Question for those who drive from the North East

[Tomh]

We have driven to Disney World every summer for the past 7 years. This summer will be trip number 8.

The first year, we left around 5:30 am from the Mid Hudson Valley in NY, took the Pallisaides Parkway to I95, and then followed 95 down to Florida. We broke the trip up into 3 days that year, stopping the first day in Washington DC for some sight seeing, and lunch, then driving into North Carolina for the night. As I remember, we left DC mid afternoon and the traffic going into and through the Northern part of Virginia was absolutely awful. The second day we drove from North Carolina into the very Southern part of Georgia, and our third day we were at DTD by 11:00 in the morning.

Year number 2, we took 113 along the Maryland Coast and crossed the Chesapeake Bay Bridge / Tunnel into VA, thus avoiding the mess outside of DC, but . . .. it rained like crazy as we were approaching the bridge, so the kids didn't really get the experience since we couldn't see anything but the rain, and the traffic approaching, and crossing the bridge was crazy.

The following 4 years we left early AM on a Saturday, and drove either into SC, or GA the first day with varying degrees of nasty traffic in VA, mostly in the Northern part of the state.

Last year, we left home before 3:00 am on a weekday, and traffic was wonderful, sadly the car broke down in Maryland and cost us a day and a half of travel time, but that is another story.

Now, this coming August, we will be leaving our home in the Mid Hudson Valley at about 1:00 PM on Monday the 10th, and I am completely torn up as far as what route I should take. I know that the Pallisaides to I95 is the shortest route. I also figure that traffic should be tolerable through NJ, and Maryland, but my fear is that we are going to hit Northern VA just in time for the evening commute out of DC, and it is going to be a parking lot.

113 to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge / Tunnel is the second option, and I'm not necessarily against taking a second shot at letting my son see the view from the bridge, but I am concerned that traffic there might be bad as well.

The third option for us would be to take I84 across NY, and into PA, then pick up I81 in PA and follow that, eventually joining back up with 95 in North Carolina.

My question is, does anyone have any experience with any / all of these routes during the afternoon / evening on a weekday. Any experience / advice would be greatly appreciated. I am pretty familiar with the traffic I will encounter on the I95 route at that time, but not so much with 113, or 81.

 

[JanaDee]

http://www.disboards.com/forums/transportation.16/

 

[momof2n2]

We drive from western NY heading west to Erie PA and fairly due south, which is a good option for us. When we go to OBX, we do head down Delmarva peninsula to do CBBT.

We do avoid DC completely.

We also leave our house about 5PM and arrive about 2PM. We are all about a straight shot.

 

[thehappyhours]

We live in Northern Virginia and we avoid the 495 area if at all possible during rush hour. 81 isn't too bad, but can back up during normal high traffic times. Our next trip, we will hop on 95 south of DC to avoid some of the traffic. The drive on 81 is nice and the speed limit is higher than on 95.

 

[Figmentmommy]

Traffic as we enter Virginia - around the Prince William area - is always a pain for us; No matter what day/time. We haven't had too much trouble through DC. We are 95 folks and tend to take it straight down stopping in South Carolina for the night and then go the rest of the way the following day- usually arriving at our resort around 3:00pm. The only trip we had extensive delays was on our return trip last December. We lost 2 hours due to major traffic through Virginia into DC. We chalk that up to traveling back on 12/22 which we've now decided is much too close to Christmas for us!

 

[Tomh]

On the way down one year, it took us over 3 hours to go 12 miles in the Northern part of VA on I95, and I am quite fearful of what that will be during the evening commute.

thehappyhours that is kind of what I was fearful of. We typically take 495 through DC, and I was figuring that, and then 95 in VA would be pretty bad in the early evening which is right around when I figure we will wind up there.

 

[Tomh]

Oh, and thanks for the transportation board link . . .. . I had completely forgotten about that, even though I've posted there before. The brain is NOT getting better with age lol.

 

[mckennarose]

From PA, we take 81 south to Rte 66, then Rte 17 to I 95 below DC.
We hit traffic around Kings Dominion on I 95 before, but nothing compared to going through DC. We've never had an issue on 81, but Rte 17 can get slower at points with a lower speed limit and a few traffic lights.

 

[River Country]

Here is a nice alternate

when you get into NJ take 95 to 78 west to 81 south you will be in PA. Stay on 81 south through most of VA until you get to I 77 South

Take I77 south through Charlotte, NC and Columbia, SC in Columbia I77 JCT with I26 E and that will take you back to I95 almost at the border if GA. Its about an hour extra with out traffic but you will avoid Rush Hour at DC which we all know could be a fate worse than death LOL

 

[goofyernmost]

It is a little longer, in mileage, but, not in time to take 81. If you are north of Albany you can cut over to Binghamton on 88 and hit 81. If you are below then you connect at Newburg, NY on 84 to 81, that takes you through Penn., small sections of Maryland and West Virginia and into Virginia where you hit 66 and 17, diagonally to Frederickburg, VA. That is a good place to stop for the night. Plenty of hotels surrounding I-95. You miss all the really heavy traffic, many tolls, bypass DC and it's clear sailing from there to Florida. The second stop for me has always been Walterboro, SC. From there it's a leisurely drive to WDW.

As I said, it is a little further mileage wise, but, you more then make up the time instead of sitting in a 30 mile long parking lot that is just to the south of DC and sometimes called I-95.

Until I moved to North Carolina, 81 was the route I always took from Vermont.

 

[Tomh]

Looks like 81 may be the ticket. I knew it was a bit longer, but figured that with hitting DC in the early evening, I would probably be in for at least an hour or two of delays on I95. I am kind of between I84, and the Pallisaides Parkway, so I will use one or the other, either going straight on 84 to 81, or going down into NJ and then taking 78 to 81. Thanks for all the first hand experiences folks!!!!!

