For those that have driven from the D/FW area...

[rottendog]

Where did you stop on your first night? We're planning on putting in about 10 to 12 hours on the day we leave. My best guess is that we'll end up in the Gulf Shores to Pensacola Beach area by doing that. Any recommendations to where to stay or where to avoid. I "would like" to stay on the beach so the kids could unwind from the day of driving. However, if the rates are outragous, I am very willing to stay somewhere else. Our departure date is July 31 from D/FW.

Thanks.

 

[Nebsky]

Well hello there neighbor!!

We did the drive in March...It was alot of fun.

We drove I20 to Jackson MS, then US 49 south to Hattiesburg MS and switched to US98 to Mobile then jumped on I10. We made it all the way to Lake City Florida on the first day. Lake City is where I10 and I75 intersect. It took us 14 hours from Flower Mound. We left at 4am DFW time and got into Lake City at 7pm Eastern. We could have driven the whole way there.

We stayed at the Rodeway Inn in Lake City. It was clean and close to I75. We will stay there if we drive again. It was like $48.00 after tax. The only place you would be close to the beach areas are near Pensacola. I dont know how much they cost to stay at though...Sorry. I do know that if you do this, go to beaches on the east side of Pensacola.

Yahoo Maps and MSN Maps had us going two different directions.
Yahoo had us going I20 to Jackson MS, then I55 south to Hammond LA and then I10 the rest of the way to I75.
MSN Maps had us going I20 to Shreveport LA then I49 to Lafayette LA and then I10-I12-I10 the rest of the way to I75.

Supposedly the way I went was slower but had shorter distance. The speed on US49 and US98 were mainly 65 except when you go through the towns. There were some stop lights and 35mph areas, but we just motored on through. Another good thing about this is gas prices are a little cheaper. I had a friend that had gone to Daytona the weekend before us. They drove the I20 to Shreveport then I49 down to Lafayette way and said it was extremely boring. On the way back they drove the way I went but reversed and it was faster and the gas prices were 10-15 cents less.

Do you have a DVD or VCR player for the drive. We did and it kept 5 yr old son and me entertained. No problems at all..

Have a great Trip...Im jealous. I have to wait until December to go again.

Are you going to the DFW area DIS meet this Sunday at Grapevine Mills Mall?

Jeff

 

[m&m's mom]

Jeff- Thanks for the info even though I am not the original poster. I remember you were going to give us a drive follow-up when you got back.
How many hours did it take you the 2nd day? In other words what was the total drive time?
I am trying to get to meet on Sunday, are you going as well?
Thanks!
Coral

 

[rottendog]

Oh no, I had forgotten about the deal at Grapevine Mills, already got something going. You guys have fun!

Thanks for the info on the drive. You've probably got an hour or two on me, I'll be leaving from the Weatherford area (west of Ft. Worth). A $50 hotel room sounds a lot more reasonable than a $150 room!!

We don't have the DVD player yet, but I've been a lookin'! Sam's has one with two screens that I've got my eye on. I'll be traveling with two 13 year olds, so entertainment is a must!!! And as far as the route with the cheaper gas prices, I'm all for that. It's going to cost us a fortune just getting there!

Thanks!

 

[Nebsky]

m&m's mom,

Im sorry for not sending back to you.
I feel bad. I thought I had posted to everyone.

It took us roughly 17 hours and 30 mins.
14 hours the first day all the way to Lake City.
3 1/2 hours the next day. This included breakfast, gas and potty stop.

Like I said above, we easily could have made it to WDW that night. We decided not to simply because we had already booked that hotel and it was past the 6pm free room cancel. Had we been able to cancel with no charge, we would have been there.

Me, Mr.BsMom and son will be there. This will be our first one.
Im looking forward to it. Ive heard they are fun.

Rottendog,
I saw that DVD player at Sams. It is Gear to Gear or something right? I almost bought that one but I couldnt find out anything about the company on line. I might have bought it had I found them. Instead I got a Panasonic LA95. 9 Inch screen. Works great. If you want to listen to the movies through your car radio system, you have two choices.

1st choice is a tape like thing that plugs into the headset hole. It converts the signal into a tape and then plays through that. Sound great !!!
2nd choice is an FM broadcaster that also plust into the headset hole. It broadcasts an FM signal to stations 88.1, 88.3, 88.5, 88.7. It also works great and has less cords. Only draw back is that it is usually about 10 bucks more and that it also runs on batteries. When you get near a big radio tower, the sound does get fuzzy a little but nothing major. They are worth their weight it GOLD!!!!

The gas, I was planning on prices being 1.75 when we went. The highest prices we paid were in TX believe it or not. We filled up just west of Shreveport and it was 1.72. If your going for a week and there are more than 2 of you, its cheaper than flying. Only drawback is that it takes longer. But thats part of the fun right??