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

[pilferk]

Thanks for your reply! I am just trying to figure this all out.. LOL Yes, i could do Rt.6 to 384 to 84, as i am only about 20 min. from Providence. ( My Grandmother lives in Manchester CT, so i do Rt 6 alot.. )

I am trying to figure out when i can do this.. I am not sure i want to do it in Feb. as we are going to WDW the first weekend of March - i can't see going then going back 2 weeks later.

Another thought was Easter week.. leaving on GFriday, and arriving at WDW on Easter Sunday.. But, i have to drive to VT that next weekend, and don't really want to get back from driving to FL, only to turn around and drive up to VT.. LOL

So, i am wondering about waiting til dd is out of school and going mid-june. It will be lighter out later (which helps with driving for me) and won't have to worry about snowstorms/ice like in the winter..

February is always dicey...because the weather for the first 1/2 to 2/3 of the ride can be rough. Snow up in "our" neck of the woods is bad, but the ice you see further south can be even worse. That being said: We've done it...and done early January, too, and been lucky so far. Not to mention..you'd be home, blink, and back.

I would avoid Easter week like the plague. TOO busy down there for my tastes. I've even seen reports that some are having a hard time getting rooms on property (no idea if that's your plan or not)....though the economy may make that less of an issue (or not) this year.

I think I'd go with early June. If you go early enough, it shouldn't be TOO busy and the heat and humidity should at least be bearable. Add that to the weather and sun benefits you mentioned....and, of your 3 choices, that's likely the one I'd peg.

 

[Caitsmama]

Thanks.. ya, that is pretty much what i am thinking.. I don't care if it is warm down in FL, as we go often enough that i don't need to hit every ride in the daylight heat.. i am just as happy to sit by the hotel pool with a drink til the sun goes down.. LOL We have AP's so passes aren't an issue.

We would be looking to stay on site, probably at CBR in the new pirate rooms..

 

[pilferk]

Well, that could be an option.. if i wanted to do 95 - we could leave RI after supper, and get thru NYC and just spend 2 nights on the road instead of one.. so it would be like 2 1/2 days of travel instead of 2.. just spreading it out a bit.. that's a thought..

A lot of people do it that way...I prefer to only do one night on the road (and have done zero nights...and driven it straight), so we leave somewhere between noon and 2 PM. That gets us into Northern NC between 9 and midnight. Sleep and on the road by 7 or 8 AM, and into Orlando by dinner-ish.

You just have to work out what you're more comfortable with.

 

[Caitsmama]

A lot of people do it that way...I prefer to only do one night on the road (and have done zero nights...and driven it straight), so we leave somewhere between noon and 2 PM. That gets us into Northern NC between 9 and midnight. Sleep and on the road by 7 or 8 AM, and into Orlando by dinner-ish.

You just have to work out what you're more comfortable with.

oh, thanks for the timeline, that really helps me.. That would mean i would be looking at leaving RI about 10 a.m. since i am a lil' further than you.. right?

 

[pilferk]

Thanks.. ya, that is pretty much what i am thinking.. I don't care if it is warm down in FL, as we go often enough that i don't need to hit every ride in the daylight heat.. i am just as happy to sit by the hotel pool with a drink til the sun goes down.. LOL We have AP's so passes aren't an issue.

We would be looking to stay on site, probably at CBR in the new pirate rooms..

Our other big consideration is the ages of our kids...potty breaks are plentiful, and it seems like every time we drive down ONE of the kids is potty training (thankfully, this will be the last trip to worry about THAT).

We (and I use that term very loosely...since I did all the driving. DW did "kid patrol") did it last time, in January, in a straight shot. Actually, we've done it MOSTLY that way, in the past. We were banking on our kids sleeping during the drive, but made a cardinal mistake: We didn't tell the kids we were even GOING to WDW until we picked my oldest up from school and headed out on the road. Lesson 1: Never underestimate the effects of adrenaline and excitement on the rug rat sect. It carried them through about 30 hours...about 22 hours of "trip"....of being awake. OK, the youngest slept....the older 2 got maybe..MAYBE...2 hours.

This time...we've changed tactics. We're making a stop, and they knew a LONG time ago we were going down.

 

[pilferk]

oh, thanks for the timeline, that really helps me.. That would mean i would be looking at leaving RI about 10 a.m. since i am a lil' further than you.. right?

