Driving From NY/CT Border to Disney

[tbaptista]

Leaving soon with the family for Disney and making the drive for the first time. Driving From NY/CT Border to Disney with my DW, DS 4 and DD 7. My plan is to leave at 4am and stop for fuel, breakfast lunch and dinner. My goal is to get to Savannah GA by 9:30pm. Am I being to aggressive or does that sound about right?

 

[edbo77]

I drove home from Savannah to Boston in March, took about 16 hours but I didn't have the kids with me. I've done 15 hour drives with my 3 boys so what you have planned isn't that crazy.

Two things for you to keep in mind - you need to time your trip so that you miss the Baltimore/DC area during the morning rush. Not sure what day of the week you are going but if it's a weekday you'd be hitting that area at a bad time. Also, the only two cities you're going to hit in SC are Florence and Santee. If you don't make it to Savannah there's not a lot of options for places to stay outside of those two clusters.

Personally, I like driving at night with the kids on long trips like these. A sleeping child doesn't ask "are we there yet". Good luck and have fun!

 

[tbaptista]

I drove home from Savannah to Boston in March, took about 16 hours but I didn't have the kids with me. I've done 15 hour drives with my 3 boys so what you have planned isn't that crazy.

Two things for you to keep in mind - you need to time your trip so that you miss the Baltimore/DC area during the morning rush. Not sure what day of the week you are going but if it's a weekday you'd be hitting that area at a bad time. Also, the only two cities you're going to hit in SC are Florence and Santee. If you don't make it to Savannah there's not a lot of options for places to stay outside of those two clusters.

Personally, I like driving at night with the kids on long trips like these. A sleeping child doesn't ask "are we there yet". Good luck and have fun!

I would have to agree. Baltimore/DC is the big "?". Planning on hitting the last rest stop on the NJ turnpike right before Delaware for breakfast. My calculations have us getting there around 7:30am. That would put us in the Baltimore/DC area around 9:30 on a Friday morning. Hoping that 1) people are correct that DC traffic is lighter on summer Fridays than any other weekday and 2) I will be at the tail end of rush hour.

So funny, I guess Florence is a big stopping area. Planning on hitting good old Sonic in Florence for dinner around 6:00pm. Should only have about a 2.5 hour dive from there to the hotel in Savannah..

 

[GrnMtnMan]

Have you considered taking the I-81 to I-77 to I-95 route?

Your plan has me concerned as the I-95 corridor between Baltimore, DC, and Richmond can be a nightmare....particularly the DC beltway to Fredericksburg VA portion. Your timing has you hitting high traffic time there, plus the reversible lanes will be going the wrong direction for you...witch usually means congestion.

The other route adds about 90 miles to the trip (on a theoretical trip from Westchester Airport HPN to Orlando's airport MCO).

 

[bdklein]

Leaving soon with the family for Disney and making the drive for the first time. Driving From NY/CT Border to Disney with my DW, DS 4 and DD 7. My plan is to leave at 4am and stop for fuel, breakfast lunch and dinner. My goal is to get to Savannah GA by 9:30pm. Am I being to aggressive or does that sound about right?

Have you though about flying??

 

[davmill]

Unless you have someone helping you drive...think you are being a wee bit optimistic. No trip is worth driving while you are asleep. Been many years since I took a long road trip, but even when I was really young, 12 hours was the limit by myself.

 

[tbaptista]

Did look into flying but we are also spending a several nights in Tampa and need a car. So with the cost of air, parking and rental it would add $800+ to the cost.

 

[tbaptista]

Oh, no way. Two drivers switching drivers every 3 - 4 hours. I wouldn't attempt it if it was just me.

 

[crzy4dsny]

I live on Long Island it takes me 1:15 min to get to NJ. I have driven 5 times. My best time is 16.5 hours and longest was 18.5, with a car, 22 hours towing a 33ft trailer. If your traveling on a weekday be sure to be clear of MD and past DC By 5:30am. I would suggest leaving at 2am. If your going straight thru this should put you in Disney between 7:00 & 8:30. If you would like to stop I suggest kingsland GA. It's right on the border of Florida and leaves you with a 2.5 hour trip the second day.

 

[de2fan]

I live in Milford, CT, about 45 minutes from the NY line. Back in 04 my DH and I left home at 3:15am and made it to Savannah at 6:30pm. We stopped in New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina(lunch) and South Carolina (@south of the border) We hit DC around 8ish, no traffic since we left on a Saturday am. We originally booked a motel for two locations- One in South Carolina and the other in Savannah. We figured if we were tired by the time we got to SC, we had a place to stop for the night. Once we determined that we wanted to continue, we cancelled the first motel.

I'm sure your stops will be more frequent with the little ones, but it's definitely do-able, depending on DC traffic.

 

[monica9]

I'm doing this from Orange ct with DH and DD4 in November. Let me know how it goes. We are either leaving 7pm Friday night right in time for my daughter to sleep, stop in virginia around midnight, wake up and hang with friends from Va for couple hours, start driving again sat around 1pm and hope to drive through with little stops until midnight sat night and wake up sunday morning with only a couple hour drive left.

Or,
start driving sat morning around 4 am like you are doing, drive through until 9pm sat night, sleep wherever we are, wake up sunday morning and drive the rest. Visit friends on way home.

I think the first will be a better option though. What do you all think?

 

[tbaptista]

On route. Left at 4am. Zero traffic thus far. Baltimore/DC was a breeze. Got into NC at 1pm. Should be at our hotel in GA around 7:30/8:00.

 

[nono]

On route. Left at 4am. Zero traffic thus far. Baltimore/DC was a breeze. Got into NC at 1pm. Should be at our hotel in GA around 7:30/8:00.

Safe travels! Have fun!

 

[dsneydude124]

I have driven many times from Long Island leaving at 4 AM. I also did all of the driving. Santee, SC was about my limit. We would get there around 5:15, eat & crash. I did not want to drive in the dark after spending the whole day on the road. I really wouldn't recommend that. We would leave at 7AM from Santee and be at WDW early afternoon. And the day was not lost after a good rest the night before!

 

[marmalade]

On route. Left at 4am. Zero traffic thus far. Baltimore/DC was a breeze. Got into NC at 1pm. Should be at our hotel in GA around 7:30/8:00.

Hope everything is smooth sailing for you!

 

[LoriC1964]

What time was it when you went through D.C.?

 

[tbaptista]

9am in DC. Made it to Savannah GA by 8:30pm.

 

[edbo77]

Good time. Tell Mickey hello when you see him manana.

 

[tbaptista]

9am in DC. Made it to Savannah GA by 8:30pm.

 

[tbaptista]

Back from the trip! The family had a blast! The drive was fantastic! Would drive it again in a heartbeat with the same exact stops!!! Didn't realize how many tour groups there are in the summer!! Wow!