For those folks driving!

[dawz1026]

We are driving from se Va..about 40 min from the va/nc border. Now, we know going up to MD where the speed traps and cop spots are. Basically the entire way up 17!lol. but how about going down to FL. My dad says to watch out in sc, i think it was...maybe it -was ga? My dh is from MD, and no one goes the speedlimit there, so I have to constantly be watching the spedometer. So where do i need to watch it the most!? Any stretches that police patrol the most? Also we are leavign on a sun morn about 5-6 am. is traffic usually pretty ok on sundays, and any areas where traffic might suck? Any good stopping points. We will prob make the first stop at SOuth of the Border. any good spots to stop at to stretch in the GA area. I really would love Savannah, but no way am I going there for just an hr!!!!Maybe on the way home.....

we were shocked that people were blowing past us and cops and we were doing 80! speed limit is 60 down there but it seems 90 is the going speed lol

 

[Flyerfan]

We leave tomorrow and drive from New Jersey. We did this two years ago and went straight through. We are going straight through down but stopping overnight on the way home.

Jim

When do you leave from NJ? Do you have two drivers? We are in eastern PA, about 90 mi. from Philly and stop one time. Just DH and I and driving straight thru has been mentioned, but I'm not sure about it. Just curious how you go about it.

 

[triplefigs]

How many tolls, WHERE, and how much $$ will we need for the tolls driving from Atlanta to WDW? Thanks!

 

[cruiz2007]

We Are Driving Down In April Are There Any Hotels Around Ga Or Carolina's Anyone Recommends?


Thanks

 

[sticker231]

When do you leave from NJ? Do you have two drivers? We are in eastern PA, about 90 mi. from Philly and stop one time. Just DH and I and driving straight thru has been mentioned, but I'm not sure about it. Just curious how you go about it.

We drove from Jersey in October and I drove straight through. We live by LBI and it took us 16 1/2 hours each way. We left around 7:30 pm on the way down and 5 am on the way home. By leaving early evening, you are way past DC and a large chunk of the driving is done before most people are waking up.

 

[thomasclan85]

Thanks for posting this. We're driving from south central Virginia (less than 30 miles from the North Carolina state line). We're driving straight through (getting a couple hours sleep before leaving). We're leaving at 10 pm on Dec. 2nd and renting a van at RDU airport,taking #1 south to Laurinburg, N.C. to pick up my mom then I-95 south straight to I-4 to Disney World. There's some great info from this link and will help out a lot. I'll be doing most of the driving because my hubby is a truck driver and is looking forward to NOT driving. We're stopping in Brunswick, Georgia at a Ryan's (1 hour break) to each lunch before continuing to WDW. That way we'll be ready to hit the parks after checkin without having to take time to eat. Hubby WILL be taking over the driver's seat when we leave Brunswick because the traffic is heavier and I'm a little nervous driving in really heavy traffic. We did our driving schedule using Microsoft Streets & Trips 2007. I allowed for 45 minutes to rent the van and transfer our belongings. I allowed 30 minutes to transfer my mom's stuff and take a short break. Then I put in a 15 minutes break every 2 hours (may not need it). We'll stop and eat breakfast between 7 and 8 am then lunch as I stated above.
Arrival time- 2:03 pm- 1 hour before checkin.
Total miles = 718.2 and 16 hours
I'm pretty sure though the hours will be less. It didn't take us that long on our last trip there. That's just the time Microsoft S&T says it takes. I got free state maps for N.C., S.C., GA, and FL from each state department of tourism. Now all we have to do is wait, wait, wait until December.......Anyway, thanks for the link!!

 

[Disneynutbsv]

We've got four weeks to go before we head out!
Ideas of things to do before we go?

We are going to get a full size spare before we go, any other ideas of how to get our car ready? We have a 2007 Grand Caravan

 

[LIIRISHMAN]

We've got four weeks to go before we head out!
Ideas of things to do before we go?

We are going to get a full size spare before we go, any other ideas of how to get our car ready? We have a 2007 Grand Caravan

I would defenitely check your radiator coolant. Also your hoses and belt for your A/C compressor.Check your tires making sure the tires are ok. Good luck and have a great WDW Vacation!

 

[Disneynutbsv]

Aaaaaaaaah, I wish it was a wdw vacation! Its not, we are cruising on Royal Caribbean, but I'm here on the dis so much that I just used their transport forum.

 

[pilferk]

Just in case anyone is heading down from NY, NJ, CT and all points north of there on I-95 over the next few days:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23684974/

Looks like there is a good chunk of 95 closed through Philly. I know a LOT of people avoid that stretch of 95 anyway, and go around, but just in case....

 

[tlmy234]

We will be leaving in less than 3 weeks for our first trip to DW. We will be driving and are hoping to go straight thru then stay off property in Altamonte Springs the night before. A few quick questions...

Our AAA trip tic came back with a route of 81-66-17-95 which I've seen on here a few times, is this the best route? What is 81-77-26-95 in comparison? We are leaving on a Friday around 3pm and driving thru the night so morning rush hours and big city traffic shouldn't be as much of a problem.

Also, I mapquested Altamonte Springs to DW and it said that it was 45 minutes...is this pretty accurate? We plan on hitting a park on Sunday and would prefer to get there early after hopefully getting a good nights sleep (after a LONG drive).

