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

[dvczerfs]

what, 81 is a bit "hilly" and a few feet off the ground at times and a major truck route but its doable. i take 78-81-66-17-95-4 as my fav. route.
like i tell my wife, id rather drive with the trucks than drive with the people looking in the mirror flippin there hair and texting. the best is when the semis put you in the "craddle". one in front, back and on the side of you. reminds me a my fav. movie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mehbMnHWac TURN YOUR VOLUME UP!!!

 

[justakrazymom]

My experience on 95 in NC and SC is it's pretty free flowing. esp in SC ( where I swear there is nothing)..Speed limit is higher and it's a straight shot down..

 

[2princesses2princes]

We leave 5 weeks from tomorrow for our first ever drive to Disney, shoot it's our first ever road trip that exceeds 3 hours. We have about 1300 miles to drive. Our plan is to leave early on Thursday morning and make it to either just north of Atlanta and stay in a hotel or just south of Atlanta and stay for the night and make the rest of the drive Friday, hopefully getting us there around 2pm or so. Any suggestions on stopping north or south of Atlanta? We are coming from southwest Michigan. I am a wee bit nervous about the weather, we can always leave Wed night, but I don't want to be driving all night like that unless I absolutely have to.

For CHristmas I put together a fun folder for the kids. Homemade disney bingo, battleship, scavenger hunts and more. I also made the kids goodie bag coupons, and get out of the car free passes, actually called Get Me Outta Here before I blow passes complete with Donald throwing a tantrum. Not sure what to fill the goodie bags with yet though, we have kids ranging girl 3, boy 5 and 9, and girl almost 12. Any suggestions?

 

[WDWisTheBest]

We leave 5 weeks from tomorrow for our first ever drive to Disney, shoot it's our first ever road trip that exceeds 3 hours. We have about 1300 miles to drive. Our plan is to leave early on Thursday morning and make it to either just north of Atlanta and stay in a hotel or just south of Atlanta and stay for the night and make the rest of the drive Friday, hopefully getting us there around 2pm or so. Any suggestions on stopping north or south of Atlanta? We are coming from southwest Michigan. I am a wee bit nervous about the weather, we can always leave Wed night, but I don't want to be driving all night like that unless I absolutely have to.

Let me address the weather issue first. In the winter, I think driving all night becomes a bit more problematic due to the lesser distance vision and the chance of hitting black ice. In other seasons, no problem. So, I would tend to stop somewhere in the early evening.

Going along with this thought, I would consider stopping somewhere north of Atlanta, staying the night, and getting up early the next morning. The morning traffic in Atlanta can be interesting so I would take the bypass interstate roads around downtown.

Good luck on your visit.

 

[dvczerfs]

Hi neighbor! We lived in Collegeville before we moved up here to the "country" in Limerick!!

We've done that exact drive at that time of year before. The traffic in DC/VA usually is full force by 9:30 - 10:00. If you leave home that early (3-3:30), you'll miss it and be fine. There's not many places to stay 3-4 hours from home, so leaving Thursday night might not be feasible for you. You can do a Google search on Hotels in Richmond VA and just move the cursor around to see your options along 95.

We like staying in Walterboro SC, which is around 11-12 hours from home. Then the next day you have an easy 5 hour drive, so if you leave after breakfast 9-9:30, and stop at the Florida Visitor Center for your free orange juice and brochures, you'll arrive at your hotel right at check-in time.

For our next trip, we plan to leave home around 4-5 am and do a straight through drive, which would get us into Disney World around 10 pm. We're getting tired of stopping along the way, but I wouldn't recommend the straight-through thing if it's your first drive.

We've considered the 81/77 drive, but it seems SO far out of the way that we feel we could hang in traffic for an hour or two and take the same amount of time to get there. 95 is SO easy for us, and going onto the hills, valleys and mountains sounds pretty scary. I've spoken to folks who have driven it and said they will never do it again. I've chosen to take that advice, rather than the advice of some folks on here who swear by the 81/77 route.

