Staying on I-95 or driving through??

[luvthatdisney]

We are driving down from NC (Charlotte area) and the total trip usually runs around 10 hours. When the kids were young we would leave after work and drive to GA/FL border and stay overnight at a hotel off of I-95. Well this year, DS is not going (he will be 20 in June - no longer wants to travel with Mom and Dad ) and DD is 15 and is taking a friend who is 16. I think we could drive all the way through. Leave around 4pm, but we would not get to WDW until 2am.

What do you guys that drive down do? We are staying at BC and an extra night is real expensive. So I thought about a value for one night. The main reason I hate to stay somewhere on the road as I would not feel comfortable leaving all of our luggage in the car overnight - I dont know the areas along I-95 that well and I would hate to have to unload everything just to reload it a few hours later. Also being able to be "there" in the morning would give us an extra day in the parks. Paranoid? Worry wart - yes!!

I just do not know about checking in that late at a WDW resort. Has anyone checked in around 2am at a WDW resort? Any thoughts???

 

[dblr]

Get a good rest that day and leave around 10 -11 @ night and be there early in the morning. The kids will sleep in the car and the adults can swap driving so that each could rest a little. That's what I would do but not every one thinks the way I do. Plus not spending money on a short stay in a hotel.

 

[Robert P]

We are driving down from NC (Charlotte area) and the total trip usually runs around 10 hours. When the kids were young we would leave after work and drive to GA/FL border and stay overnight at a hotel off of I-95. ....... I think we could drive all the way through. Leave around 4pm, but we would not get to WDW until 2am.

What do you guys that drive down do? We are staying at BC and an extra night is real expensive. So I thought about a value for one night. The main reason I hate to stay somewhere on the road as I would not feel comfortable leaving all of our luggage in the car overnight - I dont know the areas along I-95 that well and I would hate to have to unload everything just to reload it a few hours later. Also being able to be "there" in the morning would give us an extra day in the parks. Paranoid? Worry wart - yes!!

I just do not know about checking in that late at a WDW resort. Has anyone checked in around 2am at a WDW resort? Any thoughts???

We drive down from outside Winston-Salem. From our house it is 602 miles to WDW exits. It usually takes us 8.5 hours. We stop at least once, for gas and food, and eat in the car. We may also stop at the FL welcome center for a quick bathroom break.
When we can't leave early enough, we have stopped at the SC/GA area (Savannah exit 104). From there, we had 290 miles to go the next a.m.

I'm not sure why your trip is taking 10 hours, unless you are stopping more often (or for longer). From the NC/SC line on I-77 it is @ 530 miles to WDW. If you don't get caught in CLT traffic, you have no other major traffic areas (though Columbia I-26 interchange can be tight during rush hour). Jacksonville will be all clear by the time you reach FL.

The last time we did a late leave, we were forced (hurricane offshore) to go all the way down to WDW. We checked into Pop for 1 night, arrived just after midnight. The next morning we drove to WL, and checked in for the rest of our stay. You are correct, an additional night at BC would not be inexpensive.

I would agree that loading/unloading can be a pain, but you'll be doing some version of that even by staying at a value for the first night. I think the main benefit to going all the way through is to be there the next a.m., ready to go, for that extra day.

IMHO, drive all the way through. I think that you'll find the thinner traffic gets you there closer to 1:00 a.m. than 2:00 a.m. Get a decent rate at a value. Confirm how late you can check-in, and note 'late arrival' on the reservation, when booking. Enjoy a more leisurely drive, with lower traffic levels at night. Check in late, try to pack down to one bag for that first night, bring in that bag and valuables, and hit the hay. Stay away from an early entry park the next a.m., and you are all set.

Travel safe!

 

[luvthatdisney]

Thanks for the tips!

We are on the other side of Charlotte, near Gastonia and we have to drive about 45 min out of the way to get to I-77, which is the way we usually go. One year we went I-85 to 26 and it took longer. I can't remember specifically, but I think we did hit traffic around Columbia.

Not sure why it takes us 10 hours to get there. DH is a careful driver and with 2 teenagers on our insurance we cannot afford any tickets. When the kids were younger I know we stopped more. I think if we leave later in the evening and drive all the way through and get to BC around 10 am or so we would be okay. We could always take a nap that afternoon! Good Plan I think, it will definately save us about $100!!

 

[plutolovr]

I live in Rock Hill and usually make the trip in 7 1/2 hours. We have done it straight through most times, but once in a while we'll leave here early in the evening and stay around the Savannah area, basically 1/2 way and continue on in the morning.

 

[bored]

We're about 45 minutes north of Charlotte and it only took us 9.5 hours in Feb. We left at 11 pm and arrived at 8:30 the next morning. We wanted to leave around 1:00 am but left early to miss snow coming in. If you want to go halfway I'd stop around Kingsland, GA or the Jacksonville Airport exit. Easy 3-4 hours the second day.

 

[ctjsowens]

Thanks for the tips!

We are on the other side of Charlotte, near Gastonia and we have to drive about 45 min out of the way to get to I-77, which is the way we usually go. One year we went I-85 to 26 and it took longer. I can't remember specifically, but I think we did hit traffic around Columbia.

Not sure why it takes us 10 hours to get there. DH is a careful driver and with 2 teenagers on our insurance we cannot afford any tickets. When the kids were younger I know we stopped more. I think if we leave later in the evening and drive all the way through and get to BC around 10 am or so we would be okay. We could always take a nap that afternoon! Good Plan I think, it will definately save us about $100!!

Hello neighbor! Kings Mountain here and by the look of your ticker it looks like we'll be at Disney at the same time. I believe I would go as far as I could and stop for the night. We've did that plenty of times and we always wake up the next day energized and ready to go. It usually takes us 8.5 hrs or so to get there depending on traffic conditions. This year we are going to drive it all in one day. We'll be leaving at 6am so we're looking at 2:30 or 3 depending on the restroom breaks.

 

[es45]

It takes us 12 hours from the Triangle. We travel I-40 to I-95. Of course, we have two little girls that need to stop frequently. We always drive through but next time we are stopping in Hilton Head to stay at the Disney resort there for one night.

Yes, we've checked in late (Midnight) at POP. It was great because there wasn't a line!

 

[luvthatdisney]

Hello neighbor! Kings Mountain here and by the look of your ticker it looks like we'll be at Disney at the same time. I believe I would go as far as I could and stop for the night. We've did that plenty of times and we always wake up the next day energized and ready to go. It usually takes us 8.5 hrs or so to get there depending on traffic conditions. This year we are going to drive it all in one day. We'll be leaving at 6am so we're looking at 2:30 or 3 depending on the restroom breaks.

Hey, we are actually closer neighbors than you thought as we are in Bessemer City We are going June 19-26 as are some of our neighbors!!

The last time we drove our kids were much younger and I know we had more stops than we would now. I do remember stopping for dinner somewhere, so that was extra time. It is really going to depend on DH and if he thinks we can make it driving through the night. He looked at me like I had two heads when I asked him what he thought we should do. Like why are you thinking about this now... Just trying to plan ahead, he just does not get it!

Thanks for all of your suggestions!

 

[ctjsowens]

We'll leave one day ahead of you. June 18-25th. Planning ahead is not a bad idea. We've got plans already to get our van serviced and such. Our kids will be 11 and 14 and when we went last year we didnt have to stop that much. Hope we can do that again this trip!

 

[steelerfan87]

We always go the day before our check in date and spend the night at Daytona. From there you are only an hour or so away from checking in and getting that first day in the parks underway.