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

[jbharr1]

Google Maps definitely underestimates how long it takes to get through heavy traffic. If it lists a 10 minute delay, it will probably be 15.

waze is the only direction app i use. it's always been accurate for me.
iExit is also a must have app for interstate road trips

 

[Stratman50th]

This weekend I’m planning my next drive!! Later this summer I’ll be driving to Sanford airport to catch a flight back north for a few days to visit some family and friends. Lol. ( sorry, I’m way out of practice and have gotten use to the Florida, retired life.). I’ll be renting a car though when I get there. By the time I fly out it will be almost two years that I have been up north. I moved to Florida for a reason. Lol
I do miss the family and friends but, it’s only a two hour flight. I wanted to go earlier but with starting the new job and everything going on, just didn’t have time. Looking at somewhere between end of July to Labor Day. After that, it gets way too cold, grey and dead up there for me. I need blue, green and palm trees. Lol

I have no reason to go back. We drove up for a wedding in June of 21' and that was that. The family I have left are moving down here to Vero Beach in a couple of years. Many many years of making the long, boring trek down and back on 95 from MD. I don't got to do it no more!

 

[HerzerHerrick]

I don’t know how google calculates time but. I know when I use to drive back and forth, my main go to route always said it was an hour longer than my secondary option.
I fell for it a few times and crawled my way to Florida going their fastest route . I always seemed to beat my secondary, googles “fastest” way by three hours going the longer way. Lol
Google is a good tool to give you an idea but it sure isn’t to realistic when it comes to actual driving.
But, I’ll drive 20 miles out of my way so I don’t have to sit in traffic. Lol

As someone who goes to Atlanta every week for business I can tell you if your have the option to bypass Atlanta do it, even if it says it will add a hour to your trip. Chances are going through it will slow you by that much.

 

[fluffybunny88]

I'm not quite 1000 miles, 972 from my house in central Arkansas to bay lake tower if I go through Atlanta(which I don't), 944 if I don't and go through Dothan Alabama.

I thought I would post some of our experiences. My wife and I regularly...4-6 times a year do 400-600 mile road trips, and we have gone to Florida 4 times to Disney(I think), and 3 or 4 times to other areas in Florida.

I always do all the driving and navigating. She is in charge of snacks, any any questions I can't answer with google maps. I have seen others use wayze, I have gone back and forth, and I personally prefer google maps. Any GPS app can sometimes get confused(including dedicated GPS remember those when it wasn't in your phone? I feel old) But I am just most familiar with how it works, and how to search for things along the route such as rest stops, I also like the gas prices and how they show up in the app.

Our route to Disney is leave Central Arkansas, go to Memphis, then I-22 out of Memphis through Birmingham and then route 231 to Dothan Alabama. After Dothan continue on 231 until you reach I10, then its I10 to 75, then the turnpike, and we have found going the back way into Disney works best because we avoid I4. It is not interstate the whole way especially south of Birmingham, but it is very easy drive, 4 lane road for 95% of the way, just 2 lane for a very short period of time. I won't say its a pretty drive at all, but it is a nice easy drive.

When we drive to Disney we stop in Dothan Alabama. That is about 9 hours for us, which puts us in Disney the following day around lunch time. I have done the drive in one day to Florida and I'm always toast the next day, so for us to be ready to hit the ground running we split the drive up. The reason for Dothan is because the next good area to stop is another 2 hours down the road after Dothan which is a little too far for us. I usually book a hotel on the way down, but don't have one on the way home. I have done the drive home in one day, we have also stopped, it just depends on when we get on the road, and how tired I am.

 

[Shir Kahn]

As someone who goes to Atlanta every week for business I can tell you if your have the option to bypass Atlanta do it, even if it says it will add a hour to your trip. Chances are going through it will slow you by that much.

I always dread the Atlanta portion of our drive. Seems like no matter what time of day we go through, we end up crawling through. One year with a new GPS, I accidentally took an off-ramp while misreading what lane I should have been in and it literally cost us an hour, as there were 2 accidents in the way when we were trying to get back where we should have been! My fault for that one, but ugh, definitely hate driving through Atlanta regardless!

 

[shafke]

waze is the only direction app i use. it's always been accurate for me.
iExit is also a must have app for interstate road trips

We used Waze on our last drive to FL at end of Dec. It sent us on a detour while we were on a detour.

 

[jbharr1]

I always dread the Atlanta portion of our drive

for my august trip i'm staying the night near knoxville. normally i'd take 75 south from there but i'm considering taking 40 to 26 to 95. google estimates my trip goes from 9.5 hours to 11 hours. i'd miss atlanta though and i've done 75 twice, a change of scenery is attractive to me. arrival time isn't a big deal, we have no plans but to unpack and setup the rooms.

thoughts?

