For those who drive from Chicago

[ILPHIL]

We've made the drive many times during all seasons and now definitely prefer the I-24 route. Drive straight thru from the far north suburbs making lots of stops. IF we travel on a weekday leaving right after morning rush hour in Chicago sets us up to miss the busy times in Nashville & Atlanta. Wife and I take turns driving during the day and I go all night, usually with a hour or two nap at the rest area outside Macon. My normal goal is to be in FL by the time everybody else wakes up. Gets us to WDW late morning, gives us time to pick-up some groceries and head to our resort.
I'm more than willing to trade being a little tired the 1st day to avoid the hassles of dealing with O'Hare...
Looking forward to doing it again in June!

 

[alicenwonder99]

Okay, I've made two reservations for possible stopovers: one in Chattanooga, the other at Atlanta. We'll cancel depending on how we are doing that day.

Still undecided on I-65 vs. I-57!

We drove I-65 last time down, and this time we're going I-57. According to the online driving directions, it will be faster...but who knows!

If you go on the McDonald's site, they have a driving direction link. You can find the McDonald playlands off the Interstate on your drive! Also, I went on the Cracker Barrel site and found the Cracker Barrel's on our drive down (the kids love that place and we ONLY go there on family vacations). I also figured out where the rest stops are. Here's my stops on the way to WDW taking I-57, I-24, I-75 (if anyone is interested...lol):

DAY 1
Stop #1: Interstate Rest Area, exit 114 (eat breakfast brought packed from home)
Stop #2: McDonald's Playland - exit 65, Cadiz KY (eat lunch)
Stop #3: Cannonsburgh Village - exit 78B, Murfreesboro, TN (siteseeing stop for about 1 hour)
Stop #4: Holiday Inn in Chattanooga, TN - overnight stay

DAY2
Stop #1: Cracker Barrel - exit 218, McDonough, GA (breakfast)
Stop #2: Interstate Rest Area - exit 118, Pinehurst, GA
Stop #3: McDonald's Playland - exit 5, Lake Park, GA (eat lunch)
Stop #4: Interstate Rest ARea - exit 346, Marion Cty, FL
Next stop - WDW!!

It may seem we have alot of stops, but my 4 and 6 year olds are still in car seats and I feel they need to get out and move around. And I didn't figure out gas fill-up stops...I'm leaving that up to dh since he's the one doing all the driving.

I still need to figure out our stops on the way home.

Mary

 

[hearts8701]

that's great the way you figured in Mcdonalds and cracker barrel from their websites.
is there a website for rest areas?

 

[alicenwonder99]

that's great the way you figured in Mcdonalds and cracker barrel from their websites.
is there a website for rest areas?

Yes. I don't have the URLs in front of me right now, but I just did a simple Yahoo search of Illinois Department of Transportation (and Kentucky, and Tennesse, and Georgia, and Florida). They all have the Interstate rest areas listed. If you can't find it, let me know and I'll post it for you. I still have to figure our stops for the ride home.

Mary

 

[hearts8701]

thanks i did located the rest areas especially for Georgia
you might want to post the Webster here for future drivers from Chicago who might research this site later

 

[jeancbpugh]

Turns out DH has to attend a meeting at work the morning we are supposed to start out. I am considering loading the car and starting without him. We can pick him up at the airport in Louisville. What do you all think? I am reluctant to lose a day of vacation...

 

[jeancbpugh]

Turns out DH has to attend a meeting at work the morning we are supposed to start out. I am considering loading the car and starting without him. We can pick him up at the airport in Louisville. What do you all think? I am reluctant to lose a day of vacation...

I forgot to mention that we'd have to go by I-65 to work it. Doesn't look like there are any reasonable airports along I-57.

 

[jeancbpugh]

Turns out DH has to attend a meeting at work the morning we are supposed to start out. I am considering loading the car and starting without him. We can pick him up at the airport in Louisville. What do you all think? I am reluctant to lose a day of vacation...

We decided to just leave midday after his meeting, go I-57, and stop for the night at Nashville.

 

[FamilyGuy]

We invested in an aerobed. We just have two kids, but there are times when they each need their own space to stretch out. So we bring the aerobed, a sleeping bag, and a couple of pillows on every road trip.

Can you tell me more about the aerobed. Specifically if you would be comfortable checking it on a flight in its carrying case (or bag?). Or would it need to be packed in a suitcase? How big is it when deflated?

I think my wife and kids really didn't mind the flight to Orlando and back - maybe even kind of enjoyed it.

 

[jeancbpugh]

Can you tell me more about the aerobed. Specifically if you would be comfortable checking it on a flight in its carrying case (or bag?). Or would it need to be packed in a suitcase? How big is it when deflated?

