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

[dvczerfs]

Sorry, we'd be leaving from NE Wisconsin. About an hour north of Milwaukee to be exact. We would hit Milwaukee's rush hour which really is nothing and Chicago would be around 8:00 on Friday night.

I brought it up to DH and he doesn't like the idea. Grrr... I just think he's not going to sleep and that driving for 16 hours straight is going to be rrrrrroooouuugghhhhh! Ah well, it's up to him I guess.

heyyy, i just noticed this is your first trip ever to wdw!!!! you will have to let us know how you make out and how your trip went!! make sure you come back to this thread and let us know!!! youll have fun driving!!!

 

[pamkev]

I would go with the first plan to save money or even starting mid morning so your DH is happier driving all day?

It is the same here in our house. I alone will drive for 13+ hours only stopping for gas and bathroom. Dh wants to stop every other exit and stop after about 8 hours of driving and get a room. We try to find a happy medium. When I am the driver we don't stop at the exits. When he drives we do and we stop after about 10 hours to find a hotel.

I think your DH and mine are related

 

[sharadoc]

thanks sharon, i got it! your gonna love there. we stayed may of 09 just tammy and i. we were on the 11th floor,high as you can go in a reg. room. i set the camcorder on the balcony and just made 2, 30 min. tapes of the mk. i love just laying across the bed,looking out the window at the mk, the boats, the traffic going in and out. ill mail a copy to you if your intrested. no talking on them or nothing great, just the views!

Cool - yes, send them to me. I'd love to see them. I still have to call with the odd room numer request. Hopefully I'll do that this week.

 

[BC1836]

When we arrived on Saturday, Disney Hess was $3.63 a gallon (regular).
Today it's $3.75.

All the best.

 

[happily single]

So how does my plan sound:

Leave RI about 11:30 a.m. on Friday, April 15th. Drive 95 to Ct and hook up to Route 81. Drive to Shenandoah, VA and spend the nite (hoping to arrive my 8:30 p.m.). Saturday, Spend the morning at the Caverns. Get on the road and drive though, connecting up with Route 95, stopping overnight in Georgia.

Wake up Sunday morning and continue to Orlando..

Does this seem reasonable? Ideally I would rather drive through to Orlando on Saturday..

Any suggestions?

 

[HeatherC]

HappySingle...if you can, I would suggest taking 95 to the Merritt and connecting up with 287 over the Tappan Zee bridge. You will avoid all NYc traffic that way. You would stay on 287 to RT 78 through Harrisburg where you pick up 81. This way you avoid the NJ turnpike and Garden State Pkwy which WILL have traffic on Fri. afternoons.

It is a great ride and awesome way to avoid Fri. traffic on 95. 81 is beautiful!

We left Our home near Sturbridge, MA last year at 3am and made it to Charlotte, NC around 5. Coming home was better...we left at 6am. Worked better for us since we got a full night sleep and did the bulk of driving during the daylight hours. It was also a Sat. so the traffic was pretty light.

Hope this helps! Have a great trip!

 

[happily single]

HappySingle...if you can, I would suggest taking 95 to the Merritt and connecting up with 287 over the Tappan Zee bridge. You will avoid all NYc traffic that way. You would stay on 287 to RT 78 through Harrisburg where you pick up 81. This way you avoid the NJ turnpike and Garden State Pkwy which WILL have traffic on Fri. afternoons.

It is a great ride and awesome way to avoid Fri. traffic on 95. 81 is beautiful!

We left Our home near Sturbridge, MA last year at 3am and made it to Charlotte, NC around 5. Coming home was better...we left at 6am. Worked better for us since we got a full night sleep and did the bulk of driving during the daylight hours. It was also a Sat. so the traffic was pretty light.

Hope this helps! Have a great trip!

Thanks HeatherC...

We were planning on stopping overnight near the Shenandoah Caverns, which is near Staunton, VA. Any idea what time (hours) I would arrive there? I'm getting so excited now I just decided to keep the kiddos home from school Friday and leave about 2 hours earlier than planned. Of course I;ll miss out embarassing them at school when I pick them up with their custom made t-shirts (Thanks AMYMICKEY) but hey, we'll be headed to Orlando!!!!!

 

[HeatherC]

HappilySingle...How exciting! I am guessing Staunton would be about 9 hours? If you can leave even an hour or two earlier, you would probably be able to get ther around dinner time. Have a relaxing night and then to bed early.

Have a wonderful time!

 

[C&G'sMama]

Okay 51 days left. We are definitely the take our time drivers. We just make the trip down and back part of our vacation and hence our budget. We could do it with only night stop but we really like to leave 2 days before we're scheduled to get down there and allow 2 nights stop over to get back. That gives us flexibility for unforseen stuff.

