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

[BC1836]

oh, the last time we took 81/77/26, it was jan of 1993. it was snowing and blowing so hard that we spent the night in the parking lot of whites truck stop. luckly we had alot of blankets and we were at a huge gas station so if we had to get stuck somewere,a truck stop is a place to get stuck. its scarey when there is nobody on a major interstate but you and the snow is pilling up. now we stick to 81/66/17/95. its faster and theres a hotel evey 100 feet. people traveling in the winter in those mountains should be prepared, the weather up there can change from good to bad fast!

Thanks for that snow story, dvzcerfs. Winter departures from the north are challenging.
Any other unexpected weather-related, long-distance drive stories out there?

 

[NJFireman22]

I just wanted to let everyone know about our trip today. We left Windermere,Fl this morning at 4 am. We arrived home in South Jersey (Vineland area) at 8 pm tonight!! total 16 hours door to door, 1022 mi.
Traffic was moving fine from Fla thru Ga, SC, NC and even Va untill the normal slow downs around DC. Md was fine so was De.
I always say the worst part of the trip is US Rt 40 from DMB to home.

 

[dsnymomof4]

While we prefer to drive (instead of fly) to WDW, the long drive can be filled with challenging moments, especially relating to weather.

We just made it to the "safety(?)" of the GA Welcome Center last March during heavy rain. When we got inside we learned of a tornado warning in the area! Fortunately, the situation never got beyond the warning stage and soon we were on our way.

Anyone else have a memorable weather-related experience as you made the 2,000+ mile round trip drive?

During our 2nd trip to Disney - in 2004, we heard from a CM that a hurricane was headed to Fl towards the end of the week. I didn't really pay too much attention figuring we would be leaving on Saturday, so it really wouldn't affect us too much. Well, we had flown that trip, and I didn't really consider that the airport would be closed and our flight cancelled! At first I called and rescheduled our flight for Monday, but school was starting on Tuesday and we hadn't even gone school-supply shopping yet, so instead of waiting it out over the weekend, we decided to rent a car and drive all the way home. We watched the Orlando new stations the day before and saw stories of miles and miles of backups with people trying to flee the state. I was so scared we were going to run out of gas. Well, when we left on Friday, the weather was picture-perfect (our flight would have been fine, but I guess they needed to make the decision ahead of time to close the airport). There were 8 of us and all our luggage crammed into an Expedition. But it was actually a fun adventure - we made it safely and were happy to be home.

Our second encounter with a hurricane was in 2006 - our first free dining trip! We drove that time and had planned on spending our last day at the parks and leaving later that day, but heard that a hurricane was coming and was supposed to touch down in S. Carolina. So, we decided to leave first thing in the morning with our goal being to get past S. Carolina before it hit. However, as we were approaching the Carolinas, it was raining so hard. Even though the eye of the storm was still out to sea, we were getting hit with the outer part of the hurricane. It felt like our car was being blown all over the road and as much as I wanted to pull over and wait it out, I knew we couldn't because the center of the hurricane was on its way and we needed to stay ahead of it. So, we drove as carefully as we could trying to outrun the hurricane. By VA, the weather was fine and we made it home safely.

 

[anabelle]

We are driving from Michigan via Virginia. I know it's wierd. But my hubby is working there now. So we will pick him up first then finish the trip. It's about 2800 miles. I must really like the mouse. Now I just have to figure out where to stop between Northern VA and Disney. I am considering Florence, SC or Savannah, GA. I am not sure if we can make it to Savannah before midnight if we leave VA by 4 PM

 

[BC1836]

I just wanted to let everyone know about our trip today. We left Windermere,Fl this morning at 4 am. We arrived home in South Jersey (Vineland area) at 8 pm tonight!! total 16 hours door to door, 1022 mi.
Traffic was moving fine from Fla thru Ga, SC, NC and even Va untill the normal slow downs around DC. Md was fine so was De.
I always say the worst part of the trip is US Rt 40 from DMB to home.

On your way down, you mentioned construction on I-95 in NC. We replied in a previous question about it (location? long-term or short term construction?). Do you have an update on it?
Thanks.

