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

[my3cinderellas]

We are leaving from SO NH too on wednesday though. Let me know how you make out if you can. We do the overnight drive on the way down and then do the 2 day adventure/hotel on the way home.

Have fun and safe travels.

 

[sharadoc]

Okay, I put a ticker in there because I made a reservation!!! Room only so cancellable if we buy a house instead.

We've decided that we have plenty of time to get there this time, so we're going to do the drive over two days. We're going to leave early evening and drive until 11-12 midnight, then sleep for 6 hours or so and get up and drive to WDW by early afternoon. That will gain us an extra day, rather than getting in a 9 pm. Kids are okay with it, the last two straight-through trips have been SO exhausting for the drivers that we decided we need the stop, at least for now. Probably will do the same on the way home. Check out, hang out at WDW for the day then start the drive at dinnertime.

When it goes well, it's great driving straight through. But this trip, we've got two full weeks, and there's no way we're driving on weekends, so we'll leave home Monday, get there Tuesday, then leave to come home Wednesday and get home Thursday.

 

[dvczerfs]

Okay, I put a ticker in there because I made a reservation!!! Room only so cancellable if we buy a house instead.

We've decided that we have plenty of time to get there this time, so we're going to do the drive over two days. We're going to leave early evening and drive until 11-12 midnight, then sleep for 6 hours or so and get up and drive to WDW by early afternoon. That will gain us an extra day, rather than getting in a 9 pm. Kids are okay with it, the last two straight-through trips have been SO exhausting for the drivers that we decided we need the stop, at least for now. Probably will do the same on the way home. Check out, hang out at WDW for the day then start the drive at dinnertime.

When it goes well, it's great driving straight through. But this trip, we've got two full weeks, and there's no way we're driving on weekends, so we'll leave home Monday, get there Tuesday, then leave to come home Wednesday and get home Thursday.

CONGRATS SHARON!!!
let me see if i get this. you are going the end of august????
what day are you checking out???

 

[sharadoc]

CONGRATS SHARON!!!
let me see if i get this. you are going the end of august????
what day are you checking out???

On the 22nd, which is a Wednesday. Get home Thursday. May even go the "back" way this time since not in such a rush.

 

[dvczerfs]

On the 22nd, which is a Wednesday. Get home Thursday. May even go the "back" way this time since not in such a rush.

tammy and i are going to miss you guys by about a week and a half.
back way meaning i81? what is the easiest way for you to get there, the turn pike?
our may trip we are doing a two day drive. we cant leave till about 1pm on a friday, briana has a final at 8am. we are driving to harrisonburg va. we stayed there last year and it was nice. we'll get up around 2am and hit the road from there on sat. morning. briana is pestering to do some of the driving. she said, hey dad, how bout letting me drive some of the trip this year? here was my answer, oh stop!!!

 

[jakenjess]

We are leaving in less than six weeks for our 2800 mile RT drive to Disney! Have a question for the driving pros on this thread.

We drove last in February 2010 and the construction on the Beltway was brutal. We will be going through DC around 1:00 A.M. What's the best route? Should we take the Beltway, or are we better off to try going straight through the city?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Love this thread, such great info!

 

[BC1836]

Safe travels for a few 2,000+mile round-trip drivers who are on the road right to WDW right now!

All the best.

 

[sharadoc]

tammy and i are going to miss you guys by about a week and a half.
back way meaning i81? what is the easiest way for you to get there, the turn pike?
our may trip we are doing a two day drive. we cant leave till about 1pm on a friday, briana has a final at 8am. we are driving to harrisonburg va. we stayed there last year and it was nice. we'll get up around 2am and hit the road from there on sat. morning. briana is pestering to do some of the driving. she said, hey dad, how bout letting me drive some of the trip this year? here was my answer, oh stop!!!

Yeah, we have to go when school is out, this is the latest we can do it. They start school the next Monday. I'll be in touch, maybe we can try to do something together in March.

To get out there, we would go out to Harrisburg either Turnpike (boring!) or more local through Lancaster. When it gets closer we'll talk turkey LOL. We'll definitely need a pow-wow, you need to give us all the details.

We are just SO familiar with 95 that we need to feel comfortable going somewhere else. On your May trip, take some pictures of the road for me. That will make me feel better

Every trip is a new experience That's what makes driving fun!

