Driving NY to WDW

[even1]

Can anyone advise on a nice hotel approx. midway?? I don't want to do the commando routine so I thought it would be nice to stop overnight. Any suggestions???

 

[DCSingle]

I regularly do this drive from DC so I'm not exactly sure where halfway would be from your NY location, but one suggestion is Lumberton, NC which is a little over five hours past DC and about 7 and a half hours from Disney. Lumberton has a number of chain hotels and places to eat. I've stayed at the Fairfield Inn which was fine (nothing special).

If you want to stop somewhere closer to NY, other major exits in NC (all before Lumberton which is shortly before you cross into SC) are Roanoke Rapids, Rocky Mount and Fayetteville, but I've never stopped at any of these.

 

[AspiringCindy]

We live near the GWB in Jersey and drove to Santee, SC for our overnight! That way, the next days drive was only 6 hours! We stayed at the Holiday Inn and it was very clean and actually pretty nice. Here is a great website to use!
www.usastar.com/i95/homepage.htm

 

[Uncleromulus]

I think Lumberton advertises itself as about the halfway point from NYC to WDW. So it seems like a good place to stop. We've never stayed there, but have eaten at the Cracker Barrell just off one of the I-95 exits.

 

[LarryK]

While Lumberton is about the halfway point, Id recommend going into South Carolina, lots of dining lodging options and a shorter trip to look foward to on Day 2. We have found the Jameson Inns to be consistantly above average for roadside stops, plenty opening along the way.

 

[parmtoo]

Where in NY do you live? We live upstate in the Watertown area. I don't know yet where we are stopping either. I don't want to hit rush hour in Philly, Baltimore or DC. I guess we need to leave really early..........

 

[AspiringCindy]

Florence is a huge area of hotels and restaurants! Originally, we had planned to stop there overnight...but as we neared the exits, we felt like we had a little more driving enery and continued on 1 more hour to Santee! Florence, SC is a great place to stop!

 

[DCSingle]

If you do decide to press on to SC I would also recommend Florence or Santee as good places to stop there. I stayed at a nice inexpensive Country Inn and Suites in Santee. Country Inn and Wingate Inn in Florence looked nice on the outside although I did not stay there. Stayed at a Fairfield Inn in Florence that I did not like at all. Have also heard there are two Hampton Inns in the Florence area, one of which is nice and one isn't.

After you scope at the possibilities at various exits on usastar.com, might want to check back here on specific hotels as I've found that even the usual chains vary widely in quality along the I-95 corridor.

 

[even1]

Thanks everyone!! I appreciate your replies.

Parmtoo - We live in Yonkers and have driven down a few times. We usually drive straight thru (switching drivers about half way) but I was hoping to stop for maybe 1 day and do a little browsing around to break up the trip.

We drove down 2 yrs. ago, leaving at 3:30 pm and drove straight thru only stopping for gas, food & bathroom breaks. We arrived at WDW by 9:30 am. I was really beat the first day though!! We did not run into any traffic but we did have lots of rain. We would have made even better time if we had dry ground!! You can't beat driving thru the night to save time.

I was hoping to hear about a quaint little town to hang out in for an afternoon and early evening, stay over in a nice B&B or hotel and hit the road early the next morning. I'd like to arrive in Orlando by about 1:00 pm. I'll keep looking and let you know if I hear anything interesting!!

 

[hobogary]

Hey parmtoo: Try coming down I 81 to US 17 and then over to I 95, you miss Phily and DC.

 

[even1]

hobogary,

I read a post about this route. Can I go this way? It was said that this was a scenic and pleasant way to go and although it was 100 mi. longer the trip took the same time or less.

Eileen

 

[hobogary]

Yes, it is a little longer, but not 100 miles and you miss all the big cities. Stay on I-81 until Winchester Va, and take US 17 to I -95 at Fredricksburg Va. It is all 4 lane road except for about 7 miles., and a nice area, ( think race horse farms).

 

[hobogary]

Sorry Eileen, wrong answer, as your from Yonkers. It would be quite a way out of your way, probably the 100 miles. I have heard reccomendations to go down the coast to miss DC but never tried it.I do know some people come over to 81 but not sure i would.

 

[Tina]

We stayed in Santee, SC as well. We liked the Hampton Inn and stayed there traveling in both directions. I HIGHLY recommend a reservation whereever you plan to stay.

 

[DCSingle]

If you're looking for a place to actually spend some time, I highly recommend Savannah, GA. It's less than five hours from Orlando so it would mean more driving than you planned the first day, but it is filled with B&Bs and nice hotels. Tons of nice places for dinner or breakfast, along with some history and lots of lovely Southern charm. There are many chain motels labeled as Savannah right off of I-95, but to really experience the town you'd want to choose lodging that advertises that it is actually in the city which is perhaps 15 miles off 95.

 

[don8life]

We usually go as far as we feel safe. A couple of times we stopped in florence. First time in florence we stayed at a cheap motel. BIG MISTAKE! Roaches all over everything in the middle of the night. Now whenever we stop we pay a little extra and always stay at something like fairfield or hampton Inn. Stop at the local restauraunt they have coupon books in the lobbies.

 

[parmtoo]

Thanks for the tip! We were trying to figure out a way to miss the big traffic areas.........we're towing our 5th wheel, and would rather not hit the big cities.......................

 

[JudithM]

I95 hotels ...

On our last trip we couldn't leave until after noon, so we stopped in Lumberton, NC & spent the night at a Country Inn & Suites. We & the guest in front of us thought the place was fairly new - the employee told us it was about 6-7 years old. The staff was friendly; the room was clean, big enough to move around in; & it came with a breakfast.

Last year we stopped in Lumberton coming home & stayed at a Hampton Inn which was not an original Hampton Inn. We did not like it.

We have spent many nights in Florence, SC & Santee, SC. We stayed at a nice Sleep Inn in Florence, but I would not recommend the Hampton Inn on US 52.

In Santee we stay at Clark's Inn. There is a restaurant in front ofthe motel. we frequently stop at the country store next door. Also, Maurice's BBQ opened in Santee about a year ago & the food is delicious (if you like BBQ).

In Georgia we have stayed at very nice Hampton Inns in Richmond hills & Darien. At the Richmond Hills exit is a nice local restaurant, Southern Image - good Southern home cooking.

 

[JudithM]

Originally posted by parmtoo
Where in NY do you live? We live upstate in the Watertown area. I don't know yet where we are stopping either. I don't want to hit rush hour in Philly, Baltimore or DC. I guess we need to leave really early..........

If you are heading south to Florida from Watertown, why would you need to go near Philadelphia? Wouldn't you take I81 south at least to Harrisburg? Just curious ...

 

[parmtoo]

judithM

I looked it it up on map quest, and that sends us right into the Pilidelphia area to pick up 95S. I would of corse rather aviod as many of those high traffic area as possible, with out going to far out of our way. We've been thinking of going 81 to 17, after seeing that route mentioned on these boards. This will be our first trip to WDW since we moved here. We were living in Ga. for several years, and that was a super easy trip.