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

[TandLMommy28]

ooh, I just found this thread! We have 1,060 miles each way from Fort Wayne, Indiana to POFQ.

We drive to see my parents in RI 3-4x a year and that's 850 miles and sometimes we detour to hershey which makes our trip home 995 miles so really, 1,060 is nothing new to us. What's one more hour at that point, right?

Right now the great debate is about getting there. We are considering leaving Friday night, knocking out a few hours then stopping on the IN/KY border so that Saturday morning we feel like we are "getting somewhere". Then Saturday we will make the long haul all the way to Orlando and stop maybe an hour from the park (figuring hotels will be cheaper an hour out but correct me if I'm wrong!). Then Sunday morning we have a quick hotel breakfast and away we go to WDW.

Stopping twice is out of character for us. Heck, stopping ONCE is unusual. We are usually push through it and get there types but the kids are 3 and 5 now and don't sleep the whole way like they did as babies and.... they... whine...

 

[MamaJessie]

ooh, I just found this thread! We have 1,060 miles each way from Fort Wayne, Indiana to POFQ.

We drive to see my parents in RI 3-4x a year and that's 850 miles and sometimes we detour to hershey which makes our trip home 995 miles so really, 1,060 is nothing new to us. What's one more hour at that point, right?

Right now the great debate is about getting there. We are considering leaving Friday night, knocking out a few hours then stopping on the IN/KY border so that Saturday morning we feel like we are "getting somewhere". Then Saturday we will make the long haul all the way to Orlando and stop maybe an hour from the park (figuring hotels will be cheaper an hour out but correct me if I'm wrong!). Then Sunday morning we have a quick hotel breakfast and away we go to WDW.

Stopping twice is out of character for us. Heck, stopping ONCE is unusual. We are usually push through it and get there types but the kids are 3 and 5 now and don't sleep the whole way like they did as babies and.... they... whine...

We like driving at night, sleeping babies make for some very peaceful travel time (no matter how old the babies )

 

[Jajone]

I haven't tried the I-57 route yet. Every mapping service I check has that as a good amount longer trip. Since I usually hit Chicago on a weekend or late at night it hasn't been a problem. Avoiding Chicago during normal weekday hours would be the only reason I would try I-57.

I-65 in Indiana is heavily traveled and is only a 4-lane highway for most of it so it keeps you on your toes. Not a relaxing stretch that is for sure. One other thing to consider is that Indiana has a 70 MPH speed limit - not sure what it is on I-57.

Good luck with your planning!

Greetings from Green Bay. We are leaving next Friday for our first ever, said I would never do it with kids drive down. It's also a surprise. Planning to drive right through. Hubby works nights, will sleep all day Friday and then we'll leave at supper time. Will that timing work ok for us?

 

[TandLMommy28]

Anyone have a preference between taking 65 through Indiana down to Nashville and picking up 75 as opposed to picking up 75 in Ohio and taking it the whole way down?

 

[Disneyholic]

I'm thinking about the Auto-train but have a few questions. Maybe you can help.
1) My dh is 6'3" and the largest "bed" is 6' or so. Will he be comfortable?
I am 5'7", DH is 5'8". We sleep together on the bottom bed in a Deluxe Sleeper Car. Since we aren't as tall as your DH it's hard to say how he will fit. If you sleep on the top bed and he sleeps on the bottom one ( which is a little bigger than a twin, but not quite as big as a double. ) he could possibly sleep at an angle across the bed to give him more room.
2) I would want to have a bathroom in our room since dh has cognitive issues and could get lost if he leaves the room. Is this the kind of room you used?
The Deluxe Sleeper Car is the one with the bathroom right in the room, so yes, this is what we had.
3) How is the sense of motion in the room and in the bed? Do you feel a lot of swaying that could bother someone with equilibrium problems?
Again, this depends on the person. Yes, there is rocking anywhere on the train. There are also bumps. I was able to get used to it, but I can't say that everyone would. The rocking actually rocks me to sleep, but the bumps and the horn occasionally wake me up. I catch naps during the daylight hours to make up for what I might lose during the night.
4) How would a sleeper room be for someone with claustrophobia?
The Deluxe Sleeper Car is a little larger than the regular sleepers. The lower bed is a sofa during the day & the upper berth is folded up till you want it folded down. (They have usually done this while we were at dinner) Again, this depends on the person.
5) Walking to the dining car -- Is it easy to move from car to car? (I remember as a kid that you could see through to the tracks. My dh would definitely not like that!)
With the swaying it takes some getting used to till you get your Train-legs. As for seeing through to the tracks, yes, you can see a little. I solved that problem by just looking straight ahead to where I am going instead of looking down.
6) Prices seem high. How do you go about finding good deals (if you did)?
Prices can be steep, especially with the Deluxe Sleeper Car added, but I hate coach and I hate flying even more. I have found that by checking different days of the week to go, it can be a couple hundred dollars difference. After our last cruise, which came back to Florida on a Saturday, it would have cost about $200 more to get on Saturday, but by leaving Sunday we saved that. We spent about $130 for a room at the DoubleTree DTD and had an extra day in the parks. (We already had no/exp. tickets from another trip so we didn't have to buy any) Midweek is sometimes cheaper, too. Just have to compare dates and be flexible.

