Driving I75 for the first time. Lots of Questions!

[bobcat]

We always drive I77 - I95 but my niece moved to Tampa so we are thinking about taking the I75 route this trip and visiting her first. As much as I love her I am afraid I won;t be able to pull myself away from WDW. LOL. I read a copy of Along I75 and found a bunch of interesting info but I still have a few questions.

Atlanta - I have heard horror stories about driving through here and it looks like we will hit between 4-5pm. The I75 book mentioned there is a carpool lane that you can take straight through and you shouldn't have stop and go traffic. Is that really true?

I would like to stop at Valdosta for the night. Any hotel recomendations? I know some of these hotels are available on Priceline so I may go that route. We will be traveling on a Friday so I would like to prebook our hotel.

Is it worth stopping at the Disney welcome center?

Any other hints or tips for this drive?

 

[geffric]

We take I 75 all the time. I have never stayed at valdosta since we usually stay at Okala Fl instead.. when driving thur Atlanta.. we have maor debates regarding going the long way on the beltway or driving thru town.. depends on traffic.. but most of the time we do the drive thur town.. not been 4 - 5 pm on an weekday tho.
We have never stopped at the Disney travel center.. Hotel book up fats along I75 so price line is a good option. WE like to do the hotels outside of Macon Ga or go all the way to Okala, FL

 

[jessiangel]

We take I-75 all the time driving to WDW. If you take the Atlanta Bypass you will be okay. I wouldn't suggest going straight thru Atlanta at rush hour. Could be there awhile. Just follow the signs on 75 and it will take you to the bypass (I believe it is 475 but I could be wrong). We only have trouble on the bypass if there is an accident or really bad weather.

As for Valdosta, we've only passed thru there. Never stopped for the night. DH refuses to stay there since he got a speeding ticket 2 years ago. Tickets are alot more expensive in Georgia than Illinois.

 

[alexturner74]

The bypass, otherwise known as the perimeter, is I-285.

As long as you can use the carpool lane, it won't be too bad going through town on I-75. You'll still hit some traffic, but it would likely still be faster than going around I-285.

From someone who lives here, I would go through town. Up to you though...either way is okay.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

I used to live in GA and I have to second the recommendation of the I-75 carpool lanes over taking I-285. From what I remember, traffic on the Perimeter can be as bad as traffic through downtown.

 

[Sirius]

How many people do you need in car to use them? Is it just two?

 

[manning]

As long as you can use the carpool lane, it won't be too bad going through town on I-75. You'll still hit some traffic, but it would likely still be faster than going around I-285.

I got into that lane one rush hour trip thru and went just as slow as the other lanes. Of course it was during Xmas week. The traffic was bad all the way to the Florida line. The joke was when a driver put on his brakes at the border so did we in Atlanta.

 

[midge dionne]

We leave Friday a.m. for a 3-day drive to WDW. First stop past Knoxville second stop Valdosta. On the third day we want to stop at a beach along the gulf coast but not as far as Clearwater. Any suggestions?

 

[Sirius]

Originally posted by midge dionne
We leave Friday a.m. for a 3-day drive to WDW. First stop past Knoxville second stop Valdosta. On the third day we want to stop at a beach along the gulf coast but not as far as Clearwater. Any suggestions?

What a small world. I live in Knoxville. Do you know where you are staying?

 

[bobcat]

Thanks for the info. I think I will risk trying the carpool lane since Atlantians (is that what residents of Atlanta are called?) said it should be ok. According to the I75 book as long as you have more than two people in the car you can use the carpool lanes. Another question though about this lane. The book mentioned left side of the road exits., does it get confusing or is it a pretty straight shot through downtown? I don't want to accidently get off I75.

 

[midge dionne]

We don't know where we are staying. We are winging it because of last minute car problems.

 

[clkelley]

I just went through downtown Atlanta on I-75 on Monday, and then again Thursday using the carpool lane. Although it wasn't at rush hour, I did just breeze through. Very easy. There were only two of us and we had no problems. Another note, the big trucks HAVE to take 285 so you lose most of the big rigs while you are going through downtown.

