Travel from NY to FW....how much time?

[auntie]

Looking to take TT to FW. We may have the opportunity to go in May...on the20th which is a Fri( we wouldn't be able to leave until around 1 PM..and return on May 29th (Sun.) or 30...being Memorial Day weekend...we'd have that extra travel day...that the kids would also have off. Don't usually travel on Memorial Day...and wonder if the traffic would be horrific? Also is this a realistic time frame. My husband does all the driving since I don't like to trailer. Do you think it's too much driving for too short a stay? How long do you all stay when you make the trip...and is it as far a drive as we will have. I love the campground in May...so that is what is making it tempting...the only other chance we might come by would be two weeks in August(and that's iffy)...but I hesitate to go to the campground in August...having been to Disney many times that time of year..it can be brutal...and don't think I'd enjoy the amenites of the campground quite as much as May.

 

[auntie]

Anybody...???

 

[ALostBoy]

Hi,
I am not from LI but my sister used to live there, so I researched it for her a couple of times. If you are leaving at 1 pm that might put you going through Philly or DC at rush hour, which could be tough. I also pull a TT so I used my average speed and plugged your trip into Streets and Trips to figure when you would be where. Assuming you would drive until around 10:00 pm the first night you could make it to disney the next evening. Maybe someone else can answer your other questions. Good Luck

 

[auntie]

Wow! That was so thoughtfull of you...appreciate it. I would prefer to leave early in the A.M. but since the kids are missing the following week, we figured we give them part of the day in school on that fri.
We have driven before..only not with the trailer...and I'm assuming it will be a bit more taxing...and we will need to take our time...can't really fly with these things.
I'm wondering if 5 or 6 days in Ft. Wilderness feels like enough time( I know..probably no amount feels like enough!) Just want to enjoy the campground being that it's such a long trip.
May is our favorite time of year there...only other alternative would be August..which doesn't thrill me..but we would have more time to spend there.

 

[mjmcca]

I have driven from Brooklyn many times to WDW. I have never pulled a trailer however.If you leave at around 1 you will hit rush hour traffic in DC. I would stop for dinner before DC and try to wait it out. Are you planing on driving straight through or stopping?

 

[mjmcca]

Oh when we go i usually stop overnight and take it easy. It takes about 20 hours total discounting the stops.

 

[auntie]

We are looking to stay over one night. The more we think about it...we may just leave early Saturday morning...say 4:00 a.m. and drive to about 4 p.m.
That's what we've done when we've driven before..only we didn't have the Travel trailer...and I don't think we will make the same kind of time. That would put us in on Sunday...and we'd be leaving the following Sunday early again..hoping to be home on Monday..however...we are concerned with that being the Memorial Day weekend. We usually have tried to avoid travel on holidays, can't imagine what that would be like with the trailer.

 

[mjmcca]

Well I have driven over that weekend and actually the traffic want that bad. This was about 10 years ago. There was a bad storm as we went though Jersey which backed up traffic but other than that i dont remember too many problems.

 

[LegoMom3]

We are looking to stay over one night. The more we think about it...we may just leave early Saturday morning...say 4:00 a.m. and drive to about 4 p.m.

If this is an option I would go with it, as opposed to any where even close to DC at rush hour!! We used to make many trips from NH to NC and got stuck around DC more times than I care to remember. Even at midnight that beltway is awful, but it sure beats Friday afternoon!
We have actually started going around NY/NJ/DC by swinging out through PA and down into western VA - which I know won't help you but the point being simply that we've had too many nightmare trips on that part of I-95.
Most of all, have fun once you're there! I love FW and can't wait to go next year...

 

[Carrie Ellis]

We live 1 hour South of DC and commute 95 to DC. Let me tell you! 95 is bad on the weekends too. Our area is growing at such an alarming rate that on the weekends you can not get to the store in less than 45 minutes! 95 will be a standstill down where we are at. So even if you should make it through DC, South of DC (until you pass Fredericksburg VA about 60 miles) you could be in traffic. It usually gets bad after lunch. I would try to get through DC early in the morning on the weekend.

 

[auntie]

Boy...all these DC nightmare stories! I have gotten some directions that have us avoiding DC altogether...sends us out of our way...but everyone seems to think its worth it, if you avoid the aggravation of this area. Then again..we tow on and off of Long Island..which is a nighmare also. But by leaving in the early am we are hoping to avoid that horror too.

 

[mjmcca]

If you travel on a weekend the DC Traffic is a non issue.

 

[Carrie Ellis]

I guess compared to New York it might not be that bad but it is bad enough. I live here and would want to drive through DC with a trailer on the weekends. You might make it slow but one wreck will back up traffic for hours. The morning hours would be the best.

 

[gmalinowski]

Traveled many times with pop-up and family from NJ to WDW. We always liked to leave about 10PM because that put the kid in bed and sleeping and it missed all the major traffic zones. Was always a very pieceful ride. AT 7am everyone was waking, we would have breakfast and my wife would dive. In the middle of the afternoon we stopped for the day in the middle of Georgia which makes the next day a real easy trip.

Greg

 

[RocklandRVers]

We have made a few trips down in our RV pulling a cargo trailer. From where we live in upstate NY, it takes about 20-22 hours depending on traffic (usually much of which is from home to DC)

I find its better to leave very early on a Saturday morning rather than try and leave after work on Friday afternoon. Anytime we have tried the afternoon it was a disaster trying to can get through the Del/Balt/DC corridor. Typically when we get past DC by 9:00 am on a Saturday, we are in great shape and just hit some moderate traffic enroute to Richmond. We take the I-295 bypass around Richmond. Once past Richmond its like green flag racing.

We usually drive the longest leg of the 20-22 hour trip the first day. I can usually drive 12-14 hours without a problem. My DW also does not like to drive the RV. We stop around the SC / GA border at around 7:00. We get a good night's sleep and head out by 6:00 am. We get into FtW around 11:00 am.

 

[FWCamper]

Hi driving from NJ...we like to leave friday after work , stop over night and get to disney sat for a late dinner. Leave the following saturday for home.

The most insane trip we made was for pres. weekend. Left, drove 2 days, stayed 2 nights, drove home.....when you need a disney fix you do desperate things....we LOVE camping at the Fort. If they sold sites, we would buy!!!

 

[gmalinowski]

Have you noticed lately - my son was going in April and he told me the sites were going for more than $60 per night. He is a Disney fanatic like me but he said that that was just toooooooo much even for a preferred site and is staying (for the first time since 1970) off site. I'm going in 2 weeks and staying at Pop Century.

My wife and I decided to go to dinner one night when we saw $79 air fares - so we hopped on a plane, ate at EPCOT and came home all within 24 hours.

Greg