Tips for driving from Canada to WDW

[jsebsirois]

Hey there,

Next November, we're going back to Disney World but this time, we're (well, I'm) driving!

I've read so many different things about driving to WDW (international driver's licence, 2 days, 3 days, stops, etc.) but now, I want my fellow canadians's tips and tricks

Hopefully, this could become a thread for anyone who wants to drive!

Thanks in advance

 

[bankr63]

There are so many, and lots of posts on here about them.

The thing about the ID License was a tempest in a teapot a couple of years ago. Your Canadian drivers license is perfectly acceptable in the United States at this time. Outside of route suggestions that are very specific to where you live in Canada, I have a couple of generic tips that I would give to other drivers.

Tip 1 - Regardless of how many days you intend to take getting there, I do NOT recommend making hotel reservations in advance for the trip down or back. Unless you drive for a living or have made the trip many times, you probably don't know how you are going to feel on that long drive down. For instance, on last year's trip I wasn't feeling well just before departure, and was not up to my usual driving stamina; we stopped sooner than planned. Forcing yourself to keep driving to make a set stopping point is never a good idea. Also, stopping at some predetermined destination when you still have plenty of energy in the tank is probably not great either as you may be tired the next day if your hotel sleep isn't great, and you'll have a lot further left to drive.

Our strategy for hotels is to stop at each state welcome centre starting in the afternoon (well we tend to stop at each regardless of time for a washroom break), and grabbing the hotel discount books that are always there. These have coupons for many hotels right along the major routes. As we start to get tired, we'll look for good options a few exits up the road, and cross reference them to the CAA guidebook ratings (but you could also check against tripadvisor - see next tip) to find the best options. We have only once had an issue finding a room - tried to stop near Savannah GA on St Patty's Day weekend without realising that was "a thing". Only had to drive another 45 minutes down the I-95 to find an area with rooms available.

Tip 2 - bring technology. I (or really my navigator) use technology all the way. A tablet or smartphone with data (Rogers Roam Like Home) is a great way to guide your trip. I use Google Maps as my GPS (formerly used both Garmin and TomTom, and have used Waze as well, but Google is just SO good now and for free) with maps for my route preloaded. I use GasBuddy app to find the best rates for gasoline along the route. I use TripAdvisor to check hotel ratings. The Starbucks app tells me where the nearest good cup of coffee is. You get the idea.

Tip 3 - have roadside assistance. I have never had to use it on my trips down south, but I am always glad to have it. My wife is actually the CAA holder, and I have coverage through an Elite Visa card. Good peace of mind.

Tip 4 - watch the weather (winter trips). This is an easier tip for Eastern Ontario and Quebec, but there are route options that go either side of the Appalachian mountains. You can sometimes avoid stormy weather by staying inland (I-81 vs I-95). Another related driving tip is probably to plan your route around the cities. I know that Google and all of the GPS systems try to route me the shortest route, which from here puts us too close for comfort to the traffic disaster of Washington DC. My favorite route (but not the only one I use) actually avoids most major cities; with the biggest one being Charlotte NC. Factor in the time you will lose stuck in traffic around most of the larger US cities.

That's (I think) all of my general tips. Looking forward to seeing what other tips get posted.

 

[Tanooki]

Bonjour Jean-Seb
We're getting ready for our 10th drive (next week! ) and we've definitely perfected our travels (to our liking!) over the years so here are my tips
I'm assuming you're leaving from somewhere in Quebec or in Ontario so these tips should apply as well, if you like them of course

We don't have international drivers' license. We considered it when Georgia was in the news about this but we never did it. Now that they've been in the media saying that the Canadian Driver License was acceptable I don't think you need one.

Food and breaks : We leave around 5am, cross the border, and get breakfast at McD's in Plattsburgh. We then only stop for gas or bathroom breaks for the rest of the day. We pack a lunch that we eat in the car and we eat dinner when we stop for the night in Virginia. The next morning, we have breakfast at the hotel (continental breakfast included with the room) and then have lunch at Sonic (a family favorite that we don't have up here ). We usually wait until we arrive to have some dinner but we'll sometimes stop for fast-food somewhere if it's getting too late.

Schedule : We get up at 4am and we're on the road by 5am (these last minute things always take longer than expected...) on departure day. We usually make it to our hotel in Virginia between 6 and 7pm (depending on traffic, roads, weather, etc.). The next morning, we get up at 6am, have breakfast at the hotel and then hit the road around 7:30am. We get to our lunch spot (Sonic) around noon and we get to WDW (hotel or rental house) around 7-7:30pm.

