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

[sticker231]

wish I was near your gas station...it's still 3.09 here! ( Western 'burbs of Chicago)

Watching the gas prices also, we leave Friday. It is in the $2.63-$2.67 range. Hoping for no increases until then.

 

[sticker231]

Yeah I need to know what Mexican Coke is too!

For us it's waters and juice boxes, pretzels, bananas, mini muffins and mini brownies. Pretty boring. I'm adding those babybel cheeses this trip.

We keep the foods pretty light also. We leave at night and the kids are sleeping for a good part of the trip, so no real need for big amounts of food. We pack snacks and juices and try to limit the liquid intake, avoids extra stops along the way.

 

[BC1836]

Watching the gas prices also, we leave Friday. It is in the $2.63-$2.67 range. Hoping for no increases until then.

Relative stability on prices. And WDW Hess usually has the fairest area price.

All the best.

 

[SarahKate]

This is promising - gas right now in Central IL is $2.89 for regular unleaded! I've based our gas budget on local gas prices but maybe we'll do better than that.

 

[disneymom06]

Relative stability on prices. And WDW Hess usually has the fairest area price.

All the best.

FYI We just got back last week. We were in Disney from 4/3-4/9 and paid $2.85 and $2.87 at the Hess outside Disney Studios.

 

[beachgrl001]

we will be driving from s.jersey leaving on 9/11 at approx 4am checking in to disney on 9/12 , we are about 20 min from the del mem bridge, We only drove once before and that was when we lived in Philly(12 yrs ago) so we took 95 all the way. How is it going the del mem bridge way? will my gps be a help or a hinderance? It seems to always want to get me off the highway! I really wanted to make it into Fla before we stop for the night. what time do you think we will cross from GA into Fla? any suggestions on what exit to stop for the night at? I dont care if its right at the boarder I just dont wanna stop till I get to fla. Is this realistic? I will have my dh,my mom, ds6,ds15(who will probably sleep most of the way he loveeeeessss to sleep) I have a '08 dodge grand caravan that I just bought a month ago, dvd player and we're bringing the wii,iopds,food ect.
Thanks for any and all advice

 

[JVL1018]

we will be driving from s.jersey leaving on 9/11 at approx 4am checking in to disney on 9/12 , we are about 20 min from the del mem bridge, We only drove once before and that was when we lived in Philly(12 yrs ago) so we took 95 all the way. How is it going the del mem bridge way? will my gps be a help or a hinderance? It seems to always want to get me off the highway! I really wanted to make it into Fla before we stop for the night. what time do you think we will cross from GA into Fla? any suggestions on what exit to stop for the night at? I dont care if its right at the boarder I just dont wanna stop till I get to fla. Is this realistic? I will have my dh,my mom, ds6,ds15(who will probably sleep most of the way he loveeeeessss to sleep) I have a '08 dodge grand caravan that I just bought a month ago, dvd player and we're bringing the wii,iopds,food ect.
Thanks for any and all advice

We live in North Jersey, up by NYC, so 2 hours north of you. The Delaware Mem. Bridge has never been a problem for us, somtimes there is construction right after the bridge, but it's never been an issue. Your GPS should just tell you to head south on 95 until you hang a right at I4 in Florida.
Kidding aside, there are only 2 times that you vary from heading south on 95, going around DC and going around Richmond. We go around DC on the Beltway, but always ignore the hint to go around Richmond and go straight through-have never hit traffic(this is always the weekend though).

It will probably be around 14 hours for you to get to FL, so in time for dinner.
We've stopped in Brunswick, GA, which is about 40 miles from the FL border-lots of places to choose from there.

I haven't stayed in FL, so no advice there, but I would buy the I95 Exit Information Guide(or a similar one like this one, which I have this year:http://www.amazon.com/Drive-I-95-Ex..._1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271605915&sr=8-1)-I wouldn't travel down 95 without it, it's been a huge help over the years.
Here's the website for the other one I like: http://www.i95exitguide.com/stopovers/index.php

.
HTH

 

[angwill]

we will be driving from s.jersey leaving on 9/11 at approx 4am checking in to disney on 9/12 , we are about 20 min from the del mem bridge, We only drove once before and that was when we lived in Philly(12 yrs ago) so we took 95 all the way. How is it going the del mem bridge way? will my gps be a help or a hinderance? It seems to always want to get me off the highway! I really wanted to make it into Fla before we stop for the night. what time do you think we will cross from GA into Fla? any suggestions on what exit to stop for the night at? I dont care if its right at the boarder I just dont wanna stop till I get to fla. Is this realistic? I will have my dh,my mom, ds6,ds15(who will probably sleep most of the way he loveeeeessss to sleep) I have a '08 dodge grand caravan that I just bought a month ago, dvd player and we're bringing the wii,iopds,food ect.
Thanks for any and all advice

Have you tried to program your GPS so that it is on highway only? I know on my Nuvi I can choose highway only, no highway, fastest, and most direct routes. Hope this works for you as it will keep you on the highway and give you more confidence in your GPS. I loved mine going down to WDW. There is only one route I ignored and that was to go a route through Indiana that is shorter in miles but takes more time because it goes through towns.