Let me know if I can help in any other way.

hey sharon, were in for trails end if you guys are. do you want to make the adr or do you want me to? it dont matter to me. we are 3 adults, briana will be 18. the dates we are free for diner are june 23rd,25th or the 19th if need. (the 19th is our first day but if it fits into your time frame, its doable for us) just let me know which day is good so i can put it on the "vacation planner" looking forward to it!

 

[ksc37]

Thanks, sharadoc... I can see how the stressful city life down here in Collegeville would make you want to move out to the 'country'

Yeah - we won't be trying to make it straight through just yet. I think our kids (they're 8 and 10) would kill each other before we made it down there. I do prefer to hit a hotel in the afternoon/early evening so my boys can swim and blow off a little steam after 12 hours of sitting in a car. Walterboro does sound like a good stopping point.

There do seem to be a few decent hotels just south of Richmond on 95, if we opt to leave after work and do part of the drive on Thursday night.

I have a lot of time to decide on a route, but the 95 vs. 81-77-26 route seems like gambling or playing the stock market... invest an extra hour driving west, banking on the fact I would otherwise sit in traffic for much longer?

Anyway, I'll keep reading the boards and monitor everyone's experiences.

Thanks again, everyone!

 

[tlh0726]

posted a thread a little while ago and still debating on flying or driving just me and the kids (6 and 5)

934.73 miles one way from home to pop century.
Basically a straight shot down 95

Can either
1. leave friday morning around 830 am and drive as far as I can, then stop for the night and finish drive next morning
2. Start out wee hours friday night in saturday and drive straight through
3. pay the difference and fly

decisions, decisions!!!!

 

[sharadoc]

hey sharon, were in for trails end if you guys are. do you want to make the adr or do you want me to? it dont matter to me. we are 3 adults, briana will be 18. the dates we are free for diner are june 23rd,25th or the 19th if need. (the 19th is our first day but if it fits into your time frame, its doable for us) just let me know which day is good so i can put it on the "vacation planner" looking forward to it!

Okay, sounds good. I can make the reservation. What kind of schedule do you want to do? Hang at the Fort after dinner on the beach for the parade ir go back to MK r the hotel? What time do you like to have dinner? Takes about 1 to 1 1/2 hours there if you take your time (which I suspect we'll be gabbing!).

We're all adults too. Lauren turns 10 in January so no kid prices for us! At least we can use TIW there!

19th is our first day too, so I'll definitely do the 23 or 25. I'm home sick from work today and all my planning stuff is on the work computer, so I'll do it tomorrow. Good thing is that TE rarely fills up, so we'll be able to get a good time for sure.

Talk soon. This will be fun!

 

[sharadoc]

what, 81 is a bit "hilly" and a few feet off the ground at times and a major truck route but its doable. i take 78-81-66-17-95-4 as my fav. route.
like i tell my wife, id rather drive with the trucks than drive with the people looking in the mirror flippin there hair and texting. the best is when the semis put you in the "craddle". one in front, back and on the side of you. reminds me a my fav. movie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mehbMnHWac TURN YOUR VOLUME UP!!!

Exactly what I've heard is the terrifying part of the drive!

 

[dvczerfs]

Okay, sounds good. I can make the reservation. What kind of schedule do you want to do? Hang at the Fort after dinner on the beach for the parade ir go back to MK r the hotel? What time do you like to have dinner? Takes about 1 to 1 1/2 hours there if you take your time (which I suspect we'll be gabbing!).

We're all adults too. Lauren turns 10 in January so no kid prices for us! At least we can use TIW there!

19th is our first day too, so I'll definitely do the 23 or 25. I'm home sick from work today and all my planning stuff is on the work computer, so I'll do it tomorrow. Good thing is that TE rarely fills up, so we'll be able to get a good time for sure.

