For those folks driving!

[hibricc]

Last year, we left MA on Sunday Dec27 via I95 - and got caught in the biggest mess of traffic in New Jersey and Delaware. (We were surprised at how clear NYC was, thought we were home free, but then...) Seems like all of the northeast was heading south that day!

So this year, we're leaving on Sunday again (can't change the day), but thinking about the I84-81 route and picking up I95 at DC. Google says it's only an additional 45 minutes, but should we be concerned about icy/snowy roads out on I81?

TIA

 

[daraddg]

we drive everytime we come down (from NJ) I found this site and think it is helpful, it tells you all kinds of useful info about I95 (whats at each exit,construction,tolls etc)
http://www.i95exitguide.com/

 

[anne thomas]

a

 

[OnlyDisney]

Hi!

I will be driving to WDW in January and I'm coming from Louisville Ky. This is our first trip and I have googled , mapquest, yahoo, rand mcnally, and I am so confused after Nahville I start going and this get on 24 to 75 to 275 to a toll road then route 4 If you guys that have been a lots of time can help me get to the front door of the Contemporary Resort, I would be so happy!. Please help me not have to see this from my husband and this form my son and this from my daughter I begging help help

I'm driving down from Louisville also, the week after Thanksgiving. Any pointers would be great.

 

[Brenny]

Good afternoon,
Wanted to add my two cents to the conversation. I've done this trip (Central Mass -->WDW) 25+ times straight through, and left at many different times.

I have found that the absolute best time to leave here is at 7PM.
I take the parkways (Cross/Merritt/etc..) and this puts me through NYC by 9:45-10:00PM.
I am through Washington DC by 1am, and through Richmond around 3am.

This allows me to miss all of the heavy traffic times in all areas between MA and FL.
Once I arrive in Florida, I'm going through JAX around 11AM. From there I'm in the Orlando area at 2PM.

I have found that leaving at 7 is the magic number. Good luck with your trips, I hope this helps.

 

[tomaszewski58]

Driving to WDW is not crazy at all. Just think of the stress that you will miss at the airport with small children. And talk about time saving. Calculate what time you will leave home and what time you will arrive at the hotel in WDW if you fly. It's between 6-8 hours depending on flight delays. So, double that number and you're almost there via car.

Furthermore, the things you can bring in a car are those things that make life so much easier once you arrive.

Enjoy the view.

 

[BC1836]

Merry Christmas!

For those who drive over a thousand miles each trip to WDW, it's time to join the "For 2,000+ Mile Round-Trip Drivers Only!" thread.

All the best.

 

[PrincessMom4]

I like the idea of being able to control my environment. In an airplane you are not in control at all. My oldest child is special needs and right now she would not be able to handle all the security and the biggest being "trapped" in an airplane (object/thing) that you can't get out of. At least in the van she has the opportunity for us to pull over and enjoy the scenery around us, stretch, etc. I am counting the days down till Disney.

 

[disneyfan55]

Merry Christmas!

For those who drive over a thousand miles each trip to WDW, it's time to join the "For 2,000+ Mile Round-Trip Drivers Only!" thread.

All the best.

yes, I posted this a few weeks ago. Merry Christmas.

 

[Butler_chic07]

So, we are getting ready to take our first trip to WDW driving - and I am a little confused and worried about it. I am hoping some of you wonderful people might be able to give me some advice. I have looked through this post and the 2,000+ miles post. However, I don't have all the time to read every post, although I wish I could.

Here is my problem, we plan on using our GPS, but I also want something as a backup, so I have looked at Google maps and used AAA TripTik. The AAA route was about 2 hours shorter than google maps, so I was rather confused, because for the most part they seem to take about the same route... Does anyone have any experience driving from IN or somewhere that requires them to take I65 to I75 I believe.

Would appreciate any ideas/suggestions etc.

 

[grammynelliebelle]

Has anyone just made the trip from NJ to Fla along the I95? How were the roads? We are planning to leave Sat and hope it will be cleared up a bit. TIA. Grammy

 

[hibricc]

Has anyone just made the trip from NJ to Fla along the I95? How were the roads? We are planning to leave Sat and hope it will be cleared up a bit. TIA. Grammy

roads were fine from NJ to VA yesterday, but the traffic was crazy heavy. we're on 95just past Richmond this am, much better. Interesting to see more snow down here than in the Baltimore DC area....

 

[NixiePixie]

I am probably insane, but this April we will be driving from Indiana. We will be driving from our house to my dad's cabin the night before. That will shave off 4 hours from our trip. We will be starting from right outside of Louisville. Has anyone on here driven this before? Any suggestions on where to stop for breaks and the night? We are breaking the trip up into two days, but I really would like to make it into Disney by noon the second day. Think this is possible??

 

[Reasha.kling]

We too drove from MA and took 95, we were fortunate and had 3 drivers rested, we left at 7pm on a Wednesday and made it in just over 20 hours...we were so fortunate. Driving again next year.

 

[Macgyver91]

I am so glad that I found this thread! We are driving from Northeast Texas to Disney/Universal in early June. Is there anything that we need to know or a route we should look at taking. Our kids are old enough to "hopefully" travel relatively easy, but if there is anything that we should or should not miss in route to or from please let me know? This is the first time that we have driven this far for a vacation and I am really more worried about DH than the kids. Any help would be greatly appreciated...

 

[PrincessMom4]

I found some good storage solution while driving with 6 people in a minivan. The kids are forever bringing everything but the kitchen sink with us or so it seems at times. I now have a little dvd crate that I have for each kid to put their stuff in. Rule it must fit inside the crate.

 

[cuteduck223]

we're driving in 3 weeks from illinois to florida because my dad and brother hate to fly. even better: we're driving in 2 cars because there are 7 of us going! Here's to hoping that we don't have crazy weather!

 

[NJBILL]

we're driving in 3 weeks from illinois to florida because my dad and brother hate to fly. even better: we're driving in 2 cars because there are 7 of us going! Here's to hoping that we don't have crazy weather!

Have a safe trip. Here is a good site to stay on top of your travel weather

www.travelweather.weebly.com

 

[Lucy6]

Butler Chic07,
This coming March, we will be driving down from around Chicago for the fourth time. We drive straight through. We take 65 through IN, then 24 to 75. We have the gps, but I also print up aaa and mapquest, I just like to have it all printed out (just like to preplan and have something visual). We drive approx 1200 miled each way, the maps say 18 1/2 hours approx, and it always ends up almost exactly 20 hours. For us, having two drivers, this is the way to go. We tend to leave at night, that way our kids miss most of the drive as they sleep through the night. Really works for us. Such a money saver, and neither of us mind the drive. (my signature shows we haven't been to Disney in a few years, we have been cruising out of FL lately)
Good luck, it's not so bad.

 

[1hero2princesses]

Seems like a lot of people are crazy enough to do this from the Chicago area. We have been thinking about it but I am really worried my kids will go insane and we will be exhausted! My kids would be turning 8 (while we are there), 6 and 4. I have done the drive many times before I had kids (parents used to live in florida). But I have not done the drive at all in about 10 years. Do you leave in the evening (like 8 pm) and drive all night so the kids sleep? Or sleep some yourselves and leave in the middle of the night (like 3 am?). Not sure how to do this. And are you exhausted when you get there? And I am really worried about the trip back! I know it is such a boring ride from IL. Nothing exciting to see, but I will admit my kids have never really seen any other parts of the country so this could be good for them???

Also, do you have to pay for parking in the parks when you are staying at a disney hotel? We want to stay at port orleans. I don't remember.