For those folks driving!

[CapJack]

We will be driving down from NJ and plan to drive straight through. Leave at 7pm with 2 drivers a 7yo & 2 yo. Are we crazy? Anyone have any advice?

 

[Lindamary123]

We have driven straight through a few times and have had no problems. We are from Baltimore and the first time we did it our youngest was 2 and our other two were 6 and 9. That was one of our best trips; everyone did great. At that time we went close to Easter and I remember giving them small Easter presents to open up as the trip went on. Things like coloring books, small toys, books ect. It worked and they were so excited to see what was coming next.
Anyway now they are 19, 23 and 26 and can help drive. We just drove last Aug. and it usually takes us now about 16 hours. Years ago though it was close to 18 I think.
Also we have left around 7PM arriving about 11AM and leaving at 2AM arriving about 6PM. They both were fine but I think I prefer the 2AM because you are driving mostly daylight hours and it seems to keep me awake .

Good luck and have a safe trip!

Linda

 

[OrlandoHelp]

We will be driving down from NJ and plan to drive straight through. Leave at 7pm with 2 drivers a 7yo & 2 yo. Are we crazy? Anyone have any advice?

We did this last year, left around the same time from Northern NJ. It was tough, we were wiped out when we got there. We chose to stop on the way home.

This year, we are leaving early AM (around 5am) so that most of our driving will be during daylight hours. I hope to make it all the way but am not opposed to stopping if we need to.

edited to add.... that the plus with driving overnight is that the kids will sleep most of the trip.

Mom and dad will be wiped out when you arrive but the kids will be ready to go.

 

[Denzbrujah]

We are considering driving from NYC for the first time ... 2 drivers (DH [me] & DW) and DS6 ... DW is concerned about having DS sleep in car if we decide a straight run ... DW also wants to arrive early in the day. Can anyone give advice on possible stops (cheap, quick shower + couple hours sleep, maybe breakfast) or things we should know or when to leave for quickest arrival.

I know it's asking a lot but any help is appreciated

 

[wtpfan]

We are leaving (Ontario near Fort Erie border) this Thurs aft. We are driving straight through. 2 days of driving to us is just as bad, why drag it out! First time driving, we usually fly but flights were pricier this year. DH and I are taking turns...hoping DS 14 and DD 11 sleep all night. We are travelling 90, 79, 77, 95. Can someone tell me if gas stations along the 79/77 are open all night? Anyone who's driven that stretch during the night recently who can comment, I would really appreciate it! I'm kind of a worrier about stuff like that.

 

[jadedbeauty14304]

We are leaving (Ontario near Fort Erie border) this Thurs aft. We are driving straight through. 2 days of driving to us is just as bad, why drag it out! First time driving, we usually fly but flights were pricier this year. DH and I are taking turns...hoping DS 14 and DD 11 sleep all night. We are travelling 90, 79, 77, 95. Can someone tell me if gas stations along the 79/77 are open all night? Anyone who's driven that stretch during the night recently who can comment, I would really appreciate it! I'm kind of a worrier about stuff like that.

I have driven that route a lot. There are a lot of truck stops that are 24 hours. Once you get into the mountains they are fewer and further between. I always make sure I stop and fill up when I hit West Virginia, usually in Morgantown. Just to be safe. Then I take the US19 shortcut, and stop in Sommersville for leg streches and a snack. If you are not going US19 then another good place is Beckley, WV. You finally emerge from the mountains in North Carolina. I like stopping in Mooresville, NC on 77 for more food and gas. The furthest I have gotten driving straight through alone on that route was to St. George, SC on 95. It took me about 16 hours or so to get there, stopping for a couple of meals etc... and then the next morning the rest of the drive was a breeze. Definitely be mindful of the 18 wheelers in West Virginia. They know every curve and they go very fast. Especially in the middle of the night. lol Have a great trip!!!

 

[sticker231]

We will be driving down from NJ and plan to drive straight through. Leave at 7pm with 2 drivers a 7yo & 2 yo. Are we crazy? Anyone have any advice?

We have driven down twice and will be driving down again in April. We left around 7 both times. It helped with the kids getting some sleep during part of the drive down. It took us around 16 1/2 hours. We packed some snacks and drinks for the kids, we limited the drinks to avoid extra stops. Load the car with some movies and things to keep the kids occupied and you will be fine.

 

[DJFan88]

We will be driving down from NJ and plan to drive straight through. Leave at 7pm with 2 drivers a 7yo & 2 yo. Are we crazy? Anyone have any advice?

We have done this twice. When you leave at 7 pm, the kids sleep great. Mine are 10 and 7, so I don't know how a 2 yr. old will be, however. The thing is, we are from Mass. so it is farther for us. We plan on stopping, but we are already to GA by noontime. Well, you really can't check into anywhere that early, so you might as well trudge on. You will get to GA even sooner than we did. The last 3 hours are usu. the worst for us. However, you won't have those 3 hours because you probably have a 3 hr. less drive than us. One thing we don't do, however, is waste a night at Disney upon arriving, as a good meal and a good night sleep is all that's needed. We usually stay that night at International Drive and then awake early and check into our Dis. hotel around 7 am. Oh, by the way, leaving at 7 pm, with many reststops to keep our sanity and about a 1/2 hour power nap, we checked in on Int'l. drive at 4:30 pm. We winged this. No problem, plenty of room at the Comfort Inn. (Good thing!). So, you could probably be there around 1:30 pm.

