Driving from PA to FL - mini-stop on way home?

[KBW]

Well, here's my $.02...I also live in the Philly area (35 mi NW of the city)....I recommend stopping in SC...it's not 1/2 way, but lots more to do. I've been to South of the Border, and I'm in agreement....it is not for me!

When we drive to WDW, we stop at my parents in Mt. Pleasant, SC for a few days (just outside Charleston), go to WDW for 5-7 days, drive back to my parents for 1-2 nights, then head home. Yes, it's a long drive to Philly from Charleston, SC (about 11 hours), but it's not horrendous--we always do it in 1 day. And we've done it on July 4th weekend. My DDs are now 9 & 6, so pretty close in ages to yours, and we've been doing the SC-PA drive for 4 years, so they were 5 & 2 when we started. Charleston has some decent hotels, and if you are willing to go further out from the historic district in the city, you can probably get a pretty good deal, but still be close enough to attractions.

If you change your mind about being somewhere near attractions and would like to get further north on your first day, I would consider Fayetteville, NC (military base there, so lots of hotels) or Richmond, VA area...Or Myrtle Beach? Never been to Myrtle Beach, but I hear great things!

 

[kimmyann]

We live in VA & usually drive straight home from FL without stopping. Each time is has been horrible, we always get stuck somewhere on 95 in SC. This year I put my foot down & we are stopping overnight at Myrtle Beach. Figure we will get there in early/mid afternoon, check out Broadway at the Beach, check into hotel, go out to dinner & hang out on the beach for the evening. We stopped once.....once at South of the Border, never again, and that was just to use the restroom. Sad really.

I know after a FL trip I am usually ready to get back home, but I am looking forward to stopping for the one night, just to break up the trip & to check out somewhere new. But, I would not want to stop for two nights. I also know there really isn't anything cool to check out along 95 either, so good luck if you find something & let us know. I love new ideas.

 

[java]

Can you change your route? Last year we took i81 to i77 instead of 95 and it was beautiful.. You drive right through the blue ridge mountains. There are several areas to stop. If you google where to stop along i77 you'll get some ideas.
My kids were happier along that route, much more to see out the window.

 

[aprilfoolwed]

Can you change your route? Last year we took i81 to i77 instead of 95 and it was beautiful.. You drive right through the blue ridge mountains. There are several areas to stop. If you google where to stop along i77 you'll get some ideas.
My kids were happier along that route, much more to see out the window.

We're considering this after having some "real life" friends suggest this as well! Thanks!

 

[pal-mickey]

Have you checked out the thread on the transportation board? It's for people who drive to Disney. Someone on there might have a better idea. Here's the link

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2507731

 

[HeatherC]

If you take the 81 route, you could stop in Charlotte, NC or visit the Biltmore Estate in Asheville...although I am not sure how far that is off the highway.

I have also heard that Charlottesville, Va is beautiful too.

81 is a beautiful route and much more enjoyable than 95.

Have a wonderful trip,

 

[talulabelle]

Have you considered flying? Seems to me, with the cost of gas, and if you are willing to add $500 and another day to your trip, that flying might actually be cheaper. We are going in August and have $84 flights each way -they went up from $72 each way just before I bought them. For my family of 6 it will cost us $1136 round trip from Baltimore. Gas alone for our Suburban, plus cost of having to stop to break up the trip for the kids, (of course we require 2 hotel rooms for a stop) it is cheaper for us to fly. ALso much more enjoyable and keeps me and my husband sane. You should really figure out the cost of your gas by figuring out the milage and your mile per gallon for your car x cost per gallon of gasoline. Add that to the cost of stops to break up the trip - and even if you come out a little cheaper, you still need to consider how much time and sanity and wear and tear on the car is saved. Every time we go - it comes out cheaper for us to fly. FOr a smaller family, it would be way cheaper I would think.

 

[aprilfoolwed]

Have you considered flying? .

This is good info to have - thanks. I priced flights, and driving (even with the extra hotel stays and gas prices) was still a lot cheaper. I think a big part of it is the having to rent a big enough car when we're there (not staying on Dinsey property), and worrying about car seats, strollers etc.

As the kids get older and don't need quite so much stuff, flying may be a better option. Right now, we'll enjoy the journey.

Hoe do you find such great priced flights? The best I found was $145 one way.

 

[rdevine10]

We have broken our drive up before with a stop for 2 nights in Myrtle Beach. We stayed at Dunes Village (it was off season), and the hotel has several indoor waterslides, lazy rivers, etc. It was GREAT! IMO, much better than driving it straight through (we typically go through the night). The kids did well.

For us, its another 12 - 13 hours to CT from Myrtle Beach, but we left at 3 am (so the kids slept pretty well, for the 1st part of the trip and then we eventually stop for breakfast & lunch). I would TOTALLY consider doing this again, although we flew on our last 2 trips, (we usually drive over spring break, but I hit an unexpected deal this year).

Good luck- Myrtle was the perfect place to relax after FL!

 

[Diegosmom]

Wilmington is nice but it is not on the beach...if you want a beach hotel you need to do Carolina Beach or Wrightsville Beach. Not sure there is a ton to do in Wilmington because hitting the local beaches...there is some historic stuff and I think there is an aquarium.

My suggestion (although not sure how much time it would add) is to cut across SC (I think highway 22) and go to Concord (right out of Charlotte) and stay at Great Wolf Lodge. We just stayed there and it was awesome. Your kids would have a great time and burn off some energy. The online rates are quite expensive but it includes the indoor water park. We used a promo code SCOUT (for boy-scout and Girl-scouts although my child is not one) and got a rate of $150 for a family of 4 (this was on a monday night in May, rates are different during the summer and on weekends). GWL is right off of 85 (literally 2 min) and you would just keep going north on that and it hits 95 in Virginia. Thinking this might add about an hour to your trip (although I am not 100% sure). But you literally dont have to leave there although I would leave the hotel for better/cheaper dining options but there are tons within 2 min of the place. If you want any more info let me know. Also I think there is one in Williamsburg VA but you said you might not be able to make it that far.

 

[Diegosmom]

Just read your pretrip report (well first page) and saw that you are a family of 5 and that you would need some june 20th. So I priced it out and it is $229 for that night at GWL. This includes the waterpark on the day you check in and the day you check out (although it closes at 9pm). I would say the only extra you might want (besides food) would be Magiquest. Its a game the play thruout the hotel. The wand is $30. When we just went we did not buy one for our DS4 and he was fine. So if you say beforehand we are just doing the waterpark they should be fine.