Plan B: Driving from MA to WDW

[deedeetoo]

I still think everything will work out with Delta, but just in case.... its time to start working on Plan B.

We live about 30 miles west of Boston. AAA tells me that driving to Orlando (stopping in CT to pick up Mom) will take me 21 hours and 15 min. Breaks will probably add another 1 to 2 hours. Dh will get home from work about 5:30 on the day before we were planning to leave. I will have that day off.

If we eat a quick dinner when he gets home and then hop in the car, I figure we will hit Baltimore around midnight. We can then stop and get a room for a few hours and then get up early the next morning and drive all day arriving very, very late at WDW. Or I can let him start the driving until he gets too tired, then switch and let me drive (since I can take a nap during the day), and drive straight through. This will probably get us there late afternoon or early evening and we won't miss the whole day.

So how do others from MA do the drive? When do you start? Do you drive straight through or stop?

 

[kldmom2000]

I now live in MA, but grew up in northern RI on the MA border. My mother had an insane fear of flying and we drove to and from Disney 14 times during my childhood. It was about a 21 hour drive straight through but there were of course stops for restroom breaks and food. Dad used to sleep for a few hours in the afternoon and then pack up the car. We'd leave around 7pm so that we could avoid the massive traffic going through NY.... sometimes we'd stop in DC the next morning and let Dad sleep while Mom took us into the museums. We'd then hit the road and drive again til after dinner and stop @ South Of the Border where we'd stay overnight and then leave at 5am to drive straight on to Disney. Other times, Mom and Dad would switch off and we'd drive straight through.

My honeymoon was the first time I'd flown to Disney (or anywhere for that matter! ) We have Delta tix too for our Sept/oct trip and I'm biting my nails because my DH would NEVER, EVER drive there-he drives so much for work that he refuses to do it on his vacation-plus he only can take 5 days off, so that would seriously put a crimp in our trip Keeping my FX that Delta doesn't go under!!!!!!

GL!

 

[cranbiz]

I drive frequently. Last time was last week. I always drive straight thru, only stopping for gas, bathroom and maybe a breakfast stop. If I am by myself, I will usually grap a couple hour nap in the truck somewhere in the Carolina's at a rest area or in the VA area ( I try for Fredericksburg) on the return.

I normally leave from Carver around 4 to 6pm and will usually get to Deltona (about 45 minutes from Disney) mid afternoon. The average trip is 21 hours. I have done it in 18 hours and have done it in 30 hours (bad trip).

Last week, I did each way in 22 hours, but I had DN2 and DN 4 with us and there were extra stops thrown in because of them. I don't think that the drive is all that bad. If you can switch drivers,then there is no reason why you can't do it without an overnight stop. The key is to hit the known trouble spots (NYC, DC, Jax) during the off hours. Leaving when I do puts me in NYC around 9-10pm, Washington around 1-2AM a quick breakfast stop at Pedro's diner at 8AM and Jacksonville around 1-2PM.

I prefer to drive at night, I make much better time and can arrive while there is still time to do something once I arrive. Many times we have arrived at the house in the afternoon, quickly unloaded the truck and then shoot to MK or EPCOT for the rest of the day (aren't AP's a wonderful thing )

 

[BigTigger]

Our oldest DD goes to school in Deland, so although I've never driven for our many Disney visits, I drive her down in the late summer and back in May each year. I take the Snowbird inland route and avoid I-95 until South Carolina. The average drive is 22 hours which includes fuel, food and walking around/stretching stops. Even if two can't split the driving, one can do it without a stop. I usually sleep from noon to 8 pm on departure day and leave at 9 pm from central MA. The route I take is I-495S to I-90W to I-84W to I-91S to CT15 (Merritt parkway) to I-287W over the Tappan Zee bridge and down into NJ to I-78W to I-81S to I-77S to I-26E to I-95S to I-4W arriving near Orlando about 7 pm the next day. The only traffic I hit on this run is usually around Jacksonville as you hit it just before rush hour. You can take I95 all the way, but the stress level is much higher and the Richmond, VA, DC beltway, Philadelphia, and south NJ construction zones will usually get you every trip either singularly or altogether. The inland route is about 175 miles longer per my trip logs taking both routes. Good luck with Delta - I hope they survive for my August trip too.

