Need travel info

[FionaLovesShrek]

I am hoping someone who has made a recent trip from WDW toward Texas can help answer a few questions. My step-daughter lives near Houston and was planning on joining us at WDW for a few days. She called last night and said that she is hearing gas is around $4.00/gal and she is unsure of the best travel route, since I-10 is closed. She has pretty much decided to cancel her trip. Can anyone tell me what the current gas prices are, availablity of gas, and did you have travel difficulties with I-10 being closed? How was your trip re-routed? We really want her to join us and bring the grandkids...we have a new grandson we need to meet!

 

[gigi1313]

i know nothing about driving from texas to florida, but i have seen some pretty good ding fares from houston to orlando... perhaps she can get a cheap flight (baby would not need a ticket)? the regular airfare for october is $79 each way... ding will probably be around $49... at $4/gallon, it might be cheaper to fly!

 

[HaleyB]

The I-10 is not closed except through the NOLA area where you would normally want to take the I-12 anyway. The real question is, how slow is it. If she can grab a good Ding fare that is a great choice.

Oh and the $4 a gallon gas reports were from right after the huriccane hit. I think it is 'better' now. Ha. $3 is now a good price for gas, oil exec.s everywhere are doing a happy dance.

I just bumped my thread on this topic. However I have been reading Trucker logs and looking at the DOT webpages and it looks like the I-10 route from Texas is doable. Callie from Baton Rouge left by car on Wednesday and she is going to report back how long the drive takes.

 

[cajunmommy]

Wish I could post a link, but there is another thread started by HaleyB addressing the same issue. Good info on there, especially the route Nebsky recommends.

BTW, I-10 is not closed on the route she'd be taking from Houston.

If she wanted to take the I-10 / I-12 / I-10 route which takes you through Baton Rouge & the north side of Lake Pontchartrain, you'd be fine. Be forewarned, rush hour has become BUSY with all the extra folks we have in town. Just be prepared for a bit of a delay.

Also, I've seen regular gas in BR for $2.45. We've had prices go down since the storm!

 

[HaleyB]

DOT link shows costal roads closed by the I-10 is not highlighted in red (closed) or Yellow (ristricted) except for the part that dips down into NO. The 12 goes around that part and is the normal way to go. It took me a minute to figure out what I was looking at with this map, all the red and yellow scared me at first.

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/USDOTReliefSite/pages/hiAndBridges.htm

 

[FionaLovesShrek]

Thank you for the reports. There are 3 children over the age of 3 besides the infant, so flying is not doable for her. The routes sound good and I am going to send her the link to this thread so she can see the reports for herself. Maybe she'll become a DISser soon!