Driving from NJ am I nuts???

[JenSop]

It's Horrible!!! I was re-living it a few months ago when I FINALLY finished my Trip Report from our Disney trip in June. Seriously, I hated it. And then I hated the way back even more. (There's a link to my trip report in my signature at the bottom of my post...)

We are in PA - south of Allentown. And we did it STRAIGHT through, taking turns driving.

Now DH is pushing to do the drive again for this summer's trip. I think he is insane and I REALLY want to fly. We did save money, as Honda Fits get 40mpg highway. I think total gas all together was $250. That was the only upside. You get down there and feel like you have jetlag for two days. blah.

So, yeah, I guess I have a strong opinion on this, don't I?

 

[sharadoc]

There is a great thread to read here: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1655918

We are devotees of driving to Disney. There are a few key things to remember:
-You are going to be driving for a while. Don't expect it go by quickly, just take the time and enjoy the downtime with your family.
-Bring along music that you haven't listened to in a while - it makes it fun.
-Make sure your kids have plenty of entertainment.
-Get good maps and an I-95 Exit Guide. You can follow along and plan stops, rest areas, gas, etc. Join AAA if you don't belong already.
-95 is a very easy drive - straight and pretty well paved once you leave Virginia.
-We drive a Grand Caravan and it's very comfortable. We only have 2 kids, so we put one of the back seats in the floor to free up space for food and drinks that everyone can reach.
-Don't get excited when you exit 95 onto I-4. You still have a couple hours to go!!!

We have found stopping around Walterboro SC works great for us. We can get up the next morning and only drive around 5 hours and be at Disney.

We have been able to do the drive for around $400, including hotels in both directions. Without A/C, we got close to 30 MPG in February, so we only used 2 plus tanks of gas (used up the 3rd tank driving around disney world)

If you go into it with the right attitude, you'll enjoy it. It sounds like you really want to do it, so I say go for it. Come join us on the 2000+ mile thread and see the positive side of driving!!!

 

[dxander]

We'll be crazy together! LOL! We're driving down next week.

Dh and I did the drive 9 years ago before kids. Now we're going with a 4 and 5 year old. We're leaving in the middle of the night, so the boys will be sleeping most of the time. Every 4 hours we plan on switching drivers. We'll drive down as far as we can and then stay in a hotel for the night.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[Wonderdis]

Believe it or not ... I know someone who drives from Toronto, Canada to Sarasota, FL straight (with a few hours naps in between) on 1 driver alone.

But he seem to enjoy it ...... I also have to mention that he is only on a 1 week vacation in total.

 

[dxander]

Believe it or not ... I know someone who drives from Toronto, Canada to Sarasota, FL straight (with a few hours naps in between) on 1 driver alone.

But he seem to enjoy it ...... I also have to mention that he is only on a 1 week vacation in total.

Whoa!

 

[Suzyq9241]

We always drive... Unless we find great airfare... Like a couple of years ago... But anyway.. I live in jersey... By the jersey shore and the drive is not as bad as people think..we leave at around 400 am...we drive 9 hours 1 day and around 6 or 7 the next day... We stay in different areas...on the way down we stay around south of the boarder.... And the way back we stay in elkton va... There is a nice holiday inn.. New... We like it ... Very clean...across the street is an eatery....good food..

 

[DisneyMomx7]

We drove from NJ for the first time last year. I was so nervous thinking how it would be with three kids. It was great!

We left around 9:00 at night and drove straight through. We didn't arrive at Disney until about 3:00 the next afternoon. I booked a room at the Buena Vista Palace and Spa in DTD for that night. It was nice. We swam and relaxed after the long rip, walked over to RFC in DTD for dinner and then got up bright and early the next morning and checked into BC in time for breakfast in the CL lounge!

On the way home we did a side trip and stopped in Hilton Head for 5 days.

We liked it so much that we're doing it the same way this year.

 

[theterms]

We used to do it all the time when the kids were little. We're in NW NJ - we'd leave about 10-11pm and get to WDW around 3pm - stops for gas, dog walking (when we brought one), bathroom breaks and breakfast. The kids slept most of the time. The more we did it, the later the breakfast stop became. We had the DVD player, hubby hooked up the X-box or Playstation, I had my laptop, books, magazines, puzzle books.... lots to do. I like driving, but I also like flying. If airfare is too high, then drive it is.

One year we rented an SUV from Budget to save wear & tear on our own truck, as soon as we got on I95 the thing DIED! We waited for hours for the replacement, had to transfer everything + the dog to the new SUV and off we went. When we got back and returned the truck, I told them what happened (very nicely) and they took almost 1/2 off and I ended up paying like $188 for a 10day rental.

