Driving to Orlando from Toronto

[allybabba98]

Hi everyone,

I was hoping for some insight into driving from Toronto to Orlando. The route you take and places you stop along the way as well as cost if don't mind.
We have flown from Buffalo in previous years but am interested in seeing how much money we could potentially save if we drove.
I think for me it is the fact that it could be up to three days before you get there compared with two hours.

Do you have a strong opinion in terms of driving or flying? My thought is trying to go the week before Labour Day so weather is not of great concern, except for the crazy rain storms through the mountains.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[ReluctantDisaholic]

We drove from Timmins this summer and it actually wasn't that bad at all. We liked it enough that we're driving next summer too.

Friday we did Timmins to Dayton, OH. Saturday Dayton to Valdosta, GA. Sunday the rest of the way to WDW. We took I-75 to get there. Coming from Toronto would be even better, you're cutting out 9 hours of driving

On the way home we did I-95 - Thursday WDW to Charlotte, NC. Friday Charlotte to Erie, PA. Saturday plan was Erie to home but we stopped to see friends and it took longer than we thought so we stayed in North Bay.

It was cheaper than flying - about $1000 for gas, food, hotels.

 

[Ginya]

We live in Windsor, so shorter drive of course. Depending what time of day we leave, we do the following: if after the kids school or in the evening we drive to Lexington, Kentucky and stay there. Beware time of year though, one year it was horse racing season and we could not find a room. If we leave from say, 2am-noon, we drive longer and stay in Valdosta Georgia, this is a great second leg start off point as we get to disney early afternoon can get our room and either hit a park or hit Disney Springs. We take 75 down and up, but have also taken the other route that takes you through the mountains by Gatlinburg, Tenn. Forget it's number lol. DH would know.We love to drive instead of fly and keep in mind we could just fly out of Detroit. Reasons, we can pack anything we want. We can stop along the way after the border and pick up grocery items to eat breakfast in our room so we get to parks earlier and allows for the budget to do all those character meals. Signature meals etc. We can purchase what we want at Disney and get it home. One year my daughter did the animator draws you a picture and you get it framed there. Right into the car it went! The kids watch dvds or play their handheld video games and actually enjoy the trip because what kid doesn't like being told that for 24 hours they can watch dvds and play video games all they want! When they were younger I made them zip case kits with a new book, colouring and puzzle books etc for the drive. Even with the hotel along the way it is cheaper to drive. Especially with all the airline fees these days. My two DD and I flew to Myrtle beach for spring break this past march and it cost an extra $150 US just for our luggage! Hope this helps your planning.

 

[dsneygirl]

We just did the drive from Burlington. Left home at 4:45 am with a full cooler. Only stopped to pee and for gas. Took the 77/79/95 route down through WV, NC, SC. GA. We got to Jacksonville FL at midnight. (Booked a hotel online from the car). There are rest stops about every 60-70 miles and are clean and well maintained.

The next morning it was about 3 more hours to Orlando. Heading home we had to stop for meals. Total cost was about $500 US. $200 for gas, $200 for hotel, $100 food/misc. Cheapest airfare from Buffalo was about $1000 + parking and /or hotel . And this way we had our car for detours (Legoland, Vero Beach).

My kids are awesome in the car and DH and I traded off every 2-3 hours to share the driving.

As I said in the other thread. I find long weekend traffic north (and back on a Sunday) way more stressful than the 22 hours in the car to FL. My kids also slept at least half the time.

 

[cisco911]

If you have more than a couple of people it will always be worth the drive (unless you get a great buffalo flight deal). We drive from toronto to florida every year. Toronto to Disney is 2100kms (if you take 77-79-95). We do it straight but that is not for most people. We do it because our daughter sleeps through the night in the car so it makes the trip shorter for her. Also makes the trip shorter for me because at night there is no traffic and less cops so you can average a higher speed at night. However, most people break it down into 2 days. If your kids are good in the car for a long period of time, what I recommend is leaving the day before your reservation. Leave early in the morning so that you can be at the peace bring before there is alot of traffic. You can drive all day, stopping for breakfast and lunch and end up in georgia by the end of the day for a nice dinner and relaxing night of sleep. You can then get up the next day and drive the rest of the way leaving yourself plenty of time to get there for checkin. As for cost, you are looking at $100 each way for a hotel. Gas depends on your vehicle. We average about $200 each way and we have a Highlander SUV. So your at about 600 USD plus food.

