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

[caitlinsdad]

Just back on Sunday.... Up front let me say we don't like to drive at night AND we prefer to arrive at WDW refreshed rather than exhausted, so two overnights is our MO. We stay at the Hampton Inn & Suites for no reason other than our son thought it looked nice on their website last year - AND they offer free hot breakfast.

Left home on Cape Cod 12/28 (two days late due to the east coast blizzard), made it to Fredericksburg VA on day 1, then Brunswick GA day 2. Arrived at Pop at 11:30am 12/30, with time to check in and hit MK. Around 1350 miles.

Left WDW at noon on 1/7 (one day late to avoid yet another east coast snowstorm), made it to Florence SC on day 1. On day 2, we were watching the New Jersey snowstorm and decided to break north at Baltimore via I83 to Harrisburg PA, stopping for the night in Bethlehem PA (there was room at the inn, thankfully ). Day 3 across the TappanZee to I95 and home by 3pm. Probably 1450 miles, or so. Strong possibility we'll take that western route next time (or the 81/77/26 alternative that others have mentioned), as the northern portion was much less stressful than the NJ turnpike could ever be.

Our itinerary probably sounds like torture to most of the all-night road warriors on here, but we've found that staying fresh and well-rested makes us all better travelers (less crankiness), and the trip home gives us time to stop missing WDW as much and focus on getting home instead. YMMV.

Not a problem. I live in CT and normally take 2 to 3 days to get to FL.
We take a slow pace seeing the sites on the way down and back. Almost like a vacation within a vacation.

The time it takes to get to FL lets me unwind from the job.

Having 3 weeks vacation also allows me to take my time.

 

[nytimez]

I just had never had to drive THROUGH a cornfield before and had no idea they had paved roads back there.

Always be careful going through corn fields.

 

[Becky2005]

Always be careful going through corn fields.

EEK! Thankfully nothing like that -- my poor DD would wake up ask if we were almost home yet (it was something like midnight!!) and I just kept telling her soon, thinking no, we are STILL in this dang cornfield. At least I KNEW we weren't too far from home so I wasn't in complete panic or something but I was more annoyed than anything else. DH kept asking which way he should go to/when he should turn, etc...

Sitting there looking at the map, knowing about 10 diffferent ways we could take to get home IF I knew exactly where we were on the map!!!

I guess if worse came to worse we could have turned around (I'm sure by the time we drove over an hour out of our way the accident or whatever would have been cleaned up by then). At least I knew as long as we were heading North we would be fine because we still had quite a bit of North to go on the original road we were on, so basically we were driving parallel to it, I figured the worst thing that could happen is we would end up in Wisconsin and at that point we would know to turn around -- eventually we did come across a road with an itty bitty metal directional sign that told you East Rout 30 was to the right (or something, don't remember the real road but basically it was a 3 directional informational thing -- what was to the left, right & straight ahead! ) I was never so excited to see a little informational marker in my life because I had already found that route on the map with a "If we see this road, we can take it". As soon as I saw that, we beelined it to the right and I got us home fairly quickly after that.

 

[LadyBeBop]

Would you rather rent a car or take your own?

Hmmm. Never really thought of that. We always assumed we'd take our own car. Last time we went, we took two cars (four adults and an infant). Would renting a minivan actually be cheaper than driving our own cars?

What are your must-haves for your road trip that you can not do without?

DVD player for the DGD (now 2) with a lot of Dora the Explorer DVDs. XM radio to listen to Blue Collar Comedy for the DH. And an internet connected cell phone for me when DH is driving. And Diet Coke for when I'm driving.

 

[blondietink]

Some rental companies won't let you drive to Florida. We checked when our old van was, well, old, and we didn't want to chance a trip to Florida in it. We checked and many rentals were not allowed out of the northeast states. Of course, how would they know you took it to Florida, unless you got in an accident or something.

 

[mcasiano]

Some rental companies won't let you drive to Florida. We checked when our old van was, well, old, and we didn't want to chance a trip to Florida in it. We checked and many rentals were not allowed out of the northeast states. Of course, how would they know you took it to Florida, unless you got in an accident or something.

I believe all rental agency's have tracking devices in their vehicles.

