Driving to WDW from Cincinnati

[Disney Lover JJ]

Regards to all:

My wife, my soon to be born daughter, and I will be driving from Cincinnati to WDW on November. We will be leaving Saturday, plan to sleep on the road somewhere, and get in on Sunday. I went to Yahoo maps and if I input Orlando or Lake Buena Vista, it gives me two different routes down two major highways. By any chance, does anyone know what would be my best best...and where should I stop for the night. Not looking to do sightseeing along the way...just make it to WDW ASAP jejeje.

Thanks in advance for your help

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

My family & I are not from Cincinnati but when we drive to WDW we take Interstate 75 & we drive threw your city along the way. So why not take Interstate 75 - Florida Turnpike just past Ocala, then go on Interstate 4 Westbound to your Walt Disney World Resort exit.

 

[Disneyjosh229]

My family & I are not from Cincinnati but when we drive to WDW we take Interstate 75 & we drive threw your city along the way. So why not take Interstate 75 - Florida Turnpike just past Ocala, then go on Interstate 4 Westbound to your Walt Disney World Resort exit.

In my experience's, this is a good route. One thing I would suggest though, is having your stops (especially overnight) planned out and maybe making advanced hotel reservations, because I-75 Hotels usually sell out VERY fast. The last thing you want to do is pay $250 for a sleezy Knights Inn or something

 

[mrsmom]

WE drove last year and we went 75 and then hit 4 to disney world
We stayed in Dalton Georgia. But i don't remember the hotels name. But their were alot of hotels off the exit.
Kim

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

In my experience's, this is a good route. One thing I would suggest though, is having your stops (especially overnight) planned out and maybe making advanced hotel reservations, because I-75 Hotels usually sell out VERY fast. The last thing you want to do is pay $250 for a sleezy Knights Inn or something

My family & I already have that planned. We are leaving this Saturday at 2:00 AM for our vacation to Clearwater Beach, then WDW & it also involves us going on Interstate 75. Back in May we made our reservations for Hampton Inn locations starting this Saturday in Cleveland, Tennessee & Sunday in Valdosta, Georgia. Driving home from WDW we are staying at Hampton Inn locations in Dalton, Georgia & Troy, Ohio.

 

[Disneyjosh229]

My family & I already have that planned. We are leaving this Saturday at 2:00 AM for our vacation to Clearwater Beach, then WDW & it also involves us going on Interstate 75. Back in May we made our reservations for Hampton Inn locations starting this Saturday in Cleveland, Tennessee & Sunday in Valdosta, Georgia. Driving home from WDW we are staying at Hampton Inn locations in Dalton, Georgia & Troy, Ohio.

Excellent, good idea. Hampton Inn's are nothing but pure value and great properties through out the country. Im also a big fan of Courtyard by Marriott...

 

[kydisneyfans]

We also travel via I 75 every October. Since you are travelling on the weekend, Atlanta rush hour will not be an issue. I would also suggest making an advance reservation for Saturday night-the hotels are few and far between and do sell out quickly. Expect about 14 hours from the Spence bridge to the Disney entrance with a young child.

 

[OhioTony]

75 to the fla turnpike is the way to go..BUT do NOT plan on just rolling into a hotel unprepared..I strongly suggent you get either a AAA membership..then you get a trip ticket with exact directions and an individual state map & book with Discounted hotels and prices clearly marked..or..and Entertainment card, you can look up online some places along 75 to stop at. ZUsualy the hotel discounts pay in full the cost of the membership..Good luck & have fun!

PS How Bout dem Nati Reds!

 

[Cruz91]

Have you even considered flying? We drove from Columbus this past March and swore on the trip that we would never drive again (with DS2 and DD4 at the time). I've seen DINGs from CMH and CLE to MCO for $56 each way (but I'm still waiting on Nov DINGs to start). When we drove down, we ended up spending about $170 on gas for the round trip, two nights at hotel (one down and one back) at $100 each, plus food on the drive down and back (at least $100) for a total of at least $500. If we can get four round trip ticks for under $200 each and rent a small car for the week for $250, then flying would cost around $1050, and the difference between that and driving is well worth the saved sanity! Besides - you also save two days that you would otherwise be driving......

