Driving to WDW

[Danielle1971]

This is our first time driving to WDW with the family. Our boys are 10 & 8. We would of flew if we could but nothing fits our budget at this time. I think it will be a good road trip for the boys. They will definitely see alot along the way. We are traveling from MA (North Shore Area). Has anyone traveled from here? How was the drive? What is the best time to hit the road? Since my husband will be doing most of the driving, we are heading out on Sat morning (5 or 6 am). We received all our maps from AAA so we are good to go for August.

If anyone has any suggestions or comments, please let me know.

Thanks

 

[Harryo]

We are on the South Shore and have done the drive a few times, we are doing it again next month. We like to drive straight through, it takes us anywhere from 19 to 21 hours. We usually leave around 8pm, that way the kids sleep all night and we hit less traffic around the major cities at rush hour and we get into Orlando around 4pm ish. We find the drive down is pretty easy as everyone is excited to be going on vacation, the ride home, not so much. Just keep telling yourself I'm saving $1200 doing this. Good luck, happy driving!

 

[happily single]

I just drove alone with my three kids from the northern corner of RI for April vacation. I also got the maps from AAA but the rental car came with GPS!

We left at 4:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. THe kids didn't sleep as I hoped, but at least we managed to get through NJ without too much questioning from the kids. Traffic was pretty good, but I am just amazed that most of Route 95 is only 2 lanes!!

I kept detailed notes of when we reached each State, but have lost them. The tolls got a little expensive in NY/NJ?? I would guess about $20-30 one way.

There were plenty of clean, safe rest areas with reasonable gas stations.

Words of advice: Once you hit VA or so there are NOO, NONE, NADA coffee stops!! I went as far as calling the Visitor Information Bureau (Must to the horror of my 13 year old) to ask WHERE THE HECK I COULD FIND A DUNKIN DONUTS!

Also, I saw a ton of State Troppers doing radar. I actually ended up getting pulled over in SC on the way home and got myself a nice litle ticket. So much for my budget trip.

Finally, we made it to Fayetville, NC about 3:30 after stopping numerous times, including about 45 minutes for lunch. There are a bunch of hotels at the exit. Originally we were going to stay at Red ROof Inn, but their pool is seasonal (who knew?) so we ended up at the Super Motel 8. It was ehhh, I"m more of a Hilton/Sheraton girl.

We left Fayetville about 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, stopped for breakfast at South of the BOrder (which I DO NOT RECOMEND) and made it to Orlando, after desperately searching for coffee, about 2:30.

If you have any other questions please feel free to ask.

 

[dblr]

If you are looking for coffee stops you can stop @ WaWa stores they also have fuel, you can find them from NJ to about the 45 mile marker in Va. they are only a mile or two from the exit well run and very clean great for quick stops, bathrooms are also available.

 

[GranddadTom]

My first consideration in planning a drive to WDW is when will I hit the big cities along the way. This determines when I leave. You’ll be driving on a weekend so “rush hour” traffic won’t be a problem. But, going in August, “beach traffic” will be a consideration – more so in early August than in late August. It should take you around 4 1/2 hours to get to NYC and then another 4 hours to get to Washington. It looks like you’ll be on the Washington Beltway around mid to late afternoon on Saturday. Traffic shouldn’t be a big problem then. Make sure that when you get onto the Washington Beltway that you go east (i.e. clockwise around the Beltway) because the part to the west in Virginia is a mess right now with construction to add an HOV lane going on. Once you get back onto Rt. 95 in Northern Virginia it’s about 12 hours to WDW. The 30 miles on Rt. 95 south of Washington will be slow any time of any day so be patient. Any time that I can maintain a speed over 50 mph on this stretch of road, I consider that a bonus. Don’t get impatient if you can’t get up to 65 or 70 mph on this part of the trip. South of Washington you won’t hit any serious traffic until I-4 before Orlando. Dunkin’ Donut is more of a northern thing although it’s spreading fast through the south. One word of caution – speeding tickets are becoming a real problem. All of the states along I-95 are hurting for money and it seems that they all are out there trying to raise money but nailing people who hit speed limit plus 11 mph. They always seem to be stationed at the bottom of big hills where you can pick up speed without even noticing it. I’ve heard that South Carolina has speed cameras!! on the southern part of I-95.

