driving from ontario where do people recommend to stay on i-75 first day

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Do you think it's crazy to try to drive straight through? I'm in Windsor and was thinking of leaving around 6pm and driving until around 4am (I'm a night owl and am usually up until 2-3am anyway) and then waking dh up to drive until around 8am. Stop for breakfast and let the kids get out and move around. Dh can drive again until lunch, get out, eat, stretch. Then hopefully plan to arrive in the WDW area for around 4-6pm and crash for the night. Our kids are going to be 6 and 9 at that time and even if they are bouncing around the room because they aren't tired, dh and I could still rest and zonk out to recharge for the next day.

If I get a cheap price on plane tickets we still might fly, but otherwise we will be driving.

A few years ago my family and I left our house at 4:00 PM and drove all day and night to Dalton, Georgia and got their for like 11:00 AM the next day. While we choose not to do that anymore if you don't mind driving that much and threw the night, it can be a time saver.

 

[digskat]

Do you think it's crazy to try to drive straight through? I'm in Windsor and was thinking of leaving around 6pm and driving until around 4am (I'm a night owl and am usually up until 2-3am anyway) and then waking dh up to drive until around 8am. Stop for breakfast and let the kids get out and move around. Dh can drive again until lunch, get out, eat, stretch. Then hopefully plan to arrive in the WDW area for around 4-6pm and crash for the night. Our kids are going to be 6 and 9 at that time and even if they are bouncing around the room because they aren't tired, dh and I could still rest and zonk out to recharge for the next day.

If I get a cheap price on plane tickets we still might fly, but otherwise we will be driving.

We tried something similar our first drive down, leaving at 8pm and driving through to Macon, Georgia before stopping for the night. It really hinges on your husband's ability to sleep in a vehicle. I started the drive at 8pm, since I work shift work, and felt I could do it. I drove until 7am, and just couldn't go any further. My father-in-law slept a few hours during the night, and took over. They decided to stop for breakfast at 9am, and the alternator went on the van. We did some running around, and after repairs, were back on the road at noon. He was too tired to drive, so I started the trip again, and drove for 4 hours, before I was finished (having slept less than an hour in the previous 32 hours). We were off the road by 6pm, and I slept until 7am the next day.
Pros:
1.we made incredible time....little to no traffic most of trip
2. we crossed the border in record time
3. the kids slept for about 6 hours of the first leg
Cons:
1. I was unable to sleep in the vehicle, due to commotion/room/bumpy roads
2. I was exhausted and iritable
3. the kids were tired from a lack of fit sleep

We have since started the trip at 4am, after the kids get a solid 6 hours sleep at home (and 5 for me), they sleep for another 3 in the vehicle. We cross the border quickly at around 5:30, and are through Detroit before rush hour kicks in. We drive for 14-15 hours, (without the in-laws so I do all of the driving) and stop just short of Atlanta. I am able to spend some time with the family, before getting a good night sleep, and we do the final 6-7 hours the next morning. I am usually still going strong as we arrive at WDW, and feel no lingering affects.
I just can't get a good sleep in a vehicle, the bumping and noise keep me awake, and I just can't get comfortable. THe over-night wore me out, and I was useless for 2 days.

 

[dreams7]

Wish I could help. We drove last year and DH wanted to make the trip in one shot. We left in the evening and put the kids to sleep just after we crossed the border.

We drove through the next day and got to florida the following evening. We only stopped to eat and get dressed. The kids did not seem to mind, they watched videos, played video games and played disney games all the way down.

Lucky for me DH is a patient man and somehow finds energy when no one else has any.




40 DAYS until WE ARE BACK AT DISNEY

 

[mrs.explorer1977]

We just got back on Sunday and I highly recommend the Dave Hunter book. We were able to look ahead and find exactly what we wanted (in our case, Cracker Barrel and Country Inn and Suites!).

We left about 5:30 pm on Thursday and ended up driving straight through to Disney. We got there a day earlier than we had planned. We were planning to stop in Valdosta, GA, but it was more expensive to stay there than at Disney. I ended up calling Disney to see if we could extend our 1 night stay at Pop to a 2 night stay.

The way home, we drove during the day, which sucked. With a 7 month old, it's MUCH easier to drive through the night if he'll sleep it -- we stopped VERY frequently during the 2 day drive back to Ontario.

 

[emmsmama]

Reviving an old thread I know, but dh insists we stop overnight the first night, so I'm looking for feedback on Jellico, TN. I figure we could leave around 6pm on Friday night and I could drive until around 2am. Stop for the night in Jellico and then start out again the next morning around 8am and hopefully make it to Florida for around 7 or 8pm Saturday.

 

[F4disneyfan]

Reviving an old thread I know, but dh insists we stop overnight the first night, so I'm looking for feedback on Jellico, TN. I figure we could leave around 6pm on Friday night and I could drive until around 2am. Stop for the night in Jellico and then start out again the next morning around 8am and hopefully make it to Florida for around 7 or 8pm Saturday.

There is a nice days inn on the right hand side of I75 as you enter Jellico and the food in the place was incredible. We stopped there for lunch in Oct on our drive down.

 

[Joe Dirt 1972]

I live in Bowmanville Ont and we leave on the Dec 21 for WDW. I plan on taking the I-75 route and leave at 12am driving to Detroit get there 3:30am 4am. This way the kids are asleep for a good 8 hours and will be thru most of ohio. Then driving to Macon Ga and stay at a Best Western. We will get there around 6pm. Let the kids unwind. Then leave the next day around 8am and be in WDW for 2pm.

If anyone wants to stay in a best western during their trip use this corp code online it saved me about 25%

code # 01418260

 

[pkitty]

in or around macon, that puts us south of the Atlanta rush hour in the morning which does not seem to stop until 6:00 pm or so. It saves about 1 1/2 to 2 hours off our trip this way and is a breeze on the 2nd which is only about 5 to 6 hours. besides all that built up anticipation for the anual migration allows us to endure the long hours in the car together. Returning is a different strory though. We basically cut the trip in half and pull in to a vacant hotel like the best western when we get tired.

 

[emmsmama]

Just got back from our two-week vacation! We stayed at America's Best Value Inn in Jellico both ways and it worked out well. It was only $52/night and was clean and just off I-75.