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

[pwdebbie]

Do most of you book a hotel to stay over(on the drive down) before you leave? Anybody wing it?

I am an OCD type planner, so when I started to look for hotels to stay on the trip down, my family/friends were like "dont book anything, we can stop where we stop, we will find something It will be ok"

Really??? So what do guys all say? We are coming from Pittsburgh PA, planning on leaving late at night to drive thru the night, part of the day then stop.
That give us the afternoon/evening to relax then hit the road early in the am and drive thru to WDW.

I'm thinking maybe Georgia to stop and stay?

We have driven twice and did not book anything before we hit the road. Now, our on-the-road hotel stay on the trip down is on a Sunday night, which is not a very high-demand night and that might make a difference. And on our trip home it was either Wednesday or Thursday night -- again, not high-demand nights. All the hotels we stayed in had many available rooms.

Have a great trip!

 

[lucyem]

Do most of you book a hotel to stay over(on the drive down) before you leave? Anybody wing it?

We wing it. We drive from northern New England. We never know when we will be tired enough to stop or if we want to keep on going because the kids are sleeping. On our last trip we had to leave a day early with almost no notice and at one point thought we would go straight through until we hit heavy heavy rain storms in GA. There seems to be at least a couple of hotels off every exit on 95 through NC, SC & GA. We have always had a nice clean room and a free breakfast. We may not be getting the best rates but do use our AAA card. For us it would be more of a hassle to try and stay on a schedule with reservations somewhere.

 

[mamapajama]

Thinking about driving to disney for the first time in august. Would you do it with 3 young children from long island ny?

We are doing that from Nassau County in August with a 2 year old plus our 17 & 13 year olds. We drove with our 17 year old when she was 18 months and it was fine. Our baby is very good in the car but not so good on a plane, LOL. She knows she can get up on the plane and walk and that's what she wants to do so she gets mad when she can't.

 

[dgagnon519]

Do most of you book a hotel to stay over(on the drive down) before you leave? Anybody wing it?

I am an OCD type planner, so when I started to look for hotels to stay on the trip down, my family/friends were like "dont book anything, we can stop where we stop, we will find something It will be ok"

Really??? So what do guys all say? We are coming from Pittsburgh PA, planning on leaving late at night to drive thru the night, part of the day then stop.
That give us the afternoon/evening to relax then hit the road early in the am and drive thru to WDW.

I'm thinking maybe Georgia to stop and stay?

We booked our hotels prior to leaving. We stuck with name brand places, checked out areas. We made our stop in savannah Ga and stayed at a Holiday Inn. It was nice.

 

[shafke]

Do most of you book a hotel to stay over(on the drive down) before you leave? Anybody wing it?

Our last trip we travelled on a Thursday. We booked our hotel before leaving. Some where in NC we figured we would be arriving at the hotel before noon which was way too early to stop. We found a place with free wifi and cancelled one reservation and rebooked at another hotel. It was a good thing we did because when we got to the hotel they had a sign up that they were full up. We probably could have gotten another hotel in the area as there were plenty to choose from but I like to peace of mind knowing we already have something booked.

 

[monymony3471]

I will have hotels pre booked for the ride down and back in a few weeks for our trip.

 

[patclairesmom]

We book our hotels before we leave, but I make sure there is a 6pm cancellation policy. On our way home this year, we just couldn't drive any further and made the decision @5:30 to stop somewhere closer.

 

[MLC]

Thanks for all the replys. I really don't know how my kids will be because the longest trip I have taken with them was 2 hours. What time should we start our trip?

 

[sharadoc]

Do most of you book a hotel to stay over(on the drive down) before you leave? Anybody wing it?

I am an OCD type planner, so when I started to look for hotels to stay on the trip down, my family/friends were like "dont book anything, we can stop where we stop, we will find something It will be ok"

Really??? So what do guys all say? We are coming from Pittsburgh PA, planning on leaving late at night to drive thru the night, part of the day then stop.
That give us the afternoon/evening to relax then hit the road early in the am and drive thru to WDW.

I'm thinking maybe Georgia to stop and stay?

I always plan a hotel in both directions, but I book one before we leave going down, then we keep an eye out on the road for hotels that we may want to stay in on the way back. We've tried different exits or chains based on what we've seen during the drive. We book it before we leave Disney.

In February, we drove on a Saturday and our Microtel in Walterboro was sold out that night. But I think it was an anamoly - people were driving to the Super Bow and Daytona that weekend.

We like Walterboro SC on the way down. That gives us 5-6 hours of driving on day 2, which is perfect for a leisurely breakfast, and gets us to Disney in time for check-in. The Microtel in Walterboro is really nice and new in 2010. Price is excellent and breakfast is fine.

Good luck!

