For 2,000+ mile round-trip drivers only!

[amcnj]

We typically leave between 2:30 and 3 AM. Depending on weather, traffic, and stops, we reach FL anywhere from 3:45 to 6:30 PM. We used to stay in Altamonte Springs or Winter Park, but the last few times have gone to Orlando, arriving between 6:30 and 8:45 PM for all of these destinations.

On a recent "problem free" trip, we left at 2:20 AM, had almost two hours in stops, and still arrived in Orlando (stayed right across the street from Universal) at 6:25 PM. Just over 14 hours of actual driving time, and 16 hours overall.

 

[disneyfan55]

Congratulations to disneyfan55 for post #3,000 on this site!

Now then, any recent reports on the lengthy I-95 construction in GA?

Thanks! This is a great thread! Many of us drive a great distance to get to WDW and quite a few on I 95! It seems each trip there is some type of major construction in at least one state! I recall quite a few trips with the construction in VA. Now it's all done! GA turn. IN my first few drives VA didn't even have 95 and there were many other stretchs along the route off 95. Now (I guess with the exception of NJ!) 95 is pretty much complete!

 

[BC1836]

Thanks! This is a great thread! Many of us drive a great distance to get to WDW and quite a few on I 95! It seems each trip there is some type of major construction in at least one state! I recall quite a few trips with the construction in VA. Now it's all done! GA turn. IN my first few drives VA didn't even have 95 and there were many other stretchs along the route off 95. Now (I guess with the exception of NJ!) 95 is pretty much complete!

You are most welcome.
Yeah, construction...an asphalt way of life here in NJ.
Note: national gas prices continue to climb!

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

Question for drivers: We live in PA which is beloved wawa country. Where do fellow wawa patrons stop on the way to Disney for coffee and snacks? We are planning on taking I-95.

 

[wdwobsessed]

I keep going back and forth between driving and flying. Flying is at 971 for the 4 of us.

I am thinking gas is going to cost 300 - ... add a stop in and that is 200 for hotels ... plus food at least back (even if we pack for down) would be another 100 at least.

So a 15 hour drive to avoid spending $300?

I have made this drive many times due to my extreme fear of flying which has been easing the last few years to where I think I can do it.

1.5 hours vs 15 ... 1/10 the time?

I dunno I am still thinking. Plus I'd get 1 to 2 extra days in Disney!

WDWO

 

[Vickis3js]

Question for drivers: We live in PA which is beloved wawa country. Where do fellow wawa patrons stop on the way to Disney for coffee and snacks? We are planning on taking I-95.

I believe the last Wawa on 95 is in VA. Unfortunatly there is none south of that and even then they are few and far between. We hit the last wawa in NJ before we get over the DMB.

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

I keep going back and forth between driving and flying. Flying is at 971 for the 4 of us.

I am thinking gas is going to cost 300 - ... add a stop in and that is 200 for hotels ... plus food at least back (even if we pack for down) would be another 100 at least.

So a 15 hour drive to avoid spending $300?

I have made this drive many times due to my extreme fear of flying which has been easing the last few years to where I think I can do it.

1.5 hours vs 15 ... 1/10 the time?

I dunno I am still thinking. Plus I'd get 1 to 2 extra days in Disney!

WDWO

We are driving from Phila area- 16 hours. Gas for us calculates to around $240 round trip and we plan on stopping for a night on the way home only (around $90.)

Does the $971 account for the added fees for each passenger and possible bag charges? I looked into airfare for us - the fees added to $48 additional (each person) to the price NOT including bags.

Our flight time is 2 hours. However, that doesn't include the travel time to airport, the waiting time at airport, and heavens, any wait on the tarmac. It is still quicker to fly, but for us, it still takes around 7 hours from our door to our Disney hotel lobby.

I am excited to drive this time. We can pack whatever and enjoy some family time in a different way. I think each family has to determine what is best for them, but I think it is important to look at the time and cost closely to make that decision.

 

[Marshay]

I keep going back and forth between driving and flying. Flying is at 971 for the 4 of us.

I am thinking gas is going to cost 300 - ... add a stop in and that is 200 for hotels ... plus food at least back (even if we pack for down) would be another 100 at least.

So a 15 hour drive to avoid spending $300?

I have made this drive many times due to my extreme fear of flying which has been easing the last few years to where I think I can do it.

1.5 hours vs 15 ... 1/10 the time?

I dunno I am still thinking. Plus I'd get 1 to 2 extra days in Disney!

