More questions for those that drive FROM MD to Disney??

[Marshay]

Another option we have done is to leave on Friday after work/school and drive like 4 hours into NC. Then we leave the hotel in the morning and get there early evening. You arrive the same time as driving through on Saturday, but it is easier on the driver.

Where do you get in NC after 4 hours?

I'm out by Dulles Airport and we are looking to drive our first time. Considering leaving Friday at 7pm (which really means 7:30pm prob) and trying to go about 4-5 hours.

Then driving Saturday to FL. We check-in Sunday to BWV.

We're thinking of leaving Friday night just b/c we are NOT morning people and would hate getting up at OGODEARLY...we also have 2 small kids so hoping they will sleep Friday night.

 

[edk35]

http://www.i95exitguide.com/index.php

 

[RangerPooh]

Exit 104 near Savannah Airport has quite a few newer rooms. There are a Four Points by Sheraton, Springhill Suites, Comfort Suites, and several others. I usually use reward card points for these rooms.

We are in southern MD and take 301 to 95. We have made the drive 2 times now, one was straight through, the other we stopped. On our last trip I booked us a room at a hotel near the Savannah Airport (exit 104), Country Inn and Suites I think. We left Waldorf around 8am and arrived in Savannah that evening (around 9 I think). But we have little ones, 5yo, 3 yo, and 2 weeks (at the time). So we stopped to play/breastfeed, and have dinner at Cracker Barrel...noticing a theme here

 

[cheekymonkey]

We drive from East NC...it takes us 2 hours just to get to I95 then another 8 from there. Wish we lived closer to the highway!

We aren't the type to get up at o dark thirty either, our kids are older etc. We normally have checkin on Friday so we leave after everyone gets home from school or work Thurs and drive to Savannah. Stop at the Marriot there, usually we get there about 10:30. Get up about 8 a.m. and get to WDW around 1. Just in time to checkin and drop our stuff in our room if its available already. We usually do stop in Lumberton there at the McDonalds, though last trip we made it all the way down into SC before anyone was really hungry or had to use the potty.

Driving home we drive all ten hours. We are not excisted to get home, but most of the time we have delayed to the very last minute leaving the mouse's house.

We don't like to drive straight through because the kids just want to get to the parks once we get there. The first trip, dh and I were exhausted from the drive and swore we wouldn't do it to ourselves ever again. We break it up so we can enjoy the first day there as well.

Kelly

Kelly we are in Eastern NC as well. We have never driven with the kids but plan to this fall for a quick camping trip. My parents will be in HHI on our way down-we are toying with the idea of staying the night with them to spilt the trip up.
Sandra

 

[PrincessDadx2]

Where do you get in NC after 4 hours?

I'm out by Dulles Airport and we are looking to drive our first time. Considering leaving Friday at 7pm (which really means 7:30pm prob) and trying to go about 4-5 hours.

Then driving Saturday to FL. We check-in Sunday to BWV.

We're thinking of leaving Friday night just b/c we are NOT morning people and would hate getting up at OGODEARLY...we also have 2 small kids so hoping they will sleep Friday night.

It depends on traffic. If things are going well we try to make it to Lumberton, which is almost through North Carolina. If things are slow you can stop over the border in Roanoke Rapids. In between we have stayed in Fayetteville and Wilson. We usually stay at a Marriott on points, so try to make it to the next one.

I should add that we try to take 17S to Fredericksburg to avoid all the traffic on 95 around the DC area. It might be close for you to go 15 to 17 and meet 95 in Fredericksburg.

 

[Marshay]

It depends on traffic. If things are going well we try to make it to Lumberton, which is almost through North Carolina. If things are slow you can stop over the border in Roanoke Rapids. In between we have stayed in Fayetteville and Wilson. We usually stay at a Marriott on points, so try to make it to the next one.

Thanks. I hate to book a hotel and then find we could have made it a lot further or we're bone-tired b/c we went too far.

So I'm trying to decide on just winging it that night with a hotel or not.

