For those folks driving!

[deelovesdis]

I want to drive but I am a bit nervous about getting lost in the DC area. I am coming from Long Island. It will be me, single mom and DD.

Airfare is almost $600 for the two of us, and a car rental is over $900 for the three weeks we will be down there. I have a timeshare and saved up the weeks and we are having a really long vaca this year.
But, I am really not looking forward to the drive. I dont see well at night, so I would end my driving by 9pm.
what time would anyone suggest I leave so I miss the crazy DC traffic and dont have to drive in the dark.

Since I am not too crazy about doing this drive, I am also thinking of the auto train. I would only have to drive about 5 hours and let amtrak do the rest.

 

[Charin]

hi, we are driving from woodbridge, va (about 30 miles south from DC). first time doing this. four adults taking turns at the wheel. from what I have found so far it can take 15 to 17 hours? we were thinking of departing at 2 or 3 am and driving down I-95 hoping to be at wdw before midnight! any thoughts? this is on thursday august 21. tia!

 

[LIIRISHMAN]

hi, we are driving from woodbridge, va (about 30 miles south from DC). first time doing this. four adults taking turns at the wheel. from what I have found so far it can take 15 to 17 hours? we were thinking of departing at 2 or 3 am and driving down I-95 hoping to be at wdw before midnight! any thoughts? this is on thursday august 21. tia!

Charin unless you're in a really slow car you should make it to WDW in 13 hours. Figure Va. is about 2 hours north and South Carolina 3 hours each. Georgia is about an 1hr 45 min drive and from the Florida state line about 2 1/2 hrs. Have a grat trip!

 

[Kycha]

Hey! So this is where all the PA people are at! I soooo need your advice. DH and I have decided it would be cheaper for us to drive this time than to fly. I have made the trip from Lancaster to Orlando, but that was 20 years ago(DH has never had the pleasure). And the last time I did it, the traffic from Baltimore to Richmond(I-95) was just horrible. I can just imagine, 20 years later, things haven't improved much.

Anyway, we are planning to leave Saturday(Aug 31) afternoon around 5pm. The plan is to drive straight through, only making stops to gas up and use the bathroom(we'll pack food to go). How long do you think it will take? I estimate about 17 hours.

Which route is the best to take? Normally, we would take I-83 to Baltimore and hook up with I-95 all the way to Florida. Now, if we leave late on a Saturday afternoon, how bad do you think traffic will be between Baltimore and Richmond? Plus it is a holiday weekend(Labor day). How will that impact traffic on a Saturday afternoon? Or should I take the I-81, I-77, I-26, I-95 route? How much time will this add to our trip?

Just my two cents. DH and I have driven the last two times and prefer it to flying. We flew a few years ago and from the time we left our house to the time we got to the resort it was 10 hours. We could have been more than 1/2 way to Florida. We like the idea of having our own car, not having to worry about packing and security....all the hassle. You said you are near Harrisburg. We are about an hour northeast of Hbg and it takes us about 17-1/2 hrs drive time. Add in stops for food and rest areas and it's a total of maybe 19 hrs. Of course, we don't drive straight thru. I don't know how people do that. We stay one night down and one night back. Our route is 81-77-26-95. It's really a nice drive and what seems the longest is the drive through Virginia...seems like you are there forever. IMHO better than 95all the way. As far as the gas, it depends on what gas mileage your car gets and the price as the pilferk said. We figured it's still cheaper than flying for us. Have fun whichever way you get there!!

We are from Harrisburg, well just outside Harrisburg, and it takes us 17 hours to get to WDW. We drive it straight every time. Once we leave, we can't wait to get to the magic! We usually leave in the afternoon so we are driving through the night (less traffic) and really enjoy the time together in the car with the family. The kids are teens and we take no electronic devices for use in the car (this is a staple for any car trip whether it be 30 mins or 17 hrs). The kids groan at first but after a half hour, we're communicating, playing games, telling stories and laughing. It's wonderful.

Hi Neighbor! I'm from Lehighton. I saw your post & just had to say "hi". In all my years on the DIS, I've never seen a post from someone in a nearby town.

In the past we've always driven to Disney, (which is why I subscribe to this thread, LOL), but we've done the straight 95 route - I've heard the route you take is nice. This year we're trying the auto train, since my car is getting old. I get extreme motion sickness on a plane, so don't fly unless absolutely necessary.

Enjoy the gorgeous PA weather today!

Hey there! Weather is gorgeous today. Wish I wasn't stuck inside an office.

We are driving down also from Pittsburgh. We've done it before and it was just fine, we have 2 DD that are in there teens and like people have posted before it is nice family time together we chat, listen to books on cd, play some game, etc. This time we are driving to Colubmbia, SC then driving straight through the next day, staying outside the park for 2 days and then checking into the WL. This year will be a bit of a challenge since my dh is having a little bit of back problems but his doctors said to go so he still wants to go!!! Oh by the way we leave in 2 wks.

