Driving to WDW From SC

[Castillo Mom]

We plan on driving to OKW from Columbia, SC on Tues. 7/24 at 7:00 a.m. Being from Southern California I have a few questions since I'm not familiar with the Southeast.

1. Would it be reasonable to estimate a 3:00 p.m. arrival? The following times are approximate but we plan on stopping for a restroom/gas break at 9:30, fast food lunch at 12:00, then grocery/ restroom break somewhere near the resort.

2. Any recommendations on where to stop for lunch?

3. What grocery stores are near OKW that won't take me too far off route?

4. Anything else I should keep in mind? Tips?

Thank you!

 

[princess mom]

Hi! We live in North Augusta SC...so we are very close to you! I would allow that much time for the drive. Depending how your driving in, you will pass several grocery stores....I know there is Publix and Super Target close to OKW. (We love staying there!!) Have a great time!!

 

[mickeymomm]

princess mom...we live in North Augusta too...It's gonna be a beautiful (warm)day today! It usually takes us between 7-8 hours with multiple stops/breaks.

 

[RweTHEREyet]

We live in Raleigh, NC, quite a bit north of SC, and it usually takes us about 9 - 9.5 hours, so your estimate sounds reasonable to me. It takes us about 30 minutes to get on I-95 and then it is a straight shot until we get to I-4. It is a pretty boring drive. In the past we have always had a AAA TripTik to follow along with, and this coming up trip we will have our Garmin to tell us what to expect.

We used to drive to WDW a lot until it became just the two of us traveling, and it used to be that it was easier to go around Jacksonville than to go thru it. I am not sure if that holds true anymore or not.

It also used to be true that it was wise to gas up in Georgia before you hit the Florida line, but I am not sure that holds true still or not.

Have a safe trip.

 

[Physics Guy]

We drive down from NY for our trips. Yes, it's long, but airfare is ridiculous these days and it's fun to do. We are actually staying over in SC (Florence) to break up the trip, but just for sleeping overnight then up and off again. We love spending some time in Savannah, GA if we have the opportunity.

Anyway, having a car at Disney is useful and one tip I can recommend is if you want a great off-campus meal that's very reasonably priced, try Sweet Tomatoes. It's buffet style, all fresh and good food. It's a great way to keep the costs from getting out of hand. We are spending my daughter's 10th birthday in WDW this coming August and we let her choose ANY restaurant she wanted for her birthday meal. Me, I would choose California Grill perhaps, but she picked Sweet Tomatoes! We're on the dining plan so this option will also give you the flexibility to do one of the "2 table service" options.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

We did the drive down I-95 just yesterday. The good news is that we're here now.

We don't make much out of the drive anymore. It's usually about 9 hours for us but yesterday was 10 due to a jack-knifed and overturned TT on I-4 about 15 miles out of town

We stop twice to get gas and now know most of the exits by heart and know where the Mickey D's are with gas stations close by. We have a 6YO DD who's a trooper and only needs to stop when we stop.

Like I said, it's not necessarily a "bad" drive but it has long since lost its entertainment value to us. It's now just a necessary evil to an end.

We always check in and then go back to Wally-World, Publix or Super Target, depending on where we are and what we're closest to. We went to Wally-World yesterday because we're at Congress Park (DTD view for the first time! Yea!) at SSR this week. We go to Super Target when we're at AKK.

 

[Jennasis]

We live in NC near Winston-Salem, but we drive TO Columbia on our way to WDW. I-77 south to Columbia the onto I-26 East to 95. It takes us just around 8.5 hours (much less if DH lets ME drive haha!!).

Your schedule is SO doable. We plan on leaving at 7am and making an ADR at 6.

 

[carol1231]

We are also just outside of Winston-Salem and take the same route. We don't worry about where to stop for eating or gas, there are plenty of McD's and gas stations along the way. I usually take a cooler of groceries when we drive, I want to get started with my vacation when I arrive and just don't have the energy for grocery shopping. But there is a Winn-Dixie not too far from OKW and in the other direction a Super Walmart.

Enjoy your trip!!

 

[supersuperwendy]

I just got the coolest book from the library called Drive I 95. It's helping me plan our drive down from PA. I need to get the newest addition though..the one our library has is from 2005. Check out their website...

http://www.drivei95.com/

 

[bigdave10000]

I live an hours drive north of Columbia. It will take you 6.5 - 7 hours to drive to OKW from Columbia.

BTW in South Carolina USC = University of South Carolina not University of Southern California. When you are in Columbia just say "Go Cocks" and you will fit right in.

 

[thepops]

It also used to be true that it was wise to gas up in Georgia before you hit the Florida line, but I am not sure that holds true still or not.

Have a safe trip.

Just took a look on gasbuddy.com using their map function, and the prices don't seem to change much at all between GA and FLA.

 

[Castillo Mom]

Wow, great tips, thank you so much everyone! I have a feeling this wont' be the last time we drive to WDW from SC since my SIL lives there now. Our first time will definitely be a novelty though so we're actually looking forward to it.

 

[ercrbc]

We are in Columbia and 6.5-7.5 hrs is typical. Last trip we took our 6mo old baby and had to stop a couple extra times. we left at 6:30am and hit Orlando at 1:30.

 

[Castillo Mom]

That's great, maybe we'll make it ahead of schedule!

 

[mecllap]

I think your best grocery option near OKW is the Winn Dixie up Apopka-Vineland (I don't know of a Publix/Target close to OKW). Don't bother with the Goodings that is even closer.

I like to stop at the Premium Outlet Character Store near St. Augustine on the way back (or sometimes on the way down) -- have found some good stuff there in the past (better than the Orlando outlets). It always has a handy Food Court for lunch. (St. Aug is worth a day's visit on another trip also -- I've stayed at one of the motels near the Outlets a couple of times -- I'm coming from Asheville, NC, and it's really a two-day drive for me, altho some people make it in one day from here).

Stop at the Florida Welcome Center, for some orange juice and lots of brochures.

It's good to have paper maps of SC, GA, and FL, in case there are traffic problems and you want to look for an alternate route. (Construction and accidents on I-26 and I-95 can be as frequent as So. Cal.).

Looks like you're going in July -- read up on tips on coping with the heat on other threads on DIS. Take a water-spray bottle, and a bandana to wear around your neck wet. You might want bottled water -- the water is fine, but many people don't like the taste. You can take food and drinks (nonalcoholic) into the parks. Go first thing in the morning, to "rope drop" and take an afternoon break. WDW is HUGE-- much different than Disneyland (know that you will not be able to see and do everything there -- I usually go for 10-14 days, and still don't get to everything I kind of want to on a given trip).

Consider get a Photopass card and seek out the photographers so everyone can be in your photos -- they will also take snaps with you camera.

Have a great time!