Need advice on driving from Philly

[LNACE]

Last year we drove from Hatfield (about 1 hr north of Philly) for the first time. I have three children 10,7, and 5. We left around 6 at night. The kids fell asleep about 9 or so and we made it to South of the Border. We got a room and slept for awhile and we got back on the road about 8am.
We made it to orlando in the early afternoon. The ride to my suprise wasn't that bad. Our tv in the car, gameboys and road games made it easy. The kids are so excited to get there that they didn't give us a hard time at all. On the way home we took the auto train. That was nice because we were all really tired from our trip. So, we all got to relax, eat and sleep in a bed. You arrive in Lorton, Virginia the next day about 8am.
Then from there you have a 4-5 hr ride home depending on traffic. My only mistake was leaving all our jackets in the car when we got on the auto train in Florida. Well when you get back to Lorton its really cold and you cant get to your car. I'll remember for this year. We are doing the same exact thing in January again.
Good Luck and have fun!!
Linda

 

[MiaSRN62]

(If your gonna drive 75 allow a budget line item of $200 or so for the speeding ticket that could occur.)

LOL !
The speed limit most of the way through the Carolinas, and GA and FL is 70, so 75 is really no big stretch.......we've gone right past state police doing this with no problem. Of course if the limit posted is 55-65 we're not going to do 75.
I appreciate the humor though

 

[MiaSRN62]

Last year we drove from Hatfield (about 1 hr north of Philly) for the first time. I have three children 10,7, and 5.

Linda.....I'm 3 minutes away from Hatfield ! Hi neighbor

 

[LNACE]

Wow Maria I didn't realize you were from Lansdale. Hi neighbor. I forgot to mention to you that it was snowing the night we left. It was a little messy at the Lansdale turnpike entrance but the blue route was fine. A little messy again when we first got onto 95 but once your on 95 it was fine. A few slick spots here and there but there wasn't alot of people on the road. Let me know if you have any more questions.
Linda

 

[dwkwootton]

I never realized that so many of you were right in my back yard! Linda, any chance you're sailing on the 1-15-04 Western?

 

[LNACE]

No Maria, We're going to miss you by one week. We are sailing on 1-29-05 Western.
Linda

 

[Debbie H]

We always drive from Hanover. Depending on how we feel, it will take us anywhere between 14 1/2 to 16 hours to drive it. We go down 95, do 295 around Richmond and then stay on 95 all the way down. We do not take the bypass around Jacksonville, to much time is lost. We've been driving this since the 80's and would not miss those times for anything. Even our kids now drive down when they have the chance. They say some of their favorite vacation memories were spent on the drive down or back!

 

[kaykels]

We drove a few times from Philly. We have 3 adults (my dad always comes with us) and we go straight through. The drive down is a piece of cake thanks to the DVD player in the car. However, the drive home is long and painful. I'm always excited to get there, but then bummed driving home. We're tired!
Last time we saw a horrific accident just as we entered Florida. I'll skp the details but I'll never forget it as long as I live. It almost ruined the cruise for us. If you decide to do the drive, MAKE SURE NOBODY IS TIRED. It's not worth it. Pull over, take a nap or get a room and finish the drive the next day.
By the way... I'm from Warrington. I drive through Lansdale almost every day. Hi neighbors!

 

[cozit]

Someone suggested the Cape May ferry... that's rather out of the way and pricey.

If you want to avoid the DC area, from Philly, the easiest way to do so is to go down through Wilmington, then hop over to 301 south (sorry, I usually use the route north for holidays to avoid the traffic, can't remember the roads... but a map will tell you... ) and head down the East side of the Bay...if you want to completely avoid DC (and that includs hopping over the Bay Bridge to eventually take the 301 bridge over the Potomac), use the Chesapeake Bay-Bridge Tunnel in the south....

Unfortunately, that takes you rather east of where most want to go, but avoiding the area between Baltimore and Richmond, VA (especially during rush hours... and I do mean *hours) is a good thing. DC to Fredericksburg, VA can be a nightmare at *any* time of the day or week on I-95, and not just because of the construction near the DC beltway.

My folks have chosen to use I-81 from time to time, but they're usually heading for a side trip to Atlanta, and that will add on a few hours... though I understand that there's no evil construction on it for a change right now... AAA will know for sure.

Actually, AAA is usually pretty good about telling you what areas to avoid as well...

 

[MiaSRN62]

By the way... I'm from Warrington. I drive through Lansdale almost every day. Hi neighbors!

Hi kaykels ! This is really close to me too ! I used to live in Warminster
Well....we begin our drive down to FL tommorrow !

 

[georgeat]

Just did what you are asking about. Take 95 from Philly to the 896 exit in Delaware. (go under the overpass for 896 south) Take that to US 301. Has a short bit of single lane but when you get to Maryland it is two lane each way. You will cross the Bay bridge in the free direction.

