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

[cruisingkat]

We just decided that we are gonna drive next August. We will be coming from Chicago. Does anyone have a good place to stop for the night? We are thinking we will get on the road about 5am. Thanks for your help.

We drive down to FL several times a year (from Bolingbrook) and usually stop just south of Atlanta in McDonough GA. We usually leave around 9 am and stop for the night around 8 or 9 pm (depending on traffic). We found that with this time schedule, we basically avoid all the big citiies during rush hour. And getting past Atlanta, means that we won't have to worry about the morning rush hour traffic the next day - going though Atlanta late evening is a breeze.
We take I80 to I57 to I24 to I75 to the Florida Turnpike. We tried the I65 route through IN a couple of times but found that the I57 route took about the same amount of time and had a lot less trucks.
There is that major construction on I57 just north of Marion, but they do have a detour route marked. I would definitely advise taking the detour. On our June trip, we didn't notice any problems southbound, but northbound traffic looked really bad. We did experience it on our return home - as soon as we realized how bad it was going to be we inched our way to the next exit, hit the GPS for a detour and ended up on the IDOT marked detour route - at least we were moving and didn't lose too much time.
Coming home we usually stop northwest of Chattanooga. Our start time is usually later leaving from Disney, but that stop still puts a little over half the drive on the first day.

 

[BC1836]

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!

Another excellent detailed report! It's very helpful.

We create a special travel folder for each WDW drive. It contains all the appropriate detailed info, e.g., state border crossing times, gas prices, tolls, etc. Upon returning home, we add the info to a master list that we use to compare and contrast on our next drive. Gathering and recording the info helps make the trip a bit more interesting. After all, it is a long drive. (But we are eagerly waiting to do the next one!)

All the best.

 

[pattibehan]

Thanks, disneydreamingdebby, it takes us 5 hours to get to the Delaware border..your trip times from there are almost exactly like mine the last few times we drove!! We leave a week from tomorrow and plan on driving straight through!!

We always stop at South of the Border to take a picture with the gorilla!! I have a Micky frame with 5 years worth of them , and another frame with April's trip in it. I love seeing how the kids grew, and who we took with us besides our youngest two!!

 

[nytimez]

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?

On a Saturday, leaving Nassau County (or Western Suffolk) by 5 should be OK. Make sure you listen to WCBS-880 or 1010 WINS in case of traffic hiccups.

On a weekday, I'd leave a tad earlier but even then 5 shouldn't be too bad (unless it takes you more than an hour to clear NYC, which doesn't sound like the case from where you are).

I stop a lot -- I have a toddler -- and we usually make it to southern NC on the first day, arriving around dinner time (we have family there). But you can probably reach Georgia by 8-10 pm, depending on traffic and how often you stop and then have an easier driving day for Day #2.

Even on weekends, there can be some bad traffic and construction on that first day, especially in the Baltimore/DC/Virginia area.

Good luck!

 

[mamaprincess]

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.

Thanks. I think we'd prefer a more straight forward approach so if it's not much more time, we may not do the mapquest route because it seems to convoluted.

 

[pwdebbie]

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

Have a safe trip.

Our next trip isn't planned until 2012. I wish it were sooner but there's some more important things to do in my life right now.

 

[sharadoc]

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?

Hi. I suspect that 5 AM may be too late. How long does it usually take you to get to DC from where you live? You should definitely hit DC no later than 8:30 or you will be sitting in bumper to bumper traffic from there to at least Richmond VA. That trip should take around 2 hours but can take up to 6 or 7 - literally crawling that entire distance.

We hit DC around 10:00 last August and didn't get past RIchmond until after 5:00 pm. We should have been in South Carolina by then! It was terrible.

This June, we hit DC around 8:45 am and did okay. Hit a little slowdown in northern VA but then drove normal the rest of the way. We felt like we JUST missed the traffic though.

The problem is beach traffic on Saturdays. It's a tough decision to make, I know, but if you can, leave earlier.

 

[LadyBeBop]

I'm a little nervous about waking the baby at that hour, dunno if she will go back to sleep in the car

I wouldn't worry too much. We've taken our granddaughter (now 21 months) on several trips, leaving between 4 and 5 in the morning. She always settles back to sleep within about 15-20 minutes after leaving. The car has a natural rocking motion that soothes babies. In fact, some mothers will take their cranky, sleepy babies on car rides to get them to sleep.

 

[dvczerfs]

Hi. I suspect that 5 AM may be too late. How long does it usually take you to get to DC from where you live? You should definitely hit DC no later than 8:30 or you will be sitting in bumper to bumper traffic from there to at least Richmond VA. That trip should take around 2 hours but can take up to 6 or 7 - literally crawling that entire distance.

We hit DC around 10:00 last August and didn't get past RIchmond until after 5:00 pm. We should have been in South Carolina by then! It was terrible.

This June, we hit DC around 8:45 am and did okay. Hit a little slowdown in northern VA but then drove normal the rest of the way. We felt like we JUST missed the traffic though.

The problem is beach traffic on Saturdays. It's a tough decision to make, I know, but if you can, leave earlier.

you changed your pic!!! you gotta warn us when you do that.

 

[BC1836]

For those taking the 2,000+ mile round-trip drive soon, gas prices continue to slip, though slightly.

The lowest price we've seen here in southern Ocean County, NJ was $2.39, yesterday.

All the best.

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

For those taking the 2,000+ mile round-trip drive soon, gas prices continue to slip, though slightly.

The lowest price we've seen here in southern Ocean County, NJ was $2.39, yesterday.

All the best.

I forgot to include gas prices...

Disney Hess - 2.539
S Newport, GA - 2.699
Enfield, NC - 2.799 (This one killed us!!)

Clearly, we didn't price shop; we just stopped and filled up...

