Driving to Disney---13+ hour drivers

[mhconley]

My wife and I used to drive the 1100 miles between Oceanside, CA and Hood River, OR straight through. We'd be in the car on the road at 6:00 AM and pull into Hood River about 11:30 PM. That's 17-1/2 hours. I did all the driving. We'd stop at fast food for lunch and dinner and for gas / bathroom breaks but that's it. If your not going 80+ on I-5 through central California you get run over. The windy sections through Oregon slowed our average speed.

It is certainly do-able if you start off well rested.

Martin

 

[CinderellaDreamer]

Oh - thank you for that AAA trip cost estimator! That is awesome. Round-trip for us is $184, if gas stays at this price. Definitely cheaper for us than flying 5 people. (only 590 miles for us too.)

And there is no trash talking for DVD players in the car at our house!!!! My twin 7 yr. olds and 3 yr. old would never make it on a long trip without them. We don't use them at home for short trips. We did one other extravagant thing -- we bought a Nintendo DS that we break out only for trips! The boys are thrilled, and we only got one, so its a great novelty the whole time. We do have to deal with, 'Is it my turn yet?', but that is getting better now that they can tell time.

Another big help that I found is the driving info on the DIS for 95:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/Transportation/Driving_to_Florida.htm

I printed out all of SC, GA, and the FL portion of 95 for our last trip. It was a big help with deciding which exit we were going to stop at for gas, food, and lodging. (we broke up our trip last time since we left after work on a Friday.)

Best wishes for a safe journey and a magical trip for those leaving soon!

 

[Kaler131]

DH hardly ever drinks soda at home (and would not touch coffee or tea), but always take Mt. Dew with us for the trip down and back (full of caffeine)!

That sounds EXACTLY like my DH! He won't go near coffee (I my coffee) but will drink TONS of Mt. Dew to get his caffeine. Must be an Ohio DH thing...LOL!

 

[Buckeyemouse]

We have driven straight thru from Northwest Ohio. We always left during the early evening and tried to miss the major traffic areas during rush hour. In our case it would be Cincinnati and Atlanta. We only stopped for gas on the way. Our children slept most of the trip, which is a good thing. When they were awake we occupied their time with Games, movies, and music. It usually took us 18-20 hours of driving. DW and I took turns at the wheel. The other either napped or occupied the children during the trip. We would be tired when we arrived at WDW, before check in time. We would go to a water park and then DTD that first day. Yes, we slept well that night and went to bed early so we could be refreshed when we hit the parks the next day. DW always packed a cooler with drinks, made sandwiches, etc... for the trip. While I like to drive DW prefers to fly (convenience). Good luck with driving, make it fun and not a chore!

 

[YodaGirl]

We always drive straight through (approx. 15 hours). My dad always drove the entire way until my brother was old enough to drive. This time DH and my dad will be swapping up. We also drive through at night to try to avoid major traffic.

Our first day down is spent relaxing around FW (or whatever resort), checking out disney transportation (nothing like a relaxing round trip monorail ride ), and just soaking up the disney environment. By the time the next morning comes, we're in a good disney mood and well-refreshed to hit MK.

Oh, and never wake kids up thinking that they'll go back to sleep in the car - it doesn't happen. My parents made that mistake when my brother and I were little.

Always let them fall asleep in the car.

 

[dis75ney]

For those of you who drive straight through, how do you stay awake? I mean, some of you drive through the night to be there 1st thing in the morning, and some leave in the middle of the night. I'm just wondering how sleep doesn't become an issue. Or let's take it from another perspective, say we'll stop somewhere for the night. I'm 18+ hours away, according to mapquest. By the time I pay for 2 motels (1 each direction) and gas and food, how much would I really save over flying?

DH and I switch off. DH will start out the drive around 7pm, and I'll help navigate until we are out of Chicago. Then I power nap until 2am-ish. DH then takes his nap while I continue the drive. This way works out best for us, as I have a hard time staying up past 10pm, but I can wake up easier than DH. DH can stay up late, but once he's out, it's next to near impossible to wake him up...

 

[amcnj]

Hi. I have driven from NJ a number of times. I do all the driving. Mapquest estimates 16 hours 44 minutes, but my actual driving time has been 16 - 18 hours, depending on stops (especially whether we stop for dinner - usually 1.5 hours- before checking in or not), accidents, etc. I don't think I could stay awake overnight, so instead I leave at 2:30 AM. By the time everyone else wakes up we are in NC already, having been ahead of any morning rush hour traffic in DC, VA, etc. We arrive in the 6:30-8:30 pm range. Coming home is more of a challenge as no on else but me wants to get up and leave FL at 2:30 am, so we usually don't get on the road till 8:30 am.

