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

[sparkellyy]

Another question, which I am sure I will have plenty between now and September!

Driving from Rhode Island, originally going to leave at night. But We are debating on leaving in the morning vs night, this will be the day after labor day. Any thoughts as far as traffic? Where should we expect the worst of it so we could plan accordingly?

Thanks!!!!

 

[Tanooki]

Hi fellow drivers,
We are thinking about driving down to WDW once again from NJ and will be taking the inland route this time. Can anyone recommend a safe clean place to stay on the way back near VA? We are used to the I-95 route but aren't familiar with the inland route and would appreciate any suggestions.
Thank you!

I don't know if you got your answer already but we drive down from Montreal and we also use the inland route. We always stop at the Comfort Suites in Salem (VA). You might want to stop further along as we have a few more hours of road than you. Hopefully someone else can give you advice as well

 

[BC1836]

Nothing better than turning off your vehicle's engine in a WDW resort parking lot after a drive.

All the best!

 

[justreading]

Nothing better than turning off your vehicle's engine in a WDW resort parking lot after a drive.

All the best!

You've missed a few snow storms since you've been gone. Stay down there at least one more month! Wishing I was right where you are now. Enjoy!

 

[BC1836]

You've missed a few snow storms since you've been gone. Stay down there at least one more month! Wishing I was right where you are now. Enjoy!

If you would be willing to pay for an additional month at the GFR's club level, we are ready to adjust our plans!

All the best!

 

[dnc724]

Hi all! Looking for some advice here. My boyfriend and I have been down to WDW many times, have a trip planned for April, and another for May... but have never driven. We are coming from Long Island. Since we are teachers, we have two weeks off in August and are thinking about taking a drive down. We would like to stop and sight see at three different places on the way down, but are unsure of the best places to stop. We're planning on leaving August 19 and driving to the first stop. We would like to stay there the night of the 19th, sight see the 20th, and head to stop #2 on the 21st (and repeat two more times). Does anyone have any suggestions on where to stop to break the trip up equally? We'll be staying in WDW for a week before taking the Auto Train back up. Any and all help is much appreciated.

 

[ncc1701]

Hi all! Looking for some advice here. My boyfriend and I have been down to WDW many times, have a trip planned for April, and another for May... but have never driven. We are coming from Long Island. Since we are teachers, we have two weeks off in August and are thinking about taking a drive down. We would like to stop and sight see at three different places on the way down, but are unsure of the best places to stop. We're planning on leaving August 19 and driving to the first stop. We would like to stay there the night of the 19th, sight see the 20th, and head to stop #2 on the 21st (and repeat two more times). Does anyone have any suggestions on where to stop to break the trip up equally? We'll be staying in WDW for a week before taking the Auto Train back up. Any and all help is much appreciated.

Do you want to stay close to I95 ? Williamsburg VA is about an hour east of I95 ( from Richmond) & Richmond area might also be an area to explore. For the 2nd night Savanah GA might work. My other suggestion is to use Mapquest or Google to get your directions. Then see what would be 1/4 , 1/2
& 3/4 points of the trip and figure out what might be nearby or at least a resonable distance away. You have Philadelphia, Balltimore, DC right off of I95 plus Annapolis, Charlottesville & Charleston if you want to venture off .

 

[dnc724]

Do you want to stay close to I95 ? Williamsburg VA is about an hour east of I95 ( from Richmond) & Richmond area might also be an area to explore. For the 2nd night Savanah GA might work. My other suggestion is to use Mapquest or Google to get your directions. Then see what would be 1/4 , 1/2
& 3/4 points of the trip and figure out what might be nearby or at least a resonable distance away. You have Philadelphia, Balltimore, DC right off of I95 plus Annapolis, Charlottesville & Charleston if you want to venture off .

I'd like to stay close to I95. I tried getting some assistance from one of my coteachers (who is originally from the Carolinas) but wound up getting more confused. The way we have it right now is Baltimore, Raleigh/Durham, and Charleston. Slightly concerned about the Raleigh/Durham stop though since I was told there's not a whole lot to do over there. Looking to drive about 300-400 miles a day since I will be the only one doing the driving and don't do well with long distance driving.

 

[ncc1701]

I'd like to stay close to I95. I tried getting some assistance from one of my coteachers (who is originally from the Carolinas) but wound up getting more confused. The way we have it right now is Baltimore, Raleigh/Durham, and Charleston. Slightly concerned about the Raleigh/Durham stop though since I was told there's not a whole lot to do over there. Looking to drive about 300-400 miles a day since I will be the only one doing the driving and don't do well with long distance driving.

Raleigh is a bit off of I95 as is Charleston. Having been to both I found more to do in Charleston. If you belong to AAA get the guidebook for the Carolinas (it's free for members). That will give you ideas of what to see .

 

[BC1836]

Our 44th 2,000+ mile round trip WDW was completed this afternoon!

The traffic from Petersburg, VA (where we stayed overnight) was relatively heavy but with very few slowdowns. However, the poor folks heading south on I-95 in VA (between mms 130 and 145 were stop and go). Lots of southern bound traffic entering DE from the DE Memorial Bridge.

Lowest regular gas price: Petersburg ($2.01 a gallon).

Not too bad arriving at the Jersey Shore in 66-degrees on February 18!

I-95 News: The long awaited GA welcome center (heading south) will be opening next month.

More I-95 News: Yesterday, FL completed two new highway signs built within attractive concrete farming. One welcomes you as you enter Florida, and the one, on the northern side, bids you farewell. The fate of the old metal alligator sign is unknown.

