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

[BC1836]

I left from South NJ at midnight on a Friday night. I drove to SC - about 6am and tried to get a room, unfortunately it was difficult because most wanted you to be out of the room by 11am even though you came in at 6am. I drove a bit further and then stopped for breakfast and finally was able to get a room in Florence around 1pm. That night, around 10pm we left again and got into Orlando around 10:30am.

If possible, next time, depart very, very early (3 to 4 a.m.) on a Saturday:

You'll face less traffic during the first several hours of traffic.
You'll be able to make more miles during the day (easier on the eyes).
You'll be able to go further and secure a room for a proper overnnight stay.
And you'll still get to WDW at 10:30 a.m.

[But don't stop at South of the Border! ]

All the best.

 

[pomlover]

When traveling longer distances there is just a higher chance of encountering traffic jam, road work etc. So it's always best to just allocate the extra time needed during planning.

 

[the Fidge]

We're starting to plan our first drive to WDW from Wisconsin (about an hour north of Milwaukee on the Lake Michigan shoreline). It looks like it'll be roughly 1300 miles from my driveway to the Contemporary parking lot. We've flown the past two trips, but are going to try the drive this time around if for no other reason than we want to say that we've done it. Plus, we like the flexibility of not being tied to a flight departure time, baggage limits, etc.

My first dilemma - one stop or two? Since I'll be doing 90% of the driving (my wife will only drive on straight stretches of the highway in light traffic), I'm not all that interested in driving straight through. Even though it'll cost more, I'm leaning heavily towards stopping twice on the way down -- once somewhere in Tennessee and then again in northern Florida. The last thing I'd want is to be burnt out from driving before my actual vacation even begins. But then I'm thinking, if we leave at 4:00 am we can be somewhere in Georgia by late evening. Then it's just another 5-6 hours until we reach WDW. So why not just stop once and save ourselves the ~$100 on that 2nd night in a hotel?

This has probably been discussed earlier in this thread, but not in the last 10 or so pages so hopefully someone can answer this for me. When planning to stop for the night, do you reserve a hotel ahead of time? Or do you wing it and hope to find a vacancy somewhere when you feel like you need to stop? My only concern with reserving ahead of time is that if I plan on stopping somewhere at say 6:00 pm; but I make really good time and arrive at the hotel at 4:30 pm, I'll probably be upset that I could have driven for another hour and a half before having to stop. Or even if I make it at 6:00 pm but feel like I've got another hour or two of driving in me, I'd hate to be tied down to stopping there instead of continuing on. What's the "norm" for this?

Hey there fellow peeper! What this OCD peeping planner does go likes this:

I check out online the hotels listed in the travel coupon books, you can view them online first here's some:

http://www.roomsaver.com/

http://www.hotelcoupons.com/

http://www.travelcoupons.com/

then after checking out trip advisor I print out the online coupon. I usually have several so in case DH or I get sleepy or think we can keep going then I have some different ones to pick from along the journey. I call the hotels I have picked and check along the way how busy they are and then make a ressie after we have a good idea when we are going to want to stop. Usually Richmond Hill area in Ga for us.

I also print out gas prices I estimate where we willneed a fill up and work out several exits along that area. I use index flip cards for that.

http://gasbuddy.com/

Also I stick with chains that I have memberships for points with and plus it at least you have somewhere hopefully with some standards.

I also utilize MyPoints.com to gain free cards for gas and food stops like Cracker Barrel along the way.

Road trips are a blast my DS refuses to fly so we all get to spend some quality time along the way. Naturally download all sorts of good driving music for the ride and of course some disney music for the last leg to keep motivated!

 

[SpecialK]

We're starting to plan our first drive to WDW from Wisconsin (about an hour north of Milwaukee on the Lake Michigan shoreline). It looks like it'll be roughly 1300 miles from my driveway to the Contemporary parking lot. We've flown the past two trips, but are going to try the drive this time around if for no other reason than we want to say that we've done it. Plus, we like the flexibility of not being tied to a flight departure time, baggage limits, etc.

My first dilemma - one stop or two? Since I'll be doing 90% of the driving (my wife will only drive on straight stretches of the highway in light traffic), I'm not all that interested in driving straight through. Even though it'll cost more, I'm leaning heavily towards stopping twice on the way down -- once somewhere in Tennessee and then again in northern Florida. The last thing I'd want is to be burnt out from driving before my actual vacation even begins. But then I'm thinking, if we leave at 4:00 am we can be somewhere in Georgia by late evening. Then it's just another 5-6 hours until we reach WDW. So why not just stop once and save ourselves the ~$100 on that 2nd night in a hotel?

