For those folks driving!

[KFriedhoff]

Will be going to Florida / WDW from Nov 7-19. First thought we would fly but now are thinking of driving so the kids can see some sights. We live in Iowa City and according to expedia it is about 1300 miles. I want to make the trip in two days but have no idea where to try to get to the first day. We will have our 13,12 and 3 year old with us. Are we nuts for trying to drive?

 

[Ziggie]

Will be going to Florida / WDW from Nov 7-19. First thought we would fly but now are thinking of driving so the kids can see some sights. We live in Iowa City and according to expedia it is about 1300 miles. I want to make the trip in two days but have no idea where to try to get to the first day. We will have our 13,12 and 3 year old with us. Are we nuts for trying to drive?

Well, as someone who has traveled almost the entire continent of North America by car, I don't blame you for trying to drive. However, I think with 3 kids you might want to take a wee bit longer to make the trip. Can they handle staying cooped up in a car for so many hours a day?

 

[Ct_TiggerFan]

Hello all,

We will be driving this year,
On the way down from CT to Lorton Va to pick up Autotrain,

On way back thinking about I4 - I95 -I26-I77-I81- I84-RT7-HOME
or I81- I78 -I287 -I87/I287 -I95-HOME

Visiting Luray Caverns, picking up skyline drive at
Shenandoah Nat'l Park -Thornton Gap Ent, Va


Thoughts on best route, for 4 day return trip home, and places to stay in

Ridgeland, South Carolina
around Fancy Gap, Virginia

Skyline Drive or Hagerstown, Maryland

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Will be going to Florida / WDW from Nov 7-19. First thought we would fly but now are thinking of driving so the kids can see some sights. We live in Iowa City and according to expedia it is about 1300 miles. I want to make the trip in two days but have no idea where to try to get to the first day. We will have our 13,12 and 3 year old with us. Are we nuts for trying to drive?

Really, one problem is, the density of places to stay isn't equal along all segments of your trip. I'm assuming you will be using the I-24.
But if you're only overnighting once, I'd say leave fairly early the first day (say like it's a work day) then stop somewhere between Chatanooga and Atlanta (Inclusive). Once past Atlanta, there are only 3 places between there and Gainesville, FL with a sufficiient mix of hotels to stop and rest if you get tired. . They are far between. You don't want to be an hour forward or an hour back to the nearest place if you suddenly get tired. So planning to overnight somewhere between Chatanooga and Atlanta is your best bet.

 

[taurus8012]

Will be going to Florida / WDW from Nov 7-19. First thought we would fly but now are thinking of driving so the kids can see some sights. We live in Iowa City and according to expedia it is about 1300 miles. I want to make the trip in two days but have no idea where to try to get to the first day. We will have our 13,12 and 3 year old with us. Are we nuts for trying to drive?

We are driving from Syracuse New York for the 1st time instead of flying (the kids 15,10,9,2 and wife decision they hate to fly ) this board gave me the spark I needed and I see the cost savings got to buy cool stuff for van (double moniter portable dvd player 238.00 from Walmart) I got that idea from this board (full of info). That alone will be a life saver for trip I highly recommend this purchase. we will be leaving in 42 days cant wait July 16th to 23rd at the CBR

 

[Mickey's Sister]

Though admittedly we're not as far from Disney as you, we have made the drive 3 times from Northeast PA and truly enjoy it. My son & I both suffer from severe motion sickness on planes plus my son is allergic to motion sickness meds! But at this point, I think we'd drive anyway, even if this weren't true. We've seen so many interesting things & met many wonderful people along the way. We do the trip in 2 days - staying over in South Carolina the first night. It's incredible the feeling you get when you first see the palm trees - you know you're getting close to Disney. My son likens it to the anticipation of Christmas Eve!

There are other fun things to do in the car, in addition to the DVD players. There are many audio books available on CD as well. These allow you to see the sights while still having something to occupy your mind. There's even travel bingo - something we're planning to try on our next trip. The return trip does often need a little help since you're leaving Disney. That's usually when we try to have something to occupy our time.

