Driving From NJ question

[HookedOnDiz]

We will be driving down from NJ next month and I was wondering if any of you who have done the drive from this area have any tips on the best time to leave... we will be driving straight thru and won't be stopping except for fuel, food, and bathroom breaks. At this point I am thinkink about leaving about 7pm so we can drive all night and make it to our hotel around noon. Is this a good idea?

 

[Dana30]

Hi There!

we are from tinton falls and we are driving down next month too.

If you are going to go straight thru, 7pm is a good time to leave. We are driving to Savannah the first day and then to Disney the Second.

We are leaving on the 22nd!

BE safe!

Dana

 

[disneychic]

Hey all of us Jersey Shore people are on here! I'm from Sea Bright, and we're going Sept. 1st -14th!! But, this time we are not driving. We did however drive last September and again this past March. On our September trip, we left at 6 AM and drove to Hilton Head, stayed at Disney's HIlton Head resort for 2 days and then continued on to Disney. This past March, we drove again and left at around 7PM and again stayed at Disney's Hilton Head resort for 2 days (we're DVC members so it's a great chance for us to stay there) Anyway, I much prefered the drive in September when we left early in the morning. The drive just seemed so much longer at night for some reason. Even though we were well rested for the drive, we still felt really tired in the wee hours of the morning. Also, there seemed to be alot of people on the road who were not driving too safely at like 2 or 3 AM when we were driving through NC. Alot of swirving, drifting in and out of lanes - please pull over if you get that tired. It's just not worth losing your life trying to get there without stopping if you have to. Have a safe trip!

 

[crs7568]

We drive from New York every year much to my husband's dismay. I hate to fly so it is our only option. We leave at 6 pm and drive straight through with the exception of stopping for breakfast. It works great with children because they are sleeping for the vast majority of the trip. (Very important when one of those children is only 18 months old.) We try to take turns sleeping so that there is always a safe driver. It is really not that bad. We are going again in August and we just went in March. Have a great vacation.

 

[lisaost]

We are leaving at 5am, driving to South Carolina and stopping for the night around dinnertime. Then leaving the next morning around 7am arriving in ORlando late afternoon. I don't think driving straight through from this far away is safe. People get tired and their reflexes get weary and their driving becomes more dangerous. Once you get to the hotel at noon it will be too early to check in and you'll be too tired to do anything that day anyhow so the time saved by driving straight through is lost.

Good luck, and if you get tired, please be prepared to stop!

 

[cindala]

We drove from NJ 5 straight years, and IMHO, the worst obstacle, is getting past DC at a reasonable hour. The morning rush (6-8:30am), and evening commute (4:30-7pm), can be awful! Just time it so that you are through DC before or after these times.

Just keep awake AND alert!

 

[sgtpet]

I drove at night. Our son is young so it helped that he slept at night. Make sure you get your rest. There were many cars pulled over on the side of the road during the 3 am to 6 am timeframe.

Good luck

 

[lazarru]

What is the total drive time that people have had. We're going down in December, leaving from the shore. Still trying to decide what time we will leave. What is the total drive time that people have experienced?

Thanks

 

[susy]

We drove down from NJ every year when I was little and remember stopping in South Carolina over night. This worked best. As Lisa said, if you don't stop , you may arrive at WDW at a time when your room might not be ready and you will be completely exhausted. It's not really fair to put someone else's (on the road) life in danger if you become too tired to drive safely.

 

[BethC1952]

Hey, all you Jersey Shore people--

Can I go in your suitcase? I seem to be the only one who has to wait until December! But then, I'll see the holiday decorations and you won't, so maybe it's worth the wait!

Beth in Long Branch

 

[MelanieC]

The last time we drove we left at 9:30pm. We got to WDW around 3pm. This year we are going to be leaving right after work at approx. 6pm. We live about an hour outside Philadelphia in Pennsylvania. I drive first while my husband sleeps, then once I get tired he takes over. After I sleep, we switch again. I try to make it into Virginia at least before he takes over. Its not that bad. DH hates driving. I myself would prefer to get on a plane and be in Orlando before we hit Baltimore........but at least I get to go!!

Hope this helps.
Melanie

 

[LUVMICKEY]

wife and I make the drive every year from Cumberland County. We normally leave around 5:00-5:30 am and drive all day until dinner time. We'll stay the night, leave early am again and pull into Disney mid afternoon. There are a few stretch breaks along the way to help stay alert. We find that by taking that one evening break makes for more engry upon arrival and we can enjoy the afternoon and evening in Disney.

Have a safe trip, and remember to pull over and take a break as you get tired.

 

[Dopey Sharon]

We are from South Jersey, about 20-25 minutes from Philly. It took us about 16, 17 hours to drive straight through. Wouldn't do it again...then again, I don't like driving more than 3 hours!

 

[welovemickey]

We drive every year from the Boston area. We leave around 2pm and I drive until around 11pm then DH takes over. We usually arrive at FW by lunchtime. The drive isn't too bad, just make sure you switch off.

 

[emmagata]

Originally posted by lazarru
What is the total drive time that people have had. We're going down in December, leaving from the shore. Still trying to decide what time we will leave. What is the total drive time that people have experienced?

Thanks

A good number of years ago a friends brother and I drove straight through from the Bucks County PA area to Deltona FL (still about an hour north of WDW) in about 16.5 hours. It was a little over 1000 miles.

We left about 7pm and arived just around noon the next day.

Then we partied at Daytona Beach!!!

 

[jx3smom]

We leave around 2 am if possible. It's great. We miss all of the Philly and DC traffic. DH loves driving when we are all asleep and he can listen to sprots radio. We arrive in Fl in early evening. I hate when we have to leave in the afternoon but sometimes that can't be helped. That is when we take Rt 301 to avoid the DC traffic. We pick up 95 in VA. We have been to WDW 11 times and have only flown twice.

 

[treesinger]

I drive from North Delaware (right off I-95, make sure you wave when you go by!).
Last trip, we left around noon. My wife was pregnant (still is) and my little girl was 14 months old. We stopped twice for 30 minutes to eat and took a few extra potty breaks. It sounds like lollygagging to the hardcore drivers on the board, but it isn't like stopping at Cracker Barrel for an hour and a half.

ANYWAY...

We got to the first rest area in Fl. about 1 AM when I just dropped dead. We slept there about three hours then got going again. We got to Disney about 7 AM and didn't get to check in until about 1 pm. In the end, it took us about 16 hours not including sleep time (3 hours) at a little over 900 miles. If we had left at 6 pm from North Delaware, including sleep time, we would have arrived near check in. Another thing, call your resort to see if you can get an early check in. My resort (Vistana) has this option and sometimes you can get in much earlier than others.

Here's a tricky part I ran up against. The time before this trip, we actually hit North Carolina on I-95 during Nascar traffic. There was a race somewhere nearby. The traffic was as dreadful as could be!! It might be helpful to check on such possibilities. Hope this helps!

 

[disneydisneydoo]

Hello from Hamilton, NJ. We always drive straight through and it takes anywhere from 17 to 18 hours. I agree with the previous posts that it is best to schedule your arrival time around check-in unless you can arrange to definitely get in early. Last time we left around midnight.

 

[allicat]

Last month, we left at 4:30 am from Ocean County and drove straight through. We arrived in Orlando around 11 pm. We called from the cell phone and checked into our resort one night early.
We had a good night sleep that night and were able to be up for the parks the next morning!

 

[Steven Forrest]

We've driven down a couple times, each time I swear it will never happen again. As Cindala pointed out don't be near D.C. at rush hour, going down or back.
We drove straight through and spent the first night at HI Maingate East, crashed into bed and hit the Poly for early breakfast and check-in. If you drive straight through to your resort the first night there will be a waste, everybody will be to tired to really enjoy it.
Also, early check-in will give you a better chance if there is a specific room type or location you want.

steve
BTW - Somers Point and 130 days to go, and no, I'm not flying <g>.