 

[3princesses+aprince]

I think if it's something you want to do, then go for it! You only live once, right. If it doesn't work well for your family, then you know not to do it again. But I bet your kids will remember it forever! If it went horribly wrong, they'll hopefully laugh about it later on.

We're coming from MA and are debating the drive to Disney in September!!! Dh, isn't too sure about it. I'm afraid of the long boring drive home. But we're still considering it. I think it will be quite the experience!

 

[916chipndale]

you are not nuts i also live in NJ in the central part new jersey in middlesex county the drive takes about 18 hours. my family usually leaves at 3 in the morning drives all the way down and we usually stop overnight in jacksonville. we then leave around 8 or 9 and arive at disney at 1, driving down is really fun nd you get to see all the states.

 

[OrlandoHelp]

We live in Northern NJ and drove strait through last year. We left around 8pm and arrived around 4pm. It was a very long night and when we reach Disney we were all so tired we ate and went to sleep.

This year (next week), we will be stopping on the way down. I would rather arrive fresh and enjoy my first evening at Disney.

We plan to leave around 4pm and hopefully make it into NC before we stop for the night.

I say go for it, it really isn't that bad!

 

[dantedisney]

We did it last year (MA to FL)... there are 4 of us in my wife's MDX (which has rear DVD). We left MA Friday night and stopped at Savannah, GA Saturday night. Drove the rest of the way Sunday and we were in Orlando by 2pm.

On the way back, we had a mini-vacation at Washington DC.

We will probably drive again this year (in July)... I'm already looking forward to it.

 

[cburek]

leaving in 2 days and this time just me and the kids driving down from South Jersey. We drive every year and have for the last 15 years. Love to drive, used to fly but just cant. A few times we have taken the Auto train back and that was nice but pricey. This time I plan to leave around 5a and stop in Savannah. Last year during the summer we did this and it was about 12 hours to Savannah with the stops for gas bathroom,eating etc. from there only about another 4 hours the next morning.We have left the night before and drove overnight. We like to drive Its not for everyone but we are used to it. Have a great trip and questions PM

 

[uva185]

I did a car trip from DC to Miami...then onwards to Key West and it was without a doubt one of the most miserable trip experiences I have had....and I didn't even do most of the driving. Coming back was 10x worse! Next time I would either fly or not go at all.

 

[pmdeve]

I am in Deptford. We drive down every year. First we pick up my daughter and grandchildren in Virginia and stop in Georgia for the night. We are up very early the next morning and arrive in Disney around 12:00. We have a DVD player and the kids like to play travel games. Although it is a long ride, we enjoy it, and because there are 5 of us, we save a lot of $.

 

[patclairesmom]

I say Go For It! The money you save is well worth it. We're going to be returning from a 20 hour drive from NJ to Sanibel Island. Can't wait to do the quick 16 hour trip to Disney World next year.

 

[emlutz23]

We drive from NJ all the time. We do stop in Pooler Ga at a really nice Sleep Inn on the first night. We then get up, have a free breakfast, and make it to Disney by lunch. We usually make it in 16 hours and we do not speed. The roads are great especially after you pass Richmond. We start out early and always make Pooler for dinner. We do not have really small children but I think a DVD player in the back seat would work well. I say go for the "Road Trip". It is a good way to get to know your kids.

This is so funny because we are driving down for the first time in Aug and I aready have a reservation at the same Sleep Inn you are talking about! I figured the Savannah area would be a good stop and wanted to stay cheap since all we need to do is sleep and eat the next morning. Glad to know ahead of our arrival that it's a nice hotel!

 

[M5ward]

We drove down (from South Jersey) once when our kids were little..it was an adventure; this was before DVD players so books, coloring books, and a walkman (dating myself here) were the entertainment. We drove straight through..about 17 hours..leaving home about 10:00 pm. Now the kids are grown (where did the time go?) and there's certainly no adventure in driving all night when we're yawning by 9:00 on a good night. We live about twenty minutes from Atlantic City Airport, and flight fares are usually not too bad, so we fly down now (even though I hate to fly and my Xanax isn't working so well anymore.)

 

[abline]

We had every intention on driving until we got a great flight from Spirit Airlines from ACY for $30.00 per flight with the $9.00 club. I had to book it. It would cost us more to drive. They did hit me up for $19.00 bag fee per flight but still $49.00 per flight is still a bargain.

 

[Nancy F]

You've got to be close to me. I'm in sicklerville NJ and we drive all the time.
We leave around 4:00 am in the morning. I want to be well pass DC/Virginia traffic for Rush hour. After Virginia the driving is really easy.
We stop at the Georgia/Florida line. the Brunswich Ga exit. It has lots of inexpensive motels right off 95. We usually pull in around 7:00 pm (and that's with a 1 nice meal stop and a few quick refuel stops) enjoy a nice dinner/rest and then get up early to finish our drive.

We're in Sewell NJ

Nancy