Driving from PA

[boppy]

Hey there! Who out there has driven to WDW from Pittsburgh? Are we crazy? How long did it take? Thanks!

 

[Henlady]

Hi Boppy,
We have driven from Altoona, PA to Disney several times. Altoona is approximately 2 hours east of Pittsburgh. The Altoona to WDW trips take us about 17 1/2 hours straight thru (this time includes short stops for bathroom breaks and a fast food meal stop). We have traveled the 81 to Rt 26 to I95 route as well as the 70 to 270 to 495 to I95 route and they both take about the same amount of time.

Are you crazy?? well that is yet to be seen.
Seriously though, we normally split the trip over two days. Drive about 9 or 10 hours, stay overnight somewhere then finish the trip the next morning. For us it is a little more relaxing than driving straight thru.... been there, done that and won't do that again.

 

[dburg30]

Hey there! Who out there has driven to WDW from Pittsburgh? Are we crazy? How long did it take? Thanks!

I dont think you are crazy. Looks about 15 hrs from P'burgh to orlando. The only problem would be that as the PP said, you'll basically need 2 days to get there to be worth a crap, and 2 days to get back and be safe / worth a crap, IMO. How many days do you have to go? Now granted you wont take 2 full days to get there, but I think you see.

 

[DoOverDreams]

Are you insane? Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.....

Let's just say, I experienced that trip once in my life. With a van full of family members and a father who was determined to make it down in one fell swoop! Pure hell.

Seriously though, if you take your time, MAKE LOTS OF STOPS, and enjoy the ride you could be there (well rested) in 3 days. Or arrive a wreck in 2. Slow and steady would be a better way to start the magic.

Me, I fly now from the 'burgh....

 

[ginnibobb]

Hey there! Who out there has driven to WDW from Pittsburgh? Are we crazy? How long did it take? Thanks!

Depending on how many you have travelling i would say you should definetly keep checking for low airfares. I managed to get roundtrip airfare for my family of 4 through Airtran for about the same price as i would pay in gas if i were to drive!

 

[jcemom]

We've done it, straight through (stopping for gas, bathroom breaks, stretching the legs and food, of course, LOL) it took us around 17 hours. We won't ever do it again though. Now that we have three kids stopping for the night halfway is a must. Once we figure in wear and tear on our car, plus travel expenses, not to mention the days lost on each end of the vacation... we'll fly. It's not really much more expensive. If we get decent DING rates on airfare through Southwest it's even cheaper to fly than drive. We stay onsite though and don't need a rental car. We've done it both ways and believe it or not we actually PREFER to use the Disney transportation system.

 

[DonnaL]

I agree with above poster who says keep checking airfares (right up until a week or so before). We also have flown from PHL to MCO for about the same price it would cost to drive.......and get there in a little over 2 hours vs. 18 or so. Have you ever driven a long distance like this before? It really takes its toll on the body......especially the middle aged body!!! My personal limit is about 10 hours sitting in a vehicle.....any more than that and I'm a mess for two or three days afterward. I don't even know if I could break it up into two days and be worth anything......especially a WDW vacation......maybe if we were going to Vero or HH where the game plan is basically relaxation.