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

[Tricia0305]

And always remember: if you can, depart very, very early and make that departure on a weekend.

All the best from us (four round trip drives in 2008)!

4 Drives in 2008....WOW!!! Guess my DH should stop complaining.

We are planning on leaving Fri so that we can do 3 - 6 to 8 hour legs d/t weather, stops, food, etc, before we have to check in on Sunday. We would sleep in VA and then again in SC/GA border. (I'm one of those people that HAVE to be in as early as possible for check-IN day. But I am fine with leaving early on check-OUT day.)

We were also considering staying Saturday night in HHI. But the points for a Sat in Feb are a bit steep. (24)!!

I would love to hear any pros/cons from anyone that has done this...especially in Winter months....to see if it's worth it. We have a ressy for Aug 09 in HHI and we were thinking this might be a nice way to take a look around????

Thanks to everyone for all their help!

 

[treeface]

Just returned home a week ago from our most recent trip to WDW and will be returning in June. On the way down, we left home about 4 pm on 12/18 and stopped over in Berea, KY about 40 minutes south of Lexington, then drove the rest of the trip on 12/19, arriving at ASMo at about 8:30 pm. We left ahead of the ice storm headed our way that Thursday night (live near South bend IN) and had no problems. On the way home, we left OKW at 5:40 am and were in our home at 11:30 pm (temps about 60-65 all the way home). We usually stop over one night on the way down and drive home on the return.

For the record, several years ago, we went to FL 4 times in 9 months and drove three of those times (all to WDW). The one trip we flew (for the Daytona 500), it took almost 15 hours from our house to the hotel in Jacksonville. We had several flight delays that trip and my previous flight down two years prior was a 14.5 hour trip to Tampa, also because of delays (not snow) so with my luck it is almost as quick to drive and then I am in control of when I get there.

I have madde the trip in several different vehicles, this past one being the most comfortable (Pontiac Torrent which will make the trip again in June). I do fly when I travel solo to see family, have mixed luck lately, usually good with Allegiant, not so good with Delta, but get many free tix out of being bumped with them so it's all good.

 

[BC1836]

For the record, several years ago, we went to FL 4 times in 9 months and drove three of those times (all to WDW). The one trip we flew (for the Daytona 500), it took almost 15 hours from our house to the hotel in Jacksonville. We had several flight delays that trip and my previous flight down two years prior was a 14.5 hour trip to Tampa, also because of delays (not snow) so with my luck it is almost as quick to drive and then I am in control of when I get there.

We have heard similar stories about total travel time, i.e., leaving home/WDW and arriving home/WDW...plus what you call the "in control" factor.

Those are two of the major reasons why we drive (even though we flew to Disneyland last June).

All the best.

 

[DVCisME]

I don't know how to start this so, does anyone ever sleep at a welcome center or rest area? Do you have kids? During the day or night?
For us it would not be first choice, but would like to have it as a back-up.

 

[Corjack]

We will be driving our 2200 miles in late April. My Dh is not thrilled but with airline prices so high and all the "extras" they add on it is just way to pricey to fly this year.

We have driven many times before but never with our kids. I am kinda looking forward to it.

jackie

 

[grammynelliebelle]

Well we made it down to Orlando without problem! Thanks to all the good wishes for a safe trip. We left central NJ about 4:45 am and arrived here about 9:30 Pm. I agree that leaving early and traveling on a Sat are very helpful. We pack a cooler and only stop for brief bathroom trips and gas. We usually have audio books for the car, and I bring my knitting. DH does most of the driving but I take a few hours to give him a break. (He really prefers to drive) We never have stopped at a rest stop to sleep, but I have notices other cars with people resting. I dont think I would sleep, but I guess if you are tired enough you will. We try to be well rested before we start the trip, but thats not always an option for everyone. For everyone planning the journey have a safe trip! Grammy

 

[treeface]

I don't know how to start this so, does anyone ever sleep at a welcome center or rest area? Do you have kids? During the day or night?
For us it would not be first choice, but would like to have it as a back-up.

I did stop once on the way home from a solo trip to NC. Left Raleigh at 9 pm, took 40 to 75, then headed north. Had a lot of fog in the mountains and couldn't make it home. Stopped about 4 am (or so, don't remember, it was 10 years ago) at the rest stop on I75 just north of Lexington, slept for a couple hours in the car (covered up with a blanket, parked right under a light near other cars) then drove home. No problems, but not sure I'd do it again, especially by myself or with kids.