Talk soon. This will be fun!

we like to try to hit around 5pm if thats ok with you guys? we are early risers and hit the hay early. we'll plan on eating than we will have to see what happens. we will be there with another family so we will have to play the rest of the evening by ear. the 23rd would be the best for us out of all of them. were looking forward to it.

Exactly what I've heard is the terrifying part of the drive!

your safer there than in your mamas arms!

 

[PrincessMom4]

Hey Shardoc,

how are ya? Long time no chat. We are planning another two trips already....lol

 

[2princesses2princes]

Let me address the weather issue first. In the winter, I think driving all night becomes a bit more problematic due to the lesser distance vision and the chance of hitting black ice. In other seasons, no problem. So, I would tend to stop somewhere in the early evening.

Going along with this thought, I would consider stopping somewhere north of Atlanta, staying the night, and getting up early the next morning. The morning traffic in Atlanta can be interesting so I would take the bypass interstate roads around downtown.

Good luck on your visit.

Thanks so much for your advice. I am a bit concerned about the weather, more so now, last week it being in the 50's I didn't think much about it, but now we are back to "normal" weather in the teens. Not sure about going around Atlanta, any advice on what way to take? I am quite sure my TomTom is going to take me straight through.

 

[sharadoc]

Hey Shardoc,

how are ya? Long time no chat. We are planning another two trips already....lol

Hey there! Everything's good. Just got back from a great Christmas Trip to WDW, planning a June trip and hoping for a good enough discount to go back in November.

I see you're getting to be one the converted! Driving makes it SO easy to plan multiple trips, doesn't it?

When are you planning to go? Give me all the details - I still tell people about the awesome Defeat Zurg mission video you did for your kids. It was the greatest surprise I've seen on the DIS!

 

[dvczerfs]

hi sharon, i got your text. were good to go. thanks for making the resi. and thanks for the conf. number. i just thought of something, dont forget to show up, when they ask me whats the name? why its sharadoc! tammys looking forward to it also, we'll have fun! are you guys going down in october of this year also?

 

[My2CrazyGirls]

Wow, there is a lot of good information on this thread! This is my first time posting here, as I usually fly, but this time the higher costs of airfare and car rental, combined with the fact we're planning a longer than usual trip make driving worth considering.

BUT, there are so many possible scenarios as far as the time of day, the day of week, the time of year and route selected. It’s pretty overwhelming!

I’m from the Philly suburbs, so I’m looking for recommendations from those who live nearby (I noticed that Sharadoc is very close ).

We want to arrive in WDW by mid-day on August 20th (a Saturday).

I have a couple of different scenarios. Any thoughts on what might be a better strategy and if these are realistic:

1. I am thinking about leaving around 3:00-3:30 am on Friday morning and driving to a hotel near the SC/GA border, but am worried about traffic in VA by 7:00 am. Ideally we would leave the hotel by 8 am on Saturday, and hopefully get to WDW by 2:00 pm. Downsides with this are the 3:00 wake-up time and potential traffic in DC/VA.
   
2. The other thought is driving about 5-6 hours on Thursday after work (leaving home 6:30-7 pm) to get past Richmond, and then trying to get to Orlando by Saturday night, but making a hotel reservation about 3 hours out in the event of unforeseen circumstances (traffic, weather, etc). We can always cancel the reservation if it’s not needed. Downside there, of course, is an extra night’s hotel cost.
   
3. The other option is taking the 81/77/26 route, but that does seem to put me about 100 miles out of my way. Do people often take this way from the Philly area?

Also, how much driving time is typical for the Philly-WDW trek?

We'll be leaving Orlando on August 30th (a Tuesday), but right now I'm more concerned with getting there than going back home...

Thanks!

I would say leave 3AM and drive until you get to Disney around 8PM. Then you are done with the drive and will start fresh the next day. We left Baltimore 4AM and were through Richmond by 6:30AM (absolutely no taffic). So if you leave at 3AM you should be through Richmond by 7:30AM.

