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

[pmdeve]

Good point. We should plan to leave earlier. Thanks

 

[Bkk40in2011]

I posted this a while back and didn't get all my questions answered. I will post something more specific. Traveling I-10 headed East. We would have just come out of Louisiana around 10pm. Where are good stops from there to FL for gas off I-10? We are headed down through the night and will need to fill up every 4 hours or so. Thanks for any help from LA, AL or TX people that have traveled that way.

 

[amcnj]

I wonder if 5:30 am might actually put you in DC rush hour traffic. Lots of gov't flex timers start at 6:00.

I typically am passing DC at 5:30 am on my drives and have not hit any traffic then. Has anyone else?

 

[sharadoc]

Yes, see my post just above yours. I've taken that route many times. I'll be doing it on Friday in fact to head to Richmond for the DIS meet. I won't be bypassing Richmond though. You can pick up 295 from 301 and bypass Richmond if you'd like.

I think we'll try that on our next trip. I have it saved on a Google map, saying it's no longer. What kind of roads are these - highways, any traffic lights?

 

[sharadoc]

I typically am passing DC at 5:30 am on my drives and have not hit any traffic then. Has anyone else?

I have, but it was during a major construction project, which was being done overnight. That's the thing I never thought about until it happened. Overnight is when they do the really big stuff, closing lanes and such.

 

[disneysteve]

I think we'll try that on our next trip. I have it saved on a Google map, saying it's no longer. What kind of roads are these - highways, any traffic lights?

A good stretch of this route is a commercial corridor with stores, restaurants, hotels, and yes, traffic lights. It's the first part of 301 after it splits off from 50. So there can be delays along there. At the very least, you won't be traveling at highway speed. However, if you have ever been in DC Beltway traffic, even going 35mph is a huge improvement over standing still or creeping along inch by inch for miles.

 

[BC1836]

We're gettin closer to our next WDW drive.

All the best.

 

[discrazy2]

Completed our 4th drive from NJ to WDW last night - took I-95 route.

Gas was $2.39 at the Hess station on property yesterday morning.

Highly recommend the app Waze. It's a GPS that will route you the shortest distance, provide alternate route around traffic, if possible, and alert you to police in the area. It saved us a 157 minute delay in South Carolina due to construction!

No future WDW trip planned but at least I have the disboards!!

 

[BC1836]

Completed our 4th drive from NJ to WDW last night - took I-95 route.

Gas was $2.39 at the Hess station on property yesterday morning.

Highly recommend the app Waze. It's a GPS that will route you the shortest distance, provide alternate route around traffic, if possible, and alert you to police in the area. It saved us a 157 minute delay in South Carolina due to construction!

No future WDW trip planned but at least I have the disboards!!

Thanks for the info. Please tell us more about that SC construction delay? I-95 north and south?

All the best.

 

[sharadoc]

A good stretch of this route is a commercial corridor with stores, restaurants, hotels, and yes, traffic lights. It's the first part of 301 after it splits off from 50. So there can be delays along there. At the very least, you won't be traveling at highway speed. However, if you have ever been in DC Beltway traffic, even going 35mph is a huge improvement over standing still or creeping along inch by inch for miles.

Thanks. We have been in that mess, so an alternative is always nice to have. We've done the drive at least a dozen times since 2009 so we think we've mastered the timing for DC, but I want an alternative in my back pocket that isn't so far out of the way as the "western" route that some folks have used. I've filed your info in my Disney Trip folder. Thanks again!

 

[capegirl]

Completed our 4th drive from NJ to WDW last night - took I-95 route.

Gas was $2.39 at the Hess station on property yesterday morning.

Highly recommend the app Waze. It's a GPS that will route you the shortest distance, provide alternate route around traffic, if possible, and alert you to police in the area. It saved us a 157 minute delay in South Carolina due to construction!

No future WDW trip planned but at least I have the disboards!!

Good grief!! That is some construction delay. I would also like a little more info about this; we're heading out next week from MA. How did you get around this mess?

