Driving from Philadelphia to WDW...can you suggest when and where we should stop

[dvcfamily41801]

Also, what is the best time to leave? We drove to Hilton Head last May and left our house around 5:30 am. Everything was going excellent until I gave my DS a "Look & Find" book and that made him car sick on the DC Beltway We lost a few hours with that mishap. We stayed in Lumberton and arrived there around 4 pm. I figure we can make it there with no problem but I don't know anyplace past Hilton Head.


Thank you!

 

[DownNeckBoy]

The earlier you leave the better it will be for you. I normally leave around 12:00 am. That means that I will be driving through the most difficult portion of the trip (DC-VA) in the early hours of the morning. That also means that my boys will be asleep for a susbstantial portion of the trip.

As for a place to stop, many people on these boards stop just over the SC border in GA. There are many inexpensive hotels along the way and you will be able to resume your trip fairly quickly.

Good luck with your planning!

 

[Uncleromulus]

A lot depends on whether or not you are leaving on a weekday or a weekend. But as DownNeckBoy says, the earlier the better. Or--a bit later the better. Just so you can avoid the traffic in Baltimore and more importantly, DC.

We live in Glen Rock--near I-83 just north of the Md./ Pa. border. We usually leave on Friday morning, NLT than 4:00 AM. This gets us around Baltimore nicely,and around DC BARELY in time to miss their rush hour, which begins around 6:00 AM and has to be seen to be believed!!!

By 4:30-5:00 PM we're in Brunswick Ga.--and that includes stopping in Va. for a full breakfast and gas/rest stops every 2 hours. WE stay at the Hampton Inn in Brunswick and like it a lot. Next day is only 4-4 1/2 hours left to WDW.

Never stayed anywhere in NC, but once we stayed at a Best Western in Santee, SC. Also very nice.

Hope this helped--?

 

[jel0511]

We live in Princeton, NJ and we leave around 3:30 AM to avoid all traffic around DC and Baltimore. That also gets us barely around DC by rush hour, but I wouldn't leave any earlier, I need some sleep before that long drive. We drove all the way to Brunswick last time, arriving around 5:30 PM. We also stop for a full breakfast, lunch break (usually a McDonalds with a playland for the kids to run off some steam) and then when we arrive at our destination for the night. At all stops, we fill up the tank, so we can just keep going until the next one, it works for us. This year, we've leaving on a Saturday, so that helps with rush hour in DC and we're leaving around 4:30 AM. We're also stopping in Savannah (about 1 hour north of Brunswick) since last year we were basically spent by Savannah, but pushed to Brunswick since we were driving to South Florida first and wanted to get that extra hour in. I see you have a child and I can't express enough how our DVD player saved our lives!!!! Our kids (2 and 5 at the time) just sat there and watched movies the entire time!! They were great during the ride and never complained about the drive at all!!!

 

[WDWisTheBest]

You had good advice from the previous posters to start early to avoid the DC traffic.
Stopping around Savannah is also a very good idea. You might want to fill up your gas tank around Kingsland, GA.

Good luck and enjoy your stay.

 

[Kim&Chris]

Howdy neighbor (I currently work in Bensalem, but lived in NE Philly for most of my life!).

We drove from Cinnaminson, NJ to WDW in December of '02, and stopped in Savannah GA our first night. I did alot of research and found the Clarion Inn & Suites (exit 94 of I-95). It was a clean, comfortable, new hotel with inside entrances. It was the only hotel I found with queen beds instead of full beds. In addition, I got a great rate with AAA.

They also served a nice continental breakfast on the morning we checked out.

I also agree with the previous posters - leave as early as you can. We left around 6:30 am, and it was too late. By the time we reached the Beltway, it was a nightmare. In fact, we wasted more than an hour waiting in traffic

Any questions, send me a PM

 

[dvcfamily41801]

Thanks for the info everyone!!

