Stop over in NC on our way to Disney

[NewEnglandCamper]

Residents of NC -- we need your help!!!

We are driving to Disney from Mass. I hope to get to North Carolina before we conk out, hopefully around 6 or 7PM

I want to stay in an affordable, clean, no frills, place to rest up before head out early for DISNEY!!! Lord willing, we would be arriving in NC the night of 12/21. What towns should I avoid? or potentially stay in?

Easy on/Easy off from I95.

I'm thinking the following.

* Rocky Mount
* Fayetteville
* Lumbertown

Are any of these cities/towns fill up quickly in the evening? Any of them I should avoid? Opinions... good or bad

Also will I get to enjoy your 70MPH speed limit that I hear about in the Southern States?

thanks!

Bob

 

[Monki]

Bob, I would think of those three choices, I would choose Rocky Mount. Fayetteville is home to an army base, and I find it a bit "sparse" if there is a family involved. Lumberton is a smaller town, and would be OK, if you can stand to go another hour or so further from Rocky Mount. I don't have any specific recommendations, but there is a website I used when I was planning my trip to disney, http://www.usastar.com/i95/homepage.htm
It lists all the hotels, rest areas, campgrounds, etc, you will find on I95.

Good Luck, and have a great trip! (Oh, and be careful in those 70 mph zones - sometimes they change the speed limit every mile or two, and NC Highway Patrolmen are everywhere now!)
Monica

 

[OhMari]

I'm going to move you over to the Transportation Board, hopefully you will get some more answers, even though Monki gave you a great start.

OhMari

 

[DVC Grammy]

Another fairly good guide is the AAA. I believe you can go on their website (aaa.com) even if you're not a member. We find that their star-ratings are usually pretty reliable, with descriptions of amenities, such as pool, any breakfast included, etc.. Also, hotels.com is useful.
Any of the towns in NC along I-95 are okay, as long as the motels are rated at least 3-stars.
If we're driving a long distance and aren't quite sure where we want to stop for the night, we sometimes make a couple of reservations (as long as they have a 6pm cancellation allowed). This way, if we feel like stopping earlier, or driving longer, we're set somewhere. We just cancel any others before, or after, that destination.
Good luck and have a safe trip!

 

[Robert P]

I'll try to help out:
Of the 3 you listed, I would choose Rocky Mount over the others. I agree with Monki, and Fayetteville would be my last choice. I have been through all 3 places, in many years past. One of the places I would avoid is Wilson, but that is a bit much off 95 for your trip. You will find Dunn and Smithfield/Selma to be minor exits, at best, and you wouldn't have tons of options there for anything. You have already identified the 3 most likely places to stop.

Once you clear Virginia, you will be able to partake in all the 70mph zones you wish. Though the limit changes (sometimes often), it is usually due to being a construction zone.

The NC Highway Patrol 'generally' won't look at you twice, if you keep it within 10 mph of the limit, UNLESS it is a construction zone. In that case, all bets are off, so keep it close to the posted limit.

Have a safe trip.

 

[roryc]

I'm from Fayetteville and there are many good, reputable hotels at exit 49, also a Cracker Barrel, among several other restaurants.

My other thoughts would be Rocky Mount or Smithfield. Smithfield has a decent size outlet center so if you got there reasonably early prior to 9PM or so, you could conceivably do some shopping if you were interested.

 

[NewEnglandCamper]

I'm from Fayetteville and there are many good, reputable hotels at exit 49, also a Cracker Barrel, among several other restaurants.

My other thoughts would be Rocky Mount or Smithfield. Smithfield has a decent size outlet center so if you got there reasonably early prior to 9PM or so, you could conceivably do some shopping if you were interested.

Outlet??? oh we aren't going there!!! Won't be able to get the DW out...

 

[NewEnglandCamper]

I'll try to help out:
Of the 3 you listed, I would choose Rocky Mount over the others. I agree with Monki, and Fayetteville would be my last choice. I have been through all 3 places, in many years past. One of the places I would avoid is Wilson, but that is a bit much off 95 for your trip. You will find Dunn and Smithfield/Selma to be minor exits, at best, and you wouldn't have tons of options there for anything. You have already identified the 3 most likely places to stop.

