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

[emh1129]

Any suggestions for nice places to stop that might be about 12-14 hours north of Orlando-- easy on/off from I-95? Thanks!

 

[Tina]

Any suggestions for nice places to stop that might be about 12-14 hours north of Orlando-- easy on/off from I-95? Thanks!

I recommend Massaponax, VA (exit 126), just south of Fredericksburg.

Restaurants:: Arbys, Aunt Sarahs Pancake House, Blimpie, Cracker Barrel, Jimmy's Diner, KFC, McDonalds, Shoneys, Waffle House, Wendys, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Damon's, Denny's

Gas: BP, Chevron, Citgo, Crown, Exxon, Mobil, Race Trac, Shell, Texaco

Lodging:: Comfort Inn, Days Inn, Econo Lodge, Fairfield Inn, Heritage Inn, Holiday Inn, Howard Johnsons, Motel 6, Royal Inn, Super 8 Motel, Wytestone Inn

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

Okay- I added $'s for a key and website links for ease. The only down side is now people are asking questions there, when the experts are here.

I will check both threads. Anyone who has recommendations (stay or avoid) can just post here. I will transfer there.

I will post a link to this thread for those with questions.

Can anyone think of anything else to streamline this venture?

Deb

 

[BC1836]

Any suggestions for nice places to stop that might be about 12-14 hours north of Orlando-- easy on/off from I-95? Thanks!

The comprehensive roster of items posted by Tina is a good one, to say the least. You'll actually find many of her listed items at most of the exits on I-95. Were you looking for something actually in that area or somewhere else? And were you looking for mini side-trip stops along the way, like Mount Vernon, Civil War battlefields, and other historic sites?

All the best.

 

[nytimez]

anyone ever stop in lumberton NC on the way home? I am concerned because I dont want to hit washington rush hour, what are the times to avoid hitting washington? would 2:30pm be ok or is that cutting it too close? Lumberton is 5 and1/2 hrs from DC (according to mapquest) so if we leave the hotel at 9am that would put us in dc at approx 2;30pm, I am thinking we should drive for another few hours but I need a hotel room that will fit all 5 of us...
TIA

I have family outside of Lumberton, so that's where I stop every trip. I've tried leaving earlier, I've tried leaving later -- I've found you could hit bad DC traffic any time, no matter what. The best thing to do is try to get live traffic data (like Google maps on iPhone, or local radio broadcasts) and make spontaneous decisions when you get there as to which route through or around DC to take (obviously you have a couple of options).

I wish I could say "leave at XX time and you'll be fine" but I haven't found that to be the case.

 

[monymony3471]

hey all. Im from chicago, IL and we are driving down again over Thanksgiving. The only problem is the weather is unpredictable in the mountains. Im thinking we should go around the mountains but who knows. Anyone do the winter drive from chicago.

When we were little, my folks took us twice in the winter months from north of Detroit. We went straight through on I-75. My mom I remember being nervous, I also recall my parents following semi's cause they cleared a nice path for us. We left twice in snow storms. Lived to tell you about it too.

 

[nono]

We converted! Drove home yesterday from THVs to the southern tip of the Jersey shore (up and around for those who understand our geography challenge). It was GREAT! We had our 6 & 3 yr old with us, and even doing the day trip, they were fabulous! We left at 4:15 am and were home before midnight, with a full sit down breakfast stop, a full sit down lunch stop, a sneaker shopping stop in the Carolinas, and 4 other rest stops (some including gas). We didn't use the dvd player until 10 hours into the trip, and it lasted until Delaware.

Now, we're saying "Hey, we could go for a long weekend."

Thank you for eveyone who posted something on this thread. It was all helpful!

 

[Malaguti Ball Clan]

I recommend Massaponax, VA (exit 126), just south of Fredericksburg.

