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

[njcamper95]

We are leaving central NJ on 10/11/10 at about 3 am driving down the NJ turnpike to I-95 we stop in Savanha Ga for the night then finish the trip to the fort the next day so the first day is a long one with the truck and 32' travel trailer but the second day isn't as bad i'm the only driver so it makes it longer for me but the wife is to nervous to drive 95 with trailer she has driven the truck down 95 but not the trailer but we stay in the fort for almost 3 weeks so i get plenty of relaxing time before the trip home which we do in two parts also we usually leave the fort and stay in the fayetteville KOA on the way home or in that area its about the half way home spot then finish up the next day does anyone know of a more scenic route 95 get a little boring

 

[njcamper95]

Central NJ to the Fort is 1076.7 miles and non stop 18 hrs 22 min

 

[Disneyholic]

Leaving tomorrow morning. Our reservation at BWI starts on Monday.

 

[michael's mom]

Leaving tomorrow morning. Our reservation at BWI starts on Monday.

Have a great time!

 

[Disneyholic]

Have a great time!

Thanks. Just 2 BIG kids, DH & I.

 

[BC1836]

For 2,000+ Mile Round-Trip Drivers Only! All-Time Records:

[Please add, update or correct all "statistics."]


Most total drives: #48 [since 1973] dvczerfs

Most drives in one year: #4 [twice: 2009 & 2010] bc1836

Most drives in one decade: #19 [2002-2010] bc1836

Longest drive: ?

Most passengers in one vehicle: ?

additional categories...?

 

[2busy4life]

For 2,000+ Mile Round-Trip Drivers Only! All-Time Records:

[Please add, update or correct all "statistics."]


Most total drives: #48 [since 1973] dvczerfs

Most drives in one year: #4 [twice: 2009 & 2010] bc1836

Most drives in one decade: #19 [2002-2010] bc1836

Longest drive: ?

Most passengers in one vehicle: ?

additional categories...?

Newbie to driving to Florida??? - this might be me as it is our first trip this December

 

[crzy4dsny]

Shortest stay after driving 1,000 miles one way? I know there is someone here who stayed 3 hours then drove back home.

 

[LaneOT]

We are planning our first drive to the world in January!! We've done our past 5 visits flying but we are planning two visits in 2011 and we decided we would fly once (in August) and drive once.

We are driving from NYC, so I know I will find alot of pointers from Northeast folks!!

 

[rotlex]

We are planning our first drive to the world in January!! We've done our past 5 visits flying but we are planning two visits in 2011 and we decided we would fly once (in August) and drive once.

We are driving from NYC, so I know I will find alot of pointers from Northeast folks!!

There are two problems with driving......(at least for us):

1. With the money you can save, you will start going more often.
2. With the money you can save, your trips will become longer, and longer, LOL. Ours went from an average of 6 nights, to 10-12!

Seriously though, read this thread for some great tips. The drive from the NE, PA, NY or NJ area, is actually very easy; especially once you have done it more than once!

 

[LaneOT]

There are two problems with driving......(at least for us):

1. With the money you can save, you will start going more often.
2. With the money you can save, your trips will become longer, and longer, LOL. Ours went from an average of 6 nights, to 10-12!

Seriously though, read this thread for some great tips. The drive from the NE, PA, NY or NJ area, is actually very easy; especially once you have done it more than once!

I KNOW!!! Thats exactly why I'm convincing DBf to drive!! We bought AP's when we were there in August so in order to 'recoup' what we spent in the AP's we "needed" an extra trip...(evil, I know)

The only issue I have is that I'm afraid of what to expect. Seeing it is winter, how are the roads? Would it be better to fly in Jan and drive in Aug.?

Thanks

 

[2busy4life]

I KNOW!!! Thats exactly why I'm convincing DBf to drive!! We bought AP's when we were there in August so in order to 'recoup' what we spent in the AP's we "needed" an extra trip...(evil, I know)

The only issue I have is that I'm afraid of what to expect. Seeing it is winter, how are the roads? Would it be better to fly in Jan and drive in Aug.?

Thanks

We are doing our first drive ever from Mississauga Ontario Canada in December. Do to the possible bad weather we are crossing at either Port Huron or Detroit (timing is about the same). We will then take the I75 all the way down to Florida. We were told that this is the better road to travel at this time of year. On the way down we will spend one night in Knoxville Tennessee then drive the remaining distance the next day.