Lots of pixie dust coming your way for a wonderful trip. We're anxiously awaiting our Disney RoadTrip#4 in November!

Jessica

 

[dandee00]

Langin: I'm interested in hearing how you make out with your trip in August. DH and I are driving in January from Fredericton...Not that far from you! We went to CAA and got triptik and maps. We got a route mapped out to avoid the big city areas. I know it will take us a bit longer. DH will do most of the driving, if not all of it. So we figure it will take us 3 to 4 days to get to WDW. Maybe longer if we run into bad weather. I think 8 to 10 hours on the road is enough for us.
I was so excited to find this site!

 

[langin]

We are getting very excited about our trip. I hope it all goes well, I just found out I have a meeting with my supervisor in 2 weeks, there have been rumours of cutbacks so I really hope this is not what this meeting is all about, cross your fingers for me!!!

Thinking positively ++++++ We were planning on getting there quickly and taking our time on the way back, except now DH & I have Rolling Stones tickets so the drive back may be not so leisurely.

Our kids have never travelled that much or far so I have to keep telling myself " it's going to be an adventure !!! "

 

[dandee00]

Langin: Hope all goes well with your meeting with supervisor. Maybe it's good news...like you are getting a more permanent positon with better benefits.
The Rolling Stones concert will be awesome. Some of the people I work with will be going. Just an hour or two away from it.
Have you any idea where you will be stopping on the way down to Disney, or what roads you will be using?
I agree, it will be quite an adventure for you. And that's before you get to Disney.

 

[langin]

We are still debating about the route, we may just go straight down the I95 or may turn off towards Scranton PA, then down the I81?? then hook onto the I95 again after bypassing the big cities, we are still unsure. My DH works shift work so we will start out our trip as he is comiing off nights, so he can drive trough the first night. We are leaving Moncton around 3:00 pm then driving through the night then all day the next day then stopping for the night, hopefully in SC or in Savannah , Georgia (or maybe we won't make it that far!!!), it's about a 28-29 hr drive and we hope to get in at least 24 ++ hrs in the first haul! Then a shorter day the last day! My DH wants to stop at " South of the Border" in Dillon, SC, tacky tourist place that needs to be done at least once in a lifetime! LOL!!! On the way back we were hoping to stop in Washington DC for a night and check out the Smithsonian (which is several musuems) because all the museums are free!
BTW, I only work part time so maybe my meeting is about offering me full time, send positive vibes))))))))))
Talk to you soon!

 

[peteymuri]

My family and I just returned from FL two weeks ago. We are from MA. There were 8 of us travelling in 2 cars, 4 adults in one car, two adults and 2 kids (5 and 2). We left our house at 3 AM. We made it to NYC by 5:45 AM. We stopped for breakfast at 7 in NJ to map out wether to follow AAA or just go I95. We followed AAA directions to bypass the major cities. What a major mistake that was we got onto I81 and the rain started to come down. You could barely see the next car in front of you. The highway at times was down to 1 lane due to contruction. About 2 hours into this bypass route we decided to find the quickest way back to 95. We then hopped on to RT 83 to pick up 95 in VA. We stopped for lunch at 1PM. We jumped back into the car and go stuck in a 20 mile back up in VA. It took us 4 hrs to get through the traffic. We ended our first day in Lumberton, NC at 9 PM. It was a long day of travelling for the eight of us. We were on the road the next morning at 5 AM. We made to FL by 11 AM. We stopped in Daytona for lunch and then headed over to Pop Century to check in. The return trip was great. We came home on Memorial day weekend. We expected to hit a ton of traffic but didn't at all. We did stay over in DC. The next morning we were going to site see but they had expect 1.5 million people for a concert. We decided to head straight home. Over all the trip was great and the kids were no problem in the car. The adults were the ones complaining.

 

[dandee00]

Langin
Here are some positive vibes for you.
It would be great to go from pt to ft!!!! I wish you all the best. I also work PT. Some days the Disney trip is the only thing that keeps me going.
We were just discussing our route tonight. It seems we're taking the opposite approach. We may take 4 days to get there and only do 7 hours of driving a day and enjoy some of the trip. But who knows that could change.
Talk to you soon!

