Driving to disney from PA

[mickeysmiles]

We are heading to disney the week of Thanksgiving. We are driving from just outside of Pottstown with our 6 and 3 yr old disney boys. I was wondering if anyone has done this in the past and have suggestions. How far can you ride between stops? Where should we plan on stopping for the night? Any neat rest stops on the way?

I should let you know our plan is leaving late Friday night and get some good driving in over night while they sleep. We would like to stop driving Sat. afternoon around 5 or so and want to wake up early Sunday and get to Disney by like 11 or so.

If anyone has ideas or past experiences please feel free to give them, Thanks.

 

[mommymeg]

Thought I'd respond...
If you are planning on driving thru the night, you'll probably BE AT Disney by 5pm Saturday, depending on what time Friday night you plan to leave...

We used to live right outside of Savannah...12 hour drive... We would drive to and from home (Pottstown also!) from like 9pm-9am... very little down time, basically straight driving... Disney is another 4 hours from Savannah.. So if you left say...Friday night at about 11pm...that would probably put you at Orlando by 5pm Saturday... I'd say either split the driving into 8 hour lengths, if you don't want such intense driving, or go ahead and go straight thru..spend the rest of Saturday night resting, so you're fresh for Sunday!!

We considered driving but got great deals on Southwest, so we decided to fly...

Hope you have a great trip!

 

[PrincessMickey]

We plan on driving it in June. We are coming from North East, PA. Our plan is to leave in the morning. We will stop about every 2 hours or so for the bathroom and food and gas. We will try to drive until 6 or 7 at night. We hope to get to North or South Carolina the first day then the rest the next day. We are staying at MIL's house the first two nights then will go to Disney. Driving back we are taking our time stopping in St Augustine, Savannah, Outer Banks etc till we get home.

 

[momtomatthew]

Great question- we're from you're neck of the woods (Schwenksville) and often debate the driving-flying issue. We've discovered that with the $59 airfare on AirTran, it's almost as cheap to fly as it owuld be to drive. PLus, because DH has limited vacation (due to our 3 trips to WDW this year...), we need to save the time it would take to drive.

We talk about doing in one long shot- and figured it would take about 16 hours...

Good luck!

 

[bsusanmb]

We have driven several times and it really depends on how well you drive at night...I tend to fall asleep as the white lines come up....it mezmerizes me...
So, we would leave really early am....like 3 or 4am and drive for 12 hours, sleep and drive the rest of the way. We have stopped in NC and in SC already. I don't have any recommendations for where to stay...we just drove until we were exhausted. I also had my parents living just below Myrtle Beach in Surfside Beach and we stayed there once, and a brother who lives in Greensboro NC and we stayed there once.

As the children got older, we flew. I don't know how we did it with driving...it is tiring. It isn't bad driving down, but coming back wasn't as much fun. Some people swear by driving and don't mind it.

We fly out of Phila for $59 one way, like someone else said, either on Southwest or on Airtran. We got to the point where we decided our time was too valuable. But when we were younger, there was no way we could afford to fly 5 children to WDW!

I hope you have a great time.

 

[Momejules]

We are a family of 5...2 adults, an 11 year old, an 8 year old and a 2 year old, from just north of Philadelphia. We drive to Disney every year, straight through. We leave here on a Friday around 3-4pm. We stop for a late dinner in Virginia and then drive straight though the night. We usually get to Disney around 10am. We have been doing this for years before our son was born and he made his first trip at 11 months old. Driving overnight works well for us, but is definitely not for everyone. It depends on what your kids are like in the car. I cannot tell you if this is right for you or not, I can only say that this can be done. Good Luck to you, whatever you decide.

 

[PA Princess]

We are close to your area in Reading, PA, and we have done the drive straight through the night. Driving at night has worked well for us, but is not for everyone. I think the excitement of going gets us through the night. We usually leave after dinner like 6. I usually drive the first half from 6pm to 4 am and dh rests/sleeps in the car and then he finishes the drive from 4 am to noon. As others have said, it is about a 16 hour drive straight through obeying the speed limits

We have four kids, but we have not driven to FL in the last few years so we have only done the drive with three kids. The last few years we have taken the train one time and flown the other trips.

