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

[jakenjess]

Would you be taking 95 straight down? How far away from Boston are you? We are planning on leaving sometime between 4pm and 7pm (haven't decided yet) for our drive down in April and from what I've read here and reports from friends who have driven, we'll miss all of the traffic. If we leave around 4, we may have a bit of traffic a little south of boston trying to jump on 95 but it shouldn't be too bad. That's why we haven't decided when we're leaving. On the one hand, I'd like to just get going and deal with whatever we hit in the Braintree/Dedham areas of MA traffic. On the other hand, if we eat dinner first and leave maybe at 6 or 7, DS will probably fall asleep in the car pretty soon after starting the drive down.

But, back to your trip, if you hit the Dedham MA area around 7pm you should miss all of the traffic in MA, and be through NYC and DC before rush hour. If we leave at 4, we figure we'll hit NYC between 8 and 9 and DC between midnight and 1am. I haven't heard anyone report tough traffic anywhere else on 95 south of DC.

Best of luck!

Thanks! We are about two hours north of Boston, and we'd be taking 495 to I think it's 84? Then picking up 95 further south. You're right, I think leaving a little later is better. If we can arrange for DS to miss school on Friday, we may leave Thursday night around 6 or 7 PM.

This may seem like an odd question, but since we're in Maine we have studded snow tires. Is there any problem with having these on in the southern states?

 

[BC1836]

Alright -- You write a book about Disney, BC1836 can edit and I'll proof. Now all we need is a publisher and some up front money . . .

Indeed!
But the BC1836 editing chores will have to be put on hold: writing a Disney-related book is priority number one right now. [Details after the manuscript is handed in.]
The laptop travels with us on all 2,000+ mile round-trip drives.


All the best.

 

[shafke]

Too funny but husband and I are trying to plan a trip down during February break and with the high cost of flying, I'm trying to convince him to drive. We're also at Exit 63 off the LIE...LOL!! We've driven to FL once before when kids were tiny and this past summer did a road trip to NC. Although there were a few moments when I doubted my sanity, I think I'm actually starting to look forward to a drive down. Saw your comments on departure times and overnights to FL (Kingsland, GA?) but was wondering what you guys recommend for the trip home? I'm pretty sure that straight through won't work for us and considering the hotel has an 11am checkout, I was wondering what time you usually hit the road and where you recommend staying? Thanks for the help

For the trip home we like to get at least 1/2 way there. That would bring you to northern NC/Southern VA. Last time I checked hotels were cheaper in NC.

We are also heading down next Feb (alas not for Disney) but decided on taking the AutoTrain.

 

[2busy4life]

Alright -- You write a book about Disney, BC1836 can edit and I'll proof. Now all we need is a publisher and some up front money . . .

I can do the website!!! we still need the publisher and the $$ up front

 

[sharadoc]

Alright -- You write a book about Disney, BC1836 can edit and I'll proof. Now all we need is a publisher and some up front money . . .

I can handle the print!

 

[sharadoc]

Any suggestions or warnings for lodging in the Florence, SC, area? We are splitting the drive down for two nights on the road -- first night in the Florence area, second night at Ormond Beach -- a shuttle launch is scheduled late that afternoon so hopefully we will get to see it, already have that room reserved. Just need to make a decision (or wing it?) for Florence hotel.

We really liked the Springhill Suites. We stayed there in January 09 and it was right after it opened. Good breakfast with actual eggs and meat!

 

[HoltDisney07]

Subscribing to the new thread....after reading/skimming part I. We are thinking of driving from Maryland (next September...yes I am a little bit of an OCD planner. ) Great ideas so far in the thread.

We are thinking of leaving about 6pm and making the drive straight. We have three littles ones that will be 7,5 and almost 3 at the time so the night drive should be better for us. DH used to be in a band so we have thousands of miles under our belt and are looking forward to the drive and having lots of energy drinks along the way.

 

[DISNEYFAMILYOFFOUR]

Too funny but husband and I are trying to plan a trip down during February break and with the high cost of flying, I'm trying to convince him to drive. We're also at Exit 63 off the LIE...LOL!! We've driven to FL once before when kids were tiny and this past summer did a road trip to NC. Although there were a few moments when I doubted my sanity, I think I'm actually starting to look forward to a drive down. Saw your comments on departure times and overnights to FL (Kingsland, GA?) but was wondering what you guys recommend for the trip home? I'm pretty sure that straight through won't work for us and considering the hotel has an 11am checkout, I was wondering what time you usually hit the road and where you recommend staying? Thanks for the help

Thanks for asking about the return trip. I have been concentrating so much on the trip going, I have not put in any thought about when to leave Disney and where to stay. Very funny about the Exit 63 thing. My children go to Sequoya.

 

[nytimez]

Bumped because I can't stand the thought of this thread being on the second page!

