How long does it take to drive from Southern, NH to Orlando?

[crazyforpooh]

I know it is terrible of me to be even thinking about our vacation in December for Christmas but, I need a break from the real world tonight. I have cried atleast once every day with I'm sure the rest of our beautiful country we live in.

I am thinking of driving instead of flying but, I know nothing about how to even begin to drive down to FL except to head south. Does any one know how long it takes I would like to take two days to go down maybe stopping in oh I don't know where, I guess where ever half way is for a night to rest and then continue. I don't want to be whiped out before we even get there.

I pray for all of us in the our home of the FREE and the Brave.

Although right now I don't feel very free. Shoud I just keep our original plans to fly?

 

[StacyRacing]

First of all, it is NOT terrible of you to think about your vacation plans. We all need to find the right balance between mourning and moving on.

Planning for two days for driving would be good. Several years ago we drove from western Massachusetts to Ft. Laud. and it was exactly 24 hours (almost to the minute) of driving (being young, crazy and childless we did it with out stopping). I'd guess it's about that from where you are to Disney. The hardest part was leaving to avoid major city traffic - Hartford, NYC, DC etc. It's pretty much all Route 95. Go to Mapquest or Yahoo maps and plug in the info - they will tell you the route and one of them you can even get good places to stop on the way too.

We are heading down in November and plan to keep our flight plans. Everyone has to do what is right for them. We'll be flying from Hartford and I'm glad our flight is a little later than I had originally wanted - it leaves at 11 am instead of 7. Having to get ther earlier now the 11 am sounds better than ever.

Have fun and do what's right for you and your family.

Linda

 

[brookazzis]

You shouldn't feel bad about thinking about changing your plans. My only advice would be that, assuming you have already booked your flights, you might want to wait and see how you feel as your dates get closer. If you do decide to drive, it might be worthwhile to get a AAA membership. They have great maps and will map out a route for you, taking into consideration construction, etc. Also, you may have more peace of mind knowing that you have the road service option available to you and you get discounts at many hotels. There are other similar auto clubs as well. Plus a lot of maps are available at Mapquest.com, although sometimes I find their directions are a little more round-about than they need to be. We have a trip planned for November and as of right now, we plan to fly as planned but our plans could change too depending upon what happens in the upcoming weeks. Do what is right for you and don't feel badly about it.

 

[imgoingtodisney]

How did you learn of your flight change? Or was this done before Tues?

 

[Disnydad]

Try www.mapquest.com That will give a suggested route and estimated driving time. We too are now thinking of driving in November. We are also considering not going at all.

 

[Beanie]

We live 3 hours North of Concord, NH and it takes us approximately 22 hours to drive to Orlando, but that is going straight through and making only bathroom, food stops along the way...We did do it once and took our time and left on Saturday around 4 pm and only drove until 8 pm that night, stayed at the bottom of Connecticut (sorry can't remember the name of the town), then headed out again at 4 in the morning...drove all day long until we reached Florence, South Carolina, slept from 10 until 4...left at 5 the next morning and we got to Orlando around 3 the next afternoon...It takes awhile and is very long if you have any kids...I actually prefer to drive straight through and then take one day to rest when we get there...but that is just me!!

Have fun no matter what you do!

 

[hobogary]

Also try www.usastar.com and go to the I-95 pages. Loads of info on the trip, motels, eats, even fuel prices, and help in the routes around the New York area.

 

[travelcoupons]

I'd never drive that far in the winter...weather can be unpredictable.

 

[chris1gill]

We live near Nashua, and we drove down with two children ages 2 & 4 at the time... We brought juice boxes, pop tarts, water & cereal... We drove from home to Richmond VA the first day & then - that took 12 hours (550 miles).... We then drove from Richmond to Orlando (750 miles)... That also took about 12 hours.... Traffic through Connecticut to Jersey was just a killer that day, that's why it took longer to get to Richmond....

I'm very glad we didn't try to go straight through, I'm sure we would have negative memories from the trip! We stayed at a Sheraton on Club level that night, so in the morning we had a leisurely breakfast, everyone was bright & awake & ready for that last 750 miles (UGH..)

The kids loved driving, it was an awful lot of fun for them... we kept track of all sorts of things... our son is VERY interested in miles and numbers and times... so every time we entered a new state we had to write it down & the mileage and all sorts of other information... He's still very much interested in that sort of thing & was sad last December when we didn't drive LOL.... We did go for two weeks by the way... I don't think I'd attempt such a drive for a one week trip...

We got our driving directions from www.mapblast.com

 

[SplshMtn99]

Funny you should ask. Just arrived home last night from that same drive -- only the other direction. We drove our National rental car from Orlando to Central MA, with a short stop at Bradley Int'l Airport in Hartford, CT to pick up my car. We flew down, but decided to drive back.

We left the Orlando area on Sat 11am in rain & wind (day after T.S. Gabrielle). Rt 4 & Rt 95. Stopped at Rocky Mount, NC (near the VA border) for the night at 10:30pm. That day, we stopped 30 min for lunch, 45 min for dinner, & 3 times for about 5-10 min. That section of the trip is mostly 2 lane highway.

