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

[loveysbydesign]

We are driving from Northern VA to WDW on Friday 1/24. This is our first time driving down there. Any tips? Any suggestions when we should leave? We'd like the kids to be able go to school that day but get out a little early. If we do that we'd hitting 95 around Dumfries VA at 2:45 pm. Would that be a bad time traffic wise? If so, how much earlier should we leave? Would an hour or two earlier make a huge difference? I don't know what to expect from 95 on a Friday afternoon and how early the traffic picks up.
Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Also, we'll probably stop overnight somewhere around Fayetteville. Any recommendations for hotels in the area?From Fayetteville to WDW, are there any traffic tips or fun places to make a quick stop for the kids(6&10). I've heard of South of the Border? Is it worth a stop?

Where in No VA are you? If you're near 81 you can take that to 77 and then to 26 and then to 95, that's the route we take from NE PA.

 

[mieuxmew]

Looks like we are going to make our 1st road trip to WDW from exit 8A of NJ Turnpike. Airfares are out of sight!!! It will be myself (44), my husband (53), my son (9) and daughter (9). Neither of us are drive all night kind of drivers. I am ok driving early hours and my husband is ok driving the later hours, but neither of us wants to drive the graveyard shift from 1 am-4am.

We are going for a week beginning Memorial Day weekend. How bad is 95 traffic?

I can take Friday off from work. Are we better leaving Thursday night around 6 pm and driving 5-6 hours to get past Wash DC/Richmond (staying in a hotel overnight) OR better leaving Friday around 4am and trying to drive straight thru?
Concerned Memorial Day weekend traffic might bring a lot of traffic.

Leaving WDW on Sat (the following weekend), what is the best time to leave?

Thanks!

 

[aidansmom0406]

Where in No VA are you? If you're near 81 you can take that to 77 and then to 26 and then to 95, that's the route we take from NE PA.

I'm right outside Washington DC.

 

[BC1836]

Looks like we are going to make our 1st road trip to WDW from exit 8A of NJ Turnpike. Airfares are out of sight!!! It will be myself (44), my husband (53), my son (9) and daughter (9). Neither of us are drive all night kind of drivers. I am ok driving early hours and my husband is ok driving the later hours, but neither of us wants to drive the graveyard shift from 1 am-4am.

We are going for a week beginning Memorial Day weekend. How bad is 95 traffic?

I can take Friday off from work. Are we better leaving Thursday night around 6 pm and driving 5-6 hours to get past Wash DC/Richmond (staying in a hotel overnight) OR better leaving Friday around 4am and trying to drive straight thru?
Concerned Memorial Day weekend traffic might bring a lot of traffic.

Leaving WDW on Sat (the following weekend), what is the best time to leave?

Thanks!

Based on your preferences, it would appear that a Thursday night departure would be best. If you can make it to the Richmond area, that will reduce your Memorial Day weekend traffic problems on I-95.

A Saturday departure from WDW (no later than 9 a.m.) will get you far on your first day of travel; a straight drive home might be difficult on a holiday weekend.

All the best.

 

[Hasil72]

Does anyone that drives a long distance rent a car from home and take that car instead of their own? I'm considering doing that...but not entirely sure yet. Would love to hear some opinions!

Whenever we drive, we rent. 1. My car has high mileage, 2. I like to have more space and 3. DH is a mechanic and thinks worst case scenario, anything happens to the car, someone else has to fix it. Renting still costs us less with gas, tolls, etc than flying and the kids love choosing the car. We find great coupons either through BJs or debates at our local Avis. The manager knows us by name now and expects us every 6 months or so.

 

[Rong1963]

When we drive we always rent. I just booked a Toyota Camry for $210.00. Ten days unlimited mileage, from Kansas City to Disney and back. I would never put the mileage on my car.

 

[wgeo]

What does everyone do about hotels? DO you prefer to book them ahead of time, or do you wait and see where you are at and just pull off somewhere?

We are leaving in 10 days from SW Wi, and can't leave until 3:00 when the kids get done with the school. My DH is already in Fl, so it is the kids/dog and I will be the only driver. I think I'll have to do 2 hotel nights since we are leaving so late on the first day. I was hoping to get to Paducah the first night, but that really might be an hour to far, I still need to look at the route a little closer.

I'm thinking since we have a dog we should pre-book hotels? Anybody have any thoughts?

