On the trip back just pick somewhere to stop or make a reservation?

[chartle]

Coming from Western PA we take two days down and two days back driving.

Going down I already know where we want to stop and have already picked a hotel from a chain we like about half way down.

Usually we would leave late afternoon Saturday to get back home but need to be back Saturday night for a my MIL's birthday on Sunday. We will now be leaving maybe mid to late afternoon Friday driving until maybe 10 or 11 and then finish the next day.

Here is my dilemma. Friday will kind of be our second day at the MK since we will be at the MVMCP sunday night getting in at 4 PM. We don't do characters so I think we may get a lot of riding in that night. So lets say we are done with the MK at say noon and decide to leave and hit the road. If I make a reservation for the trip back we are kind of locked into that hotel and will just hit it early and still have the same long next day.

Has anybody just winged it for the trip back? And if you did what the best way to get a room for the night once we figure out where we want to stop?

Book it online (will have 2 laptops, a tablet, 3 smartphones and wifi in the car), call the place directly or just show up in an area (that will be pre-selected from a list) and hope for the best. If we do this we can shave some time off the next day and not kill ourselves.

If it makes any difference this will be the friday before Xmas.

 

[sam_gordon]

Coming from Western PA we take two days down and two days back driving.

Going down I already know where we want to stop and have already picked a hotel from a chain we like about half way down.

Usually we would leave late afternoon Saturday to get back home but need to be back Saturday night for a my MIL's birthday on Sunday. We will now be leaving maybe mid to late afternoon Friday driving until maybe 10 or 11 and then finish the next day.

Here is my dilemma. Friday will kind of be our second day at the MK since we will be at the MVMCP sunday night getting in at 4 PM. We don't do characters so I think we may get a lot of riding in that night. So lets say we are done with the MK at say noon and decide to leave and hit the road. If I make a reservation for the trip back we are kind of locked into that hotel and will just hit it early and still have the same long next day.

Has anybody just winged it for the trip back? And if you did what the best way to get a room for the night once we figure out where we want to stop?

Book it online (will have 2 laptops, a tablet, 3 smartphones and wifi in the car), call the place directly or just show up in an area (that will be pre-selected from a list) and hope for the best. If we do this we can shave some time off the next day and not kill ourselves.

If it makes any difference this will be the friday before Xmas.

My personal opinion... I don't believe in making reservations on a long trip. I'll go until almost tired (I can tell when I have an hour or two 'left'). Then I'd look for some place to stop that's about an hour or so away.

I don't want to make a reservation because if I'm "feeling good", I might want to go a little further. If I make better time than I thought, I'll get further. The further I go the first day, the less I have to travel the second day.

By the same token, if I hit traffic, weather, or car problems and can't get to where I have a reservation, I can stop when I want to and not be locked into a certain place (most will require cancellation before 6pm at least or be charged).

 

[chartle]

Ok i think based upon another question I asked about how much can we get done during a party, we just may just plan to leave at say 2 PM.

One thing about just winging it is that we would be looking for a room that day on the friday before Xmas. Not sure how hard that would be.

I could make the reservation on Monday after the party.

 

[summermac]

A long time ago as a child, my parents decided to up and go somewhere with no reservations. HOURS later, we finally found a hotel and got to bed at like 2 AM.

I vowed to NEVER do that. I always make a ressie. ALWAYS.

 

[sam_gordon]

A long time ago as a child, my parents decided to up and go somewhere with no reservations. HOURS later, we finally found a hotel and got to bed at like 2 AM.

I vowed to NEVER do that. I always make a ressie. ALWAYS.

Another story... I was driving from San Antonio back to Kentucky. I had planned on leaving San Antonio around 1-2pm. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I didn't leave until 7. I got to Waco and traffic was extremely backed up on the interstate. I decided to call it a night. I got off the interstate, checked my phone and it showed the hotels as full. Walked into two hotels before getting the last room at one. Turns out it was Baylor's "move in" weekend.

My plan was to get through Dallas before stopping for the night. My late start and the construction made that impossible. If I would have had a reservation, I could have been charged as a "no show" or a late cancellation. Fortunately, no problem.

I happened to wake up early the next morning, got on the road around 8am, hoping to make it to Nashville before stopping for the night. Got to Nashville around 6, felt pretty good, and so just decided to finish the drive that night.

 

[Pembo]

We never make reservations when we're driving. We pick up a Roomsavers at the state welcome center and go from there. We too drive until we're tired.
I don't think you'll have a problem finding a hotel, just make sure you stop in a more populated area.

