For those folks driving!

[disneyfamilyofpieps]

Hello everyone,
I just wanted to let you all know that we just returned from a wonderful week in Disney and we drove from Cohasset Massachusetts.(South of Boston)
After much debate and hearing stories etc, we drove down going the Mass Pike to Route 84, then to Rt. 81, to 77 to 26 and get on 95 way down near South Carolina.
Absolutely the most beautiful ride!!!!
We came home on 95 to compare(and basically to try and prove my mom wrong that their is no other way to go but 95!) It was the worst experience we have ever had and took almost 9 extra hours due to the Womans march, a horrible accident, torrential rain and just plain having to drive 95. We ended up cutting over and getting back on 84 the rest of the way home.
The end result for us is that we will never travel 95 again(bad roads, way too many tolls with none the other way, too much traffic and trucks, bridges, tunnells etc.) By going the 84 way, it is so pretty, less stress, about 100 miles more but believe it or not, it takes just about the same amount of time.

Just wanted to let you know our experience which was the best week we have had in Disney ever except for the horrid ride home! Feel free to ask if you have any questions.
Jen

 

[chipnwendy]

Originally posted by dkddis
We are doing our second drive from MA and we took 95 the whole way on a Friday of Easter weekend 2003. Not good.
Others that I know will only take the 95 route on a weekend and leave at 5-6am. (I will do that this year) On the way back we took I-95 to I-26 to I-77 to I-81. I agree it was a smooth drive with zero traffic. I think it is about 90 miles more but worth it to avoid NJ turnpike, Deleware Bridge and DC.

Just thought that those of you who take this route would like to know that I-26 now goes straight to I-81 just south of the Tennessee-Virginia line, so you don't have to get off of onto I-85 in Spartanburg. This also eliminates having to go into Charlotte, which is always under construction and sometimes tricky.

Happy Driving

 

[cmonroe]

That is great news! We are from Rowley MA (north shore) and we are driving in August! Because of this board, that is the route we were going to take! It is great to hear it was a good trip.

May I ask you a couple of questions?

1. Were you riding with children, and if yes, what age?

2. What time did you leave MA?

3. How far did you get the first day and what city state did you stop in for the hotel?

4. How far did you make it the second day and if short of Orlando, where did you stay the second night?

The reason I ask, is that it is my first driving the family to WDW and was curious of anyone else who had made the trek from MA.

We have 4 adults and a 3yr old and a 7 month old going.

Thanks for any help!

 

[disneyfamilyofpieps]

Hi,
Our original plan was to leave at 10:00 at night and drive through until 12 noon or so the next day. Bad plan as both myself and my friend who I went with had already been awake since 5:30 am. We were driving with a 9 year old and 2, 8 year olds and the two of us.
If you plan on leaving around 4 in the morning, you should be able to make it to North Carolina/start of South Carolina. We stopped at a hotel off of 77 which was great. That means that your second day you can either drive a really long day again(12 hours) or(my suggestion) drive about 8-9 hours, get a hotel and then let everyone get some rest and head out by 7-8 in the morning and be at Disney by noon.
Because of the ages of your kids you may need to stop more often and their are plenty of places to stop along the way.
Driving through the night is the best plan of action with kids normally but this depends on the drivers and the comfort levels at night and also, this route is beautiful and should be seen in the daytime.
It can be done by driving two long days with one night stop over or two night stop overs and a more casual drive.
When we do it again in August, we are going to leave between 3-4 am and drive through until 8-9 at night. Then drive the rest the next day.
Jen

 

[cmonroe]

That's great info! Thanks so much.

 

[xAmarisx]

Thanks for the information! We've been driving down to Florida for the last 5 yrs and this info is great especially the new games we could play in the car hehehe

 

[kaguilbeau]

We'll be pulling our 5th wheel from Louisiana to WDW and usually drive straight through. This trip, I'm thinking of stopping at a hotel to spend the night about 4-5 hours from WDW. I'm thinking we would drive till around 11:00 p.m. Usually the hotel parking lots are pretty full at that time of night (late) - so I worry about having a place to park the truck/camper.

Was thinking of a hotel that was next to a shopping center or someway to find parking space for that large.

I'd love to see Exit information on these interstates like you have for I-95.

Thanks for any and all suggestions

 

[kaguilbeau]

www.i75exitguide.com

I might've answered my own question!

