Driving from NJ, straight through or stop overnight?

[tink_n_pooh]

DH & I will be driving to WDW in the end of October from Northern NJ. It's about a 20 hour drive if we drive straight through. We are debating if we drive straight through or get a room on the way down (probably Georgia somewhere) and split up the trip into two days.

We are checking on Saturday and could leave as early as Thursday night. We don't mind spending an extra night or two at another hotel.

Just looking for some suggestions.

For those that do stop, where do you normally stay?

 

[sseem76]

When the family and I went down this spring we stopped in St. George SC. It is 12 hours from just north of Philly. We then had a 6 hour ride the next day... Good luck

 

[Nohal]

I live in South Jersey and used to drive down years ago. Much older now and the last time we drove we were stopping every 2hrs to stretch our legs because any longer in the car we had a hard time getting out We would leave somewhere between midnight and 1am to avoid the traffic in DC. We would drive through and stop in Jacksonville Fl which is right over the Fl state line. Depending on traffic we would land there around 4 or 5. Ate a quick dinner and then to bed early. Got up really early around 6 and it would be about 2hrs more to Disney. Found this worked good for us because we still had a full first day. Coming home DH would drive straight through leaving between 4am and 5. It took us between 16-18hrs. DH did all of the driving with the exception of the 2hrs I drove on the way down.

 

[GranddadTom]

I’d be inclined to back up and think about this from the point of view of “when do I need to leave home in order to get through Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington with as little pain as possible”. The biggest problem is Washington. On a Friday you need to be through there by 6:00 am or any time from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. I’m assuming you are 4 hours north of Washington. We live just north of Washington and when we do the drive all in one day, we can do it easily in 13 hours (we have no small kids). What we do is we check Google maps and leave at 9:00 am if the roads to the south look clear – later if not. That gets us to Orlando by 10:00 pm. Back to getting you through Washington – you can either leave before 2:00 am or after 6:00 am (Baltimore at 9:00 am will be okay) on Friday morning. I’d suggest you stop somewhere in Georgia (it’s a little over 3 hours from Brunswick to Orlando). If you drive through, you’ll be wasted the next day anyway. Enjoy the trip – getting there can be half the fun!

 

[carol lynne]

I live in PA and we've done both, stop-over and drive straight through. My preference is to stop near Savannah GA, then arrive fresh to Disney the next morning. When we drive straight through we are tired and cranky, not the way to start a vacation.

 

[Mai Ku Tiki]

Until recently, we would drive every year on a FRI from Central Jersey. We left at 3am (which was near our regular 'WAKE-UP!" time anyway). We were thru DC area by 7ish. But it WAS in late June so no kids/busses/schools adding to traffic.

We used AAA Trip-Kits to plan & it was fun to follow our progress. We always stopped by 6ish for dinner & to stay at an I-95 motel...Hampton Inns were usually fine. Then, up by 6 & on the road...usually only a 4-5 hour drive, check-in by 11 & a full day of fun ahead!

Stopping in southern GA is ideal but we liked to be off I-95 road by dark so it depended on the traffic & how far we were able to go (I-95 back-up traffic in VA was VERY common).

 

[amcnj]

Hi. I am currrently a South Jersey resident. I take 95 to WDW, and find it takes about 15 hours of actaul driving time. As a point of time reference I am about an hour and 10 minutes from the Delaware Memorial Bridge. I try to leave around 2:30 am and am into VA by 5:30 am, NC by 8 am, SC 11-11:30 am, GA 3- 3:30 pm, FL 4-5 pm, and the Orlando area by 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Of course traffic, weather, and stops influence the exact timing.

 

[DVCMikey]

Staying between Savannah and Jacksonville seem like good places. Any good hotels there?

 

[mlbeaver]

We are driving (fist time with kids) in mid October from South Jersey (Franklinville) and plan on leaving after dinner (6:30ish) and hope to arrive by 1pm the next day, is there less traffic if we leave Saturday night arriving Sunday?

 

[Robin1]

We drive from the DC area and usually stop in St Augustine. I'm not sure what exit it is but it's right off of 95 just past an outlet mall. There are a couple of different hotels at this exit. We've stayed at the Days Inn there and it was nice. Takes less than two hours the next day to get to Disney.

 

[Brook1099]

savannah ga, I believe exit 98 check that, Baymont Inn and Suites, clean, we walked to Sonic for dinner, swam, slept, continental breakfast, and on the road by 8am for last 4 hours to Disney.

 

[Nohal]

Stop at the Welcome centers as they have books with discount hotel coupons in them. They also show where the hotels are located on a map, makes it easier to decide where you want to be.