 

[huskies90]

We are driving to Disney for the first time this Feb 09 from Fairfield County, CT. My DH is not really thrilled with my choice.
Normally we fly because it's such a short flight....but with air costs and weather conditions I just think driving might be a cheaper, safer bet. (At least I'm hoping!!)
I am not a good flyer to begin with and I really just want to take a break from the hassle (and medication!). We tried the Auto-Train out of VA one year as an alternate option and had a horrible experience, so I don't recommend that at ALL!!
I was thrilled to find this post with all the tips and tricks to make the ride easier.
So if anyone from my area is willing to email me with specifics, especially for this time of year, I would appreciate any and all suggestions!!
Thanks to all for your time.

Hi ya!! After about a dozen flights to FL, this will be our family's first drive. We are in Fairfield County, CT also and will be going in Feb '09 as well. Probably the same week as most of CT has President's week off. Try searching flights for that week and you see why we picked this trip for our first drive. It is something I always wanted to do once and we are really looking forward to it. Well, the kids still are begging to fly but my wife and are looking forward to doing it once. My guess is after doing it once we'll be back to flying but who knows!!!

Besides the high airfares from the tri-state area, the weather is another factor for driving. Yeah, if it is bad it might be trecherous but when you drive you have so much more control. As someone who once traveled monthly on business, i can't tell you how many winter delays, canceled flights and how many times I was stranded in the airport. By yourself is one thing but with the kids that is another story. When you drive, you have flexibility to leave a day earlier or a day later or at a different time or drive around the storm or just drive though it if you are up to it. You don't have that control when you fly.

 

[huskies90]

OK the resort is booked, the ADR's are set, the highlevel park days are planned. Now it is time to start planning the drive. What I am hoping to do is make a list of possible good places to stop along the way. Since I can't predict when I'll need a...ummmm...you know, break, especially considering the amount of coffee and Red Bull I'll be drinking, I'd like to know my options and where they are. I am extremely worried about this:

One of my biggest rants when we drive are those fast food signs that send you miles down the road! I have a trip journal I take with me and I have place the Good and Bad Exits for stops inside the front cover. Nothing worse than taking and exit and thinking..Oh NO! Done this before...

I'll be doing the 'graveyard shift' from midnight to 7 am and when I stop, I don't want to be driving all over some backwoods town looking for a rest stop or a Dunkin' Donuts. What do you experts do to plan? I was going to use this to plan www.i95exitguide.com but I read recently that it wasn't very accurate. I also think there is a book but I believe it was written by the same folks that do the website. Thoughts for how to plan?

 

[gk90]

I'll be doing the 'graveyard shift' from midnight to 7 am and when I stop, I don't want to be driving all over some backwoods town looking for a rest stop or a Dunkin' Donuts. What do you experts do to plan? I was going to use this to plan www.i95exitguide.com but I read recently that it wasn't very accurate. I also think there is a book but I believe it was written by the same folks that do the website. Thoughts for how to plan?

Did you look at the I-95 info page here on the wdwinfo site? For states like NC, SC and GA that don't have services right off the highway like MD and NJ do, they tell you that some exits have no services and for others, they say how far away from the exits you'll find gas etc. I know how those drives can last forever--we were in desperate need of a rest area for the kids one time, in SC I think, and we had to drive 5 miles off I-95! Thank goodness the kids held it in! Anyway, I'll be printing out the info on those pages for next trip. Here's a link:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/Transportation/NC-I95.htm

I don't know how to start this so, does anyone ever sleep at a welcome center or rest area? Do you have kids? During the day or night?
For us it would not be first choice, but would like to have it as a back-up.

I know that it was an isolated incident and that it was 15 years ago but I've never forgotten how Michael Jordan's dad was killed by a couple of young guys when he was napping at a rest area in NC--I googled it and some sites say it was off I-95, others say it was off I-74.

 

[BC1836]

Nearly every gas station located just off an I-95 exit offers some kind of food/snacks. And fast food places are usually situated close by.

Regarding rest areas: there are rest areas situated right over the border (the mileage varies, though) as you enter each state. The first VA rest area can be tricky to enter unless you remain in the right hand lane. Most feature some kind of security during daytime hours.

 

[sharadoc]

We will also be driving down in Feb-the first week actually, from NJ though. Has anyone driven this time of year? I know how unpredictable the weather is these days, but has it ever made for a real issue while driving?
I have not heard anyone here say they take the ferry...is that correct? because it takes so much time?

