driving from the pa area

[tine413]

Hey everyone has anyone on here drove from pa near philly! If so was it costly in gas. I am look at plane tickets now and for 3 of us it is looking to cost about 1100 out of philly. i Always pay around 700 or less for all 3 of us to fly. We have been thinking about driving anyway but just want to know any tips people can give me thanks guys!!!

 

[wishing4PA]

Hey everyone has anyone on here drove from pa near philly! If so was it costly in gas. I am look at plane tickets now and for 3 of us it is looking to cost about 1100 out of philly. i Always pay around 700 or less for all 3 of us to fly. We have been thinking about driving anyway but just want to know any tips people can give me thanks guys!!!

AAA has a nifty cost calculator. Search "fuel cost calculator" and you'll find it. Hope that helps!

 

[Dis703]

There is a AAA Gas Calculator online (I think it was AAA I used) that you can enter your year and model vehicle and choose the towns you are traveling to and from to calculate gas price based on current gas prices. We are in NJ and went in May and it estimated gas around $400 or less and airfare for all 6 of us was going to be in the range of $1500 so we drove. The drive itself wasn't too bad really. I have done it as a kid many times and driving it's been a while but if you plan adequate stops, bring plenty of snacks, games/boys/toys if you have kids, etc. it's really not bad.

If you plan to stay overnight halfway of course figure in any cost of hotel there too. We stopped both ways but used points with free hotel nights which worked out great.

 

[Dis703]

Also check nearby airports too. I found cheaper flights through Frontier Airlines which doesn't fly out of Philly but does fly out of Wilmington which they list as Philly area.

 

[HHMcG]

Also check nearby airports too. I found cheaper flights through Frontier Airlines which doesn't fly out of Philly but does fly out of Wilmington which they list as Philly area.

I'll second this. We are in the Philly area, too, and always fly Spirit out of Atlantic City to Orlando. I think you could easily find 3 tickets under $700 depending on when you are going.
The thought of driving gives me nightmares.

 

[rock_doctor]

The drive down is not bad but the drive back is bad. The reason is, if you leave by 8am you hit DC around 12noon which is ok but on the drive back (assuming you do each way over two days) you will hit DC around 5pm and it is a bad drive from Alexandra to Baltimore....

Fuel wise it is not too bad. The prices are right around NJ prices or 20 cents less then PA prices. Get the flyingJ/Pilot frequently travelers card. It is free but gives you a cent or two discount plus you get the cash price using a credit card.

Here is what we do... NE Extension to the blue route to I95 south. I take the beltway around Baltimore (I495 i think) because i like driving along the Delaware River. We take the tunnel though Baltimore. The outer beltway around DC and then the beltway around Richmond. Doing it this way we hit nearly no traffic until we hit Orlando. We stop the first night in Florence SC and then stay a second night in Kissimmee. Not really necessary to stay outside the second night other then we like to check into Disney early (8am) on the check in day. You will hit Disney around 5 or 6pm so you could go right to Disney the second night. Once you get below Va the speed limit jumps to 70mph so it is a descent drive. Pay attention to your speed, each state had a bus load of police out giving tickets. In SC alone we counted 33 police...

Fuel stops.... Carmel Church, VA --- Latta, SC --- Kingsland GA (raceway) --- Walmart on Vineland Rd Kissimmee (cheapest of the lot if you use a gift card from the store - gives you the cash price). I can't tell you the prices as we use Diesel and i honestly never really look at the price...I stopped looking once we leaped over $2.25 /gal.

We do this twice a year so if you have any specific questions, feel free to ask.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

We have done the drive from all over the Northeast and Midwest - every year - most years more than once/yr. If you like road trips, it can be a lot of fun. With the current cost of gas, we woud spend about $400 round trip on gas.

 

[rotlex]

Been driving from the Allentown area for the last 5 years. Just got sick of paying nearly as much to fly as our trips were costing. (Hence extending our trips by quite a few days, LOL).

Really though. We average around $500 total travel costs which includes 2 hotel nights. We drive all the way to Orlando in one shot, and stay at a Hampton right outside of DTD the first night. For the return trip, we drive up to North Carolina, stay overnight, and head home the next day.

We travel via 81, to 77, to 26 to 94 to I4. It's my wife and I and two kids. (Currently 11 and 5). What turned out as a way to get to Disney cheaper, has turned into a HUGE part of our vacation. We love the road trip. The drive down gets us in "I'm no longer in work mode", and the drive back is a way to get back to reality, but not to quickly.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

We travel via 81, to 77, to 26 to 94 to I4.

We have done the route and it is much faster than the I95 corridor - no worries about traffic around Baltimore or DC.

