SSR, Driving from NC, & Spring Break @ WDW

[goofy4dis]

These are my and my family's impressions......I'm sure some will have different views.

Background....Me (45), wife (what am I crazy), two boys, 14 and 8. Bought SSR last June after a tour in February last year. First trip "home".

Studio 2312.......requested non-smoking and received. No view requested, parking lot view received. Will request NS and water view next time, but the rooms and views aren't as important to us. We are park people.

Buses.....In general very good. Over 5 days, two negative experiences...1) while walking toward the bus stop shelter (maybe 20 yds away), the bus arrives, I start to trot ahead to make sure we make the bus, it comes to a complete stop, but immediately departs. Either the driver didn't look or did look and decided to leave -- either case, not good. 2) waited about 35 minutes at MK one evening about 6PM. During that time as many as 4 buses arrived and departed from some other resorts. SSR not shared, but I noticed several other resorts were (Wilderness Lodge/Grand Floridian, Boardwalk/Swan/Dolphin and others).

Artist Pallette ........Not our cup of tea. Having said that, breakfast (eggs, bacon, hash browns, etc) similar to food courts, similarly priced, but larger quantities and great atmosphere (my kids love the drawing pallettes). Dinner selection VERY lame. Ate dinner there once out of desperation -- never again.

Pool.....Kids loved it, although they each did the slide twice and were done with it. It's an OK pool, but pools are very low on our priority list when it comes to WDW.

Washers/Dryers......Great free service. Knocked out two loads while the kids took a dip in the aforementioned pool. Brought our own detergent, but they sell there, looked like $1.00, I assume for a single load package. Not bad...and fairly priced, if you're in need.

Staff.....Very friendly. 100% welcome homes at every interaction.

Driving from NC........First time driving, a very easy drive, although my wife has back problems, so we split the drive into two days. Left Cary, NC at 1:15PM and arrived in Kingsland, Georgia (next to last exit in GA) around 7:30PM. Stayed at the Jameson Inn (internet reservation, $63 before taxes), OK but will try our luck elsewhere next time, may try to drive a little further and stay in Jacksonville next time. Ate at the Cracker Barrel next door, third strike against this chain with me, they're out -- each time service slow, food marginal, prices high (for value). Worst part of the drive is Jacksonville, Daytona, and Orlando in that order. About 3.5 hours from Kingsland to Orlando, roughly 650 miles total (home to WDW).

WDW Parks during Spring Break week #1......Significantly more crowded than our normal February stays, but not nearly as bad as I had envisioned based upon reading here and elsewhere. I understand week #2 was probably the more crowded week. Diligent use of Fast Pass and moderate use of Extra Magic Hours made it very tolerable. Much prefer Jan/Feb, but will not be scared of Spring Break (at least week #1) again.

Earl of Sandwich......Great sandwiches, wide selection, phenomenal prices (especially for Disney). Only problem, it needs a Fast Pass....the line for this restaurant was longer than some of the rides in the parks -- not an exaggeration.

Driving home.....Left WDW around 2PM, drove to Hardeeville, SC (first exit in SC), stayed in a Sleep Inn (internet reservation, $52 before taxes), my new favorite hotel chain, interior hallways, new feel, clean rooms, free wireless internet, and the ubiquitous free continental breakfast. Left Hardeeville around 9AM and arrived in Cary around 2:30PM. Found the I-95 exit list (with restaurants, gas, hotels listed for each exit) to be outdated, but nonetheless invaluable for first time drivers. Will definitely make this drive again.

I know everyone's experience or opinion won't be the same, but these were ours.

PantherFanStan (and PantherFanFamily)

 

[TW1]

Ate at the Cracker Barrel next door, third strike against this chain with me, they're out -- each time service slow, food marginal, prices high (for value). Worst part of the drive is Jacksonville, Daytona, and Orlando in that order.

Thanks for the report. I must agree with your Cracker Barrel report. Also gave it three strikes and they are way out. (kids now call it Crapper Barrel )

Tell me more about the Jacksonville-Orlando drive. We'll be doing it for the first time in August. Any tips for time of day, day of week, etc?

Thanks

 

[Muushka]

Thanks for the report.

What a coincidence. When we go to WDW we leave from the exact same 'Town' of Cary!

 

[Lasrnw]

These are my and my family's impressions......I'm sure some will have different views.

Background....Me (45), wife (what am I crazy), two boys, 14 and 8. Bought SSR last June after a tour in February last year. First trip "home".

Studio 2312.......requested non-smoking and received. No view requested, parking lot view received. Will request NS and water view next time, but the rooms and views aren't as important to us. We are park people.

