? For thoses who drive to WDW.

[NJFireman22]

Its a 16 hour drive for us, ( done it many times). My Father has a home about 2.5 hours south of WDW. So we stay a few days with him 1st, then move in to WDW. On The way home though we drive stright thru. I like to leave at 5am and were home by 9pm. Its a long "sad" drive home , DW and I take 2-3 hour turns driving so its not too bad. Btw - the kids handel the drive very well. DD -14, DS-12, DD-9.

 

[Gymbomom]

This year we are arriving on the NYE. We will arrive around 4pm. I refuse to pay holiday rates for one nights sleep. We got a room on Priceline, a 3* for $40 a night. We have to get 2 rooms. We have reservations at Ohana's that night, so don't really plan on being in our room anyways. I can't imagine even paying for All Stars at those prices for one night. We check into OKW on the 1st.

ETA: Also we are different, we stay at the resort on our day we leave till around 4pm. Then get in the car and drive as far as possible. We live in TX, so it is at least 20 hours no matter what. So I would rather get in late at home and be able to stay just a little longer at WDW.

 

[skiwee1]

Why waste money on a hotel if the driver (me) like driving at night. (no traffic, no distractions)

We love driving down and staying at hotels. We actually stretch it to staying over two nights just from MD! It never cuts in to our vacation time. We just add to it. We decide how many days at WDW and then add travel time. Last time we decided to stay at WDW for 14 days. We added 3 days before and after for travel time. Driving down is so much fun. We love to hit all the outlets, Cracker Barrels and even the ever cheesy South of the Border! Of course it's just us girls. Unlike men that have one goal and that is to get to the destination. We prefer to enjoy ourselves getting there and back.

 

[Bashful2]

When we drive, it takes anywhere from 101/2-12 hours depending on traffic. We usually leave about 8am. Even if we're staying in a different resort, we'll usually stay at a value the first night to save money. If we're planning on someplace like Sea World the 2nd day, we'll stay off-site the first night. We always stay on-site the last night.

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

One year we did this for on the way home.

Now, we are offsite the whole time if it's all five of us, so it doesn't matter.

But that one year we were onsite and in the park the last whole day. The next day we wanted to visit a friend in Ocala. So we thought we would leave the park that night, and drive to Ocala.

I got the Hyatt in Ocala on priceline (my DS was a baby then so he was in a crib). No problem getting 2 queens...........this was an awesome hotel!! I mean, beautiful. Too bad we were just sleeping there but I got it for $40 including all fees. Can't beat that for a Hyatt.

I would do that again if I had to. We were able to put a little dent in the ride home.

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

To some the vacation begins as soon as you leave home and the journey is part of it. As a child some of my fondest memories were the trips we took and the nights we spend on the road to get there. It was as much fun as the destination.

Oh, Sammie this is SO TRUE for us. Now, we do drive thru the night sometimes going down, just because it is such a long drive and that way we hit a lot less traffic. But during the daylight hours, we stop at wherever we feel is interesting or need a break. DH has learned not to be in "conquer the trip" mode.

We love driving down now and wouldn't want it any other way. No phones, no interruptions.........just family time together.

 

[WVParkfan]

"We love driving down now and wouldn't want it any other way. No phones, no interruptions.........just family time together"

We couldn't agree more. Last July, we stopped in Daytona on our way down from the northeast. We had planned to only spend the night and then go off to WDW in the morning. Well, Hurricane Dennis made for some bad weather on the West Coast of FLA that affected Orlando. We stayed in Daytona for most of the day to avoid the bad weather before heading into WDW. We had a wonderful time, and have a new adventure to talk about. Daytona was very nice, peaceful and relaxing. We may try to spend a little time there every year before the annual trek to Disney.

 

[Maureenmouse]

WOW. Lots of different opinions here as to what to do. We plan on staying offsite the first and last night in order to extend our trip one more day. I'm hoping to get lucky and pick a reasonably priced, clean hotel. Probably a Comfort Inn. I can't get a Value Resort for under $100, so I should be able to get 2 nights somewhere else for around that rate.

 

[CharlesTD]

Driving to Disney is the only way to go as far as we are concerned. The kids love the drive and the anticipation of the drive the entire week leading up to it.

 

[mousiemom]

Last yr., we arrived @ Pop around 1 in the afternoon and we couldn't check in until 3. So, we sat in the parking lot w/my inlaws and had a little snack and had the best time waiting believe it or not. This yr., we are leaving @ 7am so we can get there right @ check in. We hop on the bus to DTD and go shopping and this time we are going to the Water pagent parade(that we've never seen)@ 9pm. We start our full day @ the MK the next day. Your family is too cute! I hope yall were ok during Katrina! We didn't get anything compared to the MS gulf coast and LA.
Have Fun!
Pam

 

[disneymom727]

We always drive. We are about 10 hours and normally just do it all in one day. This trip we are driving about 4 hrs. the night before stopping at a cheap hotel and driving the rest of the way the next day. This way we get to our Disney resort earlier and are able to have dinner at a Disney restaurant without being completely exhausted. Now going home we will just drive it all in one day. We are hoping Santa brings us a portable DVD player for Christmas so the ride home won't be too bad.

 

[CharlesTD]

Our drive is about 20-22 hours depending on the speed I feel like going it can also be as short as 18 hours drive.

