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

[Mikey15]

I am trying to talk my Wife into the idea of driving straight thru from Iowa, 18 hours but so far no luck. It would increase our park days by 1 so maybe that will work.

Straight through can be a tough sell unless you're both in the same mindset.

But you can find some place she'd like to see along the way too!

 

[Tanooki]

On our way back after another magical vacation. We did drive straight through on our way down (25 hours with food-gas-restroom breaks) and it went very well. So much so that we are repeating the experience on our way home. Since there’s a snowstorm going on at home right now, we left later in order to let it pass and not catch up (love the flexibility of driving, right?).
We did take advantage of the express lanes on I-4 (first time for us) and we just loved them!

 

[ddluvsdisney]

Heading down for our annual April drive. Driving straight through as usual. Excited about my DS21 and his girlfriend joining us!! We’ll have another driver to help.

 

[dvczerfs]

Heading down for our annual April drive. Driving straight through as usual. Excited about my DS21 and his girlfriend joining us!! We’ll have another driver to help.

Let me know if you want to meet up while you’re here!

 

[jbharr1]

i'm back. planning my third drive from minneapolis in august. will stop for the night near knoxville with some relatives on the way down. maybe on way back but that makes for a very long second day.

 

[Jfsag123]

We will be driving to WDW in July, coming from Texas. It will be our first time driving since 2018. With the cost of airfare (and us now being a family of 5) and uncertainty in flying, we figured we would go back to our driving days. We road tripped every time for our first several trips, so the journey isn't new, but it's been a while. I'm wondering what folks would recommend as the best way for handling the tolls these days. Are they still cash pay? Locally we are cashless. We have a toll pass people from the area can buy and vehicles without the pass will be mailed a bill. I know central Florida has the Sun Pass, but I'm wondering how they handle non-locals/frequent travelers.

 

[Stratman50th]

We will be driving to WDW in July, coming from Texas. It will be our first time driving since 2018. With the cost of airfare (and us now being a family of 5) and uncertainty in flying, we figured we would go back to our driving days. We road tripped every time for our first several trips, so the journey isn't new, but it's been a while. I'm wondering what folks would recommend as the best way for handling the tolls these days. Are they still cash pay? Locally we are cashless. We have a toll pass people from the area can buy and vehicles without the pass will be mailed a bill. I know central Florida has the Sun Pass, but I'm wondering how they handle non-locals/frequent travelers.

If it were me, I would invest in a Sunpass PRO. They work throughout the state of Florida as well as much of the east coast. It's a transponder that you can move from car to car, (suction cups) costs about $25. Use a credit card and load it as needed. I keep mine set at $25, but I live here. If it's linked to your credit card it will automatically update from that card as needed. There is no annual fee. I had one about 4 years before I moved here permanently and it worked great. You can order them on line, buy them at welcome centers, or at any Publix in Florida.

 

[sheilafri]

I am trying to talk my Wife into the idea of driving straight thru from Iowa, 18 hours but so far no luck. It would increase our park days by 1 so maybe that will work.

I’m also from Iowa. I could have done this when younger but not now. Consider a 12-13 hour first day, then get into the parks somewhat later in the day. Depending on parks hours when you’re going you can still get in a lot of hours. We regularly drive in with a 6-7 hour drive, then hit the parks to stretch our legs. But we’ve been enough now that we don’t need to spend every open hour in the parks to justify the ticket price.

 

[sheilafri]

We will be driving to WDW in July, coming from Texas. It will be our first time driving since 2018. With the cost of airfare (and us now being a family of 5) and uncertainty in flying, we figured we would go back to our driving days. We road tripped every time for our first several trips, so the journey isn't new, but it's been a while. I'm wondering what folks would recommend as the best way for handling the tolls these days. Are they still cash pay? Locally we are cashless. We have a toll pass people from the area can buy and vehicles without the pass will be mailed a bill. I know central Florida has the Sun Pass, but I'm wondering how they handle non-locals/frequent travelers.

