Trip from Key Largo

[NancyDVC]

This may be strange but here goes. Next January 7 my youngest niece is getting married in Key Largo. (My sister's youngest)
Her older sister and her husband recently became DVC members. They were set for a DVC vacation in August but had to change their plans because of another family wedding (his family).

Now my oldest niece (the DVC member) has suggested a trip to WDW after the wedding withher husband and kids, my sister and some friends. I said great and booked a grand villa and 1 bedroom. (We are pooling our points)
My co-member and I will stay in the handicapped accessible 1 bedroom with my Mom and the rest of the gang will be in the grand villa.
After some research I found out that it is about a 7 hour drive from Key Largo to WDW. My Mom has some health problems and could not make that long a trip without numerous stops and a rest. We don't want to tire her out before we get to WDW.
They plan to stay after the Saturday wedding and leave for WDW Monday.
I was thinking of going to VB on Sunday and staying one night in a studio and making the rest of the trip the next day.

Has anyone driven to or from the keys and WDW? How arduous is the drive? I have driven to VB from WDW and vice versa. The 1 1/2 hour drive isn't too bad.

Any opinions? Other options? Suggestions? Thanks. I know I can always count on this group!

 

[skelooch]

If you're flying down for the wedding, you could drive from Key Largo to Miami and get a flight from there to MCO and fly home from Orlando.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Not sure where your leaving from in key largo but my son and his girlfriend drove from there and it took them about 4 1/2 hrs.

Just checked mapquest and they show a 5 hr drive not sure if that helps with your mom or not

 

[ABCanada]

Drove to Islamorada, just south of Key Largo, from WDW and back last month. Took about 5 hours each way including a stop for gas / food. Drive was all on good roads and other than passing Miami not too busy. Miami was not that bad but a definite change in driving style.

We thought about flying but felt by the time you get to the airport, security, ... pick up a rental car etc. it did not make sense for us. If you do consider flying, Fort Lauderdale was recommended over Miami even though it is a bit further the ease of getting in and out of out weighed the distance.

 

[JimMIA]

If you take the Florida Turnpike (and you should, with one exception mentioned below), you'll find frequent service plaza stops along the way. In addition to gas, they also have food service, restrooms, etc and are easy places to stop for a few minutes break.

Depending on where you start from in Key Largo, it's about 25 miles to the beginning of the Florida Turnpike in Florida City. From there, the best way to go is north 39 miles on the Turnpike to I-75 northbound, continuing north on the Sawgrass Expressway (SR 869) and rejoining the Turnpike at the 71 mile point. That will bypass much of the Miami traffic and almost all of the Ft. Lauderdale traffic and will probably save you at least an hour in drive time.

(You'll have to stay alert when you approach the Sawgrass -- it's a huge interchange, with I-75 turning left toward Naples, I-595 turning right to Ft. Lauderdale, and the Sawgrass continuing straight north.)

From where you rejoin the turnpike, it's 23 miles to the first service plaza -- West Palm Beach, at MM 94. Then there are additional service plazas at MM 144, 184, and 229. You'll exit the Turnpike at Osceola Parkway, MM 249, so you'll have stops available every 40-50 miles once you reach WPB.

 

[jennib5426]

It's not bad if you take the toll road not sure what it's called but the speed limit is like 70-75 and not much traffic. Just set your cruise control and drive north.. We did it a while back and it was about 4-5 hours.

 

[NancyDVC]

As usual this is the best group for getting answers to all sorts of questions.

Everywhere I looked I found a driving time of 6-7 hours. A drive of 4-5 hours is better but may still be too long for my Mom. We are staying at the Hilton Key Largo Resort, 97000 Overseas Hwy for the wedding.

Where we fly into will depend on the airfares. Miami is not my first choice because of the crowds (and this from a native New Yorker). Fort Lauderdale or even West Palm Beach would probably be easier to get in and out of. The thought of flying from there back up to MCO isn't pleasant with all the security and my Mom's limited mobility.

JimMIA Thanks for the directions! I will certainly incorporate that route into my plans. Avoiding traffic is always a good thing, especially around a metropolitan area.


Of course if I win the lottery then I can just hire someone to drive us

Thanks again for all the information and suggestions.