For those folks driving!

[DaisyD]

The only drawback to VZ Navigator is the small screen. On our way back, there was an accident on 95 and the road was shut down. I was able to successfully map out an alternate route on my GPS, I think that would be rather difficult on a cell phone. This is where most GPSs fall short - when you deviate from the course on purpose all they want to do is get back on the course. Only now are GPS units coming along with the ability to navigate around a traffic jam.

My DH's Acura has the built in NAV that shows accidents ahead and reroutes you automatically. It is great! My Acura has a built in NAV also but doesn't have the traffic alert and reroute feature which would be handy on long trips. I do love our NAV though. We have driven to WDW numerous times so I have the Poly programmed in from past trips. Now when I get homesick for our favorite resort I hit the NAV to the Poly and hear him (the NAV voice) tell me how far I've got to go! Only 944 miles! LOL!

 

[lynn813]

I've read through every post, I think, but could still use a little help. We'll be driving from Lehigh Valley, PA (slightly NE of Philly) in August. Our 4 kids are great in the van so that's not a worry.

We are looking for a hotel to stop at that wll sleep 6 in one room. Maybe somewhere near Santee, SC or if we are feeling ambitious Savannah, Ga.

Anybody have any recommendations of where they stayed?

Thanks.

We just returned and we stayed in the Best Western Santee right off of I95. It's exit 98 and we liked it so much we booked it for the return trip as well. They have a good hot breakfast included in the rate.

 

[lynn813]

When they say 55 in Summersville, WV they mean 55! We read about this here and we were glad we did. We saw alot of people pulled over. Just be very careful if you're driving along route 19.

 

[tnmomof4]

Does anyone know what is half way between Nashville, TN and Orlando? I am driving with the kids and want to stop half way. Thanks!!

 

[la79al]

Somebody please help me out. We are driving from the Baltimore area in June and I am still in denial. I have no clue where to start. Right now I am looking at renting from Hertz and got a rate of $301 for 8 days. Is that good? That would be for a standard or full size car being picked up at BWI. Do I want standard or full size with a DH, a 10 year old, a 6 year old, 4 suitcases, maybe a cooler, 2 backpacks and a DVD player? We are looking at leaving this area around 5:30 p.m. I know we are going to hit DC traffic but how bad is it going to be and is there any way around it? Any other tips?

 

[java]

Just back from driving down with my 4 children(2,4,9,12) and I have to say it was easy!!! We are in central NJ. Left at 3:30 AM and that was the key. We made it to Savanah the first night and the kids wanted to keep going. It was only around 4 when we got there. Leaving that early got us around DC no problem- we always head west around the dc area and that seems to help. We also always do the loop around Richmond- never any traffic there and we avoid that rough patch near Richmond.

 

[pilferk]

We're going to be making the Trek from CT to WDW this coming January. I'm HOPING to be able to do it in a day and a half, starting on Thursday after lunch (around 12:30) and arriving sometime late in the day on Friday, stopping someplace overnight on Thursday.

Keep in mind, I'm doing this with 3 young kids and my wife.

Anyone think the odds are good I'll be able to make it happen? We're not reserving a room at WDW til Saturday...but I'd really like to get the kids in the Nick suites on Friday night, just so they can check it out.

Also, has anyone had any experience in staying along i-95 in rooms with occupancy of 5? We'd be OK this trip in a room for 4....the baby can sleep in a pack and play....but will be making this trip every year, so wouldn't mind hearing suggestions on other options that can accomodate 5 so we can try them out this year. I'm thinking a stop somewhere around Richmond.....but obviously that will depend on how far we make it that first day.

Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[java]

You know having done it so many different ways I have to say early is better than later in the day to start the drive. Mid afternoon means you will hit dc during the rush hour- not a good thing. If you can go earlier I think you will do better. For us it is a good 16-17 hour trip and we are western central nj. We found what works best for us is a very early leave in the am - this time 3:30- that way we get a good 4 hours of driving while the kids still sleep. Then I drive 4 hours - while dh sleeps a little. Then he does the last 4 and we stop for the night.- made it to Savanah this time and could have kept going. We have 4 kids (2,4,9,12) Good luck and most hotels along I95 are not too particular with the number of people in your room. A Hampton Inn let us all stay in one room(all 6 of us) on the way back. Down we stayed at a Staybridge suites hotel - plenty of room. Embassy suites also is a good choice for larger groups.

 

[pilferk]

You know having done it so many different ways I have to say early is better than later in the day to start the drive. Mid afternoon means you will hit dc during the rush hour- not a good thing. If you can go earlier I think you will do better. For us it is a good 16-17 hour trip and we are western central nj. We found what works best for us is a very early leave in the am - this time 3:30- that way we get a good 4 hours of driving while the kids still sleep. Then I drive 4 hours - while dh sleeps a little. Then he does the last 4 and we stop for the night.- made it to Savanah this time and could have kept going. We have 4 kids (2,4,9,12) Good luck and most hotels along I95 are not too particular with the number of people in your room. A Hampton Inn let us all stay in one room(all 6 of us) on the way back. Down we stayed at a Staybridge suites hotel - plenty of room. Embassy suites also is a good choice for larger groups.

Thanks for the advice!

The reason for the "mid-day" departure time is that oldest DD will be in AM kindergarten next year, so we can't leave too early in the day or she'd miss school that day (she's already missing Friday and the following week). With us, we've left around 1 PM in the past (before we had kids, mind you) and typically hit DC around 7 PM...not too bad as rush hour has gotten a little bit better (though does DC traffic ever REALLY get easy to deal with. ). We did the trip back in about 19 - 20 hours, straight (yuk!) but are not going to try that with the wee ones.

For rooms, I'm more worried about the size. I'll check out the Staybridge and Embassy suites around Richmond. Anyone know if there is anything right off I-95 or 295 in that area?

 

[java]

There is an Embassy suites right in Richmond*but you would have to skip the loop then and just go straight 95 to get there.
I think there is a Staybridge near Arlington- so off the 495 loop
If you just need size you could also look into the Springhill Suites by Marriott(with 6 we can't stay there but with 5 you can I think) and there are way more of those on 95 than the other 2

 

[pilferk]

There is an Embassy suites right in Richmond*but you would have to skip the loop then and just go straight 95 to get there.
I think there is a Staybridge near Arlington- so off the 495 loop
If you just need size you could also look into the Springhill Suites by Marriott(with 6 we can't stay there but with 5 you can I think) and there are way more of those on 95 than the other 2

I actually just found an Comfort Inn, right near the Richmond airport (about 5 min of 295, via 60), with a King bed, 2 person sleeper sofa, can fit a crib OR rollaway, for about $70 a night.

Given I suspect we'll spend about 10 hours in the room, total...and most of that sleeping...so long as it's clean (and I'm looking for reviews on travel sites now), I think that's going to be where we head.

But any more suggestions from anyone would be great...I'm certainly not married to this place, but...well...it's cheap and big enough to fit us.

 

[stefplus3]

This thread is so helpful!! I have a question though

We're driving from Mass the last week in June, leaving on a Saturday. That night we're staying in Maryland with family. We need a 1/2 way point to stay at Sunday night and then we'll finish the drive to Florida on Monday. We're not doing any parks until Tuesday so it dosen't have to be super close. We'll have 3 kids (12, 8 and 2) so equal times sunday and monday is better than a longer and a shorter day.

Any ideas? We'll need something that can accomodate 6 too....3 adults, 2 kids and the baby in her pack n play.

 

[pbharris4]

Half way point for us (we're 1 hr south of D.C.) is Florence, SC. There's a Hilton Garden Inn, A Wingate, Hampton Inn, etc. You'd need a room with 2 Q and a sofa bed or two rooms or "suites." When I say suites I mean just bigger rooms they're not super fancy. We normally like suites because we have to have queen beds or king. But I doubt you will find a room to accomdate that many people. Most hotels don't allow that many in one room. I really like www.tripadvisor.com to search for hotels because a lot of people review on there and they rank the hotels as well. There's not a whole lot of hotels along I-95 in SC that I'd stay at but there are some in Florence (and Hilton Head-that's a ways out of the way).

