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

[nono]

We are closer to 81. That's what we are considering

Nothing to consider. Go that way!

 

[CookieGVB]

First time driving to WDW this October. 6 adults in a rented minivan - oh boy! I see quite a few folks from NJ - Toms River here. A couple of questions - how far can we use EZ Pass for the tolls (and any idea how much they are?) - and I keep reading that there are "SunPass Only" tolls in FL - could that be true?

I'm sure I'll have other questions in the next few months - thanks for all the info I've gotten so far!

 

[BC1836]

First time driving to WDW this October. 6 adults in a rented minivan - oh boy! I see quite a few folks from NJ - Toms River here. A couple of questions - how far can we use EZ Pass for the tolls (and any idea how much they are?) - and I keep reading that there are "SunPass Only" tolls in FL - could that be true?

I'm sure I'll have other questions in the next few months - thanks for all the info I've gotten so far!

Via I-95, EZ Pass at the DE Memorial Bridge, the Francis Scott Key Tunnel (Baltimore) and the MD toll. Nothing after that via I-95 and I-4. Seek info from others about the FL tolls (we never use those roads).

Suggestion: To start, take the GSP to exit #67 ("Pemberton" ---it's actually Barnegat) and take West Bay Ave. until it links in a few miles with 72W. After 20 minutes, that will link you with 70, which will take you to I-295 in Cherry Hill.

All the best!

 

[halssister]

We're driving from the Indianapolis area in a few days. We are thinking we will go I74 to Cincinnati then I 75. We had done the I65, I24, I75 route in the past (a few years ago) and it was awful getting through Nashville. I know that route is supposed to be shorter though. Has anyone gone either route recently? Which would you recommend? Thanks!

Curious which route you took and how it was!! We will be heading from northern Indiana through Indy and on down at the end of July, and planned on doing 65 to 24 to 75 like our previous trip. Wondering what your drive was like!

 

[CookieGVB]

Via I-95, EZ Pass at the DE Memorial Bridge, the Francis Scott Key Tunnel (Baltimore) and the MD toll. Nothing after that via I-95 and I-4. Seek info from others about the FL tolls (we never use those roads).

Suggestion: To start, take the GSP to exit #67 ("Pemberton" ---it's actually Barnegat) and take West Bay Ave. until it links in a few miles with 72W. After 20 minutes, that will link you with 70, which will take you to I-295 in Cherry Hill.

All the best!

Thanks for the tip. We are picking up the minivan at ACY. It was the only place that would accommodate a one-way rental. That could change closer to the date if Alamo runs a special to move their fleet to FL in the fall.

 

[marius97]

Curious which route you took and how it was!! We will be heading from northern Indiana through Indy and on down at the end of July, and planned on doing 65 to 24 to 75 like our previous trip. Wondering what your drive was like!

Not recently, but we've made that drive from northern Indiana ever summer for the last seven. About half have been Indy to Nashville to Chatannooga (sorry, I can never remember the roads, just the cities) and the other half have been Indy to Cincy, then 75 all the way down to Florida. After many years, we finally decided that we liked going through Cincy more. There are fewer big cities going that way. Plus, it avoids Nashville. We HATE driving through that town. We were run off the road by a truck there and that was just the tip of the iceberg with the traffic in that town....way worse than Atlanta rush hour.

 

[staceywj]

So excited to be going but dreading the ride. We are leaving from NJ. I haven't read all the pages and just wondering the best time to leave? Is it driving through the night? DH and I never drove more than 5 hours together and we have two kids ages 6 and 10. Any suggestions on where to stop and/or stay over?

