For those folks driving!

[Looking4themouse]

We are planning on driving down next summer from NH. We are planning on driving straight through to get down there. We're going the 84/81/77/26/95 route. Planning on leaving around 3:00 in the afternoon and hoping to get there around 3:00 the next day.
My question is for the day of the ride home. Do people go to the park that day or just get up and hit the road. I don't think we'll be able to drive straight through coming home. What is the best time to leave and start the trip home?

It really depends on your personal preference and how much time you have before you have to be back in NH. We usually drive in the wee hours of the morning both ways because my DH can't stand traffic, so we do whatever possible to avoid rush hour in the big cities. I don't know if you have ever driven straight through or not, but I tried it about 10 years ago and it didn't work out so well, however I also had kids with me. What part of the summer are you driving down? We're going in August of next year.

 

[Looking4themouse]

It really depends on your personal preference and how much time you have before you have to be back in NH. We usually drive in the wee hours of the morning both ways because my DH can't stand traffic, so we do whatever possible to avoid rush hour in the big cities. I don't know if you have ever driven straight through or not, but I tried it about 10 years ago and it didn't work out so well, however I also had kids with me. What part of the summer are you driving down? We're going in August of next year.

 

[WOODY13]

We will be driving from the Suburbs of St. Louis to Orlando (POR) and would like suggestions on places to sleep about 6 hours out from St. Louis. We want to get a head start the afternoon we get off work. We like indoor doorways...you know, like Hampton Inn's instead of motel 8 like.

Any suggestions?

I'm a big fan of Hamptons. There is one in Manchester Tn. about 5 hours and 45 min. from St louis but no interior doorways. There is also one on Rt 24 just before Chattanooga that does have interior doorways but it is about 6 hrs and 45 min. from St louis. I have stayed at both and liked both.

 

[nswift]

Thanks, Woody13 ~ Great suggestions, as we love Hamptons.

 

[Looking4themouse]

There is the Biltmore Estate in NC...not sure how far off the route it would take you, but it is something to be seen, There is also a state forest nearby that with waterfalls and a natural slide...can't think of the name off the top of my head though.

That sounds right up my alley, my DH on the other hand may have a different opinion. I also was looking on the AAA website, using trip tix online you don't have to be a member, and I saw a drive through safari somewhere in VA, has anyone ever been, do you know if it's any good or just a waste of time?

 

[DJFan88]

We are planning on driving down next summer from NH. We are planning on driving straight through to get down there. We're going the 84/81/77/26/95 route. Planning on leaving around 3:00 in the afternoon and hoping to get there around 3:00 the next day.
My question is for the day of the ride home. Do people go to the park that day or just get up and hit the road. I don't think we'll be able to drive straight through coming home. What is the best time to leave and start the trip home?

We just did a similar thing in June. However, we are at the MA/CT line near 84 so not quite as long. Also, we took the main routes, avoiding traffic hours. I've heard the route you're planning adds 100 miles to the trip. Here's what we did: Left at night at 7 pm. kids sleep in car. Got through all major cities by am. By 11 am we were near GA. Kept going to Orlando, arriving by 4:30 dead tired and checked into the Econolodge on International Drive for a much cheaper rate than the Disney hotel we had booked for the next day. Eat at next door Friendlies, get a good night sleep, and got up early and went and got our disney tickets at the hotel and went and started our trip at a park. Hubby didn't want to do straight through on the way home, as those last 3 hours are very tough. So, for the way home, we employed a different strategy.
Got up at 1:30 am, checked out of CBR, drove till the traffic got bad in VA, stopped at the Best Western in Fredericksburg, ate supper at Shoney's, got an early night sleep, woke up again at 2 am. drove through major cities without traffic and arrived home at 11 am.
We stop for many stops (bathroom, gas, on way down, a 1/2 hour power nap in NC). Also, good to note, traffic during the day is not bad in the boring states like South VA, NC and SC and North GA.
Good luck!

 

[WOODY13]

Thanks, Woody13 ~ Great suggestions, as we love Hamptons.

No problem, we learned a long time ago that it is worth it to spend a little more on a hotel instead of going the cheap route. With Hamptons we know they will always be clean with very good service, nice rooms and a free contenantal breakfast. Also we get points and are able to get free night stays.

 

[Promomx2]

For those stopping near savannah, ga., what rate are you getting if you just walk in and reserve a room?

 

[deltachi8]

We are driving to Disney for our 3rd time. Although crazy and insane are words to describe DH because the other 2 trips he drove straight through...only stopping to use facilities. I am insisting this time we stop for the night somewhere.

