Hi from VA (Roanoke)...need advice

[karenwwu]

Hi everyone, I posted somewhere else but wasn't getting hits so I decided to try this area. Planning to drive from Roanoke, VA to WDW for a first trip in Dec 09 . We'll be going with DS 3yr DD 3yr. How is the drive? Can it be done in one day? Thanks for helping me out . I sure hope we can go. Need to start saving yesterday.

 

[bellazachmom]

Hi!

We used to be stationed at Fort Belvoir just south of DC and did this drive a couple times, it is managable with 2 drivers.

We drove it the first time with our 14 month old.

Second drive she was 2 1/2 and our son was 7months.

It took us about 14 hours. We usually had a regular afternoon and early evening at home, dinner, bath, jammies, etc. but instead of putting the kids to bed we put them in the car! They were usually asleep by the time we hit Richmond.

We just made sure that the person takiong the first shift of driving got a really good afternoon nap. The second driver got to doze in the car until their turn to drive. Worked out pretty well and we didn't have to worry about stopping to eat until breakfast, where we would put the kids in their clothes.

We usually got to WDW about 9:30 in the morning. These 2 trips were done during "slower" times of the year (first of December and early April) and our rooms were always ready for us. We always had swimsuits and stuff handy in case we couldn't get in to our room right away, though, or some other plan to keep us busy.

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[lovetoscrap]

I used to live in Bristol VA about 2 hours or so from Roanoke I think. We drove one year. You would be taking about the same route I think. It is about a 12 hour drive. We did it straight through there and back, but there were 2 of us to share the drive.

Do a mapquest from your address to WDW and just see what it says. Only you know what your family is capable of. How do your 3 year olds do on other long car trips? That is a long time to be strapped into the car. One thing that sometimes works with little ones is if you can drive at night. One parent drive while the other sleeps and then trade. It can make the first day a bit rough since you will be a bit bleary eyed, but the trade off of little ones that sleep the entire trip can be worth it!

 

[Metro West]

 

[karenwwu]

Thanks so much for the help . I think we may be up for the challenge next year and I appreciate the input from you DISers! I'll be posting more questions as our trip nears and I realize just how little I know about WDW in's and out's. Bless this site for making it easier for newbies!

 

[stopher1]

Welcome!!

 

[Lugh]

A couple of notes, from my experiences...

The drive home is LOT harder than the drive there. You're more tired, and less focused on the destination.

Hitting the Florida border does not mean you're almost there. From Roanoke, you're closer to the halfway point.

The cheapest gas will be in SC. If you can push all the way through NC, you'll probably save a nickel a gallon. Make sure to gas up before you hit FL, as the prices spike back up.

As another possible option, you might look into Amtrak's AutoTrain. You drive up to Lorton, VA (on the southern edge of northern VA). Then you take an overnight train to Orlando. It's not cheap. We were looking at $1100 for my wife and I in a sleeper car. But, I can tell you, having done it once, that it's a nice trip. And, because you take your car with you, you also have the option of only taking the train one way. (As a note to anyone looking to take the regular train, be sure to include the cost from the station to the resort in your figures. IIRC, it's a $50 cab ride, and there is no shuttle.)

 

[sbpuckett]

Hey there fellow Virginian... we drove from the Bluefield area during our last trip in 06 (it was our first) and went pretty much the same route you will but had about an extra hour on ours. We left around dinner time on Friday night and drove straight through... have to say DH drove most of the way. Our boys were 4 and 6 at the time and slept from about 10 until around 7am. So, it CAN be done!

As the above poster said... the drive home is (like all vacation return trips) a little harder because you have less excitement and are a lot more tired after a long week or so at WDW. We actually spent our last day at Seaworld and headed home after the park closed, around 8pm or so I think. We would not hve made it the entire way back, but ended up running into a horrid rainstorm/ noreaster and had to stop over on the GA line. I'm actually just planning for the stop this time because we have the same kind of plan this trip.

We did look into the Autotrain but decided against it because we would lose time and felt we could use the extra money elsewhere.

BTW - I'll be cruisin through your area in about 8 hours and again Sunday

 

[karenwwu]

Looks like it can be done and you have all prepared me for a future plan of action. Perhaps we will be brave and drive straight through to start the Magic and then take it easy coming back to the Star City (that's what they call Roanoke). I can tell you that my two 23 month olds are not the best of sleepers at night so driving through the night would not be an advantage. But with enough stops during the day I think we can make it without killing ourselves. I looked into the autotrain but the drive up to Lorton and then the 17 hr trip was a bit $$$ and time consuming. I saw they had the Fall/Holiday deals and looked into this Dec 08 for a trip and our kids are young enough that they'd be free. But I think that we will wait a year for our kids to become better travelers and night sleepers. Bummer, I'm so excited to go especially more so when I read the DIS pages!

PS sbpuckett - have a great drive through Roanoke!

1991 - WDW Spring Break - CB (Martinque)

 

[HonnyDipp]

Hi everyone, I posted somewhere else but wasn't getting hits so I decided to try this area. Planning to drive from Roanoke, VA to WDW for a first trip in Dec 09 . We'll be going with DS 3yr DD 3yr. How is the drive? Can it be done in one day? Thanks for helping me out . I sure hope we can go. Need to start saving yesterday.

Hey! I'm also in Roanoke! We are driving down in November. I'm going with my folks and my 3 children ages 13, 11 and 6. We are leaving early in the morning on Nov 13 drive to Savanah GA, stopping for the night then getting up the next morning and finishing the drive. Happy planning!

to DIS!

 

[kirbygump]

We drove down this past June 15th from Richmond. Left at 11:30pm Sunday night and dh and I shared the driving every 3 hours or so. It was a good ride down as most of it was done at night with little or no traffic and kids ds's 9, 7 & 4 all slept. Stopped a few times to potty and once to eat breakfast and got to POR by 1pm and our room was ready. It was our first ever family trip to WDW and we'd kept it secret from the kids until we actually arrived there so we hit the parks after a quick shower and change of clothes. The drive home was so much longer - well it felt like it did but we didn't hit any traffic just one bad rain storm in SC. The kids did not sleep for most of the time on the ride home so we had to stop far too often!!!!! Also, we stayed off site the night before driving home so we'd have an easier time leaving - stayed at WDW until after eating dinner at POR and because it was a pretty wet night decided not to go back to the parks again and we stayed at the Quality INN about 1 mile away. Gave us time to unwind a bit and get up more relaxed the next day, eat breakfast and hit the road.

The best part of driving is the amount of "extras" you can carry with you. I brought a ton of bottled water, snacks for the backpacks and cereal for the morning with us along with paper plates, plastic spoons, etc. and didn't have to pay for these things as I brought plenty and took home what I didn't use.

Happy Planning

 

[karenwwu]

Savannah seems like a good place to stop. I like the idea of driving for the sheer ability to bring as much stuff with you as possible. But I did check Allegiant Air for flights and they do fly out of Roanoke, Tri Cities and Greensboro and would get us there quickly. Decisions decisions decisions.