Trip Planning Questions

[pamhubenak]

We are tent camping at FW May 18-24 (hooray!). We are driving to FW from Houston. It's about 1000 miles. Do you all recommend spending the night somewhere halfway (around Mobile, AL, maybe) or driving straight through?

My aunt lives in Denham Springs, LA, and would love for us to spend the night with her. I've thought about leaving Friday after the kids get out of school, driving to LA, spending the night with my aunt, then driving to Orlando on Saturday, spending the night at a hotwire hotel Saturday night, then checking in to the Fort on Sunday morning.

Or, waking up very early Saturday morning and driving straight through to Orlando, spending the night at a hotwire hotel, then checking into FW Sunday morning.

Any thoughts? Thank you guys so much for any opinions you might have!!

Pam

 

[clkelley]

I've only got 690 miles and I stop part way and spend the night. I leave right after work on Friday night and go about 4 - 5 hours and stop for the night and then finish the drive the next day. That gets me to the Fort about checkin time.

Also going home, I check out a day early, spend the entire day at WDW, then drive about 2 hours and then stop for the night, then finish the drive the next day. It's a lot easier to get on the road from a motel/campground away from Disney than it is to leave Disney at a reasonable time.

 

[2goofycampers]

we usually drive straight thru there but stop overnight coming back, but that is 656 miles. most important is getting there and back safely. have a great trip...........Denise

 

[pamhubenak]

I've only got 690 miles and I stop part way and spend the night. I leave right after work on Friday night and go about 4 - 5 hours and stop for the night and then finish the drive the next day. That gets me to the Fort about checkin time.

Also going home, I check out a day early, spend the entire day at WDW, then drive about 2 hours and then stop for the night, then finish the drive the next day. It's a lot easier to get on the road from a motel/campground away from Disney than it is to leave Disney at a reasonable time.

Thanks, Carol! This is exactly the kind of information I was looking for. Okay, we'll leave Friday afternoon and drive to my aunt's house in LA (about 5 hours away), then drive to FW the next day. We will still probably spend the night at a motel Saturday night because it will be late by the time we get into Orlando. On the 24th (departure), we'll stay at the Fort for the entire day, then spend the night somewhere a couple hours from Orlando on our way back to Houston. Thank you, again! This is so helpful!

Pam

 

[BigDaddyRog]

I live VERY near your Aunt....we have always pushed thru and made it without a sleep stop, but have decided that since we will ALSO be tenting this time(May22-31) to grab an interstate side hotel just past the FL line. It will make it alot easier to set up a tent before the sun goes down the next day, and it seems like it will delete that "Hurry up and get there" feeling..we (and by "we", I mean my leadfooted wife)got ticketed on our way there in December.

 

[FloridaTeacher]

We are right at 400 miles, and we also stop halfway. We usually leave on Friday afternoon (after school). We drive to Madison, FL and stay at the Jelly Stone Campground there, then on to WDW the next morning.

With 2 kids and 2 dogs, this makes the trip much easier!

Happy Camping

 

[pamhubenak]

Thanks for all the good info! You guys are the best.

I am so excited about camping at FW, but have been a little nervous about the long drive. Glenn and the kids are great long-distance car travelers, but I get a little antsy after a while.

BigDaddyRog, we check into FW on Sunday, May 18th. I like your idea of spending the night just inside the FL line on Saturday night to lessen the "rush, rush, get there ASAP" feeling. We could just finish the drive to FW Sunday morning.

Can't wait 'til May,
Pam

 

[shocker]

We've stopped in Tallahassee at a hotel. Nothing fancy (i.e. pool) so the kids won't get distracted. Just sleep, up next morning eat breakfast. In Orlando by lunch time so can eat once off campus before settling into the resort at check-in time.

 

[clkelley]

On the 24th (departure), we'll stay at the Fort for the entire day, then spend the night somewhere a couple hours from Orlando on our way back to Houston.

Pam

On the last day, you actually have to be packed up and out of your site by 11am, but you can hang around Disney property all day long.