 

[NotUrsula]

Just make multiple reservations in different cities, and cancel the ones you won't need. Most roadside places allow free cancellation by 6 pm, and by then you will probably know how far you will be able to go.

I *never* drive without reservations, especially on a holiday travel day. I've been burned a couple of times by local events that I was not aware of (college move-in days, children's dance conventions, festivals, rodeos, etc.). Once it happened when I was coming down with the flu and starting throwing up uncontrollably -- I got sick in 2 lobby restrooms before a desk clerk took pity and started calling around for me; but the only place she could find was a fleabag, and it was one of the most miserable nights of my life. First thing the next morning I found another place to go so that I could miss Christmas in a room that was at least clean and didn't have drug addicts loitering in the parking lot. (I was still four hours away, so by the time I got well enough to hit the road again, the holiday was over and I had to head back home.)

 

[ncc1701]

Just make multiple reservations in different cities, and cancel the ones you won't need. Most roadside places allow free cancellation by 6 pm, and by then you will probably know how far you will be able to go.

I *never* drive without reservations, especially on a holiday travel day. I've been burned a couple of times by local events that I was not aware of (college move-in days, children's dance conventions, festivals, rodeos, etc.). Once it happened when I was coming down with the flu and starting throwing up uncontrollably -- I got sick in 2 lobby restrooms before a desk clerk took pity and started calling around for me; but the only place she could find was a fleabag, and it was one of the most miserable nights of my life. First thing the next morning I found another place to go so that I could miss Christmas in a room that was at least clean and didn't have drug addicts loitering in the parking lot. (I was still four hours away, so by the time I got well enough to hit the road again, the holiday was over and I had to head back home.)

Wow never had an experience that bad but I would make a reservation you can cancel that afternoon. My Sister and I planned to wing it on a trip heading back to NJ from Western NC. We left late afternoon & planned to stop in the Raleigh, NC area that night. Found out that due to College football and the end of a trade show to get a decent hotel we ended up going to Wilson, NC on I95.
Have also had a cousin who planned to wing it on trip back from WDW to SE PA. Due to bad weather and a holiday weekend the 1st place they could stop was 2 hours from home. They drove straight thru.

 

[sam_gordon]

Just make multiple reservations in different cities, and cancel the ones you won't need. Most roadside places allow free cancellation by 6 pm, and by then you will probably know how far you will be able to go.

That's going to depend on the individual. I personally would not know how far I can go at 6. Well, I'll know if I'll need to stop in the next hour or so, but that probably won't happen.

And again, you don't know what traffic is going to be doing. As I mentioned before, during my trip from Texas to Kentucky, I could have gotten another couple hours, but the interstate was a dead stop because of construction so I just decided to call it a night.

 

[NotUrsula]

That's going to depend on the individual. I personally would not know how far I can go at 6. Well, I'll know if I'll need to stop in the next hour or so, but that probably won't happen.

And again, you don't know what traffic is going to be doing. As I mentioned before, during my trip from Texas to Kentucky, I could have gotten another couple hours, but the interstate was a dead stop because of construction so I just decided to call it a night.

These days, if you have a smartphone on you, traffic is a lot more predictable. There are myriad apps that will give you real-time updates on your route. I set my phone to text-to-speech, and it reads out every text alert that I get from the app.

As to knowing "how far you can go" at 6pm, I guess I'm a tad more cautious than you seem to be. I don't approach it as how far CAN I go, I approach it more as how far SHOULD I go. Fatigue impairs our judgment, so I like to make such decisions well before I start feeling drowsy. I'm a person who generally functions remarkably well on minimum sleep, but I still think it's the better part of wisdom not to push the envelope with 3700 lbs. of steel under my foot.

 

[kristenrice]

When we drive, I always make a reservation for somewhere along the way. We drive on our spring break trips and almost every time, there are travelers at the desk being turned away due to no vacancy. We have seen families with children camped out at rest areas, sleeping in their cars because there are no hotel rooms available. I make reservations that can be cancelled up until 6pm with no charge. By 6pm, I know if we will make it there by midnight which is my cutoff for how late we will drive. Sometimes, we arrive earlier than we plan and so we enjoy the pool and maybe take the time to eat a decent sit-down dinner. If we are late, then we just hit the hay and get a fresh start in the morning.

Bottom line: If you think you will need a hotel room over a holiday travel period, make a reservation that you can cancel.