driving to wdw in january

[cottontail]

Hi: Any tips from those who have driven to wdw from the Ontario area in january. Is it possible. Also what state would you have to make it to, in order to consider being out of the ice and snow territory?

thanks,

deb.

 

[NancyK]

I would definitely take I-75 as opposed to the I-77/79/95 route. We always make sure we have boots, mitts, etc in the car along with extra food and a warm sleeping bag or blanket. We actually had to utilize these things back on March break 1993? when we got stranded in the "storm of the century" as they were calling it in Tennessee. (We weren't paying too much attention to the weather reports. ) The highway was closed. Not a fun trip. But we have gone often in the winter as have family members and usually it's fine except for the odd freezing rain in Ohio. You'll be fine - Canadians are made of strong stuff and we can handle the drive pretty well. Oh - and be sure to keep your tank at least 1/2 full. If the power goes out, the gas stations close as we found out. We're driving down at the end of December. Hope you have a great trip.

 

[CharlesTD]

Ohio is the only state you may have any issues with as all the bridges are concrete and the grooves in them all run lenghtways not across them. All the water holds in teh grooves and freezes we have only ever had this one time and once you knew it you just drove accordingly for the situation.

 

[Cruisin]

We drove down one year and there was still ice and a bit of snow (in sheltered spots) way down into Georgia almost to the Florida border

That is extremely rare of course. Usually you get out of the main snowy areas near the end of Tennessee, sometimes a bit further north.

 

[cottontail]

Thanks for all the replies. Very informative.

Deb.

 

[Ham Ham]

If you plan on stopping later than 5:00 PM depending on when & where you are motels rooms may be an issue.
I suggest prebooking motels, several along the route and then at some point on the day call to confirm the room with a credit card.

Invest in a CAA membership for the trip advice and maps.
Ask for detailed state maps in addition to the regional maps they provide. Also ask for detailed maps on Orlando and WDW.

Also avoid cities during rush hours.
Detroit, Toledo, Dayton , Cincinnati, Knoxville, Atlanta.

In 1988 my wife and I left London Ontario on a Friday January morning at 4:00 AM, Detroit 5:45 AM , Toledo 6:45 AM. Cincinnati, 12:00 PM, and stopped an hour north of Atlanta at 6:30 PM. No traffic problems other than some constuction on I-75 south of Chattanooga (sp?)

With the fuel prices and low airfares look into flying with Southwest.
My family of four flew from Pittsburgh Orlando return. for 450 USD for all of us. 1st week we stayed at WDW, no need for a car and the second week we rented a car.

Explore all the options

 

[Disneyof3]

We drove down 2 years ago for our 1st trip to florida. We left Jan 16. We leave at about 6pm on the Friday night and we headed right down I75 and we don't stop except for breakfast,lunch,gas and pee breaks (7) total all together. We made to Kissimee by 6pm Sat. We had no problems with snow or freezing rain(that was on the way back) but nothing major. We think we lost the snow in Tennesee, but the snow compared to us up here it's nothing. We did it again last Feb. and it worked out the same. No problems with the snow or the ice.
GOOD LUCK

 

[CharlesTD]

We drove down 2 years ago for our 1st trip to florida. We left Jan 16. We leave at about 6pm on the Friday night and we headed right down I75 and we don't stop except for breakfast,lunch,gas and pee breaks (7) total all together. We made to Kissimee by 6pm Sat. We had no problems with snow or freezing rain(that was on the way back) but nothing major. We think we lost the snow in Tennesee, but the snow compared to us up here it's nothing. We did it again last Feb. and it worked out the same. No problems with the snow or the ice.
GOOD LUCK

We do the same we always leave after dinner onteh Friday night and that way teh kids all sleep for the longest part of the trip. We wake them up in the AM at the Georgia welcome centre for breafast and to let them run around for an hour or so. We usually get to Valdosta or that area about 3 or 4 in the afternoon and stop for the night. That way everyone gets a good nights sleep and is well rested for the rest of the drive the next day which is much shorter when you are stopping close to Florida the night before.

 

[wee-haggis]

Hi: Any tips from those who have driven to wdw from the Ontario area in january. Is it possible. Also what state would you have to make it to, in order to consider being out of the ice and snow territory?

thanks,

deb.

With all due respect...my advice to you is.....don't do it !
With the price of gas going up and up,the potential for horrible driving conditions and the time it takes to get there,you might be better looking for a DING fare from Buffalo,drive and park at one of the hotels that allows it and be in the Magic in 2-30mins.(unless of course you have no choice,or you don't like flying).

 

[talicskai]

If anyone is interested in "Along the I75" by Dave Hunter I have a 2005 copy for sale.

Teresa

 

[cottontail]

Thanks for the reply. I am terrified to fly. Really wish I could fly, we are close to buffalo as well.
But also don't like the thought of bad weather driving. I may look at early november and just grin and bare the price for regular season. I just thought getting into dec is value season and the discounts are better, plus the decorations are up..

Deb.

 

[Mortlives]

We drove down last February, and went through the mountains (i-79 route). Spring began once we passed through the second tunnel, which is the one between West Virginia and Virginia.

 

[CharlesTD]

With all due respect...my advice to you is.....don't do it !
With the price of gas going up and up,the potential for horrible driving conditions and the time it takes to get there,you might be better looking for a DING fare from Buffalo,drive and park at one of the hotels that allows it and be in the Magic in 2-30mins.(unless of course you have no choice,or you don't like flying).

Ding fare BUF to MCO 49.00 US each way so 98 dollars plus the miniscule taxes for a total of over 500 US for us to fly I will take driving when we paid 17f US to drive even now with the higher prices the mileage our van gets it still isn't going to make up that difference. When we looked at going in May it was over 900 US to fly for our family of 5 so driving is our prefered method of transport.

