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

[BC1836]

Good weather news, so far. Two consecutive 11 p.m. Orlando TV station news & weather reports indicate no Atlantic activity which might develop over the next five days. [The Pacific is another story, of course. Hawaii's rain totals keep adding up.]

September 10 has been the usual peak of hurricane season on the east coast; however, south Florida's peak is September 21.

The next system, whenever it forms, will be Florence (the five previous systems this summer have been uneventful).

Back in 1992, the first alphabetical storm formed late, on August 16. But by August 24 it hit southern Florida and caused historic destruction. It was Andrew.

All the best from the Central Florida!

 

[BC1836]

Tonight's (8/28/18) Orlando TV weather report included info about something off the west coast of Africa that had a 30% chance of forming into a tropical system (up from 20% at the 6 p.m. news) over the next several days. Stay tuned.

All the best!

 

[dvczerfs]

I'm leaving in nine days. Way early in the game but it wouldn't be my first rodeo.

 

[AaronInWI]

I just looked at my desk calendar at work, and noticed that tomorrow (September 7) will mark 365 days until our next drive to WDW from Wisconsin! We put on 2100 miles on a drive around Pennsylvania a couple weeks ago, which of course was fun. But there is just something special about a Disney road trip. The drive down just "feels" different than any other road trip I've been on. The next 12 months are going to be a killer until I get to experience that feeling again...

 

[RedSox68]

We did 6,800 miles one month in an RV traveling around the West -- and then did 7,200 the next year doing the same thing to finish up the 50 states. Does that count?

Next year we are driving to Miami, driving the Florida Keys and driving home, which should amount to more than 3,000 all told. [we love road trips]

 

[pmdeve]

Driving through Virginia on I95 soon. How bad has the traffic been?

 

[AaronInWI]

We did 6,800 miles one month in an RV traveling around the West -- and then did 7,200 the next year doing the same thing to finish up the 50 states. Does that count?

Next year we are driving to Miami, driving the Florida Keys and driving home, which should amount to more than 3,000 all told. [we love road trips]

This is my dream when we retire.

 

[famsen]

Well looks like we are leaving Friday evening from Chicago to WDW and will be dodging a hurricane. We always take I-65 to I-75 down but given that hurricane Florence could be making landfall near Georgia or South Carolina I want to stay as far west of that as possible. There will be lots of crowding with evacuations and storms, flooding, etc. I am thinking now of taking I-65 through Alabama then cross over to I-10 into Florida.
Has anyone taken this route? I've never driving through Alabama and want to know what to expect. Stay safe out there!. Thanks.

 

[BC1836]

News alert: Dvczerfs has arrived after his all-time record (see page 1, post 1) 67th drive from PA!

[Since we moved to FL in December, we'll never close in on his record.]

All the best!

 

[dvczerfs]

We are here! We had a nice ride down. Got held up for about ten minutes or so for a tractor trailer accident on I81 in Pa. We made a few more rest stops then normal. ( I guess I'm just getting old. Lol)
For the first time in at least 20 years, my wife drove about an hour and a half through Virginia. I slept about 4 hours, woke up at 1:30am, went to work, got home around 7:30. We were on the road at 8:15am.
I drive for a living, I'm in sales and can drive long distance without a problem, but over my 30 plus years of being on the road, I know when I had enough, I had enough. Lol
We hit rush hour in Charlotte, set us back about an hour. Still was a nice crawl. Not that 80mph, slam on your breaks stuff. We had an enjoyable trip. We just like to travel. We are here for two weeks so there was no sense in killing ourself to get here.
We slept at the Florida Welcome center for about three hours, we have a van with a double bed in the back.
Pulled in to Boardwalk at 6am. No traffic at all in Florida.
Had breakfast, took another nap and woke up at 10:30 am.
Got our room was ready text at 10:45.
Praying for my Carolina friends and family.
Have a safe trip out there !!

 

[Mac7]

Wow, I'm not the only one who's crazy enough to do one of these!!

I've actually been on two. On one, I wasn't old enough to drive yet. On the other, I was the reliever.

Both were from Pittsburgh, which is just about 1000 miles even from WDW. Both were taken in gold-colored cars made by Honda: the first in a 1988 Acura Legend, the second in a 2013 Honda Accord.

The route for both trips was the same: take I-79 south, get on US 19, take it until it hits I-77, keep going until I-26, head east, split south at I-95, and follow it to I-4 heading west.

For those who have done similar trips from similar regions...if I choose to do one again, I'd like to stop in Columbus first. How good/bad of a drive is I-71 to I-75?

 

[Limes96]

Wow, I'm not the only one who's crazy enough to do one of these!!
For those who have done similar trips from similar regions...if I choose to do one again, I'd like to stop in Columbus first. How good/bad of a drive is I-71 to I-75?