 

[Tink-aholic]

We're on the way home and stopped in Fredricksburg, VA for the night. Anyone have any recommendations for leaving time tomorrow? We are about an hour south of DC. I am the only driver and had planned to be an hour north of DC when we stopped, but spent the two hours crawling in traffic. We have a dog with us and believe me when I tell you, I HAD to stop for the night.

Thanks in advance!

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

Another excellent detailed report! It's very helpful.

We create a special travel folder for each WDW drive. It contains all the appropriate detailed info, e.g., state border crossing times, gas prices, tolls, etc. Upon returning home, we add the info to a master list that we use to compare and contrast on our next drive. Gathering and recording the info helps make the trip a bit more interesting. After all, it is a long drive. (But we are eagerly waiting to do the next one!)

All the best.

Modelled after your fab reports! I like the idea of comparing - the competition does make it more exciting!

Thanks, disneydreamingdebby, it takes us 5 hours to get to the Delaware border..your trip times from there are almost exactly like mine the last few times we drove!! We leave a week from tomorrow and plan on driving straight through!!

We always stop at South of the Border to take a picture with the gorilla!! I have a Micky frame with 5 years worth of them , and another frame with April's trip in it. I love seeing how the kids grew, and who we took with us besides our youngest two!!

I hope you are having a great trip! I am glad that the times pretty much match. It makes me feel like we did okay for the first drive.

My girls loved S. of B. They wanted to pose with ALL of the animals! I missed the gorilla though! (I saw him, but it was late and DH and I were hungry!) My mom is going to pull out the pics of me as a kid to show my girls.

 

[Tina]

The least frustrating would be after 9am. Closer to 10am would be even better. Get some sleep and a leisurely breakfast.

 

[Disneyholic]

We're on the way home and stopped in Fredricksburg, VA for the night. Anyone have any recommendations for leaving time tomorrow? We are about an hour south of DC. I am the only driver and had planned to be an hour north of DC when we stopped, but spent the two hours crawling in traffic. We have a dog with us and believe me when I tell you, I HAD to stop for the night.

Thanks in advance!

The least frustrating would be after 9am. Closer to 10am would be even better. Get some sleep and a leisurely breakfast.

I was thinking along the same lines. Wait till rush hour is past, otherwise you will be in the same situation of sitting in traffic & waiting & waiting & waiting.

My DB lives in Baltimore & we went down on a Sunday night for his Step-sons wedding, stayed overnight, slept in a little, ate breakfast and got on the road after most people were at work. If you get on the road around 10 am, you may even get through NY before evening rush starts. Good luck and safe trip.

 

[bdoyledimou]

I forgot to include gas prices...

Disney Hess - 2.539
S Newport, GA - 2.699
Enfield, NC - 2.799 (This one killed us!!)

Clearly, we didn't price shop; we just stopped and filled up...

Wow.. i bought 10 gallons of gas today and it cost me $40.

$4.00 per Gallon <-- and thats normal around here..

I really judst put enough fuel in the car to get me to NY state, so i can fill up for half the price

 

[monymony3471]

For those taking the 2,000+ mile round-trip drive soon, gas prices continue to slip, though slightly.

The lowest price we've seen here in southern Ocean County, NJ was $2.39, yesterday.

All the best.

Daily, we pay 2.79. I just don't get the fluctuations.

 

[CharliNye]

We drive down to FL several times a year (from Bolingbrook) and usually stop just south of Atlanta in McDonough GA. We usually leave around 9 am and stop for the night around 8 or 9 pm (depending on traffic). We found that with this time schedule, we basically avoid all the big citiies during rush hour. And getting past Atlanta, means that we won't have to worry about the morning rush hour traffic the next day - going though Atlanta late evening is a breeze.
We take I80 to I57 to I24 to I75 to the Florida Turnpike. We tried the I65 route through IN a couple of times but found that the I57 route took about the same amount of time and had a lot less trucks.
There is that major construction on I57 just north of Marion, but they do have a detour route marked. I would definitely advise taking the detour. On our June trip, we didn't notice any problems southbound, but northbound traffic looked really bad. We did experience it on our return home - as soon as we realized how bad it was going to be we inched our way to the next exit, hit the GPS for a detour and ended up on the IDOT marked detour route - at least we were moving and didn't lose too much time.
Coming home we usually stop northwest of Chattanooga. Our start time is usually later leaving from Disney, but that stop still puts a little over half the drive on the first day.

We're driving out from Naperville for the first time ever. We leave the friday of labor day weekend, probably about 4am. We know we're booked in macon for the night that friday, we can't check into our place til 4 on saturday.

Would this route work well then? Where outside of Chattanooga would you recommend for a trip back. We're still looking for a place to stay on the way home and need to book it FAST!.

 

[Vickis3js]

For those taking the 2,000+ mile round-trip drive soon, gas prices continue to slip, though slightly.

The lowest price we've seen here in southern Ocean County, NJ was $2.39, yesterday.

All the best.

You know thats so not fair. We are so being robbed!!! The gas station 5 minutes from my house is 2.59 if we go to the mall in Mays Landing its 2.50. Oh how I hate the summer!

 

[mamapajama]

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

I want to get as far as possible on the first day-ideally Savannah but at least Walterboro. The last time we drove a few years ago, we left a lot later than we planned and we only made it as far as Dortches, NC and had a very long trip the next day. I think I will try to get everyone out the door by 4-4:30 and hopefully Zoey will fall back asleep. She'll be 2 next month and is a good sleeper but I've never woken (is that a word?) woke? her up in the middle of the night like that besides maybe to change a diaper. She sleeps thru that because I'm not actually taking her out of the crib. 3 is a bit early for me as I most likely will not be able to fall asleep at all then and then I'm no good to drive.