 

[diztone]

A while ago, I found a link to a website where you could input your departure city and it would calculate your mileage and total cost for gas for your entire trip. I did this but did not save the website link. Does anyone know which one I am referring to? I was wondering how much it had changed since the cost of gas seems to be rising each day! Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[tolookaa]

I don't know if this is the link you were talking about but this should help.
http://www.fuelcostcalculator.com/TripGasPrice.aspx
You can put in the make and model of your car and it will tell you how much it should cost you to get there. Good luck.
I leave next Friday night and I am hoping gas is not up too much more.

 

[AnnaS]

Wow, thanks for the link. I belong to AAA and hardly ever browse site. Did not know they had this. In SI, NY - right now price per gallon is $2.17 for regular and $2.37 for plus - not sure about the highest one. The year we decide to drive and the prices are going out of control.

 

[harleyquinn]

My fiance and I are driving down from NE Ohio. We'll be taking 77 to 26 to 95.

Anyone have suggestions on where to stop?

It'll be jus the two of us, but we're leaving the day after the wedding so we'll probably be pretty tired.

I'd like to make a reservation, but should we just wing it?

Thanks!

 

[sweet maxine]

I don't drive that route, so I can't tell you where to stop. I do have advice on the reservation part of your question though.

Last year on the way home from our Disney trip, we decided to "wing it" and just drive as far as we could, then stop. Well, that was the WORST THING we could have done!! We drove on along I-10, stopping at every exit to try to find a hotel with no luck. FINALLY, we found a run-down looking kind of place, (Best Western, I think), and decided to just go for it. Everyone in the car was soooooo tired, and the thought of just any bed sounded like heaven. We jumped at the available room, and never regretted not driving further for a nicer place. It turned out to be an okay hotel, and we didn't see any unwelcome guests (bugs).

Soooooo, to make a long story short........make the reservation. You won't regret having a room waiting for you.

My $.02.......

 

[corinascot]

We're driving the same route from NE Ohio next weekend. I'd advise making reservations, too. You have til 6 pm to cancel them. We made 2 reservations. We're hoping to make it to Waltersboro, SC (pretty optimistic) so we made a reservation at a Sleep Inn there. Also made a reservation about 100 miles north (I think Orangeburg area??) in case we don't make our "goal". We should know by late afternoon how far we're going to get and we'll cancel the other res.

Being on your honeymoon, you might want to take it easier. Best Wishes on your upcoming nuptials!

Corina

 

[JPN4265]

Thanks

 

[mom of five]

Posted this on another board, then thought it should be here:


I'm in Plattsburgh, way up near Canada. I'm 4 hours north of Monroe, NY in Orange County and 2.5 hours north of Albany.

We were going to leave for our Oct. trip when the kids got off the bus and organized probably @5pm on a Friday then drive about 8hrs and stop (2am or so) for a hotel sleep. This would only put us in MD. Then the next day we'd have a whole other day of driving and another night in hotel on Sat. Arriving in WDW on Sun.

I've been thinking lately that maybe we should just try to drive all night on Friday and try to get a good portion of the trip done while the kids are asleep. Check-in a most places isn't till 2pm.

I have several questions. What exactly is this route 81 way that people are talking about? Is it much longer?

Also, If I do take this route, and leave here at 5pm on Friday and we drive through the night and into next day until 2pm (stopping of course for Bfast and lunch and bathrm breaks) where will that put me at 2pm? I need to try and find a category 2 Marriott for a free night's stay. I have no idea how this rte 81 goes, or where we will be?

I'm wondering if we should try the driving through the night on Friday though, because on that Sunday we have MNSSHP! Don't want to be too tired!

Sorry So Long. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Any advice?

 

[cmonroe]

mom of five,

I don't know if you can wait, but we are taking 81 down. If you'd like, I can report how it went, etc. we are catching 81 in PA off of rte 84.

We are currently struggling to find where we should book a hotel along the way. Tough to guess, but posters on the board seem to agree that it is a bad idea to wing it without making a ressie.

Let me know if you 'd like me to post my findings when we return at the end of August.

 

[baileybelle]

CMonroe please post when you return. We're driving from maine in October and going 84-81-66-17-95. Would love to hear how it went. :thewave:

 

[cmonroe]

I'd be glad to.

We are taking 90 to 84 to 81 to 77 to 26 to 95 though.

What part of Maine are you from? I have family in Kennebunk.

 

[baileybelle]

I'm from Biddeford. We were planning on going 77-26 but a nascar race in Charlotte NC off of 77 changed our plans. Can't wait to hear about your trip. Have fun!!! :thewave: