For those folks driving!

[Antaniasmom]

One tip that will make you not have to stop is to pack a small cooler with snacks, lunch, drinks. We have never stopped for lunch because of my cooler packing. Also light breakfast items can be packed as well so this eliminates 2 stops. I am so much like my father in that I only stop to fill the gas tank, bathroom breaks are taken at this time so I make sure we always stop at a service plaza. We eat dinner once we have arrived at our hotel for the night. Not saying this works for all but it has definitely proved successful for our family.

 

[Bbguy5]

We will be driving from IL in Sept. Planning to leave no later then 4pm. 3 adults, all can drive, one 11yr old.
Planning on driving through, since we have 3 drivers, but stop for dinner, breakfast and lunch.
Anyone here have any experience driving from IL ?

Driven twice in the last year and going again in November from Northen il. Tips:

Between Atlanta and Valdosta there isn't much.

You'll be going into the mountains at night so make sure your driver is awake.

Get gas around Indy, and then again in Chattanooga, or just before mountains.

Chattanooga is about 10-12 hours depending on stops. Get gas there before crossing the border. Otherwise you're getting gas in Atlanta.

Atlanta to Valdosta is boring.

 

[Monima]

Driven twice in the last year and going again in November from Northen il. Tips:

Between Atlanta and Valdosta there isn't much.

You'll be going into the mountains at night so make sure your driver is awake.

Get gas around Indy, and then again in Chattanooga, or just before mountains.

Chattanooga is about 10-12 hours depending on stops. Get gas there before crossing the border. Otherwise you're getting gas in Atlanta.

Atlanta to Valdosta is boring.

Thank you so much.

 

[MyrddinEmrys]

Driven twice in the last year and going again in November from Northen il. Tips:

Between Atlanta and Valdosta there isn't much.

You'll be going into the mountains at night so make sure your driver is awake.

Get gas around Indy, and then again in Chattanooga, or just before mountains.

Chattanooga is about 10-12 hours depending on stops. Get gas there before crossing the border. Otherwise you're getting gas in Atlanta.

Atlanta to Valdosta is boring.

Seconding that Atlanta to Valdosta is painfully boring. Also had to comment just to say I live in Chattanooga! You don't see it pop up much in conversations, so whenever I spot it I feel compelled to say something.

 

[BeerMe]

Since 1995 we have made 50+ trips - I've actually counted 56 but it may actually be more. Of those trips we only drove THREE time. The rest we flew. Until recently (when we were still working) we flew because it saved time on vacation. Recently we have made a few trips of 2-3 months duration and renting a car for that long made no sense. Our drive is 1,250 miles one way. Flying is much easier and we have lots of airline points on Southwest. It works for us.

 

[LaneOT]

Hello All!

We'll be driving for the first time from NYC to WDW!! We rented a large SUV for 5 of us, and are planning to drive through the night, as we have 3 drivers! We'll be leaving at around 11/12 midday, which means chances are by Washington, rush hour traffic should be just starting.

Any news on EZ Pass and Florida ?

 

[Bbguy5]

Nope, still can't use ez pass in Florida. You can pay the tolls you blow by calling (and I'm sure you can online as well).

 

[wdwchamp]

We are planning to drive for the first time from Indianapolis in October. We are planning to leave around 7:00 am on a Saturday. We intend to stop in Knoxville for lunch and stay overnight in Macon, GA before getting underway to Animal Kingdom lodge. How is the traffic around Atlanta during supper time on a Saturday?

 

[Bbguy5]

We are planning to drive for the first time from Indianapolis in October. We are planning to leave around 7:00 am on a Saturday. We intend to stop in Knoxville for lunch and stay overnight in Macon, GA before getting underway to Animal Kingdom lodge. How is the traffic around Atlanta during supper time on a Saturday?

Saturday night will be fine. Moderate traffic. You sure about Macon? If you take 475 bypass there's only two hotels. All others are a little out of the way on 75.