 

[PolynesianPixie]

I really like to drive most of the way and stop somewhere within about 3 hours away so we can get to Disney fairly early. It seems to make getting there that much more exciting!

We've also found that getting up really early and letting the kids sleep for much of the ride works wonders, too!

 

[pamhubenak]

I really like to drive most of the way and stop somewhere within about 3 hours away so we can get to Disney fairly early. It seems to make getting there that much more exciting!

We've also found that getting up really early and letting the kids sleep for much of the ride works wonders, too!

When we drove back from the Grand Canyon, we left at 4:30 am with the sleeping kids (then 3) in their PJs. We drove until El Paso or so, then stopped to change clothes and have some breakfast. Worked like a charm.

Is Tallahassee about 3 hours from Orlando? We could stop there on Saturday night, then drive in to FW Sunday morning.

Thanks, again, for all the great tips.

 

[kc5grw]

No Tallahassee is a bit further than 3 hours. IIRC Lake City is right at 4 hours from the Fort. Our first trip I planned to overnight at Lake City, but once I got there I was still feeling pretty good and new I could finish the next 4 hours. We left Mesquite (1080 miles) at 7am on a thursday morning and I pulled into Fort Wilderness at 4:30am Friday.

Our second trip we stopped at a KOA outside Chattahoochee. But I was beat by the time we got there. I had 2 blowouts on the trailer, ended up replacing all 4 tires. That took a total of about 4 hours out of the schedule.

 

[CCIntrigue]

1000 miles is too far to drive in one day! The most we've driven in one day is 775, and we've vowed we will never do that again. 600 miles is our limit. We try to leave about 150 miles for the next day.

 

[pamhubenak]

A big thank you for all the helpful advice.

Right now, the plan looks like this:

5/16 Houston to Denham Springs, LA
5/17 Denham Springs to Lake City, FL (spend the night in a motel)
5/18 Lake City, FL to FW (yea!)
5/18-24 Tent Camping at FW
5/24 (pm) FW to Lake City, FL (spend the night in a motel)
5/25 Lake City, FL to Denham Springs, LA
5/26 Denham Springs, LA to Houston

5/27 Hubby goes back to work.

The longest stretch is from LA to Lake City on 5/17 (and back on the 25th). It's about 530 miles.

I really appreciate all the input.

Now, if you could just help me plan menus....

 

[LONE-STAR]

We drive it straight through. We have only stopped halfway one time. We also do about a 1000 mile trip from Texas.

 

[kc5grw]

I know I'll be driving straight through this Dec. We'll be leaving early on the 18th and need to be checked in so we can make the MVMCP on the 19th.

 

[pamhubenak]

My husband would probably prefer to drive straight through. We've gone back and forth for the last couple months trying to decide.

I like the idea of getting a few hours underway that first Friday afternoon so Saturday is not such a long day. Plus, we get to visit my aunt and uncle in LA.

I also like the idea of waking up very early (around 4am) and just doing the straight trip (Glenn calls it the "bonzai" drive to FW).

It'd be great to skip the whole check-in/unpack/sleep/shower/pack/check-out dance, but I want to arrive at FW fairly early since we are tent camping.

For this trip, we will probably sleep over in LA and Lake City. I will hold off making hotel reservations until the trip gets closer.

Thanks, again, for all the help. You all are so nice.

 

[Shannone1]

We like to stop twice from MI to FL. Chad gets sleepy when it gets dark so leaving at night and driving straight through would not work for us. I can drive the motorhome too....but would be afraid I'd get sleepy without someone to help keep me awake. So we stop somewhere around the KY/TN border and then in Lake City, FL. Stopping in Lake City gets us to FW by check in, no problem.

 

[clkelley]

It'd be great to skip the whole check-in/unpack/sleep/shower/pack/check-out dance, but I want to arrive at FW fairly early since we are tent camping.
.

One thing you need to make sure you do is pack a separate small bag for your overnight stops. That way the only thing you pull out of the vehicle is that bag (and your valuable electronics).