Help Please, Driving from Indiana to WDW

[Figaro1]

Hello!
Our family is planning on driving from Northern Indiana to WDW. I have checked multilple sites such as mapquest for driving directions. And I'm just not sure which is the best route for us to take. The on-line sites seem to offer indirect options. I have the Driving I-75 book and it looks good, but none of the on-line map services offer I-75 for the majority of the trip!?

I'm looking for any information on driving to Disney. What route do you prefer and why? Any thing to avoid (like Atlanta at rush hour)? Your favorite driving activities for children (13 and 6 years old). I have found some nice suggestions on Disney Dollarless for childrens activities. I have also been told to wake up very earily and let the children sleep, spend the night in a hotel with a pool so the children can get some exercise.

Thank you so much in advance!
Figaro

 

[Laz]

If you don't know, Bluffton is 30 minutes south of Fort Wayne, and I have driven to WDW on numerous occasions. What I don't anwser, please ask.

First, I always drive I-75. AAA always routes me that way. I try to leave early and get through Atlanta before stopping for the night. I is a big mental load off my mind to get through that city. We usually stay in a Hampton just south of that city. We drive straight through Atlanta using the HOV lane. We avoid the bypass and avoid rush hours.

I have a 13 year old DD. What works best for us is the mini TV/VCR combo. That really saves us. She even spends the winter taping programs off the TV to see later in the car.

What else can I answer?

 

[Figaro1]

Thank you very much Laz!

I'm so very glad to hear that you use I-75. The mini TV is on our list of items to purchase, I'm sure it will be a blessing. : ) We are also going to use books on tape from the library. Thanks for the info about Atlanta, I did not know about HOV lane.

Does I-75 take you to Olando and then do you take 4 to WDW?

Also, how long does it take you to drive down to WDW?

Thanks!
Figaro

 

[Claudia1]

Are you trading off drivers? If so, you can make better time. We made the trip from North Central IN in about 19 hours total once but we pushed the speed limit and went thru Atlanta at 2am.

Here's another tip for the TV/VCR. Tape shows that your kids have never seen before. They will concentrate more on the show and have less distractions. The time will pass more quickly for them. I taped Disney shows in off-hours; old Disney movies and other not-so-popular ones. Still good shows but they held their attention. If you only take shows that they know very well, they will get bored more easily.

Also, to save in packing, use your beach towels as "blankets". Pack a bag or two for the first night out and leave the Disney clothes & stuff in the van for your first night out. It takes a lot less time to pull out one bag than to unpack & re-pack the van the next day.

 

[idontknow]

We drove from Ft.Wayne once. We left at 4pm and made it the door of PO in 16 hours. We hit traffic in Cinci, but it wasn't rush hour. We stopped and got dinner to go and gassed the truck so we had 2 full tanks to last thru the night. We took 75 straight thru. We missed all of the traffic in Atlanta, as a matter of fact, there was only one other car on the road and it was going north. We stopped just inside of the Florida state line for breakfast at Bob Evan's and gassed the truck again. That took about an hour and we were an 1 to 1/2 hours from Disney. We tried to stop at the Disney welcome center, but they were not open yet.

 

[dthogue]

While we have a tv in our new mini van - I have some other suggestions for you:

Pipe cleaners for your six year old
Books on Tape
Hand held games
A map of the USA to search for state license plates (Color in as you find them)
Collect kids meal toys ahead of time
A meal TV tray, w/ magnets to play tic tac toe, etc
Take along a small ball and bubbles to play with during pit stops to stretch legs

Have a great trip!

 

[Laz]

I am a "speed limit" driver and it takes me about 18 hours to get to WDW. That includes stops for gas and eating. It takes me about 10-11 hours to get through Atlanta.

AAA will route me I-75 to the Florida Turnpike to US 27 to 192. I have also taken I-75 to the Florida Turnpike, to I-4 the into WDW. It took me about the same amount of time. Some like the I-4 route better. I like US 27 because of the reduced amount of traffic.

The Six year old will need a driving break to run some energy off. I would stop at a rest area and throw a Frisbee with my DD.

 

[dandelion]

Originally posted by dthogue
A meal TV tray, w/ magnets to play tic tac toe, etc
Take along a small ball and bubbles to play with during pit stops to stretch legs

That's a good one. We're leaving this afternoon (as soon as dh gets home!).

For my kids, we made 'writing desks' by cutting down some sturdy cardboard into kid-lap size, then covering it with contact paper. I'd bought lots of coloring books and crayons but realized they would need something to lean on.

Also got a travel bingo game from AAA, some activity books, new videos (we have the TV/VCR combo also) and books on tape from the library.

Safe travels everyone.

 

[deb305]

We took 75 from Dayton to WDW this Jan. When you get into Florida after a while take the Florida Turnpike south and follow signs to WDW.
Avoid Atlanta when the sun is out, we went through at 2:00 and at 4:00pm, not fun but doable.
On the way down we stopped at Hampton Inn in Marietta (?) Ga, on the way back we stayed at the Hampton in Dalton Ga. This way we got Atlanta done on the first day.
Boredom busters for us were:
- DVD player for 4 year old
- Both were on antibotics so sleep was easy (don't suggest this though as I got their "bug" during our trip)
- I took treats, toys etc I would normally give them, put them in little lunch bags and marked them in 30 mile increments. That became a big part of the trip, as the kids behaved so they could get the next treat. I put raisins,chips, crackers, fruit, small toys, DVDs, games etc in the bags).

As far as the trip back, they slept most of the time from exhaustion.
Good luch and have fun! For us the ride in the car gave us a bonding and closeness that carried on to the actual vacation itself.

 

[colleen costello]

We go from Bloomington. We stay in Macon GA overnight to get Atlanta behind us. It takes about 10 hours to Macon then 5 or 6 the next day to WDW.

I would never go without the little TV, I'd kill a kid! We just bought a dvd/tv as the dvd discs are so much smaller to travel with. Sometimes on the trip home we buy new releases and this thrills the kids.

We always go through Louisville, Nashville, Chatanooga. There is a route through Alabama which is supposedly more "peaceful" but it adds 2 hours and I couldn't face that. We always go through Atlanta at night so we have done well.

This year I found an alternate route into Orlando, mentioned here on the Boards. We basically stayed on the Florida Turnpike until we hit a little State Road that runs just west of Orlando. I will find the # and get it for you. This road runs you south, into the spot where #192 begins, and when you get on #192 it's just about 10 minutes into WDW property. This worked so much better than dealing with tourist traffic on 4. We avoided 4 altogether. WHo needs the trip thru busy Orlando after all that driving time?

Hope this helps... I will try and find the road # I mentioned.

 

[colleen costello]

The State Road is #27. You can access it off the Florida Turnpike north of the exits for Orlando. You follow it south about a half hour until #192 begins. From there it was just a few minutes to WDW. Skipping the traffic on #4 was great, and this plans saves on tolls, too -- you get off the Turnpike sooner. Also pass lots of orange trees, a treat for us Hoosiers

 

[Figaro1]

I greatly appreciate everyones input, and now we are looking forward to this Hooiser family's first drive to WDW!

Thank you All!

Figaro