Hi. We've done the drive a few times end of Jan/beg. of Feb. One time we had a snowstorm and had to shovel a path to our car (this was in Philly). But once we got to a main road, it was fine. The interstates are almost always done first, so we had no trouble on '95.

We're leaving on January 18. This thread has been awesome. I'll try to check in from the road and give you all updates. We plan to stop overnight in either Florence or Santee. We have reservations in both and will cancel when we get close and decide how far to go.

We're hoping to only stop for coffee, gas, and potty breaks. We'll keep our fingers crossed.

 

[Calle&Jakesmom]

gk90 & Huskies90 thanks for the links- they will help a lot in planning the drive!

 

[mjbradeis]

We just drove in December and from NJ and used the Drive I95 book. It was a great to know what there was at the exits ahead. We bought digital copy and it was only $9.95. Here is the link:http://www.drivei95.com/

 

[KATIESMOMMY]

Just returned home a week ago from our most recent trip to WDW and will be returning in June. On the way down, we left home about 4 pm on 12/18 and stopped over in Berea, KY about 40 minutes south of Lexington, then drove the rest of the trip on 12/19, arriving at ASMo at about 8:30 pm. We left ahead of the ice storm headed our way that Thursday night (live near South bend IN) and had no problems. On the way home, we left OKW at 5:40 am and were in our home at 11:30 pm (temps about 60-65 all the way home). We usually stop over one night on the way down and drive home on the return.

For the record, several years ago, we went to FL 4 times in 9 months and drove three of those times (all to WDW). The one trip we flew (for the Daytona 500), it took almost 15 hours from our house to the hotel in Jacksonville. We had several flight delays that trip and my previous flight down two years prior was a 14.5 hour trip to Tampa, also because of delays (not snow) so with my luck it is almost as quick to drive and then I am in control of when I get there.

I have madde the trip in several different vehicles, this past one being the most comfortable (Pontiac Torrent which will make the trip again in June). I do fly when I travel solo to see family, have mixed luck lately, usually good with Allegiant, not so good with Delta, but get many free tix out of being bumped with them so it's all good.

We are in the South Bend area also and plan on driving our next trip after the horrible ordeal trying to get home a few weeks back ( we tried to come home the day the ice storm hit, Friday, we finally made it home 2 days later) via Delta. Can I ask your route if you dont mind?

 

[DVCisME]

Pople from NJ: Does anyone take rt 40 instead of the turnpike?
I know I drove this way when I was a teenager, but cannot seem to see these directions anywhere

 

[huskies90]

Has anyone used www.travmatix.com to plan your drive? Is it accurate?

 

[BC1836]

Pople from NJ: Does anyone take rt 40 instead of the turnpike?
I know I drove this way when I was a teenager, but cannot seem to see these directions anywhere

You can drive to the Turnpike via route 40, but it isn't a road to use "instead" of the Turnpike since the south Jersey highway is essentaiily an east-west transportation artery.

 

[FidlMom]

We've done the drive from CT to Orlando lots of times (21 hours). We always drove straight through because my younger DD is a terrible traveler. When the kids were little (ages 2-ish and 4-ish) the TIMING of the trip was very important. We found it worked best if we left home at 3PM. That would get us past NYC before the rush hour traffic, and then we'd stop for a bathroom/fast-food break around 7PM. By the time we got on the road again at 8PM, it was 'bedtime' for the kids, and we'd tilt their seats back and put on their nighttime music tape.

Peace.

DH and I would swap driving all night. When the kids awoke at 6 the next morning, we'd be just about there. We'd feed them breakfast, and then arrive around noon.

We'll be doing the drive again next month - see you at the rest stop!

 

[huskies90]

We've done the drive from CT to Orlando lots of times (21 hours). We always drove straight through because my younger DS is a terrible traveler. When the kids were little (ages 2-ish and 4-ish) the TIMING of the trip was very important. We found it worked best if we left home at 3PM. That would get us past NYC before the rush hour traffic, and then we'd stop for a bathroom/fast-food break around 7PM. By the time we got on the road again at 8PM, it was 'bedtime' for the kids, and we'd tilt their seats back and put on their nighttime music tape.

Peace.

DH and I would swap driving all night. When the kids awoke at 6 the next morning, we'd be just about there. We'd feed them breakfast, and then arrive around noon.

We'll be doing the drive again next month - see you at the rest stop!

We are following the same schedule in February. What I have noticed recently in this area, is that rush hour seems to start earlier and earlier. I am worried that leaving at 3 we are going to run right into the teeth of the NY traffic. Are you in Fairfield County, CT?