 

[Disney Doll]

Depending on what time oyu think you'd be arriving on your first day, it might save you some $$ to stay offsite. I mean, if oyu're going to get into Orlando at 930PM, chances are you'd probably just grab a quick snack and go to bed, right? No need to pay a premium WDW resort price to do that.

Don't forget about the Value resorts though. Fairly inexpensive and still Disney!!!!

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

I am more apt to want to spend the extra bucks to be on site the later I arrive as I hate to pack and unpack. When I get to DW I want to be able to get up and out ASAP.

That being said we always stay at the Values so it is a whole lot different from spending the really big bucks on the upscale places.

I have learned to pack a smaller suitcase for the trip down and back to avoid having to lug everything in the rooms en route.


Slightly Goofy

 

[mickeymousemommy]

We have a 4 1/2-5 hour drive from South Carolina. We drive straight through early in the morning. I try to get the kids moving early! We try to get out of here by 8 am at the latest, we have to drop the dog off first. We drive straight through with a potty break. We get there around lunch time and go straight to the resort. I like to check out the resort and Downtown Disney the first day. I like to hit the parks with a full day ahead of us. We stay in our resort on the last night. I like to stay for as long as possible and we try to get home by 10 pm. I'm just glad I don't have the longer drives to get to my favorite place that some of you do! I visit family in Wisconsin and that's a 16 hour drive minimum.

 

[SqueakyMouse]

Years ago, we would drive into Orlando in the early evening and stay off-site that first night. We then would get up very early the next morning and make our way to our WDW resort to check-in and get our length of stay passes.

Now, we won't even consider staying off-site. This is for a variety of reasons. Primarily, we like waking-up at our resort and heading off to the parks with no delay. Also, staying off-site is no longer as cheap as it once was. (We used to stay at a Fairfield Inn for really, really cheap. It is now over a $100/night.) I know there are bound to be some inexpensive motels close to WDW, but I am no longer willing to take my chances and end-up staying at some ratty hole-in-the-wall. Since we are AP holders now, the discounts on rooms generally make it far more affordable to stay on-site. For our Christmas week trip, we were able to book a value room for our first night for only $59.

 

[kapica3]

We've done it both ways.

The time we stayed in a Holiday Inn not too far outside of WDW, and the bedding was dirty, noise and rowdy drunken shirtless guys, making noise outside of our room at night, we vowed to never do that again. Granted it was my own fault, what did I expect for $34 a night.

The next time, we drove all the way to WDW and check into the All Star for the first night before moving to a moderate. This worked out much better. Ahhhhhhhh.... Safe at Disney!! Clean, friendly, safe... for just a few more dollars a night. Definately worth it.

Other times we have driven straight through, probably about 18-20 hours, only to arrive at 5am at the Port Orleans Parking lot. Caught a short nap in the car before doing an early check in. The resort actually had a room to offer us THAT early in the morning, but we refused it so to have our originally requested building later in the day.

Just as a side note.......so many times we are driving to the shore on the weekend or back from Atlantic City and just something about the smell of the night air.....sparks a "driving to Disney" feeling.. we are seperately thinking about it and then someone mentions....."Doesn't this remind you of when we are driving to Disney". Getting there is part of the fun.... we love the smell of the night air as we hop out of the car to stretch as we tank up on El Cheepo Gas. Or stop in one of those touristy convenience stores at the side of the road, where they sell fruitcakes and pecans. Or stop at the super clean rest areas that we are way too happy to see by the time we get there. I for one would never fly and miss all the fun

 

[disneymom727]

we love the smell of the night air as we hop out of the car to stretch as we tank up on El Cheepo Gas. Or stop in one of those touristy convenience stores at the side of the road, where they sell fruitcakes and pecans. Or stop at the super clean rest areas that we are way too happy to see by the time we get there. I for one would never fly and miss all the fun

Gotta love El Cheapo!!!! And may I ask who out there HASN'T made the unforgettable stop at South of the Border?!? Ahhhh good times.

 

[MrsTink04]

From Metro-Atlanta, we usually drive half way (the day before our WDW ressies) and stay in Valdosta. We then get up and drive the rest of the way to WDW. For our February trip, we will do this again, but we will do it on the way home, too. I get panicky in a car, (and I HATE flying - think Lewis Grizzard) so knowing that the longest we will be driving is 4 hours helps me to stay calm. We don't do it to save money, we do it to save our sanity!!!

We enjoy taking in a movie and dinner in Valdosta. I'm not really a "movie person", as I feel like I should be cleaning the house or doing something productive when we are at home. But since we are away from home, I enjoy going out on our "layover" to WDW. The traveling part definitely becomes part of the vacation.

 

[BraveMom3]

For our Thanksgiving trip, we leave home around 2:00 p.m. (children and I only miss the last two hours of school) and drive to Tallahassee. We arrive there around 6:30. We stay at the Cabot Lodge right off the interstate and get up early the next a.m., eat their breakfast in the lobby and are on the road by 8:00 a.m. Check in at WDW around noon and head to a park. I do as some others mentioned - pack an overnight bag with just what we need so we don't unpack the whole car. Don't forget if you are driving east on I-10 through Pensacola to try to avoid 5:00 p.m. Traffic is horrible where the bridge is still messed up from hurricane - that's why I leave in time to get through there by 4:00. Coming home we drive straight through - takes about 8 hours.