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

[Chuck-PA]

My wife and I were just on a bus trip on Saturday July 25th.
We were on I95 and stopped at the Delaware Service Area not sure what Mile marker or Exit it is.
There was a sign inside stating that they are closing Sept 8, 2009 for renovations and will open the Summer of 2010. Thought I would give a heads up to those who are driving down I95 and were planning their stops for bathroom and gas breaks.

 

[robin09]

Most of the trips were 3 full weeks plus on a few an extra day due to a holiday. Basically we had 2 very long driving days on the first 2 days (800 or so miles each. You gain the hour each day giving you 2 25 hour days. We would slow down in the west. Most of the extensive sightseeing for us was the mountain states to be honest. We did the CA to WA drive on a trip in 1989 as well. The drive home was not quite so long a drive each day but on the trip home from NW Washington we did do it in 3 days losing an hr. each day! We did go as far west as the North Rim of the Grand Canyon on a 2 1/2 week trip as well. Any other questions on planning etc. feel free to ask!! IT"S a lot of fun planning and going on these trips!!

Hubby and I have been discussing a cross country trip for a few years now. We live in Central New York, in the Catskill mountains. I really want to visit the 4 corners, Grand Canyon, and Havasink (JUST TO SAY I've been to the London Bridge.) Has anyone just driven there and back, in under 2 weeks? DD is in 5th grade this year, so we really can't pull her out much and we usually do our vacation (not including disney) in February. Thanks!

 

[disneyfan55]

Hubby and I have been discussing a cross country trip for a few years now. We live in Central New York, in the Catskill mountains. I really want to visit the 4 corners, Grand Canyon, and Havasink (JUST TO SAY I've been to the London Bridge.) Has anyone just driven there and back, in under 2 weeks? DD is in 5th grade this year, so we really can't pull her out much and we usually do our vacation (not including disney) in February. Thanks!

That would be pushing it to really be able to see anything. February can be hard to drive since the midwest and most of the northern 1/3 of the country can have icy/snowy weather. The Grand Canyon may have too much snow as well. The North Rim closes usually around mid Oct and I'm not sure when that reopens in the spring. We have gone cross country quite a few times and the least amount of time was about 2 1/2 weeks and only as far west as the Grand Canyon. These trips all started in NJ where we live and drove on the first 2 days for 700-800 miles each. I don't think I would venture on a cross country trip in Feb, just my thoughts on that. We drove back from Montana in early Oct 2005 and had 9 inches of snow in Deadwood SD!! We also almost missed Rocky Mountain NP in late Sept due to it being closed a day or 2 because of snow!! Late spring to early fall would be my timeframe for a northern (due to where you are coming from mainly) cross country trip. Just my thoughts. Any other questions, please ask. When the kids were small our trips were the day after school let out just to let you know!

In your signature it looks like you've done WDW in Aug. That would me my choice for the cross country and go to WDW in Feb. Many NP are mountainous and close during winter months due to snow cover. Shennandoah NP here in VA is closed due to snow and bad weather.

 

[mommytodarlings]

Question for those experienced drivers, our drive is 1300 miles, we drove straight through on our previous trip in 2007 with minimal stops (just for food, gas, stretch, etc.) wondering if it would be better to take a short stop(5-6 hrs) at a hotel?

We didn't mind the straight drive, as dh & I changed drivers every 3-4 hrs, which we are planning to do this trip as well.

Our plan was to leave at about 10am, but I am supposed to work a short shift finishing about 5-6am and I am thinking it may be better to leave when I get home (as I will be wide awake and take the first drving shift), but then stop around 8pm and get a hotel room, and then get back on the road about 2am as we would still have about a 10 hr drive to WDW.

Is this do-able? Has anyone else done a short stop like this? and has it helped?

TIA

 

[robin09]

That would be pushing it to really be able to see anything. February can be hard to drive since the midwest and most of the northern 1/3 of the country can have icy/snowy weather. The Grand Canyon may have too much snow as well. The North Rim closes usually around mid Oct and I'm not sure when that reopens in the spring. We have gone cross country quite a few times and the least amount of time was about 2 1/2 weeks and only as far west as the Grand Canyon. These trips all started in NJ where we live and drove on the first 2 days for 700-800 miles each. I don't think I would venture on a cross country trip in Feb, just my thoughts on that. We drove back from Montana in early Oct 2005 and had 9 inches of snow in Deadwood SD!! We also almost missed Rocky Mountain NP in late Sept due to it being closed a day or 2 because of snow!! Late spring to early fall would be my timeframe for a northern (due to where you are coming from mainly) cross country trip. Just my thoughts. Any other questions, please ask. When the kids were small our trips were the day after school let out just to let you know!

In your signature it looks like you've done WDW in Aug. That would me my choice for the cross country and go to WDW in Feb. Many NP are mountainous and close during winter months due to snow cover. Shennandoah NP here in VA is closed due to snow and bad weather.

Thankyou, I've been worried about the winter weather for a February drive. Would you b elieve I'm afraid of summer out there, and the heat, but yet I can do Disney in the summer! lol... No sense at all...

