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

[dvczerfs]

Wow!! Who re wallpapered the boards. Lol just checking in. Just got back last week from a few days on emerald island. Sadly my sister in law passed away unexpectedly and went down to be with my oldest brother.
Biggest news for those of you not on FB., after 30 years, my wife had gotten into an air plane!!! Her mom and dad are snow birds and went down for a few days to visit. She figured if she ever had to get down there in hurry, she better start getting use to flying. Good thing they have bars in airports. Lol
Not to worry, she said it wasn't bad, she would do it again but still likes our drives. Lol
Well, being its the first day of spring, I have to go out and shovel and snow blow the storm we got today. Lol
Have a nice spring and drive safely!!!

 

[ddluvsdisney]

Wow!! Who re wallpapered the boards. Lol just checking in. Just got back last week from a few days on emerald island. Sadly my sister in law passed away unexpectedly and went down to be with my oldest brother.
Biggest news for those of you not on FB., after 30 years, my wife had gotten into an air plane!!! Her mom and dad are snow birds and went down for a few days to visit. She figured if she ever had to get down there in hurry, she better start getting use to flying. Good thing they have bars in airports. Lol
Not to worry, she said it wasn't bad, she would do it again but still likes our drives. Lol
Well, being its the first day of spring, I have to go out and shovel and snow blow the storm we got today. Lol
Have a nice spring and drive safely!!!

Welcome back Dave!
Sorry about your loss. Glad your wife didn't mind the flight.
It's snowing here too but not expecting much at least that's what they say.

 

[florep1]

Thanks, florep1!

All the best!

Wanted to add that we just came back from a day trip to Houston, and I'd like to add Buccess in Baytown to your stops. Gas was $1.99/gal while it was 15-20 cents higher around, clean restrooms, and don't forget the beaver nuggets.

 

[CopperWife]

I'm preparing for our 4th drive from IL (around 1200 miles one way) this spring. Now I'm spreadsheeting hours between places to time my way through Atlanta. Our current plan is to leave early in the AM, which has been our plan in the past and it didn't happen. We'll be travelling down with 8 kids in back, but they do travel well. We do bleed time though, but I suppose that's better than going crazy.

I'm about 11:20 from the north edge of Atlanta and I'm hoping to get through on the first day. Last time we didn't get out until noon because we and our travelling companions had water in our basements due to a freak storm, and we made it to Chattanooga...so I think we can get through ATL pretty easily if we don't have any start-off delays. Our last trip down was about 70% in torrential (to us) rains, which really wasn't pleasant. We were blessed that we did have a reprieve when going through TN, Monteagle...etc.

We'll stop overnight, too much precious cargo to risk overnight with sleepy drivers and myself/my wife getting tired.

I'd love to pull into WDW at a reasonable hour for once .

Hi there! Just wanted to chime in that we are in the same area as you. We are in the far northwest suburbs, about 15 minutes from the Wisconsin border. We've made the road trip to Disney twice now (and actually have a third planned ). Anyway, we have driven straight through both times as my husband has been working overnights and is used to it.

On our first trip in 2011, we left our home around 5:30pm on a Friday and made it though Atlanta just around sunrise on Saturday morning. On our last trip in 2013, I took better notes and we left our home at 5:25pm and were "hitting Atlanta" at 6:17am. We generally do drive-though for dinner on the way down (gives the kids something to do) and only stop for gas and bathroom breaks until we stop for breakfast. Hope this helps

 

[BC1836]

Good to read a post by dvczerfs! If you are not familiar with him, check out the All Time Driving Records on page one of this thread!

All the best.

 

[Bkk40in2011]

Thanks, florep1 for the I-10 tips. That was very helpful!

 

[Bkk40in2011]

BC1836 thanks for assisting us in finding info. We are lucky we will gas up in Beaumont and then head out so making it through Houston won't be a problem.

 

[pwdebbie]

Ours is Gwendolyn Penelope Snodgrass. (ĢPS, get it?). I also do better looking at something than hearing. This time in four weeks I should be heading south on 81.

 

[BC1836]

Ours is Gwendolyn Penelope Snodgrass. (ĢPS, get it?). I also do better looking at something than hearing. This time in four weeks I should be heading south on 81.

A 4/19 departure at approx. 6 p.m. will bring you to WDW when? [Straight thru drive? One overnight stop?]

All the best.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

It's official. We will be driving down in August. I had to use my airfare money PLUS some for a car repair. My 2006 Honda Accord's engine died. A rare tragedy but I replaced the engine since I do not want a car payment and I actually LOVE my car even though she left me stranded. My uncle is a mechanic and did it for $300 worth of labor. I just had to buy the engine and some other parts. Got a used engine with 40K miles on it for $1000. With a warranty.

But now my dilemma is whether to take my Accord or SO's 2010 Corolla. My car has been on the drive once in 2009. His Corolla is smaller and I don't know if the kids will tolerate it. My uncle says my car is fine to drive there.

It'll be my fourth trip driving down (and my kids fourth time). It will be SO's first time driving. He's actually looking forward to doing a road trip. The furthest he's driven is VA.