P.S....Do you know anywhere that we could get decent accommodations in NY during New Years Eve (preferably in Times Square so we can park our car and walk everywhere)? We were going to leave Florida one day earlier drive 12 hours which I think is VA, stay over night and then continue on to NY for two days. We were hoping to check in some where on Dec. 30, spend two nights and leave for home on Jan. 1. We must be home on Jan. 1 as we return to work and school on Jan. 2. I cannot find any good accommodations with out it costing us a fortune! The other problem is we need someone for four of us but need to be lower level do to my extreme fear of elevators (long story). I have looked at hotels and checked out renting a studio/flat but we do not know any reputable ones. Any information would be great as both our kids are really excited about possibly going to NY for New Years Eve. Thanks

 

[dvczerfs]

I KNOW!!! Thats exactly why I'm convincing DBf to drive!! We bought AP's when we were there in August so in order to 'recoup' what we spent in the AP's we "needed" an extra trip...(evil, I know)

The only issue I have is that I'm afraid of what to expect. Seeing it is winter, how are the roads? Would it be better to fly in Jan and drive in Aug.?

Thanks

just keep an i eye on the weather reports. stay on i95, spent the night at a truck stop (in a car) on 81 because it was snowing real bad about 20 years ago. there was only one time we had to head home one day early to miss an ice storm in the northeast. we always leave to come home on a sat. and drive straight through, we have sunday as a buffer. remember, those jets have to land on the ground sooner than later. id rather be in controll were im sleeping and when im getting there than the airlines.not to mention, in an ice storm, my feet are 15 inches off the ground when i try to stop than 30k going 158mph trying to stop. travel smart, dont push it in bad weather. avoid it if you can. we always have food,drinks,alot of blankets in the van just in case. we also have a small generator (the size of a car battery) that i keep in the van just in case.gnerally, the snow and ice dont hang around to long fron n.carolina south. watch the trucks, if they are going slow or pulling off, its bad.

 

[LaneOT]

We will be driving a Subaru Forester with AWD and its a really great SUV. Im really quite frightened of the winter storms and icy roads, but its the only time we are being given from work.

Has anyone driven in winter...January specifically???

 

[mousebymarriage]

We will be driving a Subaru Forester with AWD and its a really great SUV. Im really quite frightened of the winter storms and icy roads, but its the only time we are being given from work.

Has anyone driven in winter...January specifically???

We haven't driven in January but, we did drive down this past Feb.(5th-13th Disney)(13th-16th visiting family in Port Charlotte, fla.). We live in northern NJ,(bergen county).

Anyway, our original plan was to leave after the kids got out of school on the 5th, then DH said we should leave at lunchtime, so that was plan #2. Well, we had been watching the weather channel and the weather on the news obsessively for a week or two before the trip. we had always been lucky going down in the winter months and i had a feeling our luck was going to run out. Sure enough a blizzard was heading our way and it was going to hit Washington and Virginia hard. When we returned home from DD13 basketball game at around 7pm the night of Feb.4th we turned on the weather channel and heard the latest blizzard report, it was not good. The blizzard was due to slam Washington and Virginia by noon the next day. DH said to me "we gotta go soon or we are going to get stuck". Both kids hit the showers while DH packed the car. We decided to sleep for a couple of hours and were on the road by 12:30am, and thank God we left when we did because Washington, Virginia and Maryland got hit really hard. Normally when we drive through the night I sleep as much as possible the day before but, that day I didn't because we weren't supposed to leave until noon the next day.

We didn't have any problems on the way down just some torrential rain in parts of South Carolina and Georgia. When we got to the Florida welcome center I called Buena Vista Suites to see if they had avilability for that night and they did, our ressie at Pop didn't start until the 6th. My advice if you are traveling in the winter is to make sure you really keep an eye on the weather and be prepared to leave a day early if necessary. Good Luck.

 

[dvczerfs]

We will be driving a Subaru Forester with AWD and its a really great SUV. Im really quite frightened of the winter storms and icy roads, but its the only time we are being given from work.

Has anyone driven in winter...January specifically???

ive driven a few. about 12 in december, 14 in january. like i said, watch the weather forcast. if theres a noreaster blowin in to ny on a sat night,and your planning on getting home sat. night, make sure you leave and get home before the storm. or, spend an extra day on the road down south,or stay at wdw an extra day and let the plows get the roads cleaned up than head home. chance are, unless its a 3 foot storm, they have the roads cleared quickly. it realy dont take them long if a 12 inch storm blows in to clear 95. one year, we took off from home around 3am, we were about 2 hours into the trip and it started sleeting. the trucks were going about 25 mph, i stopped next to a truck and the driver said just pull off, its not worth it. we sat along i78 till about 5am,the roads were a sheet of ice. we had a blast, i was talking to the truck driver,another family heading to wdw pulled in in front of me. around 5 am the state salt trucks drove by and we all left.the sun came out and we were on our way. 2007 i was down in december, we watch the weather channel every night. they were calling for an ice storm on sat. night,the night we were to arrive home. we left a day early from wdw and we got home well before the storm. if you recall, that was the storm were on the news, the philly and dc airports were closed for ever. people sleeping in the terminals on the floor. i, was in my warm bed.

