Gas Stations near I-95

[psimon]

I'll add my two cents as we dot he annual drive from Philly to WDW.

First, we only stop 3 times in each direction.
Second, some of the stations up north aren't down south.
Third, unless you are brand dependent, I would price shop... and you won't know that till you get here.

So..... I would not recommend the gas cards. If it's a I don't like credit cards issue, just take the money you would have spent on gas cards and stash it somewhere at home. When you get home, put it on your card and pay the bill.

Also, if you use a credit card, you will get some sort of cashback reward... you won't if you use gift cards.

So... my bottom line: Don't use gas cards!

Have a great trip!

---Paul in Southern NJ

 

[shystalips]

I'll add my two cents as we dot he annual drive from Philly to WDW.

First, we only stop 3 times in each direction.
Second, some of the stations up north aren't down south.
Third, unless you are brand dependent, I would price shop... and you won't know that till you get here.

So..... I would not recommend the gas cards. If it's a I don't like credit cards issue, just take the money you would have spent on gas cards and stash it somewhere at home. When you get home, put it on your card and pay the bill.

Also, if you use a credit card, you will get some sort of cashback reward... you won't if you use gift cards.

So... my bottom line: Don't use gas cards!

Have a great trip!

---Paul in Southern NJ

How long does the trip from philly take on average? Been contemplating this trip for years. TIA

 

[JoiseyMom]

How long does the trip from philly take on average? Been contemplating this trip for years. TIA

Ditto, and what is the approx 1/2 way point? We are doing this in August

 

[rock_doctor]

How long does the trip from philly take on average? Been contemplating this trip for years. TIA

We leave about 8am and then stop around 6pm the first night (in Florence SC). We leave the next morning around 9am and get to Kissimmee around 5pm. You are only a couple miles north of us so this pretty close to your times... This equates to about 18 hrs. Google says 15hrs... We don't rush and tend to stop in each state for a rest stop. Although, we don't stop in Maryland. Their I95 rest stops are so huge you will lose a half hour just to make a "stop and run"... If you leave much before 8am you will hit too much traffic on the Blue Route and in Media... You do hit Washington around noon which is a great time. It isn't a bad drive.

A couple quirks...we stay the second night in Kissimmee so we can check into Disney by 8am the next morning. This way we have a full day at Disney.

 

[slappy magoo]

I know this thread has been dormant for a few months but I had a similar question and thought it best to add on to this one.

Forget for a moment the most prevalent gas station chains, or the cheapest gas stations. My question is which gas stations do you simply consider "the best?" Or perhaps it's better to ask "the safest?"

We're also near Philly and will be making the drive. Traditionally we do it on stretch, no stopovers, and do most of our driving at night so we arrive in WDW mid afternoon the next day But now that we have little ones, what worries us is stopping in the middle of the night to stretch and use the facilities. One of our stops last time was a bit sketchy, my wife has told me in no uncertain terms she felt scared, which I don't want her to feel. But she also feels like it's better to split the trip up and take an overnight hotel. I don't necessarily disagree with her, but driving during the day, with our kids' sleep habits, means either taking THREE days and two nights to drive each way, or finishing up each day of driving after 7pm, which is about the time they're ready for bed, AND THEN get to a hotel room, eat dinner, get in bed quickly and get enough sleep for an equally long drive the next day. I think they'll be monsters that second day each way.

So I want to drive mostly during the night, stop around noon the next day in South GA or North FL, get to sleep super early, wake up have breakfast, be on the road before 9 and we can still be in WDW by around noon-1pm. This way more than half of the drive occurs when the kids are asleep in the car, and there's only about 3-4 hours of driving each day while they're awake.

My wife agrees to this as long as we stop in gas stations that, even in the middle of the night, feel well-populated, well-regulated, safe and secure. Which is why I ask you all for tips and suggestions. Thanks.

 

[gillenkl]

We live outside Philly and leave around 3:30am. Kids sleep for awhile at least until the sun comes up. We get to Savannah Ga around 5:00pm and checkin to hotel then walk next door to cracker barrel. I take the kids to the hotel indoor pool to blow off steam and dh takes our van to the gas station next to the hotel to fill up. Then bed and free hotel breakfast. Leave by 7:30am and reach Disney by 1:00pm.

 

[slappy magoo]

We live outside Philly and leave around 3:30am. Kids sleep for awhile at least until the sun comes up. We get to Savannah Ga around 5:00pm and checkin to hotel then walk next door to cracker barrel. I take the kids to the hotel indoor pool to blow off steam and dh takes our van to the gas station next to the hotel to fill up. Then bed and free hotel breakfast. Leave by 7:30am and reach Disney by 1:00pm.

I don't think leaving at 3:30 am is an option for us. We tried something like that once, with our oldest, leaving in the middle of the night for a drive to Hilton Head SC. Normally a heavy sleeper and being shy of 2 years old, we thought she wouldn't even wake her up when we got her in the car to start driving, and she'd wake up in the morning already on our adventure. A cute scene, almost from a movie. Instead it was like a 40s-era nature documentary where hunters take a baby animal from its familiar environment in the middle of the night and ship it hundreds of miles away from home. Nonstop, NONSTOP screaming, that didn't end for 15 hours...when we were about 40 minutes away from the resort, she fell back asleep, and then we tried to wait for a few hours before check-in to keep her sleeping. For us to do the drive, I think it either has to be right at bedtime or the next morning and throughout the day.

 

[Judique]

No, because we always got gas at the exit 3 gas station. And it was quite a bit higher than in SC.
Again, this was just 2 times in 2012. Perhaps it was just a coincidence.