Thanks

 

[soontobewed07]

Taking our Second driving trip at the End of July with 3 kids my youngest will be 8 weeks old (Trip was already planned ) and My parents and Brother(23) and sister (20). We are taking our Minivan and our outlander sport and have calculated gas prices and have been buying gift certs. every week since Thanksgiving. As a leaving gift I am putting together a basket of bordem busters DVDs and Trinkets for the kids.
Hoping this goes as smoothly as I think

 

[ddluvsdisney]

What does everyone do about hotels? DO you prefer to book them ahead of time, or do you wait and see where you are at and just pull off somewhere? We are leaving in 10 days from SW Wi, and can't leave until 3:00 when the kids get done with the school. My DH is already in Fl, so it is the kids/dog and I will be the only driver. I think I'll have to do 2 hotel nights since we are leaving so late on the first day. I was hoping to get to Paducah the first night, but that really might be an hour to far, I still need to look at the route a little closer. I'm thinking since we have a dog we should pre-book hotels? Anybody have any thoughts? Thanks

You may have to pre-book w a pet friendly hotel. We took our dog last April and the pet friendly hotels are limited. I wouldn't want to stuck hunting for one and there's not one around, especially since you'll be the only adult.
Good luck! You are very brave.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[dvczerfs]

What does everyone do about hotels? DO you prefer to book them ahead of time, or do you wait and see where you are at and just pull off somewhere?

We are leaving in 10 days from SW Wi, and can't leave until 3:00 when the kids get done with the school. My DH is already in Fl, so it is the kids/dog and I will be the only driver. I think I'll have to do 2 hotel nights since we are leaving so late on the first day. I was hoping to get to Paducah the first night, but that really might be an hour to far, I still need to look at the route a little closer.

I'm thinking since we have a dog we should pre-book hotels? Anybody have any thoughts?

Thanks

Taking our Second driving trip at the End of July with 3 kids my youngest will be 8 weeks old (Trip was already planned ) and My parents and Brother(23) and sister (20). We are taking our Minivan and our outlander sport and have calculated gas prices and have been buying gift certs. every week since Thanksgiving. As a leaving gift I am putting together a basket of bordem busters DVDs and Trinkets for the kids.
Hoping this goes as smoothly as I think

most times we leave early (1am) and drive straight thru and get there around 4-4:30pm. if we leave later in the day, I make resis. we stay at Hampton inns and you have up to 6pm on the day of check in to cancel. sadly we have done it so many times I know where im going to be at what time. I have the 6pm cancel window just in case we hit traffic etc.. and if we do, I can just go on the phone ap and rebook. a few times, not many we had to keep going a few towns till we found something. I always figured if I show up early to my overnight stay, I just get up earlier and start the next day earlier.
we always seem to hit hotels with weddings,class reunions and we hit the red hat ladies one year. ill just say I have been to hotels loaded full of cheerleaders that caused less problems.

 

[oneprincessjo]

We are getting really close now!!! We will be leaving PA around 7pm Tuesday night and will drive straight through to my parents house, they live a little past Jacksonville. We will visit for a few hours... they can wear out my 2 year old while my husband gets in a power nap... and hopefully we will be in Downtown Disney by 6-7pm... we booked a night at The Holiday Inn. Then Thursday morning we will drive the last remaining minutes to the Beach Club Villas and head over to Epcot. So excited!!! It came up quick!!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

What does everyone do about hotels? DO you prefer to book them ahead of time, or do you wait and see where you are at and just pull off somewhere?

We are leaving in 10 days from SW Wi, and can't leave until 3:00 when the kids get done with the school. My DH is already in Fl, so it is the kids/dog and I will be the only driver. I think I'll have to do 2 hotel nights since we are leaving so late on the first day. I was hoping to get to Paducah the first night, but that really might be an hour to far, I still need to look at the route a little closer.

I'm thinking since we have a dog we should pre-book hotels? Anybody have any thoughts?

Thanks

There really isn't much in between Mt Vernon, IL and Paducah besides corn (and the odd small town or two, a couple of which might have 1 or 2 places to stay).

What we like to do is set a goal and then back off of it by 100 miles or so. Then research some possibilities along that route. A couple hours before we stop, we call ahead to book a reservation based on where we will be at that time.