 

[MikkiM]

I'm glad to see so many people driving..everyone thinks my friends and I are nuts for driving down. There will be 7 of us - 3 drivers - although one doesn't think she'll drive at all b/c her BF and I are control freaks when it comes to driving. Anyhow, according to AAA it's 1431 miles for us each way (we live in Iowa). We plan on leaving around 7pm after he gets off work and driving to Daytona Beach - staying there a day and then off to WDW. The drive home will be straight thru. I personally love to drive and am usually the only driver when we travel - I can't sleep when others drive. I'm hoping this time will be different and I'll rest more since it won't be my vehicle (we're renting a van) and I won't worry about someone else wrecking it. Now if the weather will just cooperate and be nice in November!

 

[Kaler131]

This will be our first trip driving straight through...not our first trip driving-we have driven MANY times, but always stopped for the night on the way down. The kids are a little older now and want to get there sooner instead of staying at a hotel on the way down. On the return trip we are, however, breaking the trip up and staying in a hotel halfway home.
We are planning to leave around 10pm and DH and I are going to drive in 3-4 hour shifts. I may extend my driving shift because time seems to go so much faster for me when I am driving (I may be a control freak??? ) My DH has NO problem falling asleep in the car, so he can sleep in-between his drving shifts.
We paln on just hanging out at the resort when we arrive. We will probably just swim and eat dinner at the food court. My DH has NEVER been to POP (his last trip in 2002 we stayed at Poly) so the kids will enjoy taking him for a tour of the resort grounds!

P.S. Portable DVD players and DS systems ROCK!!!! I remember driving from Cleveland to Tampa with my family of six (2 adults & 4 kids) when I was a kid and it was TORTURE! That was back in the days BEFORE dvd players (let alone portable ones!) and portable game systems. There needs to be a balance between "group time" and "personal time" no matter where you are.There are only so many "games" and "family conversations" you can have on a long road trip before you want to jump out of the car into oncoming traffic! LOL At least that's how it felt for me as a 13 year old! LOL

 

[JACKie SPARROW]

that's my thinking on the cost....I'll have a MINIMUM of $900 for flights, plus parking at the airport $100, plus rental car at Disney $250, plus food/misc at the airport $60 for a total of $1310.

My gas to get down and back would be around $400, plus misc food and novelties (got to stop at South of the Border) at say $200. I'm driving down for basically 1/2 what I'll fly for.

Let me know if I left anything out........

When you drive you are not limited to the 1 piece of luggage and don't have to pack according to TSA regulations

 

[pioneer89]

I've made the drive down from the Winchester, VA area (900 miles) many times (10, I think) and the trip has taken between 14 hours and 18 hours! (had my DMIL and DSIL w/ kids following in another van).

My plan is to always start around 7:00 pm, and drive straight through. I can get a 3 hour nap before we leave, and I'm good to go (with a little help from the Mountan Dew). Once the kids and DW are alseep, it's road warrior time, and I only stop when the engine starts to stall from lack of gas

Three DVD players (for DW, DS6, and DD4) make the trip go easier on all of us. My parents live about 45 mins from WDW, and we always 'bookend' nights at their house, which gives everyone time to recover. Without that extra day cusion, I would not be a happy camper the first day there.

I truely enjoy the ride, I have a hectic enough life, and 14-15 hours to just 'veg' and listen to music is actually welcome. Alas, while planning this years trip (arrive Sept 20th), my wife of 10 years gave me a suprise by informing me that she absolutely dreads the drive, and always has. I took the good husband route of thanking her for quietly putting up with it for this long , and promptly booked 4 RT flights

 

[DizzyFORDisney]

The last time we drove (from the Phila area) we left at 4 am, hit Savannah GA by 3:30 pm and then stayed the night in Kings Bays, GA.

Woke up the next morning for a 3 hour drive and spent the day at Sea World.

Through all of this the 3 boys had NO IDEA where they were going!

After Sea World we old them we were going to Disney for a week and that it was only 10 minutes away - that reaction was priceless!

This year we are planning to leave at 4 am (maybe 3:30) and STRAIGHT through! We are supposed to stay one night at Shades of Green and then move over to the Poly in to morning.

I hope we make it!!

The way home will be split into 2 days of driving with an overnight stop at South of the Border area.

God help us....4 boys in the van for 18 hours......

 

[Dawn68PA]

We don't have a problem staying awake. We drive straight from near Harrisburg, PA and it takes us about 17 hours. DH does most of the driving because he likes to. However, I do drive about 5 hours or so while he sleeps. This year DD17 will drive a little too. She is dying to help.

