Driving London, Ont. to WDW. Which border crossing??

[pmountain]

We are driving to WDW from London, leaving early in am Sunday Oct.21. I can't decide if we should cross at Sarnia or Windsor. I have been monitoring wait times on-line but that doesn't always show whole picture. The wait at the border for cars is sometimes listed as very short, BUT you get stuck behind a huge line of trucks before you can get to the line for cars. On the way down I expect to hit the border at about 6 am. On the way back we will probably get there on Sunday afternoon.... could be BUSY.!!??
Any advice would be welcome.
Thanks Pete.

 

[DSNY FN]

Hi we drive down from London to and we alway cross in Detroit Port Huron just seems too far out of the way to make it worth while. Yes Sarnia is closer to drive to from London but you are then 45 minutes away from Detroit if not more where you pick up the I75 so you end up further north west than you need to be. Stick to the 401 and cross in Detroit you will be glad you did. It is a bit ofn a pain the waythey have the road laid out to get to the I75 from the bridge but still not as time consuming as an extra hour almost of driving from Port Huron. Now Port Huron is where you want to cross if you are flying out of Detroit but not if you are driving to WDW. Hope this helps
Darren & Lisa

 

[MikeJ]

I am going to have to respectfully disagree with Darren. I have crossed at both Windsor and Sarnia, and I'll take Bluewater anytime. Of course, it depends on a variety of factors (we had a snow squall last December 31 which caused no end of headaches on the 402) but all things being equal I'd stay away from Windsor. I find the crossing at Sarnia to be quicker (although that may be a relative term in light of 9/11) as the traffic does tend to be lighter. We drove from London to DTW last year, through a snow squall, and we were at the airport in about 2.75 hours, about the same as it would take on the 401. You also get the higher speed limits on I-94 between Pt. Huron and Detroit and much lighter traffic until you hit Detroit. We're planning a trip later this year and that's the route we'll be taking - unless there's another squall blowing in off Lake Huron.

If you look at a map of the route, you have to go around Lake St. Clair, either to the north and west, or south and east. In my (less than expert) opinion, for us the difference in times is negligible. It takes me 15 minutes to get to the 401 (going out through Lambeth) but I can get to the 402 at Mt. Brydges in half that time. If you live in the north end of London I would suggest that the 402 is the way to go. If you have quick access to the 401 then you may need to just toss a coin.

- Mike

 

[DSNY FN]

Hi Mike we are now owners at WLV we close this week yay for us. So you prefer the drive through Port Huron eh. We take that route when we go to the airport actually the limo takes that route. Wen we drive we always cross in Detroit we live in old south so we are kinda in the middle of the 2 highways I just found it to be quicker to take the 401. Anyhow to each his own and also really when you are going to WDW is there really a bad way to get there honestly hehehe.
Darren

 

[MikeJ]

Congrats on the purchase at VWL. We're toying with an add-on there (we own at OKW) particularly with the new MB offer they have for WL. We've not been able to find anything in the resale market at OKW that fits our needs so we may end up going through Disney.

Ya, I prefer the Sarnia route for a couple of reasons:

1) I hate the 401 (but only mildly despise the 402).

2) Traffic tends to be lighter at Sarnia.

3) I find the drive on I-94 from Port Huron to Detroit to be much more pleasurable that the 401. Lighter traffic (unless you hit Detroit in rush hour), more courteous drivers - I just find it easier on the nerves. Of course, once you hit I-75 south of Detroit all bets are off.

I know several people (including some sales reps we deal with at work) who cross the border on a regular basis and their preference without exception is Sarnia.

 

[DSNY FN]

Maybe next time we will try the Sarnia route. So did you get your Snow White DVD yet we went on Sunday to get ours. Talk to you later and have a great trip I know we will
Darren & Lisa

 

[Cruisin' Krause's]

Hello there. We, too, are in London, but are going through Toronto (Air Transat) 10/18 for 2 days at WDW, then 7 days on the Cruise (great).

Lots of trips across the borders, and, for convenience, Sarnia seems better (better attitudes also). If you're more comfortable with Sarnia, Windsor's not as bad as it was at first (my paretns live there).

Coming back's a little different - bad either way I think, so chose where you'd rather be stuck, I suppose.

Best of luck, and let us know how the trip goes (same city, after all).

