Those who drive from Virginia...

[DreadpiratK]

We're leaving from my brothers house near Philly on Sunday 9/5 and driving to Ridgeland SC just north of Savannah, about 11 hours, then on to Disney on Monday (actually Davenport to the resort) We thought about doing it straight through, but for once we have the time, and enough hotel points, to do it in two days. Plus with 8 people in a minivan for 11 hours. I think we'll want a break! We'll let the kids swim for a while, get them nice and tired, then early to bed and back on the road early Monday for the last leg of our trip. Hopefully we'll hit DTD early afternoon to pick up the tickets, and spend a quiet afternoon at the pool resting up to hit the parks on Tuesday. Can't wait! Personally I like driving down almost as much as being there, but the rest of the family disagrees.

 

[stacy6552]

We drove once from NoVA. Left at 4am and went straight down the I95. I had a hotel booked at the NC/SC line and one at the SC/GA line, but we made such good time that went went straight through. IT was a mistake though because even though the drive itself was ok, DH and I felt jetlagged on the second day.

My neighbor drives regularly and they stop at the FL line, about 3 hours from WDW. They sleep in and then hang poolsideor at DTD once they arrive. On departure day they play all day and then only have 3 hours drive that night. They rave about this plan.

If you go by way of Charlotte, I'm told its about 8 hours from there to WDW.

If you plan to go down the I95, there is a fantastic website you have to go to... usastar.com ...It takes you exit by exit for food, gas, hotels. So on the drive I had noted all our preferences on the way down. So around lunch time I could say, "OK subway is coming up at this next exit, if you want to wait for IHOP its not for another 45 minutes." Excellent excellent resource.

 

[smh61497]

We are in the Lynchburg, Virginia area. We usually leave about 2pm and stop overnight. In 2004 we stopped in Savannah GA. We stopped in Brunswick GA in '06. The last two trips we stopped in Manning SC. This is about halfway for us. We came across a really nice Hampton Inn there. We usually just stop when we get tired and just can't drive anymore. We always drive straight through on the way home. Takes us about 11hrs.

 

[oceangirl]

Leaving from Loudoun County, we usually drive the first day to Florence, SC and stay at the Country Inn & Suites there. Then the next day we would drive the rest of the way. That was when we were heading to Cocoa Beach, which may be closer to that route than Orlando. Last year, we drove through to St. Augustine, FL, did a little sightseeing, and then had an easy hour and 1/2 drive to WDW the next day. Tomorrow we are leaving at 5AM and driving all the way to WDW.... If you want to break up the trip from NOVA, sounds like GA might be your best bet for an easier drive the second day.

 

[misha]

We've done it both ways - usually depends on what time we manage to leave. If we drive straight thru there is the hang over effect for the next day so we still have to budget in an extra day.

We not far from Richmond and the kids and I will do it alone for the next trip. We're planning to stop in SC a little more than half way - it was as far as I thought I could drive since we'll be leaving after they get home from school. I had to get a hotel ressie so I would know we had a set destination and I could research the hotel a little.

I'm ready to go now!

 

[mrsltg]

We are coming from Fredericksburg.



Seeing this makes me want to attempt the drive in one day! Did you stop at all?

Very easy to do! We have driven from PWC also, and well be doing so when we go in November. We have three kids and it's fine. This time we'll be leaving between 9-10PM. I will start changing my sleeping patterns a couple of days before to allow me to sleep a good bit of the day we are leaving. The DH and kids will sleep most of the way and we should arrive at WDW somewhere in the neighborhood of 10AM. Last time we stopped at a Cracker Barrel just south of the NC/VA border and two more times for the bathroom. I don't like to stop - I just keep trucking!

 

[Suellen]

We drove straight through from Maine with a 3 and 5 year old. Left at about 7:00PM and got to Lakeland, Florida about 9:00 PM.

It can be done but it IS long.

 

[WLSILVERCREEKSPRINGS]

We drive down from Richmond and in the past we have spent the night in Savannah or Jacksonville. Now we try to leave the house around 6:30AM and even with a couple of stops for lunch and gas we are usually at the resort by 6:30 or 7:00PM. We like this better because we wake up in DW on our first day of vacation instead of having to get in the car and drive some more.

 

[POOHsie]

For those who stay overnight in SC, where abouts? Just trying to get an idea as I don't forsee us making the trip in one day. I have a 5 y/o and my DBF would probably go crazy after awhile.

We like to stop at Walterboro, SC. It's an hour north of Savannah. The next morning there are 6 hours left to drive, which means we arrive at WDW just about check-in time. There are plenty of hotel and food chains there. We have stayed at the Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn Express and the Ramada Inn. Next time we will stay at the Microtel Inn, and eat across the street at Cracker Barrel.

