Driving through Atlanta???

[wdwmom0f3]

We will be driving through Atlanta in a few days and I have a question regarding traffic. We will be coming through between 6 & 7 pm. Will we be okay on traffic? We are going to try to make it as close to Disney as we can that night.

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

You are going to experience thick traffic.

Tune to AM 750 (WSB) for the best traffic updates.

Have a map with you in case you have to take an alternate route.

You can go through town or go around it depending on conditions.

 

[spfldfan]

Lets us know what the traffic was like. We will be going through there 9/25. we thought about taking the Alabama route through Dothan but it just seems to far out of the way.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

You are going to experience thick traffic.

Tune to AM 750 (WSB) for the best traffic updates.

Have a map with you in case you have to take an alternate route.

You can go through town or go around it depending on conditions.

Oh no!! When does it let up?

Lets us know what the traffic was like. We will be going through there 9/25. we thought about taking the Alabama route through Dothan but it just seems to far out of the way.

We live close to Auburn so that is the way that we went last time and it was a LONG trip. We have no choice but to go through Atlanta this time because we are leaving my DH's car there at his parents. He will be in Atlanta the week we get back. I was hoping to go through after all of the traffic.

I'll let you know how it went.

 

[marius97]

We went through on a Thur morning at the tail end of rush hour...still very busy. The nice thing is that at least on the road through downtown, they have a car pool lane. The regular road was stop and go, but we flew through there going no less than 55 mph. As much as I studied maps trying to avoid Atlanta, it just doesn't seem like anything is a viable option because they are so much longer.

 

[chonga]

The worst day for traffic in Atlanta is Friday. We metro-Atlantans joke that it starts at 12:00 pm and doesn't end until midnight.

But any other day, you're through the thick of it by about 7:30 pm, with the worst times being 4:30-6:30 pm.

The WSB 750 AM suggestion is right on; also check out B 98.5 FM for updates as well.

Have a very safe and wonderful trip!

 

[Olivia'sMom]

I suggest going through downtown. The bypass is longer and people drive much faster.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

I suggest going through downtown. The bypass is longer and people drive much faster.

Good to know. I am sure DH will talk to my FIL about it too, but I hope that I am the one driving because DH HATES Atlanta and all of the traffic. I just roll with the flow, as long as it is flowing....

By the way, we will be coming through on a Thursday. Does that change anything?

 

[taylor3297]

I agree with the other poster, go through downtown I 75/85 and do not take I 285. It is much quicker.

 

[JanB]

If you are coming from near Auburn, then you are coming into Atlanta from the south on I85, and then you'll be leaving Atlanta to the south on I75.

I hate to say this --- but, depending on where you are dropping off DH's car, you might be driving through Atlanta twice. (That sounds terrible --- and I hate to even suggest it.)

Where will you be dropping off the car?

And what day of the week are you coming through?

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

The worst day for traffic in Atlanta is Friday. We metro-Atlantans joke that it starts at 12:00 pm and doesn't end until midnight.

Earlier this month when my family and I were driving home from WDW starting on a Friday, we got to Atlanta around 2:30 PM and there was no traffic, so we had no problems that day.

 

[clkelley]

We always drive through Atlanta and we time our trips to go through there no earlier than 7pm, which means we leave home no earlier than 2pm Central time.

One time DH insisted on leaving about noon and we lost that 2 hours sitting in Atlanta traffic.

Most definitely go through downtown. For one thing, the semi trucks HAVE to take the bypass, so you don't have to deal with them through downtown.

 

[Olivia'sMom]

If you are coming from Auburn why would you go through ATL instead of Columbus? We live in Columbus and go east to Albany and hit I-75 at Tifton and takes us about 2 hours to get to Tifton.

 

[JanB]

If you are coming from Auburn why would you go through ATL instead of Columbus? We live in Columbus and go east to Albany and hit I-75 at Tifton and takes us about 2 hours to get to Tifton.

She said that they need to drop a car off at FIL's house in Atlanta.

wdwmomof3 -- I assume that you realize that this route will increase your drive time at least 2 hours.

If you are getting into the Atlanta area around 6PM on a Thursday evening, the traffic will probably be beginning to die down. You just never know. If there's an accident downtown, then all bets are off.

If you have mobile internet, just check the Georgia Navigator site well before you get to I285 near the airport. Or use GPS. And listen to AM750 traffic reports. Basically, you'll want to know if there is anything to cause you to need to drive around the perimeter rather than to go straight through downtown. Straight through is probably shorter -- depends on where you are going.

We drive Atlanta to Auburn many, many times. Truth be told, the current construction area in Newnan is much more nerve-wracking than is driving through downtown Atlanta.

Do you have any sort of flexibility that would allow you and a friend to bring DHs car to Atlanta a day or two before you leave for WDW? You'd need a friend so that you have a car to ride back home in. I understand that being without the car for that day or two might be inconvenient. But if you can drive the Auburn to Atlanta route sometime in the 8am to 2pm timeframe on a weekday, the drive is super-easy. You can zip up, drop off the car, and be back home before the kiddos are out of school. If you follow the speed limit, it will be about 5 hours total drive time. This would allow you to just drive from Auburn to WDW without going through Atlanta.