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

[dtr_angel]

Well we survived our first drive to Disney World!

We drove on Thursday 5/1 from MD to Augusta, GA to have dinner with a good friend of mine. We drove 81-77-20. We stayed over night in Augusta. The next morning when we were gassing up to drive to Orlando I realized that we wouldn't be getting back on 77 and didn't have a plan... we decided to trust the GPS. We got back on 20 and it took us to the 25 bypass to 301 to 16 to 95. It took about 2 hours to get to 95. I'm not sure if there was a better way we could've gone but it wasn't too bad. The 25 bypass was not a highway like 77 so it was slower moving but we didn't hit much traffic. It was raining really hard on Friday. Our worst traffic was Jacksonville and downtown Orlando which unfortunately was where it was raining the hardest! We liked I-4 the least. When we got to Orlando we got off I-4 to go to a Publix on Vineland. The traffic in that area was horrible and it took us a while to get back on I-4 to get to Windsor Hills in Kissimmee. This was our first time driving and first time off site. Getting around Disney with a car was a breeze, we had no issues (luckily didn't need to get on I-4!)

On our last day Thursday 5/8 we hit Epcot and then had lunch at Magic Kingdom. We went back to our condo and put the baby down for his nap and DH took a little nap too since he was driving first while I packed. We left the condo just before 830pm. Our plan was to drive back straight through which is why we left at night, we figured the baby would sleep and we could take turns driving. Well by 430am we were both too tired to drive and realized we made a huge mistake. The exit we got off had a ton of hotels but no vacancies so we got back on 77 and of course there were no hotels for a long time. I finally found a Hampton Inn that was around 40 miles away so I called and they had one room available. It was about 630 when we stopped. We slept until about 1pm and then got showered and on the road again. We were only about 20 miles from Charlotte. Traffic was pretty backed up for quite a while. We ended up stopping for dinner at the same exit we stopped at for lunch on the way down - Mooresville, NC. It has just about any restaurant you could want to eat at but the traffic getting off the exit is horrible so I think we should pick another stop next trip. After that we had no issues and made it home at 1am on Saturday morning.

Overall driving went well. We're going again in December! We're definitely not planning on trying to do it straight through on the way back again. I'm going to book a hotel for the way back as well and we will leave earlier in the day.

 

[loveysbydesign]

Well we survived our first drive to Disney World!

We drove on Thursday 5/1 from MD to Augusta, GA to have dinner with a good friend of mine. We drove 81-77-20. We stayed over night in Augusta. The next morning when we were gassing up to drive to Orlando I realized that we wouldn't be getting back on 77 and didn't have a plan... we decided to trust the GPS. We got back on 20 and it took us to the 25 bypass to 301 to 16 to 95. It took about 2 hours to get to 95. I'm not sure if there was a better way we could've gone but it wasn't too bad. The 25 bypass was not a highway like 77 so it was slower moving but we didn't hit much traffic. It was raining really hard on Friday. Our worst traffic was Jacksonville and downtown Orlando which unfortunately was where it was raining the hardest! We liked I-4 the least. When we got to Orlando we got off I-4 to go to a Publix on Vineland. The traffic in that area was horrible and it took us a while to get back on I-4 to get to Windsor Hills in Kissimmee. This was our first time driving and first time off site. Getting around Disney with a car was a breeze, we had no issues (luckily didn't need to get on I-4!)

On our last day Thursday 5/8 we hit Epcot and then had lunch at Magic Kingdom. We went back to our condo and put the baby down for his nap and DH took a little nap too since he was driving first while I packed. We left the condo just before 830pm. Our plan was to drive back straight through which is why we left at night, we figured the baby would sleep and we could take turns driving. Well by 430am we were both too tired to drive and realized we made a huge mistake. The exit we got off had a ton of hotels but no vacancies so we got back on 77 and of course there were no hotels for a long time. I finally found a Hampton Inn that was around 40 miles away so I called and they had one room available. It was about 630 when we stopped. We slept until about 1pm and then got showered and on the road again. We were only about 20 miles from Charlotte. Traffic was pretty backed up for quite a while. We ended up stopping for dinner at the same exit we stopped at for lunch on the way down - Mooresville, NC. It has just about any restaurant you could want to eat at but the traffic getting off the exit is horrible so I think we should pick another stop next trip. After that we had no issues and made it home at 1am on Saturday morning.