Seconding that Atlanta to Valdosta is painfully boring. Also had to comment just to say I live in Chattanooga! You don't see it pop up much in conversations, so whenever I spot it I feel compelled to say something.

We stop at the embassy suites by Hamilton place. Was excited to see mellow mushroom there on our first trip. Too bad they burned our pizza.

 

[MyrddinEmrys]

We stop at the embassy suites by Hamilton place. Was excited to see mellow mushroom there on our first trip. Too bad they burned our pizza.

Awesome! That's literally a 5 minute drive from my house. Maybe 10 minutes around the holidays when traffic is insane. That sucks about the pizza. Burnt pizza is just sad. I think our downtown Mellow Mushroom is better, but it's smaller so it's a little more cramped and noisy. However, you can walk to the aquarium and the IMAX from it, and there's Ben and Jerry's about 2-3 doors down. Not too shabby. Chattanooga has come a long way in the last 10 years. I'm always encouraging people to come check it out when they have time. There's a lot of fun things to do if you ask the locals for advice. That's generally what I do when I travel anywhere. The locals know all the best spots.

 

[Antaniasmom]

Hello All!

We'll be driving for the first time from NYC to WDW!! We rented a large SUV for 5 of us, and are planning to drive through the night, as we have 3 drivers! We'll be leaving at around 11/12 midday, which means chances are by Washington, rush hour traffic should be just starting.

Any news on EZ Pass and Florida ?

We just came back from our WDW trip from CT to FL (3rd year in a row) and we have a Massdot transponder so we took 95 all the way down, we never hit a toll in FL so you won't have to worry. Have a safe trip!! P.S. May I suggest leaving at midnight? We always were against the idea but we did it this last time and it was AWESOME plus we cut at least an hour off our travel time. From CT to Richmond Hill GA was 14.5 hours.

 

[Simon Malke]

Looking to see if anybody can help. We will be checking into Disney on Sunday and live in PA (Philly area). We were thinking of leaving PA(Philly area) around 3am and driving till Saturday dinner time (6ishpm) hopefully in Georgia or the tip of FL and spending the night. Then the next time get up bright and early around 7am and driving the last leg to WDW.

Would anybody with past experience be able to tell if this plan would work or would we get to WDW during Saturday at some point and be without a hotel room till Sunday.

This is our first drive to WDW, it will be my wife, our 2.5 year old daughter and myself. We are driving because after our 5 days T WDW, we have a 2 night stay at Disney Vero Beach, so a car is necessary. I just want to be able to get WDW on Sunday around 10-12am so we can enjoy the pool for the first day before hitting the parks the following days.

Thanks for looking.

 

[Bbguy5]

you know you're 2 year old best (my 2.5 DD is getting the terrible two's and likes something one minute, then hates it the next), so only you know the mood of your child.

I'd shoot for Savannah,GA. It'd be about 12 hours factoring stops for gas, food, bathroom. If you hit the tip of Florida, it's almost silly to stop (whats another 2-3 hours?)

 

[Antaniasmom]

You definitely need to look at Google maps and figure out drive time estimates (add time for gas, food bathroom breaks) and set a goal. Bbguy is right Savannan is a good place to stop but hotels book quickly so if you are leaving this week, I would figure out exactly where you are stopping and book hotel now so you don't have to worry that night. We have driven 3 years in a row and have always stayed 1st night in Savannah/Richmond Hill GA area every time. From there it only takes about 4-5 hours to Disney so you won't need to leave quite as early the next morning, keep in mind your check in time for WDW hotel. Hotels usually do not allow check in until 3 or 4 pm.

 

[Simon Malke]

I should of been a little more clear, we aren't traveling till the last week of August, so we have some time to book a hotel. Also our daughter does really well in the car, she just needs a pit stop after about 5hrs to stretch her legs from the car seat. I mapped Savannah from our location and it about 11hr straight through, so with the additional spots for gas, bathroom breaks, snacks and traffic , I figure an additional 1-1.5hrs. It seems like if we leave PA (Philly) around 5am, it should put us in Savannah around 5-6pm factoring in stops, which at that point from every ones comments its a quick 4-5 hour drive to Disney.