 

[pmountain]

Thanks for the great (and differing) opinions. It seems that Sarnia has the most votes. I have crossed at both places many times and could never convince myself that one or the other was significantly better than the other. But, the route from the bridge to the highway in Detroit is more confusing and I'd rather be lost in Port Huron than in that neighbourhood of Detroit.
Thanks again. Pete

 

[DSNY FN]

Well we are glad we could help shed some light on the subject well our opnions anyhow. I am sure if you have any more questions we would all be glad to try and answer them for you. I still prefer Detroit but I have crossed there more times than I can remember even though we have relatives in Sarnia we tend to all meet in Windsor to cross. Anyhow you really can't go wrong at either place. Have a great trip.
Darren & Lisa

 

[cottontail]

Hello Folks: Can anybody tell me approximately how many hours of driving to get to wdw driving from the windsor border to hwy 75. Also where would the half way city be? Thanks

Deb.

 

[MikeJ]

Deb,

If you aren't aware of it, there's a book published annually called Along I-75 by Dave Hunter. I have the 2001 edition. It is by far the most comprehensive book on driving I-75 from Detroit to the Florida border out there. They have a web site at http://www.i75online.com. The book is well worth the cost - the 2002 edition is supposed to be available now, according to the web site.


And Pete, if you find getting to I-75 confusing when crossing at Windsor, the book has a detailed map of how to get on I-75 southbound from the tunnel which is the best description I have seen anywhere. Can't remember if they have details on getting to the highway from the bridge, though.

- Mike

 

[TimNDansMom]

I have enjoyed reading this discussion, Darren and Mike. We have always crossed at Windsor because DH thinks that Sarnia is too far out of the way. We live in Woodstock. Up until this past July, we have had no problem crossing at Windsor. But on our way home the traffic was really backed up because of a stalled truck on the bridge, so it was down to one lane. Then we got redirected through the Duty Free parking lot in Detroit, I guess to reduce the length of the line-up and we should have stayed on the road because it took us forever to rejoin the traffic on the other side of the Duty Free. So that was the only time (so far) we've had a problem out of 3 driving trips over the last year. DH often drives to the US on business and I don't think has had a problem either. I thinks it's just timing.

We also use the "Along the I 75" and agree that it's excellent. I'll have to look for the new one (glad to know it's out, Mike) as we hope to go for March Break again.

Deb, last March Break we drove home over 2 days and I pre-booked a room at the Sleep Inn in Knoxville, TN. We left Orlando at 6:30am and arrived in Knoxville at 6pm. We left at 8am the next morning and arrived home sometime after dinner (I can't remember the exact time, but it wasn't too late--I do remember it was still daylight when we crossed the border, though. We weren't in as much of a hurry since we would be arriving at our house, this night.) We usually plan two stops there and back (somewhere in Ohio, Friday night as we leave as soon as DH gets home from work and then Macon, Georgia, Saturday night and arrive in Orlando on Sunday afternoon) but we only had the week so decided to drive back with just one stop on the way home, so we would have another day in Florida. I planned for two 12-hour days including breaks. Luckily, we had no traffic problems there or back and the weather was generally great for driving! (We left home on the Friday night and encountered some sleet between London and Detroit on the drive down but the weekend was gloriously sunny all the way down to Florida and great on the return trip!)

Congratulations, Darren and Lisa on your WLV purchase! I hope you'll bring some photos at a future meet.

 

[cottontail]

Thanks everyone.

I will surely look up that book. We could probably do the two twelve hour days, it is nice to know where the half way mark is and be able to prebook something. I always feel better if I have something booked.
Trying to persuade hubby to go down in the next little while with all the hotel deals down there, but he is not sure because of this anthrax scare, expecially now they think it has been put in a ventilation system in washington. I guess they could put it in any ventilation system. We are definitely going with the whole family in april.

Deb.

 

[DSNY FN]

I whole heartedly agree with Mike about the Along the I 75 book we live by that for driving to Disney it is the best investment you can make whenever you plan on driving to WDW. Have a great trip
Darren & Lisa

 

[MikeJ]

I had another look at our copy of Along Interstate 75 when I got home yesterday, and the detailed map I spoke of yesterday shows how to get from the Ambassador Bridge to I-75, not from the tunnel. I agree with Pete that the route to get onto I-75 at the bridge is incredibly confusing if you don't know where you're going. Regardless of whether you cross at Windsor or Sarnia, everyone who drives that highway should get a copy of the book.

- Mike