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

[Goofygirl17]

I'm hoping Tropical Storm Emily goes out to sea before we get down there! I'm not looking forward to driving through the rain and wind on Sunday.

 

[disneymarie]

I'm hoping Tropical Storm Emily goes out to sea before we get down there! I'm not looking forward to driving through the rain and wind on Sunday.

I have been watching the path. One of the models shows it going out towards the East. Maybe only some left over remnents would be a lot better. Crossing my fingers for everyone traveling down this weekend.

 

[cruisingkat]

Wow, that site lists a ton of projects!!!
Hope it only slows us down a little
thanks

But if you read the projects - it says lane closures at night - minimal impact during the day.

 

[ThreeKMom]

All this talk of construction and lane closures at night is making me nervous!

Where can I find information for construction on 8/25 for 95?
I thought it was a good idea to drive overnight to avoid delays, will construction slow us down?

 

[dvczerfs]

All this talk of construction and lane closures at night is making me nervous!

Where can I find information for construction on 8/25 for 95?
I thought it was a good idea to drive overnight to avoid delays, will construction slow us down?

they may close a lane but theres no traffic. the only time they shut the entire interstate down or have it all blocked if they are moving a wide load or moving a piece of big equipt. i wouldnt lose any sleep over it. up north here in pa and nj, they close a lane and theres a 20 mile back up. down south, they are working on two lanes, they build two more lanes next to it while they are working on the highway. there construction projects are a little diff. than ours up here.

 

[aarmando20]

Driving down to WDW from Philadelphia. looking for somewhere to stop about half way (SC) that is right off 95. Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[rotlex]

We've made the trip through DC many times and it can be very random. I've caught the beltway at rush hour and sailed through. We also hit the 95 bridge at 3AM were stationary for a full 45 minutes.

We are giving serious consideration to taking the I-81 route - even though it looks a bit out of the way. The current plan is to leave around 2AM. The last two drives, our first stop was around Richmond at a Wawa of 95.

We do 81,77,26,95, I 4 every year. Were pretty close to you area, and leave at roughly 2am as well. (Makes the first 6 hours of the trip quick, and with the kids sleeping, easy on the brain,LOL).

Just for reference, we usually hit the Savannah or Kingsland Georgia area by 4-5pm. That's with stops for gas, food, potty breaks etc. We stay over night at that point, let the kids unwind and swim or something. Next day is a pretty short 4 or so hours to WDW. Coming up again FAST for us, we leave Sunday the 21st!

The other biggie this trip is that we are doing our first stay at the Wilderness Lodge. 10 nights, with LOTS of new stuff planned. I can't, oh wait, the kids can't wait!!!!

 

[PrincessMom4]

I am starting to pack (more...lol) and getting ready to do my online check-in next week! Kids still have NO clue.

Hoping we don't encounter too many problems with traffic or construction.

 

[Elmo T]

We do 81,77,26,95, I 4 every year. Were pretty close to you area, and leave at roughly 2am as well.

The other biggie this trip is that we are doing our first stay at the Wilderness Lodge. 10 nights, with LOTS of new stuff planned. I can't, oh wait, the kids can't wait!!!!

It seems counter-intuitive to drive northwest from Doylestown up your way, then west to 81.

We tried leaving at 8PM and driving straight through on the last trip. Late night construction on 95 in DC meant over 45 minutes stationary as they removed portions of old bridge. Plus it was just a killer ride.

Coming home non-stop hasn't been too bad though. Leaving BCV at 830ish and we arrive home around 0230AM.

Like most, we are planning on stopping around Savannah or just south depending on our arrival time.

 

[3smithboys]

It seems counter-intuitive to drive northwest from Doylestown up your way, then west to 81.

We tried leaving at 8PM and driving straight through on the last trip. Late night construction on 95 in DC meant over 45 minutes stationary as they removed portions of old bridge. Plus it was just a killer ride.

Coming home non-stop hasn't been too bad though. Leaving BCV at 830ish and we arrive home around 0230AM.

Like most, we are planning on stopping around Savannah or just south depending on our arrival time.

This is what we are wondering. We have driven 95 down 2x leaving Philly at 8pm. One time we hit horrible traffic in DC and one time nothing. We drive straight through going down, and we do an overnight stop coming back. We are leaving for another trip on Wednesday and are wondering about just sticking with 95 going down and maybe trying the other route coming back since we are coming back Sat/Sun? Sigh....

 

[dvczerfs]

We do 81,77,26,95, I 4 every year. Were pretty close to you area, and leave at roughly 2am as well. (Makes the first 6 hours of the trip quick, and with the kids sleeping, easy on the brain,LOL).

Just for reference, we usually hit the Savannah or Kingsland Georgia area by 4-5pm. That's with stops for gas, food, potty breaks etc. We stay over night at that point, let the kids unwind and swim or something. Next day is a pretty short 4 or so hours to WDW. Coming up again FAST for us, we leave Sunday the 21st!

The other biggie this trip is that we are doing our first stay at the Wilderness Lodge. 10 nights, with LOTS of new stuff planned. I can't, oh wait, the kids can't wait!!!!

need someone to carry your bags for you? have a good trip steve!! say hi to my wife for me, i dont see her anymore, they keep her chain to a desk there. ( i hope they dont send me a bill.)