Here is some info from the SunPass website you might find helpful:

Do I need to purchase a SunPass PRO if I already have an E-ZPass, E-Pass Xtra or UNI?
No. If you already have an E-ZPass, E-Pass Xtra, or UNI you will not need to purchase a SunPass PRO as they can be used in the same states. It is important to only have one transponder in your vehicle to avoid duplicate charges.


How much does it cost to purchase a SunPass transponder?
The SunPass PRO transponder costs $14.95 plus tax and the SunPass Mini transponder costs $4.99 plus tax. Both units allow customers to have tolls electronically deducted from a prepaid account. Click here to learn more.

 

[Jfsag123]

If it were me, I would invest in a Sunpass PRO. They work throughout the state of Florida as well as much of the east coast. It's a transponder that you can move from car to car, (suction cups) costs about $25. Use a credit card and load it as needed. I keep mine set at $25, but I live here. If it's linked to your credit card it will automatically update from that card as needed. There is no annual fee. I had one about 4 years before I moved here permanently and it worked great. You can order them on line, buy them at welcome centers, or at any Publix in Florida.

View attachment 748419

Here is some info from the SunPass website you might find helpful:

Do I need to purchase a SunPass PRO if I already have an E-ZPass, E-Pass Xtra or UNI?
No. If you already have an E-ZPass, E-Pass Xtra, or UNI you will not need to purchase a SunPass PRO as they can be used in the same states. It is important to only have one transponder in your vehicle to avoid duplicate charges.


How much does it cost to purchase a SunPass transponder?
The SunPass PRO transponder costs $14.95 plus tax and the SunPass Mini transponder costs $4.99 plus tax. Both units allow customers to have tolls electronically deducted from a prepaid account. Click here to learn more.

Thanks y'all! I realized what I'm really wondering is what do they do for folks who have not pre-purchased any sort of pre-paid pass. I don't really need or want any of the Florida/East coast passes, as I'm from North Texas, so pretty much would only use it for this trip. We are likely to return to flying next year and then skip WDW all together the year after that. So since it's just a one time thing, I'd prefer to just do whatever they do for non-pass folks. I figure there has to be something in place, as with a destination as popular as the central Florida theme parks they have to be dealing with out of state drivers with no pre-paid stuff all the time.

 

[Stratman50th]

Thanks y'all! I realized what I'm really wondering is what do they do for folks who have not pre-purchased any sort of pre-paid pass. I don't really need or want any of the Florida/East coast passes, as I'm from North Texas, so pretty much would only use it for this trip. We are likely to return to flying next year and then skip WDW all together the year after that. So since it's just a one time thing, I'd prefer to just do whatever they do for non-pass folks. I figure there has to be something in place, as with a destination as popular as the central Florida theme parks they have to be dealing with out of state drivers with no pre-paid stuff all the time.

Hmmm, honestly I'd be guessing because I only use a SunPass for all tolls. Here is my educated guess. Most toll roads in the state have toll booths where you can pay cash. An alternative is pay by plate where they take a photo of your tag and they send you your toll bill. Finally, I don't think the Florida Turnpike has toll booths. It's either transponder or photo. I'm sure someone will have more info..... There always is! Ha..

 

[ddluvsdisney]

We will be driving to WDW in July, coming from Texas. It will be our first time driving since 2018. With the cost of airfare (and us now being a family of 5) and uncertainty in flying, we figured we would go back to our driving days. We road tripped every time for our first several trips, so the journey isn't new, but it's been a while. I'm wondering what folks would recommend as the best way for handling the tolls these days. Are they still cash pay? Locally we are cashless. We have a toll pass people from the area can buy and vehicles without the pass will be mailed a bill. I know central Florida has the Sun Pass, but I'm wondering how they handle non-locals/frequent travelers.

I we also have a UNI which works up and down east coast. We drive from MA
My son has an E-Z pass that works fine too
The express lane on I-4 says Sunpass only- NOT True!!

 

[tguz]

I’m also from Iowa. I could have done this when younger but not now. Consider a 12-13 hour first day, then get into the parks somewhat later in the day. Depending on parks hours when you’re going you can still get in a lot of hours. We regularly drive in with a 6-7 hour drive, then hit the parks to stretch our legs. But we’ve been enough now that we don’t need to spend every open hour in the parks to justify the ticket price.