 

[dvcville]

We're inside the 30 day mark till we hit the road. I guess it’s time to get serious about getting things in order and plan out our drive. We are not sure what time we should leave from Collegeville Pa. We have driven straight through in the past and each time have had a different experience with traffic and construction.We have made the trip leaving 9pm in the past and hit lane closures in VA and added 1 1/2 hours to our trip down I 95. We have started our trip in the early evening 5pm on a saturday and the ride only hit minor delays. We have left around 10am in the middle of the week ran into a lot of traffic in VA on a wednesday adding about 2hrs to our travel time. The early evening seemed to be the best but we are leaving on a friday this year. We are not sure when the weekend shore traffic will lighten up from PA, DE, MA & VA. Does anyone have any insight on this. we are thinking about leaving 6pm on a friday

 

[amcnj]

So excited to be going but dreading the ride. We are leaving from NJ. I haven't read all the pages and just wondering the best time to leave? Is it driving through the night? DH and I never drove more than 5 hours together and we have two kids ages 6 and 10. Any suggestions on where to stop and/or stay over?

The day of the week as well as time of year can affect the answers you might get to these questions.

And you have to decide if you can do things like an overnight drive, an early morning start, etc.

I can't do overnight, as I know I would doze off. But I am up early every day for work so getting up a little earlier and leaving 2:30 AM works for my sleeping habits, allows me to be passing DC 5:30 AM (and thus missing their rush hour if a weekday), and I arrive in the Orlando area around 6:30 PM, depending on the traffic, weather, stops, etc.

 

[wmcyip]

T-12 days for Drive #4.

It's been 6 long months since our last visit and ironically, I am sitting here making ADRs for our next trip...180 days from today.

 

[BC1836]

Greetings from the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa [the Walt Disney World Today TV channel plays in the background]!

We finally arrived here at 9:45 a.m. after stops in Richmond (1 night), Colonial Williamsburg (3 nights), Raleigh, NC (1 night) and Lake Beuna Vista (last night).

Driving on I-4 on Sunday was uneventful; in fact, no traffic slowdowns, even on Apopka (we made every green light from Exit #68 to the Holiday Inn, where we stayed last night).

All the best!

 

[amcnj]

Greetings from the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa [the Walt Disney World Today TV channel plays in the background]!

We finally arrived here at 9:45 a.m. after stops in Richmond (1 night), Colonial Williamsburg (3 nights), Raleigh, NC (1 night) and Lake Beuna Vista (last night).

Driving on I-4 on Sunday was uneventful; in fact, no traffic slowdowns, even on Apopka (we made every green light from Exit #68 to the Holiday Inn, where we stayed last night).

All the best!

Enjoy! Believe me you are not missing anything back here!

 

[kimatigger]

Leaving New Jersey (Jersey Shore)on a Wednesday in August. Trying to decide on times so we avoid traffic in the DC area. Any tips? Any other areas of concern. Maybe Richmond. Any advice appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[sharadoc]

We're inside the 30 day mark till we hit the road. I guess it’s time to get serious about getting things in order and plan out our drive. We are not sure what time we should leave from Collegeville Pa. We have driven straight through in the past and each time have had a different experience with traffic and construction.We have made the trip leaving 9pm in the past and hit lane closures in VA and added 1 1/2 hours to our trip down I 95. We have started our trip in the early evening 5pm on a saturday and the ride only hit minor delays. We have left around 10am in the middle of the week ran into a lot of traffic in VA on a wednesday adding about 2hrs to our travel time. The early evening seemed to be the best but we are leaving on a friday this year. We are not sure when the weekend shore traffic will lighten up from PA, DE, MA & VA. Does anyone have any insight on this. we are thinking about leaving 6pm on a friday

Hey neighbor. Friday could be the absolute worst day to leave, you'll hit Jersey shore traffic down 95 to the Commodore Barry, then Delaware and MD beaches, then Virginia beaches. In the summer, I think the only safe time to leave on a Friday would be about 4-5 AM.

The other issue for traffic is that overnight is the best time to close lanes and do major construction on highways, so you won't necessarily have smooth sailing driving overnight. We left at 4:30 one Saturday in June, and sat for over an hour in DC on 495 at 6:30am because of construction. Screwed up the timing, so we hit Virginia beach traffic. Annoying.

