From NJ area?

[Kerlynne]

I was hoping someone from my area, of South Jersey, that is Universal savvy can help me figure out some questions.
We would fly out of Spirit, at Atlantic City Airport. It seems to me, with going through their web site, that is may be cheaper to fly into Tampa, then get a ride to RPR. As well as reverse it to get back home. Any ideas if this is true? And most importantly is it worth it? How far is Tampa from Universal hotels?
Also I was wondering is anyone drove there from NJ? I heard it's I-95 all the way down. I have never wanted to entertain the idea of driving, but we just went to Disney in July, so budget is tight. But I'm trying to figure if there really is any saving to driving anyways(time we pay for gas, tolls, etc.) Of course I would have to know where each bathroom stop is too. lol Is there a map I can find, that lists rest stops, and tolls?

 

[Eclpz314]

I live in Newark, Delaware and have driven 95 down to Orlando a couple of times. We have stayed overnight in several different areas on the way down. Once, we stayed in Daytona and then drove the 1 hr to WDW the next morning to get a fresh start. Other people drive straight through for the 18 hours, but to me, lack of sleep on the way is NOT the way to start a vacation! There are a lot of rest areas on the way. The first one you would pass is at the Newark, De. section of 95, probably 20 min. from the De. Mem. Bridge. Then there's Maryland House right as you enter Md. There are others too, but the one we always liked was the Georgia welcome center......glimpse of first palm tree too! Let me know what further details you need, names of decent hotels, etc. If I don't answer right away in the next couple of days it's because we have a 2-day state of emergency beginning tomorrow at 7 am. All schools, including the colleges are shutting down until Monday, plus requesting businesses to shut down.......all adding up to a lot of people with free time on their hands to tie up the internet here! Of course, we could all be without power for a while too......omg 5 people in the house, no t.v., no computer, etc. Why did 4 of us get along fine for 7 nights at RPR??? wow. Let me know what info I can help you with.

 

[wdwphanatic]

I live a few miles from the Delaware Memorial Bridge in NJ and there's nothing like that going on here... Guess they take Isabel a lot more seriously down there than the folks around here are taking it!

Anyway, I would advise against flying into Tampa unless absolutely necessary, because I think that is a 90-mile drive from Universal. When are you planning to go?? If you can wait a bit to purchase tickets, I am sure the prices will come down significantly from where they are right now. I just checked fares from Philly and Atlantic City and was appalled at the prices -- over $300 is highway robbery, as far as I'm concerned!!

As far as driving is concerned, I can't give you any advice there because we've never actually done it ourselves. We know several families who've done it and say it's not that bad. I thought it was closer to 15 hours from here, though perhaps I'm mistaken... 18 sounds a lot worse somehow! If you do find out more information on that, please post!!

Happy planning,
Sarah

 

[Maria395712]

us airways is having a sale right now 171.50, www.usairways.com put in check by price. it's about 1hr 30 min - 2 hrs depends on traffic from tampa to universal I will only fly use to drive but to long

maria

 

[SpideyHulk24]

Traffic on I 4 can be crazy. Definitely count on at least 1 and 1/2 hour of travel.

 

[Cebhfhionn]

Hi,

I just moved here from Jersey so naturally we drove down. We left Saturday evening and ended up here on Tuesday morning. Of course, we weren't beginning vacation so we were in no great rush. The drive isn't so bad and if you have someone to share the driving with and a car that won't wreck your nerves then it isn't so bad.

Tampa is pretty far from here, not a bad drive though, I-4 all the way.

I know what you mean by trying to save on airfare, once a couple of years ago, we flew into Atlanta, rented a car and drove the 6 hours! I figured that we needed to rent a car anyway so driving the extra time would only extend my vacation for a couple of days. What a pity!

In any case, have a great time in whatever you decide to do!

 

[maria1234]

We have been flying Spirit for years and it is the best way to go. The Atlantic City airport is nice and small. They have recently started charging for parking, but it is only $4 a day. We always fly into Orlando and get transportation to the hotels. They usually give you a 30 minute grocery stop. Tampa is 1 1/2 drive. If you watch the Spirit website, the prices fluctuate daily. We never pay over $200 a ticket, but they often have deals for much less. Good luck and have fun!

 

[msdisney53]

We usually make the trip twice a year. Sometimes we drive and sometimes we fly depending on when and how long we'll be away. For our trip in October we will be flying on Spirit from A.C. to Orlando and then using Happy Limo to get to Porofino. A.C. is just so easy. In December we will be driving since we will be there for 2 weeks and the ticket prices went up before I could get a cheap airfare. When we drive we usually leave NJ around 6:00 at night,stop for breakfast in GA and by Lunch time we are in Orlando. There's a I-95 web site that has all the rest areas listed. I wouldn't fly into Tampa unless it was really necessary. When are you planning on going?

Denise

 

[Kerlynne]

The whole trip is in the air, trying to decide to drive or fly. It doesn't seem like we would save much by driving. I guess it would be worth it, if we were staying off property. But since we will most likely stay at RPR, we wouldn't need it. Of course, unless we decide to save money on eating off the park. Both us us feel though, we might as well enjoy ourselves, and although it can get expensive eating in the parks, it would appear to be a hassle to leave and come. Also, do the resorts at Universal make you pay for parking in their lot?
We can't decide when to go. It's either October, November, or first week of December. We have to go before 19 of December, since we are using the Military Salute discounts. The lady at RPR said they were pretty much booked in October, which is fine with me, since my son, will probably be afraid of the Halloween decor.

 

[Whoville_Nut]

I just drove to NJ from Port Canaveral, and from South Plainfield NJ back home on Tuesday. That is a great drive, if you leave at 5am in NJ you'll beat all the morning traffic in NJ & DC area. To bypass all that mess you can go to Penn and then take 75 down reconnect on 95 and get into FL.

Tampa to Universal is a 2 hour drive. Not worth it.

On the drive back from NJ back to FL there were tons of FLA Plates on 95 going home. I guess no one wanted to be stuck for who knows how long. I was going to leave NJ on Thursday, but I had to leave before the storm hit because if power went out, you can't get gas, if the roads are blocked you can't move, you can't go anywhere to eat. So I left on Monday and got home Tuesday.

You can drive from NJ to FL in 1 day, I did it on July 23. I left at 5:30am from South Plainfield NJ and got home in FL at 11:30pm.

Mike

 

[lUVTOGO]

You can sign up on Spirit to get the cyberfares that are sent out weekly! Sometimes if you leave on Tues, Wed, or Thurs, you can get their 59.00 cyber fare (oneway). I never seem to catch these fares as we usually leave on Friday and you have to buy them through the web! I would still pay a little more for the convenience of flying out of AC. Once you fly out of there, you never go back to a major airport!!

 

[Kerlynne]

I'm not have success with Spirit's Email. I did sign up, like 2 weeks ago, with nothing yet. Unless when i signed up, i just missed thier previous mailer.

Another ? off subject, how come i'm not getting my reminders anymore. Like I subscribed to this thread, so i knew when someone wrote, but I'm not getting the email. Is it just not working?