those who drive

[Kurby]

do you completely plan your route or do you just drive.


i'm starting to plan out our next trip and i'm even looking for places to stop for lunch and gas on google.

dh thinks i'm nuts but i like to know approx how long to our next stop

what do you guys do

 

[Sheribo]

We have done the drive many times now. The first time, I planned everything. We packed a huge cooler with all sorts of drinks, snacks and sandwiches. Now that my kids are older (teens), we have a different plan. We stop for gas, bathroom and food all at the same time. We still bring drinks but try to limit them.

We know we like Mobil washrooms and not McDonalds - they are gross. Pizza Huts often do not take credit cards and the speed traps on the I-95 are many.

And we're leaving on March 12! Woohoo!

 

[Kurby]

i was telling dh that i didn't want to stop unless it was at a gas station - thanks for the tip on Mobile

we're hoping to get to Richmond VA from Toronto the first night - Google says it's 11 hours so if that's true we should


this way we bipass the mountians and since we're going boxing day we don't want to do the mountians in the snow

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

When my family and I drive down Interstate 75 the only thing we plan ahead is what cities will be spending the night in, by making reservations in advance at Hampton Inn locations. Besides that we usually plan where we stop to eat that day with help from the Along Interstate 75 book, since it lists everything off each exit.

 

[dancin Disney style]

The only thing that we plan is approx how long we will drive on the first day. We usually leave home around 2:30am and drive until around 9pm. That will get us near Savannah, GA but it depends on traffic. The other thing we, sort of, plan is meals. We pack a cooler with breakfast and lunch for day 1 along with snacks and drinks. After our first drive down we realized that it was a waste of time for us to stop at restaurants for our meals. We do stop for a fast food dinner. Then we get a hotel for the night that includes breakfast and the next day we leave early and are generally at WDW in our resort by lunch time.

 

[disneyfreak89]

When my family and I drive down Interstate 75 the only thing we plan ahead is what cities will be spending the night in, by making reservations in advance at Hampton Inn locations. Besides that we usually plan where we stop to eat that day with help from the Along Interstate 75 book, since it lists everything off each exit.

That's EXACTLY what we do except we like to stay at Red Roof Inns. We our I-75 book too! We don't leave home w/o it!

 

[jenbear123]

We'll be driving down in April from Toronto. Which route is best to take? I-75? I-79? I-77? The first time we drove down went the I-79/I-77 route. With all this talk about I-75, is it better to go that way?

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

We'll be driving down in April from Toronto. Which route is best to take? I-75? I-79? I-77? The first time we drove down went the I-79/I-77 route. With all this talk about I-75, is it better to go that way?

I-75 Is the route my family and I always take when driving down because from Toronto it's the most direct and easiest route. So I would say look into all your options of which way to go and see which one is best for your family.

 

[Kurby]

we've only gone down 79/26/95 through the 2 tunnels but my mil told me when dh was a kid and they drove down in the winter for christmas they used to go through richmond va then 95 right down.

they avoided the mountians which in the winter can be very hard to drive through

so since we're going back to wdw in the winter instead of the past 2 trips in May we'll try her route and see how that is.

apparently (according to google) it will only add about 90 minutes to the trip

 

[dancin Disney style]

We'll be driving down in April from Toronto. Which route is best to take? I-75? I-79? I-77? The first time we drove down went the I-79/I-77 route. With all this talk about I-75, is it better to go that way?

The I75 route is the better choice in winter months if storms are forecast along the route. However, from Toronto this route adds 3 hours to the trip.

In April you should be fine with the I77/79 route.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

The I75 route is the better choice in winter months if storms are forecast along the route. However, from Toronto this route adds 3 hours to the trip.

In April you should be fine with the I77/79 route.

Since my family and I live in Thornhill what we do is get on the 407 and get off at the 401 Westbound exit, which saves at least 40 minutes of just taking the 401 right to Windsor. It may not seem like a huge time saved but it's better then nothing.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Since my family and I live in Thornhill what we do is get on the 407 and get off at the 401 Westbound exit, which saves at least 40 minutes of just taking the 401 right to Windsor. It may not seem like a huge time saved but it's better then nothing.