The worst part about driving is the long drive back. I would never arrempt to do it straight through (did it once), because it is just too draining.

 

[LovePug]

I drive from the Wilkes-Barre area. I wish I could drive through the night like I was able to do when I was younger, but I just can't do it anymore. It really gives an advantage to not have to stop for the little ones so much. Before my son came along, we would drive about 12 hours and that put us deep into SC (About a 1/2 hour from the Georgia border). That's with a lot of stops for bathroom breaks (my bladder must be the size of a lima bean). The second day is a relatively short drive. It only takes about two hours to get through Georgia and then a few more hours to Orlando. With my little guy, it's been a whole different story having to stop and let him out to run around a bit. I've actually stayed for 2 overnight stops on the way so he doesn't get all whiny. I'm hoping for our next trip, when he's just shy of 3 years old, to make only one overnight stop.

I've never made an "interesting" stop. We have just stopped to rest when the boy said so. Sorry I can't help with that.

 

[starann]

We live in the Lehigh Valley and usually leave around 3pm for our trips, stop for a late dinner and to change the kids into their pj's. WE also make other potty break stops as needed (our kids were 4 and 3 our last trip). We arrived at WDW around 10am last trip!!!!! However that was 3 adults taking turns driving and sleeping. I'm not sure how it would work with just DH and I driving as I am night blind and can';t drive in unfamilar areas when it is dark out!

 

[katyjeka]

We've driven many times from Latrobe, Pa. We've always stopped in Georgia. Most of our trips were in December, so we've had some pretty bad weather at times. I know people hate the drive, but I honestly love the time in the car. We are so busy in our daily routines, that a long car ride, with the cell phone off, no computer, gives us time to reconnect as a family. Sounds stupid(I know) but I just love the feeling of being alone with no interruptions. Have a safe trip.

 

[mickeysmiles]

I just wanted to thank everyone for all the great information and encouragement. Please keep it coming it is nice to hear that other people have done it with little problems.

As for the flying issue we are keeping our eyes out but we are going the week of Thanksgiving and it seems like the prices are just to high. But southwest has not put out their prices yet so we will see.

Thanks everyone.

 

[DISNEYNV]

Hi neighbor! We live in Boyertown and drove down twice. We prefer to fly now with our kids but we did it a few years back when we went on our honeymoon. It's a great idea to leave late and let the kids sleep most of the trip! We packed sandwiches and snacks in a cooler and stopped only to eat and use the restroom. Virginia and North Carolina have nice rest stops! I would alternate your drivers every state or so too. It is kind of boring so if you have an iPod or DVD player/hand held game system bring that for the kids. They also have these really cool road trip photo album/scrapbooks the kids can write in that I saw at Target in Royersford We stayed the first time overnight in SC and we also stopped at Daytona beach and had some relaxation time before heading to Orlando. Of course we had two weeks so you might want to just keep on going! It's a longgggggg drive so prepare to get the question "are we there yet"? A million times, but it's also fun anticipating each state and finally reaching Florida! Now the drive back is a different story! Just have plenty for the kids to do and anticipate and stop a few times to get some air and stretch.

Do Not stop at South Of The Border!!! And you will be fine
Have a wonderful trip and if my coworker can do it with seven ( yes seven) kids so can you

Maybe we will run into each other at the local playgrounds and we can talk Disney

 

[DISNEYNV]

Oh... If you book through Southwest online you can rebook at a lower rate and get a credit for future flight! We did this last December and saved enough to fly back again with the kids this May! You don't get cash back but it's great to save if you plan on taking another flight in the future too Just a thought if you decide to fly down. Keep checking the SW website and sign up for their Ding rates and daily email specials too.

