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

[LadyBeBop]

Any other nominees? [The mere mention of the geographic location at rush hour should generate an uncomfortable feeling.]
These nominations should help alert first timer marathon drivers to prepare and beware.

One word, for us living in the Midwest. Atlanta.

Other Midwestern nominees:

Chicago: Just as bad as Atlanta, however that only affect those living in Chicago and Wisconsin.

Nashville: Personally, I hate driving through Nashville (love the city though). There's too many sudden exits. However, it's not too bad during rush hour.

Cincinnati: Those living in Michigan are told to avoid Cincinnati during rush hour. Personally, I don't know about that. I live just south of Cincinnati, and I have no problem getting to work (helps that I'm two miles away). DH goes into Cincinnati every day. Of course, he knows all the short cuts.

 

[Bkk40in2011]

Driving through the night from Houston area I-10 - can anyone give us some ideas on safe places to stop for gas through the night? We are driving an SUV so will have to make multiple stops. And for those concerned - husband and I are an great overnight drivers. Used to drive in the middle of the night for a job. No worries there. Thanks! (Will start a new thread if I don't get replies. Wasn't real sure how to do this.)

 

[theyoungs07]

1) I'm assuming your drive time from Chicago to Atlanta is with minimal stops (short rest periods, but not for meals). It takes us just under eight hours to get from Cincinnati to Atlanta, and you're about four hours north of us.
2) How early do you want to get on the road? If we're talking 6 AM, you know you'll hit Atlanta in rush hour. Even leaving at 4 AM means, if you hit any traffic along the way, you'll probably hit Atlanta in early rush hour. Of course, I'm assuming you're not travelling during the weekend.

Yeah, the times posted are drive times according to Google. I'm expecting to hit Atlanta much later than that...we bleed time and will have a nursing baby that will necessitate at least one 15-30 min stop every 3 hours. If, by the grace of God we make it anywhere near rush hour in Atlanta, we'll stop on the north side for a longer sit-down meal or something. I'd rather be doing something for a couple hours than sit in traffic with a kid that REALLY REALLY HAS TO GO. Been there, done that, will hopefully never do it again.

 

[theyoungs07]

One word, for us living in the Midwest. Atlanta.

Other Midwestern nominees:

Chicago: Just as bad as Atlanta, however that only affect those living in Chicago and Wisconsin.

Nashville: Personally, I hate driving through Nashville (love the city though). There's too many sudden exits. However, it's not too bad during rush hour.

Cincinnati: Those living in Michigan are told to avoid Cincinnati during rush hour. Personally, I don't know about that. I live just south of Cincinnati, and I have no problem getting to work (helps that I'm two miles away). DH goes into Cincinnati every day. Of course, he knows all the short cuts.

My dad just drove through the area and used the highway bypass around Nashville and said it was nice other than a few stop lights. Highway 155. But he's usually not in a hurry, so his ideas are different than mine. I'm debating on using it, google shows it'd add 15 minutes...but since it helps with exits/traffic/trying to get over a few lanes in a quarter mile, it might be worth it.

 

[AaronInWI]

After driving 1,000+ miles to WDW, to what extent do you continue to rely on your own transportation between your resort and the parks? Are some drives "necessary" or does WDW transportation serve you well?

All the best.

We are almost 100% exclusively "own vehicle" on Disney property. We stay at Contemporary/BLT, so of course we walk to MK from there. The only things that keep us from being completely 100% exclusively "own vehicle" are the boat ride over to Fort Wilderness for Hoop Dee Doo Revue (we drove last time due to bad weather, and got lost trying to exit); and we'll drive to Epcot in the morning, get a killer parking spot, take the monorail back to our resort after lunch, and then monorail back to Epcot after a nap/swimming break so we can maintain our killer parking spot.

One word, for us living in the Midwest. Atlanta.

Other Midwestern nominees:

Chicago: Just as bad as Atlanta, however that only affect those living in Chicago and Wisconsin.

Nashville: Personally, I hate driving through Nashville (love the city though). There's too many sudden exits. However, it's not too bad during rush hour.

Yes, yes, and yes! Being from Wisconsin, I agree with all three. I have driven through Nashville three times, and all three times I have muttered some foul language under my breath because I've had to backtrack after missing my exit. We spent three days in Nashville on the tail end of our last Disney drive and I too loved the city. It's just a frustrating town to drive around in. (Of course, I'm a small town boy, so any place with a traffic light is "big city" to me...)

 

[SInnes]

Well.. I love the forums.. Wondering if someone who lives in Winnipeg, MB Canada and has driven to DW can walk me thru their route they took, hotels they stayed at etc.. Doing this trip this Aug 2015 with a 7 year and 4 year old.... First long trip for the family, and tips would be great..