Overall driving went well. We're going again in December! We're definitely not planning on trying to do it straight through on the way back again. I'm going to book a hotel for the way back as well and we will leave earlier in the day.

Congrats on your journey, glad you made it there and back safely!
We drive from PA and can never do straight thru!

 

[wmcyip]

Trying to find a different route for our next drive.

Has anyone driven this route, instead of doing the I95 (and its alternates) bypassing Baltimore, WADC, Richmond, basically the outer outer route:

Leaving NYC to NJ Turnpike
Delaware down via Dover (US 13)
into DE-1S then US 113 to US 13S again
I-64 E towards Chesapeak/Suffolk
Going through Norfolk VA to I 264 W/Downtown Tunnel/Portsmouth
US 13S/ US-58W /
somewhere from there back onto I95 near Emporia


How are the roads and timing?

 

[loveysbydesign]

This time next week we'll be on our drive and getting close to Columbia SC!

 

[cruisingkat]

Getting ready for drive number 26 since March 2007. Leaving around the June 1, we will first drive to TX to see grandson #2 graduate from high school. From there we will drive over to Orlando for Universal & Disney for a short visit at each, then down to Ft. Myers for our granddaughters' dance recital. We will most likely stop at Disney on the drive back north.
After this trip, we will probably hold off until Oct. for our next trip down for Food & Wine. I would love to drive to the east coast and then down on that trip as I have been to the northeast (ME, VT, NH, NY, RI, MA, CT,and PA) before but not the southern Atlantic coast. - If we don't do an extended trip then, I guess we will do it after tax season next year.

 

[nono]

Trying to find a different route for our next drive.

Has anyone driven this route, instead of doing the I95 (and its alternates) bypassing Baltimore, WADC, Richmond, basically the outer outer route:

Leaving NYC to NJ Turnpike
Delaware down via Dover (US 13)
into DE-1S then US 113 to US 13S again
I-64 E towards Chesapeak/Suffolk
Going through Norfolk VA to I 264 W/Downtown Tunnel/Portsmouth
US 13S/ US-58W /
somewhere from there back onto I95 near Emporia


How are the roads and timing?

US Rt. 13 is a lot of stop and go. We do the ferry from Cape May (because we live there) to Lewes, DE and then pick up Rt. 113 after getting off Rt. 24. Rt. 113 to Rt. 13 has some traffic lights but we go at off hours and they aren't timed to snag everyone. The Norfolk/VA Beach highways can be confusing, but once you get to Suffolk, (Rt. 58) it's all good.

What time of day and day of the week are you thinking of doing this? It may not gain your anything depending...

 

[dvczerfs]

Well we survived our first drive to Disney World!

We drove on Thursday 5/1 from MD to Augusta, GA to have dinner with a good friend of mine. We drove 81-77-20. We stayed over night in Augusta. The next morning when we were gassing up to drive to Orlando I realized that we wouldn't be getting back on 77 and didn't have a plan... we decided to trust the GPS. We got back on 20 and it took us to the 25 bypass to 301 to 16 to 95. It took about 2 hours to get to 95. I'm not sure if there was a better way we could've gone but it wasn't too bad. The 25 bypass was not a highway like 77 so it was slower moving but we didn't hit much traffic. It was raining really hard on Friday. Our worst traffic was Jacksonville and downtown Orlando which unfortunately was where it was raining the hardest! We liked I-4 the least. When we got to Orlando we got off I-4 to go to a Publix on Vineland. The traffic in that area was horrible and it took us a while to get back on I-4 to get to Windsor Hills in Kissimmee. This was our first time driving and first time off site. Getting around Disney with a car was a breeze, we had no issues (luckily didn't need to get on I-4!)

On our last day Thursday 5/8 we hit Epcot and then had lunch at Magic Kingdom. We went back to our condo and put the baby down for his nap and DH took a little nap too since he was driving first while I packed. We left the condo just before 830pm. Our plan was to drive back straight through which is why we left at night, we figured the baby would sleep and we could take turns driving. Well by 430am we were both too tired to drive and realized we made a huge mistake. The exit we got off had a ton of hotels but no vacancies so we got back on 77 and of course there were no hotels for a long time. I finally found a Hampton Inn that was around 40 miles away so I called and they had one room available. It was about 630 when we stopped. We slept until about 1pm and then got showered and on the road again. We were only about 20 miles from Charlotte. Traffic was pretty backed up for quite a while. We ended up stopping for dinner at the same exit we stopped at for lunch on the way down - Mooresville, NC. It has just about any restaurant you could want to eat at but the traffic getting off the exit is horrible so I think we should pick another stop next trip. After that we had no issues and made it home at 1am on Saturday morning.

