Realistic Driving Time

[msplanner]

OK, Since I have gotten such invaluable information here I will ask this:

We are driving to US/IOA from the state of Delaware. (Flying is not an option.) We plan to drive most of one day and stay overnight in either North or South Carolina. Can anyone give me a realistic idea of how long it will take? Can you recommend places to stop to eat? How about where to stay? We don't need anything fancy; we just want to be able to eat dinner and crash.

As always, thanks for all of your help!

 

[d4est]

We never stop and stay over, but I can tell you that we left Orlando at 11:00am and were in Delaware around 2:00am, so that's about 15 hrs.

 

[gjw007]

I live in Maryland (about 30 miles west of Baltimore). It takes between 14 to 15 hours depending on the speed you drive and how many stops. I usually drive straight through.

 

[msplanner]

Wow - does anyone stop to eat? If yes, where? If you drive straight through, do you have more than one driver?

Again, thanks for help!

 

[d4est]

Wow - does anyone stop to eat? If yes, where? If you drive straight through, do you have more than one driver?

Again, thanks for help!

LOL! Here's a sort of breakdown for ya, as best as I can remember.
Left our home at 3:30pm. At 4pm we stopped at McD's (drive thru). We then drove until Maryland and stopped for gas/Broom. Then drove until VA and stopped for gas/broom. Then NC for broom and to switch drivers (DH has driven to this pt). Then we stopped in SC for gas/broom. Next stop, FL (just over the border) for gas & Broom. Switch drivers again and head for final destination.

We pack snacks and sodas so that we don't have to waste a lot of time. Everyone is different. Some probably stop for a respectable sit down supper. We prefer to just "get there."

 

[LeoGrrrrl1982]

Im from Delaware as well (middletown) and Id like to say at this point that if you are anywhere near driving route 301 I recommend it highly over I-95 because it is faster and you pay 7 bucks less in roundtrip tolls!
Anyway, on to the question at hand...we just traveled to Orlando (stayed on international drive, 1/2 mile from US/IOA) and it took us about 14 hours with stops. We left around 6 pm at night and arrived shortly before 10am. OUr stops were around every 2 hours for Bathroom breaks or just to stetch our legs (im a nurse, so I know how easy it is to get a blood clot from sitting in one position for too long). In addition, each way we did one fast food meal (Mcdonalds once and Taco Bell once) and a sit down meal at Cracker Barrel each way.
My parents also drive to Florida once a year to stay in their condo and they do stay over (they used to always drive straight through, but my mom and dad say they just cant do it anymore). They recommend Sleep INN in Savannah Georgia which is right off of 95, usually 50-60 a night walk in rate, and it is a newer, clean hotel with free breakfast.

Hope this helps!

 

[ATAfamily]

Thank you all for such detailed info. and for the driving tips. They will come in real handy for us when we drive down to Orlando from NH in April. We are going to drive as far as we can on the first day and then stop for the night and then finish up (hopefully) the next day. Hubby wants to stop in Tampa on the way down because the Red Sox are playing the Devil Rays and he figures we'll be able to watch a Red Sox game cheaper than here at Fenway.

Deanne

 

[djmpj]

We drive from NJ. We have done it both ways - straight through and with a one night stop. I totally prefer the one night stop. When we drive straight through we are too tired to enjoy our first day in Orlando.

If you belong to AAA I suggest you get a triptik from them. This will give you very detailed directions and you can follow on the map and see how far you've got to go as well as rest stop/hotel info. You can even ask them to map both I95 and 301.

We usually stop in/around Fayetteville, South Carolina for the night. There are some nice/new Comfort Inn and Sleep Inns along that route there. Cracker Barrel is always a big hit with our family for a good dinner.

Also, you need to consider traffic and when you are going (around any holidays?). We went last year the day after Christmas and had traffic all the way down. We never went over 50mph the whole ride. That was a long one. Now, we came home on New Years Day and felt like we were the only ones on the rode. We were making such great time we decided to drive straight through. It takes a lot out of you, though. We left Orlando at 8am and got to NJ at 2am (that includes stops for Breakfast and Dinner).

D

 

[msplanner]

Thanks so much for "both sides of the story". That's what I needed. I was concerned that we all be too tired and cranky to enjoy the first day.

I know that our room won't be ready but how early can you go to HRH and ask them to hold luggage?

 

[d4est]

I have read posts where people checked in and stored their bags as early as 7am. We checked in at 9:30am. Room wasn't ready, of course, so we grabbed our magic keys and headed to the parks.

 

[scottsod]

hi were leaving on the 24th for dw univ/ioa

driving down

was gona stop in darlington sc how close is that to fayetville and how long did it take you to get there and what route did u take

thanks scott

 

[pete14]

Check this website out. It has everything you would want to know about traveling I95:

http://www.usastar.com/i95/homepage.htm