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

[justreading]

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!!!

I'm in North Jersey and I used to take 95 down but 2 years ago I switched to the "inland" route (81/77/26/95) and never went back! Rt 81 is a much more pleasant ride with more courteous drivers. Right now I immagine many people are using that route because of the Rt 95 issue so I can't say you will notice a difference from the type of driving usually seen on 95. Under normal conditions, on paper, 81 adds about an hour or so to the drive. But in reality, therre is alway more than 1 hours of extra traffic on 95. I wholeheartedly recommend the 81/77/26/95 route. I will me making that drive next month and am looking forward to it.
Whichever way you go, stay safe!

 

[MinnieTink]

Thank you! I will update and let you all know how it works out. Looks like both N.C. and SC will be having 95 closures in and off so we are thinking of heading east.

For anyone who has taken 81, is there any stops you recommend? We don’t take long breaks but if you know of any extra clean bathrooms or interesting stops, let me know! Looks like we will miss two of our favorite stops (at least on the way down) on 95, the Oasis in N.C. and Santee General Store in SC.

 

[dvczerfs]

Thank you! I will update and let you all know how it works out. Looks like both N.C. and SC will be having 95 closures in and off so we are thinking of heading east.

For anyone who has taken 81, is there any stops you recommend? We don’t take long breaks but if you know of any extra clean bathrooms or interesting stops, let me know! Looks like we will miss two of our favorite stops (at least on the way down) on 95, the Oasis in N.C. and Santee General Store in SC.

MinnieTink, we are heading home on Saturday morning. I use 81/77/26/95. I talked to a friend of mine who is in contact with North and South Carolina State troopers, Your safe coming down 77/26/95. There will be a lot of traffic on I26 because I95 in Florence is closed. But you will get through.

 

[pwdebbie]

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 !!

Did you notice the big paint can has a new look? (I-81, just south of Exit 22 in PA for those wondering what I am talking about.)

 

[dvczerfs]

We are home. Came up I4/I95/I26/I77/I81/I78. Smooth sailing all the way. A few spots of some traffic but didn't even slow down. I95 to I26 is open. We didn't see and trace of Florence. We made it home in record time. We were all prepared for a lot of traffic on I26 but we blew right through it.
We left Boardwalk parking lot at 2:45am and arrived home at 6:30pm. 1120 miles.
Even south bound traffic didn't look bad at all.
We are leaving again in 153 days for a 1 bedroom villa at the Grand Floridian. We are counting the days!!!
Stay safe !!

 

[dvczerfs]

Did you notice the big paint can has a new look? (I-81, just south of Exit 22 in PA for those wondering what I am talking about.)

Yes we did. Lol. I noticed it on our way down but missed it on the way home.

 

[BC1836]

I-95 open in the Carolinas.

All the best!

 

[LBHouse]

We are leaving again in 153 days for a 1 bedroom villa at the Grand Floridian. We are counting the days!!!
Stay safe !!

We check in February 24th. One week in a WLV two bedroom, a week in a Grand Floridian one bedroom and then a week in a two bedroom at Hilton Head. Getting very excited here too

Luckily we also are leaving October 8 for SSR and November 30th for AKL Jambo

 

[LBHouse]

We are heading out next week for trip #5 this year

January (poly)
March (wilderness lodge)
March (hilton head)
July (SSR)
To come:
October (SSR)
December (Jambo)

All driving from west michigan

 

[BC1836]

We are heading out next week for trip #5 this year

January (poly)
March (wilderness lodge)
March (hilton head)
July (SSR)
To come:
October (SSR)
December (Jambo)

All driving from west michigan

If you achieve drive #5 in 2018, please alert this thread. Why? You will tie one of the all-time records! See page 1!

All the best!

 

[Spaceace5150]

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

Yes, it seems like Georgia will never end!

 

[LBHouse]

If you achieve drive #5 in 2018, please alert this thread. Why? You will tie one of the all-time records! See page 1!

All the best!

We left Michigan, Monday morning at 5:00am. We were making great time until Nashville, Tennessee. Just south of downtown on I-24 (left lane doing 80mph), our car died. Dead as could be. Wouldn’t start, wouldn’t shift into neutral. Nothing. Metro police and roadside assistance cane out. They had to drag the van across 5 lanes of traffic to to tow truck. Got it to a dealer around 3:00. Luckily it was just a defective secondary battery for the “engine start stop” system. Everything worked out ok, but man is it scary being stuck in the left lane.