WDWO

What about transportation within WDW? To me, this is one of the biggest reasons to drive. We have two small children and standing on a bus balancing strollers, packages, diaper bags and sleeping children is not my idea of a vacation.

So the convenience (or necessity to my sanity) of having a vehicle on property is extremely important. When you factor in a larger rental car/SUV for a week, that is a huge cost and makes driving much cheaper. I lucked out in the past and got a SUV for like only $300 for a week ... but this time it was over $800, so we're driving.

If it was just about $300 difference and I got 1-2 extra days at WDW (of course, these don't cost anything, right?), and you're fine with Disney transpo, then I say pack lightly and fly. But I'm always looking for ways to extend our time at Disney, so you sold me on flying + TWO extra days!!

 

[hushupu]

Now then, any recent reports on the lengthy I-95 construction in GA?

Just got Back Sunday and it is torn up from south of Savanah just about to the FL line in both directions but traveling on the weekends in both directions it was never an issue.

 

[Vickis3js]

For us flying is just not an option. The amount of money we save driving is huge. OUr total gas costs are around $250. Right now I've earned $100 in gas cards from shopping sites and will probably have $100 more before our trip. Our hotel costs us $91. We stop for 2 meals and I pack for snacks in both and last year it was about $80 in meals both ways. So out of pocket we are only looking at less then $250. Flying for the 5 of us would be $1500+. Now when its just DH and I we are still looking at teh same driving costs so it doesn't make sense to drive.

We love driving down though. My kids even enjoy it. They get their activity bags packed with a bunch of surprises, mostly books and some printed out activities.

Once we get to WDW though we don't use our car at all. We never ahve a problem with transportation but we no longer need a stroller, not sure my 8yo would even fit in a stroller LOL. But like OP said if I needed a stroller I would need my car which would add to our expenses if we flew.

 

[shafke]

I keep going back and forth between driving and flying. Flying is at 971 for the 4 of us.

I am thinking gas is going to cost 300 - ... add a stop in and that is 200 for hotels ... plus food at least back (even if we pack for down) would be another 100 at least.

So a 15 hour drive to avoid spending $300?

I have made this drive many times due to my extreme fear of flying which has been easing the last few years to where I think I can do it.

1.5 hours vs 15 ... 1/10 the time?

I dunno I am still thinking. Plus I'd get 1 to 2 extra days in Disney!

WDWO

How are you getting to the airport... unless someone takes you you have to add in car service/parking.

Then there is trave time to the airport... lets say for arguments sake 30 min.
You have to arrive early... recommended 2 hours.
Now you are finally in the air... 1.5 hours
Land... min 30 min to get off the plane and retrieve luggage.
How are you getting to Disney... Magical Express or other. Add in cost.
Figure about another 30 min at least to get to Disney from the airport.

You now have a 6 hour day vs. 15 hours drive. Of it is possible to leave at 2 or 3 am then driving vs flying is not that much of a difference.

Other pluses for driving... no luggage limit/fees. No fighting for overhead space. No security check points. Travel time is more flexible.

 

[DEA]

Question for drivers: We live in PA which is beloved wawa country. Where do fellow wawa patrons stop on the way to Disney for coffee and snacks? We are planning on taking I-95.

Wawa seems to have made it as far south as Petersburg, VA (south of Richmond, after the Richmond Beltway re-merges with I95) -- looks like Exit 48 (head West). That's the last one you'll get. You will need the large coffee to get you the rest of the way.

 

[wdwobsessed]

I am not sure why this is turning into a debate and one poster kinda made me feel attacked. I feel like one response where my thoughts were quoted was very sarcastic and not needed at all.

Perhaps it was not meant to be that way but it seemed to be.

As I said I am planning on driving but I am having 2nd thoughts. I ALWAYS drive to wdw and to be honest I find the driving part hard and a little bit on the miserable side. I cannot get up at 2or 3 am to drive by myself straight though so I HAVE to stop for the night which puts the cost up there for driving.

Once I get to WDW I park my car and it sits there. I maybe used it one time last tripto run to an off site CVS ... but have gone many other times and not used it at all. I prefer WDW transportation. I do not drive to the parks.

I KNOW that 1-2 extra days at Disney will cost money ... I was simply stating if I flew down I could add extra days to my stay as I have to take my driving time out of my vacation week.

Regardless I don't like to fly and I am aprehensive about it AND I would save a couple hundred dollars. We also bring cases of bottled water and that would be more of a hassle if we flew.

Anyway I am a big chicken butt so we will probably end up driving. I don't know ...

 

[tjbaggott]

I am not sure why this is turning into a debate and one poster kinda made me feel attacked. I feel like one response where my thoughts were quoted was very sarcastic and not needed at all.

