Tell mw what time you left New York Area to drive to DIsney

[mr.mike]

What time did you leave to avoid the rush hours of NY and other cities.

How long did it take you...did you drive straight?

Thanks

 

[tonysgal34]

Hello! We were planning to drive from upstate to Orlando but now may take a plane instead. For us, it would be about 22-24 hours of driving. We have a friend in Richmond, VA that is willing to let us crash there for a night, and thus we were to leave on a sat am, get there sat dinner time (driving 6 am to 6 pm), sleep over and then start again sun am to get to Disney about dinner time and settle in. We have decided that with the cost of gas(and our v8 conversion van sucks gas)and the two days of driving, we might as well fly. Of course, we're not 100% decided yet. Good Luck!!

 

[jh123]

We left Central Jersey at 8:00pm and arrived in Orlando at 11:30am. We drove straight through, stopping only for gas, bathroom breaks and a fast-food drive-thru breakfast. There was a little traffic in NJ(as usual) but clear sailing after that. We breezed through the D.C. area and traffic was light after that. It took us about 15 1/2 hrs total to get there. Leaving from the NY City area I would add 1-2 hrs to the total time depending on where you are leaving from.

My husband and I took turns driving which worked out well for us. The kids slept from 11:00pm to 7:00am making the drive more enjoyable for all of us! "Are we there yet?" for 15 hrs. would have driven me insane!

Good Luck on Your Trip!

Joan

 

[ToyStory Fan]

mr. mike,

I've done it a couple of different ways. 1st question are you driving straight thru? if yes then you want to go with option 1...if not option 2.

Option 1) Leave NY at 9:30PM (yes PM)...you'll need to sleep all day and get up at about 7-7:30 PM and have breakfast (NOT DINNER, it'll throw off your body into realizing it is actually night time. This should get you to WDW just in time for Check-in at 4PM (18 1/2 hours no rain and occasional traffic for construction etc. - no "legal-counseling sessions" either)

Why leave at night you ask. Mainly because after 18+ hours of driving the last thing you are going to want to do is hit the parks, and with "official" check-in time at 4:00 PM, you don't want to risk getting there too early, not getting a room and not being "physically too tired" to go to the parks to kill some time. For me it worked perfectly, got our room, checked-in, unpacked, had an early dinner and then a good night's sleep... giddyup you are ready to go in the morning.

Option 2) Leave NY at 4:30 AM, and stop over in Hilton Head (WDW Resort there) Arrive at HHI, approx 12-13 hours later, again just in time for check-in, unpack, dinner...sleep up early the next day for the relatively short 5-6 hour drive to WDW, and you are not wo wiped out that you don't mind killing the afternoon in one of the parks until your room is ready, come back and check-in later.

It really all depends on what your goals and your limits are for the long drive...for Option 1 it is CRITICAL, that you are well rested, and your co-pilot/co-driver can sleep during the night, so that at 6AM or so after the breakfast stop you can switch and then you can sleep/nap. The thing for me was that you get rid of the night part of the trip while you are fresh. The fact that you are tired during the day gets a little bit washed out with the adrenaline of being closer to WDW, at nighttime you get more psyched out due to the darkness.

Hope that helps, good luck and drive safe!

 

[jlp651]

do you have kids? Nite time would be the best if you do...let them sleep...If you decide to drive thru the day...I'd take the time to stop and sleep somewhere over nite...its a rough trip straight thru...When I was a kid we drove 1/2 way to DC and then continued thru the nite the next day...
The way back we drove straight thru...its sucked...but the bad hair pictures were kind of funny...