Driving Help from Chicago

[grumpy-duck]

Decided to drive this year to save money for another trip later in the year! I've printed directions using mapquest.com from Chicago so I have a general idea but was looking for any hints, like bypasses to take, ongoing construction, etc.

Also, anyone typically stay overnight fairly close to Disney and get up the next morning for a relatively short ride in, say a couple hours? We are thinking of staying overnight in the general area of Gainesville and driving to WDW early the next morning to begin a day of fun. Does anyone have a favorite hotel they like to stay at a couple hours north of WDW?

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[siouxi31]

Hi! We usually try to drive all the way through. I'm the one with the adrenaline rush on the drive and can make the whole drive myself. But, one time we just got too tired around Forsythe GA--south of Atlanta. All I can say is if you reach this town, don't stop. The reason we stopped here was because there were several motels along the highway. We picked a Super 8 and it was a nightmare. I can't imagine that the others were much better. We video-taped this room and it is the funniest part of our video. Brown stains on the pillow case, dusty towels, dirty carpet, toothpaste spatterings on the mirrors, hole in the bedspread--you name it nasty and it was in this room. Can't wait to see if other's post here. I would like to know a good area in case we need to stop again.

 

[mickeyx2]

I can't really help with tips but wanted to say that we're doing the exact same thing in 2 weeks. DRiving from MI and I originally thought we'd just go right to Orlando but I didn't want to arrive there without a good nights sleep. After MUCH searching I've come up with Valdosta GA. It seems to be about 3-4 hours North of Disney. There are quite a few hotels right at the exit. I've been debating on whether to make a reservation using Priceline (which I've never used) or whether to 'wing' it and wait until I arrive. Ocala also ran thru my mind but it is about 2 more hours of driving. I hope this at least gives you a couple of more areas to search. By the way, these are both off of I-75 which I assumed you'd be driving. Have a great trip!

 

[Shelly]

Hi! We are doing this saturday, we are stopping in Macon Ga. Which should be 5-6 hours from Disney.
We were told from others that made this trip to for sure try to make hotel ressies. These hotels book up quickly in the summer. Good luck.

 

[Laz]

I live near the Fort Wayne area so I have an idea of your drive time. I always try to get past Atlanta. It feels so much better to know I don't have to face that city the next day. If you do go thru Atlanta, just make sure you don't do it during rush hour.

 

[redbirdgrad]

I've done it countless times - Dalton GA was always a favorite of my father and has alot of hotels, last year with my family we drove to Stockbridge and stayed at a Hampton Inn - very nice and there were other hotels at that exit too, as well as a Favoli's Italian, Honeybaked Ham deli and other stuff. The drive from Dalton to Disney was about 6-7 hours I believe.

 

[Goofyswife]

We're also driving down this July. How long does it take to get to Georgia from Chicago?

 

[redbirdgrad]

Goofyswife,

Took me 13 hours ( including stops for gas/food etc...) to get past Atlanta, you also lose an hour going to Eastern time from Central.