Of course you’ll want to watch for rush hour around Columbus and Cincinnati. Definitely do yourself a favor and take the I-275 bypass around the east side of Cincy. Paramount to taking I-75 to Florida is timing when you drive through Atlanta.

 

[AaronInWI]

Wow, I'm not the only one who's crazy enough to do one of these!!

I've actually been on two. On one, I wasn't old enough to drive yet. On the other, I was the reliever.

Both were from Pittsburgh, which is just about 1000 miles even from WDW. Both were taken in gold-colored cars made by Honda: the first in a 1988 Acura Legend, the second in a 2013 Honda Accord.

The route for both trips was the same: take I-79 south, get on US 19, take it until it hits I-77, keep going until I-26, head east, split south at I-95, and follow it to I-4 heading west.

For those who have done similar trips from similar regions...if I choose to do one again, I'd like to stop in Columbus first. How good/bad of a drive is I-71 to I-75?

Brings back fond memories for me. We made this drive from Wisconsin a couple times as a kid. Two/three kids (depending on the year), parents, luggage, in one of these...

Honda Accord hatchback. It was a bit cramped. But I guess I know where I got my road trip genes from.

 

[BC1836]

We had the pleasure of meeting Dvczerfs and his wife at the GFR this evening. Between us, 113 long distance drives to WDW [see page 1, post 1].

New overpass entrance to the Bay Lake-Seven Seas Lagoon Resorts, which is to the left of the MK parking lot entrance! It's much easier to navigate, compared to the detour route that previously was situated to the right of the MK parking lot entrance.

All the best!

 

[BC1836]

Drive #20 for us so far this year to WDW. [Of course, it's a 125-mile round trip now since we moved to FL.]

Construction chaos at HS; temporary bus stations are a l-o-n-g way from the park's entrance, and there's no reminder to folks that there are no buses to any of the Epcot resorts. Long lines at the boat landing for the Epcot resorts and international gateway entrance.

Monorail was down a few days ago; a cruiser joined the launches for the MK-GFR-PR trip. Extra resort buses were made available.

Gas at Disney Speedway was $2.69, the lowest price in all of central FL.

All the best!

 

[BC1836]

Just returned from an overnighter at the BWI. Imagine, a premier WDW resort without hot water in the morning.

In any event, the #1 and #2 long-distance drivers finally met in person! BC1836 (46 drives) meets DVC Zerfs (67 drives).

All the best!

 

[dvczerfs]

Just returned from an overnighter at the BWI. Imagine, a premier WDW resort without hot water in the morning.

In any event, the #1 and #2 long-distance drivers finally met in person! BC1836 (46 drives) meets DVC Zerfs (67 drives).

All the best!

 

[KCMA]

Well arrived this afternoon after about a 1430 mile drive from just east of Toronto... took 75 down due to Florence.. wanted to steer clear of the area.. we left 2:07pm yesterday afternoon (tues) and pulled into Port Orleans Riverside around 1:30 this afternoon after a stop at Publix to stock up on some snacks and fresh fruit for the stay.. no majors issues going down.. typical lane closures for construction.. hit Atlanta before morning rush hour so cruisers right through.. it had been 26 years since I did 75 .. i had forgotten how boring that drive from south of Macon to the turnpike in Florida is.. the trek home via the 95/26/77/79 will be the 28/29

 

[MinnieTink]

Later on today we will start our 14th drive to WDW from NJ. With the hurricane damage and flooding we will have to stray from 95, which we have never had to do before. We can go to 81/77/95 or take 95 to VA, then 85 (then what appears to be a bunch of smaller highways) ending up back on 95 mid South Carolina. This is just according to the maps app and the time difference between the routes appears minimal, a matter of minutes.

I would appreciate any input! Thanks!!!

 

[bluezy]

Later on today we will start our 14th drive to WDW from NJ. With the hurricane damage and flooding we will have to stray from 95, which we have never had to do before. We can go to 81/77/95 or take 95 to VA, then 85 (then what appears to be a bunch of smaller highways) ending up back on 95 mid South Carolina. This is just according to the maps app and the time difference between the routes appears minimal, a matter of minutes.

I would appreciate any input! Thanks!!!

Here's an article that was released yesterday regarding the road closures in NC/SC:

https://www.newsweek.com/where-i-95...uth-carolina-florence-flooding-closes-1129621

You might want to Google I95 Closures to get more information. I've seen FB posts from friends who live in NC that authorities are asking everyone to stay off the major highways in the flooded and surrounding areas so that work crews, emergency crews, etc. can get in to the affected areas easily and quickly.

This article was posted a few days ago showing the suggested route around the flooding:

https://www.wral.com/dot-recommends-detour-around-nc-sc-for-southbound-drivers/17846443/

I would think you could stay a little further east if you're willing to take smaller highways -- I think that suggested route sticks to major highways.

Good luck, stay safe, and enjoy your trip!