Driving to Disney---13+ hour drivers

[nicknamy1996]

That's funny. We do the same thing. We have some of our favorite CD's of 70's music, some Disney music, and books on CD. The books on CD are a life saver. You can check out CD's at the library or rent them at Cracker Barrels.

I've found books on tape are good for the first leg, or the start of a leg only... after that they can wear you down a bit. What I love about CDs it how much time one can pass. And, yes I think it helps to break out the oldies, and Disney music, anything that you can sing along to.

I've found that a stand up comedy CD works really good! Keep you laughing, plus if you are tired I think you get a little slap happy and it makes everything a little funnier.

 

[Henna's_Mom]

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!)

DH and I did the autotrain in 2003 and enjpyed it, we upgraded when we got there to our own room w/bathroom instead of just a seat. The only bad thing was waiting for your car when you got off the train, ours was the 3rd to last car off and it took forever.

 

[Henna's_Mom]

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.

We are from NJ too and do the same thing. We leave about 3:00 AM and go straight through (never want to be in the VA/DC area in rush hour) except we stop right outside Orlando for the night and check into Disney the next morning.

 

[eva]

I've found books on tape are good for the first leg, or the start of a leg only... after that they can wear you down a bit. What I love about CDs it how much time one can pass. And, yes I think it helps to break out the oldies, and Disney music, anything that you can sing along to.

I've found that a stand up comedy CD works really good! Keep you laughing, plus if you are tired I think you get a little slap happy and it makes everything a little funnier.

You are so right! On the way home we are usually hitting the comedy channels on our XM radio. They are the best when you get a bit bored.

 

[kimmar067]

...this is one of the HAPPIEST views in the WORLD!

 

[tinkjess3]

My husband and I drive down every time. First off I hate flying and second off usually cheaper for us. Plus we have a ball driving. It took us last time around 15 hours. We got stuck in Atlanta with heavy traffic. We are going in March and will be driving as well. We are going to leave around 10 pm or so this time though instead of early morning.

 

[POOHLUV69]

Rather than respond to posts made on a different thread, I figured I would start a new one to discuss my 'thoughts' about driving down. I just map-quested a trip to Disney, and came up with 1000 miles which I figured to take 14 hours and change (driving conservatively at 70mph, lol).

Does anyone try to tackle this driving straight thru? If so, do you switch with your signifigant other at the half-way point? The drive down wouldn't be so bad since you have anticipation, BUT that drive home must be brutal.

I'm thinking this because even with a recent DING offering, we'd still be paying $180/ea for round-trip tickets. Call me spoiled, but it wasn't long ago that I was getting DING fares for $44/each way, so I can't see spending more than $150/pp round-trip. Times that by (5) people, and you can see that airfare is pretty hefty for me.

Hello fellow Pittsburgher! When we drive to Florida we drive straight thru and leave sometime in the middle of the night so we can drive as long as possible in the dark , I'm sure you know why. We started doing this when the kids were still little so they could sleep, but now it's our thing. Last time we went to Florida we did fly, got a really good ding, but we are heading back next summer and not so certain we may get lucky again.

 

[eliza61]

We were thinking about starting out the previous night at 7PM, which would put us at Disney early the next morning.......is that what you all did? I figured driving at night would let the kids sleep, and not annoy us with constant stops!!!

We did it straight through once. The problem was actually when we got to Disney Dh & I crashed while the kids who had slept in the car on the way down were fresh as daisies. We actually feel asleep on the POTC ride.

 

[MBELSANTI]

When I was a kid back in the 70's my Dad always drove down because there was 5 of us. Mom didn't drive at the time so DD did all of the driving. We used to only make it to Tennessee or Georgia before we had to stop at the good old Holiday Inn. Poor Dad would be so drowsy and practically falling asleep at the wheel. We can laugh about it now, but it was scary. Anyway if I were you, I would drive down and make sure you make an overnight stop unless you have another driver. I have some of the best memories as a kid in those drives!

 

[Stevegriswold]

I use to live right there. I was just 7 minutes from Animal Kingdom. Now I am a 7 hour drive with no traffic or pee breaks.

Steve

 

[4lilpoohs]

Tynk13x- I'm also from the Chicago area. It takes us around 24 going there. We do get to a point where we can't keep our eyes open and stop at a rest stop for a couple of hours. But even with that your drive is much shorter. What route do you take?