Buses.....In general very good. Over 5 days, two negative experiences...1) while walking toward the bus stop shelter (maybe 20 yds away), the bus arrives, I start to trot ahead to make sure we make the bus, it comes to a complete stop, but immediately departs. Either the driver didn't look or did look and decided to leave -- either case, not good. 2) waited about 35 minutes at MK one evening about 6PM. During that time as many as 4 buses arrived and departed from some other resorts. SSR not shared, but I noticed several other resorts were (Wilderness Lodge/Grand Floridian, Boardwalk/Swan/Dolphin and others).

Artist Pallette ........Not our cup of tea. Having said that, breakfast (eggs, bacon, hash browns, etc) similar to food courts, similarly priced, but larger quantities and great atmosphere (my kids love the drawing pallettes). Dinner selection VERY lame. Ate dinner there once out of desperation -- never again.

Pool.....Kids loved it, although they each did the slide twice and were done with it. It's an OK pool, but pools are very low on our priority list when it comes to WDW.

Washers/Dryers......Great free service. Knocked out two loads while the kids took a dip in the aforementioned pool. Brought our own detergent, but they sell there, looked like $1.00, I assume for a single load package. Not bad...and fairly priced, if you're in need.

Staff.....Very friendly. 100% welcome homes at every interaction.

Driving from NC........First time driving, a very easy drive, although my wife has back problems, so we split the drive into two days. Left Cary, NC at 1:15PM and arrived in Kingsland, Georgia (next to last exit in GA) around 7:30PM. Stayed at the Jameson Inn (internet reservation, $63 before taxes), OK but will try our luck elsewhere next time, may try to drive a little further and stay in Jacksonville next time. Ate at the Cracker Barrel next door, third strike against this chain with me, they're out -- each time service slow, food marginal, prices high (for value). Worst part of the drive is Jacksonville, Daytona, and Orlando in that order. About 3.5 hours from Kingsland to Orlando, roughly 650 miles total (home to WDW).

WDW Parks during Spring Break week #1......Significantly more crowded than our normal February stays, but not nearly as bad as I had envisioned based upon reading here and elsewhere. I understand week #2 was probably the more crowded week. Diligent use of Fast Pass and moderate use of Extra Magic Hours made it very tolerable. Much prefer Jan/Feb, but will not be scared of Spring Break (at least week #1) again.

Earl of Sandwich......Great sandwiches, wide selection, phenomenal prices (especially for Disney). Only problem, it needs a Fast Pass....the line for this restaurant was longer than some of the rides in the parks -- not an exaggeration.

Driving home.....Left WDW around 2PM, drove to Hardeeville, SC (first exit in SC), stayed in a Sleep Inn (internet reservation, $52 before taxes), my new favorite hotel chain, interior hallways, new feel, clean rooms, free wireless internet, and the ubiquitous free continental breakfast. Left Hardeeville around 9AM and arrived in Cary around 2:30PM. Found the I-95 exit list (with restaurants, gas, hotels listed for each exit) to be outdated, but nonetheless invaluable for first time drivers. Will definitely make this drive again.

I know everyone's experience or opinion won't be the same, but these were ours.

PantherFanStan (and PantherFanFamily)

If you don't mind where is the Earl of Sandwich? I never heard of it --know Cary not the Earl.

 

[TammyNC]

Thanks for your report. We drive from Burlington and found that we would rather drive than fly now.

lasrnw-Earl of Sandwich if I'm not mistaken is at Downtown Disney.

 

[spiceycat]

oh gee - I didn't know that SSR has parking lots views - on the whole OKW does NOT - so I though it would be the same.

Sorry you got a lousy view.

 

[SamR]

Left Cary, NC at 1:15PM and arrived in Kingsland, Georgia (next to last exit in GA) around 7:30PM.

Howdy, neighbor! We live in Apex, and have made the drive down to WDW a number of times. We have flown a couple of times as well, but overall find that we prefer driving given the hassles of flying these days. Like you, we often find ourselves leaving early-to-mid afternoon, so we usually split the drive down into two days, staying at either Savannah, Brunswick, or Jacksonville (largely depending on how early we plan to get out of Apex).

Worst part of the drive is Jacksonville, Daytona, and Orlando in that order.