Itinerary : We use the inland route to avoid NYC and DC traffic and it worked so far. We did the coastal road once (weekend) and we still got stuck in traffic so we don't take any chance now. We do I87-287-78-81-77-26-95-4. We've had to deal with roadwork, accidents, a forest fire forcing the actual closure of the interstate , rain, thunderstorms and lots and lots of traffic over the years but these are the hazards of the road, right? I don't think the itinerary is to blame as you can encounter any of these on any road. The worst we've had to deal with is a major snowstorm in the Adirondacks mountains (twice! ) and we need to go through those anyway... although we did come back through the 1000 islands (so the 401) by mistake last time (gps settings) and I'll have to remember that if there is snow in the forecast as I think it's a much easier road to deal with in winter conditions.
Since we try to make the first day a little longer than the second one, we don't stop for the night at the same place both ways.
We spend the night at the Comfort Suites in Salem (VA) on the way down. We need a suite for us 6 and this is perfect at around 100$ with breakfast, plus there is a grocery store next door and a Denny's we can walk to for dinner. It's very nice to be able to walk anywhere after a day in the car...
Coming home, we use the same itinerary but we stop for the night at the Sleep Inn in Harrisonburg (VA). It's pretty much the same (suite with breakfast) but a little more expensive (like 115$) and there is a IHOP we can walk to for dinner.

There you go!
We did our first drive when the kids were 9-7-4-2 and they are now 16-14-11-9 and we still enjoy it very much. Just remember to pack lots of snacks, lots of electronic gear (ipad, Nintendo DS, DVDs) and have fun! I know we will

 

[iceprincesskcl]

We have driven a few times!

I agree with the above posters. I don't know how anyone else feels about this but after having my credit card and my mom's credit card compromised at the pumps in two different gas stations in the states, we travel with cash for gas stops.

We used this website Gas Buddy Trip Calculator, you can enter any starting point and ending point and found it was quite accurate!

Have fun!!!!

 

[Tanooki]

I also want to add that we do make advance reservations for our hotels on the road but that's because 1- we know how far we can go on the 1st day because we've done it before 2- we need a suite for 6 people and you can't find them everywhere (but much more easy to find in the US than here!) and 3- I wouldn't be comfortable with the uncertainty and definitely would NOT want to go from exit to exit trying to find an available room.

Oh and I strongly recommend the book "The Next Exit" which details every single exit of every highway in the US. It's a real life saver when you hear "I need to go" in the middle of nowhere...
https://www.amazon.ca/Next-Exit-201...&qid=1487277899&sr=8-1&keywords=The+next+exit

 

[Chip_Dale]

When you stop on the way down try for a place just south of a major metropolitan area. You will not be caught up in rush hour traffic in the morning. Do the opposite on your way home.

 

[mshanson3121]

We drove from New Brunswick, 28 hours through the 81/77 route.

1. Get CAA silver or higher.
2. Www.hotelcoupons.com gives you the same deals as the coupon books, only you don't have to stop and get them. We mapped out our route and figured a few different stopping points each day and researched hotels on the website. We had great hotels - typically $65-70 a night in safe areas just off the highway with pool and full hot continental breakfast.
3. We did 3 days/2 nights. 12 hours day 1, 10 hours day 2 and 6 hours day 3. We tried to be at the hotels by 6 so we could have supper, swim and get a good sleep.
4. We brought an electric cooler and packed drinks, snacks and stuff to make picnic lunches. That, with the free hotel breakfast meant we only had to buy supper each night. Saved money and time. We would picnic when we stopped for gas.
5. We packed a soccer and football. Whevever we stopped for gas, bathroom etc we all got out and stretched our legs and played. Kids loved it.
6. Plan on taking the next day "off" - either completely or at least half the day. Driving that far is exhausting. Better to give yourself some recup time lest you burn yourself out on your trip.

 

[DiaryofaDisneyKid]

We have driven to WDW from Ontario Canada 4 times with our little ones ( 3 times in November) and it's really not that bad! We usually get 2 different trip tiks from CAA, one through the mountains and one not through the mountains as a backup to our GPS. I like to be prepared in case the weather turns bad and we don't want to drive through the mountains!

 

[starvenger]

Tip 1 - Regardless of how many days you intend to take getting there, I do NOT recommend making hotel reservations in advance for the trip down or back. Unless you drive for a living or have made the trip many times, you probably don't know how you are going to feel on that long drive down.