 

[goofyernmost]

Looks like 81 may be the ticket. I knew it was a bit longer, but figured that with hitting DC in the early evening, I would probably be in for at least an hour or two of delays on I95. I am kind of between I84, and the Pallisaides Parkway, so I will use one or the other, either going straight on 84 to 81, or going down into NJ and then taking 78 to 81. Thanks for all the first hand experiences folks!!!!!

That would work too. I know I did connect with 81 a bit lower then Newburg once, but I don't remember where exactly. I think we went through Allentown, but, I'm not sure. I might even have connected via 80. It was quite a while ago. Still whatever way you go will be so much better then that DC loop or even Baltimore as far as that goes. Early evening heading south on 95 from DC is probably a lot more then an hour and a half delay at times. At most, it is only about an hour and a half of additional driving going on 81, but, at least you are moving. Also, just as a warning... 81 is a heavily traveled truck route, but, it really is more of a problem after dark then during the daytime.

 

[Letsbgoofy]

We're going to get on 81 at Binghamton around 6:00pm on a Friday night. Out usual route is 81 to 15 to 495. We should hit 495 around 12 am (towing our camper so adding an extra hour or so), so I'm thinking we'll be okay traffic wise??

My real concern is the trip home. We'll leave WDW around 8 am on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend. We'll stop and camp at least 1 night on the way home. I'm concerned about the DC area on Sunday; trying to figure out how to get around it. Any suggestions?

 

[RustManFan]

I would also take one of the 81 suggested routes. One year we took the auto train down but took this route home to NJ with an overnight in SC and another in Gettysburg

 

[staceywj]

We are also driving from NJ. We check in Monday, August 10th. I am nervous about it being such a long ride especially since our family never drove more than 5 hours together, I am thinking about staying over 2 nights. DD thinks just one night. I am also thinking about avoiding 95. Any advice, routes, or times to leave is appreciated.

 

[staceywj]

Would you recommend the auto train? I am not sure how I feel about it...

 

[jec6613]

Driving from NJ, you should take I-95. You back-track so much to take I-81 that it's just not worth the extra time, you'll burn 1-2 hours in extra mileage even over some very bad traffic. If you can depart at 6 PM or so, you should miss the DC area traffic and can stay overnight south of Fredericksburg, VA (mid-way between DC and Richmond), otherwise leaving early in the morning and getting through DC by 2-3 PM also reduces it significantly. Plan on taking the outer beltway (going around the west side of DC), it's usually faster than the inner beltway going south to points beyond the district; but also listen to 99.1 WTOP as you get into Maryland (I've picked it up as far away as Delaware), as it'll tell you if there's a problem on the inner or outer beltway and you can route around it. Only go through DC as a last resort.

As for the AutoTrain, I've never done it, but I have done Amtrak, and was very pleased by my experiences. If you leave NJ and get to Lorton, VA by noon, it shouldn't be a problem, and can be an adventure. But check prices, and remember that Amtrak prices really only go one direction: up. Depending on the time of year, it can be very expensive (snowbirds tend to flood the Auto Train at certain times of year) or quite cheap, as everybody is heading south in the winter, and north in the summer. I would consider it for one way of the journey, and driving the other, simply based on cost. Also, I highly recommend a sleeper compartment (which is charged per compartment, not per passenger) if you can afford it, so you arrive rested.

 

[amcnj]

We are also driving from NJ. We check in Monday, August 10th. I am nervous about it being such a long ride especially since our family never drove more than 5 hours together, I am thinking about staying over 2 nights. DD thinks just one night. I am also thinking about avoiding 95. Any advice, routes, or times to leave is appreciated.

Hi. For reference, I am about an hour and ten minutes from the Delaware Memorial Bridge. I leave around 2:30 am, am passing DC around 5:30 AM, and reach the Orlando area 6:30-7:30 PM.

 

[staceywj]

Hi. For reference, I am about an hour and ten minutes from the Delaware Memorial Bridge. I leave around 2:30 am, am passing DC around 5:30 AM, and reach the Orlando area 6:30-7:30 PM.

Great! I hate overthinking the driving part of our trip but can't help it.

 

[staceywj]

Driving from NJ, you should take I-95. You back-track so much to take I-81 that it's just not worth the extra time, you'll burn 1-2 hours in extra mileage even over some very bad traffic. If you can depart at 6 PM or so, you should miss the DC area traffic and can stay overnight south of Fredericksburg, VA (mid-way between DC and Richmond), otherwise leaving early in the morning and getting through DC by 2-3 PM also reduces it significantly. Plan on taking the outer beltway (going around the west side of DC), it's usually faster than the inner beltway going south to points beyond the district; but also listen to 99.1 WTOP as you get into Maryland (I've picked it up as far away as Delaware), as it'll tell you if there's a problem on the inner or outer beltway and you can route around it. Only go through DC as a last resort.

As for the AutoTrain, I've never done it, but I have done Amtrak, and was very pleased by my experiences. If you leave NJ and get to Lorton, VA by noon, it shouldn't be a problem, and can be an adventure. But check prices, and remember that Amtrak prices really only go one direction: up. Depending on the time of year, it can be very expensive (snowbirds tend to flood the Auto Train at certain times of year) or quite cheap, as everybody is heading south in the winter, and north in the summer. I would consider it for one way of the journey, and driving the other, simply based on cost. Also, I highly recommend a sleeper compartment (which is charged per compartment, not per passenger) if you can afford it, so you arrive rested.

Thanks, I will also look into it.