Driving to Disney?????

[PoohHappens]

We have never driven, we have always flown. However this time I think we are going to drive. We were invited by friends to stay with them in their DVC so this is an unexpected trip. We are trying to cut costs--we realize their gift of a room is a big savings to us and expensive, but since it was unplanned we are still trying to save. We live in the Indianapolis area. We will need to stay somewhere the night before we check in--is it better to get all the way to orlando, or stay a couple hours out and just drive that last bit in the morning?? Any suggestions, we would just want a place to crash for some sleep, we are not overly picky. Safe and clean. Are there good cities to try north of the orlando area? Basically we will take any advice on the driving thing.

 

[OKW Lover]

We have friends that regularly drive and they stop for the night a few hours drive away from WDW. They then get on the road about 7 the next morning and have a full day at the parks.

Depending on your route, you shouldn't have much trouble finding an inexpensive hotel for the night since you'll be outside the typical tourist areas.

 

[MinMouse]

Pooh,

We have often stopped at a La Quinta in Lake Mary, Florida. It's about 30 miles north of Disney off exit 98 of I-4. We have also stayed at a Wingate Inn in Jacksonville off exit 344 of I-95 -- this would be about 3 hours north of Disney. I'm not sure if these are on your route as we're coming from further east. We have found both of these places to be clean and they offer a really nice continental breakfast that's included with the room rate. We like doing the bulk of our driving in one day then get up early and arrive at Disney to hit the parks! Have fun!

Mindy

 

[umaangel00]

We drove from Michigan to florida in 2005. It's not fun but doable. We will do it again this coming March. It's a 24 hour drive for us. We stayed in a super 8 in Macon, GA because we got food poisoning. We also stayed in one in indiana because of a snow storm. On the way back home we just stayed in our car. The Super 8's were 40/night w/ my AAA membership. Hope that helps!

 

[manning]

Stop at the welcome center in the state you are planning to spend the night. There will two motel saving books with discount coupons in them. Pick them up and look for the discounts.

 

[clkelley]

If you are coming down I-75, there is a Super 8 in Ocala that I stay in quite frequently.

 

[Harvestmooner]

We have driven twice from NH-about a 24 hour drive. The first time it took us 3 days because we had a 4 month old. The second time it took us 2 days. We are lucky that we are basically on 95 South most of the way. We stick with Cracker Barrell Restaurants-cheap and good and always have a clean bathroom!!! We stick with hotel chains we know. Take advantage of the State welcome stops-they are usually nice and offer a chance to walk around. It also gives you something to look forward to-stopping at the State line rest stops (we even take our kids photos in front of the state signs).
Good luck and drive careful!!!

 

[jillyjoey]

This will be our first trip flying (whoo hoo) -- in the past, we have always driven. The best location for us was staying over night both ways in Valdosta GA. I think we paid $43 at a Days Inn -- motel ok for overnight stay. If I remember correctly it took us about 3-4 hours from Valdosta to WDW. It worked out fine because we all slept in from driving from TN the day before and we arrived at the resort about 1 hour before our room was ready.

I agree with the other poster who mentioned Macon -- that seems like a good location to stop also.

I guess it depends on how far WDW is from your home and how you like to break your driving up. (That's why the cheap airfare I found was an early Christmas present - I didn't think we could make it back in time to pick up dogs from kennel).

Pros about car trip:
(1) save on money
(2) save money on food (pack a cooler)
(3) you can stock your vehicle with pop/snacks/etc instead of buying on-site

TIP:
(1) if you have kids -- DVD player is way to go

 

[CPT Tripss]

One thing to consider is using Priceline for the one night stay. Book a room somewhere, and at a price, that you can deal with and then look around and make bids on Priceline. If you have a winner, just cancel the first booking.

 

[clkelley]

The only problem with Priceline is you don't know "where" you are going to be. If I want a room for the road, I want it "right" on the interstate. With Priceline, yes it will be in the zone you pick, but it might be several miles away from the highway in the heart of the downtown or something.

 

[CPT Tripss]

Guess I wasn't clear. I meant use Priceline to get a room in the Orlando area for the night before checkin.
I would not recommend Priceline for a road trip . . . when you don't know how long you will drive. Nor, for that matter, anytime you are concerned about an exact location, That said, "bidding for travel" let's you gauge fairly well where you will be.

 

[spiceycat]

If you are coming down I75.

Ocala is about an hour north of Disney.

Lake city is about 3 hours (could be less or more - depends upon traffic).

both are fine to stay.

Lake City gets alot of overnights going to Orlando. So it can be a tourist trap - just know what you want.

I get with manning - stop at the rest stop and get the guides. (they can be outside or inside)

Valdosta, Ga is another one like Lake City.

Lake City is where I75 and I 10 meet.

 

[4mygrls]

It ended up being a 14hr drive for us. The first time we drove during the night. No more night drives for us. Our eyes are just not as good as they use to be.Plus we saw soooooo many deer and actually had to work our way through some in the road. Plus we take I-10 and the construction was horrible. When we got into Pensacola we hit a cement block in the rode. right in the middle of the road with nowhere to turn to. There was cones on both sides.Thank you AAA. We stayed at the only available room in Pensacola. Oh, the van died and we couldn't figure out what it might be. One genious jerk said he thought the engine was shot. So, i take the girls to a room and my husband was walking around the car praying for God to show him where to look on the van so we could fix it. So he turns around and looks at the van and noticed a wire hanging down under the gas tank. He simply plugged it back in and the van started back up. No more night driving for us. We were driving down to Clearwater to visit my brother and then to disney. We have learned to try to drive as far as you can on the first day.That way you wont be as tired if you are planning to go into the parks that day. But, i would relax the first day. It really sucks when your tired and the kids are tired. You can try to do a mapquest search to see where a decent size city would be. Or, I like another website that shows hotels all along the route.Plus it shows how many miles you've driven and how many left. Good Luck and try to make the drive fun.

 

[kristenrice]

We stayed at the Country Inn & Suites in Lake City in 2001. We didn't book ahead of time, that is just where we were at 10pm when we said we were done driving. The hotel was AWESOME! Huge, nice and clean rooms. All the rooms have microwaves and minifridges. More than adequate space for 4 adults (for one night anyways) They also have fresh-baked cookies in the lobby and a nice continental breakfast bar (free, of course) When we checked out in the morning, we asked how long the hotel had been there. The desk clerk smiled and said, "Actually, we just opened 2 days ago!"
So, take my "review" for what it's worth.

http://www.countryinns.com/webExtra...utDayMonthYear=11/15/2006&selectedBrandCodes=

 

[HopperFan]

I would go with Valdosta GA or south. I would not stop in Macon, keep on going. Will depend too on your plans for day of arrival. If it is a park then I would go Lake Mary or close to WDW. If it is a more relaxing day, then I would stop Valdosta or northern Florida.

 

[CheshireVal]

Even though we only have a 7-8 hour drive from Atlanta, we often stay in Valdosta just so we can get to WDW before lunch the next day. It's about 3-4 hours away from Orlando, depending on traffic and how many stops you make.

I like the Lake Park exit (just South of Valdosta). I think it's Exit 5. There's a nice Hampton Inn there. We've also stayed at the Days Inn on that exit, which is basic but decent enough for a quick stay.