Whatever saves time works for me.....I know from seeing some of your other posts that you are a fan of the I75 route....I'm not a fan of any route...truth be told I hate car trips and prefer to fly but sometimes the price of airfare does not allow for us to fly....I would rather drive than not have my holiday.

 

[bodybuzz]

We have driven down to WDW from Toronto 8 consecutive January's (we leave 10/01/08!!!)

My rule of thumb for route selection in the winter is: Go where the weather is best.

Looking at the long term forecast today, it is suggesting that I77/I95 are going to see serious snow where I75 is going to be light flurries. As of today we are thinking of heading to Detroit. However, all things being even i prefer the I77 route over the other two.

Also, prebooking hotels is a terrible idea. This forces you to drive past where time and weather may suggest.

<especially> if you are on I75, every exit has 2 or 3 or more hotels to choose from, just wing it and stop when you feel you are done for the day.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Also, prebooking hotels is a terrible idea. This forces you to drive past where time and weather may suggest.

<especially> if you are on I75, every exit has 2 or 3 or more hotels to choose from, just wing it and stop when you feel you are done for the day.

Well on the other hand if your able to drive to a specific city you planned to spend the night and didn't have any weather problems, at least you are staying in a hotel that you wanted to be at. So I guess there are both positives and negatives for doing that, however my family and I like to make those reservaitons in advance to be on the safe side and don't end up at a dump of a location.

 

[disneyfreak89]

Also, prebooking hotels is a terrible idea. This forces you to drive past where time and weather may suggest. <especially> if you are on I75, every exit has 2 or 3 or more hotels to choose from,

Prebooking never forced us to drive farther than we wanted to because we always give ourselves plenty of time to get there, bad weather included.

...just wing it and stop when you feel you are done for the day.

Umm, been there done that too many times and ALWAYS got a 'bad' hotel. Lesson learned!

.....my family and I like to make those reservaitons in advance to be on the safe side and don't end up at a dump of a location.

I agree. Its a comfort to know there is a great hotel with a clean/comfortable room waiting for me after a long day of driving.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I agree. Its a comfort to know there is a great hotel with a clean/comfortable room waiting for me after a long day of driving.

Following our own advice last month we already made reservations at the 4 Hampton Inn's we stay at along I-75 for our trip this August. Two locations going down south and two other locations driving home when we go north.

 

[joandegennaro]

Traveling down via car for the first time. What kind of tolls should we expect from the Fort Erie route? Do you need exact change for the tolls? Can anyone give me an estimate cost of tolls for trip down?

 

[scherbee]

If you are taking I 75 I would go out and buy the book along I 75 it will tell you what is at every exit from detroit to the florida state line. Also tell you where all the cops sit for speed traps. Used it last year and it was dead on.

 

[rodeo65]

Agree with using the Along I75 book. We also got Along Florida's Expressways - obsessive planner here

I had those books open on my lap all the way down and gave DH very specific instructions including when to make lane changes for HOV lanes and lane separations etc. We loved it! He didn't do NEARLY as good a job when it was his turn to co-pilot!!

We booked two hotels in advance for each night; one closer and one further and then decided by 3pm (cancellation time was usually 4pm I think) where we felt like shooting to and cancelled the other - usually by going into the chain at whatever stop we were at and using the restroom and asking them to cancel the one for us. Saved us roaming charges and gave us a clean restroom.

We also loved knowing what restaurants were coming up for the next hour or so (each page is approximately 1/2 hr. driving time) so we could decide if we needed to stop before a long stretch with only McD's available. I can't say enough good things about this book! We really didn't need the Florida Expressways edition but it was fun to have.

We also had CAA's Triptik (again with the obsessive planning) and it didn't come close to being accurate or informative. The only thing it did have was the road repairs stamps supposedly done withing a week of our trip so we'd know where delays could be. It was stamped several times on almost every page all the way down (we went in June) and was inaccurate, to try to be polite.