Once you clear Virginia, you will be able to partake in all the 70mph zones you wish. Though the limit changes (sometimes often), it is usually due to being a construction zone.

The NC Highway Patrol 'generally' won't look at you twice, if you keep it within 10 mph of the limit, UNLESS it is a construction zone. In that case, all bets are off, so keep it close to the posted limit.

Have a safe trip.

We are leaving from our home in Northern Mass at (or around) 2AM -- to avoid NY and NJ traffic. That would bring us to Rocky Mount at 2 or 3PM according to Mapquest. I guess I want to drive as far as possible. I will avoid Fayetteville and try to hit Lumberton or somewhere further south. I'm thinking that if I can get a majority of the driving done in the 1st day the better! Sooner to WDW the next day.

Thanks for everyones help!!!

 

[teacherforhi]

I don't know why someone said avoid Wilson. I went to college there for four years and isn't terrible. There are also several hotels and a Cracker Barrel right off the interstate unless they've all burned down in the past year or two.

 

[Snowysmom]

We stayed in Rocky Mount at a Comfort Inn in 2003. It was clean and comfortable. I was glad that I had made reservations as they were turning away people who did not. It also had a free continental breakfast. There is also a Hampton Inn nearby. I believe most Hampton Inns also have a free breakfast of some sort which is handy when you want to get going quickly. Do not stay at the Holiday Inn as it not very nice. We started from Mass. at 4 am and got to Rocky Mount around 6 pm. We did hit some traffic in Virginia.

 

[NewEnglandCamper]

We stayed in Rocky Mount at a Comfort Inn in 2003. It was clean and comfortable. I was glad that I had made reservations as they were turning away people who did not. It also had a free continental breakfast. There is also a Hampton Inn nearby. I believe most Hampton Inns also have a free breakfast of some sort which is handy when you want to get going quickly. Do not stay at the Holiday Inn as it not very nice. We started from Mass. at 4 am and got to Rocky Mount around 6 pm. We did hit some traffic in Virginia.

Thanks for the information. No traffic in NYC or CT? I wonder if Dec 21st will be a sell out for the North Carolina hotels. I'm not planning on making a reservation but picking up one of those travel books but calling ahead about 1 hour or 2 when we are ready to call it a day.

 

[Luvchefmic]

Residents of NC -- we need your help!!!

We are driving to Disney from Mass. I hope to get to North Carolina before we conk out, hopefully around 6 or 7PM

I want to stay in an affordable, clean, no frills, place to rest up before head out early for DISNEY!!! Lord willing, we would be arriving in NC the night of 12/21. What towns should I avoid? or potentially stay in?

Easy on/Easy off from I95.

I'm thinking the following.

* Rocky Mount
* Fayetteville
* Lumbertown

Are any of these cities/towns fill up quickly in the evening? Any of them I should avoid? Opinions... good or bad

Also will I get to enjoy your 70MPH speed limit that I hear about in the Southern States?

thanks!

Bob

Motel 6 Fayetteville easy off I-95 clean, nice staff, near plenty to get reasonable meal..and need I say cheap always stay there

 

[Boston5602]

I have done the trip almost a dozen times although not for 15 years. I had always stopped at Dillon South Carolina , if I remember right , it was just after the NC border. Its " South of the Border" , you know all those billboards!!! Anyways mentally it was just nice to get one more entire state out of the way and only have one more to go before Florida . There are/were a ton of hotels/motels there.

We used the AAA triptic too , and was glad to have it !

 

[Straitlover]

Do NOT stay at South of the Border!!! I grew up in Lumberton, and I know whereof I speak! SOB is a dumpy tourist trap now. The round motel used to be OK years ago, but not anymore.

If you can make it to Lumberton, I would suggest:

Exit 22 - Comfort Suites, Hampton, Inn or Holiday Inn; there's also a hotel right in front of the WalMart that should probably be OK (think it's a Super 8, lots of truckers stay there); stay away from the Redwood!!!

Exit 20 - Country Inn & Suites, Fairfield Inn or Comfort Inn (avoid all the others, they are old & dumpy, some are "no-tell" motels).

I would suggest picking up the magazines at the exits (or go to Roomsaver.com) and getting phone numbers and calling ahead of time. Taht close to the holidays, those places can fill up rather quickly, esp if bad weather is hitting up north.