We always drive through the night. We will leave around 1pm on route 81, hook up with I think it's 95, clean down the coast then to route 4. We get in first thing in the morning. Our room has always been ready but if it's not we leave our bags in the car and peruse the resort. We never do a park on our arrival day. After all that driving we are so happy to be at Disney and we really enjoy hanging out and taking in the sights of our resort. Maybe do a little swimming or hop over to DTD but that's as exciting as we get on day 1.

Can't wait to go back!

 

[honeybee8200]

According to Mapquest, it's 9 hours and 33 mins for us for 596 miles. So with breaks and such, guessing around 12 hours. Though we've never been to Disney, he have driven from NC to Buffalo, NY area (about same distance and time).

DH always drives. Our plan for our April trip is as follows. While I finish cleaning the house and such on Sunday, let Hubby take a nap/go to bed really early. We have DD 4 so she can just help me clean until it's time for her bed. I plan on waking up as early as possible somewhere between 2-3AM and getting everyone out the door. DD can finish her sleep in the car and when she wakes, we have the portable DVD player and a bookbag full of new goodies to keep her happy.

Hubby does well with some sleep and energy drinks. I figure we'll get to the resort about time for check-in. Rest of the first day will be spent napping, hanging out around the resort and preparing for the most Magical days of our lives. When we leave out, no parks planned. Just going to not wake up at dawn, grab some food and head out. We should get home about 10Pmish.

Here's hoping it works!!!

 

[kaipo1]

I don't know how many people even have cars without cruise control anymore, but I wouldn't try this without it. Even with frequent stops, 13+ hours not being able to move that right leg off the gas pedal is unpleasant. Trust me.

 

[misha]

I don't think you can do it in that short of time..let us know.

We are about 1000 miles to disney and I think it says it would take around 17 hours. We have never driven but are doing the autotrain in January. It is 900$ for us and we will have our car when we get there.

We'll be doing the autotrain on Nov 1st - the kids are soooo excited! Mostly decided on that over driving since it will be me and the kids alone w/o DH. My sister an niece will join us after an addtional 500 mile drive so it just seemed less stressful for all and we arrive rested (hopefully) with a car. I'd love to hear anyone's expericence with the autotrain. (I didn't read the whole thread so sorry if that has already been posted!)

 

[disney junky]

We do it often. We own a place in Orlando. Last week we drove back. My inlaws live in NC and sometimes we stop but we don't have to. The best we've done is a bit under 16 but usually it's more like 17. I would suggest that from Pittsburgh, you will eventually get to 81, then 77 through Charlotte, then down to 26 east which will take you to 95 in Georgia. From here, we drive either to Philly or Baltimore for SW fares, but it's almost 2 hours there, then at least an hour early, so that's 3+ hours, 2 hours in the air, and then the usual get out of the airport, etc. Factoring all that in, suddenly 16 hours doesn't seem that long. As far as staying awake, I am unable to sleep in anything that moves, and so I do all the driving. I do like to get a really early start, usually before 4 AM, and usually hit a cracker barrel for breakfast, then only potty and gas breaks.

 

[disney junky]

We'll be doing the autotrain on Nov 1st - the kids are soooo excited! Mostly decided on that over driving since it will be me and the kids alone w/o DH. My sister an niece will join us after an addtional 500 mile drive so it just seemed less stressful for all and we arrive rested (hopefully) with a car. I'd love to hear anyone's expericence with the autotrain. (I didn't read the whole thread so sorry if that has already been posted!)

My sis did the autotrain last year. One thing that surprised her was that she assumed it would be on a very tight schedule, but that wasn't the case. They arrive a lot later than scheduled. She didn't regret doing it, for the experience, but she doesn't think she'd do it again.

 

[JERME81]

We are driving over a 1000 miles as well. We drove it three years ago and it is not too bad. This year we are leaving central IL at 5:30 a.m. and spending the night in Valdosta GA. So, the next day we will only have 3 or 4 hours to go until we get to Orlando. I take many snacks to eat on they way, as well as listen to my disney music cd's. I also take the portable dvd player and all my favorite disney movies. I usually find myself so excited to be going to WDW that I cannot concentrate on the movie I'm watching.

 

[Disneytwinz]

We really enjoyed driving down with our family. We're 1,007 miles from the Disney World front gate.
We left at 4am and avoided alot of traffic. We played games and it was just really fun. Until we broke down...just after South Of The Border in Florence, SC (Nice town btw!). But we even had fun in the motel we stayed in. We flew for the first time this year as a couple and I would drive again in a heartbeat, making sure our AAA is still up to date!