Thoughts on driving down

[VictoriaM]

Ok, so a good friend of mine suggested that her and I and our kids ages 6,6,9,9, drive to Florida in a couple of weeks, her mom too. Her mom owns a house in Old Port Richie. All we would basically need is gas & food. I have never done the drive (once when I was 10 with my parents) Me dh and the kids fly down every year. I have a 1 yr old van that we could all go in, I am not afraid to drive, I love driving actually. But we gotta make a plan fast, we want to maybe take 2 days driving down and 2 driving back. We have no rush, so we can take longer if needed. I got that book "along I-75" out of the library yesterday. But we are uneasy about the plan of the trip, my friend and I would split the driving, she cant drive at night, so we thought leave here, (Barrie, On) very early and drive till darkness on day 1, then do the rest on day 2.
For all you drivers, where can you suggest driving to to sleep over on day 1, how often did you stop, what to avoid, what to not miss, we are driving to Florida "virgins" and our husbands say "go for it" but they want us to have more of a plan as to where we will be when we get tired and where we are sleeping on the trip down. We are trying to do this on a budget too, without staying in any "shady" places.
Any comments would be appreciated!!

 

[stefanospops]

I am curious too. I am thinking about an impromptu trip later in August and thought about driving down. My kids are younger though at 4.5, 2.5 and 0.5. I have never done the drive before and know I would want to leave Toronto at like 3am and drive until about 9am then stop somewhere for the kids to eat breakfast, run around and stuff then drive another tank of gas until lunch where they can run around some more before driving another tank of gas to our stop for the night. So how far is 12 to 14 hours from Toronto? Does that plan even sound reasonable (as I write it I am laughing to myself thinking how these kids will manage even with the DVD playing Dinsey propoganda the entire time).

 

[Kazzy1548]

Why don't you go to a CAA, they will map out your route and tell you the best places to stay and even might give you discounts on several things...Like 10% of hotels and sometimes gas.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

My family and I have been driving down using I-75 every year since 1996 and next weekend we will be doing that again. The 1st of driving we go all way to Cleveland, Tennessee and stay at the Hampton Inn off exit 27.
http://hamptoninn.hilton.com/en/hp/...ionid=PFCIAAZU30Y12CSGBIU222Q?ctyhocn=CLVTNHX

On our 2nd day of driving instead of arriving to Clearwater Beach around 7:00 PM or 8:00 PM, we drive to Valdosta, Georgia and stay at the Hampton Inn & Suites Valdosta/Conferene Center which is located off exit 16.
http://hamptoninn.hilton.com/en/hp/...ionid=PFCIAAZU30Y12CSGBIU222Q?ctyhocn=VLDCCHX

So because we stay in Valdosta we can arrive in Clearwater Beach the next day and get in during the mid afternoon.

 

[digskat]

much like CR, we are driving veterans, having done the trip the last 5 years. Our first year, the kids were 5 and 7, and we drove to Macon, Georgia (leaving at 8pm), before making our one stop. We have since done the trip leaving at 4am, and stopping one night, and leaving at noon for a 2-stop trip. I do about 95% of the driving, and prefer the 4 am departure, stopping at Calhoun, Georgia around supper time. This has us about 14 hours in, and 7 to go. We leave at 7am day 2, and are at the world by 2pm.
We have never had an issue with the kids during the drive, they are excited when we leave, but tend to nod off by Detroit. They are up by noon, and are watching a movie, or playing video games most of the drive. We attempt to have them use the washroom when we fill up, or we fill up when they need to go. We pre-book our hotels, using Along I75 and tripadvisor, making sure they have an indoor pool, and a decent fre breakfast. We enjoy it sooooo much, we are driving down this fall, and aain in March.

 

[VictoriaM]

Thanks for the info!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

You're welcome.

 

[VictoriaM]

So I am assuming that the best bet is to leave here (Barrie) around 4 am and stop for the night 15 or so hours later, that would take us to TN, stay the night then continue the next day to Fl?