 

[LadyBeBop]

for my august trip i'm staying the night near knoxville. normally i'd take 75 south from there but i'm considering taking 40 to 26 to 95. google estimates my trip goes from 9.5 hours to 11 hours. i'd miss atlanta though and i've done 75 twice, a change of scenery is attractive to me. arrival time isn't a big deal, we have no plans but to unpack and setup the rooms.

thoughts?

40-26-95 is a nice change of pace drive. Assuming light traffic through Atlanta, an additional 90 minutes seems about right. We've drove it a few times, and it didn't seem like an additional 90 minutes. However, my in-laws used to live about 45 minutes east of Knoxville, and we went that way to stop at their house.

Have you ever driven it before? 40 east to Asheville is a little scary. It's through the mountains and the roads are more winding than from Jellico to Knoxville on 75. 26 is long and boring. Sorta like 75 in Georgia south of Atlanta. 95...well you have the anticipation of being close to Disney.

Since time is not a problem on arrival day, can I suggest a pretty, alternative route? Especially if you've driven the Jellico to Knoxville mountain route a number of times? The Cumberland Gap Parkway route from Corbin, KY to Newport, TN. Take 25E off I-75 in Corbin, and travel it the approximately 120 miles until you pick up I-40 going west in Newport. Pretty drive; almost all four lane highway going 55 MPH. You go through parts of the Cumberland Gap National Park. And it's actually not as mountainous as the I-75 route. You go up and down one mountain at 55 MPH. Beautiful drive. You actually don't have to go all the way to Newport to pick up I-40. You can pick up I-81 south at Morristown and take that to I-40. Less than a 10 minute drive on 40. The only problem with that route...you said you want to stop for the night in Knoxville? There is about an hour stretch between Middlesboro (where the park is) and Morristown where there isn't good places to stay. And that is probably when you'd want to stop. You'd still be that much closer to Disney if you stay in Morristown or Newport.

 

[jbharr1]

40-26-95 is a nice change of pace drive. Assuming light traffic through Atlanta, an additional 90 minutes seems about right. We've drove it a few times, and it didn't seem like an additional 90 minutes. However, my in-laws used to live about 45 minutes east of Knoxville, and we went that way to stop at their house.

Have you ever driven it before? 40 east to Asheville is a little scary. It's through the mountains and the roads are more winding than from Jellico to Knoxville on 75. 26 is long and boring. Sorta like 75 in Georgia south of Atlanta. 95...well you have the anticipation of being close to Disney.

Since time is not a problem on arrival day, can I suggest a pretty, alternative route? Especially if you've driven the Jellico to Knoxville mountain route a number of times? The Cumberland Gap Parkway route from Corbin, KY to Newport, TN. Take 25E off I-75 in Corbin, and travel it the approximately 120 miles until you pick up I-40 going west in Newport. Pretty drive; almost all four lane highway going 55 MPH. You go through parts of the Cumberland Gap National Park. And it's actually not as mountainous as the I-75 route. You go up and down one mountain at 55 MPH. Beautiful drive. You actually don't have to go all the way to Newport to pick up I-40. You can pick up I-81 south at Morristown and take that to I-40. Less than a 10 minute drive on 40. The only problem with that route...you said you want to stop for the night in Knoxville? There is about an hour stretch between Middlesboro (where the park is) and Morristown where there isn't good places to stay. And that is probably when you'd want to stop. You'd still be that much closer to Disney if you stay in Morristown or Newport.

my aunt and uncle live in tellico village, i say knoxville because it's more known. We are coming from minneapolis so if it weren't for them i'd drive thru nashville to chattanooga.

75 thru georgia is possibly the worst part of the drive. straight and flat. and my experience is state trooper every 40 miles or so it seemed.

thanks for the info. i feel a little less crazy for considering an alternate route.

 

[dvczerfs]

4 weeks till my 2200 mile trip. Just a few things a little different.
Im flying and the trip is backwards from all my other trips. Florida to Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania to Florida for the return leg. Lol

 

[OKW Lover]

I just completed a solo ~2,000 round trip from my home very close to the MK to an event in Xenia OH. Being retired, and not really a road warrior, I had the luxury of time so I split the driving up into three days each way.

The route is basically 429 to FL Turnpike to I-75. Other than Atlanta, and the aftermath of a fatal accident in Tennessee, the traffic was fine the whole time. Average MPG in a RAV4 Hybrid was just over 37. Gas costs ranged from a high of $3.50 in Ohio to a low of $2.87 in northern GA.

 

[dvczerfs]

I just completed a solo ~2,000 round trip from my home very close to the MK to an event in Xenia OH. Being retired, and not really a road warrior, I had the luxury of time so I split the driving up into three days each way.

The route is basically 429 to FL Turnpike to I-75. Other than Atlanta, and the aftermath of a fatal accident in Tennessee, the traffic was fine the whole time. Average MPG in a RAV4 Hybrid was just over 37. Gas costs ranged from a high of $3.50 in Ohio to a low of $2.87 in northern GA.

