Has Anyone Driven down or planning to?

[tjbaggott]

We leave in October for our Disney Land and Sea Vacation and will be driving down. DH and I and our 4 children. We plan on driving 16 hours the first day (leaving at 4 a.m.) and then 8 the next day. Is this recommended? We will be sharing the driving. We've never driven down before so don't know what is realistic or not.
What are the good family restaruants along I-95? Someone on another board had mentioned one name that can be found all along the I-95 but now I can't remember the name. This chain as far as I know is not found in Canada.

If you have driven down before, how was the drive home? SAD? LOL.

 

[Boomer1]

We leave in October for our Disney Land and Sea Vacation and will be driving down. DH and I and our 4 children. We plan on driving 16 hours the first day (leaving at 4 a.m.) and then 8 the next day. Is this recommended? We will be sharing the driving. We've never driven down before so don't know what is realistic or not.
What are the good family restaruants along I-95? Someone on another board had mentioned one name that can be found all along the I-95 but now I can't remember the name. This chain as far as I know is not found in Canada.

If you have driven down before, how was the drive home? SAD? LOL.

We drive down every Christmas/New Years break. I believe we have driven down six times now. We drive from New Brunswick and it is over 30 hours of driving. I can not comment on how much driving is too much, I guess it depends on how rested you are and what you are used to. We have three children and provide them with DVDs, books and other activities to keep busy. You may wish to pack Gravol as the long drive may cause nausea. We like to stop at Cracker Barrell restaurants. We tow a 32' travel trailer and they have RV parking. Also the menu is varied, the food is good and the facilities are clean. The drive home is sad but a good time to plan your next trip.

 

[MCFADDEN5]

We drive every year from the Toronto area. It is easy!! We also eat at Cracker Barrel, its great for the kids. We stay at Holiday Inn Expresses because they have big rooms for 3 kids and a full comp. breakfast. Every trip has been different, sometimes they watch movies, sometimes read books or colour pics. We drive 14- 16 hours the first day and 6-8 the next.
We had a GPS which helped to not miss turns. Do not speed on highway 19!!!!

 

[Louiepipbgeeco]

We used to drive every year but for the past 4 we have flown instead. Driving is definitely "doable" but since I can only have 1 week off (teacher) it just works best for us to fly. When we drove we always took plenty of movies and I used to fill a tupperware bin with things that were all brand new. It would be the first time DD would see then so it would help to entertain her. I also bought the book "Along I75 " It is awesome and helps pass the time. Has all kinds of trivia and tells about the drive. Really recommend it. I did not mind the drive but have to admit now that we have been fllying and you can get such great rates out of Detroit where we are near to. I won't do it again anytime soon.

 

[tjbaggott]

Cracker Barrell! That was it!
We figure, leaving at 4 a.m. will get us past Washington D.C, before the afternoon rush hour. We'll just wake the kids, and they can jump into the van right away and still be in their pj's, and go back to sleep. DH will start the drive as I'll probably want to go back to sleep right away too. When we stop for breakfast, everyone can get dressed at that time. Between DVD's, activity books, paper, travel games (found some great ones online) and the kids Nintendo DS's, they should be well entertained. Stopping lots to stretch those legs and bathroom breaks, that should help too.
We often drive from Ottawa to Brantford (West of Toronto) and thats an almost 7 hour drive. We usually stop once for on that drive for food and bathroom break, So I figure a 16 hour drive, we should be ok with 3 bathroom and food breaks. There is a slew of hotels in the Fayetteville area right off the I95, and will make use of the coupons in the travel booklets you can get at the welcome centres when you enter each state?
We figure the Hotels won't be busy as we are traveling OFF Peak season, so the "upon Availability" and "drop in" status of those coupons, should work for us.
Is this sounding good so far? My DH is a "just drive and find a place on the way" and I'm more of a Planner "need to know where when and what time" kind of gal. We also have a GPS, purchased it specifically for this trip!

Next year I'm thinking of taking my two youngest boys to WDW for a week, and WILL fly then, won't drive without another adult with me.
Does this sound good so far?

