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

[BC1836]

I live in Mo and we get them pretty often, especially the warnings. Last Thursday we were on our way to the lake and passed through a storm we knew had to have tornado watches or even warnings. DH wouldn't let me turn on the radio because he knew if I knew there was an actual warning I would make him pull off the road. Once there we found out there was a tornado touch down a few miles up the road. You really never know where those things will go!

We have great admiration for you folks in the midwest and south who regularly experience tornadoes. And driving in or near them must be terryifying.

BTW: What's with this new thread about folks who drive 1,000 miles to WDW? What's next? For those who drive at least 52,800 feet to WDW? :

 

[Mysteria]

We have great admiration for you folks in the midwest and south who regularly experience tornadoes. And driving in or near them must be terryifying.

BTW: What's with this new thread about folks who drive 1,000 miles to WDW? What's next? For those who drive at least 52,800 feet to WDW? :

The 1,000 mile thread was moved to here from another board. Guessing the person that started it didn't know this thread already existed.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

Well respect was not exactly the word I was using with DH when I was telling him "I knew we should have stopped!" But we are pretty used to them and can get complacent about it. The weather service will sound the sirens if one is anywhere in an adjoining county which can be pretty far away. That has caused a lot of people (DH) to be too casual about it IMO.

I think the other thread started on a different board and was moved here.

 

[BC1836]

I think the other thread ["Driving 1,000 miles each way to WDW"]started on a different board and was moved here.

Yeah, but don't those folks get it? 1,000 miles to WDW and 1,000 miles from WDW = "For 2,000+ Mile Drivers Only!"

Hello...

 

[pwdebbie]

Have a safe trip! Let us know how your travels went. We were supposed to leave at 2am on Sunday morning from MA...but it looks like it won't happen. I was really hoping against hope that we would go, but it looks like we will be home this vacation. I guess the tickets won't go to waste, we will eventually go back again. Man, I wanted to go

Aww, Glo, I'm sorry your trip didn't work out. But you are right, you WILL use those tickets eventually. Something to look forward to.

 

[Tjkane28]

BTW: What's with this new thread about folks who drive 1,000 miles to WDW? What's next? For those who drive at least 52,800 feet to WDW? :

The 10 mile club?

 

[johnnow]

We're from MA and am planning to drive to Orlando in mid-July... I'm still trying to decide which route to take - the I-81-77-26-95 or I-95 straight down. From what I have read, I-95 is about 100miles shorter but could take more time due to traffic. From what you've written, it doesn't look too bad (though it could be drastically different in July).

Thanks!

I took 95 early on a Saturday. It was no problem. However, on the way back, it was going to be Friday afternoon when I got to Washington, Baltimore and NY. So, I took the 81-77-26 route back home. I absolutely hated 81 in Virginia. It's a two lane highway with a lot of trucks. If you get stuck behind someone who parks themselves in the left lane, you're stuck. It happened to me quite a few times. At one point, I was stuck behind a truck with a horse trailer that wouldn't pass anybody for 30 miles.

With an EZ-Pass and proper timing, 95 isn't as bad as people make it out to be.

 

[angwill]

Does anyone know if EZ-pass works in Florida?

Thanks

 

[angwill]

Does anyone know if EZ-pass works in Florida?

Thanks

 

[johnnow]

EZ-Pass does not work in FL. They have a different system. However, I-4 is not a toll road. If you are coming in from I-95, you would only need to pay a toll if you plan on taking the bypass around Orlando.

 

[angwill]

Thanks for the EZ-pass info. I will be coming down 1-75 and I think there is a $2 toll if I remember correctly.

 

[Mysteria]

Wouldn't it be great if all the states had the same toll system?

