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

[edk35]

Thanks for the apps advice. Has anyone tried the i-95 exit app?

 

[Cando86]

I would dump the boy friend. im just kidding!!!!
everyone is different. I find it easier to come home from work and sleep till midnight, leave around 12:30am and arrive at wdw at 4-4:30pm or so. we tried the leaving after work and driving through the night, the way I look at it, leaving Friday after work, fighting to stay awake and when you arrive, your going to sleep most of Saturday away. so I would rather sleep Friday for six hours or so and get there Saturday afternoon still on my normal sleep. for us driving through the night didn't really gain anything. but, everyone is different. there really is no good or bad way.
traffic is another consideration. for me, the first four hours are the most congested. once I pass the four hour mark its a little easier of a drive. im a very early riser so driving in the wee hours of the morning are easy for me, others think I am nuts. my dad could leave at 5pm and drive through the night and take a nap for a few hours when we got there and was fine the rest of the day. there would be no way I could do that without medication.

Dumping the boyfriend...hmm...there's an option I haven't considered
Might have to add that into the trip plans...anything to avoid flying!

Sleeping after work and then leaving is actually a great idea and something I will definitely consider! I have been kind of afraid of the whole exhaustion once we get there thing and kind of wasting the day catching up on sleep. Thank you for the advice!

 

[dvczerfs]

Dumping the boyfriend...hmm...there's an option I haven't considered
Might have to add that into the trip plans...anything to avoid flying!

Sleeping after work and then leaving is actually a great idea and something I will definitely consider! I have been kind of afraid of the whole exhaustion once we get there thing and kind of wasting the day catching up on sleep. Thank you for the advice!

its even harder to stay awake when its just two of you in the car. when dd was small, one of dws girl friends, lived next door to us for years, would go along with us. we would leave after work and arrive around 10am the next morning. its not to bad as long as two people are awake at the same time. gave the driver someone to shoot the breeze with. so all three adults get some sleep, and we were 20 years younger.
when you start out its great, all excited, theres a lot of traffic so you have things to concentrate on. around 11pm your still awake and pumped. starts getting around 2am and the only people on the road are the trucks and you. everyone is sleeping in the car and those little dotted white lines start zipping by you in tempo. killer!!! once the sun comes up, you start waking up a little because you made it through the night. then you hit Jacksonville at rush hour and now your in traffic and haven't slept. some people can start to get a little crabby.

 

[dvczerfs]

to all the regulars........ I had tam to philly this morning to wills eye, all is well for another year!

 

[dvczerfs]

Has anyone stayed at the Candlewood Suites in either Rocky Mt. or Wilson, NC? It looks like Wilson would be cheaper, but reviews are mixed. I've got enough points for a free night. More $$ to spend at Disney!!

And, anyone in New England driving down for Marathon weekend?

sorry, never stayed at the candlewood. I have stayed in Wilson nc and didn't have any problems. I would go for it, its only for one night.

 

[dvcville]

We hit he road this morning @0955. Hit some traffic in VA who would've guessed. Lol. Hit NC rest stop at 410 should bed in bed by 1 am.

 

[nono]

We hit he road this morning @0955. Hit some traffic in VA who would've guessed. Lol. Hit NC rest stop at 410 should bed in bed by 1 am.

Safe travels!

 

[dvczerfs]

We hit he road this morning @0955. Hit some traffic in VA who would've guessed. Lol. Hit NC rest stop at 410 should bed in bed by 1 am.

Probably passed you this morning. Lol
Have a nice trip and keep us posted.

 

[dvczerfs]

It has been quiet on here lately...... Don't make me start to sing. Lol

Bertha has passed hoping things stay quiet out in the Atlantic this fall. We don't mention the "H" word around our house.

 

[edk35]

We head out today from MD…. hoping to get on the road by noonish. Hubby had to work a few hours this morning. HOPING to make it far into S.C. and the kids want to at least make it to Savannah. I have a reservation in Florence, but I believe I will be changing it. I have up until 4:00 to do so. Any last min. tips/advice??

 

[bigtony777]

For those needing entertainment for long drives, I recommend the seagate wireless plus. It is an external hard drive with built in wifi. There is an app for both Android and Apple to watch movies and listen to music on tablets/phones from the drive. It is much less expensive than getting a factory installed DVD player in a car. If you need a program to rip your personal dvd collection, I use magic dvd ripper.

 

[AaronInWI]

to all the regulars........ I had tam to philly this morning to wills eye, all is well for another year!

I'm more of an irregular on here, but I'm happy she got a clean bill of health for another year! I think this calls for a Disney trip to celebrate.

Speaking of which, the piles are starting to form in our spare bedroom. Suitcases, socks, shirts, shorts, shoes, swimming suits, toiletry items. That's a sign that we're getting close! In 16 days, we'll be on the road to Disney World! I scheduled our mail to be held this morning, which was oddly exciting, probably because it means the trip is fast approaching. Happy travels to anyone driving right now!

