Driving to WDW from NJ 1st time - need advice

[annab6]

We will be driving with two kids, 5 and 7 years old, to WDW on Saturday, 3/14 starting at 2pm till 11pm or midnight and then continue on Sunday, 3/15.

Since this is our first time I am looking for any information regarding traffic on I-95 and whether it is worth it to explore alternative routes. On average, how much extra time should we plan for? I'd like to make sure we can get at least to the South of the Border on Saturday. Also, how early should we start on Sunday to be able to get to WDW by 6pm if we stop overnight at South of the Border?

Thanks
Anna

 

[Mark P.]

Hi,
We'll be right behind you (well, a few days afer you, that is).

We've done the drive a couple of times from Southern NJ, and it's not really that bad at all. (coming home is a different story,lol)

It's definately worth it to try and make it to SC the first day, making for a shorter drive the next.

Here's a couple of tips that might be of some help to you.

If you haven't already, you might want to make a reservation at or somewhere at or near South of the Border.
It's spring break season, and I know that when checking for our trip down, most if not all hotels in Florence, SC were booked for 3/20, so we're going to press on to Santee, SC instead. I also made a reservation for Brunswick, GA in the unlikely event we make real good time.
If you choose to reserve at more than one place, most allow up to 6pm on the day of arrival to cancel.

An excellent site for I-95 info., including exit and lodging info. is the I-95 Information Guide. Here's the link:I-95 Info.

As far as maps, directions, and travel distances, I found MSN Maps to be much quicker to load and more detailed than Mapquest. Here's the link to both:

MSN Maps
Mapquest

Have a great and safe trip!
-Mark

 

[ennisb]

We drive down once a year via 95, starting when my son was 5months , he's 14 now! On every trip we have made it to at least the mid point of South Carolina and try to reach Georgia before stopping.

We hit the road early 4-5am but by 6pm we are check into a Hotel and ready for dinner. This let's us sleep till 8am, have breakfast and still in Diseny but mid-afternoon.

Note: Traffic can cost an hour or so but never had more than that in delays.

I stop every 3 hours or so, let everybody stretch, get gas if needed. It's only 10minutes and makes a world of difference to the pleasure of the trip.

We do stop at South of the border to stretch but we don't like the area so we never consider staying there or near there.

Have a safe trip and enjoy.. it's fun.

 

[DeeCeeSW]

We're driving from NJ in June. We did it once before this past December. We made it through to Savannah, Georgia and stayed in the Gateway area. We left NJ at 7am. and made it to Savannah at 8pm. with several bathroom and gas breaks. It was a LONG drive, especially through SC. This time we will stop in Darien, Georgia. I believe it's 50 miles south of Savannah. Would anyone happen to know anything about the Hampton Inn Darien there?

Thanks in advance.

 

[annab6]

Thanks for the info. But why doesn't anyone stop at South of the Border? Not a good choice?

Thanks
Anna

 

[dizneycc]

But why doesn't anyone stop at South of the Border? Not a good choice?

The last time we stopped at South of the Border was in December 2002. We needed gas and I hadn't been there since I was a kid. I had great memories of it. WOW Talk about a shocker! It was so run down, I didn't even want to get out of the car, let alone get gas. But we needed it so we got it real quick and got out of there.

 

[DizneeCM]

We stopped (briefly) at South of the Border a few years ago on our way to Kiawah Island. SOTB is very old-looking and run-down. We looked around for about a half-hour and then were ready to leave.

We've found that Lumberton, NC, has a lot of hotels and is a good place to stop for the night. It is just slightly north of the NC/SC border.

 

[DennisP]

You may want to try the Fayetteville, NC area. I have been a chaperone on a few high school concert choir bus trips to WDW from NJ and this place is where the bus stops to change drivers. It seems like this is the mid-point between NJ and WDW.

While I have not been inside the hotels, they appear to be very clean.

Here is a link to the hotels. I think the Cedar Creek Road hotels are just off of I-95.
Fayetteville Hotels

 

[steve48]

Hi everyone

I too am driving from New jersey in march (23 returnig 31st) My plan is to leave around 1p.m. and drive straigh thru stopping every couple of hours foor meals and bathroom breaks. Arriving at the dolphin around 7 or 8 a.m. Am I being a little to ambitous ???

Steve

 

[njcarita]

we usually drive every year- we have 3 kids and we usually make two overnite stops- last week we decided to go amtrak and thru the railsale it was only 200 rt for my family of 5- it was a lot cheaper , faster and less stressful than driving- we arrived rested and ready to go- i don't think we will ever drive again!!!