 

[stinkypeet]

left from south jersey... 9:00am thurs the 9th.. not a bad drive .. worried about traffic in Balt, DC, ... well no one told me about the pot hole crew on the Del memorial bridge... backed up pretty good.. about a 1/2 hour.. after that smooth sailing no back ups at all made it to Savannah Ga.. 9:00 pm overnight ( stayed at the sheraton four points... real nice and clean... friday had about 5 hours to go and made it with no traffic at all... coming home was not as good... left Friday the 17th around noon... heavy traffic all the way through fla... no one told me the whole state of Ga was under road construction ( wow pretty draining... made it to Savannah Ga 7:30 pm... got some gas and food and off we went.... lots and lots of cars.. made it to fayetteville around 12 :30 am and spent the night .. got up yesterday and off we went... lots of cars and yes real aggresive drivers... I drive at a pretty good pace and dont take chances with my family in the car.. man some people drive like there gonna get there any faster than me... wow ... this is a record never flipped anyone off and no cursing.... thought about it .. gave lots of stupid looks though... well back to the trip.... did i say lots of cars... made it to south of dc and sat in a traffic jam for 30 miles ..... no really 30 miles.... who is the traffic genius that slept late and would not open the HOV lanes... WOW that sucked.... did i mention lots of cars..... other than that mess traffic was heavy but nothing like the DC mess.. got back about 6:00 pm... would i do it again ..... yes... my break point is 1200 dollars or under ....,if i can fly and rent a car for that i will.

 

[BC1836]

left from south jersey... 9:00am thurs the 9th.. not a bad drive .. worried about traffic in Balt, DC, ... well no one told me about the pot hole crew on the Del memorial bridge... backed up pretty good.. about a 1/2 hour.. after that smooth sailing no back ups at all made it to Savannah Ga.. 9:00 pm overnight ( stayed at the sheraton four points... real nice and clean... friday had about 5 hours to go and made it with no traffic at all... coming home was not as good... left Friday the 17th around noon... heavy traffic all the way through fla... no one told me the whole state of Ga was under road construction ( wow pretty draining... made it to Savannah Ga 7:30 pm... got some gas and food and off we went.... lots and lots of cars.. made it to fayetteville around 12 :30 am and spent the night .. got up yesterday and off we went... lots of cars and yes real aggresive drivers... I drive at a pretty good pace and dont take chances with my family in the car.. man some people drive like there gonna get there any faster than me... wow ... this is a record never flipped anyone off and no cursing.... thought about it .. gave lots of stupid looks though... well back to the trip.... did i say lots of cars... made it to south of dc and sat in a traffic jam for 30 miles ..... no really 30 miles.... who is the traffic genius that slept late and would not open the HOV lanes... WOW that sucked.... did i mention lots of cars..... other than that mess traffic was heavy but nothing like the DC mess.. got back about 6:00 pm... would i do it again ..... yes... my break point is 1200 dollars or under ....,if i can fly and rent a car for that i will.

A great first-time report!

Ah, there's nothing like unexpected items (pot hole crews on the DE Memorial Bridge) to make the early part of one's drive problematic. Ugh! We try to avoid most of the problems you mentioned by departing very, very early on a weekend morning.

Nevertheless, you made it.

To what extent did you drive in WDW?

 

[stinkypeet]

we always have a car there.... time is money.. we always drive to MK. we make early breakfast or dinner resv.. at the Poly. park there and monorail in .. get the park do in 3-4 hours and get out before the crowds and the heat(when in summer). we also drive to AK. We drive to other resorts for dinner and valet(DVC members).. we like the convience of driving .. never have to wait and we come and go as we please.. nothing worse than hot crowded buses with people who lack manners ( not always )..

 

[Mysteria]

Please don't park at the monorail resorts and go to the parks. It can create a nightmare at the parking lots for visitors and it's not fair to the guests of that resort. No I'm not the parking police but I have tried to park at these resorts before. Both for when I've stayed there or had restaurant res's or wanted to shop. It can be frustrating. There are WAY too many cars for the people staying or actually eating at/visiting those resorts for other people to be leaving their cars and going to the parks.

Off my soapbox now. Please continue to the next mile.

 

[Peanut&Piglet'sMom]

We've driven 3 times now from North Jersey (Sussex Co.) to WDW and back! First time was straight through the night - landing in Jacksonville around 7am. Our daughter was just 9months old - her first trip!