If it is near rush hour take 301 south through Waldorf and pay the $3 toll for the Potomac river bridge. This is a little longer in time but a lot less stressful then the Washington beltway. North of Richmond take I295. Same distance as 95 but speed limit stays at 65. I usually stop at exit 94 in Georgia. It has many hotels and resturants. For me this is about 9 hours. (I live in Dover) Leaving at about 6 AM the nerxt morning you will get to the Port about noon with a breakfast break.

The reverse after the cruise, but stop at Fayettville on the way back. I usually stop at Exit 49.

(If your vehicle gets about 27 mpg and 18-20 gallon tank, stop at exit 3 in Georgia for gas both ways. A lot cheaper than Fla)

I have the done drive to WDW at Xmas for the last 3 years and the weather has never been a factor. Lucky I guess. Feel free to ask any additional specfic questions with a PM

 

[DisneyPoly]

Hi neighbors!

We're from Holland, Bucks County and as you can see from my counter, we're heading to Disney in about 3 weeks. Our plan was to leave at 5:00 a.m. and drive to Hilton Head (we've done this in the past and have ressies at Disney's Hilton Head resort).

The next day, we had planned to head to Florida at a leisurely pace. However, we've decided in the past two weeks to sail on the 11/21 Wonder cruise and now I'm worried about the timing. If we leave Hilton Head at 5:00 a.m., I understand it's about six hours to the port (barring no traffic jams).

I'm hoping this is the right choice. Not everyone in the family (including myself) is keen on flying, so I really don't want to go that route.

We can't leave any earlier as we are having Thanksgiving dinner with my DH's family on Friday night before we leave. They live in the South and are heading up to spend pre-holiday time with my in-laws.

I hope you have a safe, wonderful trip and hope that my trip will go smooth also.

Enjoy!

 

[cindalu]

Hi Mia and Lance,
I am a neighbor too. I also live in Lansdale.

Wow what a small world. I have 3 girls they are 8,6 and 4 and we always drive down to WDW. My oldest has been there 8 times. The girls have always been good. We usually leave late at night while the girls sleep.

In January I would probably fly though. too risky. you never know when a storm might come. I also heard that the Auto train was expensive.

You might have to check into it.

 

[georgeat]

We have done this before and on a Sunday there will be little traffic. Stay on 95 through Jax. You will make it with time to spare

 

[Barb A.]

Hi all you Holland, Warrington, Warminster folks. I live in Holland and work in Doylestown!!! Small world, huh!!

We just drove in early in October. We leave at 5:30 am and drive 12 hours to Savannah, Ga. It's only 5 - 51/2 hours the next day.

Can you tell me what Disney Hilton Head resort is like? Have you stayed there before?

 

[jennypenny]

Wow, so many neighbors on the board!

We've driven a few times. We always drive straight through. The ride down isn't too bad. The ride home is always painful. It usually takes 17-18 hours which includes a stop at the Cracker Barrel in St. Mary's, Georgia.

To make the ride home easier we've started staying at Disney's Hilton Head island for a couple of days on the ride home. It's nice and relaxing (less walking/touring than WDW), and the ride home from there is only 12-13 hours. (I wish disney would build something in Virginia )

It's really not that bad. We flew down in August for our summer vacation because airfare was only $98, but the kids asked if we could drive for our upcoming Feb vacation--go figure.

If you approach it as part of the vacation, and not something to get through so you can start your vacation, you'll be fine.

Jenny

 

[cozit]

jennypenny...

It's highly unlikely that Disney would ever build in Virginia at this point. They angered *way* too many people with their historic park idea (both location and it also looked as if the Disney treatment of 'history' would be no better than in their awful "Pocohontas" movies... btw, never seen more than a few minutes of those, never will... too painful for someone who grew up outside of Philly and has had a strong interest in Colonial America history... music's good... but they butchered both the American Indian and European history with those).

Too bad, actually. A "real" Disney park, in a better, non-battlefield history laden location around "here" would be a good thing.

(*so* wishing that it was already the 21st....)

 

[alicedisney]

We have also driven to WDW from NE Philly, left around 5:00 am, with stops to eat, gas and bathroom breaks arrived in GA around 6:30. Left around 8:00 the following morning and arrived in Orlando around 1:00. Coming home we have driven straight thru twice once from WDW and once from the port have done it with minimum stopping in under 17 hours from WDW and under 18 hours from port. My kids are older and tend to sleep most of the way home. There are 5 of us as well, so I can certainly understand the cost factor in flying. If you have the time driving is really not that bad.

 

[MiaSRN62]

Hi Cindalu !
Nice to meet another Lansdaler !
Just to coment on this statement:

In January I would probably fly though. too risky. you never know when a storm might come.

On the flip side, with bad weather even planes can be grounded. My inlaws missed 2 days of their WDW vacation a year or two ago due to a bad snow/ice storm in Philly. The Phila International airport was pretty much grounded for 48 hours. And one of my coworkers was stranded in Orlando for a full day because no planes were landing in Philly due to bad weather there. So if you're coming from a cold-weather state that experiences bad winter time weather, any mode of travel can be difficult.
Did I mention I hate winter ?

 

[cindalu]

Mia,
You are absolutely right. I didn't think about that until just now. So there is no absolutely fool proof way to get down there in the winter.