Probably....any idea how long it takes you to get to the Hartford area?

You'd be about that much "behind" us....we leave from NW CT, and take 8 to 84 in Waterbury, but it takes us roughly the same amount of time to get to Waterbury as it does to get from Hartford to Waterbury.

 

[Caitsmama]

Hmm.. i believe it's about 2 hrs from me to Hartford.

 

[the Fidge]

I'm also in NEPA. I take this route every time EXCEPT 15. I have no idea what that part is like. I always just take 81 to 17 to 95. I loathe the Baltimore/DC traffic and prefer this route. The only part of 17 that's ever congested is at the very beginning and the very end when you are driving though the cities there. The rest of it is a country setting and very relaxing . It might be a few extra miles added, but I have clocked no difference in time.

I leave next Friday . If you happen to update before then, and decide to take 15, I'd be interested in what it's like.

My eyes are killing me from looking up alternate routes. Mapquest, yahoo and rand mcnally have other options too and its making the head spin. Pleae come on back after your trip and update your jounrey if you would be so kind! Wondering how the construction and traffic goes we will also be leaving on a Friday. Have a great happy and safe trip. Will be nice to be out of the snow, we have 12" today YUCK!

 

[BC1836]

My eyes are killing me from looking up alternate routes. Mapquest, yahoo and rand mcnally have other options too and its making the head spin. Pleae come on back after your trip and update your jounrey if you would be so kind! Wondering how the construction and traffic goes we will also be leaving on a Friday. Have a great happy and safe trip. Will be nice to be out of the snow, we have 12" today YUCK!

As we have said many times on this thread: if you can, drive I-95 on weekends (holiday weekends notwithstanding) rather than weekdays, particularly Fridays.

We crusied through southern MD, DC and northern VA on Saturday Oct. 18, early in the morning but got caught in a traffic jam (road lane painting) in northern VA near Quantico on Monday around noon on Monday Oct. 27. We exited and got on Route 1, which was another traffic jam due to folks exiting the I-95 jam. We eventually returned to I-95.

 

[onelugnut]

New Jersey.....
Start your engines!

Leaving Thursday afternoon to get
a head start on all my Jersey Disney Heads.

If you see a white minivan with a family of 5 on the
side of 95,
pull over and pick me up,
please?

any one know a good place to stop for dinner before i get into the Baltimore area?

 

[BC1836]

New Jersey.....
Start your engines!

Leaving Thursday afternoon to get
a head start on all my Jersey Disney Heads.

If you see a white minivan with a family of 5 on the
side of 95,
pull over and pick me up,
please?

any one know a good place to stop for dinner before i get into the Baltimore area?

Thursday will soon be here! If circumstances suggest an afternoon departure because of the school day, just try and make as much distance as you can on your first day since I-95 at rush hour isn't the best time to drive. Sandwiches for the ride on Thursday will be better time-wise than stopping for dinner at some Maryland rest stop. But if you must stop, Phillips crab cakes are better than other fast food alternatives.
In any event, have a safe ride. You've got good weather for your ride, too.
All the best.

 

[huskies90]

New Jersey.....
Start your engines!

Leaving Thursday afternoon to get
a head start on all my Jersey Disney Heads.

Jersey Week??!!??!? Awesome!!!!! Have a great (and safe) trip!!

 

[2xDisneyDad]

Well the great Jersey Exodus has arrived!!! Let the games begin.

We will be trying the new route of 81-77-26-95 and hopefully hit Charlotte by nightfall. This years feature will be the new Indiana Jones complete DVD collection on the nerve saving 9" Toyota Sienna LCD.

See you all down there...

 

[BC1836]

Well the great Jersey Exodus has arrived!!! Let the games begin.

We will be trying the new route of 81-77-26-95 and hopefully hit Charlotte by nightfall. This years feature will be the new Indiana Jones complete DVD collection on the nerve saving 9" Toyota Sienna LCD.

See you all down there...

That route seems rather out of the way as it arcs around Harrisburg into Virginia. Is the main reason for this route due to your NJ home location (near Easton PA, for example) and your attempt to avoid the greater DC traffic on I-95?

For us on the Jersey Shore, that route wouldn't work.

Of course, you have that DVD collection!

