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

[monymony3471]

Do you try to go to bed early and get as much sleep as possible? or do you just get up really really early?

I was just talking with DH yesterday about that. We decided to get some sleep and wake up around 3am to get a start on the driving. But who am I fooling, sleep? The day before departure? Ya right.

 

[BC1836]

Do you try to go to bed early and get as much sleep as possible? or do you just get up really really early?

Good question. Like the previous comments posted by others, we can't sleep much either, especially since we leave so very, very early. On our next drive we just may start late at night (pre-midnight) instead of 2 or 3 a.m. We'll see.

All the best.

 

[Mysteria]

QUOTE=patclairesmom;36718241]Do you try to go to bed early and get as much sleep as possible? or do you just get up really really early?

i dont sleep for about 3 nights before we leave anyway but i normaly get up at 4 am so getting up at 3am for a 3:30 departure is no big deal. good luck on going to bed early and falling a sleep early the day before you are leaving. i could never do it![/QUOTE]

This is somewhat like DH as well. He gets up at 4am for work so it's no big deal to get up an hour or so early. He tries to get at least 4 hours sleep before we go. We leave for the drive again this coming Wednesday.

 

[loveysbydesign]

OMG--I talked dh into a surprise trip and need help!
I am so excited...I finally talked my dh into a surprise trip that has to be cheap for my kiddos for the 2nd week of June.
(Problem is I wanted to book through Endless vacations for their $199 a week special and now all the 2 bedrooms are gone....why couldn't he have changed his mind a week or 2 ago!)
I need a great off-site place for a family of 5 with a kitchen or mini-kitchen! I also need it to be around $50 a night or less! We will be driving for the 1st time and arriving on Sun and then leaving the following Sat!
We will only be doing 2 parks days(we have leftover days from previous tix) and then maybe Gatorland and 2 beach days. We could even do a split stay and do a few nights by WDW and 2-3 nights at the beach!

I also need directions that are the easiest from Allentown with the least traffic!
We plan to leave Sat. the 12th at 7:00 and would like to try and make it to South Carolina in one day...is that doable and if so how many hours should I figure on being on the road?
We've never driven more than 3 hours with our kids so it will be interesting! Alos where should we stay overnight? can we find a decent place for under $75 for the 5 of us ( kids are 2, 7 and 11)
Also trying to figure out where we would top and rest on the drive home...maybe in Virgina?
Any help is greatly appreciated!
DID I MENTION THAT I AM SO EXCITED!

 

[BC1836]

OMG--I talked dh into a surprise trip and need help!
I am so excited...I finally talked my dh into a surprise trip that has to be cheap for my kiddos for the 2nd week of June.
(Problem is I wanted to book through Endless vacations for their $199 a week special and now all the 2 bedrooms are gone....why couldn't he have changed his mind a week or 2 ago!)
I need a great off-site place for a family of 5 with a kitchen or mini-kitchen! I also need it to be around $50 a night or less! We will be driving for the 1st time and arriving on Sun and then leaving the following Sat!
We will only be doing 2 parks days(we have leftover days from previous tix) and then maybe Gatorland and 2 beach days. We could even do a split stay and do a few nights by WDW and 2-3 nights at the beach!

I also need directions that are the easiest from Allentown with the least traffic!
We plan to leave Sat. the 12th at 7:00 and would like to try and make it to South Carolina in one day...is that doable and if so how many hours should I figure on being on the road?
We've never driven more than 3 hours with our kids so it will be interesting! Alos where should we stay overnight? can we find a decent place for under $75 for the 5 of us ( kids are 2, 7 and 11)
Also trying to figure out where we would top and rest on the drive home...maybe in Virgina?
Any help is greatly appreciated!
DID I MENTION THAT I AM SO EXCITED!

A popular route from your home is the I-78, I-81, I-26, I-95 way.
Figure 8 hours or so of driving to reach SC. Indeed, it's very "doable."
All the best.

 

[dvczerfs]

OMG--I talked dh into a surprise trip and need help!
I am so excited...I finally talked my dh into a surprise trip that has to be cheap for my kiddos for the 2nd week of June.
(Problem is I wanted to book through Endless vacations for their $199 a week special and now all the 2 bedrooms are gone....why couldn't he have changed his mind a week or 2 ago!)
I need a great off-site place for a family of 5 with a kitchen or mini-kitchen! I also need it to be around $50 a night or less! We will be driving for the 1st time and arriving on Sun and then leaving the following Sat!
We will only be doing 2 parks days(we have leftover days from previous tix) and then maybe Gatorland and 2 beach days. We could even do a split stay and do a few nights by WDW and 2-3 nights at the beach!