2nd trip...daughter was 2.5 years old so we opted to make a few stops. North Carolina and then someplace at the top of Florida/lower Georgia. The ride home was straight through though. My husband is a machine! LOL

3rd trip....daughter was 5 and her little sis was 17months old. Plan was to stop in Daytona for the night then drive into WDW. My Trailblazer had a different plan and blew it's water pump in Newark, Deleware! So we lucked out by getting an awesome tow truck driver who called in his mechanic on a Sat. night, helped us in finding a place to crash for the night adn then had us on the road again on Sunday around noon. We pulled into Animal Kindgom Lodge at 5:30am....magically...our room was ready at 7am!

That last trip had us swearing we'd NEVER do the drive again....but...here we are planning to do it in August and actually looking forward to it. Kids are older, we have planned out what we'd need to do should we break down again...and we honestly can't picture a Trip to Disney without the drive down!

Mind you...I might be back in September with a WHOLE different outlook! LOL

 

[stinkypeet]

I know it sounds bad to park at the poly and have breakfast ( 30 to 50 bucks ) or dinner ( Ohana 150 bucks + ) and then hop on the monorail and got to the kingdom for a couple of hours.....I guess i should get back in my car and go park over at the mk parking lot.... hmmmm .. not. sorry, I just dont feel the same way... I'm an outlaw sometimes... guess what i pool hopped the other day too (AK)... didnt feel bad about it either....no big deal ... I dropped a hundy at jinko... sorry if you think we step outside the lines but, we pay to play..

 

[Mysteria]

I know it sounds bad to park at the poly and have breakfast ( 30 to 50 bucks ) or dinner ( Ohana 150 bucks + ) and then hop on the monorail and got to the kingdom for a couple of hours.....I guess i should get back in my car and go park over at the mk parking lot.... hmmmm .. not. sorry, I just dont feel the same way... I'm an outlaw sometimes... guess what i pool hopped the other day too (AK)... didnt feel bad about it either....no big deal ... I dropped a hundy at jinko... sorry if you think we step outside the lines but, we pay to play..

I didn't mean only you, too many people do it, though obviously your post brought it on. If that's how you truly beleive then you have a distorted sense of entitlement or you are simply a pot stirrer. Somehow I'm thinking the latter but You get free parking, go use it!! We ALL drop big bucks at WDW. That doesn't give us the right to do whatever we please. An outlaw no. Just an irritation.

eta: Sorry 2000+ mile thread folks. I will drop it now no matter as I let a pet peeve take this thread off course.

 

[Marty Moose]

left from south jersey... 9:00am thurs the 9th.. not a bad drive .. worried about traffic in Balt, DC, ... well no one told me about the pot hole crew on the Del memorial bridge... backed up pretty good.. about a 1/2 hour.. after that smooth sailing no back ups at all made it to Savannah Ga.. 9:00 pm overnight ( stayed at the sheraton four points... real nice and clean... friday had about 5 hours to go and made it with no traffic at all... coming home was not as good... left Friday the 17th around noon... heavy traffic all the way through fla... no one told me the whole state of Ga was under road construction ( wow pretty draining... made it to Savannah Ga 7:30 pm... got some gas and food and off we went.... lots and lots of cars.. made it to fayetteville around 12 :30 am and spent the night .. got up yesterday and off we went... lots of cars and yes real aggresive drivers... I drive at a pretty good pace and dont take chances with my family in the car.. man some people drive like there gonna get there any faster than me... wow ... this is a record never flipped anyone off and no cursing.... thought about it .. gave lots of stupid looks though... well back to the trip.... did i say lots of cars... made it to south of dc and sat in a traffic jam for 30 miles ..... no really 30 miles.... who is the traffic genius that slept late and would not open the HOV lanes... WOW that sucked.... did i mention lots of cars..... other than that mess traffic was heavy but nothing like the DC mess.. got back about 6:00 pm... would i do it again ..... yes... my break point is 1200 dollars or under ....,if i can fly and rent a car for that i will.

Great report! We're leaving SJ late Wednesday evening...getting excited!

What time did you cross the Del. Mem. bridge? I cross every (weekday) morning around 9am and can't remember having a problem anytime recently...
They must wait until after "rush hour" and then shut down a bunch of lanes. Definitely something for East coast drivers to keep in mind...especially during the summer when they do construction constantly!!