 

[blondietink]

We just got back ... the construction in NC is no big deal. Moves right along. The construction around Brunswick, Ga was worse but still moved right along.

As I said ... just back from our 16 day round trip just shy of 3000 miles! BRRR .... it's cold here!

 

[Grace and Mickey]

Hi
We are leaving from northeast Ohio on Sat

Any tips on the drive down I-77 / I-95 This is our 1st time driving,
We will have a 2 1/2 year old grandson with us, any places to stop for awhile to have a break?
Thanks.

 

[BC1836]

Hi
We are leaving from northeast Ohio on Sat

Any tips on the drive down I-77 / I-95 This is our 1st time driving,
We will have a 2 1/2 year with us, any places to stop for awhile to have a break?
Thanks.

Once you reach I-95 (whether you connect in NC or SC) there are plenty of places to stop, from gas station convenience stores and fast food establishments to highway rest stops: SC (MM #195, 172, 139, 47 & 17), GA (#111, 40) and FL citrus stops (#373, 329 [the best one!], 311, 298 & 273). Once you reach I-4, the drive takes on a special magic all it's own. And then there's Exit #67 on I-4!

All the best.

 

[Grace and Mickey]

Once you reach I-95 (whether you connect in NC or SC) there are plenty of places to stop, from gas station convenience stores and fast food establishments to highway rest stops: SC (MM #195, 172, 139, 47 & 17), GA (#111, 40) and FL citrus stops (#373, 329 [the best one!], 311, 298 & 273). Once you reach I-4, the drive takes on a special magic all it's own. And then there's Exit #67 on I-4!

All the best.

Thanks
I did not know that there was more than one FL citrus stop . Why is #329 the best? Can wait to see the magic of I-4.
Any one hear of "south of border" is it a safe place to stop?
Anyone else have any tips for me.
Since we never beein the south, we like to stop in Savahana Ga and tips of something to see for a few hours.
Thanks again

 

[Maize&Blue]

We are driving from Michigan via Virginia. I know it's wierd. But my hubby is working there now. So we will pick him up first then finish the trip. It's about 2800 miles. I must really like the mouse. Now I just have to figure out where to stop between Northern VA and Disney. I am considering Florence, SC or Savannah, GA. I am not sure if we can make it to Savannah before midnight if we leave VA by 4 PM

Hey Anabelle,
We just arrived home from Disney taking the same route. It was easy going. You shouldn't run into to many troubles. There are very few cone zones for you to worry about. Have fun in the Tunnels the kids loved them
Just an FYI.

 

[Maize&Blue]

Hi
We are leaving from northeast Ohio on Sat

Any tips on the drive down I-77 / I-95 This is our 1st time driving,
We will have a 2 1/2 year old grandson with us, any places to stop for awhile to have a break?
Thanks.

We took the same way home from Disney to Michigan. Be ready for the tolls south of Charleston WV. $2 each toll booth x 3 $6

 

[vitfamily]

Thanks
I did not know that there was more than one FL citrus stop . Why is #329 the best? Can wait to see the magic of I-4.
Any one hear of "south of border" is it a safe place to stop?
Anyone else have any tips for me.
Since we never beein the south, we like to stop in Savahana Ga and tips of something to see for a few hours.
Thanks again

We drive from Northeast Ohio. Are you going 77-26-95-4? That is the way we go and we do not go past South of the Border. The 1st time we drove down to Disney our DS was 2 now 12. We had a conversion van with a VCR and it was a life saver. So I would recommend a DVD player. We leave early in the morning around 5AM and drive to Orangeburg, SC to spend the night. When we leave the hotel in the morning we normally don't stop again till we hit the welcome center in FL. That is the one stop we make every year. I need my free OJ. It really is not a bad drive. On the way back we stop in Statesville, NC. If you have any other questions I will try to answer them. I hope you have a great trip.