 

[Becky2005]

Some rental companies won't let you drive to Florida. We checked when our old van was, well, old, and we didn't want to chance a trip to Florida in it. We checked and many rentals were not allowed out of the northeast states. Of course, how would they know you took it to Florida, unless you got in an accident or something.

Interesting. I know my brother rented one and drove to FL and back before. Maybe it's because we are IL though? I've not read any restrictions saying you can't take it to FL. I've read restrictions saying you can't take it to Mexico or Canada but nothing about within the US.

Another thing to check out I guess.

 

[sharadoc]

Must Haves:

Enough DVDs to cover the entire trip, XM radio with external speakers for the front seat, bottled water, homemade afghan or two, I-95 Exit Guide, GPS and AAA card, camera.

 

[dvczerfs]

Interesting. I know my brother rented one and drove to FL and back before. Maybe it's because we are IL though? I've not read any restrictions saying you can't take it to FL. I've read restrictions saying you can't take it to Mexico or Canada but nothing about within the US.

Another thing to check out I guess.

ive rented from express car rental and drove to florida. i did use my own insurance so maybe that had something to do with it? it also maybe a state thing? that would be something to post if someone finds out. i also rented from express car and truck rental and didnt have a problem taking it to florida but, they went out of business. i use to pay 700 for 2weeks w/no insurance and unlimited miles but the cost started going nuts so we bought our own.

 

[LadyBeBop]

About four years ago when we flew to Vegas, we weren't allowed to take our rental car out of Nevada, Arizona or California. So I guess there are procedures regarding that.

In our case, if we'd ever decide on rental a van, we'd rent it out of Tennessee, where my in-laws live. That's not considered the Northeast.

 

[nytimez]

Hey I-95 drivers... anyone notice the photo speed trap in Ridgeland, SC? I saw them take my photo during my recent trip down, I was going just a touch over the speed limit.

I never got anything in the mail, but looking into I found that the tickets come if you're doing 81 or higher. You won't get pulled over... just a ticket in the mail later on.

IMO, if you're doing 81 or higher you probably deserve a ticket... but I don't like the Big Brother approach to law enforcement.

In any case, drive safe... and smile when you pass through Ridgeland. You're on Candid Camera!

 

[dvczerfs]

Hey I-95 drivers... anyone notice the photo speed trap in Ridgeland, SC? I saw them take my photo during my recent trip down, I was going just a touch over the speed limit.

I never got anything in the mail, but looking into I found that the tickets come if you're doing 81 or higher. You won't get pulled over... just a ticket in the mail later on.

IMO, if you're doing 81 or higher you probably deserve a ticket... but I don't like the Big Brother approach to law enforcement.

In any case, drive safe... and smile when you pass through Ridgeland. You're on Candid Camera!

wow, i didnt see that!! i wonder how long it takes to get something in the mail??? in the state of pa, the timing device must be operated by an on site officer. rader,vascar or any other timing device. they did install cameras at traffic lights and were going to do the same idea for red light runners but around here, they never started it. (mind you, we keep paying for cameras to be installed)

 

[chepic]

Some rental companies won't let you drive to Florida. We checked when our old van was, well, old, and we didn't want to chance a trip to Florida in it. We checked and many rentals were not allowed out of the northeast states. Of course, how would they know you took it to Florida, unless you got in an accident or something.

We have rented cars/vans to go to FLA many times from RI. We have found that they seem to restrict mini-vans to 1000 miles, so we never rent them. We tend to rent the bigger van since we tend to take others with us when we travel. I would imagine that each state/rental company have their own rules.

Good luck

Cheryl

 

[amcnj]

I recall seeing the announcements of the upcoming Ridgeland, SC speed traps in newspaper articles in either late spring or early summer in 2010. I had a drive through there coming up in August so was on the lookout for them, but either I missed them, they were not operational yet, or just not in operation at the times of day I went through there. I believe there is a lot of controversy now as to the legality of these speed cameras, but tickets are being given out, so be careful. The articles back then said there were to be warning signs posted too, and that was what I was looking for. I do recall an overpass and looked carefully when near there, but never noticed anything, so maybe it was not yet in place. Are there signs posted now?