Thanks

 

[Shir Kahn]

Well.. I love the forums.. Wondering if someone who lives in Winnipeg, MB Canada and has driven to DW can walk me thru their route they took, hotels they stayed at etc.. Doing this trip this Aug 2015 with a 7 year and 4 year old.... First long trip for the family, and tips would be great..

Thanks

We're from Winnipeg and I'm 6 days away from my next drive down. We've done the drive half a dozen times or so to Florida and another few to California. We go through Fargo, then Minneapolis into Wisconsin. We head down 94 which turns into 90 somewhere close to Illinois. Then it's down 39 to Bloomington, where it turns into 57. Then it's 24 down through Nashville and Chatanooga. Then the nightmare of traveling through Atlanta happens. I hate going through Atlanta, so much. After Atlanta, which I hate going through if you missed that part, it's 75 all the way down!

We like to stop at least once at one of the many Cracker Barrels on the way, so good! As for hotels, well, I pretty much cheap out on my way, because really, to me, it's just a place for a quick snooze before we're on the road again, so I look for places like Super 8 or Motel 6. Once I check for bedbugs and then fall asleep, it doesn't matter whether I'm there or at a 5 star.

This is my first solo trip down, my wife will be flying in a few days later, as she can't get off work when I do. We love our road-trips, so at least she doesn't have to miss the trip back. It's so nice having our own car while we're there too! If you do end up driving down this August, make sure to let us know once you have! My wife and I currently have the record for longest drive, but we don't mind sharing.

 

[SInnes]

We're from Winnipeg and I'm 6 days away from my next drive down. We've done the drive half a dozen times or so to Florida and another few to California. We go through Fargo, then Minneapolis into Wisconsin. We head down 94 which turns into 90 somewhere close to Illinois. Then it's down 39 to Bloomington, where it turns into 57. Then it's 24 down through Nashville and Chatanooga. Then the nightmare of traveling through Atlanta happens. I hate going through Atlanta, so much. After Atlanta, which I hate going through if you missed that part, it's 75 all the way down!

We like to stop at least once at one of the many Cracker Barrels on the way, so good! As for hotels, well, I pretty much cheap out on my way, because really, to me, it's just a place for a quick snooze before we're on the road again, so I look for places like Super 8 or Motel 6. Once I check for bedbugs and then fall asleep, it doesn't matter whether I'm there or at a 5 star.

This is my first solo trip down, my wife will be flying in a few days later, as she can't get off work when I do. We love our road-trips, so at least she doesn't have to miss the trip back. It's so nice having our own car while we're there too! If you do end up driving down this August, make sure to let us know once you have! My wife and I currently have the record for longest drive, but we don't mind sharing.

Thanks for the advise!! This route you take, would you consider it the shortest route? I had another route planned, Wpg to Minn, then to St Louis, then to Atlanta and then finally DW... Also, I hear CAA has what they call Trip Tix or something like that.. I am wondering if it would be worthwhile signing up for membership for that....Yah, I am the type who needs to pre plan the trip, including hotels on the way there and back.. Why is Atlanta so bad? Need to educate myself there I suppose...

Thanks

 

[minnie mum]

Slness, I'm glad you were able to connect with Shir Khan.

We always get Triptiks, since we have CAA anyway. You can get a spiral bound printed copy or an online version. We like them because it gives good interval times between points, notes construction areas, and provides info on areas of heavy traffic congestion.

You can get similar, though less comprehensive, information from Google Maps, but I'd rather just let CAA do the work. You can also get gas/food/lodging info.

If you type in your start and destination points on Google Maps, you will see the default route, which looks like Shir Khans, as well as a couple of optional routes (in grey). Its the shortest/quickest route.

Atlanta. No one likes driving thru Atlanta except during the dead of night.

 

[Shir Kahn]

Yes, Triptiks are great! I get them every time, even though we have GPS. The first time we went down without our Triptiks, our GPS took us through Chicago because apparently it was about 10 miles shorter, but it ended up adding a bunch of time on to our drive. As for Atlanta, almost every time we've gone through, we've been stuck in traffic literally farther than we could see. One time coming back through Atlanta at night, I accidentally took an offramp because my GPS wasn't clear on which lane I should have been in. We then got stuck on a 2 mile stretch of road that had 3 separate accidents, just before the ramp to get back where we needed to be. It took us an hour and a half to get out of there, all because I goofed up! Atlanta hasn't been fun for us!

 

[nono]

I hope folks who are nervous drivers (reading on other threads) don't poke their heads in here - they will be shocked at a Winnepeg to Orlando trip. That's some serious motoring!

 

[BC1836]

Driving through the night from Houston area I-10 - can anyone give us some ideas on safe places to stop for gas through the night? We are driving an SUV so will have to make multiple stops. And for those concerned - husband and I are an great overnight drivers. Used to drive in the middle of the night for a job. No worries there. Thanks! (Will start a new thread if I don't get replies. Wasn't real sure how to do this.)