 

[Flyerfan]

Or should I take the I-81, I-77, I-26, I-95 route? How much time will this add to our trip?

We really like this route. We are in Schuylkill Cty about 1-1/2 hr north of you and it takes us about 17-1/2 hr drive time going that route. I can't really answer your question about the other way.

 

[Muhlenberg]

We like the 81-77-26-95 route as well. The thought of driving through Balt. and DC when you don't have to is . MANY people told us to use the 81 way, and we took their advice. To me, it was worth going that way and to not even THINK about the traffic, or the possibility of traffic, going the 95 way. Good luck! We leave on the 19th, and start driving back from Boca Raton on the 29th.

 

[Dawn68PA]

Sorry I'm not much help with the routes. DH drives until we get to the highway that goes straight through to Florida. Then I'm allowed to drive

 

[MommyIncredible]

We are leaving on 8/14 at 2am, trying to avoid the NY/NJ traffic and heading straight to Savannah that night. Staying there for two days (have a family wedding to go to) then leave on 8/17 for WDW. I'm heading to AAA for our trip tick...but are there any other suggestions for good travel sites/resources?

 

[cam8n]

Last year we drove down from Cape Cod MA, We went straight through only stopping for gas..as we packed food and used the bathroom when fueling up. It took us about 22 1/2 hours.
We left at noon on a wed and by noon on thur we were all checked in and at epcot in line for soaring! What a ride!
Gonna do it again this year! Theres nothing like driving in the wee hours of the morning on 95.... Theres no cars around at all and you make great time!
Safe Travels everyone!

 

[Flyerfan]

Last year we drove down from Cape Cod MA, We went straight through only stopping for gas..as we packed food and used the bathroom when fueling up. It took us about 22 1/2 hours.
We left at noon on a wed and by noon on thur we were all checked in and at epcot in line for soaring! What a ride!
Gonna do it again this year! Theres nothing like driving in the wee hours of the morning on 95.... Theres no cars around at all and you make great time!
Safe Travels everyone!

How do you do that? I can't stand more than 12 hrs on the road and I'm fairly young and don't have kids.

 

[patclairesmom]

We are planning on driving from NJ and I can't decided to stop overnight or drive straight thru. If we stop overnight, we would leave central Jersey @3:00pm, stop in Smithfield NC and arrive @ 4pm. If we drive straight thru we would leave at 12am and arrive @ 5pm. I would try to sleep before hand from 5pm - 11pm, so I could get at least 6 hours sleep. I'm not sure what the best bet is. The benefit of driving all night is that my kids would be asleep for part of the trip.

 

[MinMouse]

We live just south of Philadelphia Pa in Delaware and we like to leave some time between 2 & 4 a.m. and drive all day to just north of Orlando. We stay there overnight and then are fresh and ready to drive the final 45 minutes of the trip in the morning. We usually stay in Lake Mary, Florida at a LaQuinta with a great continental breakfast. We've done the overnight drive and it wasn't our cup of tea to drive in the pitch darkness of the Carolinas. Even the kids said they didn't like it. They slept but felt they missed out on the "trip" although there isn't anything very scenic about most of it IMHO! You'll get a variety of responses to your question, you just have to determine what will work best for you and your family. Happy travels!

 

[Dawn68PA]

We drive it straight thru from Harrisburg, PA each trip but there's at least 2 of us who drive. If you're the only driver, I would stop for a good night sleep.

 

[pilferk]

We are planning on driving from NJ and I can't decided to stop overnight or drive straight thru. If we stop overnight, we would leave central Jersey @3:00pm, stop in Smithfield NC and arrive @ 4pm. If we drive straight thru we would leave at 12am and arrive @ 5pm. I would try to sleep before hand from 5pm - 11pm, so I could get at least 6 hours sleep. I'm not sure what the best bet is. The benefit of driving all night is that my kids would be asleep for part of the trip.

We had the same "drive straight through" plan for our trip this past January.

It sounded great.

In practice...not so much. Largely because our older kids (3 and 5, at the time) were so excited...they didn't sleep much.

Ultimately, we went with it....once (sometime after we drove through DC) we just accepted the fact they weren't going to sleep, it got a bit less stressful. The issue was....with the kids not sleeping, my wife couldn't sleep, which means we couldn't really do "driving swaps". Or, rather, neither of us was getting any rest so it didn't much help to swap.

We've done the "straight through" before (without kids) and it worked out pretty well. As I've gotten older, even without kids....after this last trip, I'm not sure I'd try it again. Those last few hours, from the Florida border to Orlando, were TOUGH. So was the pre-dawn driving in Georgia.