When do you plan to check in to WDW? It might be best to leave around 8 pm, stop in Virginia for a few hours to sleep, then get back on the road in Virginia by 9 am. Friday and Saturday are really the hardest days to drive from our direction to WDW in the summer.

Maybe want to consider driving out west to Harrisburg and taking the inland road.

 

[staceywj]

We check in on August 10th, which is a Monday, when would be the best time to leave NJ? We are avail anytime after Thursday at 3:00. Although, I would rather extend the trip at the end and stay somewhere on the way home. Any ideas?

 

[dvcville]

Hey neighbor. Friday could be the absolute worst day to leave, you'll hit Jersey shore traffic down 95 to the Commodore Barry, then Delaware and MD beaches, then Virginia beaches. In the summer, I think the only safe time to leave on a Friday would be about 4-5 AM.

The other issue for traffic is that overnight is the best time to close lanes and do major construction on highways, so you won't necessarily have smooth sailing driving overnight. We left at 4:30 one Saturday in June, and sat for over an hour in DC on 495 at 6:30am because of construction. Screwed up the timing, so we hit Virginia beach traffic. Annoying.

When do you plan to check in to WDW? It might be best to leave around 8 pm, stop in Virginia for a few hours to sleep, then get back on the road in Virginia by 9 am. Friday and Saturday are really the hardest days to drive from our direction to WDW in the summer.

Maybe want to consider driving out west to Harrisburg and taking the inland road.

I have been considering the inland route and the more I think about it it seems that may be our best option. I have been in the D.C. and VA area and their shore traffic start early afternoon just not sure when it lightens up. It may be the worst traffic I have ever been stuck in. It took me an hour to go 5 miles.

 

[amcnj]

Leaving New Jersey (Jersey Shore)on a Wednesday in August. Trying to decide on times so we avoid traffic in the DC area. Any tips? Any other areas of concern. Maybe Richmond. Any advice appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Don't quote me as I am going from my increasingly unreliable memory, but seem to recall reading in previous posts that DC rush hours times are 6-10 am and 3-7 pm.

I am an early morning departer (2:30 am), and pass DC around 5:30 am, and Richmond by 7 am so have not run into the morning rush hours.

 

[kittylady1972]

Don't quote me as I am going from my increasingly unreliable memory, but seem to recall reading in previous posts that DC rush hours times are 6-10 am and 3-7 pm.

I am an early morning departer (2:30 am), and pass DC around 5:30 am, and Richmond by 7 am so have not run into the morning rush hours.

Yep this is pretty accurate. You might be okay in DC between 6am and 6:30am but by the time you hit Northern VA you'd be in rush hour for sure!

Being from MD, I despise NoVA traffic.

We leave for Disney in two weeks and we are going to try a 2:30am departure just so we have a shot at making WDW by dinnertime. Usually we leave around 5am or so, so hopefully this will work out for us!

 

[amcnj]

Yep this is pretty accurate. You might be okay in DC between 6am and 6:30am but by the time you hit Northern VA you'd be in rush hour for sure!

Being from MD, I despise NoVA traffic.

We leave for Disney in two weeks and we are going to try a 2:30am departure just so we have a shot at making WDW by dinnertime. Usually we leave around 5am or so, so hopefully this will work out for us!

You should be OK. I am about an hour and ten minutes from the Delaware Memorial Bridge (and thus about an hour and a half from MD), and leaving 2:30 AM gets me in the WDW area around 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm, depending on stops, weather, traffic....

 

[sharadoc]

I have been considering the inland route and the more I think about it it seems that may be our best option. I have been in the D.C. and VA area and their shore traffic start early afternoon just not sure when it lightens up. It may be the worst traffic I have ever been stuck in. It took me an hour to go 5 miles.

Absolutely, we've done it too and never again. I don't think it lightens up until late on Saturday.