We've driven the NJ to TX (San Antonio) twice and took I-10 through Houston; however, we drove through Houston in the late afternoon and never stopped for gas until we were well west of the city. Stopping for gas late at night in Houston could be problematic depending on the type of gas station stop and applicable security (major truck stop or local station).

Can anyone provide some better info for these folks?

 

[florep1]

Driving through the night from Houston area I-10 - can anyone give us some ideas on safe places to stop for gas through the night? We are driving an SUV so will have to make multiple stops. And for those concerned - husband and I are an great overnight drivers. Used to drive in the middle of the night for a job. No worries there. Thanks! (Will start a new thread if I don't get replies. Wasn't real sure how to do this.)

Coming from Beaumont, we usually stop around Hammond, La. Pick bigger well lit stations. Most of the time we spend the night in Daphne, Al cause by then, we're both tired, and that tunnel traffic gets on our nerves. Gas up in Daphne, stop again arounD Tallahassee for a meal ( We stop at the Cracker Barrel, it's convenient). Gas up again, and the next time we stop is usually on the tollway in one of their gas stations. Gets us close enough to Orlando and gives us enough gas for driving around. We're going again in May but we're flying this time. Have fun!

 

[BC1836]

Coming from Beaumont, we usually stop around Hammond, La. Pick bigger well lit stations. Most of the time we spend the night in Daphne, Al cause by then, we're both tired, and that tunnel traffic gets on our nerves. Gas up in Daphne, stop again arounD Tallahassee for a meal ( We stop at the Cracker Barrel, it's convenient). Gas up again, and the next time we stop is usually on the tollway in one of their gas stations. Gets us close enough to Orlando and gives us enough gas for driving around. We're going again in May but we're flying this time. Have fun!

Thanks, florep1!

All the best!

 

[disneysteve]

even though we have GPS. The first time we went down without our Triptiks, our GPS took us through Chicago because apparently it was about 10 miles shorter, but it ended up adding a bunch of time on to our drive. One time coming back through Atlanta at night, I accidentally took an offramp because my GPS wasn't clear on which lane I should have been in.

I will never understand why people use GPS. I look at the map and figure out where to go. I absolutely love having it on my phone rather than when I used to use a road atlas because I can zoom in to street level anywhere I happen to be but I would never depend on the computer to plan my route or give me directions.

 

[minnie mum]

We always use our GPS, but we certainly don't depend on it for everything. I think its much safer than manipulating a phone while you are driving. But we learned early on to rely on our triptik instead of the GPS when it came to directions. ESPECIALLY in some of the larger cities when you need to make highway changes. *****in Betty (that's what we call our GPS) can give some really bizarre directions, even if you've downloaded the latest maps.

 

[disneysteve]

We always use our GPS, but we certainly don't depend on it for everything. I think its much safer than manipulating a phone while you are driving.

Oh, I agree. I never use the phone or anything else while I'm driving. I meant that I plan my route before I go, or I have my navigator/wife handling the map.

I just find that people are way too attached to their GPS units. A while ago, I was with a few friends going to a meeting near where I grew up. I knew the streets backwards and forwards and the driver still insisted on following the GPS instructions, which were incredibly wrong. We got there eventually but would have arrived 15-20 minutes sooner had he let me direct him.

Reading a map is a dying/dead life skill.

 

[minnie mum]

Couldn't agree more. I grew up reading maps, and DH was an Air Force Navigator, so spent almost every working day using them. Our kids laugh every time he comes home from CAA with maps for our next driving trip. The laugh was on them when their GPS died on them.

 

[Shir Kahn]

We always use our GPS, but we certainly don't depend on it for everything. I think its much safer than manipulating a phone while you are driving. But we learned early on to rely on our triptik instead of the GPS when it came to directions. ESPECIALLY in some of the larger cities when you need to make highway changes. *****in Betty (that's what we call our GPS) can give some really bizarre directions, even if you've downloaded the latest maps.

I always wondered if we were the only strange people who actually named their GPS! Ours is called Jeepers. We're fond of him, but he's kind of getting old, senile and not entirely trustworthy! That's why we also get Triptiks. Each time I stop to get gas, I'll be looking up the next section or two and making sure that Jeepers isn't about to send me on an unintended sightseeing tour.

 

[Simba's Girl]

I also use maps, fairly consistently too. One main reason is that our "real" physical address maps to a different town (neighboring). GPS is not accurate and I don't trust it. That and I can't understand their directions and get over for an exit in enough time before I miss it! Makes me all sorts of flustered.

I am much more of a visual learner than auditory. With street level zoom on google maps I can get an idea of the area I'll be ending up in also.

Oh and I'm a 41year old female so I think I'm pretty much an odd ball for not owning/liking to use a GPS