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

[tink_n_pooh]

Heading down 95 from New England next week. Any major traffic issues or construction I need to know about?

Our normal route is 84, Newburgh bridge, NY Thruway, Garden State, Jersey Turnpike and then stick with 95 the rest of the way. Considering 84 all the way to Harrisburg and then heading south to DC and pick up 95 there.

Thanks!

If you go out to Harrisburg I highly suggest taking 81-77-26-95 which is leaps and bounds better than taking 95. I live in NJ and even I don't want to get on the turnpike

 

[BRENT892]

Anyone gone down from chicago lately??? were leaving next week and im planning on taking 57 versus 65. If so were there any issues?

 

[Disney Vegas Couple]

Hello everyone,

We have always flown to WDW but will be doing the drive for the first time in October. 1300 miles one way from outside of Toronto Canada. Doing 3 nights on the Dream and 6 nights at CBR. Looking at stopping overnight in Charlotte NC then day 2 to Cocoa Beach to stay with friends before the cruise.

Will be leaving Canada on Canadian Thanksgiving / US Columbus Day. Traffic will be very light on a holiday here. What is traffic like on Columbus Day? Going to be on I-79 and I-77.

Looking forward to trying the drive and thanks to everyone for the info in this discussion.

 

[jofleisch]

Driving down from mlps in mid Oct. and I read in another place that all hov lanes in Atlana are now pay and even though you have the required number of passengers you still need to be registered (Peach pass). Was she only refering to I-85. Hopefully I read it wrong.

 

[cruisingkat]

I went on the Peach pass website and it only mentioned the tolls for I85 not I75. We will be driving down the first week of Oct. so I will be able to let you know.

 

[dvczerfs]

gas this morning at the hess stations on property are at $3.67 for reg. unleaded.

 

[loveysbydesign]

gas this morning at the hess stations on property are at $3.67 for reg. unleaded.

wow that's cheap! It's 3.89 here at the cheapest place and 4.00 at the most expensive

 

[disneymarie]

gas this morning at the hess stations on property are at $3.67 for reg. unleaded.

That's good to hear, we will be adding few more miles this trip. Will see my gf that has a shop in winter park, and thinking of Lego land. Cost will be deciding factor. Safe travels!

Still paying $4.00 for midgrade at home.

 

[BC1836]

That's good to hear, we will be adding few more miles this trip. Will see my gf that has a shop in winter park, and thinking of Lego land. Cost will be deciding factor. Safe travels!

Still paying $4.00 for midgrade at home.

$3.81 (regular) at the local Wawa station. Unchanged price for a week.

All the best.

 

[AaronInWI]

We just returned Thursday night from our first ever Disney road trip from Wisconsin. It was about 2560 miles round trip. I say "about" because we took two different routes - on I-65 through Indiana and Kentucky on the way down. And on I-57 through Illinois on the way home. These are the drive times for the trip down. (I apologize that I didn't keep track on the way home...)

Left home from Wisconsin, about an hour north of Milwaukee, at 3:43 am.
Illinois - 5:04 am
Indiana - 6:30 am
Kentucky - 10:42 am
Tennessee - 2:19 pm
--- Time Zone Change from Central to Eastern ---
Georgia - 5:08 pm
We stopped for the night in Morrow, GA.
We left Morrow, GA hotel at 7:30 am.
--- Numerous stops for pecans, peaches, and lunch at Cracker Barrel ---
Florida - 1:06 pm.

Traffic was great. We only had three short delays on the way down. Once in Kentucky, when we got behind a slow moving military convoy. We ran into some construction around the Titans' stadium in Tennessee. And we hit a brief t-storm in Florida that slowed traffic to a crawl. Otherwise it was smooth sailing. The drive home through Illinois was beautiful, but quite a bit more construction. Overall though, it was a great experience. I'm absolutely, 100% sold on driving. I LOVED it! I honestly can't see myself ever flying there (or just about anywhere else in the Lower-48) again. I was on my own schedule. We didn't have to worry about luggage weight, which is important when buying souvenirs. We got to see parts of the country we'd never get to see flying over it. I'm just sad that it'll be another three years before I get to do it again.

 

[BC1836]

We just returned Thursday night from our first ever Disney road trip from Wisconsin. It was about 2560 miles round trip. I say "about" because we took two different routes - on I-65 through Indiana and Kentucky on the way down. And on I-57 through Illinois on the way home. These are the drive times for the trip down. (I apologize that I didn't keep track on the way home...)

Left home from Wisconsin, about an hour north of Milwaukee, at 3:43 am.
Illinois - 5:04 am
Indiana - 6:30 am
Kentucky - 10:42 am
Tennessee - 2:19 pm
--- Time Zone Change from Central to Eastern ---
Georgia - 5:08 pm
We stopped for the night in Morrow, GA.
We left Morrow, GA hotel at 7:30 am.
--- Numerous stops for pecans, peaches, and lunch at Cracker Barrel ---
Florida - 1:06 pm.

