How long is your trip if you drive?

[Blondiex46]

I am driving next week still trying to figure out what time to leave. I am the only one driving with 4 kids (yea I am nuts) and we are going to Daytona Beach and maybe to DW if I can find a hotel this late. Anyway, that is my concern, not being able to function the next day if I drive straight through. I am having my daughter's baby shower the day before we leave (that is why I am not leaving until the 10th, wanted to leave the 8th) anyway it is 17 hours, so have to figure out whether to leave at midnight or 3 or 6 in the morning or anywhere in between.

 

[pntrdoc]

When I use to drive to WDW I would leave Dayton, Ohio at 4am, go down I-75 and get to WDW between 4-6 PM.

 

[TEITUP60]

WE LIVE IN A LITTLE TOWN ABOUT 30 MILES EAST OF ATLANTA.WE DRIVE
TO THE KINGDOM AND IT TAKES ABOUT 7 HRS.THAT INCLUDES STOPS FOR GAS
AND FOOD.

 

[tiff211]

We are leaving tonight!! !!! We leave between 8 and 9pm and stop at my dad's in NC. We get to his house about 6am and he always has a yummy breakfast waiting for us. We will stay there Thursday night and then leave Friday morning and we will get to WDW late Friday evening. Dad is exactly 1/2 way.

The girls did well last year, little nervous about traveling with the baby. She's not real a car seat sorta girl! LOL!

 

[Pembo]

17 hours. It is nice to fly but the cost just didn't justify it for us. We took 3 days down and 2 back.

 

[sara74]

Too long from CT! It's a non-stop flight for us all the way. The airport is 45 minutes from our home.

--penny

Hope its not too long for us from CT if Delta isn't flying next week! We Mapquested and got a time of about 19 hours! Over 2 days with the iPod and the DVD player I think we will make it, if we have to.

 

[HugsForEeyore]

My drive from Northern New Jersey is 19 or 20 hours, if I keep meals quick and don't hit horrible traffic! I usually drive solo and keep my speed right around the speed limit, so I don't make incredible time. I almost always break up the trip by staying overnight with my brother in NC or a hotel in Georgia. I actually enjoy the drive - love listening to my ipod and watching the country go by!

But honestly, with the gas prices higher nowadays and expected to only rise and rise, the AutoTrain almost becomes a no-brainer for a north-east solo driver like me. If I am going in the direction against the snow birds, I can get the AutoTrain coach for around $215 to $235, if I plan early enough. The cost of gas (I have a fuel-efficient Honda) plus a decent hotel would be well over $160, which doesn't include wear and tear on the car, plus the convience of relaxing on a train and letting Amtrak do the driving! I think the Amtrak AutoTrain is a wonderful service, and it really isn't making much sense to drive to Florida the whole way anymore!

But on my next trip in May, I plan to take the AutoTrain down but probably will drive home from Florida, mainly because I would be with the snow birds heading north on a full, crowded train. I am worried about going coach alone, since I figure I will get a seatmate. I can't imagine how awkward that would be - sleeping in coach next to a stranger. So I may drive home just to avoid that situation!