 

[dancin Disney style]

We have driven the last 2 years in a row. The first time we left at about 4:15 am and drove until about 9pm. It was OK. I hate car trips so the only way I can tolerate it is to have one brutally long day followed by a short one.

The last time we drove we decided to leave around 2am. Dh went to bed at 8pm and got about 5 hours of sleep. I napped on the sofa...I was afraid I wouldn't wake up on time. We left at 2:20am and got all the way to Savannah, GA by just after 9pm. That left us 3 hours the next day which was perfect because it didn't matter what time we got up in the morning.

The things that we determined/learned the first time....
1..we wanted to stop for the night at a time that was worth stopping otherwise drive straight through.
2..pack all meals and snacks in a cooler to eliminate the extra stops & expense...we all got out every time we got gas.
3..if buying food stick to fast food to save time & money.
4...stay at hotels that offer free breakfast.
5...have a map ...don't just rely on the GPS.
6...pay attention to which pump you grab at the gas station...they can be a little different in the US.

 

[who's ur daddy?]

Oh man, I envy you people that can drive such long distances. After four hours, I'd go bonky bananas.

The only way I'd drive down is if I had two weeks of vacation and wanted to do several road stops for a day or so in between...

 

[dancin Disney style]

Oh man, I envy you people that can drive such long distances. After four hours, I'd go bonky bananas.

The only way I'd drive down is if I had two weeks of vacation and wanted to do several road stops for a day or so in between...

Like I said I totally hate car trips. Fortunately for me I don't really sleep the night we are leaving so after we get over the border I'm gone for a couple hours. Also, bonus for me, DH does about 75% of the driving. I can't figure out how he can drive for hours on end and never get tired. I drive about 90 minutes and I'm fighting off the yawning. I can force myself to drive for about 3 hours while DH naps and then when we switch I'm out cold again. Truth be told I sleep about half the drive on day 1.

When I'm awake I'm crawl in the back and watch a movie on my laptop. I always have several that I've never seen. The second form of entertainment is the kids and I picking on daddy. He just smiles and says 'you think you're funny'.

What a great guy he drives and takes the ribbing. Actually, he is an awesome guy. This year has been really hard on me (my brother passed away suddenly) and DH told me to make plans to go away any place I wanted. We were not supposed to be taking a trip this year, we had a big one last year. He really doesn't love WDW but he suggested that I book it.....you don't need to tell me twice.

 

[Shir Kahn]

We drive down from Winnipeg every year and it's about a 32 hour drive. We love it! We always hit the Cracker Barrels on the way down as well, fantastic place to eat. DW and I have decided that we're going to be bad on the way down this year and try to eat at one of every popular fast-food place that there is. Krystal Palace, White Castle, Checkers, Chick fil-A, Del Taco, Hardees, Jack in the Box, Popeyes, and Sonic to name a few. Not so sure about In-N-Out Burger though, that really doesn't sound like a good name for a restaurant!

 

[dancin Disney style]

Chick-fil-A is sooooo good. It seems to be a healthier choice. I'm not sure if it is or not but it looks like it is. Yummy grilled chicken with fresh lettuce and tomatoes.

Sonic has amazing shakes & ice cream concoctions.

 

[DisFan2]

Hey TJ! Another Ottawa DISer here - and coincidentally, we are also driving down in October. This will be the fifth trip with the kids - we always drive as I don't fly. When we last went in 2007, we left at 6.30 and made our first stop in Chester, VA (around 6.30) - it's a little less than an hour south of Richmond, VA. Unless you're leaving on a weekend, I would recommend avoiding Washington altogether. Stay on 81 a little longer - we head down to Winchester, VA before cutting over to I95, picking it up around Fredericksburg, VA. Washington is just way too crazy, especially around rush hour. Day 2 we usually drive to Savannah, GA (about 8 hrs) and stay there for a couple of days before heading on to Orlando - another 5-6 hrs.

Have you firmed up your travel dates yet?