 

[sara74]

Well, driving is our plan B too. At least I think so. I don't fear the drive down so much as we have driven to DC and the Outer Banks from CT (very close to the MA border) in the last couple of years. It is the coming home tired and cranky part that I dread. Of course driving would skip the night at the inlaws and having them drive us to the airport! Just looking for a silver lining here...

 

[PolyPal]

We fly down on Song on 4/12 (hopefully!) and then supposedly fly Delta back to CT on 4/20. Our back-up plan is a one way rental from Avis. I think the drive back from Florida could be a "new family adventure"....well at least for the first hour in the car!

 

[Uncleromulus]

Only one suggestion--if you do stop in Baltimore at midnight, be SURE to be up and on the road again so as to get beyond DC BEFORE 6:00 AM. Otherwise you'll be in a traffic snarl beyond your worst nightmare.

 

[tolookaa5]

HI,

When we drive down, we leave at about 11pm so that we do not hit any traffic in the am in Maryland. It is great because there is pretty much noone on the road except for you and the trucks. The kids sleep most of the way. Everyone is right straight thru is about 21 hrs. When we leave at 11 pm, we usually arrive to Altamonte Springs about an hour away from Disney at about 9 pm(family there). That is with taking a breakfast break. We always do a big breakfast break to refresh, then it is just p breaks along the way and lunch in the car. Good Luck.

 

[justplaingoofy]

Things to pack for a long car ride:

Ear plugs
Benadryl
Portable DVD player

 

[isyt]

I have driven many times from Jersey to Disney but in August we have Delta tickets for DisneyLand and I don't think driving will be my back up!!! My kids are great for the 18 hr drive but what is CA a 3 day drive I think too much for me !!

 

[deedeetoo]

Thanks for the responses. I'm not familiar with a lot of the roads named by BigTigger. I'm with you to NJ and then I'm not sure what you're doing. I'm going to have to get the maps out. I was planning on going over the Tappan Zee to avoid NYC but then I expected to take the Garden State Parkway to the Jersey Turnpike and just head south. I've never driven south of Phildelphia before so this is all new to me.

Uncleromulus, that's good advice about getting out early if we stop in Baltimore. I hadn't thought about that but we definately don't want to hit rush hour in Washington DC.

It sounds like driving straight down is the way to go. We'll hit the NYC area after the evening rush, and Wash DC in the middle of the night. Are there other trouble spots? We would be driving on a weekday so I don't want to hit morning or evening rush hours if I can avoid it.

 

[The Grumpus]

If you have a little more time and want to avoid NYC, NJ, and Philly altogether, I usually take I-84 all the way out to Scranton and then head south from there on I-81. If you join up with I-70, it will take you right to Baltimore. Or you can skirt Baltimore and DC by staying on some of the highways to the west of them and connecting up with I-95 further south. It's not the faster way, but it is a more scenic ride. I-81 through the hills of PA is very pretty.

-TGr

 

[cranbiz]

Your only other normal trouble spot is Jacksonville. The rush hour there starts around 3pm and goes to 7pm. Either before or after that time frome is best.

The other option is I295 around Jacksonville. If you find youself getting to Jacksonville around the rush hour times (weekdays) jump on to I295. It's a little longer, but will be a huge timesaver.

 

[idreamofdisney24/7]

We're North of Boston. We drove 2x in the last 2 years.
We go a triptik from AAA. It was great. It took us about 20 hours and we did approx. 10 hours each day and stopped in Virgina. I kept a log of how long it took to enter and exit each state. It kept me busy.

 

[BigTigger]

I'm not familiar with a lot of the roads named by BigTigger. I'm with you to NJ and then I'm not sure what you're doing.

Sorry if my directions lost you in NJ. By the luck of the interstate naming, I-287 after the Tappan Zee bridge heads west where it passes first the Palisades Parkway exit and then the Garden State Parkway exit and then about six miles later it splits. I-87 heads north and I-287 continues south into NJ past Mahwah, Oakland, Parsippany, etc. after which you pass first I-80W and then I-78W which is where I cut off. If you stayed on I-287, it would bring you back to I-95 near Edison and the Garden State Parkway near the Amboys.

A free resource that you can use to plot your course is:

http://local.live.com

You can zoom in and move around with the arrows on the left of by clicking and dragging the map. It's sort of like a AAA triptick without some of the forced waypoints they put in.