Overall driving went well. We're going again in December! We're definitely not planning on trying to do it straight through on the way back again. I'm going to book a hotel for the way back as well and we will leave earlier in the day.

glad to had a good trip.

This time next week we'll be on our drive and getting close to Columbia SC!

sure...sure...rub it in.

Getting ready for drive number 26 since March 2007. Leaving around the June 1, we will first drive to TX to see grandson #2 graduate from high school. From there we will drive over to Orlando for Universal & Disney for a short visit at each, then down to Ft. Myers for our granddaughters' dance recital. We will most likely stop at Disney on the drive back north.
After this trip, we will probably hold off until Oct. for our next trip down for Food & Wine. I would love to drive to the east coast and then down on that trip as I have been to the northeast (ME, VT, NH, NY, RI, MA, CT,and PA) before but not the southern Atlantic coast. - If we don't do an extended trip then, I guess we will do it after tax season next year.

hi cruisingkat!!!!! glad to hear your hitting the road again!!!

US Rt. 13 is a lot of stop and go. We do the ferry from Cape May (because we live there) to Lewes, DE and then pick up Rt. 113 after getting off Rt. 24. Rt. 113 to Rt. 13 has some traffic lights but we go at off hours and they aren't timed to snag everyone. The Norfolk/VA Beach highways can be confusing, but once you get to Suffolk, (Rt. 58) it's all good.

What time of day and day of the week are you thinking of doing this? It may not gain your anything depending...

nono!!!!!

 

[dvczerfs]

last year on this day I was pulling into okw.

it was the dropping the kid off for the college program weekend.

she was trying to mooch along on our 30th anniversary trip in September but she just got a really good job and don't want to take the time off.

sad part is she wanted to go down in june to meet up with a few college program friends for a week and cant do that now.
she also wanted to apply to the college program again in September but cant give up her job so that's out. WELCOME TO ADULTHOOD KID!!! (in a few years she can take me and dw to wdw!! lol)

 

[dvczerfs]

HEY BC!!!!!

or anyone who has driven down i95 lately. a friend of mine is heading down to north Carolina and he mentioned about going down i95. I kinda recall someone saying there was construction just north of Richmond.
any info.? when it starts, where it starts, about what time in the morning it starts getting backed up in that area??
I think he is going down 17 and hitting i95 around mile marker 138 or so. he drives like I do so I think he is going to hit it around 5-6am on a Tuesday morning. I know that area is always a crap shoot anyway but construction on top of it must be fun. he is heading to the beach area so taking an inland route don't help him. thanks for any help in advance!!

 

[dvczerfs]

Trying to find a different route for our next drive.

Has anyone driven this route, instead of doing the I95 (and its alternates) bypassing Baltimore, WADC, Richmond, basically the outer outer route:

Leaving NYC to NJ Turnpike
Delaware down via Dover (US 13)
into DE-1S then US 113 to US 13S again
I-64 E towards Chesapeak/Suffolk
Going through Norfolk VA to I 264 W/Downtown Tunnel/Portsmouth
US 13S/ US-58W /
somewhere from there back onto I95 near Emporia


How are the roads and timing?

sorry,cant help you. never went that way.

 

[BC1836]

HEY BC!!!!!

or anyone who has driven down i95 lately. a friend of mine is heading down to north Carolina and he mentioned about going down i95. I kinda recall someone saying there was construction just north of Richmond.
any info.? when it starts, where it starts, about what time in the morning it starts getting backed up in that area??
I think he is going down 17 and hitting i95 around mile marker 138 or so. he drives like I do so I think he is going to hit it around 5-6am on a Tuesday morning. I know that area is always a crap shoot anyway but construction on top of it must be fun. he is heading to the beach area so taking an inland route don't help him. thanks for any help in advance!!

We saw lots of construction delays on I-95 south just north of Richmond as we headed back home in the evening. The curving roads + the construction contributed to the problem. We did not experience the Richmond construction driving to WDW since we passed it early in the post-midnight morning.

