Question for those who drive to FL....

[Wishing on a star]

We will be driving to Port Canaveral, down I-75 of course. And we plan on staying overnight in FL in order to arrive at the Radisson around noonish on the day before our cruise.

Does anyone here know a nice, inexpensive place that they have stopped for the night? We have reservations at a Ramada Limited... But I have already just had an unpleasant experience nailing down our reservation over the phone! Also, next Saturday will be the big Florida-vs-Tennessee game at Gainesville. So, I am sure most everything there has been booked solid for months! (Nothing like FL and UT football fans!!!)

Any tips? Would Lake City be a good alternative? I am assuming that it is maybe 4 1/2 hours from there to Port Canaveral???

Thanks!

 

[xABearx]

We live just outside of Atlanta and we too take I-75 to Orlando which when we went last month left at 6am and got there at 2pm and that was with a stop for breakfast and to shop in Lake Park, Ga for a total of about an hour.....I know that this doesn't answer your question as to where to stay, it's just to let you know about how far away you'd be from Atl......Andy

 

[MO Disney cruiser]

This is not exactly FL, but we stayed in a Best Western in Valdosta, GA. Valdosta is just before you get to the FL border. It took maybe 5 hours to get to the port on Sunday morning. It was fine for the price and included a decent continental breakfast in the morning.

 

[jkovick]

We are planning to stay near WDW the night before the cruise so we can make a stop at DTD and PI.

 

[cathie]

We drive down to Florida from NH twice a year on I-95. It takes about 25-26 hrs. We'll be staying @ the Hampton Inn Cocoa Beach the night before our Disney Cruise in Feb. We've heard it's really nice. Has anyone else ever stayed there? Cathie

 

[cat1239]

Wishing,

I've never stayed in Lake City...but...we drive from Tallahassee to Tampa and Orlando(I-75) frequently and outside of Gainesville Lake City is your best bet. It's not as big as Gainesville, but it is the biggest city you will drive through in Florida besides Ocala. It takes us a little over an hour to get there and then its a little less than a three hour drive to Orlando from there. So...you can definitly get there in 4 and a j1/2 hours, maybe less.
Hope this helps.

Cathy

 

[CourtasanSatine]

Panama City may work as well

 

[gdulaney]

Another suggestion - when you get to Gainesville, you could take 10 over to Jacksonville and then head south. That would give you Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Daytona Bch, and a host of other options.

- Ginny

 

[Gatormice]

Having just moved north from Gainesville anywhere within a 60 mile radius of the city (on a game weekend) will be jammed and the restaurant selection - especially breakfast is at a premium. On the rare occasion that I did not go to the game we made sure we were well stocked and stayed home. I am not sure where your starting point is but Gainesville is approx 2 hours or so from Orlando - Lake City is a little under an hour north of Gainesville - will the math work for you? If you could I would recommend pushing it through G'ville and head south down 75 to the turnpike and Orlando -again not sure where you started so this may be out of the question. Plenty of inexpensive hotels near LBV/WDW - there is a Marriott Village (I believe that's correct) on I-4 with a Courtyard, Springfield Suites, and Fairfield all on the same property. It is nice and new. Too many other choices to list. The drive to the port is very quick and may allow you to set a more relaxed pace???? Let me know if this helped.

Good Luck!

 

[Gatormice]

Another item to consider......After a Saturday night game ( in Gainesville) I-75 heading south can be a little crowded come Sunday morning. You may want to get through earlyyyyyyyy!

Valdosta - There is (and I hope still is) a Masters Inn that used to be pretty decent - free breakfast. I have not stayed there recently. Also, just about any Hampton Inn is a "can't go wrong".