 

[BC1836]

Thanks
I did not know that there was more than one FL citrus stop . Why is #329 the best? Can wait to see the magic of I-4.
Any one hear of "south of border" is it a safe place to stop?
Anyone else have any tips for me.
Since we never beein the south, we like to stop in Savahana Ga and tips of something to see for a few hours.
Thanks again

Indeed, the multiple citrus/souvenir stops are basically identical but the one at Exit #329 on I-95 generally has a better selection of individual fruit (as opposed to pre-bagged) and merchandise. And its bathroom is the "least worst" of the citrus/souvenir stops.

South of the Border is a tacky once-in-a-lifetime stop of assorted tourist offerings that have been pre-promoted via dozens of quirky I-95 billboards. A number of the billboards are grammarian nightmares, like "Kid's Rule!".

Savannah, GA is relatively near the I-95 exits but even a brief stop will significantly alter your travel time to WDW. However, if you budget in a Savannah stay, it makes for a very pleasant southern visit.

All the best.

 

[blondietink]

We always stop at South of the Border going in one direction or the other. The elevator ride ($1.00 per person) to the top of the sombrero is well worth it. The kids think it is "cool".

 

[BC1836]

Any multiple 2009 2,000+ mile round trip drivers out there?

 

[MAGGIED]

Sorry friends but I WILL NOT be joining the over 2000 mile club as we found great airfares last night and now I can get there in under 5 hours instead of 25.... safe travels to all!!!

 

[TyRy]

Looks like we might be driving for our second time as we have as DH would really like to this time. Our trip is next week and we are driving down from the Chicago area. We are already having our 57-24-75 or hitting 57-24-65 (something like that) and going through Alabama. 65 through Alabama was how we went last time and it was actually great.

We'll be driving overnight (leaving around 3pm) and my question is about I24 in Tennessee and the "mountains." If we go 57-24-75, how far into Tennessee would we hit the mountains I've heard about. I'm a little nervous about driving through those, so I'm hoping that's it's still fairly early in the trip and DH will be driving.

If we take 75 we should miss Atlanta's rush hour and be able to stop after we get out of the city if we need to for some sleep.

Thanks for any and all advice.

Ty

 

[Becky2005]

We'll be driving overnight (leaving around 3pm) and my question is about I24 in Tennessee and the "mountains." If we go 57-24-75, how far into Tennessee would we hit the mountains I've heard about. I'm a little nervous about driving through those, so I'm hoping that's it's still fairly early in the trip and DH will be driving.

If we take 75 we should miss Atlanta's rush hour and be able to stop after we get out of the city if we need to for some sleep.

Thanks for any and all advice.

Ty

This is the route we took last time (didn't know about the 65 route through Alabama). I don't think the mountains were all that bad when we went. Not super easy for me though because it was raining. The part that freaked me out the most was seeing the things (I think it was sand? on the left hand side) basically for trucks to emergency stop in if they need to. I don't really know what they are called but it freaked me out a bit thinking about a truck out of control on that road. If I'm thinking of the correct road, the merging from both sides freaked me out more than the mountains in TN on 24 is there is a part where there are cars merging on from both the left & right side.

We stopped a little before Atlanta (Marietta, GA). I have never found 75 on Atlanta to be much of a problem. I don't know if it's just the time of day we have gone through or because we use the fast lane that is designed for if you have 2+ people in the car (HOV? is what I'm thinking it's called), since we aren't doing any exiting, it's worked for us. I know at some point we had to be there during normal times because we stopped at a Puppet Museum when DH was doing the Richard Petty Driving at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. It wasn't on a Disney trip but even then traffic wasn't to bad.

 

[stacy347]

We will be doing road trip #3 to WDW from MI this coming May!

2400 miles round trip for us but worth every minute!!

The only thing that makes me nervous (I saw other posters mention this as well) is the weather at times. I hate storms and we seem to get a huge one in GA every time we pass through .

Other than that, my 4 DDs and I have a pretty good time on the road. We take our favorite CDs, they watch a few movies and do some reading. I try to have a minimum of 3 hours between stops.

We take 75 straight down to the turnpike.

 

[dvczerfs]

Any multiple 2009 2,000+ mile round trip drivers out there?

im i a givin or should i answer?