Hotel advice for the drive down from Ontario??

[riu girl]

Does this make any sense:

Driving I-75 route to WDW
Day 1:
Leaving Peterborough area (1.5 hours NE of Toronto) 10 am (Can't leave any earlier since DH works night before until about 3 a.m). DH (only driver) hoping to drive about 10 hours (but I doubt it, he hates driving) putting us hopefully just below Cincinnati? ? Any hotel recommendations in this area (Walton or Crittenden, Kentucky)????
Day 2:
Drive another ten hours to bottom of Georgia? (Valdosta area) Any hotel recommendations in this area? Would prefer hotel/motel with included cont. breakfast.
Anybody have an idea of price for stopover hotels on the I-75?Haven't been able to work this into budget since I have no idea on prices.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated since first time driving.
Sorry so long.

 

[MikeJ]

We always like to stop at Holiday Inn Express as they include a continental breakfast and you generally know what type of accomodations you're getting. If you haven't already done so, obtain a copy of Dave Hunter's "Along Interstate-75" book - it includes a wealth of information about hotels along the highway from Detroit to the Ga-Fla border.

 

[Canadave]

Great minds think alike??? We drove to WDW last January and your itinerary is identical to ours.
We left Bobcaygeon at noon (an extra 1/2 hour drive from Peterborough) and we met the worst snow storm of the year in Milton...turned to ice rain in Windsor/Detroit and then just icy roads the rest of the way to the Ohio/Kentucky border and then it was fog so thick that you couldn't see the side of the road...we finally pulled over in Walton, KY...we wanted to get to the other side of Cincinatti so that we didn't have to drive into morning rush traffic the next day...with all the weather problems, we still managed to get to the hotel by 11:30...so for you to get there in 10 hours should be no problem...we stayed in the Econo Lodge for $49.45 US...it was not the best motel, but there were others at that exit, maybe check those out...as MikeJ said, get Dave Hunter's book...we used it allllllll the time.
The next morning we were on the road by 9:00 and although it was a little slippery at first, the roads and drive turned out to be perfect...we did stop at the original KFC in Corbin for an hour and a half for lunch etc....then on to Valdosta, Georgia...remember to use the diamond lanes through Atlanta!!!, it will save you a lot of time...anyway, we arrived in Valdosta at 9:45 and stayed at the GuestHouse Inn for $41.39 US...it was wonderful...clean, friendly staff, had a small continental breakfast, and the price was right.
10 hours from Walton to Valdosta might be pushing it, but you might get a little farther the first day, depending on the number of stops you make and how long you stop for breaks/eating.
From Valdosta, you're only a few hours from WDW.

Hope this helps. If you have any more questions, fire away. And have a great trip.

 

[maryliz]

I second the Holiday Inn Express. They are fabulous. I've found that with taxes, our hotels along I-75 are between $65-$75 US per night. But we always stay in one that has a good breakfast. I know that we stayed in one about 30 minutes into the KY border a few years back. The next day, we made it into Northern FL so you should have no problem getting to Valdosta. If you happen to get further than KY on your first day, there is an excellent Comfort Inn at exit 141 in Tenn. We always stay there on our way home from WDW.

Have a great trip

Mary Liz

 

[DIZNYFAN]

We always stop at the fairfield INN in Valdosta at exit 18 go to www.roomsavers.com and print up a coupon for the room there it ends up being about 42 bucks or so and you get free continental breakfast etc. I found a 2000 version of the I-75 book if you are still interested.

Darren

 

[CindyAnn]

Get the book, get the book, get the book! I'm with everyone else - "Along the I-75" by Dave Hunter is worth its weight in gold!. We followed the advice in the book and stayed at a Jameson Inn (hotels are marked on each exit number in the book). They are a smaller chain of hotels that cost around $40 - $45 per night, and included a free continental breakfast. We've stayed now at 3 different ones and they were all clean and reasonably priced.

Here's the website for them, with a hotel locator.

http://www.jamesoninns.com/

Cheers,

 

[LoriLea]

We stayed at a Jameson Inn in Perry, Georgia about 3 weeks ago - may not be far enough south for you but it was clean, reasonably priced and had a continental breakfast. I believe we paid $59/night with our CAA discount.

 

[riu girl]

I just wanted to thank everyone for all of the info. I think I will spurlge and buy the newest edition by Dave Hunter. I have a copy from our local library right now but it is 5 years old. Unless there is someone out there who wants to sell me a newer (2002/03/04) edition?

Thanks again for all of the tips.

Another quick question: I just got passports for the kids since they had no government issued photo ID (the passport office recommended this) but DH and I do not have recent passports. Passport office told us we will be ok since we have Canadian birth certificates and photo ID (Ontario drivers licences). Should I spend the extra $$ and get passports for us also?

Any other suggestions/tips/hints on hotels or anything else I-75?

Riu Girl

 

[DIZNYFAN]

We have passports for all 5 of us this includes myself and my DW and our 3 kids it is money well spent IMHO.

 

[pampam]

I second the suggestion for lunch at the KFC in Corbin Kentucky. They have a free museum there that shows the origin of fast food. Also, there is a car wash beside it, where we always get the salt from Ontario highways washed off. The gas there is cheaper because you are off the interstate. 3 good reasons to stop.

 

[Canadave]

pampam...great suggestion about the car wash...we used it when we were there too

riu girl...Dave Hunter's book has the speed trap locations noted...VERY accurate ....also, as you enter each state, there are Welcome Centers...they have great coupon books with hotel/motel discounts...speaking of gas, Georgia is the cheapest along the I75...I usually try to gas up when entering the state and topping up as we leave.