 

[discrazy2]

The SC construction delay was on I-95 North before Florence. One lane was closed due to construction so everyone had to merge into the one remaining lane creating the long delay. This was early afternoon since we left WDW at 6:30 am. The Waze app alerted us to the delay and changed our route. We exited off I-95 (sorry I cannot remember the exit number) and went back roads which eventually put us back on I-95 North after Florence. That's one of the great features of Waze. If there is an alternative route to avoid traffic delays Waze will reroute you.

The only traffic we encountered going down I-95 was entering Virginia. It was a 45 minute delay which ended in Staford, VA. No accident or construction just volume. Might have had something to do with it being Thursday before Easter and also evening rush hour. Unfortunately Waze could not find an alternate route that would be faster so we just stuck it out.

This was our 3rd Easter trip (2x taking I-95 and 1x taking the Western route) and we have no complaints about the ride down or home!

 

[capegirl]

The SC construction delay was on I-95 North before Florence. One lane was closed due to construction so everyone had to merge into the one remaining lane creating the long delay. This was early afternoon since we left WDW at 6:30 am. The Waze app alerted us to the delay and changed our route. We exited off I-95 (sorry I cannot remember the exit number) and went back roads which eventually put us back on I-95 North after Florence. That's one of the great features of Waze. If there is an alternative route to avoid traffic delays Waze will reroute you.

The only traffic we encountered going down I-95 was entering Virginia. It was a 45 minute delay which ended in Staford, VA. No accident or construction just volume. Might have had something to do with it being Thursday before Easter and also evening rush hour. Unfortunately Waze could not find an alternate route that would be faster so we just stuck it out.

This was our 3rd Easter trip (2x taking I-95 and 1x taking the Western route) and we have no complaints about the ride down or home!

Thanks so much for the helpful details. We are actually staying in Florence, SC on the way down, and VA on the return trip. I will have to look into the Waze app, sounds great!

 

[nono]

Bring a car charger if you're going to run Waze and drive long. It's a much more "active" app (necessarily) than the average.

 

[cruisingkat]

Haven't been around for a while. My computer crashed losing all the forms and records I created for DH's tax business and I had to recreate them - then tax season started so I have been kept busy doing bills.
One week from now (after April 15), we will be starting our 29th drive to Disney since we retired in 2007. We plan on 3 days at Disney for F&G and 3 days at Universal. While at Disney, we do have to make a stop at MK to get a mug at Starbucks for our daughter. Since Universal closes earlier than Disney,we can always run to MK after (a definite advantage of driving down).

 

[Simba's Girl]

Completed our 4th drive from NJ to WDW last night - took I-95 route.

Gas was $2.39 at the Hess station on property yesterday morning.

Highly recommend the app Waze. It's a GPS that will route you the shortest distance, provide alternate route around traffic, if possible, and alert you to police in the area. It saved us a 157 minute delay in South Carolina due to construction!

No future WDW trip planned but at least I have the disboards!!

Was going to suggest WAZE...

 

[BC1836]

Although we have never deviated from our I-95 - I-4 route, we downloaded the Waze app as a kind of highway insurance. We'll soon put it to the test.

All the best.

 

[nono]

Well today/tonight on I-95/I-295 (Delaware through to the Delaware Memorial Bridge) was a traffic nightmare brought to you by: DELDOT. Seriously -- they had 1 lane of the bridge closed on one of the busier travel days of the year? We thought it was pure volume, but no, NO backup at the NJ Turnpike toll booths at all...so it was entirely not picking up for a busy weekend (and it looked as though it could have been). 19 mile backup that ran for hours and hours...just not necessary...

 

[BC1836]

Ugh! A tough ride, Nono.

BTW: when do you and yours depart for WDW? Or did you already?

All the best.

 

[nono]

Ugh! A tough ride, Nono.

BTW: when do you and yours depart for WDW? Or did you already?

All the best.

Yeah, we saw it on the way over to my sister's (already slow at noon) so we spent a LOT of time visiting, and at 7 p.m., it was almost a standstill northbound just north of the MD toll booths. We did the Rt. 40/Rt. 13 nightmare (because of Rt. 13's crazily badly timed lights -- nothings has changed since I worked near the Wilmington airport 25 years ago. ) I felt so badly for all the folks who were clearly traveling long distance.

As for us, we moved our usual September trip to December. We all were sick in January, which meant my husband and I didn't work much. No work = no billing...so we pushed the trip back to keep our household budget in order.