For 2,000+ Mile Round-Trip Drivers Only! (II)

[disneymarie]

We might just need the hip-boots, two years ago we were in the MK near Fantasyland during a rain storm and the area was very flooded! My DD had to take her socks off to wringe(sp?) them out!

As long as we can make it to the Boardwalk some time on Friday we will be HAPPY!

May 2009 it flooded so bad in AK was waded out of the area we were waiting near the Safarri. There were areas under water from the down pour. Was our only day to visit AK before going home.

Gee, that entire week was a washout with rain and tornados to the north. We sat in the hotel watching the warning across the tv.
Only year we hit bad weather the entire trip.

Edited to add this projection. Hope it keeps on the easterly track instead.

 

[Goofygirl17]

We're home! I definitely like the inland route but the ride down was a LOT better than the ride home. We hit traffic in VA on 81 yesterday and then on 78 and 287 today. We also hit traffic when we got to the ramp from 287 to 95 in CT/NY. That was due to a bad looking accident though. All of the other tie-ups had no visible source.

We drove for about 13 hours yesterday and 8 today. It's very nice to be home

Thanks for all the tips, advice and patience!

Also, there was a VERY long line of stop/go traffic on the southbound side of 81 today. I think it was due to construction.

 

[Donald is #1]

Hi everyone! I got home on Friday from my latest drive to WDW.

Round trip ended up being 2839 miles for me from my house in NH to/from WDW. Also, I was very happy because I averaged 22.9 MPG with my SUV.

I was the sole driver for this trip (had my 12 year old niece with me) and we did the drive in 3 stages in each direction: NH to DC, DC to Fayetteville, SC, Fayetteville SC to WDW on the trip down. On the trip back, the first night was in Chester, VA and we visited Mount Vernon and George Washington Birthplace the next day overnighting outside of Baltimore.

I used the 1-84 to I-684 to Sawmill to GSP to NJ Turnpike route and really made out well.

We left on Thursday 8/4 from my sister's house in Worcester at 6:30 AM and we hit no backups at all. If we didn't end up stopping to visit Fort McHenry in Batlimore, we would have been in DC at 2 PM. On Sunday late afternoon, traffic out of DC was heavy for a little while but cleared without too much trouble. The rest of the drive down was easy. I really didn't have any issues due to construction.

On the trip home, the ride from Disney to Chester,VA didn't enounter any problems. We did encounter DC traffic on the next day because we left ount Vernon to head to Baltimore at about 4:30. On Friday, we left Baltimore at about 8:15 and made it to Worcester at about 3:45 PM. This day saw the most traffic as the traffic on I-84 was heavy with the rode closed in West Hartford due to an accident. They had plenty of signs recommending an alternate path and that path worked well. Overall, I only lost about 5-8 minutes in CT despite all of the traffic.

 

[disneymam]

Is there a website that I can look to for traffic conditions in various states? We leave in two days and I am worried that 81 South will be backed up according to a PP. THanks in advance!

 

[disneymarie]

Is there a website that I can look to for traffic conditions in various states? We leave in two days and I am worried that 81 South will be backed up according to a PP. THanks in advance!

I call 511 in Pa not sure if it is nationwide. You put in the county and roadway you are going to travel.

also on the web...
http://www.511pa.com/TravelConditions.aspx

 

[MinnieTink]

Just wondering.. If you plan on leaving Fri or Sat from the Nj/Ny/Pa area, are you planning a different route than 95 due to possible bad weather conditions?

 

[tazdev3225]

I leave tomorrow. I'm not too worried about me but my DD is flying down Thursday. I am really hoping that the flights will go out as scheduled. Her DF and DS have never flown before and are a little nervous. I actually hope she gets some great cloud shots for me.

I have a few last minute things to do, the most important is getting the rear brakes on the car tonight and filling up the gas tank. We are hitting the road by 4:30 AM, hopefully closer to 4. DH has decided he is doing most of the driving and we are going straight down to Orlando. I found a Red Roof Inn in Kissimmee for about $30 for the night. Since we are only sleeping there and showering before heading over to ASMo on thursday I am hoping they aren't too bad.