In fall, the prices going down are higher and in spring the prices coming north are cheaper if you price the parts out one-way. This is because of when the snowbirds are travelling.

Thanks!

If you have anymore questions, feel free to ask and I will try to answer.

 

[BC1836]

Disneyholic's comments on the autotrain are first rate! Details from experienced folks are always appreciated.

We investigated the autotrain and, at least for us, it cost too much...in time.

All the best.

 

[Scott in GB]

Greetings from Green Bay. We are leaving next Friday for our first ever, said I would never do it with kids drive down. It's also a surprise. Planning to drive right through. Hubby works nights, will sleep all day Friday and then we'll leave at supper time. Will that timing work ok for us?

That's our same plan a couple of weeks later. You will hit Chicago at a good time. I've had good luck going straight through Chicago on 94 at that time of night.

Good Luck!

 

[Gowahoowa]

We just noticed that phase two of the "For 2,000+ Mile Round-Trip Drivers Only!" thread topped 100 posts (and over 2,000 views).

Here we go again!

All the best.

 

[Dis_Dreamin]

Anyone have a preference between taking 65 through Indiana down to Nashville and picking up 75 as opposed to picking up 75 in Ohio and taking it the whole way down?

We liked picking up 75 in Ohio (Cincinnati). That's just our preference anyway.

 

[monymony3471]

Anyone use/recoomend any of the online trip planners for driving down? I did a quick search and there are like 10 sites that come up...

Coming from Cleveland, OH down 77 before jogging over to 95

• Best truck stops?
• Any super yummy BBQ places that people have gone to?
• Best playgrounds on the way? Or fast food places with super cool play places?

Looking forward to planning this adventure with you all.

AAA.com is a great source, and I checked Along Interstate I-75 out of the library a few weeks ago and thought it's a great tool for the things you are asking about. They may have other books as well, if you do an online search, they have a website of their books www.i75.com. I thought traveling along I-75 could be an option for you. Hope that helps.

 

[pwdebbie]

Thanks for the info, Disneyholic! I'm thinking my husband probably won't do well on a train with the movement. He got off Soarin' shaking and white as a sheet. He can't stand on the Disney buses. I don't know that he'll be able to get trainlegs. Looks like we will stick with driving.

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

We are from Lopatcong, NJ (near Phillipsburg, NJ/Easton, PA). We are planning a trip in August with four children ages 10,8,6 & 5. We have a check-in for The Dolphin on 8/19, transferring to CBR on 8/20 and checking out 8/27.

My dilemma is this; my husband and I cannot agree on when to hit the road. I want to leave around 6pm on 8/18 and drive straight through so the kids will sleep through a large portion of the trip. DH wants to leave around 8am on 8/18, stop for the night and resume the trip the next day. I am worried that if we follow his plan we will hit traffic and have "Are we there yet?" whiny kids which will result in a miserable "We are never doing this again!" trip.

Has anyone tried it both ways who can help us make our decision?

We left at 3:30 pm to drive down and drove through the night to arrive. We stopped about half way on the way back. The drive down was much quicker (both in time and the "are we there yet"). Dh and I shared the driving and one slept to recharge while the other drove. On the way home we had to stop for food and bathrooms more. I'll post a mini report soon.

we were actually thinking of 4pm (not sure we could get up and out @ 3am), stopping overnight @ Fredericksburg, VA, then going the next day til Savannah, GA, sleeping there, and then next morning up early for WDW.

How do you think leaving Jersey @ 4pm will be? I know we'll probably hit Jersey traffic, but thinking we should be in DC area around 7pmish?

We left on a Sun at 3:30 pm from PA just across the DE border. We didn't hit any traffic the entire way- drove non stop. mini report to follow shortly.
IMO stopping for two nights on the way (unless you are visiting the area for a reason) is overkill and will feel like forever to get to Disney.

 

[blondietink]

Can I still be in the 2000 plus club if we take the AutoTrain one way?

 

[spfldfan]

Are there any folks from central Illinois that just take I-74 to I-57 instead of the map quest route of I-74 to I-55 to I-64 to I-57? Does staying on I-74 to I-57 take a lot more time and take me out of the way. The map quest way seems convoluted but we have never driven to WDW before so we don't really know which way is best. Thanks for your help.