 

[pwdebbie]

Check out this thread for excellent driving info. There are quite a few from PA and NJ that post here. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3124884

 

[hebbynan]

We've driven to WDW and Miami several times. It's MUCH CHEAPER than flying for 4 of us (DH, me, DS13 and DS9). We're actually driving again this coming September. I remember last October when we drove to Miami we couldn't believe how much CHEAPER gas was on our way down than it was at home. I think we paid on average $3.40/gallon last year on the way down. We took my 2008 Dodge Avenger and were averaging about 30mpg. We're taking the new Dodge Ram 1500 this time since we'll have the boys so we know we'll pay more $ in gas this trip than last (only gets about 15-17mpg highway, but it's still much cheaper than the almost $1K air fare!

We always go 95 but we leave York County early like 2am-ish. It's only 45 minutes to Baltimore from here so we're outside B-more and DC very early when there's little to no traffic.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[flafan]

Hi

We are in the car now heading home from ten glorious days in Disney/Universal.
This is our 12th car trip (hubby wont fly).
We leave our home in Mass. At 10pm kiddos fall asleep before we hit New York (4hr drive) and drive straight thru till about 4 pm the next day with small breaks in between for breakfast and lunch and we stay in Ridgefield SC I drive in the am so hubby can nap.
It can be tiring but over all does save money.
Gas from mass to Orlando was 221$ hotel was 109.00 food approx $50 plus I packed snacks drinks etc.
I agree with the previous poster drive back is tougher because we leave during the day and it just seems much longer same cost wise but more traffic etc plus you do not have the going on vacation excitement. We use AAA for trip tickets you have to order those in advance.
I'm here is you have any questions. Good luck with your decision.

 

[rotlex]

We have done the route and it is much faster than the I95 corridor - no worries about traffic around Baltimore or DC.

On top of that, it's a much more scenic drive! Where we leave from, it's roughly 50 miles farther than straight I95, but in time, it's less due to lack of traffic, tolls etc. Also a lot of nicer places to stop along the way.

 

[denise5374]

I don't know where you are near Philly but I just booked airfare for 4 and it was about $800 cheaper to fly out of Baltimore (BWI) than Philly for a direct flight.

And to answer your question, I have done the drive a couple times most recently in March and fuel costs were about $600 in a Chrysler Town & Country minivan. We did some driving while in DW too.

We left PA about 7pm on a Friday night to avoid most traffic delays around DC area but still got stuck in one in the Alexandria VA area (even though it was almost 10pm ugh). The way home we left WDW about 2pm on Friday and had no traffic since we hit the DC area and maybe 2am. We took 95 both ways.

 

[chocolateavocado]

Hi!
We're coming to WDW for the 1st time 9/25-10/1 from northeast PA. Have yoou tried expedia / orbitz for airfare? From the Avoca airport (scranton/wilkes barre area), they're offering several flight options at $215/pp. Through Disney's site, the air for the 3 of us, (me,dh & ds6) was offered at $1200. So, it was almost 1/2 off going through expedia.
Have a great trip!!! We are soooo excited for our 1st time!!

 

[tink_n_pooh]

First, check out the transportation board because they will have lots of great information.

Second, and probably should have been first, do not take I-95. The 81-77-26-95-4 route is leaps and bounds better than sitting on I-95. No traffic, no huge cities, just a scenic highway drive.

 

[FigmentFan1975]

We have driven twice before, and are driving again in a few weeks! We live in the Philly area and don't mind the drive at all, and it saves so much money.
We drive straight thru, at least on the way down. Leave around 7pm on Friday night, kids fall asleep around 11pm and its a nice, peaceful drive with little to no traffic overnight. We alternate driving so we are not too tired. I sleep while DH drives and vice versa. We usually get to Brunswick, GA for breakfast, and then we are only around 3 1/2 hours from Disney, and will be there by Noon! Simpler than flying anyhow, and no limits on how much to pack, etc. Have fun!

 

[BarbieSmith]

Haven't read other responses. But be sure to check out Allegiant. 2 airports within 2 hours of you. We got 89 dollar roundtrip for 1st week in December.

 

[OurBigTrip]

We've made the drive twice from the DC area, and it wasn't too bad.

We would leave at 4 AM, and the kids would sleep until around 7 AM. We stopped for breakfast just over the VA/NC line, then drive, with short stops, including a picnic lunch, until we hit Brunswick, GA, around 4 or 5 PM. That gave us time to unwind from the drive, rent an in-room movie, go to the pool, etc. Go to bed around 11 PM, wake up when we wake up, then head out to WDW.

The last three trips we've flown, because the vacation days we would spend driving down is more than the air fare, and we arrive at WDW by 11 AM or so, and have the whole day to relax before Chef Mickey's for our first night's dinner.

 

[Donnainnj]

Hey everyone has anyone on here drove from pa near philly! If so was it costly in gas. I am look at plane tickets now and for 3 of us it is looking to cost about 1100 out of philly. i Always pay around 700 or less for all 3 of us to fly. We have been thinking about driving anyway but just want to know any tips people can give me thanks guys!!!

You may want to check Southwest out of Baltimore if you decide to fly. Much lower then Philadelphia, and not that much further.
Donna