 

[dvczerfs]

We haven't driven in January but, we did drive down this past Feb.(5th-13th Disney)(13th-16th visiting family in Port Charlotte, fla.). We live in northern NJ,(bergen county).

Anyway, our original plan was to leave after the kids got out of school on the 5th, then DH said we should leave at lunchtime, so that was plan #2. Well, we had been watching the weather channel and the weather on the news obsessively for a week or two before the trip. we had always been lucky going down in the winter months and i had a feeling our luck was going to run out. Sure enough a blizzard was heading our way and it was going to hit Washington and Virginia hard. When we returned home from DD13 basketball game at around 7pm the night of Feb.4th we turned on the weather channel and heard the latest blizzard report, it was not good. The blizzard was due to slam Washington and Virginia by noon the next day. DH said to me "we gotta go soon or we are going to get stuck". Both kids hit the showers while DH packed the car. We decided to sleep for a couple of hours and were on the road by 12:30am, and thank God we left when we did because Washington, Virginia and Maryland got hit really hard. Normally when we drive through the night I sleep as much as possible the day before but, that day I didn't because we weren't supposed to leave until noon the next day.

We didn't have any problems on the way down just some torrential rain in parts of South Carolina and Georgia. When we got to the Florida welcome center I called Buena Vista Suites to see if they had avilability for that night and they did, our ressie at Pop didn't start until the 6th. My advice if you are traveling in the winter is to make sure you really keep an eye on the weather and be prepared to leave a day early if necessary. Good Luck.

 

[LadyBeBop]

Has anyone driven in winter...January specifically???

The only time (last January) was affected by snow.

The travelling party...me, my DH, our granddaughter (at the time, 15 months old) and DH's parents who live near Knoxville. Two cars.

Our ressies began on Sunday. Our original plans was to leave Friday night from Northern Kentucky and stay with my in-laws. Saturday, we would get as far as Southern Georgia or Northern Florida. Sunday would be an easy drive to Disney.

Until we heard about the snow/ice storm that was to hit Tennessee Friday night.

We left about 7 AM Friday morning, and my in-laws left a few hours later. We met up at a rest area about an hour south of Knoxville about 11 AM.

We stopped for lunch in Chattanooga about noon. During lunch, the snow started falling...several hours earlier than expected.

We drove through ice and snow for about an hour before it turned to all rain. We spent the night about an hour south of Atlanta.

Since we were four hours south of where we expected to be Friday night, we would have been able to drive into Orlando. Instead, we drove to Tarpon Springs on the Gulf coast (we've spent time there before, and throughly enjoyed it). From there, it's a very short drive Sunday to Disney.

That said...you have to anticipate snow and ice. But, except for the snow belt area along the eastern Great Lakes region, it happens only a few times each winter.

Good luck.

 

[jasko5990]

We are planning our first drive to the world in January!! We've done our past 5 visits flying but we are planning two visits in 2011 and we decided we would fly once (in August) and drive once.

We are driving from NYC, so I know I will find alot of pointers from Northeast folks!!

If you don't mind starting your trip late at night, I'd recommend leaving so you get through Washington DC on I-95 before 6am. We always leave around midnight, which gets us through DC around 3am and allows us to avoid any traffic congestion in the northern section of I-95. Since we drive straight through it also gets us onto WDW property around 4pm, thus avoiding the afternoon rush hour traffic on I-4 in the Orlando area.

 

[pwdebbie]

Rethinking our route because dd went around DC (west side) this past Saturday and said there was no traffic at all. She got to Williamsburg in four hours. It takes us five hours going 81-64 (avoiding DC). I'm thinking that if she knocked an hour off by going around DC, then maybe we should consider this.

In planning our trip, instead of doing 81-77-26-95, I am now thinking about using her route -- 15-270-495-95.

We would hit 495 in the early afternoon on Sunday, Oct. 31. Those who have btdt, please tell me whether this is a good idea. Thanks!