DO use the MACON bypass on 475. That is a nice road that bypasses Macon quite nicely

We were at a baseball showcase for my son in Ft. Myers. It felt really weird being in Florida with an Annual Pass and not stopping at WDW. We just didn't have the time.

Word of Warning. DO NOT stay at the Econo Lodge at Exit 149 on I-75 South of Macon. What a Dive!!!!

As far as places to stay in Georgia

I have stayed at the Quality Inn at Exit 3 on I-475 near Macon

I have also stayed at the Quality Inn South at Exit 16 on I-75 near Valdosta.

Hope this helps.

Carol

 

[manning]

Econo Lodge - I see the Choice chain hasn't changed their ways.

 

[alexturner74]

Originally posted by bobcat
According to the I75 book as long as you have more than two people in the car you can use the carpool lanes. Another question though about this lane. The book mentioned left side of the road exits., does it get confusing or is it a pretty straight shot through downtown? I don't want to accidently get off I75.

You only need 2 people (driver plus 1) to do the carpool lane.

I-75 going through town has left and right exits. This is not a problem. You just need to be aware that once you get into town, I-75 meets up with I-85. There is a left exit for I-85 north when you are going south on I-75. The carpool lane actually breaks off of I-75 and follows this I-85 north exit. Do not get out of the carpool lane in this area! The I-85 north exit will peel around to the right, you'll continue straight and end up back on I-75/I-85 south. Confusing enough? Just remember, stay in the carpool lane.

 

[bobcat]

Thanks for the heads up! I can see me panicing trying to figure out which way to go. I'll just stick to the car pool lane straight through.

Carol thanks for a couple of ideas on where to stay. I'm not sure if I will try priceline for this stop but if not it's good to have some first hand accounts. Does the Quality Inn near Valdosta have inside or outside access to the rooms?

All of your info is helping bunches!

 

[Demosthenes]

Is there no way you can leave earlier or later to avoid the 4-5pm time on the connector (1-75/1-85 in downtown Atlanta)? If you can, you will save yourself quite a headache. ATL drive-time traffic, especially on a Friday, is murder.

 

[clkelley]

The Quality Inn near Valdosta has outside doors.

In response to the Choice Hotels line, in defense ALL of the Quality, Comfort, or Sleep Hotels I have stayed at have been great! This is the first time with this one EconoLodge, that I have been disappointed. I usually make my reservations online, and don't normally use EconoLodge, but I was on the phone this time and didn't have computer access to make the reservations, and all the other suggestions she was giving me were 7-8 miles away from the interstate, so I agreed to it. Live and learn

Carol

 

[bobcat]

Having never driven this route before and relying on the AAA drive time I would have to leave the house at 4 am to avoid Atlanta at Rush Hour. Since I am the only driver getting up at 4am will make me too tired. My other option is to leave later but then that makes my arrival at Valdosta later than I really want and again tiredness is an issue. I am scared of Atlanta rush hour but I am more scared about driving when I am tired. Thanks for the suggestion though.

Anyone drive this route from Ohio? I would love to get a real take on the drive times. I know how long it takes me to get to Cincy so I can adjust it from there.

 

[Boo Mc]

I would try to make a ressie in Valdosta. We always drive from Michigan and stop there. We never make ressies but almost got stuck without a room last time. Apparently there's a water park or somthing near by and it was also the Daytona 500 and every hotel was packed. We stopped a 6 places and got the last room at the 7th!! (I think this area is especially crowded in the summer time). We try to leave Valdosta by 7:00 and stop at the Welcome Center for an early lunch (lots of restaurants right next to it). Then we are at WDW in no time. We never want to stop and eat right when we get there - we like to get right to the Disney stuff - so stopping in Ocala works great for us. The other good thing about staying in Valdosta is that AAA always tells us there's a speed trap between there and the Fla. border so we prefer to drive it when we're more awake. Also, we use the carpool lane in Atlanta and we stay on 75 even in rush hour. It's never been that bad but maybe we've just been lucky. Hope that helps.

 

[bobcat]

Thanks Boo!. That makes me feel better!