Driving to WDW???

[poohbear59]

I am considering driving to WDW from the Philadelphia, PA area. Any thoughts or comments would be great. We have a nice size van and we are a family of four.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Cherinva]

Once you get onto I-95, it's pretty much a straight shot to Florida. Then get on I-4 somewhere around Daytona Beach, I think .I would plan on 2 days to get there...get a hotel about half way down....

I don't drive anymore...it's much easier for me to fly now.

 

[darrengs]

Swing by the transportation board. There is a wealth of information on the subject of driving to WDW.

 

[Metro West]

Once you get onto I-95, it's pretty much a straight shot to Florida. Then get on I-4 somewhere around Daytona Beach, I think .I would plan on 2 days to get there...get a hotel about half way down....

That's what my family used to do driving from Charlottesville to Orlando. We usually stopped in the Brunswick GA area for the night.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Make sure you stop at South Of The Border.

Also, for an overnight stop there are a lot of decent chain motels at GA Exit 92, which is the South side of Savannah.

 

[JacksLilWench]

We drive from Charlotte, NC every time we go. Granted, Charlotte is quite a bit closer than Philly, PA. The PP's though are right, an overnight stop would be a good idea. I don't know if you'd want to wait til Georgia to do it though- Savannah is only about 4 hours from WDW. If I got that close and had to stop, I'd be going crazy! According to MapQuest, it's about a 16 hour drive from PA to WDW. HTH!!

 

[parrotheadlois]

We used to drive from northeast NJ, we stopped in Santee, South Carolina. There was a decent Best Western there with an on-site restaurant. It would be nice for your kids if you had a dvd player in the car (maybe you already do!). It'll be fun - I bet the kids will be better behaved for that long drive than they normally are.

 

[Fantasmic23]

We make the trek from Connecticut (New Haven area) every year, sometimes twice. We drive as far as Harrisburg, NC (Where we have family) then continue on to WDW the next morning.

 

[melissaehrlich]

I remember driving down to Florida from Ontario, Canada as a kid. My mom would always make up a bag for each of us kids, with books, car games, etc... to keep us occupied. We never drove straight through, usually took a couple of days, but that was all part of the vacation.

We are planning a trip early next year, and we are planning to drive down as well. Hoping I can convince my husband to stop for the night!!

 

[CastawayJP]

We have driven from DC more times than I can count. We have 2 young kids and an 11 year old. We would drive through the night, so the little ones would sleep, and we would have a full day there when we arrived early in the morning. It is our preferred way to get down there. It is about 11 hours driving time if the kids stay asleep. The drive down is fine, but the drive back is the real tough part. On the way down you are so excited to get there adrenaline keeps you going...

 

[pklein09]

Central Jersey here....we're driving again this year. This will be the 3rd time as a family that we've driven. There are 6 of us, and even with gas at its current price, it's cheaper for us to drive. We leave around 6:00 am, take the Gladys Noon Spellman Parkway through DC (I forget the route number), and we usually stop just south of Savannah where Cheshire Figment mentioned. That's about 12 hours in the car. We get up the next morning and are in Disney for lunch. We have 2 portable DVD players the kids share, they each have an MP3 player and Nintendo DS. To get them to look out the window, I made travel bingo games and offer them $1 for the one who gets bingo. I also offer them $1 if they see a unique car (Lotus, Masarati, Ferrari, Bugatti, etc.) while we're driving. With all the personal devices, they don't look out the window!

I would also check out the Transportation Board....great information over there.

Have a safe trip!

 

[A_Princess'_Daddy]

We just drove down for the first time ever last week, and I have to admit it was a really easy and pleasant drive, and plus we had our much more comfortable car while at WDW, rather than a rental. With plane tickets out of Des Moines over $900 each during spring break (limited capacity coupled with only legacy carriers makes this a tough place during peak times), we figured it was worth a shot, and it went very smoothly. The children slept in their car/booster seats while I drove through the night, and during the daytime portion they watched Disney movies on the car's DVD player. Outside of one minor traffic snag south of Atlanta, we sailed along very nicely.

The part that made the overnight drive really tolerable, however, was that I listed to Podcasts for about ten straight hours, each way, and they kept me entertained and engaged and therefore alert during the overnight portion of the drives. It was my first time listening to them, and I must admit that I am now completely hooked and will become a regular listener. They streamed very nicely over the phone into the car's radio, and I didn't have to play radio-station roulette all night.

 

[baby1disney]

Hi.I'm Terrie and my family has always drove down to Orlando from Toledo.The drive down to Florida on I-75 is a very boring drive to me..with exception of some places. The last two times..we drove down I-95. We took 75 to..I think..40/26 over to 95. MUCH BETTER SCENERY!!! I Love it!!! We stop along the way in North Carolina at a rest area and its gorgeous!! I think its one of the first exit once you get into NC. Then we stop in Brusnwick for the night. From there..Disney's only about 3..3 1/2 hrs away. We usually get up about 5 and leave around 530--545am. We stop for breakfast(MCD..BK..Hardees) and then head over to the World!! By the time we get there it's about 830..9am.

I love this way..but I'm thinkin about takin me and my son down there on the plane for the next time. I think he would LOOOVE it!!