Traveling to the Fort ?s

[adelrich]

We just purchased our first tt and are planning a trip to the Fort next year . We will be traveling from Michigan. I'm am wondering, with this distance, how many travel days would people recommend. Also, when you stop for the night, do you unhook or leave your rv hooked up to your tv? TIA for your opinions.

 

[becky1960]

We travel from Texas, and I think it depends on your driving habits. How many hours can you drive safely. I have been driving non stop to Fla.( about 12 hours,) first leg, but not this year. This year we will take 3 days.
I might note we travel with dogs so we make a lot of pit stops. Keep in mind, hauling a trailer is a little more stressful. We usually unhook as some times we go out to eat depending on our location.

 

[BradyBz12]

We travel 1300+ miles from NH. It's just DH and I and our dogs, and we like to just get there.

We drive about 10 hours the first leg, stop at a WalMart for a nap and something to eat (4-5 hours)

...then drive another 8-9 hours and stop for the night around Jacksonville - usually at a WalMart so we can do our grocery shopping in the a.m. before we make the final 3 hour trek to the Fort.

Since we're generally stopping at WalMarts, we don't disconnect. It's just a quick sleep stop for us.

 

[Comptech]

I use a program call Microsoft Streets and Trips, it can help you plan your trip right down to the cost of the fuel, There is a free 60 day trail you can download to play with before you buy. Just Google it...

We just purchased our first tt and are planning a trip to the Fort next year . We will be traveling from Michigan. I'm am wondering, with this distance, how many travel days would people recommend. Also, when you stop for the night, do you unhook or leave your rv hooked up to your tv? TIA for your opinions.

 

[Goofyseven]

As with most answers, "It Depends" . We usually leave about 2:00 am on a Thursday, ( from N. of Chicago, its about 1,200 miiles) and drive thru the nite and get to Valdosta Ga. around 5:00 pm on Firday. Stay overnite, and dirve to the Fort the next day. Get there about 11:00 am and hope for early check in,which we usually get.

Google, Trips and Streets, and Yahoo can give you great guidelines, but its really up to you, your family and what you want to do.

 

[clkelley]

I only have about 12 - 13 hours, so I usually shoot to leave about 2pm in the afternoon and get myself South of Atlanta the first evening. Usually stop in Georgia somewhere between Exit 60 and Exit 40 on I-75, then finish up the trip the next morning, getting to the Fort about noonish.

If I'm solo, I stop at a campground with a pull through and don't disconnect, just plug in electric and go to bed.

However, I usually have someone with me, either my spouse or a friend. My spouse doesn't like just overnighting in the camper, so we get a hotel, and when I'm traveling with a friend, we stop at a hotel also, because we don't want to mess with a tent for just one night.

 

[Titleist]

We are located in SW Michigan, it's just under 1200 miles from here. Last time we left at 10:00 p.m. and drove straight thru and checked in at 7:00 p.m. but that's not for everybody. Two 10 hour days will get you there.

 

[U.P. North]

We are in South Bend, Indiana. Our trip in June, we are making it in 3 days. Kind of breaking it up and doing a little sight seeing on the way. Now coming home, we plan on 2 days leaving early on a Friday morning and getting home late Saturday. that gives us Sunday as an option if we get to wore out either Friday or Saturday.

we drove straight thru about 8 years ago and if I recall correct, it was about 22 to 23 hours. But we were not towing a travel trailer. So no way doing that with this trip towing.

At any rate, have a good trip!!

 

[guardwife66]

It is 800 miles for us. We always make it in 2 days. First because we had young children and now because we have pets. We are not so tired when we pull in the 2nd day and can then spend time in DTD before we head to the parks bright and early the next morning.

 

[drafthorsecrazy]

There will be a lot of different answers to your "How many days travel" question. We've been traveling to FW for almost 30 yrs and our travel days have changed drastically over the yrs. When we were young and traveling with an infant who slept the whole time we could drive non stop to get to FW in 20 hrs. Hmmmmm, where did all that energy we had back then go to?? Then we hit middle age and had 3 kids playing, fighting, arguing, in the back and we found it necessary to make a lot of stops just to let them get out and put some distance between each other. At this time we'd spend 2 nights on the road, usually in a rest stop or Walmart type shopping plaza. Back then, money was tight and going to Disney for us was a big expense and we were not gonna spend any extra money getting there. We'd drive a good 10hrs the first day and slightly less the second day--planning on staying somewhere near the Ga./Fla. border. Today its just my DH and I and we like spending our winters in the warm south so we still drive hard the first day--and then once we hit warmer temps we slow down and take in the sights along the way. It took us 9 days to get to FW last Dec. As you see, everyone has different needs but one thing I'd like to point out and stress......its never fun to push hard and get to FW as quickly as possible if when you do get there; you are exhausted! After all.....you didn't come all that way to sleep or grouch at the family did ya? That's one reason we found it worked out well to spend the night before arriving someplace that left us with only a couple hr drive. Good luck and happy planning!

Never unhook in a rest area or Walmart. Rarely unhook when simply over nighting in a campground.

 

[3gr8kids]

We just went down in April (from Massachusetts). We left about 7:15 pm on a Thursday, drove until about 3:00/3:30 pm on Friday, stayed overnight in Waltersboro, SC (just outside of Savannah, GA) , and checked in to Disney on Saturday early afternoon (a day earlier than we had planned!). On the way home, we left FtW at about noon on a Monday, and we were home around 2:30/3:00 on Tuesday afternoon. Even though we had 4 kids with us, and we were towing our TT, we made much better time than we had expected.

