Driving to WDW during the winter

[ronnie2hotty]

So after crunching some numbers over the last few days. Right now it appears the cheapest path to the world is to drive. I will be coming from Southeastern Ohio.

According to Google, it will be roughly a 14 hour drive (without stops). The long drive isn't my concern, we've done it before. We will be leaving on Tuesday December 29th and returning on Saturday January 9th. My concern is driving through the mountains of West Virginia during the winter time. I know it's impossible to predict the weather, especially this far out, but I'm still concerned.

Has anyone on here ever had any experiences driving this direction during this time of year?

 

[rwdavis2]

Obviously if there are snow storms in the mountains you're in a load of trouble. As you said, you can't predict it. What exactly do you want to know?

 

[minnie mum]

It looks like you have 2 route choices, depending on how the weather looks. The fastest is the straight shot down I75. The alternate would be 64?/77/26/95/4. This is the more mountainous route, but we've driven it during the winter with no problems.

An absolute must is winter tires. We've encountered ice and snow during our trips, but have managed just fine with the proper tires. Glue yourself to the interstate weather forecasts for the days preceding your trip. On a couple of occasions we've left a day early or a day late to avoid a major weather system. Or changed to an a!ternate route .

 

[ronnie2hotty]

It looks like you have 2 route choices, depending on how the weather looks. The fastest is the straight shot down I75. The alternate would be 64?/77/26/95/4. This is the more mountainous route, but we've driven it during the winter with no problems.

An absolute must is winter tires. We've encountered ice and snow during our trips, but have managed just fine with the proper tires. Glue yourself to the interstate weather forecasts for the days preceding your trip. On a couple of occasions we've left a day early or a day late to avoid a major weather system. Or changed to an a!ternate route .

Straight down 77 would be our path. No alternate routes for me. Thanks for the input!

 

[grimley1968]

If weather is a big concern, I'd get over to I-75 rather than I-77. I don't know exactly where in Ohio you're coming from, though, so that might be too far out of the way for you. I-77 is a much more mountainous route than I-75, which mostly goes to the west of them, except for a short stretch in southern KY and northern TN. If you feel like you need to get off I-77 to get on I-75, two fairly easy, but not exactly time-saving routes would be I-64 in WV and KY, or I-81 in VA and TN (besides doing it while still in OH). I would only use those in an emergency to get away from literally dangerous snow/ice on I-77, though. Either one of those would probably add at least 2 or more hours to your trip.