HTH

 

[BC1836]

we will be driving from s.jersey leaving on 9/11 at approx 4am checking in to disney on 9/12 , we are about 20 min from the del mem bridge, We only drove once before and that was when we lived in Philly(12 yrs ago) so we took 95 all the way. I really wanted to make it into Fla before we stop for the night. what time do you think we will cross from GA into Fla?
Thanks for any and all advice

We have made 18 drives since 2002 and always use the DMB.

We always depart very, very early in the morning. Here are some departure times and the time we crossed into FL:

5/08 - 4:45 a.m., 7:12 p.m.

10/08 - 4:35 a.m., 6:28 p.m.

12/08 - 3 a.m., 5:25 p.m.

3/09 - 3:30 a.m., 6:24 p.m.

6/09 - 3:22 a.m., 5:49 p.m.

12/09 - 3 a.m., 4:46 p.m.

3/10 - 2:05 a.m., 4:41 p.m.

And you have about an hour's lead on us since you are so close to the DMB.

You'll do well. Hope this helps.

All the best.

 

[amcnj]

Beachgrl001, are you leaving on a weekend or weekday? You have to time DC right. We live near AC and thus an hour or so from the DE Mem Bridge. We always go route 40 to the DMB but are past DC by 5:30 to 6 am.

 

[BC1836]

Beachgrl001, are you leaving on a weekend or weekday? You have to time DC right. We live near AC and thus an hour or so from the DE Mem Bridge. We always go route 40 to the DMB but are past DC by 5:30 to 6 am.

Essential info: Beware DC (and southern MD) traffic! Friday is the worst!

 

[starwood]

I finally finished tallying our costs from February. We drove down in the Prius and used some hotel points to stay in Boca one night. We stayed off site. We went to WDW 2 days (we already had the tickets) and Universal 1 day. We also had 1 extra hotel night on the way home because I got sick. Our total cost for 1 week was $1849.69.

 

[Vickis3js]

we will be driving from s.jersey leaving on 9/11 at approx 4am checking in to disney on 9/12 , we are about 20 min from the del mem bridge, We only drove once before and that was when we lived in Philly(12 yrs ago) so we took 95 all the way. How is it going the del mem bridge way? will my gps be a help or a hinderance? It seems to always want to get me off the highway! I really wanted to make it into Fla before we stop for the night. what time do you think we will cross from GA into Fla? any suggestions on what exit to stop for the night at? I dont care if its right at the boarder I just dont wanna stop till I get to fla. Is this realistic? I will have my dh,my mom, ds6,ds15(who will probably sleep most of the way he loveeeeessss to sleep) I have a '08 dodge grand caravan that I just bought a month ago, dvd player and we're bringing the wii,iopds,food ect.
Thanks for any and all advice

We live in Cape May county and we drive every year. We always take the DMB. We leave around 3 am it gets us through DC before rush hour and last year we actually beat the traffic around Richmond Va too. We stop in Savannah Ga for the night and last year it got us there around 3pm and that was with stopping to have a nice sit down breakfast and a few times for bathroom breaks. From that point it was 5 hours to WDW.

We love to drive down. We have a blast our kids are 9, 8, and 8 and even they think of it as an adventure.

 

[sharig5576]

We are going to Disney 10/30-11/7 and plan on driving. We're about an hour north of NYC. We're going to drive as far as we can and stay over probably in NC or SC and continue driving straight to Disney on 10/30. We plan on leaving Friday 10/29 sometime in the night (3 am?). When is DC rush hour? What time does it start/end? I'm thinking it should take us about 5-5 1/2 hrs to DC with stops. I'm wondering if we should leave a little later in the morning. Unfortunately, we can't leave any earlier than 3 am because my husband has sleep apnea and I would fear him falling asleep at the wheel.

 

[londonderrydisneyfan]

We usually do 10-12 days. This past trip we wanted to conserve vacation time, so we did 7 days. Once we got the family used to the trip, we felt okay doing just one week.

The drive is very easy for us. We go about 10-11 hours the first day, then around 5 the second day. We have two drivers, lots of entertainment and just enough potty and snack breaks to keep everyone generally happy.

Your first couple of driving trips should be longer since you'll mentally want to justify it. Once you get comfortable with the drive, you can handle just being there a week if necessary.

My main advice is relax, know that it's going to take some time and enjoy the time with your family.

Thanks, that sounds good.