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Luvamouse]

I am one who has done the 81-77-26-95 route. We live just off of 95 in Rhode Island and use it to travel in the NE here, so I was eager NOT to use it on the trip. We loved the 81...route. I found it to have no tolls until we were in FL, significantly less traffic, great views and for that alone would go this way. For us, it made the trip approximately 102 miles longer to avoid 95 from Eastern CT on, but the fact that we hit NO traffic and not 1 accident made all the difference. I truly cannot say enough good about our experiences on this route. The lack of any big cities from Harrisburg to Charlotte, SC ( still neither are real big) was great. The first traffic we really hit was on 95 in Florida. It was like being back in the NE!

We drive about 26,000 miles per year and do a lot of long trips (1,000 miles+), so I didn't avoid 95 because we are uncomfortable with driving, rather that we have enough experience to prefer alternate routes. One of the biggies for me was that when I plugged it into the AAA online Trip Tiks, all these travel warnings would come up for am/pm. That and all the toll road flags-- tolls can slow you up too, even with an EZ Pass.

I think sometimes the shortest distance between 2 points really isn't in the end. The steady driving with lack of heavy traffic or 'stop and go' made this, in my opinion, the quicker route. In fact friends who followed the straight 95 route from our town last month actually had just as long a drive time as we did and they didn't hit any major delays such as accidents on their trip, so I guess a lot is chance also.

Either way you choose to go, enjoy the trip there as well-- it is a fun part of the vacation for us. And have a great trip at WDW!

 

[bear74]

Has anyone driven from Texas to Disney?? It seems like most of the post are from the Northeast. We are driving in Aug. '08 from the Austin area and I was wondering if anyone has ever done this. We are thinking of driving straight through, looks like it will be around 17 Hrs according to Mapquest. Throw in potty stops and gas stops.

 

[katybugsmom]

Hi everyone!
Has anyone stayed recently at an inexpensive hotel on I-95 between Brunswick, GA and Jacksonville, FL? We are driving down to WDW in June and are only 8 1/2 hours away (we're in SC), but due to major back issues (had back surgery in December ) I can only drive/ride 4 to 5 hours max per day. My DH and I have two children: DD9 and DS 3. I would like to get as close to Jacksonville as we can. We are in the middle of potty-training our DS 3 so I can only imagine how many stops we will have to make along I-95!!!!
We had thought about getting one of those coupon books you see everywhere and staying at one of the hotels listed, but you just never know what you are going to get. Has anyone tried this? We are open to any and all suggestions!!!! Thanks in advance for any help you are able to give!

 

[MinMouse]

Hi everyone!
Has anyone stayed recently at an inexpensive hotel on I-95 between Brunswick, GA and Jacksonville, FL? We are driving down to WDW in June and are only 8 1/2 hours away (we're in SC), but due to major back issues (had back surgery in December ) I can only drive/ride 4 to 5 hours max per day. My DH and I have two children: DD9 and DS 3. I would like to get as close to Jacksonville as we can. We are in the middle of potty-training our DS 3 so I can only imagine how many stops we will have to make along I-95!!!!

Katybugsmom -- we have stayed at a Wingate Inn in Jacksonville off exit 344 of I95. It ran us about $85 per night (that was including the state and city tax). It did include a free continental breakfast --- they have the waffle maker too so it is really a nice breakfast. We have stayed there twice on our trips to Florida. It's less than four hours on to Disney.

 

[katybugsmom]

Thanks! I'll keep that one in mind!

 

[arkansas mom]

Has anyone here driven from Little Rock--or Arkansas in general? I'd love to get some tips before I begin planning.
We'll probably drive most of the way and leave a 4 or 5 hour drive for the second travel day.
What's your favorite route? What's your total drive time? Favorite stops?

 

[Tomh]

We are planning a trip to WDW in August, and will be driving from the Mid Hudson Valley area of New York. I personally have never driven any farther South than the middle of New Jersey, so this will be a new experience for me. We were planning on crossing the Hudson at the Bear Mountain bridge, then taking the Palisades Parkway to 87, Garden State Parkway, NJ Turnpike, to 95. Our plan is to leave here at about 4:00 am on a Monday. I figured that way, we will make it past the NYC / NJ area before the morning commute gets into full swing.

We plan on spending the night in Florence SC, which I figured we would reach around 6:30 - 7:00, then starting out at about 6:00 the next morning and arriving in Orlando at about 4:00. Does anyone see any major flaws in this plan? Have I missed something important?

 

[katybugsmom]

Tomh,
Where are you guys staying in Florence? I only live about 20 minutes from there! Depending on where you are staying please be careful!! They have had a lot of car break-ins around the hotels in the past year. This can happen anywhere I know, but I wouldn't feel right not saying something. Hope you guys have a great trip! If you are staying on Highway 52 the Ruby Tuesday's and FATZ Cafe are good places to eat. If you are staying on the I-20 exit, Outback, Ruby Tuesday's Olive Garden etc. are good places. Also, The Western Sizzlin has a good inexpensive buffet and their steaks are great!
Let me know if I can tell you anything else about the area!

 

[Tomh]

Thanks for the warning. We intend to stay at the Econolodge North on West Lucas, at US 52, and was thinking that we might eat at the Ruby Tuesday's.