Milwaukee to Orlando

[deerez]

We will be driving this next year with a family of five, any tips? We have done it in the past, but I DREAD Atlanta, anyway around this?

 

[Mickeygolf]

We've done it a few times from Iowa. Atlanta is not fun, the only tip I can give you is to try to schedule your time through there either very early morning or late evening. Just make sure whatever time of year if you're going through late evening to check sports calendars for football or baseball games. We've usually lucked out and drove through around 5 or 6am and it's not bad at all. It also helps if you're driving through on a weekend.

Good luck!!!

 

[deerez]

thank you, it will be June. It will be a thursday, coming back on a Saturday

 

[Carriemel]

oops. Nothing to see here.

 

[grimley1968]

I've driven through Atlanta dozens of times en route to and from places south of my home. As long as we avoid rush hours we usually sail through. I actually feel like I'm driving TOO fast through parts of Atlanta, even though I'm going the speed limit. There are some fairly tight turns for such a wide road. We always stay on I-75 and don't bother with the bypass.

We do take the bypass around Macon, though. That one does save some time and mileage.

 

[LadyBeBop]

thank you, it will be June. It will be a thursday, coming back on a Saturday

Do you have dates yet? The Atlanta Braves' 2015 schedule is out.

 

[deerez]

leaving the 18th and coming back the 27th as we are hitting Siesta Key also

 

[LadyBeBop]

leaving the 18th...

Ouch. The Braves are home against the Red Sox. Should be close to a sellout. Game begins at 7:10. I usually say rush hour is from 4 to 6. However, with the game, you have to extend it to about 7:30.

...and coming back the 27th as we are hitting Siesta Key also

No problems there...the Braves are in Pittsburgh.

My suggestion in going through Atlanta...just stay in the far left (carpool) lanes. During non-rush hours, you'll zip through at about 55 MPH. Good luck.

 

[deerez]

thanks for the tip of the far left, I always get nervous through there. Since we leave milwaukee the 18th we probably wouldnt hit it til the 19th am, probably bad timing in the AM. May have to rethink that.

As for the way home we leave Siesta Key the 27th, so we would probably drive through around dinnertime?

 

[AaronInWI]

We made the drive from just north of Milwaukee a few months ago. To avoid Atlanta, and to see a different part of the country including the Great Smokey Mountains, we went through South Carolina and then down the east coast. Here's the basic route -- https://goo.gl/maps/a5ZOD

It adds maybe an hour or a little more to the drive compared to the traditional route down I65. We stopped in Grenville, SC for the night.

Full disclosure, I will say that we had a miserable drive and I'm going to stick with the more straight forward route from now on. But I made the drive on less than an hour of sleep, left two hours late in thick fog, hit construction that held us up for over an hour, drove through the tail end of the Smokey Mountains in complete darkness, and arrived at our hotel completely exhausted and almost falling asleep at every stop light. So my first impression of this route was not a good one. But others I've spoken to have nothing but good things to say about this route. Your mileage may vary.

 

[WIDisneyFan]

We made the drive from just north of Milwaukee a few months ago. To avoid Atlanta, and to see a different part of the country including the Great Smokey Mountains, we went through South Carolina and then down the east coast. Here's the basic route -- https://goo.gl/maps/a5ZOD

It adds maybe an hour or a little more to the drive compared to the traditional route down I65. We stopped in Grenville, SC for the night.

Full disclosure, I will say that we had a miserable drive and I'm going to stick with the more straight forward route from now on. But I made the drive on less than an hour of sleep, left two hours late in thick fog, hit construction that held us up for over an hour, drove through the tail end of the Smokey Mountains in complete darkness, and arrived at our hotel completely exhausted and almost falling asleep at every stop light. So my first impression of this route was not a good one. But others I've spoken to have nothing but good things to say about this route. Your mileage may vary.

We are also a family of 5 with 3 kids ranging from 5-9 and have driven to Florida from Milwaukee 8-10 times in the last 4 years (a mix of Disney and family visits). We have used the same route through the Carolina's a few times and our experience has been that the eastern route while a bit longer in mileage is actually easier on us physically as we are less tired when we arrive.

Our experience with Atlanta to this point has always been good - Nashville and Chattanooga are the 2 that we always seem to hit at the worst possible time!

 

[LadyBeBop]

I've taken the route through the Carolinas a number of times. You have the double pleasure of going through the mountains twice (don't worry, it's all interstate). Per Mapquest, it's about 90 minutes longer; however you will avoid Nashville, Chattanooga and Atlanta. A slightly longer route (by about 5 to 10 minutes) will allow you to avoid Louisville as well.