We live in Sealy, TX (50 miles west of downtown Houston). It is about a 16 to 17 hour drive. I would like have a majority of the driving done when we stop. I would like to wake up, eat breakfast and have only about 4 to 5 hours of drving left.

Does anyone have any suggestions on sites that I can utlize to project places to stay or where we might be after about 12 hours of driving?

EDIT: did a quick and dirty map quest and it appears we might stay somewhere between Pensacola & Tallahassee. Does anyone know of a decent, cheap hotel to stay at just off I-10 around Tallahassee. One that includes a continental breakfast would be great...

We live in houston and are about to make the drive for the second time. We are planning to stop on the return trip between Tallahassee and Pensacola (stopping in Biloxi on the way out as we are leaving late afternoon). We reserved the Days Inn in Chipley, FL - right off I-10 and seems to get good reviews.

 

[Looking4themouse]

if you go to www.aaa.com they will allow you to make a trip tik online even if you aren't a member. I used it and was able to see all of the hotels and services available on my trip down to florida from new hampshire.

 

[ge0rgette2]

We are driving from LI, NY to Orlando ..s topping either in Santee, SC or Savannah, GA, what hotels would you recommend in Savannah?

Thanks

 

[Hasil72]

Hello all I was reading this thread and was trying to figure out the best way to go from NH either via the 84 81 77 26 route or straight down 95 well my frugal brain started doing the math trying to calculate how much extra we'll pay in gas going that route instead of just going down 95. I then started looking to see if I could find a way to calculate an approximate on tolls, and I found this nifty little website showing me all the tolls on 95 and I believe their current prices
www.i95exitguide.com/tolls/index.php

For me it would cost about 31 dollars on the way down just in tolls. I think the extra 100 miles is well worth losing the aggrevation of 95 completely besides if my calculations are correct we'll only be spending about 10 dollars more in gas so really we'll be saving about 20 dollars on tolls.
For people who are interested in a toll calculator for other than 95 I also found this one
http://www.freewebs.com/tollcalculator/

Great sites! We're leaving 11/13 around dinner time to avoid the DC rush, stopping in NC somewhere, then finish up on Saturday. Since we're not sure how far we're going to get Friday night, it's good to have the 95 list of hotels near each exit handy. I figure I can research a few before we leave.

Thanks again!

 

[EGSIGuy]

I have made the Chicago area (Joliet, IL) to Disney World drive 20+ times. Here are some travel tips for fellow Illinoisians:

Take I-57 through IL to I-24. Also avoids IN and IL tolls. There are numerous places to stop for rest/gas/food on I-57. Not very scenic but it beats heavy commercial traffic on I-65. It's longer milagewise but faster timewise, a lot less stressfull (I hate driving I-80 through Gary, IN. Avoid at all costs). Time from door to door driving straight through will be roughly 19 hrs and 4 gas stops (faster or slower depending on stops and speed). You can make it in 17 hrs if your WDW itch needs scratching really bad. Driving straight through (with gas/coffee/rest stops) leave approx 6 pm cst and get to WDW approx 1 pmish next day. Rooms at WDW are generally not available until after 3 pm so you can do a relaxed check-in and then have some time to strech your legs, check out the resort, and treat the crew to an ice cream cone while sted waiting for your room.

If you want to split the drive into 2 days you can make it to southern GA easily (we would stop in/near Valdosta). There are numerous hotels to choose from. If driving during the xmass/new years holidays and traveling on a Sunday make sure you watch your gas level because many smaller gas stations off the high close early. I have found that traveling through the mnts north of Chattanooga at night has less commercial truck traffic to deal with. Don't forget to stock up on Fireworks as you pass the many fireworks outlets in TN.

I have stayed at most WDW hotels. I have nothing but positive experiences. I like to stay within WDW so that I can park my car and forget about it using WDW transportation to get around.

When traveling during huricane season make sure you listen to any suggested evacuations and head north asap. We got stuck in bad weather and no place to stay because waited until the minute to leave.

 

[sersee05]

My husband is all about driving straight through...We are leaving the day after halloween..so..we are thinking about leaving at about 3 am Sunday morning..and driving straight through..

We are checking in MOnday and staying all week and checking out Saturday. So Monday is a park day for us. So we want to just get down to Disney....and stay some place(sunday) in Orlando and then check into POR the next morning. Do I make a reservation now? where do you all stay for one night?

 

[DJFan88]

My husband is all about driving straight through...We are leaving the day after halloween..so..we are thinking about leaving at about 3 am Sunday morning..and driving straight through..