We're going down again in early December...driving again. This time...we're gonna stop. We're leaving CT around noon, and planning a stop in Northern North Carolina...just about 1/2 way.

 

[patclairesmom]

We drive it straight thru from Harrisburg, PA each trip but there's at least 2 of us who drive. If you're the only driver, I would stop for a good night sleep.

Yes it will be myself and DH driving!

In practice...not so much. Largely because our older kids (3 and 5, at the time) were so excited...they didn't sleep much.

What time did you leave? We would leave @12am, maybe 11pm, so I'm assuming they would fall asleep at some point.

 

[Octoberbride03]

Dh and I are driving down in just 9 weeks to sail on the Magic

We are driving form SE VA over to Emporia to hit 95 and then taking that all the way down. Planning on leaving between 5-6am. DH is the only driver and I'm looking for a good stopping place for the night. We were thinking that we could make it down to GA and then stop there. Does that sound reasonable?

Also need advice for good hotels for the night.

TY

 

[pilferk]

What time did you leave? We would leave @12am, maybe 11pm, so I'm assuming they would fall asleep at some point.

We left at about 2:30 PM (from Connecticut)....and made a dinner stop in NJ around 5 PM....I think we left Jersey around 7:00 or 7:30 PM-ish. And we figured, like you, that they'd HAVE to sleep, eventually. I mean...they wouldn't be able to stay awake in a dark, moving vehicle, right? They'd HAVE to collapse in exhaustion, at the very least.

Well, they dozed for a couple hours (seperately, not at the same time), but that was about it. We arrived in Orlando sometime around noon the following day (it was after 11 AM but before noon). The moral, for us, was never underestimate the power of the adrenaline rush you give a 5 year old and 3 year old when you tell them you're going to DisneyWorld.

To be fair, we probably didn't help matters any. This was a completely SURPRISE trip. They didn't know it was coming, at all. They found out when we picked my oldest up at school, packed her into the car, and told the kids we were going. In hindsight, I'm not exactly sure that was the way to go. I'll let you know in mid-December, after this next trip, since they DO know about this upcoming one. DW and I will find out which is worse: The initial "surprise" or a "slow burn" of anticipation and excitement.

 

[afcgirl]

Hi there, I was wondering what the driving is like at the end of November during Thanksgiving week (we are coming from the Chicago-area). We usually drive down in the Spring or Summer and have never driven at this time of year.

Should we worry about snow/ice storms? Any other problems we should know about?

TIA!

 

[Luvamouse]

We are leaving on 8/14 at 2am, trying to avoid the NY/NJ traffic and heading straight to Savannah that night. Staying there for two days (have a family wedding to go to) then leave on 8/17 for WDW. I'm heading to AAA for our trip tick...but are there any other suggestions for good travel sites/resources?

Kind of late for me to give advice now, except I will say that when we leave from South County , we never go past exit 69 in CT on Rte 95. We take Rte 9 up to Middletown where we catch 691 to Rt 84. We then slide over to 81 which we then follow in the oft mentioned 81-77-26-95 Route. This can get you to Savannah easily too. Having avoided NYC for years this way, we have never been stuck in traffic, except the one time we hit NYC at 2 a.m. Hence the reason we never go that way, be it a trip to the mid-west or Florida. WHAT are all those people doing on the road at 2 a.m.?? The 81 Route added another 100 miles to the trip in the end and I wouldn't trade the gorgeous mountain views and lack of traffic on this route for anything. I do my planning using AAA's online TripTik which lets me adjust the route to suit me. Cool tool to check out in the future... Way too many traffic alerts on 95 for me.

I know it's really late to mention this other option, so you are best to stick with your TripTik and original plan. Still, keep the Rte 81 option in mind in case you DO encounter a lot of traffic/construction going down-- or even for a future trip.

What am I thinking...if you are in South County, you've been on Rte 1 or 138 so far this summer...you know traffic!

HAve a wonderful trip--it's cool to "meet" someone from home here!

 

[MyPeanut&Bug]

(I'm sure there's been plenty on this topic, but the search keeps freezing up on me. Sorry for any redundancy!)

DH and I decided for sure that we're going to drive to WDW for our trip next May. We live in Canton, OH - we're about an hour south of Cleveland and about 2 hours north of Columbus for a reference point. Neither one of us have driven to this region before. Mapquest says it's just under 16 hours for us and at this point we're tenatively planning on driving 12 hours or so the day we leave, staying overnight and then finishing up the drive the next morning.

For those that have made the drive from this general area -
Where will driving about 12 hours put us to stay overnight? If you've done this, can you recommend any nice, inexpensive hotels to stay at for the night?

Just starting to put things together after ALOT of talking!
Thanks in advance!