 

[sharadoc]

We are leaving in less than six weeks for our 2800 mile RT drive to Disney! Have a question for the driving pros on this thread.

We drove last in February 2010 and the construction on the Beltway was brutal. We will be going through DC around 1:00 A.M. What's the best route? Should we take the Beltway, or are we better off to try going straight through the city?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Love this thread, such great info!

That construction was on 495 west as I recall! We hit it last June and it took 2 1/2 hours to go 8 miles at 6:00 AM!! Horrible.

We have gone straight through on 95 and it was okay, just very busy even late night/early morning. But it's fairly intuitive and not a real problem.

The construction usually goes on in the middle of the night. I would recommend going on traffic sites on the same day you're travelling for a few weeks in advance and see what trends there are. Of course, that means staying up until 1 AM LOL.

 

[fbarker]

I have been reviewing this thread and most posts have a very strong east coast influence, not that there is anything wrong with that!!. Would love to hear from some posters from the midwest. I am from outside Chicago and will b, leaving on March 23, 2012. We plan on driving down to Lousiville that night and then on to Valdosta GA Saturday night. We plan on getting into WDW about 12pm on Sunday.

Roundtrip for us is about 2,300miles. Anyone else planning a similar tirp and do you have any inside information on roads and construction?

Let me know, thanks all

 

[dvczerfs]

Yeah, we have to go when school is out, this is the latest we can do it. They start school the next Monday. I'll be in touch, maybe we can try to do something together in March.

To get out there, we would go out to Harrisburg either Turnpike (boring!) or more local through Lancaster. When it gets closer we'll talk turkey LOL. We'll definitely need a pow-wow, you need to give us all the details.

We are just SO familiar with 95 that we need to feel comfortable going somewhere else. On your May trip, take some pictures of the road for me. That will make me feel better

Every trip is a new experience That's what makes driving fun!

that is a tuff one, you have to go north to drive west/south.
i thought once briana was out of high school, i was done taking her. now, i have to take her in may and tammy in september.
well, we go to philly on monday for her mri and two dr. appoints. monday night, tammy leaves again at 5:30 for new york and wll be home thursday night. she lives like a queen the entire time. she showed me picture of the hotel she stays in. she is lucky, its only 1/2 block from the office on wall street.

 

[LadyBeBop]

I have been reviewing this thread and most posts have a very strong east coast influence, not that there is anything wrong with that!!. Would love to hear from some posters from the midwest. I am from outside Chicago and will b, leaving on March 23, 2012. We plan on driving down to Lousiville that night and then on to Valdosta GA Saturday night. We plan on getting into WDW about 12pm on Sunday.

There's a number of us Midwesterners. I'm assuming you're taking 65-24-75-turnpike to WDW. There's a lot of people from Chicago who takes 57-24-75-turnpike. That's about an hour longer, but you bypass the trucks on I-65. Since I live nowhere near Chicago, I don't know the I-57 route, but I do know I-65 does have traffic. Not tremendous traffic. But enough.

What time do you plan on getting into Louisville on the 23rd. I wouldn't try to cross into Kentucky during rush hour. One of major bridges across the Ohio River. the I-64 bridge, is closed for repairs. That's one less way to cross the river. Most times, you'll be OK. I just see a lot of headaches during rush hour. You can stay just north of Louisville in Southern Indiana. That way, you can cross into Kentucky on Saturday morning.

Driving through Atlanta is always the sticking point. You'll be fine, since you're travelling on a weekend. Just stick to the carpool (far left lane), and you'll be fine. However, if you're coming home on a weekday, just make sure you avoid Atlanta during rush hour.

You'll do fine. Good luck. And if you make a side trip to Cincinnati on the way down, will you pick me up?

 

[labfan]

Hoping to get some driving advice since this will be the first time driving from Albany, NY to WDW.
Any help/tips on the route to take and where would be a good area to stay overnight. Will some of the driving areas be kind of tricky or is it all pretty straight forward? Any certain time to leave better to avoid rush traffic in certain areas?

 

[icc2515]

I have been reviewing this thread and most posts have a very strong east coast influence, not that there is anything wrong with that!!. Would love to hear from some posters from the midwest. I am from outside Chicago and will b, leaving on March 23, 2012. We plan on driving down to Lousiville that night and then on to Valdosta GA Saturday night. We plan on getting into WDW about 12pm on Sunday.