 

[BC1836]

Thanks for all the replys. I really don't know how my kids will be because the longest trip I have taken with them was 2 hours. What time should we start our trip?

Your starting time depends on when you can avoid the major urban rush-hour traffic times. You've got to avoid Manhattan, northern NJ, and greater DC (southern MD & northern VA).

That's the most difficult aspect about a LI departure.

All the best.

 

[Vickis3js]

We have always booked our hotel going down before we leave. I am already booked for our trip down in Dec. On the way home we do it in the car. We never know when we will leave WDW. The first year we just drove and we were going to just drive straight through since DH was wide awake but when 2 people in a matter of 10 miles almost drifted into the side of our car I didn't want to take any chances of being hit by someone who was too tired to drive so we stopped at the first hotel we saw. Unfortunatly it was FULL same for the next 2 and the 3rd we would have had to get 2 rooms. Thankfully we got the last room big enough for us at the 4th place. So last year around 3-4 we looked at the map and figured we would stop around 8pm and then grabbed the laptop and booked a room that way. We will do the same thing this year.

 

[mamapajama]

We book our hotels before we leave, but I make sure there is a 6pm cancellation policy. On our way home this year, we just couldn't drive any further and made the decision @5:30 to stop somewhere closer.

This is exactly what we will do.

 

[ShhhQ]

We are kind of a mix... On the way down, I already have my hotel booked. However, on the way home I don't know when I will be too tired to go on so we wing it. We do however get the coupon booklets from the rest areas so as to get a better deal than just stopping. Sometimes we end up with a better deal on hotel coming home than we do going down.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Do most of you book a hotel to stay over(on the drive down) before you leave? Anybody wing it?

When driving down Interstate 75 my family and I make our hotel reservations at various Hampton Inn locations months in advance, because in some of the cities we stay in they have sold out for the nights we were there. So we figure better to be safe then sorry and this way we can get exactly what we want.

 

[BC1836]

As has been posted previously, it's always good to make a reservation when you're part of the "For 2,000+ Mile Round-Trip Drivers Only" crowd...and you don't plan to make it all the way to WDW on a single-day's drive. Whether you make it days before or on the road, it's good to have one. Friday and Saturday night (along with holiday evenings) are the reservations that tend to fill up quickly.

We've never made a reservation before we departed; we always make it while on the road. And on more than one occasion, we have made two, cancelling one before 6 p.m. when we know we can reach the other destination.

For us, the shorter the drive the second day is the goal. Our last several overnights have been in Lake Buena Vista. That allows us to have breakfast in WDW on the next day.

All the best.

 

[POOHsie]

We like Walterboro SC on the way down. That gives us 5-6 hours of driving on day 2, which is perfect for a leisurely breakfast, and gets us to Disney in time for check-in. The Microtel in Walterboro is really nice and new in 2010. Price is excellent and breakfast is fine.

Coming from Wheeling, WV, I also stop at Walterboro, SC. I have stayed there at Hampton (older but good), Ramada (even older but good, and cheaper) and Holiday Inn Express (special price). I was going to reserve Microtel this time because I have read good reviews of it. Yours is another positive story. Microtel is older than 2010. Guest reviews on TripAdvisor.com go back to December 2006. As you say, you get to Disney next day in time for check-in. No sense in driving any farther for one day, and anyways, the next decent place to stop is Savannah, Ga, over an hour down the road. I like the idea of the Cracker Barrel restaurant right there next to the Walterboro motels. I get cleaned up and enjoy a leisurely meal before the sun sets.

Only complaint I have is that in the morning, leaving Walterboro, there is no convenient I-95 Starbucks until Brunswick, GA. Something ought to be done about that!

To others traveling I-95, I have read stories about the EconoLodge in Rocky Mount, NC. Anyone have any stories to tell? Or, is there a thread?

 

[MTLFamily]

We usually pre-book specific locations both ways. Gives us a target everyday.

 

[nytimez]

Thanks for all the replys. I really don't know how my kids will be because the longest trip I have taken with them was 2 hours. What time should we start our trip?

Depends on where on Long Island you're leading from, but get out of the tristate area before the morning rush starts (unless you're leaving on a weekend, in which case you'll still want to leave early -- just not as early).

I usually leave at 5 a.m. from Nassau County.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

The original plan when we drive to Clearwater, Beach on our 1st day of driving was to go from Toronto - Cleveland, Tennessee and stay at a Hampton Inn along Interstate 75. Well we decided to leave 1 day early and we are now driving from Toronto - Lexington, Kentucky and spending the night at a Hilton Garden Inn. So that way the next day we can get to Cleveland, Tennesse a lot faster.

 

[WeLoveLilo05]

What hotel do you stay at in Savannah GA? I am thinking we may stop there on our way down. Looking for a nice clean place. Thanks!!!