If your are east of 55 then 57 may be quicker. If you take 55 down to 64 you need to get off on route 4 through Lebanon and get on 64. This is 2 lanes and sometimes can get slow going with truck traffic. Either way you are not talking a lot of time difference.

 

[Disneyholic]

Can I still be in the 2000 plus club if we take the AutoTrain one way?

Sure, your still doing the miles, just not putting the miles on your car or yourself.

We've done the down & back driving. We've taken the Auto-Train Roundtrip. And we've also done the drive down & Auto-Train home. It all depends on how long we have for the trip home & how much money we have. The drive down is long, but for some reason the drive home seems 3 times as long.

 

[Disneyholic]

Thanks for the info, Disneyholic! I'm thinking my husband probably won't do well on a train with the movement. He got off Soarin' shaking and white as a sheet. He can't stand on the Disney buses. I don't know that he'll be able to get trainlegs. Looks like we will stick with driving.

Glad I could help. If he had trouble with Soarin', then I wouldn't recommend the train.

Have a safe trip.

 

[chipper10]

If your are east of 55 then 57 may be quicker. If you take 55 down to 64 you need to get off on route 4 through Lebanon and get on 64. This is 2 lanes and sometimes can get slow going with truck traffic. Either way you are not talking a lot of time difference.

We are from the same area. We also head to Lebanon and go that way. Hopefully it will go smoothly. A few years ago we hit traffic because of a really bad accident in Lebanon.

We leave in 21 days!

 

[mamapajama]

What's the best way to go? We will definitely be stopping. I am not a night person! I was thinking of leaving at 5am from Long Island, about 30 minutes east of NYC. But now I'm reading that it's not a good idea to leave then. I get up for work at 4 am twice a week so early is not that big a deal for me and everyone else can sleep. I'm a little nervous about waking the baby at that hour, dunno if she will go back to sleep in the car What's the latest to leave and still be okay on a Saturday morning?

 

[caitlinsdad]

What's the best way to go? We will definitely be stopping. I am not a night person! I was thinking of leaving at 5am from Long Island, about 30 minutes east of NYC. But now I'm reading that it's not a good idea to leave then. I get up for work at 4 am twice a week so early is not that big a deal for me and everyone else can sleep. I'm a little nervous about waking the baby at that hour, dunno if she will go back to sleep in the car What's the latest to leave and still be okay on a Saturday morning?

It depends on how far you wish to go on first day.

I normally don't drive more than 8 -9 hrs a day.

I leave CT by 9am and in Richmond VA by 5:30pm. Second day 9 -5 arrive in Savanna GA.

I could do more and arrive in WDW by 10pm second day, but I have the extra time to burn and take in some of the sights along the way.

I'm on vacation and since I do all the driving I don't push myself.


If you leave by 3 or 4 am, you should be able to make GA by 7pm

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

Sunday, July 11
Left PA at 3:25
DE Border 3:35
Maryland Border 4:02
Balt tunnel 5:00
VA Border 5:50
Rest stop 10 min
Dinner 30 min
N.C. border ~9:30
Rocky Mt 10:15
South of Border 12:30 am
break 10 min
Georgia 3:48 am
Florida 5:54 am
breakfast 20 min
AKV 9:25 am

Total 18 hours- no traffic or problems to speak of... bathroom breaks including filling up

Departed Wed. July 21
notes are not as good... left Disney Hess around 1:00 pm
South of Border stop - about 30 min at 8:45pm
dinner stop about 30 min
arrived at Fairfield Inn, Lumberton, NC at 10:19 (Highly recommend!)
Left Lumberton at 9:49 am
a couple of snack/ bathroom stops with two fill ups
dinner stop 20 min
DE border 6:55pm
back to home PA 7:43pm (we departed from my parents house which is 25-30 min closer to 95 than our home.)

Traffic was slow around Fredericksburg until Maryland House rest stop...

It seems that the drive home only took an extra hour; no idea since we were 30 min farther?? I don't think we drove faster on the way home (where there wasn't traffic...)

I liked the drive down. I drove from 3:30 to 10:30. DH drove until ~2:30; I took over until ~5:00 and DH drove us the rest of the way.

The drive home wasn't bad. DH drove the entire way... However, about six hours in I thought, "If we flew, I would be home." We did have a good family trip, though.

Total costs were around $425. (This includes one hotel night, gas, tolls, and food/ snacks for my girls without worrying about budget- but not overdoing it.)

The best price I could find for airfare would have run about $900 total.

Will we do it again? DH said that we can't afford to fly twice a year. (I enjoy a quick Disney winter get away.) If we weren't saving money, I think I would prefer flying. I thought it would be great to take whatever with us, but I found it annoying (I am complusively organized.) that I over-packed!