This has probably been discussed earlier in this thread, but not in the last 10 or so pages so hopefully someone can answer this for me. When planning to stop for the night, do you reserve a hotel ahead of time? Or do you wing it and hope to find a vacancy somewhere when you feel like you need to stop? My only concern with reserving ahead of time is that if I plan on stopping somewhere at say 6:00 pm; but I make really good time and arrive at the hotel at 4:30 pm, I'll probably be upset that I could have driven for another hour and a half before having to stop. Or even if I make it at 6:00 pm but feel like I've got another hour or two of driving in me, I'd hate to be tied down to stopping there instead of continuing on. What's the "norm" for this?

We drove from the south suburbs of Chgo. and we stopped two nights. We left ourselves a really short drive the day we arrived in WDW, checked in early and we weren't wiped out from the drive. We plan on doing the same thing this summer. We only stopped for one night on the way home and that second day was really long.

I take the AAA state book and call motels from the road when we decide to stop. I don't know if I would do that on a holiday weekend though.

 

[glo]

Can someone tell me the route that avoids the D.C. /Virginia and rte 95? I am coming from MA. and want to avoid the traffic. I do not mind adding a little more milage if it avoids traffic.

 

[WI_DisneyFan]

Hey there fellow peeper! What this OCD peeping planner does go likes this:

Hey Fidge! Fancy meeting you here! Thanks for the tips. I have a folder on my computer specifically for Disney trip related things like this, and you can be sure that I'll be copying your whole post into it. My wife does the MyPoints thing, so I'll have to make sure she lets them build up to help pay for meals and stuff along the way. I'm also going to check out those coupon websites. Thanks again!

We drove from the south suburbs of Chgo. and we stopped two nights. We left ourselves a really short drive the day we arrived in WDW, checked in early and we weren't wiped out from the drive. We plan on doing the same thing this summer. We only stopped for one night on the way home and that second day was really long.

I take the AAA state book and call motels from the road when we decide to stop. I don't know if I would do that on a holiday weekend though.

I think we are pretty much 99% committed to making two stops on the way down. Most likely once in Nashville, and once in northern Florida. I've picked out a few hotels in both areas that look decent and won't cost me an arm and a leg. Then we should have a 2.5 hour drive to WDW, which as you said shouldn't wipe us out.

 

[kingcrab]

always drive, hate the inconvenience of flying nowdays. 2,384 miles round trip from where I live in Illinois. Plus airfare was going to be over $900, and then the cost of renting a car in Orlando. I am renting a car in Illinois for 12 days for $315(unlimited miles), the fuel should be around $200. Big savings.

Leaving Friday June 12th at 1:00 p.m., hoping to stop in the Nashville area around 9 p.m. for dinner, and either back on the road, or stay at a hotel in the Nashville area and sleep until about 3:00 a.m., and then back on the road for the last part of the trip. Plan on getting into Orlando around 4:00 p.m. on Saturday(if we stop at a hotel, earlier Saturday if I/we drive straight through) go have some dinner(Boston Lobster Feast), a few drinks, and then back to the pool at the hotel(Pop) or turn in for some sleep. SUnday we will spend at the pool, and then go to Sanaa for dinner.

Monday is the only day we are going to the Magic Kingdom or any of the parks. The rest of the week will be spent relaxing poolside, eating off the Disney property, and a day trip to Cocoa Beach.

 

[mookie]

We're starting to plan our first drive to WDW from Wisconsin (about an hour north of Milwaukee on the Lake Michigan shoreline). It looks like it'll be roughly 1300 miles from my driveway to the Contemporary parking lot. We've flown the past two trips, but are going to try the drive this time around if for no other reason than we want to say that we've done it. Plus, we like the flexibility of not being tied to a flight departure time, baggage limits, etc.

My first dilemma - one stop or two? Since I'll be doing 90% of the driving (my wife will only drive on straight stretches of the highway in light traffic), I'm not all that interested in driving straight through. Even though it'll cost more, I'm leaning heavily towards stopping twice on the way down -- once somewhere in Tennessee and then again in northern Florida. The last thing I'd want is to be burnt out from driving before my actual vacation even begins. But then I'm thinking, if we leave at 4:00 am we can be somewhere in Georgia by late evening. Then it's just another 5-6 hours until we reach WDW. So why not just stop once and save ourselves the ~$100 on that 2nd night in a hotel?