Roundtrip for us is about 2,300miles. Anyone else planning a similar tirp and do you have any inside information on roads and construction?

Let me know, thanks all

Hope you have a great trip. We are from NW IN and should be taking the same route down as you, but in July. Let us all know how things went. As for the I-65 thing the other poster mentioned, I would not sweat 65. I drive it all the time and never have any problems with truck traffic. 65 is usually less congested than 94. Since you are leaving on a Friday and you did not mention the time I would look into taking the Skyway to the Indiana toll road, which has an exit onto 65 rather than risking 94 to 65 on a Friday. Unless you are leaving very early or very late.

 

[Nik's Mom]

I have been reviewing this thread and most posts have a very strong east coast influence, not that there is anything wrong with that!!. Would love to hear from some posters from the midwest. I am from outside Chicago and will b, leaving on March 23, 2012. We plan on driving down to Lousiville that night and then on to Valdosta GA Saturday night. We plan on getting into WDW about 12pm on Sunday.

Roundtrip for us is about 2,300miles. Anyone else planning a similar tirp and do you have any inside information on roads and construction?

Let me know, thanks all

We're driving from Kansas City. For us, Atlanta is the tricky part. I'm trying to time it so we miss rush hour. We plan on stopping in Macon for the night.

 

[dvczerfs]

Hoping to get some driving advice since this will be the first time driving from Albany, NY to WDW.
Any help/tips on the route to take and where would be a good area to stay overnight. Will some of the driving areas be kind of tricky or is it all pretty straight forward? Any certain time to leave better to avoid rush traffic in certain areas?

Have any idea which way you want to drive? Going 81-77-26-95 is a good way to go to avoid alot of the cities. Just have to watch the weather going this way if your going this way in the winter. i95 straight down is the shortest miles wise but there are alot of cities you have to go though, philly, washington, balt. etc... give us some of your thoughts and we can try to help you from there. Time of year your going, days of the week you will be on the road etc..... we are here to help!!

 

[buzz5985]

Have any idea which way you want to drive? Going 81-77-26-95 is a good way to go to avoid alot of the cities. Just have to watch the weather going this way if your going this way in the winter. i95 straight down is the shortest miles wise but there are alot of cities you have to go though, philly, washington, balt. etc... give us some of your thoughts and we can try to help you from there. Time of year your going, days of the week you will be on the road etc..... we are here to help!!

I drove down from Boston last summer and went that route. Never again. I have never hit enough traffic to justify the extra time spent on this route. Never mind all the trucks. My Father always told me - 95, 95, 95. Now I believe him. But I did figure out one thing - I alway's worried about traffic in NYC, Washington, DC - but in reality it is the Northern VA that's the worst. So I need to figure out when the good time is for that section.

Planning my next drive in August - taking the Autotrain home. Can't wait!!!

Janis

 

[dvczerfs]

I drove down from Boston last summer and went that route. Never again. I have never hit enough traffic to justify the extra time spent on this route. Never mind all the trucks. My Father always told me - 95, 95, 95. Now I believe him. But I did figure out one thing - I alway's worried about traffic in NYC, Washington, DC - but in reality it is the Northern VA that's the worst. So I need to figure out when the good time is for that section.

Planning my next drive in August - taking the Autotrain home. Can't wait!!!

Janis

How much longer did it take you going 81/77/26?

 

[pwdebbie]

Have any idea which way you want to drive? Going 81-77-26-95 is a good way to go to avoid alot of the cities. Just have to watch the weather going this way if your going this way in the winter. i95 straight down is the shortest miles wise but there are alot of cities you have to go though, philly, washington, balt. etc... give us some of your thoughts and we can try to help you from there. Time of year your going, days of the week you will be on the road etc..... we are here to help!!

Jumping in to ask if there is any advice as to avoiding Charlotte? I believe that is where the hairy left exit that drops suddenly to 25 is.

 

[my3cinderellas]

Ok, im leaving from Boston at 7pm on Wednesday night. We are going to take 95 and we are doing the overnight drive. Other than the forseable snow forcast anything to look out for? We did the 95 route in august and had no issues but we left at 9pm not 7pm and now its winter.

Any advice?
thanks