Driving over to US/IOA from Disney

[jimmytammy]

We are 1st timers to US/IOA in a few weeks. We will be driving 4 days, Sun, Mon., Wed. and Thurs. from OKW. We have found a way up Apopka Vineland Rd. towards the parks from Disney. It takes about 20 mins, good traffic, roughly same time it takes on I-4 on good day. Prefer to avoid I-4 anytime of day. Anyone else been the way Im talking and what exp. have you had, esp. during week?

 

[Metro West]

We are 1st timers to US/IOA in a few weeks. We will be driving 4 days, Sun, Mon., Wed. and Thurs. from OKW. We have found a way up Apopka Vineland Rd. towards the parks from Disney. It takes about 20 mins, good traffic, roughly same time it takes on I-4 on good day. Prefer to avoid I-4 anytime of day. Anyone else been the way Im talking and what exp. have you had, esp. during week?

Are you taking Sand Lake Road to Apopka Vineland? If so, the only busy parts of that route will be Sand Lake and when you get down to The Crossroads...the rest is mainly residentual.

 

[jimmytammy]

Are you taking Sand Lake Road to Apopka Vineland? If so, the only busy parts of that route will be Sand Lake and when you get down to The Crossroads...the rest is mainly residentual.

I believe that is the basic way I was thinking of. I remember a Turkey Lake Rd being one of the streets we turned on

 

[glocon]

We took that route in early June of 2010 thinking to avoid WWoHP fans, and it was very smooth. Someone on these boards gave me the directions, and even mentioned where there might be a speed trap to watch out for, but I couldn't tell you where that was now. This is the best place to get insider information!
We went from AKL to HRH at that time, and I would say that is was about 20 min, and it was interesting to go through the residential areas, and past the schools, and imagine what it would be like to live so close to Hogwarts.

 

[damo]

We use that route as well. It is very simple and quite a pretty route.

 

[Metro West]

I believe that is the basic way I was thinking of. I remember a Turkey Lake Rd being one of the streets we turned on

Yeah...from Universal...you'd take Turkey Lake Road and make a right on Sand Lake and then a left on Apopka Vineland. The intersection of TLR and SLR is always a pain regardless of the time of day/night. I come all the way down Apopka Vineland from my house and it's a nice drive. Lots of wealthy neighborhoods that way as well as Bay Hill...where the PGA golf tournament is held. I pass some of those gated communities (Balmoral, Lake Down Crest, Windermere Ridge, Isleworth) and think how nice it would be to live there...sigh.

 

[BrinkofSunshine]

We took that route in early June of 2010 thinking to avoid WWoHP fans, and it was very smooth. Someone on these boards gave me the directions, and even mentioned where there might be a speed trap to watch out for, but I couldn't tell you where that was now. This is the best place to get insider information!
We went from AKL to HRH at that time, and I would say that is was about 20 min, and it was interesting to go through the residential areas, and past the schools, and imagine what it would be like to live so close to Hogwarts.

It's so interesting to hear someone say that. I've lived in that area (known as Dr. Phillips) almost all of my life, and I can't imagine not growing up around the theme parks!

I will say that hearing the screams of people riding the coasters at IOA from the halls of my high school did not make going to class any easier!

To the OP- You can either take Sand Lake Rd. or Wallace Rd. to head east from Apopka-Vineland towards Universal. Wallace is prettier and generally less congested than Sand Lake.

 

[DOOM1001]

It's so interesting to hear someone say that. I've lived in that area (known as Dr. Phillips) almost all of my life, and I can't imagine not growing up around the theme parks!

I will say that hearing the screams of people riding the coasters at IOA from the halls of my high school did not make going to class any easier!

To the OP- You can either take Sand Lake Rd. or Wallace Rd. to head east from Apopka-Vineland towards Universal. Wallace is prettier and generally less congested than Sand Lake.

Let me ask you a question,was the wall at Dueling Dragons put up just to keep the High school kids from staring at the coaster all day long and causing truancy in those students more vulnerable to the theme parks,I don't think I could've gone to Dr.Phillips high.The three ways I go from Disney to Universal are either I-4 all the way or Apopka Vineland to Sand Lake rd and then turn left on Turkey lake.You could also turn right on Palm Pkwy from Apopka Vineland which automatically becomes Turkey Lake rd which you would just take straight to Universal.Another way maybe a little further out would be to go south on Apopka Vineland and after the I-4 overpass turn left on Vineland ave then turn left on I-Drive and take it to just past the convention center,turn right at Pointe Plaza ave and left on Universal blvd leading straight to Universal.

 

[BrinkofSunshine]

Let me ask you a question,was the wall at Dueling Dragons put up just to keep the High school kids from staring at the coaster all day long and causing truancy in those students more vulnerable to the theme parks,I don't think I could've gone to Dr.Phillips high.

Haha, possibly! I think the wall went up to help deflect most of the sound, or maybe it was just to create a large barrier between the park and the road.

 

[bumbershoot]

I think we ended up taking something like that route as we were going from a Publix over to Whole Foods, then to Universal. Noticed that school; neither of us could have dealt with being SO close and paid any sort of attention to school!

 

[jimmytammy]

It's so interesting to hear someone say that. I've lived in that area (known as Dr. Phillips) almost all of my life, and I can't imagine not growing up around the theme parks!

I will say that hearing the screams of people riding the coasters at IOA from the halls of my high school did not make going to class any easier!

To the OP- You can either take Sand Lake Rd. or Wallace Rd. to head east from Apopka-Vineland towards Universal. Wallace is prettier and generally less congested than Sand Lake.

Wallace is the road that stands in my mind as the one that we took. I remember Sand Lake being more congested. Thanks for mentioning Wallace.