Countdown to late April, our next drive to WDW.

All the best!

 

[AaronInWI]

I returned home late last week from our 3rd drive to WDW from Wisconsin. (I apologize to our thread founder @BC1836 for not giving an update on I4 -- I didn't venture online except to check emails until this past weekend. And besides that, I got my directions all messed up and realized that we wouldn't be taking I4 this trip, except for a trip to Disney Springs from our overnight stay at the Drury Inn in the Universal Studios area.)

Our drive down was split into three days, mainly to accommodate for any sketchy winter driving conditions. Thankfully, we had no issues whatsoever, with weather or with traffic. We drove 10 hours from Wisconsin to Manchester, TN the first day. Day 2 was a shorter (6-hour) drive to Valdosta, GA, with a brief stop in Vienna, GA to pick up some treats at Ellis Brothers Pecans. We chose Valdosta largely because we really like Drury Inn hotels, and that was the one on our route that made the most sense at which to stop. Then day three was a short 3-hour drive to Disney Springs. I have mixed feelings on a 3-day drive. On one hand, it allowed us to get to Disney Springs before lunch, so we could spend our day there before checking into the Orlando Drury Inn (which we only stayed in one night until we checked into Bay Lake Tower for the remainder of the trip.) On the other hand, I feel like we wasted a lot of time in a hotel room when we could have been driving. Our next drive will be sometime in the late summer of 2019, so we'll have to figure out a good plan for that drive.

The drive home was just as pleasant. Around noon on Feb 13, we drove from Bay Lake back to the Drury Inn in Valdosta. We stayed the night there, drove to Mt Vernon, IL the next day, and then home on Feb 15. This allowed us to time our drive to avoid all major rush hour traffic in Orlando, Atlanta, Nashville, and Chicago. The only issue we had was some tree removal in Nashville, which slowed traffic to a crawl for about 5 minutes until we got through it. We had a little rain on the drive home as well, but nothing that affected our drive at all. I'm 99.9% certain we'll replicate this drive next time.

Now it is back to reality. Ugh.

 

[Hopefully]

Is there an online App to help plan driving trips? I was thinking something like the old fashioned AAA Triptiks. I am a planner and I am looking for any apps folks recommend. We will be driving from MA to Orlando via a stop to see grandkids in Annapolis and a stop to see friends outside of Savannah. But the trip home will be more of a straight shot and I am trying to understand stops on the way north.
TIA

 

[BC1836]

I-4 continues to be a problem. Hello! (How do locals cope with it each day going to work?!?)

Even I-95, as you approach exit 260-B (I-4 West...Tampa), is under heavy construction.

But then again, we could be fighting for space in the overhead bins, getting our bodies scanned, making sure our luggage wasn't over the limit, dealing with delayed or canceled flight, etc.

All the best!

 

[ddluvsdisney]

I-4 continues to be a problem. Hello! (How do locals cope with it each day going to work?!?)

Even I-95, as you approach exit 260-B (I-4 West...Tampa), is under heavy construction.

But then again, we could be fighting for space in the overhead bins, getting our bodies scanned, making sure our luggage wasn't over the limit, dealing with delayed or canceled flight, etc.

All the best!

My DH commuted to work on I4 for 3 years. A 10 mile drive took him a half hour. It was awful!!! I hate driving in FL.

 

[nono]

Another question, which I am sure I will have plenty between now and September!

Driving from Rhode Island, originally going to leave at night. But We are debating on leaving in the morning vs night, this will be the day after labor day. Any thoughts as far as traffic? Where should we expect the worst of it so we could plan accordingly?

Thanks!!!!

Any reason you can't start the trip on Labor Day?

 

[sparkellyy]

Any reason you can't start the trip on Labor Day?

Unfortunately we all have to work! Originally wanted to leave the night of labor day but then found out we all have to be there, as additional drivers, when picking up the rental.

 

[karalecia26]

After being able to fly down the past 2 times we have gone we are back to driving this summer! Cost of flights right now are about $150 more per person than we paid last summer and when we have 5 flights to buy it is crazy! We are hoping that they will go down, but for now we are content to drive. Plan is to leave on a Friday morning and driving as far as we can. One way is 1500 miles and we have done both driving all the way through and stopping and staying on the way down. We are just excited to be able to spend a week at our favorite place on earth!

 

[Tanooki]

Leaving early tomorrow morning for our 10th drive!
Planning on doing our usual thing (87-287-78-81-77-26-95-4) but we got a Sunpass so we'd be able to bypass traffic on I-4 if needed.

Can't wait!

 

[chini1091]

Driving down from Jersey(Forked River) late June. Planning on leaving on Saturday and driving straight thru for Sunday Check In. Looking for any advice or tips on preferable times for departure and problem traffic areas on weekends. Thanks in advance.

 

[lchuck]

I'm looking for some advice on where to stop and drive times through Atlanta. We've driven several times from Omaha over the past few years, but each time we stopped about 45 minutes west of Atlanta and stayed with relatives for a day on our way down. This time our plans are different and we're looking to make it through Atlanta before stopping. Any advice on how far through we need to be in order to avoid Atlanta traffic the next day? Also, any towns/suburbs that would be good to stop at? We're not looking for a high end hotel, just want to avoid anything too low end. Also, we'll likely be leaving Omaha very early in the morning and want to time it so we're going through Atlanta well after rush hour is over. How long does it normally last and is there a time when it's best to be driving through? Thanks for the help!