Restaurants:: Arbys, Aunt Sarahs Pancake House, Blimpie, Cracker Barrel, Jimmy's Diner, KFC, McDonalds, Shoneys, Waffle House, Wendys, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Damon's, Denny's

Gas: BP, Chevron, Citgo, Crown, Exxon, Mobil, Race Trac, Shell, Texaco

Lodging:: Comfort Inn, Days Inn, Econo Lodge, Fairfield Inn, Heritage Inn, Holiday Inn, Howard Johnsons, Motel 6, Royal Inn, Super 8 Motel, Wytestone Inn

And my House....about 2 miles from the highway LOL...give the Dis'er honk when you go by...

 

[sharadoc]

We converted! Drove home yesterday from THVs to the southern tip of the Jersey shore (up and around for those who understand our geography challenge). It was GREAT! We had our 6 & 3 yr old with us, and even doing the day trip, they were fabulous! We left at 4:15 am and were home before midnight, with a full sit down breakfast stop, a full sit down lunch stop, a sneaker shopping stop in the Carolinas, and 4 other rest stops (some including gas). We didn't use the dvd player until 10 hours into the trip, and it lasted until Delaware.

Now, we're saying "Hey, we could go for a long weekend."

Thank you for eveyone who posted something on this thread. It was all helpful!

Congratulations and welcome to the club!

We find the drive so easy that we can do it for a one week trip. That's why we can do 3 trips this year. It's nice to hear your little ones did so great!

 

[BC1836]

Congratulations and welcome to the club!

We find the drive so easy that we can do it for a one week trip. That's why we can do 3 trips this year. It's nice to hear your little ones did so great!

Sharadoc: So what is your 2010 tally so far?
For us, one 2010 trip so far, and one coming up.

All the best.

 

[PrincessMom4]

Hey Sharadoc. how goes it?? We are doing our countdown adn ti can't come fast enough.

 

[BC1836]

Sharadoc is, no doubt, too busy right now to answer our questions (Must be planning the next 2,000+ mile round-trip drive).

BTW: Those retail gas prices s-l-o-w-l-y keep falling. And Memorial Day is on the horizon.

 

[lucyem]

I need some advice on how to get past Baltimore/DC on my way to WDW. I will have an appointment on a Monday morning in MD near Elkton which is just off 95 on the Delaware border. I am not from that area and relying totally on my GPS. I am not sure how long my appointment will be. But lets say I am leaving Elkton after lunch - what would be my safest route south to avoid sitting in traffic. I know it is not the best time to be in the DC area but I am limited by business hours in Elkton and how long it takes to get there from my home.

One thought would be to find things to do in Elkton all afternoon, spend the night and leave Elkton at 3am or something I should mention I will be alone with a crazy 5 yr old. Doing this might add a day to our travels. Not the end of the world, but still it will be nice to get where we are going

Thanks for any advice!!!

 

[BC1836]

I need some advice on how to get past Baltimore/DC on my way to WDW. I will have an appointment on a Monday morning in MD near Elkton which is just off 95 on the Delaware border. I am not from that area and relying totally on my GPS. I am not sure how long my appointment will be. But lets say I am leaving Elkton after lunch - what would be my safest route south to avoid sitting in traffic. I know it is not the best time to be in the DC area but I am limited by business hours in Elkton and how long it takes to get there from my home.

One thought would be to find things to do in Elkton all afternoon, spend the night and leave Elkton at 3am or something I should mention I will be alone with a crazy 5 yr old. Doing this might add a day to our travels. Not the end of the world, but still it will be nice to get where we are going

Thanks for any advice!!!

In "good" traffic, you're about 90 minutes from the VA border -- once you get onto I-95.

Now then, if you can eat an abbreviated lunch and depart by 1 p.m. or so, you'll beat the greater DC/Northern VA traffic at rush hour. Then you can drive to, say, Rocky Mount, NC and stay there (in one of the town's 1,000+ hotel/motel rooms) for the night. You can get up early the next morning (but not as early as 3 a.m.) and be at Exit #67 on I-4 before dusk.