I do have one question since I argue with my GPS all of the time. When we hit the DC area, for those of you who take I95, should we take 495 east or west or just stay on 95? When I go to my brothers I have always stayed straight but since I expect to hit the beginning of rush hour was curious which would be better. Thanks.

 

[Tanooki]

Heading home right now
We are on I-81 in PA and it's going well so far, much better than on the way down 10 days ago. We should be home around 9:30pm tonight although it does depend on my little shopping stop before the border
Hoping everyone is safe around hurricane Irene in the next days

Oh and we did have rain many times during our trip. It was up to my calves at MK on Saturday afternoon!

 

[amcnj]

Now in addition to worrying about traffic and snow and hurricanes while driving along rt 95 , you also have to be concerned about earthquakes!

 

[ThreeKMom]

I just heard they are inspecting bridges and overpasses for structural damage. Is there a web site that will list any closures?

Now that it looks like we will avoid the huricane on the drive down will we have to deal with detours?!?

 

[ThreeKMom]

I do have one question since I argue with my GPS all of the time. When we hit the DC area, for those of you who take I95, should we take 495 east or west or just stay on 95? When I go to my brothers I have always stayed straight but since I expect to hit the beginning of rush hour was curious which would be better. Thanks.

This is my question too, except I will be comming through around 9 or 10 pm.

 

[sharadoc]

I do have one question since I argue with my GPS all of the time. When we hit the DC area, for those of you who take I95, should we take 495 east or west or just stay on 95? When I go to my brothers I have always stayed straight but since I expect to hit the beginning of rush hour was curious which would be better. Thanks.

This is my question too, except I will be comming through around 9 or 10 pm.

In June, they were replacing a bridge that went over 495 west. We hit it at 6:30 am and took 2 hours to go 7 miles, so we didn't clear the area until 8:40. I assume that work is still going on.

Coming home we used 95. It was fine. I think it's bad during rush hours and all during the work day. If you hit it early or late, you shouldn't hit any problems.

That's all I can say - don't remember if I ever took 495 east.

 

[tazdev3225]

In June, they were replacing a bridge that went over 495 west. We hit it at 6:30 am and took 2 hours to go 7 miles, so we didn't clear the area until 8:40. I assume that work is still going on.

Coming home we used 95. It was fine. I think it's bad during rush hours and all during the work day. If you hit it early or late, you shouldn't hit any problems.

That's all I can say - don't remember if I ever took 495 east.

Thank you, I may try east. Now to hope I don't have problems from the quake.

 

[sharadoc]

Thank you, I may try east. Now to hope I don't have problems from the quake.

I don't think there's any problems, but they are inspecting bridges and buildings. Do you have XM radio? They have a traffic station that can help. Or do some internet searching on the all-news channel there and you should be able to start listening to see what's going on while you're on the road.

let us know how it goes!

 

[donnaf516]

Leaving Thursday evening from JK hoping to make it before the storm hits but it not looking too good. Should we consider taking 81 instead of 95 to miss some of the hurricane?

Fingers crossed that our roof luggage thing will hold up!

 

[donnaf516]

Just realized my previous post said JK....supposed to be NJ. Darn auto correct!

 

[nancyjvanwyk]

Hi folks, I have a question on eating places along the route. anybody have any dinner suggestions around Winston/Salem NC. we are going to be driving from PA in early Sept and get tired of eating fast food along the way. thank you.

 

[disneymom06]

We have found that we can find a Cracker Barrel whenever we need to stop and eat. There are plenty of billboard showing many locations. I have a made from them with all of their locations as well. For our family of 6, the cost is only 15 dollars more than fast food. It is a better meal, anyone can eat breakfast if they need and it is a nice break for the kids.

 

[nancyjvanwyk]

We have found that we can find a Cracker Barrel whenever we need to stop and eat. There are plenty of billboard showing many locations. I have a made from them with all of their locations as well. For our family of 6, the cost is only 15 dollars more than fast food. It is a better meal, anyone can eat breakfast if they need and it is a nice break for the kids.

thank you! I do like Cracker Barrel!

 

[Curious & Curiouser]

you can never go wrong with Cracker Barrel