This has probably been discussed earlier in this thread, but not in the last 10 or so pages so hopefully someone can answer this for me. When planning to stop for the night, do you reserve a hotel ahead of time? Or do you wing it and hope to find a vacancy somewhere when you feel like you need to stop? My only concern with reserving ahead of time is that if I plan on stopping somewhere at say 6:00 pm; but I make really good time and arrive at the hotel at 4:30 pm, I'll probably be upset that I could have driven for another hour and a half before having to stop. Or even if I make it at 6:00 pm but feel like I've got another hour or two of driving in me, I'd hate to be tied down to stopping there instead of continuing on. What's the "norm" for this?

Just got back yesterday, so I'm hoping I can help! We are in the FAR NW burbs of Chicago...about 1/2 hour from Lake Geneva.

On the way down, we planned a stop in Macon, GA. We left our house at 3:30am. We have 3 kids under 6, so had planned for quite a few stops. The trip was actually great! We mostly stopped to stretch our legs when we got gas, and the only time we got out to eat was at Cracker Barrel in Nashville. Made it to Macon in about 15 1/2 hours. Next morning, we got up, left Macon by 9:30, and made it to Orlando by 3:30.

On the way home, the trip was GREAT! The kids did amazing, I think because they knew more of how long of a drive to expect. We had planned on leaving Orlando around 3:30am again, but decided to let the kids sleep and left about 5:30. We had ressies to stop in Clarksville, TN on the way home. Made it there about 3:15 (CST) and the kids were doing so great, we decided to keep going....marathon style! I couldn't believe it. We cancelled the ressie, only stopped for gas and potty breaks, and ate our dinner in the car. We made it to the south suburbs of Chicago, where my in-laws live to sleep for the night about 11:15pm. My thought was as long as the kids were doing great, I'd rather suffer through and get to my in-laws and sleep, and then we only had 1 1/2 hours to drive home from there as opposed to 8 hours from Clarksville. Boy was I glad I did! I was so happy to be home and have the whole day to catch up and do laundry. Plus, I was worried about getting home so late yesterday (Sunday) and then having my dd go right back to school Mon. morning with no downtime. This gave her a day at home to relax instead of an extra day of driving in the car.

Total time from Orlando to South burbs of Chicago...just under 19 hours. WITH 3 YOUNG KIDS!!!!

I would do it again in a heartbeat!

 

[the Fidge]

Here's another one

http://www.theoig.com/TravelCoupons.htm

 

[miprender]

Mookie that's great. How old are your children? Ours will be DD6, DS4 and DS2 if we decide to drive down next April. What kind of things did you do too keep them from going crazy?

The only part that worries me about driving down is it cuts into my Disney time But otherwise not worrying about getting on a plane... priceless.

 

[mookie]

Mookie that's great. How old are your children? Ours will be DD6, DS4 and DS2 if we decide to drive down next April. What kind of things did you do too keep them from going crazy?

The only part that worries me about driving down is it cuts into my Disney time But otherwise not worrying about getting on a plane... priceless.

Our kids are just about the same age as yours....dd6, ds3, and ds2! Here's some things we did...

If you have a minivan with captains chairs in the middle row, take one of the seats out. Put your littlest in the other chair and the two oldest in the back. This does two things....gives you easy access to all kids when you have to climb back there, and allows the 6 year old to help out with the middle child. Also, we had lots of stuff in the car....I had a big bin of snacks, a mini rolling cooler for water and drinks, and another bin for all of their "new toys."

We also had a dvd player. The kids actually were a bit restless on the way down, and didn't use it as much as I thought they would, but on the way home, that's all they did was watch movies. Our 6yo also had a DS that she played. We figured out about 3 days before the trip that with the 2 kids in the back, that might cause a fight, because our middle ds likes playing with her DS too. Much to my dh protest, I found a nice older model used ds at Gamestop for about 45 bucks. I didn't buy him any new games, he had to use hers. But after the trip, DH agreed it was the best money ever spent!

The activities I got them were mostly from the dollar store. There is also a link on the DIS that has printable activities for the road. One was a road trip scavenger hunt (find a green car, helicopter, cow, stop sign, etc.) I printed these out for everyone, and laminated them at home, then brought some dry erase markers with so each one could mark off what they saw. It worked great! Also, there is a page on that same thread to print out all of the license plates pictures for the license plate game. This was A LOT of fun and helped our 2 oldest to better "see" what the plates looked like.

I bought a few used DVD's for the trip, so it was stuff they havent seen. Also, lots of coloring books...no crayons...they melt. Use colored pencils. Best thing we did (which was suggested on the DIS) was to bring a small ball with and stop at rest stops to give the kids a chance to stretch their legs. This was INVALUABLE!!! We brought a small soccer ball, and whenever we stopped, we got out the ball. Just those 15-20 minutes of kicking the soccer ball around did wonders for their stamina in the car...I HIGHLY recommend it!

