Pa to Orlando

[tammyandtommy]

ok so we are planning the trip of a life time and wondered who has traveled from Philly area of Pa. How long does it take to get to Jacksonville? What about Orlando, we are looking to stop in jacksopnville for the night and continue on in the morning

 

[marksommerville]

Hi there,

I will be driving from Harrisburg to WDW in March and hve a vague idea of the route I want to take.

If you wish, I can tell you after the fact of my journey.

I am going to try and avoid Baltimore and DC completely, if possible, but realise that may not be possible for you from Philly.

Cheers

Mark

 

[fishy_mouse]

It's about 860 miles driving from Philly to Jacksonville. Two map sites say that the driving time is 13-14 hours. However, that assumes that you will average 65 MPH.

18 hours is probably a reasonable time.

 

[Barb A.]

We have driven many times from the Philly area. We usually drive 12 hours the first day and that gets us to Savannah, Ga. We leave from there the next morning around 7 a.m. we are usually at WDW around 1 p.m. Glad to answer any other questions you may have.

 

[msr709]

You do know that there are several of the "discount" airlines leaving from Philly. SW, Spirit Air to mention 2. Their flights are very reasonable and are direct to MCO. Just thought I would mention it.

 

[MiJo]

We just flew R/T, Philly to MCO, non-stop for a TOTAL of $233 for 2 adults on AirTran. That's probably cheaper than it would have cost us to drive from Easton to Orlando considering gas, meals, motels, etc. And, we were there in 2 hours!

 

[2infinityandbeyond]

We just flew R/T, Philly to MCO, non-stop for a TOTAL of $233 for 2 adults on AirTran. That's probably cheaper than it would have cost us to drive from Easton to Orlando considering gas, meals, motels, etc. And, we were there in 2 hours!

I think the "regular" rate on SWA from PHL to MCO is $79 one way, the sale fare when we went last year was $49 each way. So with the sale fare, a family of four can fly for about $400. When you compare the cost to drive (gas, tolls, wear and tear on the car, food, hotel) and consider the time you'd save by flying, I'd pick the flying option every time.

 

[LovePug]

Hi there,

I will be driving from Harrisburg to WDW in March and hve a vague idea of the route I want to take.

If you wish, I can tell you after the fact of my journey.

I am going to try and avoid Baltimore and DC completely, if possible, but realise that may not be possible for you from Philly.

Cheers

Mark

Mark,

We drive from about 2 hours north of you. We stay on 81 all the way down into VA, then get on 17 and cross over to 95 above Richmond. We totally miss Baltimore an DC. I absolutely love this route.

What way are you planning to take?

 

[cranbiz]

I drive from MA frequently now.

It's about 18 - 20 hours driving straight thru. We rotate drivers as necessary (we normally have 2-3)and at fuel stops, take as much time as we need.

From Philly, I would guestimate 14 hours. This is averaging 65mph and driving at night to minimize traffic.

I'm doing it again next Thursday as airfare is way to high and rental cars are non-existent at either MCO or SFD.

 

[marksommerville]

Mark,

We drive from about 2 hours north of you. We stay on 81 all the way down into VA, then get on 17 and cross over to 95 above Richmond. We totally miss Baltimore an DC. I absolutely love this route.

What way are you planning to take?

LovePug,

That exact route is the one I am favoring right now.

We plan to leave very early am (3 - 4 am) so 81S to 17 will bypass DC and Baltimore.

Thanks for the confirmation of the route

Mark

 

[LovePug]

LovePug,

That exact route is the one I am favoring right now.

We plan to leave very early am (3 - 4 am) so 81S to 17 will bypass DC and Baltimore.

Thanks for the confirmation of the route

Mark

You're very welcome!

 

[tammyandtommy]

ok so someone recommened flying if the price was right, but how do you get to the resorts? And we are resort hopping could it be easier to drive? I can imagine them moving our suitcases to different resort us go to the parks, and there figuring out how to get to the next resort from each park! LOL

 

[msr709]

ok so someone recommened flying if the price was right, but how do you get to the resorts? And we are resort hopping could it be easier to drive? I can imagine them moving our suitcases to different resort us go to the parks, and there figuring out how to get to the next resort from each park! LOL

Disney just started this new transportation service from MCO to the resorts for free, its called Magic Express. And getting to any resort from the parks you would just take one of the Disney buses. All onsite resorts have buses to each park.

 

[mirlow]

ok so we are planning the trip of a life time and wondered who has traveled from Philly area of Pa. How long does it take to get to Jacksonville? What about Orlando, we are looking to stop in jacksopnville for the night and continue on in the morning

We're going to be driving from Denver to Philly for our move. Then we unload our stuff into storage before we head down to WDW. We are thinking of doing this drive in April. I'd like to have one really long day of driving and be close enough to get some rest and then not have far to go the next day. How would the traffic be if we left around 10:00am on Sunday the 3rd? It's interesting to hear how the drive time differs for everyone?
Flying isn't an option since we will be traveling to MS from WDW. It's great to see how inexpensive it is to fly from Philly. The cheapest rate out of Denver is around $220 a ticket.

 

[tammyandtommy]

I think we figured it out as leaving on a friday/saturday at midnight and driving 16 hrs dinner time stopping for a meal a hotel with a pool , let the kids swim and get out the car buggies, LOL and then drive 2 hrs in the morning getting to wdw around 9ish am sunday hoping other disers agree with the time limits