I agree, especially with the Jacksonville part. Because of that, and because of a general desire to get off I-95 as soon as possible, we have found an alternate route we prefer:

1. After crossing the GA/FL state line, we exit onto Hwy 200 (about 9 miles past the state line).
2. This becomes Hwy 301, which we stay on until near Ocala where we cut over to I-75
3. From I-75, we take Florida's Turnpike.
4. If going to BCV, we exit onto Hwy 27, and come in to WDW from the 192 side.
5. To go to SSR (our next trip), I plan to exit from the Turnpike onto Hwy 50, and take CR-535 down towards SSR

According to my GPS' mapping program, going from the GA/FL state line to SSR by the I-95 route is 187 miles. Taking the alternate route described above increases the distance to 204 miles, but we find it to be a much less stressful route (and much less prone to I-95's bottlenecks and construction backups), so it is easily worth the extra 17 miles (at least to us).

 

[carol1231]

We've made that drive many times (3 x's a year). I think the Jacksonville, Daytona, Orlando areas just depend on the time of day that you go thru. DH is a "morning person" so we typically leave really early in the morning and do pretty well in those areas. We have hit Charlotte at 4pm on a Friday coming home and that was the pits.

We generally drive straight thru, but once when it was just the kids and I, we stopped at a great Hampton Inn in Savanna. Seemed like a good half way point for us.

 

[CarolynK]

Curious, what were your travel dates?

 

[WolfpackFan]

Wow, two posts from Cary and one from Apex. How about if I add a fourth - we live in Cary also (though we think of Apex as home also, since both our kids graduated from Apex HS, we go to Church in Apex and my wife grew up there, plus our son lives and works there). I've talked to Muushka before, but howdy SamR and Goofy4Dis.

As far as driving, we've done it so many times it's become a game with me. Two hours to SC border, 3 hours to Savannah, 2 hours to Jacksonville and then 3 hours to WDW. I see the trip as a challenge to be at WDW within 10 hours.

 

[Beaniebug]

Thanks for the report. We are from Oxford, NC, just outside of Raleigh. Our first trip home will be in October to SSR. We have driven straight through the last 2 years. We find if we leave around 3:30am we are there by about 1:30pm. It was a nice drive. We timed it so that we were through all the major areas with little traffic. Last year we did the week before Easter and swore never again. The crowds were too much for us. We made it tolerable and used fast pass, but we won't do that again. I am glad that is wasn't so bad for you. Good to hear from fellow NCers!

 

[Pa@okw95]

You do not want shared buses, also I would get used to seeing buses from other resorts more than yours. When driving to WDW or back, if you want to avoid the Jacksonville traffic, take rt 295 around it. We do it all the time when we drive down there. Thanks for your report. As you go more to WDW you will find yourself becoming less park people and more resort people.

 

[delilah]

In your opinion, any one who went during spring break, was it worthwhile to plan your park time around EMH? That is, to plan to go to that park to take advantage of that? Is it really that much less of a crowd in the evening than during the day? I am asking because we are going the week after memorial day, and I was wondering if I should plan park visits around EMH.

 

[jimmytammy]

Check over on the meet forum for a NC meet in Greensboro on Apr 16. Would love for all to attend!

We leave around 3am and get to WDW around 12:30 pm. We(me and TammyNC, my DW and kids) miss the traffic in Jacksonville and Orlando just right. Only really bad traffic we have experienced has been around Sanford Fl. but Daytona Bike Week was just ending. Lots of extra traffic for a Sunday drive.

A couple of times we have stayed in Kingsland GA on the way back at Country Inn Suites. This is a nice clean comfortable quite place with a good Cont. breakfast.

After flying for many trips, a DF who drives it all the time told us his little tricks and we have driven ever since.

 

[WolfpackFan]

Regarding driving to WDW - I'd love to hear about folk's different driving styles. What I mean by this is when I get on the road, I hate stops. To me stopping is wasted time delaying our arrival to WDW. Like I mentioned in a previous post, it's become a game with me and I've set certain milestones, 2 hours SC, 3 hours GA, 2 hours Jacksonville, 3 hours WDW for a total of 10 hours door to door. As I drive, I'm constantly checking to see if I'm ahead or behind schedule. This drives my DW and DD25 crazy but they've gotten used to me over time I guess. I only stop for gas and at the different state welcome centers for bathroom breaks (unless it is a real urgent need ). As far as eating goes, you can waste a ton of time stopping during meal times. Last couple of trips we've found an Arby's on the other side of Savannah that we make a real quick stop at, but we usually hit it when it's not real crowded and most times we eat in the car while driving. Finally, as far as Jacksonville goes, I just plough right thru. I've tried the beltline before but it was always slower going that way. I know alot of folks would hate my kind of driving, not stopping very much, but IMO it's the destination that is important not the trip in this case plus like I said it's become a game with me. I try to get us out the door and on the road by 5:30 and that puts us at our resort by 3:30 so we have time to checkin, hit the pool, have a cold beer and relax some before going to DTD for dinner.