 

[tjbaggott]

Hey TJ! Another Ottawa DISer here - and coincidentally, we are also driving down in October. This will be the fifth trip with the kids - we always drive as I don't fly. When we last went in 2007, we left at 6.30 and made our first stop in Chester, VA (around 6.30) - it's a little less than an hour south of Richmond, VA. Unless you're leaving on a weekend, I would recommend avoiding Washington altogether. Stay on 81 a little longer - we head down to Winchester, VA before cutting over to I95, picking it up around Fredericksburg, VA. Washington is just way too crazy, especially around rush hour. Day 2 we usually drive to Savannah, GA (about 8 hrs) and stay there for a couple of days before heading on to Orlando - another 5-6 hrs.

Have you firmed up your travel dates yet?

Travel dates are set, we have a Land and Sea Package to Celebrate my DD17, end of Chemo Treatment. We are going for Halloween, leaving Ottawa on Tuesday Oct. 27th. Package starts Oct. 29th and our Cruise ends Nov. 5th. We will spend one more day in the parks after our cruise before heading home.
When are you travelling?

 

[Shir Kahn]

Congrats on end of chemo!

 

[grantclaire]

We are driving down for the first time in December. Planning on taking our time on the way down. 3 days.

 

[Ham Ham]

Washington DC can be quite the traffic chaos. Ensure you miss the rush hours.

I-95 is a very busy route many trucks.

Bob Evans is another family style restaurant you may see on your trip down.
We like to pack sandwiches and snacks to eat in the van to save time. Also we stop at the state welcome centres to pick up a free map and stretch our legs.


Here's a google maps link from O-town to O-town.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sou...-76.376953&sspn=3.878048,7.075195&ie=UTF8&z=4

 

[SmileDisney]

We drive from Kingston. First time we went via Washington and found that route had a lot of traffic. On the advice of others on the Dis boards we went I81 until I77. We prefer that route....it might be a longer distance but much more relaxing not to be stuck in traffic and the time ended up to be very close.

I like Chick-fil-A as well. Fast and different!

My kids enjoy the drive. It gives everyone a chance to read, watch movies and relax from our otherwise hectic lives.

We will go this way again in August but since we have 2 weeks we will be spending 4 nights in Hilton Head for a bit of beach time!

 

[rodeo65]

DH does not fly so we are driving down NINE days from today!! Since it's summer vacation we are not worrying about the time and are actually doing the drive in four days so we can relax and not arrive wiped out. I will share the driving but DH has a hard time giving up the control of the wheel (hence the no fly policy ) so I will probably do less than half. It will depend on how tired he is after the first day or two.

Our first day is the heaviest I think. I've booked two hotels for each night, one closer and one further and then around 4pm we'll decide which one we want to shoot for and cancel the other.

We are taking the I75 and using Along I75 book as well as GPS and a CAA triptik. Watch us still get lost.

 

[tjbaggott]

Do you think we'll miss rush hour (the worst of it) if we arrive at DC by 2pm and no later (Considering it's a Tuesday)? I figure, that if that is so, we'd be well on the other side before rush hour starts.
Also, is I-95 a two lane or 4 lane highway? (one or two lanes each way?)
Oh, and how much and in what denominations of money should we carry for Tolls?

 

[coastgirl]

I've booked two hotels for each night, one closer and one further and then around 4pm we'll decide which one we want to shoot for and cancel the other.

That is a terrific idea. We road-trip a lot and dh hates to pre-book (he always figures we'll get further than I plan!), but that double-booking is a great idea, and the 4 o'clock cancellation deadline is actually a great time to make the decision. Thanks for the idea!

 

[Terapin]

We drove from the Toronto area and did things a bit differently. First, we wanted to arrive at Disney well-rested and with only a few hours to drive. So we stopped in Savannah and just had three hours' drive left and arrived at our hotel by 11 (AKL). We were able to check in and head to the parks and had a great first day. We didn't want to pay Disney resort prices and get there just to sleep.

So we ended up taking 2.25 days to make the trip. We also left at 4am and got through TOronto and the border before 700, I think. We stopped for the night in either Virginia or West Virginia. We stopped early enough for dinner and a swim at the hotel, which was a nice reward for the kids and good car behavior. We also had a 2 year old which was another reason not to go all out and drive it in just two days.

Also, we went in March and didn't want to risk losing a day to bad weather, and so planning to do it in two days made us nervous. I didn't want to miss a Mickey day!