If we do end up driving, I think what we would do is drive down to my Mom's house in Jersey, leave from there early the next morning (3AM or so) and then drive as far as we can the next day. We'd either stop in a place like Savanna, GA or drive all the way to Orlando.

I would love to give this a try and I do think my family (DD 9, DD 7, DS 4) would enjoy it. The challenge will be convincing my wife -- we live minutes away from the Manchester, NH airport and the last few times flying we have left our house around 5 AM and been in Disney by 11 AM. Airfare would have to be really expensive to make up for that convenience.

 

[nono]

Essential info: Beware DC (and southern MD) traffic! Friday is the worst!

This is a good point. We're meeting up with our other car on a Friday night...they'll be starting in North East, MD. In general, what time does Baltimore and then DC's evening rush ease?

Thanks!

(We'll be taking the ferry to DelMarVa so it isn't an issue for us).

 

[Marshay]

This is a good point. We're meeting up with our other car on a Friday night...they'll be starting in North East, MD. In general, what time does Baltimore and then DC's evening rush ease?

Thanks!

(We'll be taking the ferry to DelMarVa so it isn't an issue for us).

The earliest you want to hit DC rush hour is 7pm. You'll do better the closer you are to 8pm. And should breeze through the closer you are to 9pm (or as much as you can breeze through on our beltway!)

 

[Marshay]

I'm from the DC-West area and just to give you an idea, we are leaving at 7pm on a Friday night in summer. We are about 30-40 minutes away from the Beltway (western side), near Dulles Airport.

We're aiming to hit the "Mixing Bowl" (southern point of the Beltway where I-95/395/495 intersect) about 7:45/8pm. We should be at the tail end of rush hour and the beginning of the "going out" crowd.

 

[beachgrl001]

We live in North Jersey, up by NYC, so 2 hours north of you. The Delaware Mem. Bridge has never been a problem for us, somtimes there is construction right after the bridge, but it's never been an issue. Your GPS should just tell you to head south on 95 until you hang a right at I4 in Florida.
Kidding aside, there are only 2 times that you vary from heading south on 95, going around DC and going around Richmond. We go around DC on the Beltway, but always ignore the hint to go around Richmond and go straight through-have never hit traffic(this is always the weekend though).

It will probably be around 14 hours for you to get to FL, so in time for dinner.
We've stopped in Brunswick, GA, which is about 40 miles from the FL border-lots of places to choose from there.

I haven't stayed in FL, so no advice there, but I would buy the I95 Exit Information Guide(or a similar one like this one, which I have this year:http://www.amazon.com/Drive-I-95-Ex..._1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271605915&sr=8-1)-I wouldn't travel down 95 without it, it's been a huge help over the years.
Here's the website for the other one I like: http://www.i95exitguide.com/stopovers/index.php

.
HTH

Thanks Ill try Brunswik. We are leaving on the weekend(saturday)

Have you tried to program your GPS so that it is on highway only? I know on my Nuvi I can choose highway only, no highway, fastest, and most direct routes. Hope this works for you as it will keep you on the highway and give you more confidence in your GPS. I loved mine going down to WDW. There is only one route I ignored and that was to go a route through Indiana that is shorter in miles but takes more time because it goes through towns.

HTH

No I havent tried that! But I will definately try I get so mad at it when it tries to take me off the highway right away.

We have made 18 drives since 2002 and always use the DMB.

We always depart very, very early in the morning. Here are some departure times and the time we crossed into FL:

5/08 - 4:45 a.m., 7:12 p.m.

10/08 - 4:35 a.m., 6:28 p.m.

12/08 - 3 a.m., 5:25 p.m.

3/09 - 3:30 a.m., 6:24 p.m.

6/09 - 3:22 a.m., 5:49 p.m.

12/09 - 3 a.m., 4:46 p.m.

3/10 - 2:05 a.m., 4:41 p.m.

And you have about an hour's lead on us since you are so close to the DMB.

You'll do well. Hope this helps.

All the best.

Yes it helps alot!

Beachgrl001, are you leaving on a weekend or weekday? You have to time DC right. We live near AC and thus an hour or so from the DE Mem Bridge. We always go route 40 to the DMB but are past DC by 5:30 to 6 am.

We are leaving around 4:30am Saturday.

Thanks you guys Rock

 

[nono]

I'm from the DC-West area and just to give you an idea, we are leaving at 7pm on a Friday night in summer. We are about 30-40 minutes away from the Beltway (western side), near Dulles Airport.

We're aiming to hit the "Mixing Bowl" (southern point of the Beltway where I-95/395/495 intersect) about 7:45/8pm. We should be at the tail end of rush hour and the beginning of the "going out" crowd.

Yep, know the Mixing Bowl -- our other car will hit Baltimore around 7:30 - 7:45 pm, so I guess our timing is OK.

I appreciate the info! Now, to check the Orioles schedule to see how they should come through Baltimore...