 

[doug65]

HI!
NO tips but I am getting ready to do the drive from MI as well.
We live just south of Detroit.
I was looking for anyone doing the drive from MI, but looks like most
of the drivers and tips are for the East coast!

We'll be making the drive from Ann Arbor at the end of August. We're tentatively planning to reach Atlanta the first day and stay overnight, completing the drive the next day.

AAA.com has some terrific tools to use and you don't even need to be a member. The triptik and the estimated gas usage tools are really nice.

Additionally, it's all I75 from Toledo, OH to the Disney area and there are a few books I want to check out that are written for people driving that interstate.

 

[java]

We are considering driving from NYC for the first time ... 2 drivers (DH [me] & DW) and DS6 ... DW is concerned about having DS sleep in car if we decide a straight run ... DW also wants to arrive early in the day. Can anyone give advice on possible stops (cheap, quick shower + couple hours sleep, maybe breakfast) or things we should know or when to leave for quickest arrival.

I know it's asking a lot but any help is appreciated

We always find the best time for us to leave(we have 4 kids) is around 4AM. We can get to Virginia before breakfast. and the kids generally sleep until then. But then again I am in Western NJ so I avoid I 95 until about Maryland.
That's the killer part of your trip I would guess. The earlier the better!
What time of year are you going?
We try to get the majority of the driving done day 1 - with just a couple hours day 2- it's harder to get kids in the car day 2- so the less time in it the better.
We have stopped near the Savannah airport the past 2 trips- it's about 4 hours from there to Disney. This time we may go further. We'll see. That exit off I-95 though has a bunch of BRAND NEW hotels. The one we stayed at Staybridge suites was just built 2 years ago and we saw a bunch of new ones last year.

 

[Looking4themouse]

To the driver looking from NY looking for a hotel along your route, I found this link to be helpful in trying to find a place.

http://www.freetrip.com/cgi-bin/autopilot2.pl

It breaks your trip down giving you approximate arrival times along your route as well as a list of hotels that are along the route.. It list budget motels all the way up through your nicer hotels.... Just click on the hotel name and it will give you information about that particular resort.

 

[MagicPrincess]

To the driver looking from NY looking for a hotel along your route, I found this link to be helpful in trying to find a place.

http://www.freetrip.com/cgi-bin/autopilot2.pl

It breaks your trip down giving you approximate arrival times along your route as well as a list of hotels that are along the route.. It list budget motels all the way up through your nicer hotels.... Just click on the hotel name and it will give you information about that particular resort.

Thanks for sharing that site! I like how it breaks down the hours/miles driven and how many are left to go! I also like how it shows the hotels along the way. This is exactly what I've been looking for!

 

[Denzbrujah]

Thanks for the advice and the site ... we are going late August (22-30). We want to arrive early on Aug 23 so we will probably leave Sun Aug 22nd @ 5 or 6am and plan to drive till we get to Savannah that night and stay at Comfort Inn or something so we only have 4-5 hrs of driving on Monday ... we are usually early risers (5am) so we hope to be at the hotel by 10-11 and in the parks for lunch.

 

[BlueFairy]

I'm reconsidering our planning and would like to hear suggestions for places to stay in the Tifton, GA or Macon, GA area on I-75. Arriving as late as midnight on a Sat.

Thanks!

 

[abline]

Thanks for the freetrip web site advise as we'll be driving down in August. We just can't wait.

 

[Looking4themouse]

No problem for posting that address, I found it because I was having the same problem trying to find a place to stop along our route. It is so much easier figuring things out if you have an approximate time of arrival listed. It doesn't give you customer reviews on the hotels but you can always go to trip advisor or hotels.com for those.

 

[rescuetink]

We will be driving down from NJ and plan to drive straight through. Leave at 7pm with 2 drivers a 7yo & 2 yo. Are we crazy? Anyone have any advice?

We'll be driving down from NJ also!! And our kids are about the same age, DS 6 and DD 2!! We plan to pick my DS up from school at noon on Friday and head onward!! We're stopping at a Marriott in Fayetteville, NC overnight, and then heading on to WDW on Saturday in the AM. I wanted to try and drive straight through, but I got over ruled!!

Have a great trip all!!!

 

[CapJack]

Change of plan for us. We will leave at 11:30am. This way we have the option of stopping to sleep for a few hours. Just hoping we do not hit any DC traffic. What resort you staying at? We are at POP.

 

[abline]

Have fun neighbor. Make sure you report back on your trip.

 

[rescuetink]

Change of plan for us. We will leave at 11:30am. This way we have the option of stopping to sleep for a few hours. Just hoping we do not hit any DC traffic. What resort you staying at? We are at POP.

We'll be there May 8 - 14!! And we'll be staying at AKV!! We leave on Friday and arrive as soon as possible on Sat!! I hope to be through DC and Baltimore before rush hour... I did say I HOPE didn't I???

Where are you in NJ!! We're in Camden County!! Are you leaving at 1:30 on Fri or Sat??? Maybe we'll pass on the highway if we're there the same time!!