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

So I am assuming that the best bet is to leave here (Barrie) around 4 am and stop for the night 15 or so hours later, that would take us to TN, stay the night then continue the next day to Fl?

That sounds like a very good plan.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Here is a driving tip that should save some time. The morning you leave take highway 400 and from there get on the 407, because from there you will get on the 401 Westbound ramp to London. By doing that you don't need to drive through the much busy parts of the 401.

 

[VictoriaM]

So it's better to cross @ Windsor rather than Niagara?

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

So it's better to cross @ Windsor rather than Niagara?

I personally think it is and if you want to take I-75 you need to cross at Windsor. Also my family and I take the Ambassador Bridge and not the Tunnel when going into the United States.

 

[jlrobinson99]

We have done the I-75 drive from London (Ontario) to Disney three or four times - we'll be driving down in August with our 7 and 4 year old. We do the trip in two days, leaving around 4:30 a.m. Friday morning stopping either in Chattanooga TN or Dalton GA for the night. Then the next day we're up bright and early again and make it all the way to Orlando. It's a long haul but we find the I-75 decent to travel -we use the by-pass routes around a few of the larger cities as recommended in Along I-75. Atlanta is typically the trickiest city to drive around/through in terms of traffic. We usually drive down in May, have never gone in August before so here's hoping no surprises in terms of traffic this time out!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

We usually drive down in May, have never gone in August before so here's hoping no surprises in terms of traffic this time out!

Unless there happens to be an accident or major construction going on, we have found driving down in August to be very easy.

 

[OntFamily]

Be aware, the I-75 route is approx one hour more driving from Barrie, than driving I-79/77 route.

http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=d&sour...5369&sspn=28.754573,78.837891&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=5

 

[lovndisney]

Why don't you go to a CAA, they will map out your route and tell you the best places to stay and even might give you discounts on several things...Like 10% of hotels and sometimes gas.

I agree. We went to our AAA and they gave us a book. Honestly did not need it as it was a one day trip for us from New Jersey, but it was need. I did my trip notes in there. How much for gas, when we stopped, when we arrived in each state. We left at 11:45 pm and got there at 6 pm the next day. Would have been less time but there were numerous stops due to young children. We did make pretty good time until we hit I4 and the traffic was horrible and there was a huge storm (not uncommon for Florida). Good luck in your travels and have a good time.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Be aware, the I-75 route is approx one hour more driving from Barrie, than driving I-79/77 route.

http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=d&sour...5369&sspn=28.754573,78.837891&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=5

It is nearly 3 hours more in reality.

 

[Thumper_ehhhhh]

Be aware, the I-75 route is approx one hour more driving from Barrie, than driving I-79/77 route.

http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=d&sour...5369&sspn=28.754573,78.837891&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=5

20 hrs driving from windsor to disney via I75 route
20 hrs from hamilton to disney via I79 route

4 hrs from hamilton or milton to windsor.

 

[VictoriaM]

I will head over to Caa tomorrow, but I still like to get the opinions of real people that have done the drive.

ONE MORE QUESTION....


Where do you all stop to sleep on the way home?

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I will head over to Caa tomorrow, but I still like to get the opinions of real people that have done the drive.

ONE MORE QUESTION....


Where do you all stop to sleep on the way home?

The 1st day driving back home we stay at the Hampton Inn located in Dalton, Georgia off exit 333.
http://hamptoninn.hilton.com/en/hp/...ionid=YBHCFNMVNL5EICSGBIXM22Q?ctyhocn=DNNWSHX

On our 2nd day instead of arriving home at like 2:00 AM, we then stay at the Hampton Inn located in Lima, Ohio off exit 125.
http://hamptoninn.hilton.com/en/hp/...ionid=YBHCFNMVNL5EICSGBIXM22Q?ctyhocn=LIMOHHX