We are checking in MOnday and staying all week and checking out Saturday. So Monday is a park day for us. So we want to just get down to Disney....and stay some place(sunday) in Orlando and then check into POR the next morning. Do I make a reservation now? where do you all stay for one night?

Okay, I have a few bits of info for you. We drove down from the Mass/CT line straight through. We left around 7-8 pm. We must've hit Jersey around 10:30 pm. We take plenty of gas/potty breaks and 1 meal stop for breakfast. Also, my hubby took a 1/2 hr. snooze break in NC. With that in mind we arrived in Orlando around 4-4:30 pm. Traffic was great for us, we cleared all of the major places. VA/SC/NC/GA are not bad for traffic anyway during the daytime. You may want to consider an earlier leave? Because your arrival will be pretty late in Orlando and hubby will need a good rest (you too) to get a good day in the park Monday. Jacksonville has horrible traffic when we hit it, but hey, you can't have it all. It's still nothing like the New Jersey Turnpike or garden state pkwy, so you should be fine. We just stopped at the cheapest hotel which we've been to before on International drive because we weren't doing anything else. That is the Econolodge, International Drive. It's fine. It has outside doors, we walked next door to Friendlies for supper. You're basically just sleeping there. We were up super early and checked into our room at CBR at 7:30 am, (of course it's not ready, but you can call later for the room number), but we got our tickets then and went to AK.

Traffic on the way back is a little trickier to drive straight through. We decided to just go with the flow and see what happened. We left at 1:30 am in FLA, got to Fredericksburg VA around 3 PM and traffic was aweful, so we just pulled off and stayed at the Best Western, ate at Shoneys and called it an early night. We left at 2 am, to get through the major cities - not as bad for you as you won't need to clear NY. Were home by 10:30 am.

 

[quiltymom]

Hello! (please let me know if this should be addressed in a different thread. Thanks!)

We are driving down for our DCL cruise, and are looking for a good stopping point about 5 hours south of Washington DC. We are planning on leaving our house about 1:00 p.m. (we live about 5 miles south of DC). We are not too sure where we will be by this time (mabye S. Carolina?)

In your experience, does anyone have any recomendations as to a nice not-too-pricey place? Or to point us to a thread/site that can help us decide? Any suggestions will be very welcome!

Thanks in advance.

 

[pbharris4]

Hello! (please let me know if this should be addressed in a different thread. Thanks!)

We are driving down for our DCL cruise, and are looking for a good stopping point about 5 hours south of Washington DC. We are planning on leaving our house about 1:00 p.m. (we live about 5 miles south of DC). We are not too sure where we will be by this time (mabye S. Carolina?)

In your experience, does anyone have any recomendations as to a nice not-too-pricey place? Or to point us to a thread/site that can help us decide? Any suggestions will be very welcome!

Thanks in advance.

Hi quiltymom,

We're a little bit down I-95 from you in Fredericksburg. 5 hrs south from Fredericksburg is about Fayetteville, NC so it would be more like almost 6 hrs for you. We drive 80-85 mph too. Rocky Mount might be more 5 hrs for you, but I'd have to check.

In Rocky Mount..we have stayed at the Hampton Inn which was nice and free breakfast too.

Sometimes we would stay in Fayetteville on the way back. We have stayed more in towards the city at WIngate Inn, but there are some places along 95 there near a Cracker Barrel.

Are you splitting your drive into 2 days or 3? We tend to drive more the 1st day and less the second. We normally would go to Savannah, GA or Brunswick, GA (an hour past Savannah) and it's still a 5-6 hr drive the next day.

 

[quiltymom]

We're splitting the drive into 2 days, leaving Friday afternoon and hopefully arriving at Cocoa Beach sometime late Saturday afternoon. On the way back my DH thinks that it would be fun to stay at South of the Border, just because you have to do it once in your life! The kids will think it's silly, but that's what vacations are all about - to visit tacky tourist destinations and to do silly stuff!

Thanks for the info for the drive down - especially about the Cracker Barrell. My kids just adore that place! We really had no idea as to where a good stopping place would be. We've always flown in the past, but this time it was more cost-effective for us to drive.

 

[Tweevil]

I am leaving next Friday around 1 and hopefully reaching Disney around 3 or 4 on Saturday. It will be a long haul but I am committed.

Wish me luck!

 

[Tweevil]

On the way back my DH thinks that it would be fun to stay at South of the Border, just because you have to do it once in your life! The kids will think it's silly, but that's what vacations are all about - to visit tacky tourist destinations and to do silly stuff!

We thought that too but one sniff in one of those rooms will make you think twice. Seriously... I am not a room snob at all but whoa... we had to give the keys back.

We visited the attractions but the rooms are wayyyyy run down.