 

[Jazcat]

We drive and it is about 18 hours with stops we left around 630 pm and got there around 1200 pm the next day it was not a bad drive plus if you drive you can pack more like blankets and pillows and a fan, and a cooler

 

[izzys4]

It's a 21 1/2 hour trip from here to there!!

My DH usually does most of the driving but I will drive some. We've done it both ways, driving straight through and stopping. We mostly drive straight home though every time.

I love the drive. My DH and I talk and look at the houses and such on the way. The kids are in the back of the van (we take the middle bench seat out so they have tons of room) and they watch tv or do homework or play games. I get little things for "surprises" on the way for when they start to get restless. We have a good time.

Don't get me wrong, I sometimes wish we could fly to get there quicker but for one, it's cheaper to drive, even with the gas prices the way they are and two, we drive to the walmart by disney and get souviners cheap and food for the fridge in the room. So it benefits us to drive.

 

[coastermom]

We just drove it..We left on a Thursday night about 11-12 PM at night . MY DH did most of the driving and we were in Georgia at Exit 3 on 95 just outside of Jacksonville by 2PM . My Dh slept all day on Thursday and then we checked into a room in Georgia. We were in WDW by 1 the next afternoon . It is a LONG drive from NYC but we saved so much money . Our first stop the room was free (we had points) ... The stop on the way home cost us $100 bucks and gas in total was $500 . So round trip we paid $600 to get there and back with gas and rooms. To fly there for 5 people was well over $2000 .
I think we made the right decision . The money we saved was used to get us some goodies in the parks.

 

[DisDarling]

It will take us about 20 hours from WI. It will be just hubby and I this trip, so we will be starting at midnight on the day we leave. I drive 12-3, hubby drives 3-6, we have breakfast and bathroom breaks, 6-9 will be me, 9-12 will be hubby. Break for lunch and bathroom breaks. 12-3 will be me, 3-6 hubby, supper and bathroom. 6-9 Me and the rest will be hubby. When he drives during the day, I will sleep. Vice-versa. We have music, and movies for the passenger seat (NOT the driver lol). We will be packing a cooler with fruits, yogurts, and water/soda so we won't spend alot on the road. We want to eat things that won't make us feel tired or sluggish. Anyone have great energy suggestions as far as snacks and such? THANKS!!

Ames

 

[Jacklynn]

We recently moved to the Orlando area, and drove from about an hour west of Indianapolis and we left at 3:00am and got there around 6:30pm so about 15 1/2 hours. We only stopped twice for gas, once right before Nashville (about 6 hours in) and about 6 hours later about 3 hours after Atlanta. (we have a Toyota Yaris that gets about 40mpg so we get about 350-380 miles a tank or so).

I actually hate the drive, except going through places like Chattanooga and all of those foothills and such. It is just so tiring to me. U

 

[wdwfanatic80]

We are 1106 miles away according to mapquest and 16 hours. We drive through the night both going down and coming home. On our last trip we drove with 3 month old who seemed to have a stomach bug and we had to make frequent stops...took us 21 hours to get there! The ride home took about 16. I like the drive. My mom goes with us and I stay in the back with the kids while my mom and dh trade off.

 

[Princess Pudding Pop]

We drove from Cleveland WDW in 16 hrs Yes 16 with a 4yr old and me (6'3") crammed in the back seat to keep her happy.

1054 miles I just mapquested it and it says 16hr 15 mins. We stopped for gas a couple times, bathroom pitstop in every state. Got stopped by the police 20 mins from home at 330am for a blown headlamp (thank god cuz i know my dh was speeding). Drove through horrible thunderstorm, just missed a tornado on the Georgia/SC border. Got lost in Virgina by taking a wrong turn on highway onto a highway going south. Was pretty eventful drive thats for sure.

DH drove straight through.

Now it took us 17 to get to Daytona Beach, Harley shop in JAX completely shut the freeway down UGH just what we needed to be stopped on a hot hot highway with soaring gas prices for an hour. My DH was up awake from Friday 2pm to Sun 4am (mind you we got to DB at sat @ noon) before he finally slepted he was possessed and wouldnt go to sleep.

We spent less then $300 on gas in May gas prices were 3.89

 

[TSMAMI]

We just did it in July...We look at driving as part of the vacation now...We usually drive about 13hrs, then stay in North Carolina, get to Florida the next day!

 

[daisyduck123]

We just got back last Thursday.

It's a 14 hour drive for us & we always drive straight-thru. No stopping except for gas & potty breaks, with one stop for food.

DH & I each drive in 3-hour shifts. This past trip we left home at 1am & arrived at AKL at 3pm...just in time for check-in.