I am not sure that 4pm out of New York may be your best time. It would depend on where you are leaving from. Rush hour is a big factor between NY and NJ.
If you don't have EZ Pass, consider buying it. It is a big help at the tolls and I think it works until Virginia.
This is much easier if you are driving with someone so you can take turns. I have done it alone and it is a very long drive.
I drove by myself from Long Island to West Palm Beach. Here is the schedule I had:
Left at 4:00am. Drove to Savannah, Georgia the first day and stayed at a Country Inn and Suites which is a very nice hotel. This is about 800 miles. I stopped at 8:00pm. I hit several major traffice jams, one in particular right before Savannah which made I95 come to a dead stop. Looong trip.
I was back on the road about 9:00am and got to West Palm Beach around 4:00pm.
Port Canaveral is about 2 hours north of West Palm.
Usually I can time a trip to Florida by saying that I can cover 60 miles in an hour. This averages out because of traffic, variables in speed limit on I95 and quick gas, food stops, until stopping for the day.
There is a web site you can check out which gives you lots of Exit Information off of I95 for both hotels and rest stops that are clean and safe.
www.usastar.com/i95/homepage.htm
Have a great trip!
