Recently, I drove the minivan from Toronto, Canada to WDW on the weekend of Jan 17/18:
Driving a Pontiac Montana SE extended wheelbase (good thing extended due to family luggage
) with traction control, ABS and On-Star directions and connections service.
Had choices:
401 to I-75 in Detroit then down I-75 to the turnpike
QEW to Buffalo onto I-90 S/W to I-79S to I-77S through the mountains and then onto I-95 via I-26
QEW to Buffalo onto I-90 S/W then onto US219 and wind through PA onto the I-270 around Washington and then straight shot down I-95 onto I-4 to WDW
Picked the 3rd choice above based on my observations Sat morning:
http://www.weather.com/activities/driving/interstate/
The drive went safely (I was solo) and the only concerns I had were around the weird part where you actually have to get off the interstate somewhere in South Central PA onto US30 for a short time and then back onto the interstate (seemed weird to me but it worked out). The only place where I was concerned was coming down out of the PA mountains - it was snowy and the snowplows had not yet done their magic so I was going around 25-30mph coming down the hills to maintain control
It was great having Onstar all the way to help with directions and distances left to go and of course having the cell phone option with no roaming charges helped as well -
Trip:
Started at 0900 Saturday Morning
400 to 407 to QEW which took me to Fort Erie Ontario - ate my citrus fruit there so I could honestly state to US Customs I was not importing any fruit into the US
Once in Buffalo had to go onto the I-190 and then I-90 to US219 - used Onstar to make sure I was on track.
US219S through NY and into PA - beautiful road - some 4 lanes, some 2 lanes but was a nice drive - honourable mention to Ellicotville, NY - very pretty area
In PA, the road was slower but very scenic - the town of Ridgway is quite pretty IMO. Picked up I-80E and (weather started to go not so nice around here) took that to US322 which went through another nice town - Philipsburg where I stopped for a stretch and walk through the downtown area. Stayed on US322 to PA350 which went downhill (had some skittish drivers so descent was slow) and picked up I-99S (did not even know there was an I-99) - only right lane was clear, left had about 2" snow - visibility was ok but not great.
Followed I-99S to I-76E (PA Turnpike) - that was not a pleasant section of the drive - weather was getting slowly worse but still safe to drive in. There were a lot of trucks so it was hard to concentrate and drive in a safe defensive posture with so much variable speeding up and down going on.
Took I-76E to I-70S then I-70E (this is where the aforementioned weird change onto US30 is required around Breezewood - talk about a commercial strip - blinded by the lights and neon ).
Then I-70E up and down the mountains where the slowest part of my drive was at 25-30mph and then down into Maryland where the snow started to let up but was still below 32F.
Then hopped onto I-270SE to catch the beltway around Washington (270 Spur/495S) - there was major traffic on this route - it was moving but I was surprised by the amount of traffic on a Sat night in this area - temperature was still below 32F but the snow was not an issue on this part of the trip
Managed to loop around Washington and get onto I-95 and manage through the extensive construction going on in that area. As I headed into VA, poof as if by magic, the temperature went above freezing for the first time and I felt as if I was home free at that point having gotten through the tougher part of the drive.
Drove along I-95 - being from Canada, I am always amazed at the number of restaurants, hotels, gas stations etc. - it is an incredible array of commercial establishments that is quite overwhelming to me.
Made it about 1/2 way through NC before having to stop for the night - somewhere south of Rocky Mount - by this time it was about 2330 (11:30pm) and it was time to get some sleep
Stayed at a very nice Hampton Inn that was close to I-95 - nice rooms, lots of hot water and very comfortable
Woke up and was on the road by 0530 (early riser) and wanted to get to WDW that day (would be a day early according to how long I thought I would need to drive down)
It rained a fair amount but then stopped around 0800 - in SC I had a chance to listen to Sunday AM National Public Radio - it was very educational and informative and made the drive go fast into GA as well.
By the time I was near Jacksonville, I was starting to feel the WDW magic - called CRO (onstar hands fee) and after being passed onto a special booking agent and joined by the AKL duty manager, they were able to get me in Sunday night at my AP Rate of $149 for Savannah View and upgraded me to Savannah Deluxe View as well - more magic and pixie dust at work. This made the drive go really fast. BTW, the visitors rest areas are kept in really good shape
and are impressive.