Have fun!!! (And be sure to write a trip report when you get back)

 

[adelrich]

Thanks for the replies. We are leaning towards making three stops along the way. We'll have our 8 yr old daughter and our 7 yr old son and I'm afraid if we drive to long each day, they'll make it unbearable for me. Any recommendations for places to stop along the way? Leaving from Flint, MI area.

 

[Luv2Camp]

We're 980 miles away from the Fort, and we take three days to get there. We leave really early the first morning and make it a big day. The second day is shorter, and we stop about 3 hours from the Fort. The third day we get up and check in by lunch, then have the rest of the day to go to a park and make it to any dinner reservations. We take two days to get home...The excitement just isn't there when we know we're headed towards Ohio!

 

[Born 2 Fish]

When we stop over night on our way to thr Fort, we do NOT unhook the TT. We do hook up the water and electric. Any time I can save to help me get me back on the road the next morning is a help. After all, the sooner I get to the Fort, the sooner I can go fishing !

Don't forget to pack your fish'n pole !

 

[4mickey2]

we're a little north of milwaukee and we stop two nights. most of the time the second night we are very close to the fort.

it just depends on you. we drive more hours in one stretch, on the way down than we do on the way back. not as excited to come home..

you may run into traffic like we did coming home in april. in that normally only 3-4 hour drive, it took us like 5 hours. we pulled over and stayed the night. storms were going through atlanta and kentucky. keep an eye on weather and traffic because that will make a difference, too.

but, in reality 2 nights is just right for us. we sleep in truck stops or rest areas... you may also want to at least print out or save on a disc the flying j, pilot truck stops. let's you know where they are on the interstate and approx. fuel prices.

 

[camperhappy]

We are 1000 miles and usually leave around 5pm Central time, drive to about 11pm, stop and get a hotel and then drive the rest of the way the next day. Last year we stopped two nights and it was too long, this year we will go back to the typical one night stop. We have pulled into campgrounds in the years past, but hubby finally listened and got us a hotel last year and that was easier, no hooking and unhooking. We packed a bag with a change of clothes for all of us, grabbed it out of the camper and slipped into the hotel, it was much easier!

 

[team bradfield]

my .02, guess it depends on how much time you have. We travel from northern illinois, around 1200 miles, we have 2 weeks vacation so we take it easy, average around 300-400 a day, still leaves us 9 days at FW. We plan on KOA stops along the way. level pads, no unhooking needed. Kids have pool and cable TV. I have XM radio for Cub games and margaritas...it's vacation, relax, enjoy everyday is our plan....we have long enough days at work....

plus we stay at top destinations, Paducah KY, Cartersville GA and Wildwood FL..LOL!!!!

 

[lorac4disney]

The first time we went to WDW, we left at 11:00pm and drove straight through. We got to the Fort the next day around 5:00pm. It was the longest eighteen hour drive of my life. We pushed it hard and it was no fun at all. By the time we arrived at the Fort, I was exhausted since I had driven all night and was unable to take a nap for having to navigate.

This time, we are leaving around 5:00am (the normal time we leave for work). That will put us at arriving at Panama City Beach in plenty enough time to stretch our legs a little before going to bed. We're going to stay there 2 nights (with a full day to run around on the beach to put us into vacation mode). Then we're going to leave out late on the third morning and get a room in Kissimmee/Orlando area before having a very short drive to the Fort.

So we are basically taking 3 full days to drive down there leisurely. On the way back, we are most likely going to take 2 days to come home.

 

[gillenkl]

Thanks for the replies. We are leaning towards making three stops along the way. We'll have our 8 yr old daughter and our 7 yr old son and I'm afraid if we drive to long each day, they'll make it unbearable for me. Any recommendations for places to stop along the way? Leaving from Flint, MI area.

We're bringing the portable dvd player with a whole load of DVDs the kiddos haven't watched before. Also I pack them each a backpack of new goodies to keep them busy. Last time we spent one night on the road and the next day by about 4pm we were all driving each other nutso. This year we'll be spending 2 nights on the road so hopefully this will eleviate some of the torture. Downside is that this will take 2 days off of our time at the Fort.

 

[Calway]

I live near Flint and will be traveling to WDW in October of 09'.
I went to MSN homepage and clicked on maps. They have a new system, new to me, called bing. I typed in my address and FW's address. I then could see my trip. I then typed in RV parks near Knoxville, TN. When I clicked along my route more campgrounds would pop up on the map. I did the same near Chattanoga, TN.

I then checked some campgrounds by going to their websites. Once I picked out one near Knoxville on the way down and one near Chattanoga on the way back, I looked them up on an rv park review site. I changed my mind on one of the parks and moved down the map further from Knoxville and found an RV park in Lenoir, TN instead.

Our plan is to travel half way and then spend the next day exploring TN on the way down. We are going to check out some caves and see some of the Smoky Mts. We can then get up early the next day and drive to FW.

On the return trip we are staying at Racoon Mts. campground in Chattanoga. They have a cave tour and we can drive to the state park for a color tour.
We'll be traveling 8 1/2 hours to 9 1/2 hours to each campground. No kids, but we still need to relax. We are looking forward to enjoying a little bit of each area before driving to Florida and then again driving back to Michigan.