For those that drive 17+ hours

[tmonferdini]

How many days do you take to get to WDW? My DH get off work at midnight, but is usually too tired to leave then. I've planned 8 hours the first day & 9 hours the next, which will put us in WDW probably around 6:00 pm. In the past, we have done more, farther south in FL or straight through to DB's house in GA, but now he's looking at me like I'm crazy to spend 9 hours in the van. The kids are fine, but now he just says, it's fine.

How do you usually break up the trip? We are good early risers and have no problem getting up and out by 7:00 or 7:30. What do you do?

 

[bzzelady]

We have left at 4 pm...driven until 11 pm and stayed over in North Carolina. The next morning we left by 8 am and completed the remaining 10 hours of the drive, arriving around 6 pm.

We have left at 2 am and driven straight through with 2 drivers switching around, arriving around 7 pm.

We have left at 5 pm and drive straight through with 6 drivers switching around between 2 cars and playing trivia games over the Motorola talkabouts (great entertainment for the truck drivers!). This method had us arriving 11 am and exhausted by the pool until our rooms were ready. We did a minimal trip into Epcot that evening to see Illuminations and all turned in early.

I guess it just depends who is driving and how many drivers you have to switch around what will work for you.

Have a great trip!

 

[JonS99]

OP- Since we live in Limestone, our drive is the same as yours..

In the past we have left after I got off work in the afternoon and have driven straight thru, arriving before lunch that next day..

However, on our next trip we have a lot more time and my wife has talked me into taking 2 days, so we are planning on driving past Atlanta on the first day.. We shall see how that works out..

 

[jksgrammy]

We are leaving Jan. 3rd to drive to Orlando from Michigan. We are watching the weather to make sure we aren't heading into any snowstorms or other types of bad weather. Our reservations don't start in Orlando until Jan. 6th, so we have plenty of time to get there. We don't enjoy the "drive straight thru" trips anymore (getting too old!). We make a stop in Atlanta, GA to stay with DH's sister/family for one or two nights, then will stop again before we arrive in Orlando. We don't plan on where we're going to stop overnight, but we usually plan a "pit stop" at one of the rest areas that have a travel center and make sure we pick up the coupon books that include discounts for lodging. We are lucky in that we are both retired, so can travel pretty much when we want to, depending on weather. After putting our car in a ditch yesterday due to VERY slippery roads, I'm not looking forward to driving all the way to Orlando. But since we're going to be in Florida for 7 weeks, too expensive to fly and rent a car.

For those of you who are driving 10 hours or more per day, PLEASE make plenty of rest stops and have a VERY safe trip!!

 

[Alexander]

We leave from Upstate New York before 6:00 am. We drive to Jacksonville, FL--18 hours. We are there by midnight, sleep and drive the next few hours to WDW the next morning. I have even caught an evening flight into JAX with the baby and DH and DS picked us up at the airport, we slept, and drove onto WDW the next day.

 

[JonS99]

I think what we are going to do is leave the house around 6:00A, drive about 2 hours and have breakfast in Mt. Vernon..

Drive 4 hours while the kids watch a movie, play a few games etc, then stop for lunch at one of the Clarksville exits...

Should be around 2:00, from there drive on thru to a hotel south of Atlanta, where we have dinner and maybe a quick swim for the kids..

Next morning, on the road by 7:00 and into WDW by 2:00, where we check in to a hotel, hit DTD and into bed early.. Next morning, up early so we can check into AKV and head to MK for rope drop..

 

[Dawn68PA]

I live in south central pa and it takes us about 17 hours to drive to WDW. We drive it in a straight shot overnight. Hubby sleeps the day we're to leave and drives most of the night while the rest of us get some shut eye. Then in the am, I take over until we get close to the resort.

 

[MinMouse]

Our drive isn't quite that far (it's about 1,000 miles each way) but we like leaving really early (like 4 a.m.) and doing the bulk of our driving the first day. We find that we're most motivated that day and we can accomplish the really early start when leaving from home. We drive into Florida and stop in either Jacksonville (which leaves us 3+ hours from WDW) or Lake Mary (right off I-4 and only about 35-45 minutes from WDW). We have driven straight through but it is not our first choice.

 

[clkelley]

OP- Since we live in Limestone, our drive is the same as yours..

In the past we have left after I got off work in the afternoon and have driven straight thru, arriving before lunch that next day..

However, on our next trip we have a lot more time and my wife has talked me into taking 2 days, so we are planning on driving past Atlanta on the first day.. We shall see how that works out..

Going through Atlanta at night is definitely a plus!!!! After Atlanta it's smooth sailing.

I'm only 12 hours away and split the drive up. I leave after work (about 5pm CT), and get myself South of Atlanta the first night, then finish the drive in the morning. (I pull a camper, so pull into the KOA campground just North of Macon). For hotels, there are several decent ones at Exit 3 on 475.

 

[Ham Ham]

Why not pick up the DH after work drive about 12 -14 hours?

Then stop at a motel leave the next morning for a short drive to WDW.

 

[Funwith4kids]

We prefer to split the trip on the way down into 2 days so we are fresh when hitting WDW. We do most of the driving the 1st day so we arrive at a decent hour to get settled and hit DTD. We usually stop between south of Atlanta and the GA/FL border (12-14 hrs from home) with trying to hit Atlanta before 4 pm.

On the way home, we usually drive straight through arriving home a little before midnight.