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

[CopperWife]

Just ordered our Trip-Tik from AAA. We have a GPS, but there's something about getting that map in the mail that gets me all excited! It's good for construction alerts too.

Me, too! It gets me everytime! We're surprising the kids in September and the mail has been the weak leak in the "keep-the-surprise" chain lol. I've been picking up the mail every day since we've booked. As it gets closer, I'm going to have to be extra diligent - with Mickey mail and TripTiks coming!

 

[dvczerfs]

Welcome home, glad it was safe travels. Before you know you will be "On the Road Again."
What date will you arrive your next trip? We are headed Sept 6-14.

we will be arriving, if all goes well around 11am on the 14th. I don't know where we will be. if briana is working, we most likely check in, go to publix.
if she is off, we will be picking her up at her apartment.
she is going to stay with us at okw and drive back and forth to work with our car. we are taking the Nissan not then benz this time so ill let her take it to the mk.


remind me or text me a week or two before you leave and let you know where to find her.

 

[Ladygoldenhair]

we will be arriving, if all goes well around 11am on the 14th. I don't know where we will be. if briana is working, we most likely check in, go to publix.
if she is off, we will be picking her up at her apartment.
she is going to stay with us at okw and drive back and forth to work with our car. we are taking the Nissan not then benz this time so ill let her take it to the mk.


remind me or text me a week or two before you leave and let you know where to find her.

We are leaving 14th, so I will text. Dd would love to meet her. Brianna is working dd dream job!

 

[DisMom1981]

Will be scrolling through here later but just a brief intro. First trip as a family, me, DH, DS 4 and DD 2. Everyone thinks we are crazy. Leaving August 14 or 15 to get to resort on the 16th for one week. Going from Southern CT. 95 or alternate route? Wish we could drive straight through but doubt it will happen. Any tips/cautions/route info etc are welcome.

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[Yellowstonetim]

Will be scrolling through here later but just a brief intro. First trip as a family, me, DH, DS 4 and DD 2. Everyone thinks we are crazy. Leaving August 14 or 15 to get to resort on the 16th for one week. Going from Southern CT. 95 or alternate route? Wish we could drive straight through but doubt it will happen. Any tips/cautions/route info etc are welcome.

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Check out the discussions in this thread about routes. Almost anything you can do to avoid Philly/Baltimore/Washington is worth the effort.

I would also go online and use google maps. Give it your beginning and ending addresses and it will suggest a route or several. Then you can drag and drop the route to force it to go another direction. Try doing this by dragging the route from 95 near south eastern VA to where 77 and 81 cross in south western VA and see the difference in miles and time. If you go 81 or 78/81 all the way to 77 in southern VA, what will it add to the trip. In my opinion, anything less than an hour additional to go 77 would make this alternative better because of the lack of traffic delays almost guaranteed around Philly/Baltimore/DC. It all depends on your starting point.

 

[capegirl]

Will be scrolling through here later but just a brief intro. First trip as a family, me, DH, DS 4 and DD 2. Everyone thinks we are crazy. Leaving August 14 or 15 to get to resort on the 16th for one week. Going from Southern CT. 95 or alternate route? Wish we could drive straight through but doubt it will happen. Any tips/cautions/route info etc are welcome.

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Don't worry about being crazy, you're in good company; we drive from MA. I know some people do it, but driving straight through is never a good idea especially with children. Since you are leaving from CT on a weekday, if you can get a very early start; say 3 or 4am to make it over the GWB or the Tappan Zee before the worst of morning rush hour traffic, you will have an easier time of it. You will certainly make it into the Carolinas, and you will have an easy drive to FL the next day. We stop at all of the 'welcome centers' in each state; frequent short breaks away from the road are important, and you'll feel more rested. I am not really a fan of the I 95 service center food courts, and we don't want to waste travel time searching for restaurants , so on the way down I usually pack a picnic lunch. I also bring along plenty of healthy snacks for the car. Of course, road trips are always an adventure, so you do need to be prepared for encounters with construction, traffic, and weather. We've always gone down on I 95, sine it is the most direct route. We've hit sporadic traffic, but nothing out of the ordinary.

 

[DisMom1981]

I'm trying to figure out how to miss NY and DC rush hour. A 3am departure will have us in DC around 8ish, I think.....probably still morning rush hour? We are about an hour to the GW bridge.

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[Goofygirl17]

I'm trying to figure out how to miss NY and DC rush hour. A 3am departure will have us in DC around 8ish, I think.....probably still morning rush hour? We are about an hour to the GW bridge.

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We are also in Southern CT- about 30 min from New Haven. We leave at 3-3:30 am and take the Tappan Zee Bridge to the inland route. I like this much better than taking 95. It takes us about 19-20 hours to get to Disney depending on traffic. We stop once overnight and try to get more than halfway there before we stop.

 

[RK13]

Will be scrolling through here later but just a brief intro. First trip as a family, me, DH, DS 4 and DD 2. Everyone thinks we are crazy. Leaving August 14 or 15 to get to resort on the 16th for one week. Going from Southern CT. 95 or alternate route? Wish we could drive straight through but doubt it will happen. Any tips/cautions/route info etc are welcome.

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Driving down from long island on 8/16. Plan on taking 95. Inland route is out of way.

There is construction south of the capital beltway in northern va to extend the 95 hov lane. There maybe a lane closure on 95 south after 8am. Like another post said, check Google maps, and select the traffic option to see if it's backed up around the time you may get to the area.

 

[Yellowstonetim]

I'm trying to figure out how to miss NY and DC rush hour. A 3am departure will have us in DC around 8ish, I think.....probably still morning rush hour? We are about an hour to the GW bridge.

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1,188 and 18:14 - New Haven to TTC via 95 using DC & Baltimore bypasses

1,279 miles, 19:44 95-78-81-77 This is 91 miles and 1-1/2 hrs longer according to google maps. BUT, it gets around NYC, Philly, Baltimore, and Washington.

It is a good bit longer, but it depends on what time of day you will travel through the cities and how much you want to maximize time vs gas, or just want to avoid city traffic. If you sitting in traffic around Baltimore and DC, it could make up the difference.

I do it from Central PA where it adds 25 miles and 30+ minutes. It actually saves time. However, for you, an 1-1/2 and 91 miles is a LOT longer trip. Too bad. I would probably do it just to make the drive better, but I'm not as familiar with travel around the big cities as others here are.

Enjoy!

 

[ddluvsdisney]

1,188 and 18:14 - New Haven to TTC via 95 using DC & Baltimore bypasses

1,279 miles, 19:44 95-78-81-77 This is 91 miles and 1-1/2 hrs longer according to google maps. BUT, it gets around NYC, Philly, Baltimore, and Washington.

It is a good bit longer, but it depends on what time of day you will travel through the cities and how much you want to maximize time vs gas, or just want to avoid city traffic. If you sitting in traffic around Baltimore and DC, it could make up the difference.

I do it from Central PA where it adds 25 miles and 30+ minutes. It actually saves time. However, for you, an 1-1/2 and 91 miles is a LOT longer trip. Too bad. I would probably do it just to make the drive better, but I'm not as familiar with travel around the big cities as others here are.

Enjoy!

We are in MA and did that inland route 2 mos. ago for the first time. DH didn't like how long it took. I did like the scenery though.
We are doing 95 all the way on Sat. We leave at 3:30. Woohoo!!
Tomorrow is the first day of summer vacation! I'm a teacher and today was my last day. Bring on summer and the pixie dust! I can't wait to leave.
We will be there the whole month of July.

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[DisMom1981]

We are in MA and did that inland route 2 mos. ago for the first time. DH didn't like how long it took. I did like the scenery though.
We are doing 95 all the way on Sat. We leave at 3:30. Woohoo!!
Tomorrow is the first day of summer vacation! I'm a teacher and today was my last day. Bring on summer and the pixie dust! I can't wait to leave.
We will be there the whole month of July.

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I am also a teacher! Monday was my last day. I wish we were going for a month! Have a great trip!

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[DisMom1981]

Thanks everyone. Hate the idea of going out of the way..... Hoping to leave early enough to get through NY and DC with no problems and drive as far as we can before stopping for the night.....hoping to get to SC, but I'm not sure how realistic that will be. How do we wait 50 more days????

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[RK13]

Thanks everyone. Hate the idea of going out of the way..... Hoping to leave early enough to get through NY and DC with no problems and drive as far as we can before stopping for the night.....hoping to get to SC, but I'm not sure how realistic that will be. How do we wait 50 more days????

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the time you are leaving should avoid NY traffic. You might hit some around DC, but make sure you take the capital beltway I495 around DC, don't take I95 thru DC. Also take I295 around Richmond VA.

Our first trip was a drive down when my DDs were 7, 5, and 2. Portable DVDs are a must.

 

[DisMom1981]

the time you are leaving should avoid NY traffic. You might hit some around DC, but make sure you take the capital beltway I495 around DC, don't take I95 thru DC. Also take I295 around Richmond VA.

Our first trip was a drive down when my DDs were 7, 5, and 2. Portable DVDs are a must.

Yes I justified our loaded minivan purchase with this trip in mind. They each have their own row and can watch two separate movies while I think we will still be able to listen to music in the front!!

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[Yellowstonetim]

We are in MA and did that inland route 2 mos. ago for the first time. DH didn't like how long it took. I did like the scenery though.
We are doing 95 all the way on Sat. We leave at 3:30. Woohoo!!
Tomorrow is the first day of summer vacation! I'm a teacher and today was my last day. Bring on summer and the pixie dust! I can't wait to leave.
We will be there the whole month of July.

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Since you will be doing both within a few months of each other, please share with us your evaluation of the difference between the two routes when you return. It will be very helpful to have a comparison within a few months by the same travelers!

Enjoy!

 

[ddluvsdisney]

Since you will be doing both within a few months of each other, please share with us your evaluation of the difference between the two routes when you return. It will be very helpful to have a comparison within a few months by the same travelers!

Enjoy!

I will do my best

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[ddluvsdisney]

Thanks everyone. Hate the idea of going out of the way..... Hoping to leave early enough to get through NY and DC with no problems and drive as far as we can before stopping for the night.....hoping to get to SC, but I'm not sure how realistic that will be. How do we wait 50 more days????

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We got to Fayetteville NC last time ( that was going the long route). We thought this time we could easily get to SC going 95, but we are taking our dog this time. We needed to find a decent pet friendly hotel and I couldn't find one really close to 95 so we are just staying in the hotel we stayed last time- Holiday inn Fayetteville. I guess that kinda makes things a little easier and the boys can probably take a swim before bed.
I'll try my best to remember to post as we're driving or shortly after we arrive. Safe travels everyone!

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[capt445]

Hi all, we are going to be driving from NE Indiana, and I am planning to cut over to I95 and drive down the East coast. We will hopefully stop for the night just South of Jacksonville and hit the road again by 0700 the next morning with a 1-2 hr stop in Daytona Beach. My Questions are, has any one taken I95 on South and cut over on the Beach line Expwy to 417 instead of taking I4? How is the traffic around Noonish? And how much would the tolls be?
TIA
Mike

 

[Yellowstonetim]

Hi all, we are going to be driving from NE Indiana, and I am planning to cut over to I95 and drive down the East coast. We will hopefully stop for the night just South of Jacksonville and hit the road again by 0700 the next morning with a 1-2 hr stop in Daytona Beach. My Questions are, has any one taken I95 on South and cut over on the Beach line Expwy to 417 instead of taking I4? How is the traffic around Noonish? And how much would the tolls be?
TIA
Mike

My wife's family lives in Titusville and we USE 528 to go to Disney. According to their website calculator, 528& 417 from 95 to near Disney will be $5.00, however, that is a LONG way out of your way to go all that way south and then head east. I know the traffic might be bad on I-4, but I wouldn't recommend that much of a detour unless it is around rush hour. But even at rush hour 528 and 417 will be busy.

If you are set on a detour, try Maytown road off 95 south of Edgewater, take it over to 415, and 415 down to 417, to Disney.

But, if you ask me, it isn't worth it because I-4 is a more direct than anything else.. It will be intersting if some others have any input.