I also need directions that are the easiest from Allentown with the least traffic!
We plan to leave Sat. the 12th at 7:00 and would like to try and make it to South Carolina in one day...is that doable and if so how many hours should I figure on being on the road?
We've never driven more than 3 hours with our kids so it will be interesting! Alos where should we stay overnight? can we find a decent place for under $75 for the 5 of us ( kids are 2, 7 and 11)
Also trying to figure out where we would top and rest on the drive home...maybe in Virgina?
Any help is greatly appreciated!
DID I MENTION THAT I AM SO EXCITED!

the best way to go at that time of year on a sat. and is the easiest would be int.78 - int 81 south - int 77 - int 26 - int95south to int.4. ill be waiting in the lehigh valley mall parking lot to be picked up the sat. you leave.

 

[loveysbydesign]

the best way to go at that time of year on a sat. and is the easiest would be int.78 - int 81 south - int 77 - int 26 - int95south to int.4. ill be waiting in the lehigh valley mall parking lot to be picked up the sat. you leave.

I don't think you'd want to be in the car with my 3 kids on their 1st drive that's longer than 3 hours
I'm hoping my older 2 will be fine..it's my 2 1/2 y.o that I'm worried about. I'm sure we'll have to stop every 2 hours for him to go potty

 

[loveysbydesign]

Also forgot does it take much longer timewise to go the 78-81-77-26-95 route vs. picking up 95 near Richmond, VA or is Richmond a traffic mess?
Also can anyone recommend a good rest stop(s) along that route?
I'm thinking we'll leave no later than 7:00a.m. and take our 1st potty break at 9:30 and then another break at 12:00 to eat a packed lunch/stretch our legs for 1/2 hour... I gotta let my little guy burn off his energy so he'll take his afternoon nap after we stop for lunch. Then drive til he wakes up and stop to use a potty/stretch legs for 15 minutes...then drive til dinner time/bedtime..maybe picking up dinner at a drive-thru.
I'm trying to find a town with a cheap place to stay overnight in S.C....that way we have to drive til we get there-lol.

Does this sound doable from Allentown, PA?

 

[sharadoc]

Also forgot does it take much longer timewise to go the 78-81-77-26-95 route vs. picking up 95 near Richmond, VA or is Richmond a traffic mess?
Also can anyone recommend a good rest stop(s) along that route?
I'm thinking we'll leave no later than 7:00a.m. and take our 1st potty break at 9:30 and then another break at 12:00 to eat a packed lunch/stretch our legs for 1/2 hour... I gotta let my little guy burn off his energy so he'll take his afternoon nap after we stop for lunch. Then drive til he wakes up and stop to use a potty/stretch legs for 15 minutes...then drive til dinner time/bedtime..maybe picking up dinner at a drive-thru.
I'm trying to find a town with a cheap place to stay overnight in S.C....that way we have to drive til we get there-lol.

Does this sound doable from Allentown, PA?

Microtels are pretty reasonable and have a good breakfast. If you can drive that far, the Walterboro SC one is really nice and new this year. But it will take around 11-12 hours to get there, which may be too long for your first trip.

 

[kidd_freeper]

OMG--I talked dh into a surprise trip and need help!
I am so excited...I finally talked my dh into a surprise trip that has to be cheap for my kiddos for the 2nd week of June.
(Problem is I wanted to book through Endless vacations for their $199 a week special and now all the 2 bedrooms are gone....why couldn't he have changed his mind a week or 2 ago!)
I need a great off-site place for a family of 5 with a kitchen or mini-kitchen! I also need it to be around $50 a night or less! We will be driving for the 1st time and arriving on Sun and then leaving the following Sat!
We will only be doing 2 parks days(we have leftover days from previous tix) and then maybe Gatorland and 2 beach days. We could even do a split stay and do a few nights by WDW and 2-3 nights at the beach!

I also need directions that are the easiest from Allentown with the least traffic!
We plan to leave Sat. the 12th at 7:00 and would like to try and make it to South Carolina in one day...is that doable and if so how many hours should I figure on being on the road?
We've never driven more than 3 hours with our kids so it will be interesting! Alos where should we stay overnight? can we find a decent place for under $75 for the 5 of us ( kids are 2, 7 and 11)
Also trying to figure out where we would top and rest on the drive home...maybe in Virgina?
Any help is greatly appreciated!
DID I MENTION THAT I AM SO EXCITED!

