road trip to Orlando - resources?

[RedRuby]

I think we have settled on a "leisurely" road trip to Orlando, and back. We'll have 4-5 days to get down there, seven days onsite (POFQ hopefully), and 4-5 days back. (I have a total of 17 days off work including weekends and Thanksgiving day).

Does anyone have any suggestions for "resources" for interesting things to see and do on the way? Anyone 'done' Williamsburg VA? We'll be renewing our CAA membership and getting guide books/maps/"trip-tiks" from the AAA.
I was htinking there must be decent web sites and guidebooks out there too.
It's a whole new level to my trip planning, which I actually enjoy

 

[Mortlives]

Wow, that's a long drive.

We normally do 2.5 days down and 2.5 days back. My best resource, aside from CAA, is mapquest. You can plot roadtrips on there, and it will show distances, estimated driving times, etc. and you can try out different stops. It's not as elaborate as the CAA tool, but it's quicker for just trying out different destinations and stopping points. It also has a feature for showing local attractions, hotels and things. Almost every city along the way has a tourism site as well.

My parents took us to Williamsburg, when I was a child, and I remember thinking how cool it was. Aside from Colonial Williamsburg, there's also a Busch Gardens there. I'd like to take DS there one day, but you know, it never occurred to me to do it on the way to Disney. We'll have to try that sometime.

I notice Williamsburg spits you out at the I-95. There's a website for the I-95 that's full of useful information. Also, it might be interesting to take the Rochester ferry if it's running at that time.

Kungaloosh!
Morticia.

 

[GIOny]

Williamsburg, Va is great but I don't know if you will really have time to enjoy it. I know it takes us a solid 2 days from NY to get to Florida (we stop for the night), wouldn't Toronto be about 4? I know you said you had 4-5 days to get back so I quess you could do Williamsburg in 1 day (we spent a long weekend there, but I think we stretched it out). In northern Florida, there is also St. Augistine which is a very nice historical town (not as big as Williamsburg). I have never been to Charleston, SC but I have always heard that it is beautiful. If you do decide on Williamsburg, I would think you have to book that fairly early around Thanksgiving time, I believe it's a pretty popular place around the holidays!.

 

[Mortlives]

It's a 21 hour drive from Toronto to WDW, so 4-5 days should be plenty of time for side trips.

Actually, the St. Augustine suggestion is brilliant. We love St. Augustine. If anyone's interested, my vacation site has photos and a report from our trip to St. Augustine and the Space Coast last year, here, and I'll be happy to answer any questions about that trip, and where we went as possible side trips.

Kungaloosh!
Morticia.

 

[digskat]

Get the Along I75 book by Dave Hunter it has awesome "Off the beaten path" places to visit stay or eat. Try www.i75online.com to check it out. We love ours! Have a great time!!

 

[RedRuby]

Williamsburg, Va is great but I don't know if you will really have time to enjoy it. I know it takes us a solid 2 days from NY to get to Florida (we stop for the night), wouldn't Toronto be about 4?
<snip> If you do decide on Williamsburg, I would think you have to book that fairly early around Thanksgiving time, I believe it's a pretty popular place around the holidays!.

Thanks for the feedback. Actually, Toronto is fairly close to Buffalo, so the other posters were correct in the driving time being 21 to 24 hours depending on the route.

American hotels do not tend to be booked up over Canadian Thanksgiving in October, so we're only really worried about getting our WDW ressies in place. My husband -- the main driver -- says he wants to be in charge of the driving route; I think I'll throw some suggestions at him including the helpful ones found here and some CAA/AAA map books/triptiks and see what what happens. I think we might build our route around children's museums, WDW, Kennedy space Centre, and Williamsburg. Our kids will be almost-three and we have a museum pass which is honored at many science centers and museums across the continent, so this would be a very cheap way to fill a couple of mornings and afternoons (DH likes to do 3 hours in the car, sightseeing, 3-4 more, etc).