As a side note, if you do it in one go, we left at 6pm the night before our reservation and were checking in at POFQ the next day at 2:30pm including stopping for breakfast and lunch for an hour each. We had dinner reservations that night and were at rope drop the next morning at Magic Kingdom. LOL. This technique does usually require a vacation after your Walt Disney World Vacation!

 

[Ginya]

We live in Windsor, so shorter drive of course. Depending what time of day we leave, we do the following: if after the kids school or in the evening we drive to Lexington, Kentucky and stay there. Beware time of year though, one year it was horse racing season and we could not find a room. If we leave from say, 2am-noon, we drive longer and stay in Valdosta Georgia, this is a great second leg start off point as we get to disney early afternoon can get our room and either hit a park or hit Disney Springs. We take 75 down and up, but have also taken the other route that takes you through the mountains by Gatlinburg, Tenn. Forget it's number lol. DH would know.We love to drive instead of fly and keep in mind we could just fly out of Detroit. Reasons, we can pack anything we want. We can stop along the way after the border and pick up grocery items to eat breakfast in our room so we get to parks earlier and allows for the budget to do all those character meals. Signature meals etc. We can purchase what we want at Disney and get it home. One year my daughter did the animator draws you a picture and you get it framed there. Right into the car it went! The kids watch dvds or play their handheld video games and actually enjoy the trip because what kid doesn't like being told that for 24 hours they can watch dvds and play video games all they want! When they were younger I made them zip case kits with a new book, colouring and puzzle books etc for the drive. Even with the hotel along the way it is cheaper to drive. Especially with all the airline fees these days. My two DD and I flew to Myrtle beach for spring break this past march and it cost an extra $150 US just for our luggage! Hope this helps your planning.

My DH says the other route is I-40

 

[migel]

March Break we are regular drivers now. Southwest out of Buffalo has figured out every possible nuance of CND holidays, and their flight prices reflect this. Even flying out over the Family Day long weekend in February will see prices almost double over non-CND holiday weekends. We leave from the Niagara area usually by 4 am. Minimal pee/food/gas breaks, we stop in Columbia SC for an overnight, usually by 5 pm. 77 79 95 route. This leaves a shorter DAY 2 drive, and again, we're on the road early, before 6 am for sure. We arrive at our place just west of Disney, before 1 pm. Twice thus far, on the trek home, I've driven straight through. Once because our return flight MCO to BUF was cancelled, and they recommended we stay two days in a hotel near the airport, before the next flight home was available. I immediately rented a car (one way to BUffalo) and off we went. I'm the only driver and it's certainly challenging, but doable.

 

[Skjhjb]

Following all the notes - I may be driving down with my Mom in a couple weeks. We will probably stick to I75 as I'm the one driving, and I have the Along I75 book for Mom to follow along if she likes.

 

[hardis5]

We've driven the 95 route (via 90 then south at Erie PA) a number of times direct (no stopping for anything other than meals and bio-breaks) and staying over 1 night on the road each way. There are a few recent threads on driving and the costs - for us it is time vs cost that sways the decision for us.

We never stay (planned unless weather dictates) two nights on the road as that is just drawing out what is not a bad drive (20 hrs driving counting minor border delays). We have driven to Buffalo, Detroit (and next Spring Cleveland) to fly cheap. If time were never an issue, we'd likely drive more often but it taking at least 22 hrs with breaks and meals (and the fatigue in doing) and it taking only (looking realistically with the time before a flight and after) 1/3 of that to fly, if the costs are reasonable, we fly. If we have the time or flights are not reasonable, we drive.

We've done the week prior to Labour Day driving twice. Once stopping each way one night and the other driving straight through both ways. The drive straight through back that weekend I'd not think I'd do again unless having a day after to catch-up (we finished a DCL cruise and were on the road northbound by 8:00 am) and the border delays were a mess (more than an hour delay at 6:00 am). I felt just not a stress free way to finish a vacation with the surprising amount of traffic on the road heading north that weekend (even overnight).