 

[PrincessMickey]

Hey Lovepug. We're not too far from each other. We're near Hazleton.

 

[mmaikisch]

We live in the poconos, with a now 8 year old and 3 year old, and we drive every year. We usually leave around 1pm and drive straight through and arrive in orlando about 6-7 am. We take bathroom breaks about every 2-3 hours and we stop for dinner usually at mcdonalds so the kids can get alot of their energy out in the playplace when we start to hit rushhour traffic, and by the time we are done, the traffic is gone. By this time, the kids are pretty tired, and fall asleep for the night about 1-2 hours later. By the time they wake up, we are already in FL. I usually bring books, coloring books, washable crayons, activity books and a dvd player to keep the kids occupied on the ride, and they do very well. We also bring a cooler with drinks and snacks for along the way. If the boys have any game systems (like leapsters etc.), they would probably help as well. Also, all the welcome centers have free activity books with stickers for the kids...my kids love stopping for them...lol. Hope this helps, and have a wonderful trip!

 

[Peanut&Piglet'sMom]

We drive from NJ (about 30mins from the poconos)

We leave around dinner time and drive straight through to Florida. Spend the night near Daytona so my DH can rest up, and then make the drive the next morning into Disney.

With a DVD player, snacks and drinks...it works just fine! Naturally, we stop for bathroom breaks as needed and gas too! But having the kids asleep for most of the drive is priceless for us!

 

[mickeysmiles]

Hi neighbor! We live in Boyertown and drove down twice. We prefer to fly now with our kids but we did it a few years back when we went on our honeymoon. It's a great idea to leave late and let the kids sleep most of the trip! We packed sandwiches and snacks in a cooler and stopped only to eat and use the restroom. Virginia and North Carolina have nice rest stops! I would alternate your drivers every state or so too. It is kind of boring so if you have an iPod or DVD player/hand held game system bring that for the kids. They also have these really cool road trip photo album/scrapbooks the kids can write in that I saw at Target in Royersford We stayed the first time overnight in SC and we also stopped at Daytona beach and had some relaxation time before heading to Orlando. Of course we had two weeks so you might want to just keep on going! It's a longgggggg drive so prepare to get the question "are we there yet"? A million times, but it's also fun anticipating each state and finally reaching Florida! Now the drive back is a different story! Just have plenty for the kids to do and anticipate and stop a few times to get some air and stretch.

Do Not stop at South Of The Border!!! And you will be fine
Have a wonderful trip and if my coworker can do it with seven ( yes seven) kids so can you

Maybe we will run into each other at the local playgrounds and we can talk Disney

Thanks for the advice. We want to leave friday night and stop saturday afternoon somewhere so we can rest up and have a full day at disney on Sunday.

 

[dawnn12]

we live in bucks county and when i drive down we leave around 3-4 am and with 2 dd's we had to stop a few different times we end up stopping in santee sc or right into ga we usally get up around 7 the next day and with eating and stuff on the road by 9-10 and get there around 2 (of course with kids your going to stop extra times)and usally you cant check in till 4 pm anyway a few thibut you can get the idea ngs we did on the way down was make a few different car bingos(we did one with the state lic. plates and another with different things(3 red cars in a row,two police cars next to eah other,fireworks signs(south of the border didnt count),i forget what else i put on it but thats some ideas for you)

 

[mrstomrice]

Bucks Co here too! We're driving in Aug. I think we'll leave around 7 am and drive as far as we can, allowing time for breaks and meals. I hope we make it to Savannah GA...We have AAA so I found out that they will help us make the hotel arrangements while we're on the road. I like the idea of letting them price shop for us and giving us the a good idea of what hotels we have to choose from for our trip down.
We drove in 2006 and left Phila at 3:15, made it to Rocky Mount NC for the overnight, left at 7 am and were at the resort by 5 pm.

 

[LovePug]

Hey Lovepug. We're not too far from each other. We're near Hazleton.