noon arrival.

Going home, you may find that you will hit DC near rush hour. If that will happen, we get off I-95, take 301 to the Potomac River Bridge, to Route 3 to I-97 to I-695 to the Key bridge and rejoin I-95 north of Baltimore. This route has lights, but is usually much better than sitting on I-95 going nowhere.

Have a great trip. The biggest mistake we made was trying to do too much. It is not a bad idea to just lay by the pool after arrival, relax and then wake up refreshed and ready to go the next day. Especially with little kids some down time in the pool after arrival provides physical activity without the overstimulation of immediately jumping into the parks which can result in exhausted overtired kids and short tempers. You have to know yourself and your kids and make the choices you think will work best for you.

 

[Habs_Fan]

Here is the link to the book I was talking about earlier.

Hope this helps some:

www.drivei95.com

 

[Bill & Deb]

We drive down offten from eastern long Island. After many trips we have found this to work best for us. We leave at 8:30 am after the traffic. We pass Washington about 2:00 to 3:00 very little traffic. About 5:00 we take the bypass around Richmond VA. and head down the 95 to Walterboro SC. Exit 58 or 57 we arrive about 10:30pm. There is a new Sleep Inn King size bed about $55. there is a Cracker Barrell the next exit for breakfast. The next day we pull into Disney about 3:00 for check in. The Sleep Inn direct # for the best rate is 843-539-1199

We stop at as we fell and have time out for lunch and dinner we set the cruse control at 70 mph

pm us if we can give more info Happy Travels

 

[New York Minnie]

thanks for that link to Idrive95. I'll be checking it out to see if the book seems worthwhile. Once again thanks for all of your help. I'm actually beginning to look forward to the drive.

 

[buzz5985]

Originally posted by goofy4tink
Great info here!! We're also doing this for the first time this coming August. We plan on leaving Ma around 4 a.m. on a Sat. Drive to Rocky Mount N.C., sleep and then hit the road early Sunday morning, getting to WDW late afternoon. We'll be stopping in Williamsburg on the way back for 2 days. My question for all you experienced travelers....what traffic can we expect in NYC and DC on Sat mornings? I imagine we would be getting to NYC around 8-9ish and to DC around noon. Will this be bad?
Anyone use any particular motels in Rocky Mount? Seems to be a very popular 1/2 way mark! I know we'll be checking in and using points for Sunday but the usage for Sunday isn't too bad. Thanks for any thoughts you all may have.

This is exactly what we did last February 2002. WE HIT NO TRAFFIC. Or what I consider traffic (I drive into Boston during Rush hour). We were the only car on the Mass Pike heading West. I left Wakefield at exactly 4 am. We stopped about every 2 hours for Bathroom breaks (10 minutes, we had our dog). Hit NY 8 am, DC around noon, checked into the Red Roof Inn in Rocky Mount NC at 4:30 pm. All I can say is it allowed pets, and was cheap. There were stains on the rugs. But there were tons of hotels, and all looked fairly new. But - Rocky Mount is 10 - 15 minutes off of 95. But it also has all the restaurants. We just had a pizza, watched TV and went to bed. Up and out the door at 5 am, checked in at the ASMo at 2:30. We hit more traffic around Orlando than anywhere. I kept up with the traffic - averaged 70 - 75 mph. Slower through GA.

 

[vogel642]

my family and i have been traveling down 95 since 1996 to myrtle beach every year. it wasnt until feb of 02 that we started driving down to disney world. i havent read every reply to your post but the concensus seems to be drive about half way and then stop. i think that is a bad idea. we are driving from upstate ny and usually make the trip in about 18 hrs, give or take an hour. we get onto exit 23 of the new york state thruway at 5pm and drive until we get into new jersey, exit 3 of the new jersey turnpike, and get something to eat. we get our 2 kids, ages 3 and 11 soon to be three, settled for the overnight trip put a movie on for them and the only time we stop is for fuel and bathroom breaks.
i find that leaving in the evening we avoid most all traffic. the only time i have run into traffic is when we get into florida, mainly 1-4. you would be amazed how much ground you can cover over night. there is much less traffic and if you can handle it it is a much smoother ride.

 

[nezy]

For traffic in the NY area listen to 1010 WINS every ten minutes on the "ones"-1010 am radio dial, and Newsradio 88-880 AM every ten minutes on the "8's". The traffic is hit or miss in NY as anyohter place-depending on construction, sporting events or weather.

Many people drive straight through. We couldn't do that.
Go at your own pace. I like to get into the WDW area as early in the day as possible, so I rather spend the night in a hotel not far from Disney the night before.

 

[Cyndiu]

We like to stop because if we drive straight through we're just exhausted upon arrival and want to do nothing. If we stop and get back on the road nice and early, then we arrive in Orlando early in the day and we have the energy to do something, like Seaworld. We just consider the stay at Holiday Inn as part of our vacation.