 

[disneyagain]

The last time we drove from upstate NY we left at 3am - My sister and I took our 5 kids (aged 8-15) - what were we thinking? Actually it was fun! The kids stayed up all night (or tried) before we left, they fell asleep in the car and woke up around 9am when we stopped for breakfast...then they had fun with their cousins for the rest of the trip....So if you can keep them up a little later the night before, maybe they'll sleep in the beginning.

We were thinking about driving down this summer and I told my DH that I liked leaving at 3am - 1/3 of the trip is just about done before you stop for breakfast - I'm usually up and ready to go the morning we leave for vacation!

Enjoy your trip!

 

[Danielle1971]

I think i'm going to go out of my mind in the car for 20 hrs of my husband driving. I go crazy for just being in the car for 3 hours going to New Hampshire. I know we'll be saving money especially with the airfare so outrageous right now.

We have AAA and have all our maps so if we need to spend the night somewhere we have our card. That should help expense wise.

I'm a big Dunkin Donuts fan and will go out of my mind if i can't find one. This momma needs her coffee! Ha! Ha!

Anyhow i'm getting really excited!

 

[mrodgers]

I'm a big Dunkin Donuts fan and will go out of my mind if i can't find one. This momma needs her coffee! Ha! Ha!

Glad I read this. Wife and kids go crazy about Dunkin Donuts. Something to check into locations along where I expect to be about 8 am or so for a treat.

 

[HeatherC]

Or you can bring along a HUGE thermos of it! How long does that "Box o Joe" stay warm. Now that's something I need to look into!

 

[Missytara]

My first consideration in planning a drive to WDW is when will I hit the big cities along the way. This determines when I leave. You’ll be driving on a weekend so “rush hour” traffic won’t be a problem. But, going in August, “beach traffic” will be a consideration – more so in early August than in late August. It should take you around 4 1/2 hours to get to NYC and then another 4 hours to get to Washington. It looks like you’ll be on the Washington Beltway around mid to late afternoon on Saturday. Traffic shouldn’t be a big problem then. Make sure that when you get onto the Washington Beltway that you go east (i.e. clockwise around the Beltway) because the part to the west in Virginia is a mess right now with construction to add an HOV lane going on. Once you get back onto Rt. 95 in Northern Virginia it’s about 12 hours to WDW. The 30 miles on Rt. 95 south of Washington will be slow any time of any day so be patient. Any time that I can maintain a speed over 50 mph on this stretch of road, I consider that a bonus. Don’t get impatient if you can’t get up to 65 or 70 mph on this part of the trip. South of Washington you won’t hit any serious traffic until I-4 before Orlando. Dunkin’ Donut is more of a northern thing although it’s spreading fast through the south. One word of caution – speeding tickets are becoming a real problem. All of the states along I-95 are hurting for money and it seems that they all are out there trying to raise money but nailing people who hit speed limit plus 11 mph. They always seem to be stationed at the bottom of big hills where you can pick up speed without even noticing it. I’ve heard that South Carolina has speed cameras!! on the southern part of I-95.

Couldn't agree with you more - I live in DE and we have many people from MD/DC area who own beach houses here. Traffic can get pretty harrowing on the weekends, but especially in August, when many people take their vacations before the kids go back to school. Here in the Northeast, kids go back around August 23rd. So be prepared if you are going the first weekend (the 7th) when people take off two weeks or the second weekend (the 14th) when people only take off one week - you will be hitting some form of traffic around DC. But if it is later in the afternoon, it won't be as bad.

 

[cheesekate2005]

We have done the drive from upstate NY numerous times. The coffee situation is bad on the way down! I bring those little cups of international delights creamer to make my nasty rest area coffee a little better!

As for when to leave, I just try to avoid DC at rush hour!