 

[sharadoc]

hi sharon, i got your text. were good to go. thanks for making the resi. and thanks for the conf. number. i just thought of something, dont forget to show up, when they ask me whats the name? why its sharadoc! tammys looking forward to it also, we'll have fun! are you guys going down in october of this year also?

Dougherty what you couldn't figure that out??

We're hoping to go around Thanksgiving. The kids have off that whole week. We know there's no discounts that week, so it will really depend on whether or not they do any bouncebacks or if we can get an AP discount for that week. Even so, we'll stay at Fort Wilderness so the price is lower per night. That place is SO awesome with all the Christmas decorations.

It's scary - we're actually thinking we're only going once this year. We'll see. But I put the countdown in there because I'm optimistic!

 

[dvczerfs]

Dougherty what you couldn't figure that out??

We're hoping to go around Thanksgiving. The kids have off that whole week. We know there's no discounts that week, so it will really depend on whether or not they do any bouncebacks or if we can get an AP discount for that week. Even so, we'll stay at Fort Wilderness so the price is lower per night. That place is SO awesome with all the Christmas decorations.

It's scary - we're actually thinking we're only going once this year. We'll see. But I put the countdown in there because I'm optimistic!

i didnt know if doc was your hubbys nick name or part of your last name. you keep all these trips up and your gonna catch up to me. the other night, tammy and i talked about our plans for the next few years with our dvc points and we decided what we are doing so i updated my sig. and the trip ticker and just realized that this junes trip is my 50th over 38 years. im getting old. that adds up to alot of miles sitting in car, alot of time , and alot of money. started going with my parents in 73, they passed and started going in 85 with tammy and briana came along in93. i wouldnt trade any of it for the memories and if i could go back and start all over again i would.

 

[sharadoc]

i didnt know if doc was your hubbys nick name or part of your last name. you keep all these trips up and your gonna catch up to me. the other night, tammy and i talked about our plans for the next few years with our dvc points and we decided what we are doing so i updated my sig. and the trip ticker and just realized that this junes trip is my 50th over 38 years. im getting old. that adds up to alot of miles sitting in car, alot of time , and alot of money. started going with my parents in 73, they passed and started going in 85 with tammy and briana came along in93. i wouldnt trade any of it for the memories and if i could go back and start all over again i would.

Wow - 50 is awesome! Funny - Mike and I started going in 86 together, twice a year for 10 years until we took a break when Shawn came along. Then Lauren came along, and we waited until they were both ready. We're making up for lost time with the kids - they had a few years with NO vacations.

It's great when your whole family loves going. Driving is what makes it affordable and doable for us. (making sure to keep it on topic ).

We wished we had bought into DVC back when BWV opened. We visited the sample and thought about it, but didn't want to commit. Now we're too old and it's too expensive for the amount of trips we want to take.

BTW - do your friends want to join us for dinner too? We don't mind - the more the merrier and I don't want you to feel you need to leave them behind to spend time with us.

 

[dvczerfs]

Wow - 50 is awesome! Funny - Mike and I started going in 86 together, twice a year for 10 years until we took a break when Shawn came along. Then Lauren came along, and we waited until they were both ready. We're making up for lost time with the kids - they had a few years with NO vacations.

It's great when your whole family loves going. Driving is what makes it affordable and doable for us. (making sure to keep it on topic ).

We wished we had bought into DVC back when BWV opened. We visited the sample and thought about it, but didn't want to commit. Now we're too old and it's too expensive for the amount of trips we want to take.

BTW - do your friends want to join us for dinner too? We don't mind - the more the merrier and I don't want you to feel you need to leave them behind to spend time with us.

well, the other family is a long story, but they said "no,no, you guys go and have fun." the wife maybe opening a business soon and she not sure if she and the youngest child are going and blah,blah,blah. there realy not planners, i do there adrs for them, with or without us so. thanks for offering.

 

[PrincessMom4]

We actually LOVE driving to Disney. Getting there is half the adventure. Yeah Sharadoc we were converted ages before we even knew it...lol.... We are now DVC and go at least once a year.