 

[Hankshouse]

Thanks for asking about the return trip. I have been concentrating so much on the trip going, I have not put in any thought about when to leave Disney and where to stay. Very funny about the Exit 63 thing. My children go to Sequoya.

This thread has been great for nailing down the details. I wound up booking in Rocky Mount, NC already for next Feb's return trip. Can't believe but it looks like some of these popular stops are filling up. I'm also the type that likes to know where we're heading. We're at the north end of Rte. 83 in Miller Place, still find it so funny that as I was actively working on the route to drive when I found this thread. Love it!!

 

[BC1836]

This thread has been great for nailing down the details. I wound up booking in Rocky Mount, NC already for next Feb's return trip. Can't believe but it looks like some of these popular stops are filling up. I'm also the type that likes to know where we're heading. We're at the north end of Rte. 83 in Miller Place, still find it so funny that as I was actively working on the route to drive when I found this thread. Love it!!

Welcome to the "For 2,000+ Mile Round-Trip Drivers Only!" thread!

Indeed, this thread's participants are among the most courteous and well-informed folks on the DISboards.

We all benefit by sharing our common driving concerns.

All the best.

 

[nytimez]

This thread has been great for nailing down the details. I wound up booking in Rocky Mount, NC already for next Feb's return trip. Can't believe but it looks like some of these popular stops are filling up. I'm also the type that likes to know where we're heading. We're at the north end of Rte. 83 in Miller Place, still find it so funny that as I was actively working on the route to drive when I found this thread. Love it!!

If you're on LI, the best thing to do is convince a relative to move to North Carolina. You'll always have a place to stay at the midpoint!

 

[2princesses2princes]

This thread is awesome. I just finished reading through all 42 pages of posts! I am so excited but yet nervous for our first ever drive from SouthWest Michigan down to POR. Our trip isn't til Feb 2011, but we are getting super excited and I am planning my heart out. I have no idea what to expect on a 1300 mile one way road trip with 4 kiddos. Not to mention February around the great lakes can be AWEFUL. Any tips or suggestions are oh so welcome. Oh yeah and might I add our 2 yr old gets cars sick, fun stuff.

The plan is to leave on Thursday sometime and drive straight through to POR and arrive early afternoon on Friday. So what time would you all suggest we leave? The route we plan to take is I94 to I-69 to I465 to I-65 to I-24 to I75. We are hoping to arrive at POR with enough time to wind down, take a short swim, a nap and be to the Contemporary by 4:30 or so for our 5:00 ressies at Chef Mickeys.

 

[Mickeylover65]

I too am going in February 2011. I have driven to Disney many times. Just do lots of checking on the weather forecasts and be flexible enough so that you can avoid any big snow storms. I will be leaving from Lansing and always take the I-75 route down. It is a little less boring than I-65 etc. Good luck and have a great time.

 

[DISNEYFAMILYOFFOUR]

This thread has been great for nailing down the details. I wound up booking in Rocky Mount, NC already for next Feb's return trip. Can't believe but it looks like some of these popular stops are filling up. I'm also the type that likes to know where we're heading. We're at the north end of Rte. 83 in Miller Place, still find it so funny that as I was actively working on the route to drive when I found this thread. Love it!!

Exactly---if it was not for this thread, I would of been leaving Long Island probably 6:00 a.m. on a Saturday in August.

I will also look into Rocky Mount for our return trip.

 

[BC1836]

This thread is awesome. I just finished reading through all 42 pages of posts! I am so excited but yet nervous for our first ever drive from SouthWest Michigan down to POR. Our trip isn't til Feb 2011, but we are getting super excited and I am planning my heart out.QUOTE]

Now you have to read the original "For 2,000+ Mile Round-Trip Drivers Only!" thread. This is part II !

All the best.

 

[cemeb4dk]

Just bringing it back to the top.

For the people from Northern Illinois and Wisconsin or higher.

Which way do you go? Do you take 57 to 24 or do you head over to 65?

We have taken both ways and I prefer the 65 route. I think its just to get out of Illinois the sooner the better, also submentally the fear of a speeding ticket while in IL scares me as they take your license or the $75 while for one out of state I can deal with it when we get home.


Also for all drivers: Do you use a CB when you drive? Growing up my folks did, and I thought it was amusing and amazing at the same time. I still use my dads old Cobra CB on my drives, it has to be about 30 years old, it kinda looks like the one from Smokey and the bandit. But it works awesome and while we do not talk on it, its great to listen as to where the police are sitting, accidents or road hazards ahead.

 

[cruisingkat]

Just bringing it back to the top.

For the people from Northern Illinois and Wisconsin or higher.

Which way do you go? Do you take 57 to 24 or do you head over to 65?

We have taken both ways and I prefer the 65 route. I think its just to get out of Illinois the sooner the better, also submentally the fear of a speeding ticket while in IL scares me as they take your license or the $75 while for one out of state I can deal with it when we get home.