All the best.

 

[BC1836]

Why do we drive instead of flying to WDW? [a periodic update on the oft-asked question]

Take a look at three thread questions posted on the current first page of the Transportation thread:

"Bad experience with DME luggage delivery"

"Last row on an airplane" [please read response #2]

"What is the deal with such high flight costs now?"

See ya on the road!

All the best.

 

[nono]

glad to had a good trip.

nono!!!!!

Right back at ya!

Working too much these days...this shore living is too much work sometimes!

 

[dvczerfs]

Right back at ya!

Working too much these days...this shore living is too much work sometimes!

Im on our spring projects. staining,painting,mulching,flower planting.

I get a few weeks of work being slow this time of year. to warm for heat and to cool to have people thinking a/c.
I have a week off in june but I think im going to be spending it doing some painting inside the house.

 

[dvczerfs]

We saw lots of construction delays on I-95 south just north of Richmond as we headed back home in the evening. The curving roads + the construction contributed to the problem. We did not experience the Richmond construction driving to WDW since we passed it early in the post-midnight morning.

All the best.

I thought I recall you saying something about that project. I think I am going to venture out and ask the question on the boards. im guessing at 6am he should be fine going through the construction but let see what kind of answers I get.

Why do we drive instead of flying to WDW? [a periodic update on the oft-asked question]

Take a look at three thread questions posted on the current first page of the Transportation thread:

"Bad experience with DME luggage delivery"

"Last row on an airplane" [please read response #2]

"What is the deal with such high flight costs now?"

See ya on the road!

All the best.

last row response is a riot.
at least in the car you can roll down the windows. (im not saying I have been accused of this occurring. )

 

[keys1388]

Congrats on your journey, glad you made it there and back safely! We drive from PA and can never do straight thru!

I got excited when I saw you drive from PA, and then I saw where you're from and had no idea where that is! Haha! I'm originally from western PA, but when to college just outside of Philly. I would take 80-476 so I would go near-ish you! Anyway, we're driving to WDW for our first time next spring with three toddlers! Yikes!! I think we're crazy...

 

[loveysbydesign]

I got excited when I saw you drive from PA, and then I saw where you're from and had no idea where that is! Haha! I'm originally from western PA, but when to college just outside of Philly. I would take 80-476 so I would go near-ish you! Anyway, we're driving to WDW for our first time next spring with three toddlers! Yikes!! I think we're crazy...

I live between Kutztown and Allentown but grew up in Bucks county

 

[keys1388]

I live between Kutztown and Allentown but grew up in Bucks county

My cousin and her family lives in Feasterville!

 

[loveysbydesign]

guess I should be pulling out my minivan packing list that I don't have...lol. Have our clothes packed but I need to get my butt in gear to do the rest. I do have all the electronics/cameras charging today
Just out of curiosity does anyone have a "driving in car" specific checklist? we drive every year so i tend to just remember everything but sometimes it is chaotic here when we're loading up the car.

 

[sharadoc]

guess I should be pulling out my minivan packing list that I don't have...lol. Have our clothes packed but I need to get my butt in gear to do the rest. I do have all the electronics/cameras charging today
Just out of curiosity does anyone have a "driving in car" specific checklist? we drive every year so i tend to just remember everything but sometimes it is chaotic here when we're loading up the car.

Here's ours:

I-95 Exit Guide
Binder with hotel on the road confirmations, restaurant ideas (non-chain) menus, directions and places we'd like to stop along the way
DVDs for the car player
Enough money for tolls
Pillows and blankets, disposable bowls and trays for food or reading supplies
Prescriptions and OTC headache, stomach and car sick medicine
GPS, even though we use Google Maps for traffic and info, we like the display on the GPS that tells us what time we'll arrive at our destination, our speed limit, etc.
AAA card, jumper cables, emergency road kit
Multi port power thingies for front and back power port. At least 3 plus a USB for the front, plus another three for the back. We also have one that is an electric cord and USB that plugs in the car port. So we can charge or use almost any electronic device.
A portable WiFi hot spot. We got ours from Walmart for Virgin Mobile. We pay $50 for a month and can connect up to 5 devices. So we can all be on our phones, tablets, whatever without using a data plan on each thing (plus the tablets don't have data so this makes them usable on the road)

If I think of anything else, I'll let you know