driving from ontario to WDW

[catwoman71]

I need help - see, I'm geographically challenged, and my DH bought me a Garmin GPS for Christmas - probably the best toy I've ever owned.

When I put in the address for POR into the garmin, it has me driving through PA, NC, SC, etc. I'm wondering if this is giving me the best route, as I've noticed most members on here talk about driving I-75. We would like to plan to leave early, early morning (around 4am) and drive as far as possible, probably until 11pm or so. I would like to have a destination in mind to stop for the night. One of the threads on this board talked about stopping in Macon, Georgia. If I program that into the garmin, it then sends me down I-75.

Anyhow, I'm rambling - I would love thoughts from those that have done this drive and understand the geography, and perhaps knowledge of the garmin gps. If we go to Macon, it is possible to make this distance in our time frame and then how many hours to Orlando?

Appreciate any words of advice!

 

[talicskai]

You don't say what part of Ontario you live in ? I live near Brantford. But it is probably giving you the shortest route not necessarily the fastest. I have done both drives and the PA,NC route is much prettier but can be nasty in the winter with frequent snow!
There is a fabulous book "Along the I75" by Dave Hunter that I would highly recommend if you drive through Detroit ~ it is fun and makes the drive much more interesting.

If you plan to drive 18-20 hours the first day I have stayed 3 times at the Holiday Inn Express in Cordele GA. The pool is super warm and the kids were able to get out some energy while their dad caught up on his sleep

Hope this helps.

Teresa

 

[Reese]

You don't say what part of Ontario you live in ? I live near Brantford.

Hope this helps.

Teresa

I'm leaving from Brantford on Thursday . This is our first time driving...could you tell me how long of a drive it is? We are planning on driving straight through as we have 3 drivers. Also ant idea where to find the I-75 book? CAA recommends that way during the winter since the I-95 takes you through the mountains.

 

[Polynesianfan]

Should take you about 23 hours...straight driving. Don't take the mountain route in the winter....almost felt like we were going to die one year we did it. Boring and flat is sometimes much safer. have a great trip !

 

[talicskai]

I'm leaving from Brantford on Thursday . This is our first time driving...could you tell me how long of a drive it is? We are planning on driving straight through as we have 3 drivers. Also ant idea where to find the I-75 book? CAA recommends that way during the winter since the I-95 takes you through the mountains.

I bought mine at Coles in the Lynden Park Mall ~ but here is a link to Chapters.ca

http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books...e-Hunter/9781896819341-item.html?__lang=en-CA

Have a great trip ~ we left Paris @ 8pm and stopped in Cordele by about 2pm the next day. Then when we left Cordele we only had 6 hours to Disney

 

[catwoman71]

We are coming from Newmarket. DH would like to leave early as stated (4am) and drive to Savannah, Georgia and get a hotel there. Anyone gone this far on the first day?

 

[Ham Ham]

Doesn't matter which route you prefer I-75 or I-90, I-79, US-19, I-77, I-26, I-95, I-4 during the winter both of them go through mountains. Bad weather can happen anytime so check out the forecast the day before leaving and choose your route accordingly.

Avoid large US cities during rush hours. Atlanta, Charlotte, Detroit, Jacksonville & Orlando.

Savannah is almost 17 hours of drivings, not including, nature breaks or meals. That's a long day of driving and you'll most likely hit the rush hour in Charlotte, NC

Click on image for link to I-90, I-79, US-19, I-77, I-26, I-95, I-4 route.

 

[SherryG]

We did the 90/79/77 route. Left Georgetown at 4:00 am and stopped in Rock Hill, SC at 6:30 pm. That was a couple of quick bathroom stops and one stop for lunch. From there to Daytona the next day it took us about 8 hours. Enjoy your trip!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Every summer when my family and I drive down we always leave our house around 2:00 AM take Interstate 75, although this year we are thinking about leaving around 12:00 AM to get a head start on the driving. Anyway our 1st day we go all the way to Cleveland, Tennessee and on our 2nd day instead of arriving at WDW during evening we drive to Valdosta, Georgia. So that means we can arrivr to WDW the next day during the afternoon.

 

[catwoman71]

Ham_ham,
Okay, so maybe 17 hours is a touch long What would be a decent stop - say driving from 4am to maybe 9pm, that would leave us getting to WDW the next day at a decent time?

Your advice is sooo appreciated!

 

[dancin Disney style]

We are coming from Newmarket. DH would like to leave early as stated (4am) and drive to Savannah, Georgia and get a hotel there. Anyone gone this far on the first day?