Oh yes another weird part of the drive was where I-95 and I-10 come together in Jacksonville, FL - almost felt like I was in traffic circle having to navigate that almost 90 degree bend in I-95 around that area
Drove onto I-4W from I-95 - that part went well - it is amazing to me how many cars there are in Orlando even on a Sunday afternoon - the traffic was moving but volumes where heavy plus noticed that Universal has their own specific interstate exit
From there went onto Osceloa Pkwy exit and drove up to the AKL - was a touch tired but the drive went very well and I had the chance to see a large slice of the US that I had not seen before (from US219 start was all new to me)
Would do the drive again solo - not so sure with the family until our 2 DS's get older
thanks
jaysue
Driving a Pontiac Montana SE extended wheelbase (good thing extended due to family luggage
) with traction control, ABS and On-Star directions and connections service.Had choices:
401 to I-75 in Detroit then down I-75 to the turnpike
QEW to Buffalo onto I-90 S/W to I-79S to I-77S through the mountains and then onto I-95 via I-26
QEW to Buffalo onto I-90 S/W then onto US219 and wind through PA onto the I-270 around Washington and then straight shot down I-95 onto I-4 to WDW
Picked the 3rd choice above based on my observations Sat morning:
http://www.weather.com/activities/driving/interstate/
The drive went safely (I was solo) and the only concerns I had were around the weird part where you actually have to get off the interstate somewhere in South Central PA onto US30 for a short time and then back onto the interstate (seemed weird to me but it worked out). The only place where I was concerned was coming down out of the PA mountains - it was snowy and the snowplows had not yet done their magic so I was going around 25-30mph coming down the hills to maintain control
It was great having Onstar all the way to help with directions and distances left to go and of course having the cell phone option with no roaming charges helped as well -
Trip:
Started at 0900 Saturday Morning
400 to 407 to QEW which took me to Fort Erie Ontario - ate my citrus fruit there so I could honestly state to US Customs I was not importing any fruit into the US
Once in Buffalo had to go onto the I-190 and then I-90 to US219 - used Onstar to make sure I was on track.
US219S through NY and into PA - beautiful road - some 4 lanes, some 2 lanes but was a nice drive - honourable mention to Ellicotville, NY - very pretty area
In PA, the road was slower but very scenic - the town of Ridgway is quite pretty IMO. Picked up I-80E and (weather started to go not so nice around here) took that to US322 which went through another nice town - Philipsburg where I stopped for a stretch and walk through the downtown area. Stayed on US322 to PA350 which went downhill (had some skittish drivers so descent was slow) and picked up I-99S (did not even know there was an I-99) - only right lane was clear, left had about 2" snow - visibility was ok but not great.
Followed I-99S to I-76E (PA Turnpike) - that was not a pleasant section of the drive - weather was getting slowly worse but still safe to drive in. There were a lot of trucks so it was hard to concentrate and drive in a safe defensive posture with so much variable speeding up and down going on.
Took I-76E to I-70S then I-70E (this is where the aforementioned weird change onto US30 is required around Breezewood - talk about a commercial strip - blinded by the lights and neon
).Then I-70E up and down the mountains where the slowest part of my drive was at 25-30mph and then down into Maryland where the snow started to let up but was still below 32F.
Then hopped onto I-270SE to catch the beltway around Washington (270 Spur/495S) - there was major traffic on this route - it was moving but I was surprised by the amount of traffic on a Sat night in this area - temperature was still below 32F but the snow was not an issue on this part of the trip
Managed to loop around Washington and get onto I-95 and manage through the extensive construction going on in that area. As I headed into VA, poof as if by magic, the temperature went above freezing for the first time and I felt as if I was home free at that point having gotten through the tougher part of the drive.
Drove along I-95 - being from Canada, I am always amazed at the number of restaurants, hotels, gas stations etc. - it is an incredible array of commercial establishments that is quite overwhelming to me.
Made it about 1/2 way through NC before having to stop for the night - somewhere south of Rocky Mount - by this time it was about 2330 (11:30pm) and it was time to get some sleep
Stayed at a very nice Hampton Inn that was close to I-95 - nice rooms, lots of hot water and very comfortable
Woke up and was on the road by 0530 (early riser) and wanted to get to WDW that day (would be a day early according to how long I thought I would need to drive down)
It rained a fair amount but then stopped around 0800 - in SC I had a chance to listen to Sunday AM National Public Radio - it was very educational and informative and made the drive go fast into GA as well.
By the time I was near Jacksonville, I was starting to feel the WDW magic - called CRO (onstar hands fee) and after being passed onto a special booking agent and joined by the AKL duty manager, they were able to get me in Sunday night at my AP Rate of $149 for Savannah View and upgraded me to Savannah Deluxe View as well - more magic and pixie dust at work. This made the drive go really fast. BTW, the visitors rest areas are kept in really good shape
and are impressive.Oh yes another weird part of the drive was where I-95 and I-10 come together in Jacksonville, FL - almost felt like I was in traffic circle having to navigate that almost 90 degree bend in I-95 around that area
Drove onto I-4W from I-95 - that part went well - it is amazing to me how many cars there are in Orlando even on a Sunday afternoon - the traffic was moving but volumes where heavy plus noticed that Universal has their own specific interstate exit
From there went onto Osceloa Pkwy exit and drove up to the AKL - was a touch tired but the drive went very well and I had the chance to see a large slice of the US that I had not seen before (from US219 start was all new to me)
Would do the drive again solo - not so sure with the family until our 2 DS's get older
thanks
jaysue
Do you think if you had a second driver you could have made it to WDW without stopping? Or would that just be too exhausting?
It's been a while since I've driven down to WDW ... actually, it was my dad who use to drive us 
so I only have the experience of being a passenger.
- since I was taking down luggage for the whole family, it was a good 250 pounds+ which impacted my fuel efficiency hence the question....