Problem is, DH is a procrastinator, which is why I'm in charge of the "must haves" in advance: car rental, Walt Disney World reservations, maybe the Williamsburg reservations

 

[spewey]

Am I correct in assuming you are interested in Williamsburg for the history, and not the theme park? I can tell you that Busch Gardens - one of the world's great amusement parks - will be open that time of year Fridays through Sundays from 10AM-10PM, with special Halloween activities. My wife and I visit every year (just got back, in fact) and love it. It is very family-oriented, although it does have its share of top-notch thrill rides, and a couple of the best roller coasters anywhere.

I don't know much about the Colonial part, although you can find out a bunch on the internet. Either way the area is chock full of hotel options. In the past we swore by the Radisson Fort Magruder on Pocohontas Trail http://www.ichotelsgroup.com (down the road from Busch Gardens, a few minutes from Colonial Williamsburg) - it switched affiliations this year and is now a Crowne Plaza - but still has indoor and outdoor pool, restaurant and lounge, and even tennis courts. We usually paid about $100 U.S. a night with CAA discount. This past trip, however, we splurged and stayed at the Kingsmill Resort http://www.kingsmill.com/ a huge, gorgeous full-service resort, with several golf courses, tennis, spa, recreation facility including pools, saunas, games room, racquetball, etc, etc. Service was extraordinary - not stuffy at all - and they even offer regular, free shuttle service to all area attractions. It is not cheap, but they do offer packages for families that include tickets to the park (plus a meal for everyone), complimentary use of their championship golf courses, and several other perks.

There's also a brand-new Great Wolf Lodge in the area (http://themeparks.about.com/od/usindoorwaterparks/p/GreatWolfVA.htm); I've never stayed at one - they're well-regarded (and expensive) hotels built around a rustic theme and indoor water-park.

Hope some of this helps. In any event, Virginia offers discount coupons to Canadian visitors at http://www.looniesavers.com/. Whatever you decide, I have one piece of advice - at all costs, avoid the I-95/495 "beltway" around Washington any time between 6AM and 8PM during the week. It makes the 400 northbound on a Friday afternoon of a long weekend look like a superspeedway ...

 

[RedRuby]

Am I correct in assuming you are interested in Williamsburg for the history, and not the theme park?
(snip)

I don't know much about the Colonial part, although you can find out a bunch on the internet. Either way the area is chock full of hotel options. In the past we swore by the Radisson Fort Magruder on Pocohontas Trail http://www.ichotelsgroup.com (down ...com/od/usindoorwaterparks/p/GreatWolfVA.htm); I've never stayed at one - they're well-regarded (and expensive) hotels built around a rustic theme and indoor water-park.

Hope some of this helps. In any event, Virginia offers discount coupons to Canadian visitors at http://www.looniesavers.com/. Whatever you decide, I have one piece of advice - at all costs, avoid the I-95/495 "beltway" around Washington any time between 6AM and 8PM during the week. It makes the 400 northbound on a Friday afternoon of a long weekend look like a superspeedway ...

Thank you for all the info! It looks like we'll have plenty of options You're right about the historic over the amusement park (we'll have that at WDW)
Did you mean not to drive Washington anytime between EARLY morning and EARLY evening e.g. *all day*? Wasn't sure if you meant 6pm and 8pm, but I've heard traffic is horrendous most of the time, so...

 

[spewey]

Yeah, unfortunately the beltway is pretty messed up ALL day, most every day - or maybe just I've had really bad luck (probably not, though, as locals confirm how bad things have got). But weekends and evenings after rush are usually better, and there are plenty of other ways to get to the Williamsburg area without using the 95 around D.C. ...

 

[canucktyke]

There is also a paramount amusment park (Kings Dominion?) just a liitle north of Williamsburg right on the highway. If you have Wonderland Seasons passes, you could get into that park for free. We Love amusment parks - try to get to one big one every year, I'm taking my soccer team of 14-15 year old girls to an Ohio tournament so we can go to Cedar point (I must be nuts).