Finished up Monday at a hotel in Atlanta. We were supposed to be in Tampa Wednesday-Sunday but decided to get past Hurricane Michael. So we grabbed a last minute reservation at Old Key West for last night. Heading back to Saratoga Springs for next week.

 

[Spaceace5150]

We left Michigan, Monday morning at 5:00am. We were making great time until Nashville, Tennessee. Just south of downtown on I-24 (left lane doing 80mph), our car died. Dead as could be. Wouldn’t start, wouldn’t shift into neutral. Nothing. Metro police and roadside assistance cane out. They had to drag the van across 5 lanes of traffic to to tow truck. Got it to a dealer around 3:00. Luckily it was just a defective secondary battery for the “engine start stop” system. Everything worked out ok, but man is it scary being stuck in the left lane.

Finished up Monday at a hotel in Atlanta. We were supposed to be in Tampa Wednesday-Sunday but decided to get past Hurricane Michael. So we grabbed a last minute reservation at Old Key West for last night. Heading back to Saratoga Springs for next week.

Oh wow, what an experience. That must be the worst nightmare on a drive. I can only imagine trying to get your car over to the right shoulder.

Glad you are safe and glad you made it!

 

[BC1836]

LBHouse has made the all-time records roster [see page 1]!

All the best!

 

[LBHouse]

Oh wow, what an experience. That must be the worst nightmare on a drive. I can only imagine trying to get your car over to the right shoulder.

Glad you are safe and glad you made it!

It’s intense, that’s for sure. Especially with 5 kids in the van

All in we had a great trip. Not So Scary Halloween was a good time. Weather was HOT! So we spent most of our time at the pool.

Drive home went ok. Spent one night in Nashville TN. Only traffic was in Indiana. They had the road blocked down to one lane and slowed us down about 2 hours. Otherwise it was good.

Trip #6 starts in November 30th

 

[Spaceace5150]

It’s intense, that’s for sure. Especially with 5 kids in the van

All in we had a great trip. Not So Scary Halloween was a good time. Weather was HOT! So we spent most of our time at the pool.

Drive home went ok. Spent one night in Nashville TN. Only traffic was in Indiana. They had the road blocked down to one lane and slowed us down about 2 hours. Otherwise it was good.

Trip #6 starts in November 30th

It’s intense, that’s for sure. Especially with 5 kids in the van

All in we had a great trip. Not So Scary Halloween was a good time. Weather was HOT! So we spent most of our time at the pool.

Drive home went ok. Spent one night in Nashville TN. Only traffic was in Indiana. They had the road blocked down to one lane and slowed us down about 2 hours. Otherwise it was good.

Trip #6 starts in November 30th

Fingers crossed for no issues in November!

Just got back from my 4th drive. Had no issues. On the way home drove straight through from Florida to Ohio, 1,100 miles. Broke the trip down into two days. Worst traffic is in Orlando!

 

[BC1836]

I-4 continues to have its ongoing construction problems which make rush hours drives that much more difficult (it's a major story on the TV news every morning and night); however, driving to WDW via the FL Turnpike and 429 to the Western Way entrance has the least amount of traffic. We have driven that way 24 times since we moved to central FL last December. Local gas prices down to $2.59 a gallon (regular).

All the best!

 

[LBHouse]

I-4 continues to have its ongoing construction problems which make rush hours drives that much more difficult (it's a major story on the TV news every morning and night); however, driving to WDW via the FL Turnpike and 429 to the Western Way entrance has the least amount of traffic. We have driven that way 24 times since we moved to central FL last December. Local gas prices down to $2.59 a gallon (regular).

All the best!

Something has changed on the tollway and 429in the past year or so. When we first started coming down we would only see a few cars on the entire stretch. Now it seems packed every time. I-75 after about Lake City, traffic just flies. Think 85-90mph. The tollway now I feel lucky to hit 55mph. Still WAY better than taking thentollway all the way to i4. I just noticed 429 seems much busier lately.

 

[jbharr1]

My sister and 3 daughters ages 6, 6 and 3 Left Minneapolis at 6p and currently somewhere in Illinois. Heading to loudon Tennessee to bunk with relatives Thursday night. Then on to POR. 1609 miles one way according to the google. Hoping the forecasted rain Friday isn’t too hard

 

[rg35]

Wow, and I think my once a year drive from NYC is a lot. I can't imagine doing all that driving multiple times per year.