NJ to WDW via car...how long did it take you?

[JerseyGirl114]

I know it's so much easier to fly, but that's not happening no matter how much Xanax DH wants to give us!!!

We've heard so many different time tables about how long of a drive it is. We did it back in '03, but we didn't go directly to WDW.

We are supposed to check in on Sunday, 11/5 & we plan to stay over one night. We have 10 days to spend at WDW, so getting there in 1 day isn't a big deal for us. We thought it would be nice to drive to at least SC or GA & then have a much shorter ride the next day & hang out at the resort pool for the rest of the day.

I'd just really like to know how long it took to get there. We are going via the GSP exit 114 - to I95 etc.......

 

[KikiNJ]

We just drove down on Aug 14th, it took 16 1/2 hours and that was with stops (gas twice, mcdonald's to go once, potty probably 5 times). Our drive home we started from 2 hours further south (went to visit friends after doing disney), and it took us 18 hours to get home (got back yesterday at 2:30AM). The drive wasn't bad at all, on the way down we broke it up over two days. We left NJ (exit 138 GSP) at 6:15PM, got thru DC around 10ish and traffic was not bad at all. The only time it was a little heavy was just after you got off 495, but it was equivalent to any day on the NJ Tpke! And that only lasted maybe 10 miles. Stopped around midnight in Stony Creek, VA. On the road by 8:30 the next morning and got to disney around 6:30. The drive home we ended up doing it straight through, and again were going thru DC around 10ish and it wasn't bad at all. Both directions we hit no major traffic tie ups, no construction. On the way home, there was some construction going on southbound in Maryland, before Baltimore, looked like everything merged into one lane and the backup seemed pretty long. I'm not sure if that was a nighttime job they were doing or what, we didn't hit it on our way down. Thru Baltimore we took 895, they were doing work on the tunnel but traffic was really light both times we went thru it, most of the time except thru the tunnel itself we didn't see any other cars. And around DC we took 495 west (would be north going back), to avoid the work on the WW bridge. Also, the cheapest gas we saw was in SC, the lowest we paid was 2.579. Can't tell you what exit though, I don't remember, sorry! It was within 40 miles of the GA border though.

 

[Dopey Sharon]

I don't know how much farther exit 114 is from me...I don't have an exit for the Parkway, but I'm in South Jersey about 20 minutes from the Walt Whitman Bridge and about 45 minutes from Atlantic City. And about 40 minutes from the Delaware Memorial Bridge.

It took us about 16-17 loooonnnnngggg hours to drive to WDW.

 

[HugsForEeyore]

I drive solo from Morris County in New Jersey. I must be a very slow driver, as it takes me easily about 20 hours to drive to Orlando. And that is with only stopping for gas and rest stops, and eating food in my car (no sit-down meals). One time I did it in 19 hours, but 20 is the norm. There is usually traffic or construction somewhere to slow me down. I am also nowhere near a major highway, as it takes about 45 minutes to get to the Turnpike or Parkway. On the drive down, I stay near Savannah for the night, then drive the rest of the way the next day.

I do admit I go about the speed limit the whole way, which I believe is not the norm for most drivers!

 

[KikiNJ]

Yeah we definitely didn't do the speed limit, we were usually 5-10mph over whatever the limit was. On the way down we averaged 66.5 mph and on the way home we averaged 67.1 mph, that is including stops (without stops it was 67.7 and 70.6).

 

[ducklite]

DH leaves from Branchburg (Near Somerville/Raritan area) and makes it in 16-17 hours. He has it down to a science. With only him in the car he combines all bathroom/meal/gas stops. He usually only stops four-five times on the entire trip.

He leaves around 4:00am on a Saturday or Sunday and is at our house in time to go out for evening ice cream.

When I'm with him it's usually 17-18 hours. I need more potty breaks.

Anne

 

[BigTigger]

I drove from Hoboken to DW on August 3rd and 4th and here was the timing and itinerary (all tolls were EZ Pass amounts):

Left Hoboken on Thursday August 3rd at 11:30 am. Took the Pulaski Skyway/Route 1/9 connector to the NJ Turnpike south at exit 14 and stayed on to the end for a toll of $3.75 and 1 hour and 26 minutes of travel time. You next go over the Delaware River Bridge and pay a $3.00 toll. By 1:15 pm I was paying the second Delaware toll of $3.00 and a few minutes later I was in Maryland. By 2 pm I was going through the Maryland tunnel tolls and paying $2.00 more. That was it for tolls. I cleared Baltimore and was still moving good, so I kept on I-95 through the DC area. The only slowdown was at the Walt Whitman bridge and it was about a half mile backup and took ten minutes to clear - mostly due to the bridge only having 3 lanes and having two 3 lane roads trying to fit their 6 lanes into 3. Northbound was much worse going over the bridge and was backed up about 5 miles. I was clear of the beltway by just after 3 pm, but hit traffic going to a Jimmy Buffett concert near Fairfax that was stop and go until after Quantico. From there it was smooth sailing until Richmond where I took I-295 around the city and encountered no slowdowns. By 5:30 pm I was in North Carolina and stopped for dinner in Roanoke Rapids and gas near Smithfield. I continued on through the Carolinas and hit road paving near FLorence, SC. After that I drove until about 11;30 pm and stopped in Hardeeville, South Carolina for cheap gas and lodging at Exit 6 or 8 (can't remember which). So day 1 was 11.5 hours on the road and a half hour of breaks and I covered 785 miles. To start day 2, I was on the road by 9:30 am and was at Downtown Disney at 2:30 pm. This included some traffic slowdowns in Jacksonville and a half hour break for lunch near Ormond Beach. So day 2 was 4.5 hours on the road covering 310 miles. I'd recommend taking I-295 around Jacksonville - the I-95 and I-10 work really slows you down and makes for unpleasant traffic conditions.

 

[postalcop]

if we didn't stop to sleep over night it would take usn about 16 hours from morris county to disney. we usually leave around 2:30-3 am. we stop at dunkin' dounuts in rahway before getting on the turnpike in carteret, then we just drive, (we bring sadwiches and drinks) we will get some snacks when we stop for gas and potty breaks! we stop for the night in savannah (i think exit 94) we usually get there around 4ish. we eat dinner then get to bed early! when we get up we eat breakfast(continental breakfast-much faster-), than in 4 hours we are in disney- as long as there in no traffic in jax or elswhere. we drove straight through once and we said never again! to tired when we get there!

 

[katerkat]

We did it in Dec '03 in 16 hours, to near Wayne NJ. When I was little and going from Bridgewater, it usually took my parents 20ish hours and we stopped in Georgia overnight.

 

[PortieOwner]

Get EZPass for your car tolls. There are times in MD when the toll plazas have a 10 min or more wait but you can cruise thru the EZPass lanes.

 

[JerseyGirl114]

Thanks for all the responses!
We will probably leave NJ anywhere from 2am - 4am. DH didn't want to leave until 6 or 7, but I have now convinced him to leave earlier!!! We have a 24hr dunkin donuts that we pass on our way to the GSP, so we'll be all set! And we love EZ pass, we've had it since it first came out. DH will drive the 1st part of the trip and then I'll take over after DC, then hopefully he will get some sleep and then take over once I am tired!
We'd like to get the bulk of our driving done on day 1 so we can arrive at Disney, then RELAX for day 2! I'll have my AAA book with me so I'll know where we can stop to find a hotel for the night. DH thinks I'm crazy because I've done all this planning for WDW, but don't want to book a room for the way down!
And as for concert traffic, I live 5 minutes away from PNC Arts Center, so I'm used to it!