February is the only time hubby gets 2 weeks off of work, his shop closes. August vacation, his boss isn't too happy, but understands that we've been doing this for years, and in fact is shutting down for the week that we will be gone, so it works for us. Our coast to coast trip will just have to wait a while longer... Thanks for the info, it helps hearing it from someone that's been there! Have a great day..

 

[Amirah95]

OK it's time to jump back into this discussion (going to take some time out of the Community Board ha!) as we are debating whether or not keep family tradition and drive down or to fly because we have a toddler now.

We haven't been to Disney since 2006 because well, I got pregnant in 2007 and DH did not think it was a good idea to take a baby to WDW so that was that. Now, she will be just shy of 3 years old when we go for Halloween 2010 and we are also taking our nephew who will be 6 years old.

Our little one is not happy with riding around in a car seat at the moment, but we are hoping that as she gets older she will adjust. I hope so too. I miss the drive a lot.

Anyway, I'm glad this thread is still alive and well. Howdy to all of my fellow roadtrippers! We are definitely a unique bunch!

 

[mrstomrice]

I was thinking we would make it to Charlotte on our way home, but after looking today, Columbia SC seems much more reasonable to me, being only 7 hours. It also puts me at the 26/77 connection. There is a Microtel for a great price...any experience there? Any other other clean, reasonable choices nearby? Thanks!

 

[BC1836]

OK it's time to jump back into this discussion (going to take some time out of the Community Board ha!) as we are debating whether or not keep family tradition and drive down or to fly because we have a toddler now.

Anyway, I'm glad this thread is still alive and well. Howdy to all of my fellow roadtrippers! We are definitely a unique bunch!

Welcome back to this "unique bunch" Transportation thread! And, to be sure, we are "alive and well." In fact, this thread is one of the most active of all the Transportation threads. We began in December of 2007 and have had a lot of replies and views. Perhaps one day we'll get a "sticky" status!

All the best.

 

[fun4me]

Hi all! This is our first trip to WDW and we are driving down mid October. I was a little nervous that it might be too far for us to drive but when I compared it to our frequent trips up north(Wyoming). It appears to be only around 2 hours more. So I was relieved to see that. Our plan is to leave here around 4:30 in the morning. We will stop somewhere. From what I read it may be Valdosto, Ga. Is it hard to get a hotel room around there without reservations?

I don't want to be in our vehicle with screaming crying kids and every place booked up for miles and miles. BTDT Plus I am hesitant to book a room incase it takes longer to get there and we want to stop sooner. KWIM? Thanks!

 

[sgtdisney]

Hi all! This is our first trip to WDW and we are driving down mid October. I was a little nervous that it might be too far for us to drive but when I compared it to our frequent trips up north(Wyoming). It appears to be only around 2 hours more. So I was relieved to see that. Our plan is to leave here around 4:30 in the morning. We will stop somewhere. From what I read it may be Valdosto, Ga. Is it hard to get a hotel room around there without reservations?

I don't want to be in our vehicle with screaming crying kids and every place booked up for miles and miles. BTDT Plus I am hesitant to book a room incase it takes longer to get there and we want to stop sooner. KWIM? Thanks!

If you find you can't make it quite to Valdosta, Tifton GA has a few nice hotels. There is a fairly new Comfort Suites there which was pretty reasonable last year and had flat panel tvs, etc. Nice breakfast as well. We stayed there twice on our trip last summer, once each way.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Hi all! This is our first trip to WDW and we are driving down mid October. I was a little nervous that it might be too far for us to drive but when I compared it to our frequent trips up north(Wyoming). It appears to be only around 2 hours more. So I was relieved to see that. Our plan is to leave here around 4:30 in the morning. We will stop somewhere. From what I read it may be Valdosto, Ga. Is it hard to get a hotel room around there without reservations?

I don't want to be in our vehicle with screaming crying kids and every place booked up for miles and miles. BTDT Plus I am hesitant to book a room incase it takes longer to get there and we want to stop sooner. KWIM? Thanks!

There are a lot of hotels in Valdosta so I would say it's a good chance of staying somewhere without a reservation, however if there is a specific place you like to stay why don't you make one before you arrive there?

 

[BC1836]

The odds of securing a walk-in reservation are best from Sunday to Thursday (not counting holidays) and earlier in the day.

Stopping at a hotel/motel on a Saturday night around 9 p.m. without a reservation is going to be a long shot at best; however, stopping at the same place on a Tuesday afternoon is almost a sure thing. It's the other possible day and time combinations that offer the real gamble. But that's part of the 2,000+ mile round trip experience!

Try hotels/motels with 6 p.m. cancellation policies. You can make more than one and ultimately select the one (before 6 p.m.) that coincides best with the amount of mileage you make in one day behind the wheel.

All the best.

 

[mrstomrice]

Hi all! This is our first trip to WDW and we are driving down mid October. I was a little nervous that it might be too far for us to drive but when I compared it to our frequent trips up north(Wyoming). It appears to be only around 2 hours more. So I was relieved to see that. Our plan is to leave here around 4:30 in the morning. We will stop somewhere. From what I read it may be Valdosto, Ga. Is it hard to get a hotel room around there without reservations?