Does anybody had a favorite hotel they like to stay at in the Savannah area? Not looking for any thrills, just want clean and reasonable priced. Exit 94 on I-95 looks like it has a good selection of hotels right off the exit, current they are priced between $70-$140.

Again, thanks for reading.

 

[Antaniasmom]

Sounds like you have a very agreeable DD which we have as well , which makes traveling so much easier ! We have stayed at Country Inn and Suites off 95 near the airport which is nice. We have also stayed at Super 8 in Richmond Hill which served us just fine as a cheaper option. This last time we stayed at Dogwood Inn & Suites Richmond Hill which is also another cheap option which was fine as well for one nights stay. We got a decent deal on Expedia. Otherwise if you would like Country Inn & Suites sometimes you can get a better rate by signing up on the Country Inn and Suites website.

 

[bluezy]

Looking to see if anybody can help. We will be checking into Disney on Sunday and live in PA (Philly area). We were thinking of leaving PA(Philly area) around 3am and driving till Saturday dinner time (6ishpm) hopefully in Georgia or the tip of FL and spending the night. Then the next time get up bright and early around 7am and driving the last leg to WDW.

Would anybody with past experience be able to tell if this plan would work or would we get to WDW during Saturday at some point and be without a hotel room till Sunday.

This is our first drive to WDW, it will be my wife, our 2.5 year old daughter and myself. We are driving because after our 5 days T WDW, we have a 2 night stay at Disney Vero Beach, so a car is necessary. I just want to be able to get WDW on Sunday around 10-12am so we can enjoy the pool for the first day before hitting the parks the following days.

Thanks for looking.

I think your plan is doable. We have made this drive numerous times. And we typically check in at Disney on a Sunday as well. Our total drive is 16 hours not including stops for gas, breaks, & meals. We usually leave about 5:00 a.m. (or a little earlier if everyone is up and ready to go) on a Saturday morning and drive to Port Wentworth/Savannah, GA the first day. We typically arrive at the hotel by 7:00ish. During the drive we usually stop every 2 hours for a break and we take time for a nice lunch (usually at Cracker Barrel). Sunday morning we eat breakfast at the hotel and hit the road by 8:00 which gets us to Disney World around noon. I always indicate our expected arrival time at Disney during online check-in and our room is almost always ready before we even get there. Last year I said we would arrive at 10:00 (we split the drive over 3 days that trip) and got the text around 9:30 that our room wasn't ready yet. We were running a little behind schedule and were still about an hour away when we got the text so we stopped at Walmart to pick up some water and snacks and waste a little time. We got to Disney a little before noon and got the text that our room was ready as we pulled in the parking lot.

Sometimes we book a room for the drive ahead of time but always with the option to cancel by 5:00 with no penalty. Sometimes we just drive until we're tired and then pull into a parking lot at the nearest exit with a bunch of hotels and book a room through Expedia or something similar. We don't like to be completely tied to a reservation as we never know for sure where we're going to stop for the night -- though it always ends up being Port Wentworth on a 2-day drive. Some trips we do a 3-day drive -- leaving late one morning (10:00ish) and drive for about 6 hours that day. The second day we'll drive about 8 hours (not including breaks/meals). And the last day we only have about a 2 hour drive to Disney. I prefer the 3 day drive but that doesn't always work out for us. The 2-day drive is fine and we don't find it to be exhausting since we get a good night's sleep at the hotel during the drive down.

My unsolicited advice: Make sure to pack a separate bag with the things you'll need for the overnight stay during the drive. On our first driving trip, it never occurred to me to do that. We were doing a 3-day drive that trip which meant 2 hotel stays along the way. After lugging all of our bags (4 people on that trip) in to the hotel that first night, it became very clear that I had made a mistake. I spent a few minutes that night rearranging things so that the next night we only had to take 2 bags (one with clothing, one with bathroom items) in to the hotel.