 

[Mortlives]

We spent about $120US round trip in gas, going down to Universal on August 23, and driving back to St. Augustine the long way on the 29, and then back home on September 3/4. We drive an Elantra, but she was rather more loaded than she's used to, this time. We can't even count the cost of the hotels we stayed in on the way down, because flying would have just increased our time at our destination, so it would have been even more expensive since we only cheap out on hotels en route.

If it's just a matter of money, we'll probably always drive. Although we are considering doing the autotrain for a leg back next trip.

Did I mention that I love my Elantra? May sound silly, but we've named her, Bella, and we decorate her. She has a doom buggy plate and a calico jack flag plate in her back window, and a bat, and a skull and crossbones hanging from her rear-view mirror. In return, she's extremely reliable, and gives us pretty good mileage.

 

[wee-haggis]

To be honest,to me its more than just the money aspect(as important as that is).
Its the time.
The best case scenario is to drive it "in a oner" and that basically wastes 2 to 3 days and feeling zonked after each of the drives.
I like to make full use of every vacation day I get (and driving aint fun for me...jmho).So,to get there in 1 hr and 45mins,using a Ding ,and perhaps paying a couple of hundred bucks more than driving?...
As far as I'm concerned...no competition.
By the way, I think to calculate the cost of driving down as simply a case of gas fill-ups is a bit unrealistic because the over night motel (if you stop) and the uncalculated wear and tear on your engine are factors to be considered.
For me ...its the wear and tear on my brain that leads me not to drive.!!

 

[CharlesTD]

To be honest,to me its more than just the money aspect(as important as that is).
Its the time.
The best case scenario is to drive it "in a oner" and that basically wastes 2 to 3 days and feeling zonked after each of the drives.
I like to make full use of every vacation day I get (and driving aint fun for me...jmho).So,to get there in 1 hr and 45mins,using a Ding ,and perhaps paying a couple of hundred bucks more than driving?...
As far as I'm concerned...no competition.
By the way, I think to calculate the cost of driving down as simply a case of gas fill-ups is a bit unrealistic because the over night motel (if you stop) and the uncalculated wear and tear on your engine are factors to be considered.
For me ...its the wear and tear on my brain that leads me not to drive.!!

LOL we are lucky that way our room for the night in Valdosta or down that way is only 46 or 49 bucks. Our kids are great travelers in teh car so we have no issues with that either. We leave at night so teh kids sleep for the longest part of the drive. Our van is a lease so wear and tear is none of my concern it is all warranty work and then we turn it in and get a new vehicle LOL. We leave on the Friday night after dinner and drive from 7 PM and get to Valdosta area about 3 PM the next day we stop there and continue on the next day nice and rested plus I love driving and drive all but about 4 hours of the trip there and the same coming home but coming home we do it straight through.

 

[maryliz]

We almost always drive,but flew the last 2 trips. Last trip, unable to get non-stop flights, and on our return trip home, left hotel room at POP Century at 9:20AM, had a 3 hour layover in Atlanta which turned into almost 5 hours, landed in Buffalo at 8:20PM, and didn't arrive at our house in London ON until 12:30AM. If I'm going to spend a whole day travelling, I'd much rather be driving so there's stuff to do and see. I could have driven across the state of Georgia in the time I spent in Atlanta airport alone.

It's definitely not a "2 1/2 hours and we're there" thing when you fly. Even with a non-stop flight in Jan, we left my sisters house at 4:30AM, and arrived at the hotel at noon. This doesn't include the 2 hour drive to my sisters the night before, so if I add in the extra 2 hours if we'd done it all in one shot, it was still a 9 1/2 hour day to get there.

And with flying, I didn't get my traditional "first nights supper at Cracker Barrel".

I don't mind the flying, but if the weather is good, I'll take the drive!

MaryLiz

 

[Teresa Pitman]

I've driven this eight times, and I think 4 of those times were in January or the first week of February. We usually do the I-75.

I'm a single mother, and when we started going to WDW, I had to do all the driving as my kids weren't old enough. Then I usually did three days there, three days back, so I wasn't driving tired. We would look for hotels with pools so we could swim every night and often did some other things too, like the Kentucky Horse park (when it's open) or some shopping or Mayfield's Ice Cream.

Now that I'm not the only driver, we often do it in two days, or three days on the way down and two days on the way back. Haven't tried the one day run.

For us the drive has been a lot of fun. The I-75 book has a lot of interesting things in it - places to visit, information about the history of the area, etc. My kids have learned a lot about the Civil War on those trips. We enjoy going to the different Welcome centres and learning a bit about each state, and we like driving through the mountains and watching for the first palm tree.

I'm driving down again at the end of November, this time with my son, his wife, two grandchildren and another son. We're planning to have it take three days there and back. But now I'm wondering if we should try driving through the night - since we have four people who can drive, so we could take shifts. I'll have to discuss it with the gang.

Teresa

 

[CharlesTD]

Driving through the night is good because the kids will sleep so it makes for fewer potty breaks etc. Plus it is a big suprise to them to see how far you have gotten by the time they wake up in the morning. We usually wake our kids up in the AM when we arrive at the Gerogia welcome centre and let them run around for a bit and eat some breakfast. It helps to have an electric cooler to take with us for milk etc for breakfast.

 

[cottontail]

Hi: It might be the end of november beg dec. now. But hubby still wants to do the virginia route I95 I 77, I79 (i may have mixed it up) if there is a clear day ahead. We will see.

Deb.