I 75 Straight Shot South ANyone done it?

[momloveson]

Hi all,
We are driving from Detroit to WDW in November. Planning on spending at LEAST 1 night in a hotel on the way. As it turns out, we'll hope on I75 just a few miles from our house and basically stay on it for about 20 hours. ANyone else drive this? Can you recommend any cities (and even hotels) for us to stay in or avoid on the way becuase of your own experiences? Is there construction to be careful of?

Never done this trip before and would like to make it as smooth as possible.

 

[hauntedcity]

I haven't made the trip from Detroit, but we did drive all the way from Indianapolis in Sept 2003.

Here's what I wrote about in my trip report:
"Our trip began at 7:00 am (that’s in the morning). We loaded up the Cherokee with the last few items, and hit the road! I could tell the car was a bit sluggish, due to all the weight. Throughout the drive, we kept close watch on the vehicle’s shadow, just to make sure the Big Mac was still there.
"Snacks included: Pretzels, Soy Chips (BBQ and White Cheddar), pretzels, and No Pudge brownies.
"Beverages included: Propel, Diet Dr Pepper, Diet Rite Cola, and Diet Cherry 7-Up.
"We stopped for lunch at a rest area, and ate tuna sandwiches and apples. We learned that Georgia is way too big. After hitting some strong rainstorms in lower Georgia, we decided to spend the night at a Quality Inn in Valdosta, very close to the Florida border."

Valdosta may be a bit too much of a drive from MI, but I recall lots of hotels on 75. Unless you're travelling on a busy holiday weekend, you shouldn't have much trouble finding a decent hotel en route.
We woke up early the next day, and were at WDW late morning.

Make sure to stop at the Disney Welcome Center in Ocala. It's a great place to start building up that Disney mood (not to mention a welcome bathroom break!).

Doug

 

[Got Quattro?]

we do this often from st. louis.

it's a 15 hours drive for us and we pick up I-75 at Chatanooga. Then stay on it for 10 hours or so.

just plan your drive so that you hit ATLANTA after 10:00pm and before 6:00am.


it's 7:00 hours to disney from ATLANTA.

so for you...stop just north of atlanta for the night....(marietta) then leave early at say 7:00....you will get to disney by 3:00pm

 

[clkelley]

I have shot down I-75 from Chattanooga and it makes going through Atlanta pretty easy. You can get in the high occupancy lane and go straight through!

Do NOT get on the loop that goes around Atlanta. All of the big trucks have to go that way so you lose the big rigs through downtown.

DO take the I-475 bypass around Macon. There is a good Quality Inn at exit 3 on the bypass that I have stayed at.

There is a TERRIBLE Econo Lodge just south of Macon (can't recall the exit)

There is a good Quality Inn near Valdosta around Exit 3 in Georgia.

Actually I would recommend shooting for just South of Atlanta your first day. According to Mapquest, Atlanta is 723 miles from Detroit, so that is around 12 hours. If you left 7-8 am from Detroit, that would put you at Atlanta no earlier than 7pm. If you can get South of Atlanta that evening, then the next morning you wouldn't have to get up at the crack of dawn to avoid the Atlanta rush. Then you can get to WDW at a decent 4-5pm.

Oh FYI, though you may know this. You need to leave I-75 at the Florida Turnpike just south of Ocala. Take the Clermont Exit to US 27, then take US 27S to 192W, then 192W to World Drive. It is about 10 miles on the Turnpike, then about 40-50 miles once you get on US 27S.

Have a great trip!!

Carol

 

[chesirekate]

Hi, here is a post on this same subject from last week:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=663603

Good luck!

 

[momloveson]

Thanks everyone. and awesome chesirekate! I did a search before I posted my question, but didn't come up with any previous posts. I must not have looked up the right words. Thanks so much.

 

[travelbug]

Being a frequent Florida visitor (besides WDW ), I've made the drive from Detroit on I-75 numerous times in the past. Sometimes straight through overnight without stopping at a hotel, and sometimes with an overnight stop. Once you're south of Atlanta about an hour or more, that's a great area to stay. Hotels are plentiful, and rates are generally cheaper than farther north in GA.

As someone else has said, the main thing is to watch what time it will be when you get to Atlanta. As long as you're nowhere near an evening or morning rush hour, it's an easy straight shot right through on 75. DON'T take the bypass. It adds on many miles needlessly.

Depending on what time of day or night you would be leaving from home, you'll also want to be aware of rush hour in Cincinnati. That can be one nasty parking lot if you go through there at rush hour.

The drive down I-75 isn't bad really, IMHO. The best part is getting out of the car in Georgia at a gas station or rest stop and seeing your first palm tree for that trip. That's when you know you're getting closer. LOL

Have a wonderful trip!

 

[SB in KY]

I would suggest an overnight in Macon...it is less than an hour south of Atlanta and an easy 6 hours from the WDW gate....you get past Atlanta and it is easy going from there....

If that is too far you might want to try Dalton, GA just south of Chattanooga (AM traffic in Chattanooga can be dreadful even though it isn't a very big city.... Dalton is about 9 or 91/2 hours from WDW.

Priceline offers good hotels in the 2 and 21/2* catgory in both of those places if you are looking for an overnight bargain ($30 - 33 should get a 2* room in either location).

If you stay north of Atlanta I would leave my hotel in time to be through ATlanta before 7 or 7:30AM if you are travelling on a weekday...time not too critical on weekends.

 

[sunkissed212]

momloveson - I'm from the downriver area and my bf and I made the trip straight down I-75 this september. We left on Friday 9/3 @ 3:00pm (after work). We drove unitl 12:30am and stopped just inside Tennessee for the night. Both of us would have liked to have gotten to GA before stopping but we both had worked 9 hour days already so we were definitly due for a rest. We stopped at a Days Inn and were back up at 6:00am for the rest of the drive. We actually didn't go straight to WDW - we were going to the Gulf side to visit relatives first - we arrived in Ocala at 2:00pm. So, the total drive not including the overnight stop was about 17.5 hours.

On the way back, we drove straight through. We left WDW at 7:00am and arrived in Southgate at 12:30. We stopped 2x for gas/food/potty breaks on the way back.

The one recommendation I would make for a trip to WDW down 75 would be to take the Atlanta Bypass. Atlanta is a very busy city and although 75 is 6 lanes through the heart of the city, it still was bumper to bumper (at 9:30am on a SATURDAY!). We took the bypass on the way home and it was much quicker and less stressful!

Good luck!

 

[momloveson]

Thanks everyone for the help. Especially those of you here in Michigan. I'm dreading the trip, but now we have a plan at least. Will hopefully leave early early am on saturday to be able to get just past atlanta. Then, overnight it. Luckily my 4 yr old is usually a great rider and has done long trips many times. Crossing my fingers!

 

[disneydiz]

I would recommend you purchase a book called EXITSOURCE. It lists all the hotels/restaurants/gas at each exit on 75. There is also a book with the same type of info just for I75. It will take you about 12 hours to reach the upper part of Atlanta.