Perhaps it was not meant to be that way but it seemed to be.

As I said I am planning on driving but I am having 2nd thoughts. I ALWAYS drive to wdw and to be honest I find the driving part hard and a little bit on the miserable side. I cannot get up at 2or 3 am to drive by myself straight though so I HAVE to stop for the night which puts the cost up there for driving.

Once I get to WDW I park my car and it sits there. I maybe used it one time last tripto run to an off site CVS ... but have gone many other times and not used it at all. I prefer WDW transportation. I do not drive to the parks.

I KNOW that 1-2 extra days at Disney will cost money ... I was simply stating if I flew down I could add extra days to my stay as I have to take my driving time out of my vacation week.

Regardless I don't like to fly and I am aprehensive about it AND I would save a couple hundred dollars. We also bring cases of bottled water and that would be more of a hassle if we flew.

Anyway I am a big chicken butt so we will probably end up driving. I don't know ...

I was having the dame debate with myself about our upcoming cruise. Except for us, the drive is 24 hours. So flying is very appealing for the sake of time. It's not appealing when I think of costs. To fly out of our City (Ottawa), we are counting at least $500.00 per person ( x 4 people). So I'd NEVER fly from here. BUT we could drive 3-4 hours and fly out of Syracuse for half that amount, give or take a few dollars. But then I'm adding in the cost of driving those 3 or 4 hours each way, and vehicle parking while we are gone.
We have chosen to drive again this year, but for our B2B Dream Cruise next year, when we are taking my mother and her BF, Driving won't be an option.
For WDW, I too liked and was thankful for the DME for transportation. Yes it took some time, but it was worth it for us. Adding days to your stay is also appealing. Tough call, as there are definately pros and cons to each,
Best of luck with your decision making! And no matter what you decide, You are sure to have a Fabulous Vacation!

Oh and P.S. For our drive last Fall, we used Room Saver Coupons and never paid more than $50.00 for a Hotel room during our stops down and back. You can check them out online. I liked doing it that way as we didn't know where we were going to stop for the night till we were getting ready to stop for the night. We drove longer the first day than we thought we'd like to. Doing it this way was good for us, but makes it difficult to book a reservation days in advance. Though, we also travelled OFF season, which meant more availability of hotels.

 

[kidd_freeper]

Interesting thread.

We plan to drive from Hartford.
Going south, we'll leave at 2 am and drive straight through. 4 kids in our minivan. Returning, we'll stop once.


We will need a rooftop luggage carrier. The soft ones are a lot cheaper than the hard shell type. Anyone of you long-haulers use the soft-type luggage carrier? I'd like to hear about your experience with them.

Also: Are there any places that rent the hard-shell luggage carriers? UHaul and all the rent-a-center type places don't carry tem anymore.

 

[tjbaggott]

Interesting thread.

We plan to drive from Hartford.
Going south, we'll leave at 2 am and drive straight through. 4 kids in our minivan. Returning, we'll stop once.


We will need a rooftop luggage carrier. The soft ones are a lot cheaper than the hard shell type. Anyone of you long-haulers use the soft-type luggage carrier? I'd like to hear about your experience with them.

Also: Are there any places that rent the hard-shell luggage carriers? UHaul and all the rent-a-center type places don't carry tem anymore.

I think the hard top ones are more "areodinamic" (sp?) and thus may save a bit on gas for you. We purchased a hard top one for our trip last fall. We found it through a local online AD at www.kijiji.com You could always check those kinds of ads to purchase a gently used one at a great price.

 

[sharadoc]

I am not sure why this is turning into a debate and one poster kinda made me feel attacked. I feel like one response where my thoughts were quoted was very sarcastic and not needed at all.

Perhaps it was not meant to be that way but it seemed to be.

As I said I am planning on driving but I am having 2nd thoughts. I ALWAYS drive to wdw and to be honest I find the driving part hard and a little bit on the miserable side. I cannot get up at 2or 3 am to drive by myself straight though so I HAVE to stop for the night which puts the cost up there for driving.

Once I get to WDW I park my car and it sits there. I maybe used it one time last tripto run to an off site CVS ... but have gone many other times and not used it at all. I prefer WDW transportation. I do not drive to the parks.

I KNOW that 1-2 extra days at Disney will cost money ... I was simply stating if I flew down I could add extra days to my stay as I have to take my driving time out of my vacation week.

Regardless I don't like to fly and I am aprehensive about it AND I would save a couple hundred dollars. We also bring cases of bottled water and that would be more of a hassle if we flew.