 

[K9pal]

Unless you're arriving during morning or evening rush hour, go straight through Atlanta. The by pass is just as busy anymore.
What we've done the past several years is kinda decide in advance where we might end up for the night. Then look at an I-75 map, get names of cities in the area, and go to TripAdvisor - look there for a list of hotels at each exit you may be interested in. It's a great site that gives ratings, prices, maps, amenities, etc. We made a list by exit number of hotels and prices, then kept checking availability as our trip approached, since we didn't want to be tied into a reservation. That was a good idea, because we found out the GA State Fair was tying up many of the hotels south of Atlanta at the time we were coming through. We found that hotels just north of Atlanta tended to be a bit cheaper than those on the southern side, too.
Good luck!

 

[Laz]

Go straight thru Atlanta and use the HOV lane.

A couple of years ago, we got stuck in horrible construction south of Atlanta. It was a 6 hour plus traffic jam. Check for construction!

 

[Disney Lover JJ]

Everyone, Thank you SO MUCH for all the tips. I just became a member of AAA specificlly for this trip...although I bet it will be extra useful with my 1999 Jetta constantly overheating...no worries though for this trip (hopefully) as I plan to drive my wife's new Honda Pilot. After reading the $$ spent driving, hotels etc it made me second guess my decision...but CVG is an expensive airport, I would need to rent a car in Orlando anyways, would rather not expose my 2 month old in a plane (pressurized germs) and I will need the cargo space (pack and play, pampers, stroller, etc). But next time, when baby is older, I'll more than likely fly. Seems like 75 and Atlanta is the way to go....I'll let you guys know how it went...THANKS AGAIN!

 

[Praying Colonel]

My family & I are not from Cincinnati but when we drive to WDW we take Interstate 75 & we drive threw your city along the way. So why not take Interstate 75 - Florida Turnpike just past Ocala, then go on Interstate 4 Westbound to your Walt Disney World Resort exit.

We're driving from Louisville and taking I-75 to FL Turnpike, but getting off on SR 429 (the newly-completed Western Way). It leads directly into WDW and you avoid the I-4 hassles. AAA has not yet updated their maps/Triptiks with this new route.

Try searching this forum with "Route 429" and you'll get lots of tips.

 

[bobcat]

We've driven through Cinci from Central Ohio on our last two trips, using I75 and the turnpike. Very easy drive, especially if you can get through Atlanta at a non peak time. If you don't have your hotel reservations on the way down stop at the GA welcome center. They have a reservation desk and they will make ressies for you. We found that very helful on our first trip when we found we weren't going to make it as far as we had planned. They will also have the discount coupon books here for a savings.

There is a great book about I75, I think it is called Along I75. It lists all the things you are going to see, restaurants and hotels for eacj exit, and good maps. We checked ours out from the library and it was fun to read on the way down.

For future reference you might want to try and fly out of Dayton.

Have a safe trip!

 

[OhioTony]

JJ..
Make sure you visit the closest AAA store personally! ( I went to Bechmont) PM me if U need 1 closer..get your trip ticket there and ask for the Tennessee, Georgia and Fla travel book. They are HUGE books! If you get you trip tix online they do not sent them! Check your trip tix for the towns you think you will stop over and you can cross referance the State books for hotel prices and ratings. Much better than rollin into A hotel blind! We try to find one with an indoor pool so the kids can work out all that travlin energy! We got a few staked out past the ATL for 79.00

PS.. Bengals "Prison Camp" opens in 2 days!
WHO DEY!

 

[Laz]

I know Chicago AAA sends the tour books from an online order. You have to click the link that asks if you want supplemental material.