 

[LtlTee]

We have driven many times, usually leaving around 3:30 in the morning, which puts us well past the DC area at the morning rush hour. We usually stop at Brunswick, GA at 3 or 4 in the afternoon. We've stayed at the Hampton Inn and the Red Roof, both of which have been fine. The next morning we only have a 3-4 hour drive to WDW and usually arrive by lunchtime.
I wouldn't stay overnight at South of the Border. We prefer to drive a little further than that before stopping, plus it's gotten pretty run down and a bit scary.
Steve48 -- I have driven straight through before and made it in 17 hours. I would just watch what time you leave -- leaving at 1 PM is going to put you close to the afternoon rush hour around the DC area.

 

[bjgrazi]

SOTB is just not a nice place to stop at IMO.

We have stopped there and left just as quick. I agree, Lumberton is a good place to stay, we have also stayed below SOTB, but I can't remember the town name. Most of the hotels are fine on I-95 if you stay with a name that is known. 1 year we stayed at a no name. I thought for sure there would be a repeat of the shower scene from Psyco.

Enjoy your trip, just be aware sometimes around DC the traffic can get bad, our last trip to Mrytle in August it took us 7 hours to get through VA, the traffic was just that bad on a Satuday. We left at 7am that time, which was late for us.

 

[DeDixie]

We have driven twice from Delaware. Easy drive.

I agree with other poster to stop every 2-3 hours for a stretch. I bring a frisbee, pocket hula hoop nd a tennis ball to play at rest stops. We go to the bathroom, gas up, etc. They rest stops are easy on easy off. We like to change seats every time we get back in, makes it feel like a different journey.

We laugh when we drive by SOuth of the Border -- it looks as tacky as the 100 million signs you will see advertising for it. Especially after being spoiled by disney, you will see what we mean.

We drive straight thru, but we are probably a couple of hours ahead of you.

bring some fresh fruit, nuts, pretzles etc. We usually buy Krispy Kreme the night before and have during our mid-morning snack (at a rest stop cause they are messy). But we leave at 2:30am.

We don't eat at full service restaurant anymore as we figure if we are sitting we are going to be driving. We like subway or fast food.

We have a laptop for dvd's with a headphone splitter.

We play games like -- My Father own's Disney World and he has a ride that is.... or restaurant.... or hotel (based on grocery store game). We also try to tell the girls about stories of when we were young and encourage them to ask us questions like -- When you were little where did you go on vacation? Or other things they can compare to their lives.

We really enjoy the ride and think of it as the beginning of the vacation, not just a long trip to start the trip.

 

[annab6]

Originally posted by njcarita
we usually drive every year- we have 3 kids and we usually make two overnite stops- last week we decided to go amtrak and thru the railsale it was only 200 rt for my family of 5- it was a lot cheaper , faster and less stressful than driving- we arrived rested and ready to go- i don't think we will ever drive again!!!

Wow, what is the railsale?

Thanks
Anna

 

[DeDixie]

Annab6 -- The railsail is a promotion from Amtrak. That price was a great deal!

 

[NJmouse]

We are driving down on May 15th and stopping in Savannah at the Hampton Inn.
We usually leave around 4am and we will be hitting Savannah around 6 or so.
Stay away from South of the Border it is a "Tourist Trap". If you must stop to check it out beware of the souvenirs they are sometimes tacky and old. And sometimes you will find things paint over other from other places. I've seen it!
check out the I-95 website it is very helpful.

 

[Mulljac]

The best advice I could give is to leave early in the a.m. around 1. Make sure whomever is driving gets enough rest before you leave. The best part is that you can dress the kids in comfy sweats and they will sleep for most of the trip and you won't hear those famous 4 words "are we there yet" for quite a while. My husband always drives and this allows me to sleep too. We miss all of the traffic by leaving at this time. Then when we arrive at our halfway destination, which is usually Fayetteville, NC, we have the rest of the day to eat, shop and swim at the hotel. We go out for a nice dinner and then get to bed by a reasonable time. We get up early and try to leave again by 3 or 4 a.m. We make it down to Disney usually around 12 or earlier. By doing it this way we feel that we aren't wasting any day time by just driving. My kids are now 15 and 11 and they still get bored by the long car ride. At least this way they get to sleep through most of it and we don't have to listen to any complaints.