Also for all drivers: Do you use a CB when you drive? Growing up my folks did, and I thought it was amusing and amazing at the same time. I still use my dads old Cobra CB on my drives, it has to be about 30 years old, it kinda looks like the one from Smokey and the bandit. But it works awesome and while we do not talk on it, its great to listen as to where the police are sitting, accidents or road hazards ahead.

We live in the western Chicago burbs and drive down to FL at least 4 times a year. We have taken various routes and much prefer the 57 to 24 route over the 65 route through IN. Even though I65 is the shorter route, we find that I57 takes the same amount of time (barring construction on either route) or even is quicker than I65. The I65 route through IN has many more trucks than I57 which can cause much more stress when driving.
We don't use a CB, but do have our radar detector and our Garmin Nuvi which has traffic alerts. It is actually quite useful when there is a back up to be able to hit detour on the Nuvi and even if it adds time, we are rerouted so at least we keep moving.

 

[Csaks]

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!

Isn't that the truth.
Well we are heading back down from the Toronto area (4400klm round trip) for our third drive coming up, in around four weeks.

The first two trips were adventurous to say the least. The first one I ran something over in a blinding rainstorm at night in the mountains of Virginia, on the way home. The tire was flat in seconds. To top it off the spare tire wouldn't drop from it's holder. Did I mention it was frigging cold and wet! After an hour of fighting it a nice lady from their version of our Ministry of Transportation stops, crawls under with me with a huge bottle of WD40 and after 10 minutes we manage to jar it loose. We were all soaked to the bone but she stuck around with those big flashing yellow lights until I got it changed. I tried to offer her a tip but she insisted she was doing her job. I hope they pay her enough for catching pneumonia. Her words were `Consider it an early Christmas present from the State of Virginia.`

-First new rule for a long road trip, Check The Spare!
-Second rule bring a real jack. The ones they provide with the truck could get you killed, it has to be the most flimsy piece of tin I have ever seen.

The second Dec trip a year later, again on the trip home. We were coming through those mountains again. This time in a snow storm, no big deal, I`m Canadian and I have my 4x4 truck. No big deal do it every winter for the last 20, old hat for me. Well as we are traveling rather fast compared to the locals, I notice no traffic coming the other way. Huh, after a few corners, across the Interstate there was a little pile up. Two or three semi`s decided to get together and blocked the whole thing. It was backed up for about twenty miles. Needless to say I whoa`d her up and figured better safe than sorry and stopped somewhere in Pennsylvania later that night.
The next morning we get on the Interstate for the last 8 hours and there is a little squeal coming from the front end. By the time we got to the Canadian border it had gotten a bit louder. By a bit, I mean every one was spinning there heads for the old WTH look. Thank god for tinted windows. We had gone over the amount we could bring home but the border guard tells me to keep on going it sounds like you have bigger problems. . So we milk it the last 2hrs or should I say 3.5hrs because I had to go a wee bit slower than normal. The next day I take it to the mechanic. We put her on the hoist and the left front tire almost was at a 45 degree angle when the weight came off. . I had melted the front bearing and couldn`t figure out how it didn`t come off in the last 800klm`s.

-Rule three, take truck to the shop for a once over just before the trip. Doesn`t matter how new it is. I heard a funny little noise the week before we left but thought nothing of it. The sound came and went. It would have been noticed before leaving.

We do seem to go for longer periods driving down and my wife loves it because having the truck she can spend to her hearts content not worrying about how to get it on the plane.

Sorry for the novel but those are some of the new rules for me before we go.

Chris.

 

[angwill]

Just bringing it back to the top.

For the people from Northern Illinois and Wisconsin or higher.

Which way do you go? Do you take 57 to 24 or do you head over to 65?

We have taken both ways and I prefer the 65 route. I think its just to get out of Illinois the sooner the better, also submentally the fear of a speeding ticket while in IL scares me as they take your license or the $75 while for one out of state I can deal with it when we get home.


Also for all drivers: Do you use a CB when you drive? Growing up my folks did, and I thought it was amusing and amazing at the same time. I still use my dads old Cobra CB on my drives, it has to be about 30 years old, it kinda looks like the one from Smokey and the bandit. But it works awesome and while we do not talk on it, its great to listen as to where the police are sitting, accidents or road hazards ahead.

I prefer 57 over 65 and have taken both. 65 just seems to take longer. I have only ever seen 1 police officer on 57.

My Dh has a CB and I would never want my son to hear some of the garbage the truckers talk about on it so we skip it on drives to FL. We do bring our Garmin Nuvi though. DH won't use a radar detector because he claims they are useless nowadays.

PS. I wanted to add that I learned not to stop at rest areas after dark. We stopped at the first rest area in GA to have a man come up begging money from my teenage son. His back was to me and it said State Prisoner on it and I freaked and yelled for my son to get to the car. I scared the crap out of the guy with the tone of my voice so he took off right away. He is lucky he did because I was about to mace him.