We are leaving on Saturday the 17th so the weekday rush hour is not an issue, however, when we drove to HH there was a bit of construction on the DC Beltway so it got a little congested, nothing major at all (until my DS got car sick )

We do have the DVD player, and it was a lifesaver. Actually, we did not even set it up until the next morning when we finished up to HH. I was worried that it would make my son sick so I just figured I would wait. So we made it all the way from Philadelphia to Lumberton, NC without it

I would like to try to make our Sunday morning drive about 4-5 hours so Im thinking based on what everyone has said, stopping in Georgia is our best bet.

I am planning on ordering the I-95 Exit Information Guide as well. Does anyone have it and can offer any info on it? When we drove to HH our friends had one and thankfully we could call them after our little carsick episode to find out where we could stop.

Thank you so much for all the info. I am actually really excited about the drive, like I said our previous one was really smooth for the most part and I know its pretty much a boring ride, but just to see different areas is neat to me

 

[jel0511]

Originally posted by dvcfamily41801
I am planning on ordering the I-95 Exit Information Guide as well. Does anyone have it and can offer any info on it?

I have this book, and it truly is an invaluable resource when driving down I 95 IMO. We used it all the time, when planning where/when to stop so we knew what was there even before we got there. I also made a note of all the 1-800 numbers for the various hotel chains, as a just-in-case we didn't make it to our scheduled stop. I always make reservations when driving down I 95 because I've seen numerous people turned away due the hotel being full, this way if we couldn't make it to Brunswick, I could call ahead and get a reservation before we got there. This guide can be a little out of date, since it was published back in 2002 (new places aren't there and a few were closed), but it is a great resource. I plan on using it again this year when we drive down!!

 

[Blondiex46]

Still not sure if I am driving or not am going to rent the van incase we do, but am planning on leaving about 4am and just putting the twins in the car and going. My daughter is going but can't drive the rental (only 22) so I will be doing all the driving. Usually drive straight through on the way home but not on the way down (don't want to be too tired when I get there) but I think the Brunswick, GA is a good idea. It typically takes me 17 hours to drive straight through. Where do you get the book, I 95 one at? The boys want to take the playstation so have to figure out if I can make that work, and thinking about a DVD player, they don't watch movies much (they are 10)Thanks

 

[jel0511]

Here is the link to buy the I 95 guide.

http://www.usastar.com/i95/homepage.htm

 

[Barb A.]

We leave from the Newtown area of PA and get on the road between 5:00 and 5:30 a.m. You've covered a lot of ground by mid-day. We usually get to Savannah which is about a 12 hour day of driving. Last time we stayed at the La Quinta. I made reservations online and got a discount. Rooms were clean and it was quiet and they have a nice continental breakfast where you can make you own waffles as well as many other things. That is nice to hold you over until lunchtime and it doesn't take a lot of time in the morning when you are anxious to get going!

Whenever we stop for a potty break we always fill up the gas tank. Kill 2 birds with one stone.

Depending on what time we get up the next morning, we usually arrive at WDW antime between noon and 1:30.

 

[SYDNCLAIRESMOM]

Holiday Inns website will give you a map of your route and every one of their hotels along the way. We used this to decide where to stop to rest.

Holiday Inns Route Planner

 

[BWVDenise]

Lisa,
Pete also has a nice write-up on wdwinfo.com under "driving to WDW." I printed out several states last time and it really helped to know what I could expect to find at the different exits and stops. My ds gets carsick also, but watching the movies doesn't seem to bother him. You didn't ask, but I just figured I would mention that Benadryl really helps him in the car (more than Bonine or Dramamine). In fact, Benedryl is the only reason we can drive long distances!
We leave no later than 4 a.m. from South Jersey (just outside of Philly) and usually make it to HH in about 12 hours. We stopped in Savannah when we drove to FL since we knew we could make it that far from our HH drives. It was about another 5 1/2 hours from Savannah.
Denise

 

[dvcfamily41801]

Thanks everyone for all of your information. I am definatley going to order that guide book and I am going to start search hotels in Brusnwick and Savannah.