 

[mickeylove2]

We drove from near the Del/MD line and left around 10-11 pm and drove all night, we swapped drivers every couple of hours and got gas. We stopped around 8am at a McDonalds and the kids got up and form there on out it was an enjoyable ride. We arrived in Florida, not WDW, around 3 pm. When we drove home, we left in the morning, after a 2 week vacation and it was miserable! I will NEVER do that again! Traffic was bad, it was hot, the kids were restless, I was moody, it was horrible. I would much rather drive through the night than do it during the day, so I would not want to stop over.

 

[cheshireqt]

We drive from Fairfax county, VA as well. Have done so twice to Disney and many other times to SarasotaBradenton, FL (where in-laws used to live). Always stop on the way down in Savannah, GA staying at a Marriot b/c we get the family discount through SIL. Do the last 4 hrs the next morning arriving in Disney with enough time to spend a good portion of the day in a park, after handing bags off to porter and getting our KTTW One of the times our room was ready, the other time not. On the way home we leave Disney by 1pm, driving straight through, after visiting a park in the morning for one last fix. DH is the main driver and this is how he likes to do it, I don't complain b/c in my mind we only really give up one day for travel!

 

[edk35]

I am reviving this thread. Now that I know which day we are leaving MD...I have been looking at places to stop. We are going to leave MD on Sunday July 11th around 2:00 P.M.....so trying to figure out a good place to stop at around 10:00 ish. Has anyone stayed at Florence??? Then there is Santee GA too if we drove further? Would love more advice. THANKS

 

[edk35]

 

[PrincessDadx2]

Florence is a nice place to stop. It is at the half way point to Orlando and has plenty of hotels and restaurants. Don't know much anything about Santee.

 

[edk35]

Florence is a nice place to stop. It is at the half way point to Orlando and has plenty of hotels and restaurants. Don't know much anything about Santee.

I was thinking this might be a good place. Not sure how traffic will be. After I thought long and hard on it...we would do better to NOT get up at zero dark thirty and drive straight through. So....we are planning on dropped dogs at kennel at 1:00 on Sunday (you can only drop off between 1 and 3 on Sundays) then hitting the road by 2:00.

That way we arrive on Monday much much earlier in the day. We won't be exhausted either.

 

[momejay]

We leave NJ after work usually on a Tuesday. My days off are Sunday & Mon, but I usually work those days before a vacation to get extra time away. We eat dinner & get on the road around 5PM. (We have left as late as 7PM) We stop around 10 or 11 PM for a snack & bathroom break & then I stop for gas & coffee a few times. The kids sleep the whole way. We stop for breakfast in Georgia usually by 7 or 8 am. By then, I am pretty tired. We arrive in Orlando by 11 or 12. We check into a hotel & get something to eat usually at Subway. We rest in our room or by the poool & maybe go for fireworks or a bit of shopping. We go to bed early & we are ready to go the next morning.

 

[stinkerbelle's mom]

Here's what we do. First I make a Disney book up of things I need-- hotel info, ressies, etc... I printed the I95 list of exits from VA to FL. This is valuable info. It tells you pretty much what is at every stop as far as food, gas stations, hotels. It also tells how long it takes to get thru each state.

We pack the car up completly the night before except for the few things we need. In the a.m. we finish packing and pack a cooler with drinks and some food/snacks. We try to leave as early as we can to avoid the DC/VA traffic. Usually everyone goes back to sleep for a while and that lets us get about 4-5 hours of driving out of the way before we stop. We try to only stop at the Welcome stations at each state everyone goes to the bathroom and we walk around for a bit to ease some muscles. We drive until we're tired then look at the exits on I95 to see which one we like and stop there. We don't make ressies ahead because sometimes we can drive further sometimes we can't. I work for the Fed Gov and I mentioned that and was given a discount at checkin. We relax by the pool and eat. Next day we get up and pretty much drive straight thru.

Good luck with your trip. We leave in 11 days!!!!

 

[edk35]

If you decide not to do it all in one day, if you can make it to Brunswick, Ga, there is a Holiday Inn & Suites that could probably fit you all in one room. It has a separate little room w/ a fold-out sofa and you could fit a rollaway in the main part of the room. It's nice, too! Has an indoor pool.

http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/hi/1/en/hotel/ssibr

Hey do you know how far Brunswick is from WDW???