 

[MikeF;NJ]

Looking to see if anybody can help. We will be checking into Disney on Sunday and live in PA (Philly area). We were thinking of leaving PA(Philly area) around 3am and driving till Saturday dinner time (6ishpm) hopefully in Georgia or the tip of FL and spending the night. Then the next time get up bright and early around 7am and driving the last leg to WDW.

Would anybody with past experience be able to tell if this plan would work or would we get to WDW during Saturday at some point and be without a hotel room till Sunday.

This is our first drive to WDW, it will be my wife, our 2.5 year old daughter and myself. We are driving because after our 5 days T WDW, we have a 2 night stay at Disney Vero Beach, so a car is necessary. I just want to be able to get WDW on Sunday around 10-12am so we can enjoy the pool for the first day before hitting the parks the following days.

Thanks for looking.

My family used to make the trek from NJ (Newark area) to FL (Naples) in about 23 1/2 hours. I can't give advice on where to stop (it's been years since we made the trip), but I can tell you about how long it took to go through each state along the way. We used to take the NJ Turnpike down to Delaware, then I-95 all the way down to FL. We made stops for restrooms, and for gas, but usually ate in the car (my mother packed sandwiches). This is back when the national speed limit was 55mph, but my father had a lead foot, if you know what I mean. Also, these trips were before EZ-pass, so stopping for tolls in NJ, Delaware, MD, VA, and North FL. I don't remember any tolls along I-95 in the Carolinas or Georgia back then.

Anyways, approximate state driving times were:

Delaware -- 15 minutes
Maryland -- 2 hours (took tunnel through Baltimore - didn't matter which one, times worked out about the same. Also always took eastern side of DC beltway)
Virginia -- 3 hours
North Carolina -- 3 hours
South Carolina -- 3 hours
Georgia -- 2 hours
Florida was 6 1/2 hours to Naples, so about 3 hours to Orlando. I don't remember our route around Jacksonville, only that at the time, we had to pay to go over the toll bridges. To the best of my knowledge the tolls have been taken out for a long time up there now.

 

[ForeverDisney6793]

Looking to see if anybody can help. We will be checking into Disney on Sunday and live in PA (Philly area). We were thinking of leaving PA(Philly area) around 3am and driving till Saturday dinner time (6ishpm) hopefully in Georgia or the tip of FL and spending the night. Then the next time get up bright and early around 7am and driving the last leg to WDW.

Would anybody with past experience be able to tell if this plan would work or would we get to WDW during Saturday at some point and be without a hotel room till Sunday.

This is our first drive to WDW, it will be my wife, our 2.5 year old daughter and myself. We are driving because after our 5 days T WDW, we have a 2 night stay at Disney Vero Beach, so a car is necessary. I just want to be able to get WDW on Sunday around 10-12am so we can enjoy the pool for the first day before hitting the parks the following days.

Thanks for looking.

I have done this exact thing on multiple occasions driving from South Jersey. I stayed in Savannah, Georgie the first time, but found I preferred staying in Jacksonville, FL much better because I had less of a drive the next day.

 

[ForeverDisney6793]

I should of been a little more clear, we aren't traveling till the last week of August, so we have some time to book a hotel. Also our daughter does really well in the car, she just needs a pit stop after about 5hrs to stretch her legs from the car seat. I mapped Savannah from our location and it about 11hr straight through, so with the additional spots for gas, bathroom breaks, snacks and traffic , I figure an additional 1-1.5hrs. It seems like if we leave PA (Philly) around 5am, it should put us in Savannah around 5-6pm factoring in stops, which at that point from every ones comments its a quick 4-5 hour drive to Disney.

Does anybody had a favorite hotel they like to stay at in the Savannah area? Not looking for any thrills, just want clean and reasonable priced. Exit 94 on I-95 looks like it has a good selection of hotels right off the exit, current they are priced between $70-$140.

Again, thanks for reading.

When we stayed in Savannah we stayed at the Hampton Inn & Suites Savannah. It is right off of I-95 and very nice. We were a group of 4 adults and 1 child (14 years).