Anyway I am a big chicken butt so we will probably end up driving. I don't know ...

Please don't take it personally. There have been plenty of debates of flying vs. driving elsewhere on this board, but this thread is full of people who LOVE to drive. We have our reasons and strongly believe in them.

I don't know what the poster was thinking of course, but he was just posting what a lot of us think. Folks generally talk flying 1.5 hours vs. driving 15 hours, and don't take into consideration the time and cost of going to the airport, waiting, flying, waiting again, driving to WDW via ME or rental car, plus cost of rental car. We calculate that time as 8-10 hours from our house, so we don't feel like we're wasting two days by driving, but just the second day is extra hours for us.

Plus the additional cost of flying and the additional cost of the room at WDW for two extra days makes the difference MUCH higher to fly. We spend between $400 and $500 to drive, depending on how much we eat out vs. in the van. To fly would be around $1,200 for our family plus transportation to the airport/valet to park. So we get three trips out of that $1,200 by driving. Add in APs and discounts on the room and we get to go on more trips!!!

Anyway, I think that's where it was coming from. If you'd like to debate pros and cons of driving, you may only get one side here - we're dedicated drivers on the this thread. It's why it was started in the first place. If you page through the transportation board, you should find plenty of pro and con discussions - they can get heated!! Or feel free to start one yourself, just be prepared to be called crazy and smart in the same thread

 

[sharadoc]

Interesting thread.

We plan to drive from Hartford.
Going south, we'll leave at 2 am and drive straight through. 4 kids in our minivan. Returning, we'll stop once.


We will need a rooftop luggage carrier. The soft ones are a lot cheaper than the hard shell type. Anyone of you long-haulers use the soft-type luggage carrier? I'd like to hear about your experience with them.

Also: Are there any places that rent the hard-shell luggage carriers? UHaul and all the rent-a-center type places don't carry tem anymore.

Hi. We used one last January and it was fine - UNTIL IT RAINED!! We didn't realize how badly they would leak, yeah dumb I guess. We "assumed" that they were made to be used in all weather. So, half our clothes were soaked when we checked in.

We have a bigger van now so we don't need a luggage carrier, but if we did we would either put our bags in plastic bags before packing, or get a hard-sided one. Mileage was much worse, too with all that drag on the roof.

Have you checked ebay or Craigslist, maybe even yard sales? You may be able to get a good used one for a nice price at this time of year.

Good luck!

 

[tjbaggott]

Our plans have changed yet again as far as our driving Itinerary is concerned. We are leaving from Ottawa, Ont. Canada, driving to Cape Canaveral for our cruise, but are now taking my mother with us but only as far as Pensgrove NJ. We'll be dropping her off at her sister's for a visit while we continue on with our vacation. DH has decided that since his work hours are currently 1:30 am to 10:30 am, he's like to leave home at about 11pm, drive the 8 1/2 hours to NJ, drop off mom, then continue on our way to FL.
This means arriving in Pennsgrove around 7 or 8 a.m. And leaving straight away from there to FL. We'll be heading onto the I-95 right outside NJ which means driving right through or barely around Washington just a few hours later.
I'm assuming that is NOT a good time to be around Washington? Can someone tell me exactly how much time, travelling that area at that time, will likely add to our trip? VS, waiting the day out and driving at night through that area?

 

[nono]

Our plans have changed yet again as far as our driving Itinerary is concerned. We are leaving from Ottawa, Ont. Canada, driving to Cape Canaveral for our cruise, but are now taking my mother with us but only as far as Pensgrove NJ. We'll be dropping her off at her sister's for a visit while we continue on with our vacation. DH has decided that since his work hours are currently 1:30 am to 10:30 am, he's like to leave home at about 11pm, drive the 8 1/2 hours to NJ, drop off mom, then continue on our way to FL.
This means arriving in Pennsgrove around 7 or 8 a.m. And leaving straight away from there to FL. We'll be heading onto the I-95 right outside NJ which means driving right through or barely around Washington just a few hours later.
I'm assuming that is NOT a good time to be around Washington? Can someone tell me exactly how much time, travelling that area at that time, will likely add to our trip? VS, waiting the day out and driving at night through that area?

It is very kind of your Aunt to live so strategically close to the highway! If you arrive at 8 and spend a little time getting your Mom settled, you'll be back on the road around 8:30 a.m.? So, you'll get to DC around 10:15ish. That is pretty good timing -- missing the bulk of AM rush hour. And, you'll be through Richmond before PM rush hour. So, I think it would work out OK!