 

[Muushka]

Regarding driving to WDW - I'd love to hear about folk's different driving styles. What I mean by this is when I get on the road, I hate stops. To me stopping is wasted time delaying our arrival to WDW. Like I mentioned in a previous post, it's become a game with me and I've set certain milestones, 2 hours SC, 3 hours GA, 2 hours Jacksonville, 3 hours WDW for a total of 10 hours door to door. As I drive, I'm constantly checking to see if I'm ahead or behind schedule. This drives my DW and DD25 crazy but they've gotten used to me over time I guess. I only stop for gas and at the different state welcome centers for bathroom breaks (unless it is a real urgent need ). As far as eating goes, you can waste a ton of time stopping during meal times. Last couple of trips we've found an Arby's on the other side of Savannah that we make a real quick stop at, but we usually hit it when it's not real crowded and most times we eat in the car while driving. Finally, as far as Jacksonville goes, I just plough right thru. I've tried the beltline before but it was always slower going that way. I know alot of folks would hate my kind of driving, not stopping very much, but IMO it's the destination that is important not the trip in this case plus like I said it's become a game with me. I try to get us out the door and on the road by 5:30 and that puts us at our resort by 3:30 so we have time to checkin, hit the pool, have a cold beer and relax some before going to DTD for dinner.

Well WolfpackFan, looks like we won't be carpooling!

 

[TammyNC]

WolfpackFan (that's hard for me to type ; DH is a State fan, I'm a UNC fan) -We are pretty similar. I don't like to make too many stops either and thankfully DH feels the same way. The kids know that they need to take advantage of any pit stops because they are few and far between. Since we leave in the wee hours of the morning, we'll make a stop for a bathroom break, pick up a biscuit and get back in the van. We carry snacks and drinks and will stop maybe two more times. So we probably stop three times going and coming. We made our last trip in approx. 10 hours. I like to just keep up with traffic although there isn't much on the road at 2-3am. We did drive back our last trip, leaving Disney around 4pm. We hit the Orlando traffic and that wasn't a good plan. We'll plan differently next time when leaving.

 

[SamR]

I'd love to hear about folk's different driving styles. ... I hate stops. ... I've set certain milestones, 2 hours SC, 3 hours GA, 2 hours Jacksonville, 3 hours WDW for a total of 10 hours door to door.

Sounds exactly like our style....pre-kids. I can remember we used to make it from our house in Cary (before we moved to Apex) to WDW in just about 10 hours. These days, with three kids (5, 8, and 12), there seem to be a lot more stops, and that 10-hour-plan has pretty much gone out the window...at least for now.

As I drive, I'm constantly checking to see if I'm ahead or behind schedule.

If you like that, what you really need is a GPS...As you drive along, it is constantly telling you exactly how many miles are left and what your current ETA is. My GPS' ETA predictions are pretty conservative, so you can make a game out of seeing how much you can improve on the estimate!

 

[WolfpackFan]

WolfpackFan (that's hard for me to type ; DH is a State fan, I'm a UNC fan) -We are pretty similar.

Tammy - Same situation, I'm a big Pack fan and my wife is a big UNC fan; but in spite of it all we've been able to keep peace for 33 years of marriage.

 

[PantherFanStan]

Ate at the Cracker Barrel next door, third strike against this chain with me, they're out -- each time service slow, food marginal, prices high (for value). Worst part of the drive is Jacksonville, Daytona, and Orlando in that order.

Thanks for the report. I must agree with your Cracker Barrel report. Also gave it three strikes and they are way out. (kids now call it Crapper Barrel )

Tell me more about the Jacksonville-Orlando drive. We'll be doing it for the first time in August. Any tips for time of day, day of week, etc?

Thanks

I'm probably not the best source for the Jacksonville - Orlando Drive, since we've now done it exactly once. I-95 winds through what appears to be the outskirts of Jacksonville and traffic slows considerably. Debated about using the outerbelt around Jacksonville (I-295, I think) on the way down...but stayed on I-95. Not awful, but bad enough to convince me to try the outerbelt on the return trip -- unfortunately the exit for the outerbelt was closed on the return trip. Will try going around Jacksonville next time.

The worst part of the trip is Orlando....came to a dead stop on I-4 and inched along for miles. Someone else posted an alternate route that we may research and try. Time of day probably hurt us...as we didn't leave Kingsland until 9:00AM...and hit Orlando midday -- albeit, on a Saturday...but admittedly on the Saturday before Spring Break Week#1.

Good luck on the drive.....all in all, not a bad one....at least from NC.

PantherFanStan (The original poster....who forgot his teenage son, Goofy4Dis91, had logged in on my laptop.)