 

[bigbabyblues]

We drive from Ohio (but we do go through VA on the way), and we drive it straight through. We leave around 3:00, when the boys get out of school, and arrive at WDW around 7:00 am, earlier depending on stops. We drive straight through coming home too, but we usually leave by noon for that.

We've been doing that since our boys were 4 and 2, and it works well for us!

 

[My2BabiesLexis&Dill]

I can't comment for myself because we have always take the Auto Train but my brother and his family drive strait thru..stops for food and bathroom breaks.

 

[mommyof2princesses]

seeing all the replies makes me wonder how much farther we can actually go. We don't want to get there at night, but I am thinking we may be able to get further then we originally thought!

 

[smile4baby]

We're in the northern part of NC (about 25 minutes from VA) and lived in Cocoa Beach before moving here, so we've made the trip numerous times...both non-stop and breaking the trip up into 2 days.

This time around we plan on leaving in the wee hours and driving non-stop on the way there, getting to WDW around lunchtime, then hanging around DTD or touring the resorts looking at Christmas decorations. On our checkout day, we're going to spend about half a day at whichever park the kids like best, then head to Savannah for the night since it's only about 4.5 hours away. Our 7-year old is a wonderful traveler but her toddler brother hates riding in the car for more than a couple of hours so it should be interesting.

 

[Poohbear77]

We drive from MD staight through. It takes about 15 hours, but as many have said the excitement gets you there! On the way home my husband always insists on driving straight through as well. This is exhausting!! Last time we wound up pulling into a rest area to sleep for a few hours. Crazy! He is insisting on driving straight home again this time too. We'll see how that goes

 

[bbluvsdis]

seeing all the replies makes me wonder how much farther we can actually go. We don't want to get there at night, but I am thinking we may be able to get further then we originally thought!

HI neighbor! We are also from Charlottesville. When we drive we usually stop around Jacksonville, Fl as we like to get most of the trip out of the way on the first day. That was we can be rested and arrive at WDW ready to hit the parks after checking in at the hotel. Once we got excited and decided to leave at midnight and drove all night.Neither of us got any sleep and we were dead by dinner the next day. We won't do that again. It can be done in one day but it is a long one!!

 

[scjo68]

We drive from Richmond.
We have stopped for the night in Darien, GA, which left about 5 hrs for the next day's drive.
We have also left after school, stopping in Lumberton, NC., which still leaves about 8 hrs for the second day.

But most trips we drive straight through on the way down, and find that works best for us. We leave around 4:30-5:00 am, and get in to WDW in time to settle in and get cleaned up before dinner. THe excitement of getting to WDW in a single day keeps us going.

What we have never done is drive straight through going home. THere is no excitement to keep you going at that point. We also don't want to have to rush out of our resort at sun-up on departure day. We usually a enjoy character meal the morning of our departure, then leave by noon. We always stop and stay at the Hampton Inn in at Santee, SC. on the way home.

 

[tefrench]

This thread has been very helpful. We are leaving 12/23 from Central PA and have been planning on two days travel down and auto-train back. A co-worker traveled to SC last year on the 23rd and said the traffic was very heavy the entire way. I'm looking at the possibility of staying in the Walterboro area, an 11 hour drive per mapquest. POOHsie did you have a favorite hotel there?

 

[redlawyer]

We drive from Richmond too!.. We leave around 7 am and have reservations at the Embassy Suites in Jacksonville. Then we only have a very quick drive to the world. We usually use Saturday as our main driving day, which makes the trip across Fla. on I4 very quick on Sunday morning, but I've been told the work day traffic is horrible there.

We have also had the experience of I95 being completely shut down going south! Like park the cars, get out of the car and visit with the truckers down the road to find out whats going on. That put us back by 2-3 hours.

We make it an experience for the kids. We stop at each state's welcome center and pick up maps and brochures. I have to translate for the kids when we go to the South Carolina welcome center. Very kind folks, with a very southern accent.

 

[POOHsie]

I'm looking at the possibility of staying in the Walterboro area, an 11 hour drive per mapquest. POOHsie did you have a favorite hotel there?

I loved the Holiday Inn Express. It is fairly new. The bed was very comfy. Friendly breakfast. I stayed there with an online special price. The other places (Hampton Inn and Ramada Inn) were fine. Clean, breakfast good. We will give Microtel Inn a try next time based on other travelers' reviews. Also a newer property.

 

[TLinden16]

I'm going to move this over to our transportation board.