All the best.

 

[Marshay]

I need some advice on how to get past Baltimore/DC on my way to WDW. I will have an appointment on a Monday morning in MD near Elkton which is just off 95 on the Delaware border. I am not from that area and relying totally on my GPS. I am not sure how long my appointment will be. But lets say I am leaving Elkton after lunch - what would be my safest route south to avoid sitting in traffic. I know it is not the best time to be in the DC area but I am limited by business hours in Elkton and how long it takes to get there from my home.

One thought would be to find things to do in Elkton all afternoon, spend the night and leave Elkton at 3am or something I should mention I will be alone with a crazy 5 yr old. Doing this might add a day to our travels. Not the end of the world, but still it will be nice to get where we are going

Thanks for any advice!!!

I'm from the WDC area and personally, I think you'll be just fine going through DC if you leave Elkton around noon. Actually, that may be a sweet spot!

Now if for some reason you don't leave Elkton until after 2pm, then you will start to hit DC's 4pm rush hour.

 

[Vickis3js]

Has anyone who has driven down stayed at HHI? We have some extra DVC points and if its available we can get a room there for very few points. Is it far off of 95? We would be going in Dec. do you think anything would be open for dinner/breakfast?

 

[mamapajama]

We are thinking we will stop in Lumberton on our way home. Does anyone have any recommendations for clean hotels? Any hotels that you think we should avoid?
Thanks!


I am compiling a list of hotels for I-95 drivers. If anyone has any ideas for my list you can add them here. http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=36627017&postcount=1

Hey , thanks for the great post. Any chance you can change the font color? It is very hard to read and it has lots of valuable info! Thanks!

 

[BC1836]

Has anyone who has driven down stayed at HHI? We have some extra DVC points and if its available we can get a room there for very few points. Is it far off of 95? We would be going in Dec. do you think anything would be open for dinner/breakfast?

We've stayed at HHI dozens of times, especially most of them between Yulee, FL and Lake Buena Vista -- before our final drive to a WDW resort.
Good, clean and no-surprises (except for the one in Ft. Lauderdale, the home of party-time groups!). And the "free" breakfast is a good one, too.

All the best.

 

[sharadoc]

Sharadoc: So what is your 2010 tally so far?
For us, one 2010 trip so far, and one coming up.

All the best.

Hey Sharadoc. how goes it?? We are doing our countdown adn ti can't come fast enough.

Sharadoc is, no doubt, too busy right now to answer our questions (Must be planning the next 2,000+ mile round-trip drive).

BTW: Those retail gas prices s-l-o-w-l-y keep falling. And Memorial Day is on the horizon.

Ah yes, too many trips, too little time

Our total since January 2009 - 6,250 miles and three trips - January and August 09, February 10 - 28 days. Upcoming for 2010 another 4,100 RT miles June and December - 12 days!

Oh yeah, and one new (to us) Dodge Grand Caravan to make the trips easier!

So, we're a month away from June - trying to figure out which route to drive, hotels to stay in, barbecue joints to eat at, and at the same time, figuring out ADRs for December, daily schedules, MVMCP nights!!

My DD can't figure out if I'm talking about June or December half the time - sometimes I think I get them confused too.

I love you guys

 

[dvczerfs]

Ah yes, too many trips, too little time

Our total since January 2009 - 6,250 miles and three trips - January and August 09, February 10 - 28 days. Upcoming for 2010 another 4,100 RT miles June and December - 12 days!

Oh yeah, and one new (to us) Dodge Grand Caravan to make the trips easier!

So, we're a month away from June - trying to figure out which route to drive, hotels to stay in, barbecue joints to eat at, and at the same time, figuring out ADRs for December, daily schedules, MVMCP nights!!

My DD can't figure out if I'm talking about June or December half the time - sometimes I think I get them confused too.

I love you guys

december? june? i love that problem!!!