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

[bluezy]

Hi folks DH and I are debating driving vs flying in August. Traveling from RI. Northeast folks how has your experience been? Would be looking at. Friday/Saturday drive down and a Saturday/sunday back for reference.

We've made the trip from the Philadelphia area numerous times. We like to stretch out the drive down so we don't arrive exhausted. It's about a 16 hour trip for us (and I'll mention that I don't work outside the home and my husband has 33 vacation days to take each year. I know taking an extra day to drive down isn't an option for everyone.). We leave here on a Friday morning around 9:00 a.m. and drive until about 6-7 p.m. which usually gets us to North Carolina (we stopped in Fayetteville when we drove down last month). The next day we drive until somewhere in FL -- usually an hour or so away from Disney (again, stopping around 6-7 p.m.). Last month, we actually made such good time driving down that we ended up driving straight to Disney that second day -- I booked a room at Pop Century for that night. We would have arrived at Pop by 5:30 except we ran into super heavy rain a bit outside of Orlando that stayed with us right up until we turned in to the driveway at Pop. That, along with what seemed like crazy heavy traffic all through Orlando (we're used to driving through there on a Sunday morning and there is not usually much traffic at all), slowed us down quite a bit and we didn't actually get to Pop until almost 6:30. For the drive home, we left Disney at about 6:00 a.m. and stopped a little bit north of Emporia, VA at about 6:30 for the night. We had about a 5 hour drive left for the next day.

We have family members who live in Northern, NY (similar to the drive you would have). When they head to FL, they actually like to leave around dinner time one evening (so Thursday night in your case) and drive to southern PA or Delaware and stay there for the night rather than leaving in the morning and doing a very long day of driving. Our son lives in the same general area that we do and he and his family also like to get that head start in the evening. Because of his location, a 4-5 hour head start that night gets them past the Baltimore/DC area so they don't have to deal with that traffic in the morning.

 

[deedeew80]

We have family members who live in Northern, NY (similar to the drive you would have). When they head to FL, they actually like to leave around dinner time one evening (so Thursday night in your case) and drive to southern PA or Delaware and stay there for the night rather than leaving in the morning and doing a very long day of driving. Our son lives in the same general area that we do and he and his family also like to get that head start in the evening. Because of his location, a 4-5 hour head start that night gets them past the Baltimore/DC area so they don't have to deal with that traffic in the morning.

That is such a great idea! We live in NJ (about 20-30 minutes from the Delaware Memorial Bridge) and we usually leave around 4am and drive straight through to about a half hour or so outside of Disney. But leaving the night before and just driving a bit further south for the night would save a good bit of time. The only issue this trip coming up is we are leaving the day after Thanksgiving (and we host ) so I don’t think driving that night would be a possibility. But we’ll see.

 

[ddluvsdisney]

We have done the drive from MA several times in 2 days when my kids were small. We always stopped for the night in NC.
Now that we do the drive without kids, we drive straight thru.

 

[Mikey15]

That is such a great idea! We live in NJ (about 20-30 minutes from the Delaware Memorial Bridge) and we usually leave around 4am and drive straight through to about a half hour or so outside of Disney. But leaving the night before and just driving a bit further south for the night would save a good bit of time. The only issue this trip coming up is we are leaving the day after Thanksgiving (and we host ) so I don’t think driving that night would be a possibility. But we’ll see.

We’re looking at similar this year, leaving from north of you on Thanksgiving evening / Black Friday for an early December stay. Now, when I say north, we’d be putting in 4hrs the Thursday night to even make it to Scranton, but at least we don’t have hosting TG to worry about.

If our goal is afternoon Saturday arrival though, putting in that little bit of time on Thursday lowers the stakes on Friday. 10hrs from Scranton is Florence SC, with 7hrs to go. Feels less risky somehow than a crack of dawn Friday departure from home which would get us to Fayetteville NC in 13hrs… if all goes well… and leaving 8 on Saturday.

 

[dvczerfs]

I’ve driven it a few times over the years. lol. We lived in the Lehigh Valley in Pa. We’ve taken two days, three days and straight through. 1100 miles each way. For the most part we took the 78/81/77/26/95/4 route. It was just quicker for us, we lived a few miles from 78 and including stops it was 17 hours. We moved to Florida three years ago, I retired and moved most of our things myself in our van. Those trips I was by self and drove straight through each time. ( I was in outside sales, I spent 35 plus years on the road and had close to three million miles under my belt). So, driving was second nature to me.
Driving is a hard one to answer, we are all different. Some can drive forever, others start yawning a few miles down the road. Do what makes you comfortable, don’t hit cities at rush hour and early morning, late night is always a good time if you can stay awake. Gotta arrive alive!!
FYI, I couldn’t do it anymore. lol. If I need to go back north, I get tired driving the hour to Sanford airport. lol.
Have a nice trip, take your time!

 

[dvczerfs]

Hello to my old friends who have been around for a while. Just wanted to let you know………… I got promoted at work!! I’m not at the same place I was, same park, only about two hundred yards away, same line of business. I am also full time!! I’m not there on Thursday and Friday. I start my new adventure on Sunday, Im really looking forward to it!!
I just couldn’t do the retired thing, I have never been so happy!!
Safe travels everyone!!

 

[ddluvsdisney]

So I know this is a Disney drive board, but I wanted to share that I’m driving cross country today. CA to MA. I’m driving with my friend home. She lives in San Diego as a traveling nurse. She’s coming home for 6 months then going back.
This is a once in a lifetime trip that I couldn’t pass up. We’re doing the Grand Canyon, Zion, Grand Tetons and Mt. Rushmore.
I think the mileage is like 3,800 miles.