We usually do a 13 hour drive the first day and then finish up the second day. The 13 hour drive puts us at around Ozark, AL when we go the Memphis route instead of hitting Nashville and Atlanta. Since we get there later in the day we have usually spent time at Icon Park and the Outlets on I Drive. Just curious, what route do you take from Iowa?

 

[happily single]

I we also have a UNI which works up and down east coast. We drive from MA
My son has an E-Z pass that works fine too
The express lane on I-4 says Sunpass only- NOT True!!

Have you made the drive recently? Wondering on the total toll amount from Mass/RI to Orlando

 

[tguz]

Hmmm, honestly I'd be guessing because I only use a SunPass for all tolls. Here is my educated guess. Most toll roads in the state have toll booths where you can pay cash. An alternative is pay by plate where they take a photo of your tag and they send you your toll bill. Finally, I don't think the Florida Turnpike has toll booths. It's either transponder or photo. I'm sure someone will have more info..... There always is! Ha..

I am not sure how it works either because I do not have anything like Sunpass since we are out of state and the last trip I assumed it was pay by plate as we did not have to stop to pay tolls but as far as I know, we never received any bill for tolls. It is a mystery.

 

[dvczerfs]

Hmmm, honestly I'd be guessing because I only use a SunPass for all tolls. Here is my educated guess. Most toll roads in the state have toll booths where you can pay cash. An alternative is pay by plate where they take a photo of your tag and they send you your toll bill. Finally, I don't think the Florida Turnpike has toll booths. It's either transponder or photo. I'm sure someone will have more info..... There always is! Ha..

I can’t help either with the turnpike. I use it about twice a year and only for one exit. Lol.

 

[dvczerfs]

I am not sure how it works either because I do not have anything like Sunpass since we are out of state and the last trip I assumed it was pay by plate as we did not have to stop to pay tolls but as far as I know, we never received any bill for tolls. It is a mystery.

If you didn’t get a bill, most likely they didn’t get your plate. It happened to me in North Carolina. We didn’t get a bill so I called, it was about six months later and the lady said it’s not in the system, looks like a free one. Lol.

 

[dvczerfs]

Here is some info from the SunPass website you might find helpful:

Do I need to purchase a SunPass PRO if I already have an E-ZPass, E-Pass Xtra or UNI?
No. If you already have an E-ZPass, E-Pass Xtra, or UNI you will not need to purchase a SunPass PRO as they can be used in the same states. It is important to only have one transponder in your vehicle to avoid duplicate charges.


How much does it cost to purchase a SunPass transponder?
The SunPass PRO transponder costs $14.95 plus tax and the SunPass Mini transponder costs $4.99 plus tax. Both units allow customers to have tolls electronically deducted from a prepaid account. Click here to learn more.

A know a few people with EZ Pass, they moved down here from up north and for some reason, mainly on 419, were getting toll bills in the mail. The readers were not reading their transponders. They switched over to SunPass. Most likely just a glitch in the system with it being somewhat new. Not bad if you’re just visiting but if you live here, it’s a real pain. I’ve had SunPass for years and never had a problem but I only used it in North Carolina and Florida and now I only use it in Florida, I’m not leaving. Lol

 

[Stratman50th]

I had both a SunPass and an EZpass MD. This was before they were interchangeable. I maintained the EZpass for several years after moving to Florida for the rare trip up north. I paid a yearly fee to keep the EZpass up. I cancelled the EZpass once the SunPass PRO came out.

 

[bluezy]

I am not sure how it works either because I do not have anything like Sunpass since we are out of state and the last trip I assumed it was pay by plate as we did not have to stop to pay tolls but as far as I know, we never received any bill for tolls. It is a mystery.

That happened to us in TX a few years ago. We were on a highway that used pay-by-plate but we never got a bill. I'm convinced that one day I'll get a bill from a collection agency indicating I owe $743 in fees and late charges for a $4 toll I didn't pay 3 years ago...even though I never got a bill.