We plan on leaving on a Tuesday around 4 am. Hoping t get within an hour of WDW by 6ish. Stopping and staying overnight. Getting up early, stopping at Walmart for water and breakfast for the room, heading to resort to check in (or not with the new system) and then off to MK. Hoping to be in the MK by 11 am.

 

[patclairesmom]

It's official. We will be driving down in August. I had to use my airfare money PLUS some for a car repair. My 2006 Honda Accord's engine died. A rare tragedy but I replaced the engine since I do not want a car payment and I actually LOVE my car even though she left me stranded. My uncle is a mechanic and did it for $300 worth of labor. I just had to buy the engine and some other parts. Got a used engine with 40K miles on it for $1000. With a warranty.

But now my dilemma is whether to take my Accord or SO's 2010 Corolla. My car has been on the drive once in 2009. His Corolla is smaller and I don't know if the kids will tolerate it. My uncle says my car is fine to drive there.

It'll be my fourth trip driving down (and my kids fourth time). It will be SO's first time driving. He's actually looking forward to doing a road trip. The furthest he's driven is VA.

We plan on leaving on a Tuesday around 4 am. Hoping t get within an hour of WDW by 6ish. Stopping and staying overnight. Getting up early, stopping at Walmart for water and breakfast for the room, heading to resort to check in (or not with the new system) and then off to MK. Hoping to be in the MK by 11 am.

I would take your car since it's bigger. Highway miles are less of an impact on your car than driving around town, IMHO.

 

[Shir Kahn]

Looks like I might be better off leaving a day early. We've got some freezing rain/snow coming in for Tuesday afternoon, with wind gusts up into the 50s-70s. I was going to leave Wednesday morning but if that's coming in, I don't want to drive on crazy slippery highways! Hopefully I can get clear of it if I leave on Tuesday morning.

 

[minnie mum]

Good luck Shir Kahn and safe travels. Send us a report of your drive when you can.

 

[Shir Kahn]

Will do! I'm leaving in about 45 minutes!

 

[disneysteve]

I'm leaving in about 45 minutes!

Have a great trip!

 

[slusher]

Have a great trip Shir Kahn!

 

[SnackCredit]

We just came back from our trip yesterday. On our way down, we spent our first night visiting an 87-year-old old friend who retired to Pinehurst, NC. We left Central NJ before dawn (around 4 am or so) to make it to NC by late afternoon (had lunch at a ramen place in Durham and stopped at a winery along the way about 10 minutes from the friend's house). It was a good thing we got to her house when we did, because she talked A LOT and we would have stayed up later if we got there later. We left the next day at around 8:30 or 9 and made it to Orlando in time to check into our hotel and see Universal's Mardi Gras Parade at 7:45 that night.

On our way back, we left POR and crashed in a Motel 6 in Kissimmee near Disney property after going to the HDDR and returning to MK at 11 pm to use our last FP on Buzz Lightyear and my mom's last snack credit on a cupcake. (I prebooked the motel this time, because last year a lot of them were fully booked and we had to drive further down the road late at night until we found a very crummy place with an open room).

We left Kissimmee at around 9:30 or 10, but got stuck in a couple big traffic jams on I-4 for up to 2 hours. My mother wanted to get to Fayetteville, NC by 11 pm (which is our usual stopping point, it's halfway to FL for us). Those traffic jams wasted a lot of time for us, so we only got as far as Florence, SC for the night. The next day, we drove to the Carolina Premium Outlets, JR Outlet, and a winery in the Smithfield, NC area for about 4 hours. We then made it home to NJ by 10:30 pm.

One of the reasons we usually drive to FL is because of the outlet malls. The ones in NC are very good, especially because of the Carolina Pottery store where we get tons of interior decor. That friend was also really glad to see us.

 

[chepic]

24 More Days.....just had to shout it. I am so in need of a vacation. We had to buy a new car this year because the Saturn Vue died. Got ourselves a Ford Transit seats 7 so we should be very comfortable this drive! Lots of seating for the boys and plenty of plugs for their electric toys!

 

[BC1836]

We just came back from our trip yesterday. On our way down, we spent our first night visiting an 87-year-old old friend who retired to Pinehurst, NC. We left Central NJ before dawn (around 4 am or so) to make it to NC by late afternoon....

Thanks for the report!

How was traffic in southern MD and northern VA? And about what time did you cross into VA?

Thanks.

All the best!

 

[jm106]

I made a post about this but probably should have just asked in this helpful group. thanks for any input.
C/P
We are driving in June again to Orlando from NJ. The family wants to do Kennedy Space Center and Gatorland scared:not doing Disney this time due to cost.)
After 4 days in Orlando, we are driving to West Palm area.
I wondered if we should go to Kennedy before going to Orlando or after on our way to West palm Beach.

We leave early morning from NJ Saturday, stop over night in S Carolina.
Sunday- drive to Kennedy/Titusville(stay at Hilton.)
Monday Visit KSC then drive to Wyndham Bonnet

Check out Thursday. Go to Gatorland since it is a few hour park then drive to WP (we plan to arrive in evening as our friends we are visiting are working all day.)
--Other choice would be go right to Orlando then Kennedy Thursday then to West Palm that night. On the map, this seems out of the way a bit.