Next morning, Sunday, got on the road about 8:30am. Sunny. Leaving Rocky Mount, NC driving Rt 95 all the way -- arriving at Bradley Airport, Hartford around 7:30pm. Stopped for 10 min lunch (ate while driving) & 40 min for dinner, and about 4 times for 5-10 min.

Mileage from WDW to Bradley Airport: 1248 miles

After returning rental car & getting back to my car, got on the road from airport around 8:30pm. Arrived in Central MA around 9:45pm. No stops.

My DH drove the whole way. He generally drives speed limit or 5mph above it. Average speed for trip was 70-75mph -- some places we were being passed.

My totals: DAY 1: 9.5 hrs driving time
DAY 2: 9.5 hrs driving time

Filled gas tank 4 times ($20 each time), returning car 3/4 tank full. Very nice 2002 Pont Grand Prix GT. Poor thing only had 153 miles on it when we picked it up at beginning of week. Had 1528 miles by the time we returned it. Perhaps not a great idea to break in a new car by driving cross country -- but hey - what can ya do. By the way, VERY nice car for long distance driving if anyone car shopping.

BTW, we are childless & mid 30's. We were not prepared to drive home - did not have a map. Just got on Rt 95 & headed north. It is Rt 95 all the way! Getting around DC & thru NY were not as bad as I thought it would be. As you enter each new state, there are visitor centers on the highway where you can stop & get a map if you feel you need it. Also, they have discount hotel coupons. Warning though, if you stop at 10:30pm like us, you won't get the discount rate because they'll say those rooms are gone. We ended up paying $63 at a Best Western. Let's just say it wasn't WDW quality, but it was clean & quite. I did however triple lock the door.

 

[MinnieMe2]

We've driven from Central MA to Orlando a couple of times, pulling our pop-up, with the four kids in the van. We flew this past summer, and DH and I both missed the drive!!! At any rate, the first thing I did was to get my maps and Trip Tix from AAA. The information is invaluable. If there's any construction on the roads, they'll be able to tell you or keep you away from it. And we'd use the car phone to call for a hotel reservation on the road once we decided how far we wanted to keep driving (or not). We left our house around midnight or 1:00 a.m., missing all the commuter traffic through CT and NYC. We were in the DC area by approx. 9:00 a.m. We'd tour the National Zoo (it's free), stretch our legs, take a brief 'tour' of the city, and then stop for breakfast. After that, we kept moving until around 3:30 in the afternoon. We'd stop for the night, take a swim, have a relaxed dinner, and the next day be on the road by 9:00 a.m. We'd pretty much drive all day, stopping for a picnic lunch at a rest area on the highway. Then we'd stop for another night at a hotel, and usually be in Orlando early the next day. We had a cooler full of cold drinks and sandwiches and bags full of munchies. The kids brought whatever they wanted for their entertainment. I went to the library and got some books on tape so that when things started to get a little rowdy in the back I could block out all the chaos!!!!! DH and I shared the driving responsibilities to avoid falling asleep at the wheel.

We enjoyed driving, but we never went in the winter. My theory with that is the weather can mess up flight times just as much as driving capabilities, so I don't think I'd worry too much about it one way or the other. Throw a couple of sleeping bags in the car just in case, pack plenty of food and stuff in a cooler, and you'll be fine. And the trip can be done quicker than we did it, or take longer if you have the time. In any case, whether you drive or decide to fly, enjoy your trip....

 

[Kristi1357]

We drove from Nashua to Orlando in Nov 1999. We had to do it that way since we were getting married at WDW and needed to drive my DH's truck down just to take everything we needed for the wedding!

Anyway, we left on a Friday at about 3pm. We drove to Cherry Hill, NJ and stayed the night. We were really thinking of driving straight through, but we both were exhausted from working the early am shift that morning, then packing the truck and leaving. We started off again early that morning. If I remember correctly, we slept only about 6 hours, then got showers and off we went! We were considering stopping again somewhere in SC or GA, but finally decided to just push through and we got to WDW about 10pm on Sat. night. I think the trip took about 24 hours driving time. I've driven the route a few times in my life, and I think it's always been right about 24 hours.

I actually like driving, and given enough time (like a 2 week vacation), I would do it again. It just egts really boring through the Carolinas though! Also, it was nice having your own car & not a rental one for once. Especially since our license that year was "MKMOUS."

Kristi

 

[dgaston]

We have driven to Orlando several times. We live about 1.5 hours from the NH line in northeastern CT. Our trip have ranged from 22 to 26 hours in length. The longest included driving through very bad winter weather conditions in DC, and VA in December. It's actually been a shorter trip pulling the pop-up in Feb. We use AAA maps, and trade off driving. We take a cooler full of sandwich fixings, and cold drinks. We tend to drive straight through, starting between 3 and 5 am but sometimes sleep a little at reststops. We have a favorite near the beginning of 295 in PA, and often end up resting a bit somewhere in FL. We like to have a longer breakfast stop at a Shoneys in the South to give everyone a chance to really stretch their legs.

Good luck to you!