If I think of any others, I'll let you know, but really, I think the road trip went much better than I had planned....and trust me...if my 3 crazy kids can do it, I think anyone can!

 

[WI_DisneyFan]

Just got back yesterday, so I'm hoping I can help! We are in the FAR NW burbs of Chicago...about 1/2 hour from Lake Geneva.

....

Total time from Orlando to South burbs of Chicago...just under 19 hours. WITH 3 YOUNG KIDS!!!!

I would do it again in a heartbeat!

Yep, that does help! I'm ~1.5-2 hours from you. I was planning on about 20-21 hours total driving time, so it sounds like my estimates (assuming good travel conditions, no major road construction, etc.) were pretty close.

Here's another one

http://www.theoig.com/TravelCoupons.htm

Thanks again!!!

 

[BC1836]

You've just driven at least 1,000 miles and you're exiting I-4 at #67 (or any other appropriate WDW highway exit)...you're approaching the the large main WDW arch that welcomes you...so what do you do next?

For us, it's the playing of "Spectromagic" on our DVD player and beeping the horn a couple of times (an acknowledgement of sorts that we've finally made it!).

So, any other traditionals or rituals that are followed, fellow 2,000+ miile round trip drivers?

 

[ty_n_cy]

I'm sure this has been covered, but my eyes are killing me from reading so much today, so I figure I'll post it.

We're driving from Morris County, NJ next week. We're leaving at 6:00 pm on Wednesday night (5/20) and we plan to alternate drivers (I'll be sleeping all day so I'll be able to drive until about 2:00 am the next day or so) until we get there.

Based on the Mapquest directions, it's saying 18 hours. I know we can't make the trip that quickly... but supposing we avoid traffic since we're driving at night... does anybody have an estimate on how long it should take us?

Thanks for your help!

 

[kristytru]

We drove down Easter week during the day from Randolph. Took us 12 hours (rainy weather) to get to NC/SC border and another 9 to WDW the next day. Took the 81S-77S-26-95 route. Should have been 8 to WDW but hit rush hour traffic for about an hour. Enjoy!

 

[ty_n_cy]

We drove down Easter week during the day from Randolph. Took us 12 hours (rainy weather) to get to NC/SC border and another 9 to WDW the next day. Took the 81S-77S-26-95 route. Should have been 8 to WDW but hit rush hour traffic for about an hour. Enjoy!

Hi neighbor! Thanks for your response.

All total, looks like it took you about 21 hours, which is what I figure on. I think I'm going to drive 95 the whole way. We took 81 a few years ago when we drove to Gatlinburg, TN and it wasn't one of my favorite trips. Plus, when we head out toward 81... it's almost a prerequisite that we stop at Hershey.

Thanks again for your response... very much appreciated.

 

[miprender]

Mookie.... thanks for the great tips. I will have to check that other thread out. I love the idea of the liscense plate game.

I wish we had captain chairs in our minivan, but our caravan just has the bench seats.

 

[ROEDISNEY]

We have been doing this ride every year sine 95 every August.
95 South to WDW.
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME

 

[FirstTimertoDiz]

I am sorry if this has been asked before, but the length of this thread is intimidating to find something in, lol.

We are driving this August for the first time from Altoona, PA. Our plan is to leave on a Friday just after dh gets done with football practice, which means we leave between 11am-noon. We are planning on taking I-95, which means we will hit Baltimore at about 3pm on a Friday if my calculations are right- is that a terrible time, or will I be early for rush hour?

Also, how bad is traffic going through Richmond? It looks like we could be hitting there around 5 or 6 pm?

Thanks for any advice!

 

[ROEDISNEY]

I am sorry if this has been asked before, but the length of this thread is intimidating to find something in, lol.

We are driving this August for the first time from Altoona, PA. Our plan is to leave on a Friday just after dh gets done with football practice, which means we leave between 11am-noon. We are planning on taking I-95, which means we will hit Baltimore at about 3pm on a Friday if my calculations are right- is that a terrible time, or will I be early for rush hour?

Also, how bad is traffic going through Richmond? It looks like we could be hitting there around 5 or 6 pm?

Thanks for any advice!

Fridays are not the best day to travel.
Okay no it's not a terrible time. When you hit Washington it don't matter cause that's never a good time. Once your into VA start looking for the express lane on the left. Take that and you should be good