Longest you've driven to WDW

[MeganMango]

I'm thinking about driving down to WDW instead of fly from Pittsburgh, PA. It's about a 14 hour drive. I want to do this to save money on my hotel. In the past I stayed in a Disney hotel with bus transportation but if I rent a room from a local, it would be $25-$45 a night instead of $120 a night. I would also like the flexibility of being able to go to Universal.


I'm a solo traveler so I'm a bit nervous for that long of a drive alone, I'd probably need to spend the night somewhere on my way...


Suggestions, advice, ect? My car (2002 sonata) doesn't even have an aux plug so my phone doesn't play through my cars speakers.

 

[zaccaglin]

I've driven 2,973 miles to get to Disney world before. Took my time doing it and I would recommend that for you. 14 hours may not seem like much but sitting in your car seat the whole time does get tiring. I would recommend splitting it up into three 5 hour drives stopping each night if your that set on driving. If not book a flight through frontier or southwest and save your money.

 

[MeganMango]

I've driven 2,973 miles to get to Disney world before. Took my time doing it and I would recommend that for you. 14 hours may not seem like much but sitting in your car seat the whole time does get tiring. I would recommend splitting it up into three 5 hour drives stopping each night if your that set on driving. If not book a flight through frontier or southwest and save your money.

Hmmm. I have off work from 7/15-7/24.

 

[amcnj]

The first thing is to "know thyself". By that I mean what your driving habits/requirements are. For example, I cannot drive through the night. I would fall asleep. But getting up extra early is OK, as is driving for a good number of hours a day. So I leave early morning (2:30 am) and arrive in the WDW area 6:30 -7:30 pm that same day, depending on stops, traffic, weather, etc. After a good night's sleep I am fine the next day. My drive is a little bit over 1000 miles, and as you can see, takes 16-17 hours including stops, with the actual driving time 14-15 hours.

 

[MeganMango]

I've driven 2,973 miles to get to Disney world before. Took my time doing it and I would recommend that for you. 14 hours may not seem like much but sitting in your car seat the whole time does get tiring. I would recommend splitting it up into three 5 hour drives stopping each night if your that set on driving. If not book a flight through frontier or southwest and save your money.

I totally know what you mean though. I work as a nanny for two young toddlers so how can driving get more tiring

 

[minnie mum]

We drive to WDW every other year or so, about 2200 km ( a bit more than 1350 miles). Thats about 22 hours of driving time. We typically break it up into 3 days, but could do it in 2. Use Google maps to show the fastest route. Then you can pick a good stopping point enroute. Look for a place close to an interstate offramp with dining and gas very close by. As a single female, avoid stopping very late at night, and perhaps select a hotel rather than a motel with room doors that open to the exterior. Although, I'd be more worried, from a safety point of view, of staying in a stranger's home once I got there.

And make sure you have the car checked out before leaving. A breakdown is the last thing you want.

 

[FigmentSpark]

We drive from Toronto to Orlando. We do it in 2.5 days there and 2 days back (just want to get home). We go through Pittsburgh and get there around lunchtime. So if you're starting in Pittsburgh, there's no reason you can't do it in 2. Our first stop is usually Beckley or Bluefield W.V. Since you'll have several hours on us, I recommend planning to stop south of Charlotte. If you can make it to Columbia S.C., you'll be even better off. Warning, as you may know, watch out for radar on the 19 in Pa.

 

[MeganMango]

We drive from Toronto to Orlando. We do it in 2.5 days there and 2 days back (just want to get home). We go through Pittsburgh and get there around lunchtime. So if you're starting in Pittsburgh, there's no reason you can't do it in 2. Our first stop is usually Beckley or Bluefield W.V. Since you'll have several hours on us, I recommend planning to stop south of Charlotte. If you can make it to Columbia S.C., you'll be even better off. Warning, as you may know, watch out for radar on the 19 in Pa.

Thanks for the tips!!! I assume I'll start early. 4 or 4:30am as I do better in the morning. And probably get there by evening. I have a 5.5 hour drive this weekend so I'll just see how that goes first! I've driven 12 hours but alternating driving with my mom. What do you mean by radar?

 

[FigmentSpark]

The 19 is notorious for speed traps. While it's been 20 years since we were caught in any, our CAA (Canadian AAA) still warns people about that stretch of highway. The speed limits seems to change in places where you might not notice them or at the bottom of a hill, for example. The area has been built up in 20 years, mind you and perhaps the police aren't as diligent as they used to be in watching for speeders.

If you leave that early in the morning, you might hit northern N.C. by lunch or maybe even further. Watch for traffic in Charlotte, depending on the time of day you make it there.

 

[dancin Disney style]

We have driven 21hrs to get to WDW many, many times. We leave home at around 2;30am and drive until about 9pm. At that point we only have 4-5 hours left for the next day. My DH does most of the driving and probably would do all of it if I didn't get bored and want to drive. I think the last time we drove down I only took one 4 hour spin as driver. DH just never seems to get tired.

Personally, I'm a bit of a safety freak and I don't think a long road trip solo is all that safe. Is there no one that you could convince to come along? Sharing expenses would really cut your costs also.