I think it's more a case of knowing what your limits are, as well as the limits of your passengers. When my kids were younger and we did a road trip to Maine/Boston, I broke it down into shorter drives so that they wouldn't get too restless in the car. This did mean stopping in Montreal on the way to Portland and in Syracuse on the way back, but it didn't stress anyone out and for me, that's a big thing.

Our next road trip (in theory) is down to Myrtle Beach. Our kids are a little older now (6 and 9) so we're planning on a 2-day drive averaging about 7h30min each leg. Without the kids I would probably do this in a day but knowing their endurance it's better to plan ahead and pre-plan our stops.

There's also the issue of us being Chinese, and, sad to say, there are still places in the US where it's not wise for us to stop. So planning to stop over in a larger metro area is better for us.

Bringing a GPS of some sort is huge. Since I have CAA I still create a Triptik so that we have a backup reference (and something I can review during stops).

Bring your Costco card. And a Visa. You get discounts on gas, obviously, but you can also get food there if you're just looking to grab and go. Not the greatest food, obviously, but it does the job.

"Driving gloves". I actually just use fingerless Gorilla Grip gloves from Home Depot. My hands tend to get sweaty/sticky while driving, especially in warmer climates, and this helps with that.

 

[isabellea]

We travel to FL at least once a year from Montreal. Our favourite schedule is to leave Lachine at 1pm and drive straight-thru to FL. We tried stopping for 1 night but we are more tired when we arrive. Obviously, we are two drivers and DH is used to work overnight so he gets that shift...

Our favourite route is I-81, 15 at Harrisburg, I-64 then I-95 but we are in DC around midnight so no traffic. Last year we tried to I-87 and hated it (lots of traffic close to NYC all the way to DC and expensive tolls). We also have a Sunpass since where we spend our summer vacations (St. Pete Beach) has a toll close by and it's a must to avoid traffic jams on the I-4. I don't think we ever took the I-4 and not seen an accident, including a car on fire!

Our must-do while on the road are to stop every 2 hours when the kids are awake for a potty break and 10 minutes of running and jumping jacks! Since they are not allowed to watch tv or play with their iPads during the week at home, they are very happy and contend with unlimited use of those in the car. One thing we notice that makes a huge difference for my oldest is that she needs to have her feet flat on something. If they are dangling, she gets tired very quickly so we pile some bags under her feet until they are perfect.

Finally, our favourite stops to eat are Panera Bread and Firehouse Grill for 'fast food' and Friendly's for sit down dinner. We also have a subscription to Next Exit and we love it! We use it on our phones and iPads and we don't need to use any data (DH has a North America data plan from work but we prefer not to use it too much).

 

[WDW1979]

. We also have a Sunpass since where we spend our summer vacations (St. Pete Beach) has a toll close by and it's a must to avoid traffic jams on the I-4.

Hi, do you avoid I-4 completely with the Sunpass? I find I-4 to be very busy from Daytona to WDW. I'd appreciate any tips you might have on avoiding I-4 or how you improve the experience with a Sunpass.

We use Next Exit as well. Up until now we have used the printed book, but I will check out the app - didn't know they had one.

Our favorite family table service restaurant on the way to Florida is Cracker Barrel.

 

[bankr63]

You can take the 417 toll road at exit 101A on the I-4 and loop around East and South of the City. The South end drops you off at Celebration. With SunPass it is quick and easy, but if using cash there are several tolls along the 55 mile route. We have done this around evening rush and did hit a couple of small traffic pockets, but nothing like I-4. Early morning or late at night is clear sailing all the way.

ETA: you can preorder your SunPass to home and have it set and ready to go in advance, or stop and pick one up at the Florida Welcome Centre as you cross the border. I have mine set with a credit card so it auto loads with more cash when dropping below a threshold. Never have to worry then, but I do have about $7 tied up on the pass right now waiting for my next trip.

 

[jsebsirois]

Thank you so much everybody for your tips! It will sure help us planning the driving.

 

[CanadianMouseDad]

We've made the drive to WDW 2 times now, just under 2 months away from number 3. We live between buffalo and Detroit so we opt to go down I75. The first year we went we drove through to the Carolina's and camped out a night there. Left around 3am and got there around 4pm.
The second time we went we drove straight through. Left our house around 10am and got to WDW around 6:30/7am. We hit ATL around 12:00-12:30 and it was a breeze through. We had 2 drivers, One drove till 1am ish and the other took over the rest of the drive.
We had no traffic snags since it was a weekend.
We tried to time our food breaks around gas breaks, and stopped at all the welcome centers along the way.

This time we're going to leave around the same time, however try and do food stops between gas breaks to give a few more times to get out and stretch. We are driving with 3 licensed adults, and 3 kids under 10