Traffic was great. We only had three short delays on the way down. Once in Kentucky, when we got behind a slow moving military convoy. We ran into some construction around the Titans' stadium in Tennessee. And we hit a brief t-storm in Florida that slowed traffic to a crawl. Otherwise it was smooth sailing. The drive home through Illinois was beautiful, but quite a bit more construction. Overall though, it was a great experience. I'm absolutely, 100% sold on driving. I LOVED it! I honestly can't see myself ever flying there (or just about anywhere else in the Lower-48) again. I was on my own schedule. We didn't have to worry about luggage weight, which is important when buying souvenirs. We got to see parts of the country we'd never get to see flying over it. I'm just sad that it'll be another three years before I get to do it again.

Thanks for the detailed report!

We're glad you had a "great experience" with your 2,000+ mile round-trip drive.

All the best.

 

[cruisingkat]

Traffic was great. We only had three short delays on the way down. Once in Kentucky, when we got behind a slow moving military convoy. We ran into some construction around the Titans' stadium in Tennessee. And we hit a brief t-storm in Florida that slowed traffic to a crawl. Otherwise it was smooth sailing. The drive home through Illinois was beautiful, but quite a bit more construction. Overall though, it was a great experience. I'm absolutely, 100% sold on driving. I LOVED it! I honestly can't see myself ever flying there (or just about anywhere else in the Lower-48) again. I was on my own schedule. We didn't have to worry about luggage weight, which is important when buying souvenirs. We got to see parts of the country we'd never get to see flying over it. I'm just sad that it'll be another three years before I get to do it again.

I feel the same way - flew to Disneyland a few weeks ago (DD was running the half marathon there for a Coast to Coast and went there to cheer her on) and hated it. getting toiletries in 3 oz sizes - making sure luggage is the correct size and weight - having to get up early - go through security - take off your shoes and put them back on - wait for boarding - then wait for the Disneyland Express bus (not free like WDW) was really stressful.
Love packing up the car the night before - having plenty of room for tossing in those last minute things that you forget to pack - and the convenience of having our own car at the resort and then as you said, not worrying about luggage size and weight and having plenty of room for souvenirs. Driving is the only way to go!

 

[dvczerfs]

That's good to hear, we will be adding few more miles this trip. Will see my gf that has a shop in winter park, and thinking of Lego land. Cost will be deciding factor. Safe travels!

Still paying $4.00 for midgrade at home.

the price of gas drops .30-.40 per gallon once you hit virginia.

 

[BC1836]

I feel the same way - flew to Disneyland a few weeks ago (DD was running the half marathon there for a Coast to Coast and went there to cheer her on) and hated it. getting toiletries in 3 oz sizes - making sure luggage is the correct size and weight - having to get up early - go through security - take off your shoes and put them back on - wait for boarding - then wait for the Disneyland Express bus (not free like WDW) was really stressful.
Love packing up the car the night before - having plenty of room for tossing in those last minute things that you forget to pack - and the convenience of having our own car at the resort and then as you said, not worrying about luggage size and weight and having plenty of room for souvenirs. Driving is the only way to go!

We agree with your comments. Of course, that's why this thread was created!

Besides everything you mentioned about flying (and there are other items you could have easily added), there's nothing quite like our last pre-drive activity before we leave from our garage: placing the Mickey Mouse antenna character in place!

Ah, later next month for us....

All the best.

 

[DisMom1981]

What is the least amount of time you have stayed in WDW when driving approx 20 hrs to get there?

We are staying 5 nights in WDW + 2 on the way down for short visits and 1 on the way back. I realize our travel time will be as long as our current park hopper pass (thinking of upping to 4 day hopper but with DS 4 and DD 1 I feel like 3 day hopper will be ok....). My parents think we should fly for that amount of time but I feel like the point is just to get away and not as much is the drive worth it for the amount of time going.....

 

[wuzzy6]

I think it's definitely a matter of personal preference! We are staying 6 nights at WDW plus 2 nights on the road - we have 5 day tickets and will be on the road for 4 days.

 

[BC1836]

This thread (now in version III) topped the 100,000+ views mark today.

All the best.

 

[amcnj]

Gas prices are finally starting to drop a little by me in southern NJ. They had been around 3.79, and now several are at 3.69. Let's hope it continues and spreads to other states!

 

[dort]

wish they would drop where i am (upstate ny), i paid $4.05 yesterday.....ouch

 

[Valley Twin]

Coming from Philly. Still high here, but down about $0.02 in the last week. Premium down to $4.14 now