1. Get your park tix through the Y.E.S. program. There is open enrollment in June and you can get tickets at HALF PRICE. You will save many hundreds of dollars on tickets alone. This is legit http://disneyyouthgroups.disney.go.com/wdyp/listing/listingPageRender?page=OpenEnrollmentEventInfoListingPage

2. To REALLY save money on a place to stay, try skyauction.com. Nice properties, but older and further away from the parks. But at this late point in the game you will probably get a REAL good price, probably <$300/week.

3. Young kids need breaks every 3 hours. Even short breaks (<15 minutes) will help.

 

[BC1836]

Prices at the pump continue their moderate decline.

So, who among the 2,000+ Mile Round-Trip Drivers is the next to get behind the wheel for the journey to WDW?

All the best.

 

[monymony3471]

i cant believe gas is trading for $1.94!!!!

Explain that in layman's terms.

 

[SondraC]

Hello all! First time posting here. We are doing an impromptu trip next month, (we are going on a cruise in July, but wanted a Disney fix) so in order to do both trips this summer we have decided to drive to WDW to save some $$.

I have drove it once before in 1991. That was before kids.
But, they are 16 & 17, and we have a minivan.

It looks like are trip is 990 miles each way, plus I know last year when we went we put 330 miles on our rental van just going around Disney! So I guess we can qualify for this thread?

When I drove this in '91 we went pretty much 95 down, but I lived in Johnstown then, further east, so AAA & google maps say to do
119/19/77/95
I have been on the fence for the past 2 weeks about flying vs driving, but it would save us about $1,000
Road trip it is!

Sondra

 

[loveysbydesign]

Prices at the pump continue their moderate decline.

So, who among the 2,000+ Mile Round-Trip Drivers is the next to get behind the wheel for the journey to WDW?

All the best.

We leave June 12th for our 1st drive to WDW!

 

[SondraC]

We leave June 12th for our 1st drive to WDW!

We leave June 16th!

 

[marius97]

Explain that in layman's terms.

That is what gas is trading for on the open market. After that you add all of your taxes to it. It won't match up immediately. The gas stations lag behind that price by a week or two.

 

[Mysteria]

Prices at the pump continue their moderate decline.

So, who among the 2,000+ Mile Round-Trip Drivers is the next to get behind the wheel for the journey to WDW?

All the best.

Leaving Wednesday around 3am.

 

[dvczerfs]

Explain that in layman's terms.

for us in pa is about 60 - 65 cents more at the pump than whats its trading for.

 

[dvczerfs]

Also forgot does it take much longer timewise to go the 78-81-77-26-95 route vs. picking up 95 near Richmond, VA or is Richmond a traffic mess?
Also can anyone recommend a good rest stop(s) along that route?
I'm thinking we'll leave no later than 7:00a.m. and take our 1st potty break at 9:30 and then another break at 12:00 to eat a packed lunch/stretch our legs for 1/2 hour... I gotta let my little guy burn off his energy so he'll take his afternoon nap after we stop for lunch. Then drive til he wakes up and stop to use a potty/stretch legs for 15 minutes...then drive til dinner time/bedtime..maybe picking up dinner at a drive-thru.
I'm trying to find a town with a cheap place to stay overnight in S.C....that way we have to drive til we get there-lol.

Does this sound doable from Allentown, PA?

i would stay off of 95 as much as you can on a saturday. i did it twice and got on at exit 133 in vir. and crawled to south of the boarder. (we leave on tuesdays now) 78-81-77-26 is a nice ride with rest stops along the way. micro tels are a good ,clean place to hit. pending on how many stops, just guessing if your plan works out, your looking at about 17-171/2 hour trip pending on how fast you drive. got to remember once you leave pot hole pa the highways get smoother and alot wider and the speed limits go up and its alot easier to "get going" and not even realize how fast your going. wait till you come back home and drive on rt22, it will seem like your driving 60 mph on a dirt road. its a very easy way to drive down. we stop about evey two hours or so, we dont stop for long, bathroom break, gas stop and back on the road but its a good idea to stop about evey two hours. im an outside rep for a company and i drive about 50k for work evey year so driving is no big deal for me. been driving to wdw since 73. (i was a passanger till 85) generaly the only problem we have is getting past rt100 on 78, get past that and your home free.

 

[mrodgers]

We leave June 12th for our 1st drive to WDW!

June 12th for us as well.

got to remember once you leave pot hole pa the highways get smoother and alot wider and the speed limits go up and its alot easier to "get going" and not even realize how fast your going. wait till you come back home and drive on rt22, it will seem like your driving 60 mph on a dirt road.

You can say that again. Just an hour or so ago, we were coming home from the store and I said to the wife as I weaved around and around the potholes, "just wait until you see what it's like driving outside of PA! Roads are hugely wide and smooth as silk."