Driving from NYC to Orlando have a few questions

[kandb]

We are going to WDW at the end of April with our twins who will almost be 4 years old. We will leave the NYC area after rush hour in the a.m. and our first stop will be Rocky Mount, NC. (490 miles). The next day we plan on stopping in Brunswick, GA (415 miles) and the last day we will drive to Orlando (211 miles). My dh and I are both government workers so we get a good discount on our hotels. I know some are probably saying, why take 2 1/2 days to drive down but we are in no rush and will have fun staying at the hotels (which all have indoor pools) and stopping at Cracker Barrel and letting the kids play in their gift shop. Coming home we'll stay over just 1 night. We will be Orlando for 9 nights. We will be passing through Wash, DC around noon. Does anyone know if there is a lot of construction going on (we're taking 95 the whole way) or if there is any way to find out? We just want a nice leisurely trip but I don't feel like sitting in construction traffic for a few hours. Any advice? Thanks, Linda

 

[disneymom06]

I can't tell you about traffic but I would be really flexible with my drive time. We have driven down many times from the GW bridge. For us the best time to leave was no later that 2pm in the afternoon. We have missed all of the hot spots of traffic and stayed on 95 the entire trip. DC can be a problem, it is hit or miss with traffic. If you are a AAA member, they have great directions that you can print out on line. They do include construction and hot spots and it has always been helpful to us.

We drive straight through and take turns driving. It is great to have the children sleep while we do most of the driving at night. They are good travelers but can sit for only so long. There are many rest areas that we stop along the way to allow them to stretch their legs. Check for the listing of stops on 95 and what is around. It has always been very helpful to us.

Have a great trip!

 

[Desnik]

We have done the drive many times and with kids too! You're right my first question was going to be why take so long and stay over 2 nights. Sounds like you have a great plan worked out and I like how you are in no rush and have plenty of time! A site I have used in the past is:
http://www.usastar.com/i95/homepage.htm
It has all the info you are looking for about traffic, construction and so much more. It gives details on every exit off 95 with food, lodging, gas, and restroom info! I even bought their book and it was great! When we use to drive the best way to tackle it for us was to leave our house by 4am, we missed rush hour traffic almost everywhere. We did like to drive straight through and would arrive at WDW by 10pm. If you're interested there have been some great threads over on the Families Board with great tips on driving to Disney with kids. Just do a search on that board.
Have a great time!

 

[lovethemagic]

I live in the DC area. One piece of advice is to try to be through here by 3:30 in the afternoon. Any later and you may get caught in the early part of evening rush hour. Also, the later you pass through, the more traffic you can expect between D.C. and Fredericksburg, VA and beyond until you get on the bypass before Richmond (which you should definitely take).

I drive from D.C. to Orlando a couple times a year and find the only areas where I usually face traffic/construction to be D.C. to Richmond, construction around Jacksonville, traffic between Orlando and Disney. I'd say these are all places to try to avoid during morning or evening rush hours.