traveling from Tennessee to orlando in a day. Is it possible.

[Disney fan sandra]

Hello I am trying to figure out a few things. First is it possible for us to drive from Knoxville tn to WDW in one day. Google maps said it is a little over 9 hr and is 651 miles taking I75 and I75 S. It will be two adults and my husband will be the driver. My second thing is does anyone know about what gas or tolls would be for this trip. We have never taken a trip that last over two hours and I want to be sure to arrive in Orlando the day before I check into my resort at disney. Thank you in advance for your help

 

[smitch425]

Welcome! Can't help with the tolls part of your question, but the 9 hour drive should be easily doable as long as there are no health concerns. We have driven from Ohio and Indiana multiple times. There are several gas cost estimators on the web. Just use google and you should be able to find one.

 

[elsbit]

I also live in Tennessee and drive to my hometown several times every year, which is ten hours away. It is totally doable to make the drive in one day. That said, for our WDW trip this year, we are splitting the drive on the way down (to get a jump start after work) and doing the full 10 on the way home.

 

[sam_gordon]

Using that mileage, I think you're closer to 10-11 hours. To go 651 miles in 9 hours, you'd have to average 72mph. I drive 77-70mph and usually average around 60-65mph because of stops. And my stops are "bare bones"... gas, bathroom breaks, and food all at a gas station. Using 60mph as an average is a more realistic calculator IMO.

That being said, yes, you can drive 11 hours in one day. Personally, I would try to leave around 7-8am

 

[LadyBeBop]

My in-laws used to live right outside Knoxville, in Granger County. On the way home from Orlando, we would spend the night at their house. I agree, it's about a ten hour drive from Orlando to Knoxville. Going down, I wouldn't leave too terribly early (probably no earlier than about 6 AM). You want to hit Atlanta after morning rush hour.

 

[Disney fan sandra]

Thank you all for your advice.

 

[grimley1968]

It's very do-able. I live about 2 hours north of Knoxville, and we can make the trip to Disney in about 11.5 hours, if we don't dawdle long at rest stops, etc. Make sure to drive straight through Atlanta, but at a non-rush hour time, if at all possible. Take the 475 bypass around Macon, as that really does save a few minutes, as opposed to many bypasses. The only toll road you should experience between Knoxville and the Orlando area is the Reagan Turnpike from Wildwood, FL to Orlando. I can't remember how much tolls are, but it's not bad. There are other toll roads within Orlando (and 429 west of Orlando going toward Disney - an awesome road), but I don't know where you're going to in Orlando before going to WDW. I agree with a previous suggestion to use gas price estimators, but will add that much of rural Georgia along I-75 south of Atlanta, in my experience, has offered relatively low gas prices compared to what I'm used to in Kentucky and other places.

 

[LilyWDW]

It is closer to 10 hours from the Knoxville area. I have personally done the trip from the Johnson City area and it wasn't bad at all, especially if you have drivers to switch off with.

Then again, I have done the 12 hour drive from TN to Chicago!

 

[mickeymedic]

We live in Chattanooga, and with stops it takes us about 9 hours to get to Disney. You can definitely make it in one day from Knoxville.

 

[bumbershoot]

We have never taken a trip that last over two hours and I want to be sure to arrive in Orlando the day before I check into my resort at disney.

Since neither of you has taken such a long driving trip before, is this the trip you want to start with? Given that history, I would rather see you split it into two days. Driving all day, with only two drivers, can be very exhausting.

 

[disney world dreamer]

9 hours is not long at all in my opinion.
its completely doable in one day even with potenital traffic, construction, and stopping to go to the bathroom and eat.

last july we went on a road trip and my sister was the only driver and we came from the bufflao new york area.
we drove down I-75 because we wanted to stop to see the lost sea and lookout mountain.
we drove 13hrs the first day.
the next day we did the attracxtions and drove just a little farther.
the day after that we go to davenport which is where we were staying for a few days before staying on disney property.
had we not done the tourist attractions we could have easily gotten to davenport oat the end of the second day.

as for tolls i don't recall too many going that route.
the only toll i can really remember is the florida turnpike which i believe was about $2.50 to get on and off where we did.

 

[Lewisc]

my husband will be the driver...... We have never taken a trip that last over two hours and I want to be sure to arrive in Orlando the day before I check into my resort at disney. Thank you in advance for your help

I don't know if I'm reading too much into your OP. Your husband will be the only driver? You've never taken a trip more then 2 hours? If both are true you'll need to stop overnight. I'm sure most of the posters either assume you'll be sharing driving or your husband as driven long distances before.

 

[auger]

We drive 17-18 hours straight through from Ohio in one day, and I am the one who drives the entire way. I only wish we had just a ten hour drive! Definitely can be done in a day, even without experience at long drives.

 

[Disney fan sandra]

I don't know if I'm reading too much into your OP. Your husband will be the only driver? You've never taken a trip more then 2 hours? If both are true you'll need to stop overnight. I'm sure most of the posters either assume you'll be sharing driving or your husband as driven long distances before.

You are correct he will be the only driver we don't have long distance travel experience.

 

[Nhebron]

Hello I am trying to figure out a few things. First is it possible for us to drive from Knoxville tn to WDW in one day. Google maps said it is a little over 9 hr and is 651 miles taking I75 and I75 S. It will be two adults and my husband will be the driver. My second thing is does anyone know about what gas or tolls would be for this trip. We have never taken a trip that last over two hours and I want to be sure to arrive in Orlando the day before I check into my resort at disney. Thank you in advance for your help

We drove from Knoxville to Orlando last year. We got a late start, leaving the house around 11am and arriving around 11 pm. We obviously made some stops for food and bathroom. Can't recall gas and tolls. I don't think you even hit tolls until you get close to Orlando and I can't imagine it would be more than $20. Gas obviously will vary with type of vehicle...but fortunately gas is pretty cheap right now!

 

[chupacabra]

This trip is totally doable in ten hours no problems. We live in Ky and I drive all 13 hours straight through with whatever breaks for food and bathrooms for the kids. The only bad thing is your butt goes to sleep after about 8 hours lol!

 

[tobikaye]

I would suggest that you plan to stop for at least 30 minutes every 2-3 hours if you are not used to the longer trips. Before leaving, make sure you have print out directions, even if you will be using GPS, and that you both are familiar with the routes you need to take.

For gas estimates, I like gasbuddy.com. I do not always go with the actual suggested stops, but it can show me which areas tend to get cheaper gas. I usually check it the day before I leave to get an idea of exits to stop at for gas or food.

 

[cranbiz]

I used to drive from Carver, MA to Orlando straight thru with one driver so it's doable. I now drive from Durham, NC to Orlando. That's about 9-10 hours. I drive exclusively, taking breaks at gas stops.

I don't recommend you do this, as your DH has no long distance experience, take breaks more often. LD driving really isn't any different from local driving other than the time behind the wheel.

I would figure on taking 12 hours to get there. This gives you time to take the extra breaks which will make a tremendous difference in attitude when you arrive.

 

[rwdavis2]

How old are both of you? To me that would be a factor in all this. Is there a reason the husband is the only person be driving?

 

[LizzyS]

I'm from Morristown, TN, but I haven't been involved in a road trip to Florida in a long time. In saying that, it will probably be an 11 hour affair, at any rate, as it used to take us 12 hours to drive from Morristown to the St. Petersburg area, where my aunt lived.