 

[BC1836]

WDW driving/music rituals: Once we turn onto World Drive we pop in our edited music CD which includes a wonderful pasage from Spectromagic. It plays until we arrive at the Grand Floridian entrance, a perfect way to arrive. Also, while driving around WDW we play Illuminations and Wishes CDs, never any regular radio stations, which would interrupt the magic. And we have recorded select tracks from the Walt Disney World Today station from the hotel TV on our smart phone which gives us even more music options to play on Sirius Radio as we drive around WDW. Yup, we're hooked.

Note: regular gas dropped again near us to $3.25.

Our countdown is gettin' a bit closer for drive #33 (since 2002).

Good luck to all those on the road or soon to be!

All the best.

 

[Amirah95]

WDW driving/music rituals: Once we turn onto World Drive we pop in our edited music CD which includes a wonderful pasage from Spectromagic. It plays until we arrive at the Grand Floridian entrance, a perfect way to arrive. Also, while driving around WDW we play Illuminations and Wishes CDs, never any regular radio stations, which would interrupt the magic. And we have recorded select tracks from the Walt Disney World Today station from the hotel TV on our smart phone which gives us even more music options to play on Sirius Radio as we drive around WDW. Yup, we're hooked.

Note: regular gas dropped again near us to $3.25.

Our countdown is gettin' a bit closer for drive #33 (since 2002).

Good luck to all those on the road or soon to be!

All the best.

We play Fantasmic, which is my fave, once we hit the gate. I get so teary eyed.

 

[BC1836]

We play Fantasmic, which is my fave, once we hit the gate. I get so teary eyed.

Cool!

And we thought we were possibly the only ones.

All the best!

 

[amcnj]

WDW driving/music rituals: Once we turn onto World Drive we pop in our edited music CD which includes a wonderful pasage from Spectromagic. It plays until we arrive at the Grand Floridian entrance, a perfect way to arrive. Also, while driving around WDW we play Illuminations and Wishes CDs, never any regular radio stations, which would interrupt the magic. And we have recorded select tracks from the Walt Disney World Today station from the hotel TV on our smart phone which gives us even more music options to play on Sirius Radio as we drive around WDW. Yup, we're hooked.

Note: regular gas dropped again near us to $3.25.

Our countdown is gettin' a bit closer for drive #33 (since 2002).

Good luck to all those on the road or soon to be!

All the best.

A recent news story claimed that gas prices will continue falling and get below $3 soon. Of course if I had $1 for every time they were correct in these long term gas price predictions, I'd have nothing!


Most stations I passed today near me were at 3.21 for cash or credit. The lowest cash/credit price I saw was 3.17.

 

[sharadoc]

to all the regulars........ I had tam to philly this morning to wills eye, all is well for another year!

to Tammy

 

[beachgirl2000]

We leave Saturday morning at 5:00 am from Philly -- We usually drive straight through but this year decided to stop in Savannah to get some rest before our adventure starts -- Now I am rethinking it -- Maybe we should just drive straight through and stop at some cheap hotel on International Drive -- my husband said that defeats the purpose of resting before we start our official vacation -- I am just excited for it to begin!!!!!!!

 

[sharadoc]

WDW driving/music rituals: Once we turn onto World Drive we pop in our edited music CD which includes a wonderful pasage from Spectromagic. It plays until we arrive at the Grand Floridian entrance, a perfect way to arrive. Also, while driving around WDW we play Illuminations and Wishes CDs, never any regular radio stations, which would interrupt the magic. And we have recorded select tracks from the Walt Disney World Today station from the hotel TV on our smart phone which gives us even more music options to play on Sirius Radio as we drive around WDW. Yup, we're hooked.

Note: regular gas dropped again near us to $3.25.

Our countdown is gettin' a bit closer for drive #33 (since 2002).

Good luck to all those on the road or soon to be!

All the best.

We always play our Disney World music CD from the 80s, and the Four Parks, One World from a couple years ago, once we turn off I-4 onto 417, so at least an hour's worth of music. The 80's disk has some great stuff - "One Little Spark", original Electrical Parade, "Walking Right Down the Middle of Main Street USA".

When we are ready to go under the arch, DD sings the "Celebrate You" song, and the rest of us have to do the "Oh Oh" background parts. It was THE song when she went on her first trip and it's a tradition that we keep.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICPxeDa8W-U

I started playing some of the youtube loops in the car too. I love the Epcot Future World loop. Some of my fave background music.

 

[sharadoc]

We leave Saturday morning at 5:00 am from Philly -- We usually drive straight through but this year decided to stop in Savannah to get some rest before our adventure starts -- Now I am rethinking it -- Maybe we should just drive straight through and stop at some cheap hotel on International Drive -- my husband said that defeats the purpose of resting before we start our official vacation -- I am just excited for it to begin!!!!!!!

Listen to your husband!! He's right. Enjoy the drive. After you get up in Savannah, make sure you stop at the Florida Welcome Center on the way and stock up on tons of Disney brochures and tourist books. Then you can all spend time looking at them and getting REALLY excited.

Don't exhaust yourself if you've never done it before. Your kids will be awake and you won't. That will stink!!