I agree. Prices have jumped at Exit 3 and - I was there same time as you 3/2013, 6/2013, 11/2013.


A prior poster mentioned Flying J, Pilot and Raceway.

Those are the ones we look for. Usually clean, well lit with decent facilities, snacks and sometimes some type of fast food outlet attached.

I don't like the places where you ask for a bathroom and you have to go around the side and open the door with a key......eeekkkk!

Don't forget to check out the Character Warehouse for Disney stuff at St Augustine - I think it is the Greenspring exit. We like it better then the one near Disney.

 

[slappy magoo]

How long does the trip from philly take on average? Been contemplating this trip for years. TIA

Ditto, and what is the approx 1/2 way point? We are doing this in August

We're not too far away, near Trenton, though we used to live closer to the shore.

According to mapquest, the amount of time driving (versus the amount of time "on the road") is a little shy of 17 hours for a drive of something under 1050 miles. If you think about it, at 1050 miles(ish), if you were able to drive at an average of 70 mph, that'd be 15 hours of driving (70 X 15 = 1050).

Clearly, there are patches where you can't drive that fast (and I'm sure some patches where some of you could drive faster ) so let the distance and the speed at which you feel comfortable driving without losing control or getting nabbed by the fuzz be your guide.

A decent sized city close to the halfway mark seems to be Lumberton, NC. In the event we split our drive exactly in half over the course of 2 days, that's probably where we'll stop.

 

[JB2K]

What about just prepaid visa cards to use anywhere?

It won't work.

The T&C on prepaid MC/Visa/AmEx cards specifically says that cannot be used at "pay at the pump" -- plus, add the $3-5 purchase price just for the card, and I call that proposition very "budget-unfriendly".

Instead, why not try "Murphy USA" - they have stations in most Walmart/Walmart Neighborhood Market parking lots, and if you use a WM Gift Card for payment at the pump, you will get a 3-cents a gallon discount.

And if the WM GC doesn't get completely used, you'll have a few bucks to spend inside the store...

 

[Muushka]

I don't think leaving at 3:30 am is an option for us. We tried something like that once, with our oldest, leaving in the middle of the night for a drive to Hilton Head SC. Normally a heavy sleeper and being shy of 2 years old, we thought she wouldn't even wake her up when we got her in the car to start driving, and she'd wake up in the morning already on our adventure. A cute scene, almost from a movie. Instead it was like a 40s-era nature documentary where hunters take a baby animal from its familiar environment in the middle of the night and ship it hundreds of miles away from home. Nonstop, NONSTOP screaming, that didn't end for 15 hours...when we were about 40 minutes away from the resort, she fell back asleep, and then we tried to wait for a few hours before check-in to keep her sleeping. For us to do the drive, I think it either has to be right at bedtime or the next morning and throughout the day.

Your post makes me and at the same time!

Welcome to the DIS, I love your screen name. Sorry, we don't have kiddos so I can't help.

 

[purpledisneyprncess]

I usually get Shell GC's and have never had a problem finding one on I95.

Same here! We have driven 4 times already and there are lots of Shell gas stations all along 95 down to FL. We buy the Shell gift card when our grocery store is having a promotion..buy $50 get $10 back for groceries. So that's a 20% savings. They had buy $100 get $20 on Black Friday but I didn't buy them. I think the next time will be either Mother's Day or early June for graduations. They do it at many big name grocers.

 

[Judique]

It won't work.

The T&C on prepaid MC/Visa/AmEx cards specifically says that cannot be used at "pay at the pump" -- plus, add the $3-5 purchase price just for the card, and I call that proposition very "budget-unfriendly".

Instead, why not try "Murphy USA" - they have stations in most Walmart/Walmart Neighborhood Market parking lots, and if you use a WM Gift Card for payment at the pump, you will get a 3-cents a gallon discount.

And if the WM GC doesn't get completely used, you'll have a few bucks to spend inside the store...

I agree that I wouldn't pay fees to obtain Visa or other Credit Card gift cards for this purpose. However, you can use them inside the store. I get them as rewards from my Visa card and I save them for paying for gas on trips all the time. Plus sometimes there are fee free promos.

I searched for Murphy USA using the link provided by you and couldn't find any locations convenient to 1-95, Philadelphia to Orlando. I've never seen a gas station at a Walmart in my area - closest I could see on the map was Norfolk, Va, which is not on the I-95 corridor - well over an hours drive - that 3 cents a gallon savings just hardly seems worth it.

 

[JB2K]

I searched for Murphy USA using the link provided by you and couldn't find any locations convenient to 1-95, Philadelphia to Orlando. I've never seen a gas station at a Walmart in my area - closest I could see on the map was Norfolk, Va, which is not on the I-95 corridor - well over an hours drive - that 3 cents a gallon savings just hardly seems worth it.

I should've clarified -- Murphy USA only operates in Southern/Midwestern states (they have stations in nearly every Walmart parking lot in the state of Florida).

There was a similar venture running at Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Walmart stores called "Optima" (those gas stations were owned/operated by the more familiar Sunoco). Sunoco closed/dismantled all of those stations back in 2012.

 

[Judique]

I should've clarified -- Murphy USA only operates in Southern/Midwestern states (they have stations in nearly every Walmart parking lot in the state of Florida).

There was a similar venture running at Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Walmart stores called "Optima" (those gas stations were owned/operated by the more familiar Sunoco). Sunoco closed/dismantled all of those stations back in 2012.

Ahh - thanks. I do see the ones in Florida. There are quite a few.

I wonder why they gave up this market?