driving to wdw in january

[jinglesmountjoy]

I drove the I-77 route once in around Feb-'90 and left Toronto at 5:30pm arriving in Daytona 18.5hrs later. If you have the means, I would highly recommend sleeping during the day you wish to leave and making your exit after dinner. The drive is easy... no traffic whatsoever! I do believe one of the earlier replies was correct in saying spring arrives just after you enter into Virginia.

And don't worry about not seeing the lines in the road when going through the dark mountains because the 'neon' white marks and discs in the road make you feel like your taxiing down the runway on a redeye.

We're debating the same decision for Feb-06... drive from Niagara or fly from BUF. We are leaning towards flying. Hopefully, SW offers $49 each way in Feb which would put our flight at $600 CAD for roundtrip (3 adults - 1 child - 1 infant). Rental car at airport $400 CAD (for 2wks)

Distance - <2000km
Mileage - 8L/100km (Chevy Venture on highway)
- @ $1/L = $320 roundtrip (round up to $400 to be safe)
That's 4000km - Time for an oil change - $44 (synthetic @ Costco)
Tune up before long haul like that - min $150 - $400 (who knows)
Portable DVD in case the DD (4yr), or DS (1yr) won't sleep - $200
Hotel just in case kids start screaming (clean place) - $100 CAD/night
Food - $40 (straight drive)/ $75 (with hotel stay)

You see the point. Although flying may have it's share of delays and hassles, the convenience is worth the few extra bucks. If you must drive however, you should really try to do the night thing.

Sorry for the long post.

 

[Canadave]

my 2 cents on driving in January.... get Dave Hunter's I-75 book; Get a portable DVD player; Use the diamond lanes in Atlanta...especially in rush hour; Try to fill up gas entering and leaving Georgia...best prices; Watch for speed traps (once again, see Dave Hunter's book...very accurate); Stop at original Kentucky Fried Chicken in Corben, Kentucky; We've found the weather/road conditions best once we got out of Ohio; Take lot's of leg stretching/pee breaks...every 2 to 3 hours, whether you want them or not...there are lots of rest areas on I75; We like our plug-in cooler, so we can have a cold drink and snacks and lunches on the go (plus you can use it as a fridge at the hotel when you get to WDW); Try not to end day just before a major city...you don't want to start your next day in a traffic jam....we try to make it to the other side of Cincinatti on the first day down.

There's lots of reasons to drive AND to fly...it's a personal preference...but for our family, we actually enjoy the drive...plus we have our own vehicle when we get to WDW and are in control of when we come and go at the resort.

 

[dandee00]

There's lots of reasons to drive AND to fly...it's a personal preference...but for our family, we actually enjoy the drive...plus we have our own vehicle when we get to WDW and are in control of when we come and go at the resort.

Having your own vehicle was one of the main reasons DH and I decided to drive. We'll be there for 3 weeks and it was more economical.

We also have a small, very small, bar fridge to take with us to use at PC.

We're going in January and will get a TripTik from CAA. Since we are leaving from NB, we will probably use the I-95 and avoid some of the major cities.

No idea how many days it will take us to get there. We have allotted 3 days each way. We've decided to make the drive part of the adventure!