I don't want to be in our vehicle with screaming crying kids and every place booked up for miles and miles. BTDT Plus I am hesitant to book a room incase it takes longer to get there and we want to stop sooner. KWIM? Thanks!

If you have AAA they have a # for you to call to make reservations. They told me I could book from the road and they can help me find a good deal based on where we think we will be. They are open until 8 on weekdays but only until 4 on weekends.

 

[disneyfan55]

The odds of securing a walk-in reservation are best from Sunday to Thursday (not counting holidays) and earlier in the day.

Stopping at a hotel/motel on a Saturday night around 9 p.m. without a reservation is going to be a long shot at best; however, stopping at the same place on a Tuesday afternoon is almost a sure thing. It's the other possible day and time combinations that offer the real gamble. But that's part of the 2,000+ mile round trip experience!

Try hotels/motels with 6 p.m. cancellation policies. You can make more than one and ultimately select the one (before 6 p.m.) that coincides best with the amount of mileage you make in one day behind the wheel.

All the best.

This is exactly how I was thinking. It has happened to us one time, too. We were driving from WDW home (NJ) and decided to make a few stops and thought we would easily find a motel along 95. Well nothing from NC, SC or southern VA. We ended up basically stopping at a few only to find out that 95 was booked up for about 100 miles or so! We drove through even though that really wasn't what was planned on that trip. I would make a reservation with the 6 pm cancel policy in the general area of where you would like to stay. I wouldn't go without especially with children and you wanting to be able to rest. Good luck.

 

[caitlinsdad]

We have drive and Autotrain to Fl a 3 times and drive home to CT
This year we are doing the drive both ways. I95 down via 301 in Maryland and VA, and i95-i26-i77-i81-i84 -rt 7 to home on the return trip

Love the Blue ridge mts part of the return trip each year, that and the stop at Dan's steak house in New Market VA.

2 weeks to go before this years trip.

Why fly when so many good views to see along the way

 

[Amirah95]

I totally forget that we will not have as much trunk space like we did in the past. How could I forget about that stroller!!!! oh well...going to leave the car packing strategy planning to DH. Not sure how we're going to make this happen. We're going to be getting that Owners Locker before we go so we won't have to worry about taking that stuff back and forth with us with baby and so. And no...I don't want to rent a stroller because we'll also be offsite as well.

 

[dantedisney]

We left Friday @ 11pm, July 17 and made it all the way to Savannah, GA for our overnight stay at Fairfield Inn (exit94). We took the I-81 route instead of the planned I-95 and was glad I did. Since we were a bit delayed leaving MA, I was worried that we wouldn't make it through DC by 6am and so we switched to the I-81 route.

The drive down was relaxed and stopped several times.

Left Kissimmee @ 11am Sunday and made it all the way to Roanoke Rapids, NC by 11pm and stayed at the Hampton Inn. We took I-95 on the way back because we planned on visiting DC during the return trip. Made it back to MA Wednesday around 2am after leaving DC Tuesday @ 7pm. We made better time during our return trip.

Overall, I thought the trip was great and would do it again (but my 9yr insists on flying next time)... oh well - we'll see what next year brings.

I still need to compute how much gas we spent! We did log around 3,000 miles for this trip.

Happy Trails.

 

[sharadoc]

We left Friday @ 11pm, July 17 and made it all the way to Savannah, GA for our overnight stay at Fairfield Inn (exit94). We took the I-81 route instead of the planned I-95 and was glad I did. Since we were a bit delayed leaving MA, I was worried that we wouldn't make it through DC by 6am and so we switched to the I-81 route.

The drive down was relaxed and stopped several times.

Left Kissimmee @ 11am Sunday and made it all the way to Roanoke Rapids, NC by 11pm and stayed at the Hampton Inn. We took I-95 on the way back because we planned on visiting DC during the return trip. Made it back to MA Wednesday around 2am after leaving DC Tuesday @ 7pm. We made better time during our return trip.

Overall, I thought the trip was great and would do it again (but my 9yr insists on flying next time)... oh well - we'll see what next year brings.

I still need to compute how much gas we spent! We did log around 3,000 miles for this trip.

Happy Trails.

Thanks for the info. Just curious - why did you think you'd need to be out of DC by 6 am on Saturday? I thought the main traffic problems were Monday-Friday there. We plan to hit DC around 7:30 - 8 AM on Saturday and figured it would be fine (unless we go down 81). Please share ?!!?!

Thanks,

 

[momtolots]

We're driving down on Dec. 26 from Kingston, ontario. We have allowed 2nights for travelling because of the time of year. ie-in case of bad weather. We have 6kids plus an extra teenager and a "nana". Taking a suburban and an AWD car. Is it best to take I-95 or I-81 at that time of year. Have driven to Tenn. in Jan, but not WDW.
Thanks for any help.

 

[pagano12111]

Hi - we drive from southern Massachusetts twice a year with 3 kids. We usually take our time going down and drive back in two days. We just can't justify spending the money for 5 airline tickets and we like having our car. Our next trip is in 2 weeks. Yipee!!!!!