 

[bjschil]

What does everyone do about hotels? DO you prefer to book them ahead of time, or do you wait and see where you are at and just pull off somewhere? We are leaving in 10 days from SW Wi, and can't leave until 3:00 when the kids get done with the school. My DH is already in Fl, so it is the kids/dog and I will be the only driver. I think I'll have to do 2 hotel nights since we are leaving so late on the first day. I was hoping to get to Paducah the first night, but that really might be an hour to far, I still need to look at the route a little closer. I'm thinking since we have a dog we should pre-book hotels? Anybody have any thoughts? Thanks

We just returned from Disney yesterday. We stopped in Paducah for the first night, and Valdosta for night two. Worked well, well rested. On the way home, again, left later in afternoon, stopped in Valdosta, and the next night in Mattoon, Il. We also live in SW Wi.... Darlington. Have a great time.

 

[bjschil]

What does everyone do about hotels? DO you prefer to book them ahead of time, or do you wait and see where you are at and just pull off somewhere? We are leaving in 10 days from SW Wi, and can't leave until 3:00 when the kids get done with the school. My DH is already in Fl, so it is the kids/dog and I will be the only driver. I think I'll have to do 2 hotel nights since we are leaving so late on the first day. I was hoping to get to Paducah the first night, but that really might be an hour to far, I still need to look at the route a little closer. I'm thinking since we have a dog we should pre-book hotels? Anybody have any thoughts? Thanks

We just returned yesterday from Disney. Yikes, I like their weather better! We live in Darlington, and the first night we spent in Paducah, (8 hours), and the 2nd night in Valdosta, with an only 3 1/2 hour drive to Disney from there. On our return, we again left mid afternoon, and stayed in Valdosta, then the next day, drove to Mattoon, Il. That day was 13 hours driving. Our last day was 3 1/2. We made reservations at the Holiday Inn Express in both places. Most are pet friendly. Good luck, safe travels.

 

[bjschil]

There is a wonder app called Allstays, and you can check if each hotel is pet friendly, parking for trucks/campers, etc. love the app on our ipad, choose your state, select your brand, and it will show you towns, etc

 

[patclairesmom]

We always book our stop over stay before we leave. We use our AAA discount and at most hotels we can cancel or change up to 3 or 4pm that day, so if we find we're totally off on our timing we can change.

 

[wgeo]

Thanks for the help everyone, some good ideas here.

 

[alenushka]

I would like to ask for help from experienced drivers.
We drove from NY to FL and back a few times. But this year we are undecided about when is the best time to start driving back.
We typically leave Orlando around 6:30 am and drive to Emporia, Virginia, and finish our drive a following morning. We learned that if we leave Orlando area after 8am we are in big trouble due to volume of cars on I-95. This year we are on the cruise - the earliest we can head off home will be around 9am...Should we leave a little later, like 1 or 2 pm? or even later? Or we should stay another day in Daytona and leave on Sunday morning?I wish we could drive straight on Sunday, but experience shows that we get very tired after 12-13 hours of driving....Also, we are not good driving through the night (used to when we were younger ). What would experienced drivers advise, please?

 

[loveysbydesign]

I would like to ask for help from experienced drivers.
We drove from NY to FL and back a few times. But this year we are undecided about when is the best time to start driving back.
We typically leave Orlando around 6:30 am and drive to Emporia, Virginia, and finish our drive a following morning. We learned that if we leave Orlando area after 8am we are in big trouble due to volume of cars on I-95. This year we are on the cruise - the earliest we can head off home will be around 9am...Should we leave a little later, like 1 or 2 pm? or even later? Or we should stay another day in Daytona and leave on Sunday morning?I wish we could drive straight on Sunday, but experience shows that we get very tired after 12-13 hours of driving....Also, we are not good driving through the night (used to when we were younger ). What would experienced drivers advise, please?

I'd stay over a night at one of the beaches and relax and then head home early the next day. We just booked a cruise for Nov. and that is what we are planning to do. I figure I have no idea how tired we might be after getting off the ship so we don;t want to start our drive home to PA that day.

 

[oneprincessjo]

Bumping up our drive!!!! We will be heading out at 3am tomorrow morning instead of 7pm!! Trying to get out of here before the snow storm gets here. I am leaving from PA and the storm goes all the way past Richmond Virginia... hoping to be in the Carolina's before the snow starts. Plan on making a stop for the night in Kingsland GA.