Believe it or not, the person who has driven almost two million miles in his life can’t stand driving anymore. Lol. I’m not even looking forward to the drive to and from the airport. Lol
I thought maybe it’s because I’m getting older but I think I just drove myself out.
I drove for work, drove to Florida for all those years and now that I’m retired and live by the mouse, somewhere in me feels I’ve finally reach my destination.
It is the only answer I have come up with. I use to love driving, the open road, watching the sun rise, watching the sun set, stopping at rest stops and even the smell of a gas station on just about a daily basis, feeling the engine through the steering wheel. Cruising I81 & I77 all those years and just can’t bring myself to do it anymore. I haven’t been up north in over a year and half. I have some friends I need to visit and a 50th wedding anniversary party to attend this time. There were a few friends I didn’t get to see before we moved two years ago, just ran out of time between selling a house, packing and moving.
It’s weird how i just lost the urge to drive.

 

[justreading]

Believe it or not, the person who has driven almost two million miles in his life can’t stand driving anymore. Lol. I’m not even looking forward to the drive to and from the airport. Lol
I thought maybe it’s because I’m getting older but I think I just drove myself out.
I drove for work, drove to Florida for all those years and now that I’m retired and live by the mouse, somewhere in me feels I’ve finally reach my destination.
It is the only answer I have come up with. I use to love driving, the open road, watching the sun rise, watching the sun set, stopping at rest stops and even the smell of a gas station on just about a daily basis, feeling the engine through the steering wheel. Cruising I81 & I77 all those years and just can’t bring myself to do it anymore. I haven’t been up north in over a year and half. I have some friends I need to visit and a 50th wedding anniversary party to attend this time. There were a few friends I didn’t get to see before we moved two years ago, just ran out of time between selling a house, packing and moving.
It’s weird how i just lost the urge to drive.

You have permission to stay put and enjoy the palm trees.

 

[Minniedap]

We are leaving from Wisconsin next week for our 20+ trips to Disney. I'm debating between I-57 through Illinois or I-65 through Indiana. Can anyone who has been down either route recently tell me about any road construction.

 

[BLTtinkerbell]

We’ll be driving down from MA to WDW next week.
Any advice or suggestions?
Thank you!
Safe travels to all!

 

[OADad]

We’ll be driving down from MA to WDW next week.
Any advice or suggestions?
Thank you!
Safe travels to all!

We did this in June, via the "western route" (95-287-78-81-77-26-95). I don't know if it was faster, but certainly seemed much more pleasant than when we drove 95 all the way in 2021.

We stopped overnight in Charlotte and enjoyed a nice evening there and a much shorter driving day 2.

 

[Mikey15]

I just completed a solo ~2,000 round trip from my home very close to the MK to an event in Xenia OH. Being retired, and not really a road warrior, I had the luxury of time so I split the driving up into three days each way.

The route is basically 429 to FL Turnpike to I-75. Other than Atlanta, and the aftermath of a fatal accident in Tennessee, the traffic was fine the whole time. Average MPG in a RAV4 Hybrid was just over 37. Gas costs ranged from a high of $3.50 in Ohio to a low of $2.87 in northern GA.

Now you’ve got me curious what took you from “not far from MK” to not far from my hometown!

But you’re 100% right. Other than Atlanta, it’s really not a bad drive. The merged I-40/I-75 stretch in Knoxville has given me trouble before and I think the Turnpike needs 3 lanes each way now, but if Atlanta weren’t right on that route it’d be just peachy!

 

[OKW Lover]

Now you’ve got me curious what took you from “not far from MK” to not far from my hometown!

If you live in that area of Ohio you are probably familiar with the annual invasion of people driving cars with multiple antennae.

I"m a amateure radio operator and was attending the Hamvention up there.

 

[BLTtinkerbell]

When staying overnight while traveling on 95 to/from WDW, do you prefer Hampton Inn or Fairfield Inn? Other favorites?
Reasons why?
Thanks!

 

[Mikey15]

When staying overnight while traveling on 95 to/from WDW, do you prefer Hampton Inn or Fairfield Inn? Other favorites?
Reasons why?
Thanks!

I think that's a Coke vs Pepsi type question. Hampton Inn is Hilton, so you can get or use Hilton Honors points. Fairfield is Mariott / Bonvoy. Holiday Inn Express is IHG.

I'd put all three of those on the same tier, but location can make a difference. Had a horrible Holiday Inn Express that was too noisy from the highway (not I-95, this was Chicagoland), but a Hampton Inn the next night at the same exit was set back farther and was a quiet, comfortable, amazing experience.

We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn in Florence, SC last fall and that was great, for sure. They're usually $20-$40/night over Hampton Inn though, and if every Hampton was like the Chicago one I'd be happy staying there every time.