 

[cranbiz]

I used to leave from the south shore between 4-7pm and would get in between 2 to 5pm. The only traffic that I may have got caught in was in Providence and Jacksonville.
Good coffee was tough to find but the better truck stops were not bad.

 

[francie57]

One other thing that will make things easier is to have an EZ Pass (or whatever they call it in Mass). You can put money on it and give a cc number and then not have to worry about toll money through NY/NJ/Delaware.

 

[Danielle1971]

We do have a Fast Pass which will help with any tolls we come across. Although, I was informed by AAA that we won't hit too many along he way!

 

[WildGrits]

We will be coming from Albany, NY and staying Caribbean Beach Resort/AKL. Maybe we will see you.

I am trying to talk my hubby into driving it due to the cost of flying these days.

In the past I have relied on http://www.i95exitguide.com for info while driving between my two homes (NC and NY).

Hardees Coffee is good and McDonald's uses Seattle's Best I believe everywhere except here in Albany.

I would say if you do nothing else, make it a point to stop at Pedro's South of the Boarder. It's about 9 miles into SC and it is a hoot.

It is my plan to make Pedro's our stop for the night so that we have less driving the next day. The rooms are less than $100 and they have a carport right at the door of your room. Just don't expect the Hyatt here.

I believe tolls end in Maryland.

I usually perfer to leave at night so the sun isn't in my eyes all day.

If you have a laptop or dvd player for the car, RedBox is a God send. You can rent about 5 at a time I think. And as you get to your destination, you just take them to a local Redbox and drop them in.

 

[TinkerKell-ey]

We've made the trip twice (by trip, I mean a 20ish hour drive to WDW with kids-but I'm from MI - not MA : ) Last time was this past Feb. and my kids were 6 and 9. Things that made the difference--DVD player, DS w/car charger (son) and Ipod loaded with a few new TV episodes and new music (daughter). We also had lots of activity books including one I found on amazon filled with games to play in the car. We left after school on a Friday (re-packed the kids backpacks with their pile'o'stuff and hit the road. Drove through until my DH was tired out (11pm ish) and found that the hotel info books found at rest stops were very helpful (organized by freeway exit and free). We ended up with a huge, newly remodeled room with temperpedic (sp?) mattresses and free breakfast for $55!! It was almost too bad we couldn't stay to enjoy it (not really we were headed to WDW!!) Not judging, but with kids in the car, stopping for the night is a must. Their safety is first priority, and a tired driver is not safe. I remember driving all the way through in the past and being worn out/crabby and effectively losing a day anyway being miserable or catching up on sleep. With the kids, might as well stay (sort of) in routine and everybody is happier from the get go. Have fun!

 

[loveysbydesign]

We've made the trip twice (by trip, I mean a 20ish hour drive to WDW with kids-but I'm from MI - not MA : ) Last time was this past Feb. and my kids were 6 and 9. Things that made the difference--DVD player, DS w/car charger (son) and Ipod loaded with a few new TV episodes and new music (daughter). We also had lots of activity books including one I found on amazon filled with games to play in the car. We left after school on a Friday (re-packed the kids backpacks with their pile'o'stuff and hit the road. Drove through until my DH was tired out (11pm ish) and found that the hotel info books found at rest stops were very helpful (organized by freeway exit and free). We ended up with a huge, newly remodeled room with temperpedic (sp?) mattresses and free breakfast for $55!! It was almost too bad we couldn't stay to enjoy it (not really we were headed to WDW!!) Not judging, but with kids in the car, stopping for the night is a must. Their safety is first priority, and a tired driver is not safe. I remember driving all the way through in the past and being worn out/crabby and effectively losing a day anyway being miserable or catching up on sleep. With the kids, might as well stay (sort of) in routine and everybody is happier from the get go. Have fun!

Great tips. A friend of mine and her family used to drive straight through every year(for over 5 years). Her dh would drive the night while she slept in the van. She would take over after a breakfast stop. It worked great until one year about 1/2 hour after eating breakfast when she fell asleep at the wheel and totaled their minivan, after it crashed into and over the guardrail on the highway. Needless to say they were fortunate to all be alive and have never driven straight through since then.