NY Drivers ... Where Do You Stop?

[StinkerbellsMom]

We have driven to FL from NYC 3 times in the past, but honestly, it was close to a decade ago and we had one and two children with us. Now, we are traveling with 3 children (ages 11, 9 and 5) and one Grandma. All of us enjoy the whole concept of a "Road Trip", however, truth be told, I am SCARED! LOL We purchased a DVD Player (the Durabrand one with 2 screens) and will be equipped with plenty of DVD's and PS2 games as well, but what worries me the most is the actual DRIVING time and WHERE to stop. We have always just driven until we are tired and stopped and found ourselves a room for the night (many times we had to stop at 3 or 4 places before we found a place with no 'critters'). We definitely want to split the trip but want to make just one overnight stop. We plan on leaving btwn 4 and 5 AM on a Friday and I wonder ...

What routes do you find best?
We used to take I-95 and that was that, but I have read that maybe that isnt the best way?

Where do you stop?

Do you have any suggestions as to what to AVOID or what we SHOULD do?

Anything else I should be asking??? Hmmm ... I can't believe the time is near ... seemed like June was so far away, now it is HERE! Yaaayyyyyyy!!!!!

 

[The Prophet]

I have done this drive three times with 2 kids (ages 6 & 4).
I-95 is the way to go. It is a straight run to I-4. You cannot get lost.
I would reconsider leaving at a different time. If you leave at 4:00 AM, you will be going through D.C. in the middle of the morning rush hour.
We have driven from NY to Florence, SC on day 1. Staying at the Country Inn & Suites (Exit 164).
On day 2, we have finished the drive, arriving in Orlando mid to late afternoon.
If you have any specific questions, PM me.

The Prophet

 

[jiminy14]

We have driven from South Jersey a number of times in the past few years. We usually stop in Savannah, GA which is about 11 hours for us. There are a lot of decently priced hotels here especially north of the city. We usually stay in a Fairfield which shares a parking lot with Cracker Barrel. From Savannah, it is about another 5 hours to WDW.
When you decide which state you want to stop in, check at one of the Welcome Centers in the rest stops. They usually offer coupon books that will save you some money off of your room. The coupon for the Savannah Fairfield took another $10 off the room.
Make sure you watch you speed in Maryland and Virginia. We saw more speed traps set up here than in any other states.

 

[DCSingle]

Not sure how far you want to go the first day, but a few places I can recommend for a stop are Lumberton, NC (about 8 hours from Disney), Florence SC (about 7 hours from Disney), Santee, SC (about 6 hours from Disney) and Savannah, GA (about 5 hours from Disney). I have had pretty consistently good luck with Country Inn and Suites, Fairfield Inn and Hampton Inn along the I-95 corridor. Only ones I would avoid are the Fairfield Inn in Florence and the Hampton Inn at Savannah/Pembroke.

One other tip, you do not want to be passing by the Washington, DC area between 7-9 AM or 4:30-6:30 PM and the further you are from these windows the less traffic you will hit.

 

[ckret01]

We drove from NY once and left around 4am we stopped in Santee SC at about 6pm.

 

[AspiringCindy]

We try to stop in S.C. somewhere! On our last trip, we booked a hotel at Florence,SC and 1 at Santee, SC. As we drove, we made a descision to continue on to Santee, and was able to cancel our ressie at Florence without a penalty!

 

[StinkerbellsMom]

I am printing all of these out! Thanks so much for all of the wonderful advice!!! I am so excited about the trip. I figure we will be stopping often because my mom will need to stretch and move her legs often (she had a double knee replacement a few years back AND she is 72 yrs old, so the circulation is a bit of an issue), but we all love road trips and are anxious to get started! I like the fact that we stand a good chance of making it to SC in the first day ... we intend to toss the kiddos into the car in PJ's that first day and then when they are truly 'awake' we will stop, dress and eat somewhere. How exciting!!! Thanks again everyone! You guys here at the DIS are AWESOME!!!!!!!!