Driving to WDW

[cokenut33]

I am looking for information from those of you that drive down from the northeast. We are driving from upstate NY in April and while we already have this trip planned (we are staying with friends in MD and at HH) for future reference, we would like to know how others do it. Where to stay or not stay, routes, etc. Considering the cost of airfare is on the rise, we will probably be driving down more often than flying. Thanks.

 

[disneymotherof3]

Check out this thread.....http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=394351 This should help! We'll be driving too in August.

 

[DeeCee735]

We drive down from Long Island every year. We book our DVC resort for Sunday through Friday or Saturday, saving the points on Saturday nights.

We take 95S straight to I4 in Florida, with the exception of swinging around Richmond in VA - I think it's 695, but the signs are right there directing you.

We leave LI very early on Saturday, around 4, 4:30 a.m. and drive through to South Jacksonville (Jacksonville is long on 95, we go as far as we can). We book an overnight stay in something right along 95 like a Holiday Inn or Courtyard, etc. We usually make this in about 15 to 15 1/2 hours, my husband and I share the driving, although he does much more than I, I usually just do North & South Carolina. We get a good night sleep, and try to leave around 8 a.m. heading for Disney. Depending on th traffic on 4 (and there always seems to be traffic there) it usually takes another 3 to 3 1/2 hours to get to the hotel. We check in asap and start our vacation.

When I tell people we drive they can't believe it, they say we are crazy.....but we don't find the drive that bad at all. It goes quickly. We stop for about an hour all together, between getting gas/bathroom stops and food stops, and it just seems to go quickly.

This year is the first year we are stopping on the way home to tour Savannah (sleeping in HH), and Charleston (staying at the Charleston Place one night). I hope it works out well. It's about 13 hours to drive home from Charleston, so hopefully it will feel even faster getting home.

We usually pack bagels, snacks and drinks so we don't have to stop for breakfast, and just grab a fast lunch on a gas stop, then eat when we check into our overnight hotel in Jacksonville.

 

[wdw_forever]

we drove down from Montreal the past 3 times and it went quite well... except for traffic around Washington DC like always getting the end of a football game

we would leave around 7am, stop around 11pm in Selma NC to sleep overnight and leave the following morning around 7am again to finally arrive in WDW around 2pm or so

we take I-87 to the NJ turnpike then I-95 up to Daytona and switch to I-4 to finish the drive... about 24 hrs of driving time total

 

[Paulie656]

We too come from Long Island and drive each time we go to Disney. My DW is scared to fly so we don't have much of a choice other than the train. We always leave on Thursday night, unless we are going on a school break then we leave on Friday, at around 8 pm and drive straight through. I usually drive until we hit North Carolina. My wife takes over until the welcome center in Florida and then I drive the rest of the way to Disney. We usually make the trip in about 18 hours stopping only for gas and the occassional bathroom break that cannot wait until the next gas stop. We pack food in a cooler on the way down to minimize stopping. The other thing is we usually book a room for one night, usually the Saturday, at Pop Century or an All Star Resort to save points since we usually don't get there until the late afternoon or early evening anyway.

We drove down in February and will be driving again in April. Overall I do not think it is as bad as most people think.

Good Luck!

 

[njmeisje]

We have driven down from New Jersey a few times. We tend to leave on a Friday morning, very early 4-5am or so. We like to try to get past Washington DC (about 4 hours) before the traffic gets heavy. We drive as far south as we can that first day, usually S Carolina or Ga. We plan ahead to stay at a Hampton Inn. We like Hampton Inn because the are guaranteed to be clean and safe. Hotel chains can vary so much as you drive down 95. You can search on google for locations for Hampton Inn, and use Mapquest to figure out how far you might drive. I suggest you have 2-3 hotel options, at differing driving distances, just in case you tire earlier than you thought, or find you have more stamina to keep going!!

We arrive in Fl usually around check in time that second day. If we arrive a bit early, we go straight to downtown disney, shop for autograph books, hats for the girls, and dine at Earl of Sandwich (one of our favs!!) So we really feel like we have ARRIVED.

Best of luck to you.

Diane

 

[minnierealtor]

We have driven from NH to HH for the last 7 years and find that the drive on 95 is horrible. We take a slightly longer drive on 81 which may add about 1-2 hours but we have been stuck on 95 for much longer than that with construction, traffic or accidents. We don't have a favorite place to stay along the way but we have found Country Inn and Suites and Wingates to be nice places along with the usual Holiday Inn Express.

We have also driven along the coast line of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia (take the Bay Bridge and Tunnel) and stopped for a night at Ocean City. What a great time! We try to make the drive a part of the vacation adventure.