Oh, BTW...if you are going in the summer..my advice is to book as soon as you can. I book 9 months in advance and change later if I need to (like if the price goes down). I saw a lot of travelers who didn't have reservations turned away at 12am....there was 1 room and it was mine because I reserved ahead. I hope that helped some.

 

[stefplus3]

Half way point for us (we're 1 hr south of D.C.) is Florence, SC. There's a Hilton Garden Inn, A Wingate, Hampton Inn, etc. You'd need a room with 2 Q and a sofa bed or two rooms or "suites." When I say suites I mean just bigger rooms they're not super fancy. We normally like suites because we have to have queen beds or king. But I doubt you will find a room to accomdate that many people. Most hotels don't allow that many in one room. I really like www.tripadvisor.com to search for hotels because a lot of people review on there and they rank the hotels as well. There's not a whole lot of hotels along I-95 in SC that I'd stay at but there are some in Florence (and Hilton Head-that's a ways out of the way).

Oh, BTW...if you are going in the summer..my advice is to book as soon as you can. I book 9 months in advance and change later if I need to (like if the price goes down). I saw a lot of travelers who didn't have reservations turned away at 12am....there was 1 room and it was mine because I reserved ahead. I hope that helped some.

thanks! i'll check out that site for hotel reviews. springhill suites in savannah has 2 queens and a sofa bed but says max of 4 people. what if i checked in alone and they didn't see the whole bunch of us?

 

[DaisyD]

This thread is so helpful!! I have a question though

We're driving from Mass the last week in June, leaving on a Saturday. That night we're staying in Maryland with family. We need a 1/2 way point to stay at Sunday night and then we'll finish the drive to Florida on Monday. We're not doing any parks until Tuesday so it dosen't have to be super close. We'll have 3 kids (12, 8 and 2) so equal times sunday and monday is better than a longer and a shorter day.

Any ideas? We'll need something that can accomodate 6 too....3 adults, 2 kids and the baby in her pack n play.

We live in MD, right outside of Annapolis. Half way point to WDW for us would be Santee, SC.

 

[stefplus3]

We live in MD, right outside of Annapolis. Half way point to WDW for us would be Santee, SC.

do you have any hotel recs for that area?

 

[DaisyD]

do you have any hotel recs for that area?

When we travel out of state we always chose Hampton Inns or Country Inn and Suites. We've always been happy with either of those brands.

 

[casey49781]

I am thinking about driving to disney at least once this december, i have flew all other times, i live in upper michigan, and just wanted to know from all you who have drove, what is the best route to take, i think it takes 24 hrs, i would like to drive the first day 12 and then 12 the second, any suggestions would be great,,it takes me 5 hrs to get to detroit, where would 12hrs get me about, so that i could make reservations,,thankyou all

 

[pbharris4]

thanks! i'll check out that site for hotel reviews. springhill suites in savannah has 2 queens and a sofa bed but says max of 4 people. what if i checked in alone and they didn't see the whole bunch of us?

I suppose..I've never had to do it. I think it's a fire safety thing and you'll only be there one night. As long as you don't mind sharing the room. We normally stay in Savannah or Brunswick, GA when we go. We leave here at about 8am, stop for lunch around Fayetteville or so and then stop in Savannah about 6-7pm. If we leave at 7 we can get to Brunswick by 6-7pm. (We stop at a Cracker Barrel for like an hour..so that time can be shaved to 30 mins. if you do fast food.)

 

[heidijot]

do you have any hotel recs for that area?

We just stayed at the Super 8 on Old Highway 6 in Santee,and I got a good rate from DiscoverOurTown.com. Clean and quiet, queen beds and a microwave. There was a fun seafood restaurant next door and a Cracker Barrel nearby for breakfast!!

Heidi