 

[theterms]

We drive from NW NJ and take I-95 the whole way (beginning in Philly). I am always on this website http://www.usastar.com/i95/homepage.htm checking gas prices, where to stop to eat, etc. Also lists hotels. Great site!

 

[Mickey's Sister]

We drive from NW NJ and take I-95 the whole way (beginning in Philly). I am always on this website http://www.usastar.com/i95/homepage.htm checking gas prices, where to stop to eat, etc. Also lists hotels. Great site!

I'll second that - it is a Great site! Plus they sell a spiral bound book that lists all the exits with what's available etc - even radio stations & what they play. It's available using PayPal. That way we bring it along & I make notes right on the pages!

Jessica

 

[bdcp]

My family and I just returned from FL two weeks ago. We are from MA. There were 8 of us travelling in 2 cars, 4 adults in one car, two adults and 2 kids (5 and 2). We left our house at 3 AM. We made it to NYC by 5:45 AM. We stopped for breakfast at 7 in NJ to map out wether to follow AAA or just go I95. We followed AAA directions to bypass the major cities. What a major mistake that was we got onto I81 and the rain started to come down. You could barely see the next car in front of you. The highway at times was down to 1 lane due to contruction. About 2 hours into this bypass route we decided to find the quickest way back to 95. We then hopped on to RT 83 to pick up 95 in VA. We stopped for lunch at 1PM. We jumped back into the car and go stuck in a 20 mile back up in VA. It took us 4 hrs to get through the traffic. We ended our first day in Lumberton, NC at 9 PM. It was a long day of travelling for the eight of us. We were on the road the next morning at 5 AM. We made to FL by 11 AM. We stopped in Daytona for lunch and then headed over to Pop Century to check in. The return trip was great. We came home on Memorial day weekend. We expected to hit a ton of traffic but didn't at all. We did stay over in DC. The next morning we were going to site see but they had expect 1.5 million people for a concert. We decided to head straight home. Over all the trip was great and the kids were no problem in the car. The adults were the ones complaining.

1.5 million in DC for a concert? I dont' think so. It would be extremely crowded. Who told you that? I live about 25 miles outside of DC. The Memorial Day concert held downtown on the mall probably had less than 100,000 people attending. I can't find the numbers. The US Park Service usually does estimates. The mall areas were crowded, but people attend the concert and go home when it's over since most live in the DC metro area. Too bad you missed the sites based on those bad numbers.

 

[langin]

We are driving in August to WDW and I think everything is set , except we are still debating about the route, I95 vs going around the big cities (I84,I81). I am pretty sure we will be going around the NY, Phil, Washington areas in the middle of the night or very early in the morning so we can get around the am traffic no problem. But can anyone tell me how many hours difference between the 2 routes, the I95 according to all info is about 27-28 hrs of driving and swinging around the other way is how much longer????????



Forgot to say we are coming from New Brunswick, Canada. We border on Maine

 

[dis fan]

I will be driving down from eastern Pa and will take 81 to 77 to 26. I am told this is a more enjoyable route compared to 95 and takes about the same amount of time.

 

[dandee00]

We are driving in August to WDW and I think everything is set , except we are still debating about the route, I95 vs going around the big cities (I84,I81). But can anyone tell me how many hours difference between the 2 routes, the I95 according to all info is about 27-28 hrs of driving and swinging around the other way is how much longer????????

Langin
We went to CAA and got a map and a TripTik done up for us to miss the major cities. It looks like it is approximately the same amount of time as the I-95. Maybe because you can avoid some of the traffic jams. You must be getting excited about your trip?!

 

[dis fan]

Can anyone tell me how long of a drive from orangeburg to wdw? Thanks.

 

[cricket429]

We stayed in orangeburg, sc overnight and we left around 8:00am. I would say it took us about 5 to 5 1/2 hours to get to Disney. I would highly recommend the Holiday Inn Express in Orangeburg but call ahead. They get booked.