All the best.

 

[2xDisneyDad]

That route seems rather out of the way as it arcs around Harrisburg into Virginia. Is the main reason for this route due to your NJ home location (near Easton PA, for example) and your attempt to avoid the greater DC traffic on I-95?

For us on the Jersey Shore, that route wouldn't work.

Of course, you have that DVD collection!

All the best.

That's the exact reason. We made it down in about 17.5 hours and had zero traffic. Going 95 takes at least as long with us dreading the Baltimore / DC area. I think it's a keeper for us

 

[BC1836]

That's the exact reason. We made it down in about 17.5 hours and had zero traffic. Going 95 takes at least as long with us dreading the Baltimore / DC area. I think it's a keeper for us

We used to live in Morris County. Had we still lived there, we would have given your route at least one try.

Last month's pre-dawn, weekend ride got us to the Baltimore harbor tunnel at 7:25 a.m. and over the Potomac River at 8:15 a.m. It was one of those "zero traffic" experiences.

We're heading back next month but on an early weekday ride.

 

[joyfulscrapper]

Well the great Jersey Exodus has arrived!!! Let the games begin.

See you all down there...

Well, another Jersey family here! We are supposed to be leaving Monday night or early Tuesday morning, but DD is now sick with a stomach virus! Hopefully, if none of the rest of us - especially DH - get it, we'll leave on schedule. I was already worried about the drive, this is our first try at it, but now I'm really worried any one of us will end up sick on our way, or worse, after we get there! In fact, I was reading the many pages of this thread last night at 2am when DD woke up sick! Needless to say, I got very little sleep and am just a little on edge today... So if you see a red minivan along 95 on Tuesday or Wednesday with people puking out the window - just keep going - you don't want to catch it too!!! I'm just hoping it'll turn out better than I'm imagining!

 

[Luvamouse]

Hi everyone, just getting my bearings here.. i am in RI and my MIL has asked me if i would like to do a "road trip" with her and my dd to WDW in '09.

I would love some advice / routes to take to avoid 95s. thru NY/NJ. I read some routes from someone in CT back on the first page of this thread.. do those routes still stand correct? I don't mind adding on a bit of time.. i would rather do that and have a smoother ride than to get stuck in NYC traffic.
I am thinking we would probably do it over 2 days - staying somewhere (any advice) in between.

Any/all advice from New England based travelers are welcome!! PLEASE! LOL I need to know exactly what i am getting myself into.

Hi Caitsmomma-- I am from RI also- Richmond to be specific- and we did just this last November and will be doing it again in April! First I need to say that my DD's 8 and 14 are quite used to long trips and this does help a lot. But it doesn't mean it can't be Cait's 1st long drive! I use the AAA online triptik which allows me to plug in my house and WDW and then literally drag the route to the roads I choose to travel instead. Very handy!

Here is our specific route so you can look at a map to see where it goes:
95S to Exit 69 in CT. Take Rte 9N to 66W in Middletown, CT. This becomes 691. Get on 84W and follow to 81S in PA. 81S about 450 miles to Rte 77 S in Virginia. Follow 77S about 230 miles to 26E in Columbia, SC. 53 miles to 95 S. I can't swear to the best route once you're in Florida, but many people here can give you that. I can tell you that this route was terrific and we met with NO stops at all due to traffic or construction. It is a truck route and the ride was beautiful. It was just 100 miles longer than going 95 straight through. Been there, done that, never again. At about 1380 miles, I wouldn't choose to go straight through although some do. Again, we've done it in the past out of neccesity. Now we factor in 2 days to get there. We stayed overnight in Mount Airy, NC. It was about 13.5 hours to get there (about 800 miles) with no traffic and only a few stops. Perhaps somewhere in Virginia might be sooner?

We love to drive and love to see the country, that's why we drive. If I can answer any questions for you, feel free to PM me to chat more!


Heidi
(posted on the "For those folks driving board" too

 

[BC1836]

Question: Besides Florida (the obvious choice), crossing what state border generates the greatest excitement or sense of satisfaction? For example, exiting your home state (which signifies that you're "on your way") or some mid-point state (which represents that you're "half way there")?

 

[MinMouse]

I love when we hit Georgia . . . it's only a 90-minute drive til Florida! Usually a no-stop state for us!