Driving straight from Virginia to DW?

[susanab]

Anyone driven straight from VA to DW? I've been twice, years ago, and both times we stopped in Savannah, GA for a night. I'm thinking of driving the whole way, which would take at least 18 hours. Is it doable?

 

[CanadianChick]

Anyone driven straight from VA to DW? I've been twice, years ago, and both times we stopped in Savannah, GA for a night. I'm thinking of driving the whole way, which would take at least 18 hours. Is it doable?

18 Hours is doable. I am from Nova Scotia, Canada and we do the drive in 2 days. Our first day was 18-19 hours. In total it is 36 hours to get to Disney. We will be doing the drive in 3 days this Dec instead of the 2 days, but always coming home we do in 2.

Good luck

 

[pattibehan]

We drive straight from NY, it takes us 24 hours. We love the drive, we make lots of stretch and potty breaks, and a tradition is to find a Cracker Barrell at about 4am and take a nap for two hours in the parking lot until it opens!!

Our sons, now 13 and 14, make "nests" in the two back benches in the van..pillows, blankets and all of their "stuff". My DH and I get a lot of time to talk, plan and spend time together that our hectic lives don't allow for !! We have a cooler of drinks, a snack basket, audio books we both enjoy and we have FUN !!!

To me, the drive is the start of a great vacation...PS...I am terrified of flying!!

 

[Marine Mom]

We are driving from CT (18.5 hours) and have done it many many times. We drive straight through since we take turns driving and find it to be no big deal. We bring a bunch of movies, pack the cooler and off we go. My DS doesn't like to fly so we do this for him.

 

[lovetoscrap]

Yep That is our plan this year and we have done it in the past. We have found that sometimes we are tired on the way home and end up stopping for the night. But we won't have time for that this year so we are planning to leave early in the morning so we can get home earlier.

One thing we like to do is to bring our own sandwiches and salads and other food to eat along the way. We will stop and picnic at a rest stop. Other than the obvious $$$ savings, it is healthier and takes less time than stopping at a restaurant. It seems like when we always end up at the fast food place with the longest lines or a sit down with the worst service! It also means that if my kids don't eat everything we can just pack it up into the cooler and the can finish it later.

 

[Kitikat]

We drive from Va to WDW...took 2 trips last yr and drove both times...we leave in 24 days and plan on driving...I pack plenty of snacks for everyone and DH & I stop for drinks...(coffee for me)...we always stop in savannah for gas...that is about our half way point....then stop for breatfast when we find an Ihop....We love to drive over night so most of our children sleep.....DH & I are doing it in Dec for the PCC2.0/20th anniversary trip....

 

[myweegirls]

We did it in May! We picked up the girls from kindergarten and preschool at 3:30pm in northern VA (western Fairfax County) and hit the road. We stopped over the NC border for a Chick-Fil-A dinner and then drove on. The girls slept 7 1/2 hours in the car once we turned off the movie and said it was bedtime. I drove straight through, and DH napped intermittently. We pulled into our breakfast destination at 7am (area Cracker Barrel) and then went over to AKL. DH took the girls to the pool, and I took a nap in the lounge.

I needed a recharge, but the nap and the adrenaline from being there did it - I slept beautifully that night and was completely good to go.

It took longer to drive home, as we left at 9am from AKL. We needed more stops with the girls awake for more of the drive and got home around 1:45am. I'd highly recommend the overnight route - just take that day off and get a ton of sleep before you go!

XO
Liz

 

[Metro West]

 

[Happiest mommy]

 

[daisyduck123]

We drive straight-thru from Maryland every trip. It takes exactly 14 hours & that includes are 3-4 stops (usually about 5 min. each for gas/bathroom/fast food).

We usually leave @2am & arrive at our Disney resort in time for 4pm check-in.

*18 hours seems like a lot...what part of Va. are you driving from?

 

[amjetmech]

We are driving from Norfolk to DW in about 18 days. We are planning on it taking about 12hrs. The last couple of times we flew from CT, which was nice, but I think that driving will be better. It's gonna be a lot cheaper which is always good and we'll be able to go other places while we're there.

 

[scjo68]

We drive staight from Richmond VA, and it takes about 12 hours, with reasonable stops. Maybe 13 hours if we hit traffic. If you are coming from Northern VA, maybe add 2-3 hours to that. We leave about 4:00 am., get there at 4:00 or 5:00.

We have done trips when we stopped overnight at a Hotel on the way, but have found driving straight through to be easier. You are excited to get there, so you keep going.

We never drive back home straight through. Always stay over in Santee, SC. We don't like to rush out of WDW too early in the a.m. on departure morning, and don't have the excitement to get us home that soon.