 

[cruisingkat]

Sometimes you can get a cheaper rate on a car driving into or out of Florida - they need extra cars for the "season" and back up north for out of "season". We got a full size for $12 a day from Alamo in FL in the late spring, provided we returned it out of state so we flew to FL and drove home!

 

[nytimez]

wow, i didnt see that!! i wonder how long it takes to get something in the mail???

Not sure how long it takes, but I think SC law says it's supposed to be served within an hour, which is obviously impossible when it comes to the mail. These things seem to violate a number of laws.

I recall seeing the announcements of the upcoming Ridgeland, SC speed traps in newspaper articles in either late spring or early summer in 2010. I had a drive through there coming up in August so was on the lookout for them, but either I missed them, they were not operational yet, or just not in operation at the times of day I went through there. I believe there is a lot of controversy now as to the legality of these speed cameras, but tickets are being given out, so be careful. The articles back then said there were to be warning signs posted too, and that was what I was looking for. I do recall an overpass and looked carefully when near there, but never noticed anything, so maybe it was not yet in place. Are there signs posted now?

No signs -- it's a big camper-type vehicle parked under an overpass, with the camera and tripod on the side of the road. I saw it on both sides of I-95, coming and going, during my most recent trip. The camera flashes when you pass it, or at least did when I passed (but again, even though I was a couple mph over the limit, I didn't get anything in the mail -- I later read that 81 mph is their threshold for tickets).

 

[pwdebbie]

Hey I-95 drivers... anyone notice the photo speed trap in Ridgeland, SC? I saw them take my photo during my recent trip down, I was going just a touch over the speed limit.

I never got anything in the mail, but looking into I found that the tickets come if you're doing 81 or higher. You won't get pulled over... just a ticket in the mail later on.

IMO, if you're doing 81 or higher you probably deserve a ticket... but I don't like the Big Brother approach to law enforcement.

In any case, drive safe... and smile when you pass through Ridgeland. You're on Candid Camera!

They have these on the Baltimore Beltway (695) also.

 

[klmrph]

Great thread, we are driving for the first time to Disney from NW Indiana, 1150 miles each way for us. There will be 6 of us going, DH, DD5, DD 4.5 mo old, my mom, niece 5 and myself of course. We are renting a van. Our plan is to drive straight through with stops only for gas/food. Last Spring break I drove 18 hours straight as the sole driver from Houston to Indiana. The last few hours were very tough, but I made it. I am happy to report that this trip I won't be the sole driver, DH and I will take turns.

 

[Luvamouse]

Just back on Sunday.... Up front let me say we don't like to drive at night AND we prefer to arrive at WDW refreshed rather than exhausted, so two overnights is our MO. We stay at the Hampton Inn & Suites for no reason other than our son thought it looked nice on their website last year - AND they offer free hot breakfast.
Found Holiday Inn Express this way-- now our stay of choice

Our itinerary probably sounds like torture to most of the all-night road warriors on here, but we've found that staying fresh and well-rested makes us all better travelers (less crankiness), and the trip home gives us time to stop missing WDW as much and focus on getting home instead. YMMV.

Totally agree... I'd rather keep my girls out of school an extra day before and after vacation than sleep all day in my room at the Poly!! lol... We just do not enjoy the drives of over 15 hours or so any more. We use the extra time each side talking about all we wish to do and adjusting from New England to FL... on the way home, it is our decompression time to talk over all we've done before we hit the real world... Been there, done that, got the T-Shirt... now we get some rest

Hello fellow drivers!


DH and I are planning on driving down to FL from IL, likely non stop again.

My question to you is..

Would you rather rent a car or take your own? My own, but it is a Suburban with DVD so we have room and entertainment already.

What are your must-haves for your road trip that you can not do without?

We bring all of our DVDs in one big folio, drinks, snacks and sandwiches (to prevent long stops or "fast food tummy"), cameras for my kids-- digital cameras are a miracle! My girls can spend literally hours over the course of the trip taking pictures of everything on the ride! All at no cost to develop if they are (usually) blurry from a moving vehicle. Also pillow and blanket from home to aid in sleep in the truck...

 

[sharadoc]

Posting to say - How did this thread make it all the way to the bottom of page 2?? Here's a bump!