 

[NH-to-FL]

Hi folks DH and I are debating driving vs flying in August. Traveling from RI. Northeast folks how has your experience been? Would be looking at. Friday/Saturday drive down and a Saturday/sunday back for reference.

I think that @dvczerfs said it well. Completing 1200 miles in two days and being ready to hit the parks in the Florida summer heat the next day is about how well you deal with long interstate drives. I find high traffic, high speed interstate driving stressful as I am not used to doing it. I broke up our drive from southern NH into three driving days. And I was really tired the following day. Your mileage, as they say, may vary.

Safe travels!

 

[bluezy]

Hello to my old friends who have been around for a while. Just wanted to let you know………… I got promoted at work!! I’m not at the same place I was, same park, only about two hundred yards away, same line of business. I am also full time!! I’m not there on Thursday and Friday. I start my new adventure on Sunday, Im really looking forward to it!!
I just couldn’t do the retired thing, I have never been so happy!!
Safe travels everyone!!

Congratulations! I realized as we were walking around EP a few weeks ago that I forgot to contact you before we arrived so I could stop by and say "hi'. I did look for you where I thought I remembered you said you were working, but didn't see you. I'll definitely have to remember to get in touch with you before our next trip.

 

[Mikey15]

I think that @dvczerfs said it well. Completing 1200 miles in two days and being ready to hit the parks in the Florida summer heat the next day is about how well you deal with long interstate drives. I find high traffic, high speed interstate driving stressful as I am not used to doing it. I broke up our drive from southern NH into three driving days. And I was really tired the following day. Your mileage, as they say, may vary.

Safe travels!

All about how you lay out your trip too! If we drive (as we have the last 4 times), we’re not going to only stay a week or try to fill up every day.

Typical check-in day is check out the pool, have a little nap, and go someplace like Boma for dinner. The next day (first full day) may be a Discovery Cove day, or a Halloween party (or Christmas party depending).

What exhausts me to think about is, rather than the drive, 7 days straight of full park days and then going home. Our vacations need to have some vacation time in them!

 

[dvczerfs]

So I know this is a Disney drive board, but I wanted to share that I’m driving cross country today. CA to MA. I’m driving with my friend home. She lives in San Diego as a traveling nurse. She’s coming home for 6 months then going back.
This is a once in a lifetime trip that I couldn’t pass up. We’re doing the Grand Canyon, Zion, Grand Tetons and Mt. Rushmore.
I think the mileage is like 3,800 miles.

Wow!! Excellent!!

 

[NH-to-FL]

What exhausts me to think about is, rather than the drive, 7 days straight of full park days and then going home. Our vacations need to have some vacation time in them!

I quickly discovered that I needed a vacation day before going back to work after a visit to WDW. Especially after a string of rope drop park days. And that was after travel by air.

 

[BLTtinkerbell]

We’ll be driving down from MA to WDW soon!

Checking in on a Thursday. As of now we are planning on leaving early Wednesday morning and staying overnight in SC.
We could leave on Tuesday evening, if that makes more sense?

Any advice or suggestions?

Thank you!
Safe travels to all!

 

[pwdebbie]

I live in PA and find the drive to SC is about as far as I can get in a day. So from Massachusetts, I think there would be quite a few more hours to your drive. Maybe you could knock out a few hours on Tuesday so you have less driving on Wednesday. Are you planning on 95 all the way?

 

[BLTtinkerbell]

I live in PA and find the drive to SC is about as far as I can get in a day. So from Massachusetts, I think there would be quite a few more hours to your drive. Maybe you could knock out a few hours on Tuesday so you have less driving on Wednesday. Are you planning on 95 all the way?

We are looking at 95 all the way, but open to other routes, if that makes more sense.

 

[ddluvsdisney]

We’ve e done the drive from MA quite a few times, both straight thru and stopping for the night. We found that we often had to stop in Fayetteville NC although we’d want to go further. This was probably due to needing to stop more often when my kids were small. It just all depends on traffic/ construction. You may very well be able to make it to SC. We always tried to drive more the first day for obvious reasons.
Now that our kids are grown we drive down once a year overnight.

 

[BLTtinkerbell]

We’ve e done the drive from MA quite a few times, both straight thru and stopping for the night. We found that we often had to stop in Fayetteville NC although we’d want to go further. This was probably due to needing to stop more often when my kids were small. It just all depends on traffic/ construction. You may very well be able to make it to SC. We always tried to drive more the first day for obvious reasons.
Now that our kids are grown we drive down once a year overnight.

Do you use 95 the all the way or a different route?

 

[ddluvsdisney]

Do you use 95 the all the way or a different route?

Yes 95. We’ve done the inland route that others use on this board, but DH didn’t like it- took too long.

 

[justreading]

Yes 95. We’ve done the inland route that others use on this board, but DH didn’t like it- took too long.

Here's one suggestion for you. If you can leave Tuesday night, drive to just below DC. - Woodbridge VA or Dumfries VA area. The next day, drive to Palm Coast Fl. The next day, you'll have about a 1.5 hour drive to WDW!

 

[Mikey15]

We've got our hotels booked for the way down at least in November now:
Thursday Night - Shippensburg PA (outside of Harrisburg) - 424 miles - 6h40m
Friday Night - Savannah GA - 705 miles - 10h30m
Saturday - Timeshare check-in! - 300mi - 4h30m

Friday will be a busy driving day but we'll still have time in the morning to look around Savannah a bit before finishing the journey (we've never been!).