We left Oakville at 2:30am on a Saturday and got to Savanna around 9pm. We had no traffic delays and we only stopped for a McDs dinner. We packed breakfast and lunch and made those part of our gas and potty breaks.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Ham_ham,
Okay, so maybe 17 hours is a touch long What would be a decent stop - say driving from 4am to maybe 9pm, that would leave us getting to WDW the next day at a decent time?

Your advice is sooo appreciated!

Doing the long haul first day is the only way I can manage it. I HATE car trips. Is it too long....that really depends on you. My DH does the majority of the driving and he goes to bed at around 9pm before we leave. So he has had a minimum of 5 hours sleep. I have no trouble sleeping in the car so we both are rested to make it through the long day. When I drive he sleeps.

The first time we drove to WDW we left home at 4:30am and made it to St. George, which is about 1 hour north of Savannah, at around 10pm. That trip was on a Friday and we got stuck in rush hour traffic once and also got stuck behind a car accident. We were then left with about a 6 hour drive the next day.

 

[Ham Ham]

I would try to drive at least as far as Columbia, SC. 7 Hours from WDW
But if you folks think you can make Savannah, GA go for it. 4 1/2 hours from WDW.

 

[dancin Disney style]

The first time we made the drive we decided that we would drive as far as possible but stop for the night at a time that was worth while. We thought that would be around 9pm. We wanted to be able to take a shower and watch TV and get a full nights sleep. I think I was ready to stop by about 8pm but DH wanted to keep going all the way. In the end I won only because if we kept going we would have arrived in Orlando at about 3am and would then have to find a place to stay. So, DH agreed that it made more sense to stop.

Our most recent drive down he wanted to stop and I wanted to keep going

 

[modlitekrt1]

Savannah is really pushing it but we did it one time taking the mountain route. Left at 3:00am and arrived around 9:00pm; which was a little late for the kids because they needed to burn some energy before bed and we skipped dinner so we were starving as well.

Watch the US-19, stay within the speed limit or you will get a ticket. I got one for 5 mph over one time.

Get a good long first day in the books because it will make your second day that much easier. Most of the time you can just drive and find a hotel on the way.

Have fun!!

 

[dancin Disney style]

Watch the US-19, stay within the speed limit or you will get a ticket. I got one for 5 mph over one time.

Ya......apparently they will give you a ticket for doing even 1mph over the limit. We just set the cruise control.

 

[Thumper_ehhhhh]

Windsor to Disney via I-75 and Hamilton to Disney via I-95 route the same distance. Approximatly 20 hrs of driving. If your from Hamilton area and you want to go I-75 add 4 hrs to get across to Windsor. I agree in the winter months I-75 is your best route. If you do go I-95 route as one poster said about on US-19 drive just under the speed limit they will ticket you if caught 1 mph over. I-95 route is the best for scenery.

 

[Hoogy]

The ONE time we drove in 2002 we got a ticket ....and we were slowing down to approach a red light with traffic stopped in front of us! I still refuse to drive through Virginia because of that!

 

[nokidz]

Set your sights for Savannah, but be honest, if you get tired, dont risk it and grab a room. we leave in a few weeks. we are leaving between midnight 3am, depending on weather, and driving straight through but there are two of us driving. we are leaving from Wasaga Beach and plan to be in St Augustine in 24 hours.

 

[Csaks]

We are coming from Newmarket. DH would like to leave early as stated (4am) and drive to Savannah, Georgia and get a hotel there. Anyone gone this far on the first day?

We have done that the last two trips but stopped in Hardeeville SC which is just at the boarder of SC and GA on I95 (10 minutes north of Savannah). 17 hrs sounds about right, I would rather a long day the first and a nice shorter day to follow. We always seem to hit traffic going through Charlotte NC, but if you are use to Toronto traffic it is a cakewalk. Snow was an issue on the way home but if you are use to it (I plow) it was no big deal, it just made it so I couldn't get a speeding ticket Didn't have any reservations for hotels just stopped and checked in.

Doing the long haul first day is the only way I can manage it. I HATE car trips. Is it too long....that really depends on you. My DH does the majority of the driving and he goes to bed at around 9pm before we leave. So he has had a minimum of 5 hours sleep. I have no trouble sleeping in the car so we both are rested to make it through the long day. When I drive he sleeps.

The first time we drove to WDW we left home at 4:30am and made it to St. George, which is about 1 hour north of Savannah, at around 10pm. That trip was on a Friday and we got stuck in rush hour traffic once and also got stuck behind a car accident. We were then left with about a 6 hour drive the next day.

This sounds like our trip right down to the accident and traffic.