 

[dvczerfs]

This is what we are wondering. We have driven 95 down 2x leaving Philly at 8pm. One time we hit horrible traffic in DC and one time nothing. We drive straight through going down, and we do an overnight stop coming back. We are leaving for another trip on Wednesday and are wondering about just sticking with 95 going down and maybe trying the other route coming back since we are coming back Sat/Sun? Sigh....

i guess its, how lucky do you feel on the day your leaving. that it a tuff one. its a hike for the people from the philly area to hit 81. your leaving late enough, if it was me, id take a chance going down i95. maybe even leaving a little later but my thought on sitting at home waiting, id rather leave and take my chances and if i hit traffic, ill be waiting on the road in traffic. but, if i dont hit traffic.... im gone!!!!

 

[rotlex]

need someone to carry your bags for you? have a good trip steve!! say hi to my wife for me, i dont see her anymore, they keep her chain to a desk there. ( i hope they dont send me a bill.)

LOL, thanks, will say hi for sure if I see her here....unfortunately, they have had me tied to my desk for quite some time too!

Of course, in just over 2 weeks, I'll be able to unplug from reality for a glorious 17 days total! 11 of those which will be spent in WDW!!!!

 

[dvczerfs]

LOL, thanks, will say hi for sure if I see her here....unfortunately, they have had me tied to my desk for quite some time too!

Of course, in just over 2 weeks, I'll be able to unplug from reality for a glorious 17 days total! 11 of those which will be spent in WDW!!!!

there like that for some reason!! have a good trip!!

 

[3smithboys]

i guess its, how lucky do you feel on the day your leaving. that it a tuff one. its a hike for the people from the philly area to hit 81. your leaving late enough, if it was me, id take a chance going down i95. maybe even leaving a little later but my thought on sitting at home waiting, id rather leave and take my chances and if i hit traffic, ill be waiting on the road in traffic. but, if i dont hit traffic.... im gone!!!!

That's kind of what we were thinking too... Last time we said that we were going to leave at 10pm instead of 8pm because we hit the DC traffic the last time... but when 8pm came around, and we were all packed and ready to go... we couldn't just sit there and wait two more hrs! So, we decided to just take our chances and leave! We didn't hit any traffic around DC that time - so I guess you are right - it really is the luck of the draw - roadworks, accidents, etc...

 

[dvczerfs]

That's kind of what we were thinking too... Last time we said that we were going to leave at 10pm instead of 8pm because we hit the DC traffic the last time... but when 8pm came around, and we were all packed and ready to go... we couldn't just sit there and wait two more hrs! So, we decided to just take our chances and leave! We didn't hit any traffic around DC that time - so I guess you are right - it really is the luck of the draw - roadworks, accidents, etc...

pro sports.... anyone heading to to pocono pa this weekend, theres a nascar race. nascar + poconos = sitting in huge traffic jams!

 

[ThreeKMom]

they may close a lane but theres no traffic. the only time they shut the entire interstate down or have it all blocked if they are moving a wide load or moving a piece of big equipt. i wouldnt lose any sleep over it. up north here in pa and nj, they close a lane and theres a 20 mile back up. down south, they are working on two lanes, they build two more lanes next to it while they are working on the highway. there construction projects are a little diff. than ours up here.

Good to know!
Thanks!!

 

[disneymarie]

It seems counter-intuitive to drive northwest from Doylestown up your way, then west to 81.

We tried leaving at 8PM and driving straight through on the last trip. Late night construction on 95 in DC meant over 45 minutes stationary as they removed portions of old bridge. Plus it was just a killer ride.

Coming home non-stop hasn't been too bad though. Leaving BCV at 830ish and we arrive home around 0230AM.

Like most, we are planning on stopping around Savannah or just south depending on our arrival time.

Isn't there an interstate 78 from Allentown area that joins I 81 near Lebonon? The split by Fort Indiantown Gap?

We go down 81 to 83 and I guess then will drive the routes straight through to Florence SC, on the way home riding Auto train to Lorton. Last drive we hit the traffic in Richmond. Maybe 20ish minutes of slow travel around 5-6 pm.

 

[sharadoc]

Driving down to WDW from Philadelphia. looking for somewhere to stop about half way (SC) that is right off 95. Anyone have any suggestions?

Florence SC is pretty good. It's about 8 -9 hours or so to Disney from there.

If you google "hotels Florence SC", you'll get a map with tons of suggestions. If you have questions, it's likely you'll find someone on here who has stayed at the hotel you're considering. We've stayed at the Staybridge Suites there. It was nice with a good breakfast.

Don't forget to stop at the Florida Visitor center. Tons of fun brochures and booklets and free OJ.

 

[sharadoc]

We tried leaving at 8PM and driving straight through on the last trip. Late night construction on 95 in DC meant over 45 minutes stationary as they removed portions of old bridge. Plus it was just a killer ride.

Yep, that's our horror story. Ours was on 495 west, they are removing a bridge over it. We stopped in traffic at 6:30 am, took 2 hours to go 7 miles. That was on Saturday June 18.