It is about the size of a sleeping bag stuffed in its sack.

http://www.thinkaero.com/retail/pro...ry_name=Beds&product_id=AeroBed&cookie_test=1

 

[PrincessCandaceMarie]

Hello ~

I know members of my family either stop in Atlanta (and shop and enjoy the sights) then continue on to St. Pete Beach or Sanibel Island, and other members of my family just drive straight through....whatever you prefer, just be careful and have fun!

 

[jeancbpugh]

We hit the road tomorrow afternoon. Forecast looks good: cold but not precipation. I'll let you all know how it goes!

 

[jeancbpugh]

We were supposed to leave HOURS ago and DH hasn't even left work yet. Lord only knows how far we'll drive today, and where we'll end up stopping.

Just goes to show you that no matter how carefully you plan, life gets in the way and throws you a curve ball.

 

[jeancbpugh]

We left our Chicago suburb day#1 at 3:30pm. Went down I-57 (great road! no traffic!) Arrived Nashville 11:30pm and stayed the night.

Next day left at 8:30 and drove to WDW, arriving 6:30pm. (1205 miles from home to WDW)

Spent 1.5 weeks in Florida various places.

Then left for home at 8:30pm after dinner at Kona Cafe. Drove until south of Atlanta (Tifton) and stayed overnight. Next day drove home (again by way of I-57 which was great) arriving just after midnight.
Total hours engine ran on the way home from the Poly to Chicago= 18 hr, 41 min.

We drove 3911 miles total.

It was easier than we expected. No snow or ice to slow us down. Just a few spots of traffic (Atlanta and Miami).

The kids loved the DVD players and the PS2.

We'd do it again, but not for a couple of years.

 

[Shagley]

Does anyone know of any cheap, decent hotels just south of Nashville?

We are leaving Peoria at 5:00pm, and we would like to make it just south of Nashville before we stop for the night.

Or maybe I should be asking if anyone is aware of any areas we should avoid south of Nashville. We were thinking of getting a hotel in the Murfreesboro area.

Any advice would be appreciated!!

 

[weluvpluto]

Does anyone know of any cheap, decent hotels just south of Nashville?

We are leaving Peoria at 5:00pm, and we would like to make it just south of Nashville before we stop for the night.

Or maybe I should be asking if anyone is aware of any areas we should avoid south of Nashville. We were thinking of getting a hotel in the Murfreesboro area.

Any advice would be appreciated!!

Here's a link to a thread that should help you a bit (I hope! )
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=735363&highlight=Murfreesboro

 

[KATIESMOMMY]

Just a quick word about reststops--
I was a truck driver for a number of yrs and my DH still is, please be safe and stop other places the the interstate rest areas. These places can be VERY dangerous, esp at night. I am not trying to scare you all or anything--just LOts of bad things happen in these places. In a auto I would stop at one of the major truckstops- Petro, Travel Centers, Flying J. They are safe, clean and well lit--and to be quite honest some of them have excellant food.

 

[dzneelvr]

The one time we drove, it was a straight shot. We didn't want to waste any time getting to WDW. DH and I took turns so it wasn't so bad. We also extended our usual time and drove over to Vero Beach Disney for a couple of days. That was a wonderful change from the Parks and made our reason for driving logical.
We won't be driving again though. Prior to the "drive trip" our other trips were by air (O Hare and various carriers) and now that we've discovered TMA and the Rockford Regional airport, we'll be flying again from now on. Personally, with our kids now 17 and 15, driving that far is just too crowded and not a fun experience; we did the drive a few years ago before both DS and DD grew 6 inches!!
Research iflytma.com and orlandosanford.com....seriously, I'm a big fan of this partnership out of Rockford.

 

[jeancbpugh]

Does anyone know of any cheap, decent hotels just south of Nashville?

We are leaving Peoria at 5:00pm, and we would like to make it just south of Nashville before we stop for the night.

Or maybe I should be asking if anyone is aware of any areas we should avoid south of Nashville. We were thinking of getting a hotel in the Murfreesboro area.

Any advice would be appreciated!!

In December we stayed at the Holiday Inn Express on the south side of Nashville (714 Spence Lane, Nashville, 615-366-6691). It was fine. It cost $81.24 with tax for a room with two queen beds.

Driving Directions I-40E OR I-65S, EXIT I-24E, THEN EXIT 52 MURFREESBORO RD. LEFT AT LIGHT. I-65N, EXIT 440E KNOXVILLE, EXIT 52. THRU LIGHT HOTEL ON LEFT. I-24W, EXIT 52. I-40W EXIT 213 SPENCE LANE, FOLLOW TEMP DETOUR.

 

[Shagley]

Thanks for all the help !!