As for flying vs. driving. Because of our hotel stays we probably don't save that much but we like having our own car with us. The last time I flew was for a conference in Chicago which is maybe an 11 hour drive from here. I got to the airport at 3 in the afternoon and got home at 2:30am.

We really enjoy spending the time together as a family. The kids watch movies and play handheld games (they only get to play with those on long trips). But we also talk a lot, especially about Disney. And they love going to hotels with "breakfast places" and swimming in the hotel pool. So we treat the whole thing as family time.

 

[Kassidysdad]

Okay 51 days left. We are definitely the take our time drivers. We just make the trip down and back part of our vacation and hence our budget. We could do it with only night stop but we really like to leave 2 days before we're scheduled to get down there and allow 2 nights stop over to get back. That gives us flexibility for unforseen stuff.

As for flying vs. driving. Because of our hotel stays we probably don't save that much but we like having our own car with us. The last time I flew was for a conference in Chicago which is maybe an 11 hour drive from here. I got to the airport at 3 in the afternoon and got home at 2:30am.

We really enjoy spending the time together as a family. The kids watch movies and play handheld games (they only get to play with those on long trips). But we also talk a lot, especially about Disney. And they love going to hotels with "breakfast places" and swimming in the hotel pool. So we treat the whole thing as family time.

WOW.. What you wrote is exactly how we feel about it. We make it part of the vacation too by adding 2 days on each end..extra family time to talk, etc. My DD5 LOVES staying at different hotels, swimming, etc. We stay off-site at MILs time share (FREE), so We need a vehicle anyways. So I rent a nice new minivan with a DVD (so far 2 for 2 years in a row) and we stop in Richmond VA for the first stop from NH. We also take the 84 -81 route and take 95 when we get to VA - much prettier and no chaos. See you on the road.

 

[WI_DisneyFan]

Sorry, we'd be leaving from NE Wisconsin. About an hour north of Milwaukee to be exact. We would hit Milwaukee's rush hour which really is nothing and Chicago would be around 8:00 on Friday night.

I brought it up to DH and he doesn't like the idea. Grrr... I just think he's not going to sleep and that driving for 16 hours straight is going to be rrrrrroooouuugghhhhh! Ah well, it's up to him I guess.

Sounds like we're neighbors! I'm also about an hour north of Milwaukee, in the Sheboygan area. My next trip (and first drive) isn't until September 2012, but I've been slowly planning it for a good six months already. I've been having the same debate as you, whether to leave right after work on a Friday night or early Saturday morning (around 3:30 am). I like the idea of leaving Friday night and driving for a few hours to get us to/through Indiana or Illinois (depending on if we take I57 through Illinois or I65 through Indiana). But my biggest concern with that (besides running into rush hour traffic) is that I normally have trouble sleeping in a hotel as it is. I can't imagine how restless I'd be trying to sleep knowing I'd be getting up in a few hours to continue my journey to Disney World. I can see myself going on almost zero sleep the entire next day due to not sleeping at all that night. I'd rather eliminate the hotel from the equation and at least try to get a few hours of sleep in my own bed before starting the long drive.

 

[SFD998]

So how does my plan sound:

Leave RI about 11:30 a.m. on Friday, April 15th. Drive 95 to Ct and hook up to Route 81. Drive to Shenandoah, VA and spend the nite (hoping to arrive my 8:30 p.m.). Saturday, Spend the morning at the Caverns. Get on the road and drive though, connecting up with Route 95, stopping overnight in Georgia.

Wake up Sunday morning and continue to Orlando..

Does this seem reasonable? Ideally I would rather drive through to Orlando on Saturday..

Any suggestions?

We are leaving on April 15th too. However, we are planning on heading out around 4 A.M. I have been going back and forth with using 81, but I think we are going to stick with our usual route. At the time I am leaving I can pretty much just stick with 95 and take the Jersey turnpike straight through. I have in the past gotten off the turnpike and used the Garden State to 287 and gone over the Tappan Zee. We have never left at the time you are planning so I don't know what kind of traffic you will hit. We have changed our drive from straight thru to stopping in Florence, S.C. It ranges from 12-14 hours depending on our stops and of course traffic. That leaves us with 6-8 hours to the hotel in Disney.

If you take 81 let me know how the ride is and how long it takes you.

 

[SFD998]

Sounds like we're neighbors! I'm also about an hour north of Milwaukee, in the Sheboygan area. My next trip (and first drive) isn't until September 2012, but I've been slowly planning it for a good six months already. I've been having the same debate as you, whether to leave right after work on a Friday night or early Saturday morning (around 3:30 am). I like the idea of leaving Friday night and driving for a few hours to get us to/through Indiana or Illinois (depending on if we take I57 through Illinois or I65 through Indiana). But my biggest concern with that (besides running into rush hour traffic) is that I normally have trouble sleeping in a hotel as it is. I can't imagine how restless I'd be trying to sleep knowing I'd be getting up in a few hours to continue my journey to Disney World. I can see myself going on almost zero sleep the entire next day due to not sleeping at all that night. I'd rather eliminate the hotel from the equation and at least try to get a few hours of sleep in my own bed before starting the long drive.

Not being from the same part of the country as you I can't speak to the traffic, but I do have to get thru N.Y. and N.J. Our first time driving we did what you are talking about. We left at 6 p.m. after work hoping to avoid traffic and get a large part of the trip done while the kids slept. This was a mistake. We hit traffic almost as soon as we hit N.Y. You have to keep in mind we did this at the start of February/Winter break for this area and I guess everyone else was driving somewhere too. The whole reason we wanted to drive straight thru was to save money, since this was the reason we drove in the first place. We don't do this anymore. Not being able to sleep well in a hotel is one thing, but try doing it at a highway rest stop when you just can't stay awake any longer.

What we do now is what it seems like you are leaning towards doing. We leave around 4 a.m. and get some sleep at home. Then we stop for the night again after 12-14 hours on the road. We have made the straight thru round trip 2 times and won't ever do it again. Good luck with whatever you decide. It seems we learn more about what is the best bet each time we go. It is just trial and error.

P.S. If the states you will be driving thru have an EZ pass system get one if you don't already have it.

 

[shalom]

I like the idea of leaving Friday night and driving for a few hours to get us to/through Indiana or Illinois (depending on if we take I57 through Illinois or I65 through Indiana).

For what it's worth, in our experience traffic on I-80, I-90 and I-94 can be a nightmare Friday nights. Every time we've traveled any of those, either it was really slow going in (tourists heading for Chicago for the weekend) and/or going out (Chicagoans heading somewhere else for the weekend). Add in an accident, whether major or minor, and it's a disaster (an accident and construction added four hours to a Friday evening trip through Chicago for my parents once). It's usually the worst going out on Friday nights and coming in on Sunday nights, but if you're crossing Chicago it doesn't matter which is worse because you'll get caught one way or the other.

OTOH, early Saturday morning you should be golden. Going south I'd try to hit I-80 by 8 a.m.. and then even a minor accident shouldn't slow you down much. That's if you're crossing I-80 taking 57 or 65; the section of 80 with 94 in between there can be iffy. I suspect Chicago is pretty basic "city traffic" (as opposed to "city where the Interstates have been shoved down below the Great Lakes" kinda traffic) until as late as 10:00 Saturday mornings, but we haven't really tested that theory.

 

[BC1836]

Disney Hess regular remains at $3.75.

All the best from the Grand Floridian Resport & Spa!

 

[dvczerfs]

Disney Hess regular remains at $3.75.

All the best from the Grand Floridian Resport & Spa!

what was the price range you paid on the way down bc?

 

[BC1836]

what was the price range you paid on the way down bc?

We departed from NJ with a full tank @ $3.39, and made two stops along the way @3.58 and @$3.59.

Off to Animal Kingdom....

All the best.

 

[dvczerfs]

We departed from NJ with a full tank @ $3.39, and made two stops along the way @3.58 and @$3.59.

Off to Animal Kingdom....

All the best.

have a great time!

 

[Jaime4004]

Planning our first family drive from NH to WDW in June. Woo-hoo! I am getting very excited about driving. I hate flying and it is a hassle with 3 kids. My family used to drive when I was younger, about 1-2x/year to visit grandparents in FL. This will be the first time driving and taking my own kids, 3,6,7. I'm not worried about the time in the car, they sleep well in the car and amuse themselves fairly well. Took a drive to Maryland last year without a problem.
Trying to decide whether or not to drive straight through. I think it would be easier on the kids (and us) if they were sleeping through half of the trip. Just not sure if DH and I can handle it. Actually, more me. DH is a night owl and could probably drive until 2-3am without a problem. He can also fall asleep anywhere instantly, so would probably be well rested when I drove. I'm concerned about me being able to split the night driving, I do not usually sleep well in the car. Since I've never done it before, it's hard to know how it will go...
Our choices are to leave Saturday around 5pm (not ideal, I know, but DD has a dance recital at noon) and drive straight through, or wait, leave Sunday morning, stay in a hotel Sun night, then drive all day Monday. It would probably be smarter to leave Sunday, but I would hate to eat up another vacation day driving. I don't want to take 2 nights in a hotel, stopping Sat and Sun night. Thoughts?

 

[Harryo]

I say go for it and drive straight thru! We have driven many times and have always driven straight thru from Ma to Orlando. We are doing it again this June also. Good luck and Safe travels!!