Tuesday Arrival: Yay or Nay?

[Tom P.]

I apologize in advance if these types of threads start to get incessant. But we have to make a quick decision.

We are scheduled to arrive tomorrow for a 10 day stay. I have spoken to our travel agent, and she recommended keeping our plans and thinks it will be fine. And honestly, I'm not that worried about Disney. I think they'll get things back up and running as quickly as possible and as long as we're flexible it will be enjoyable.

However, we are driving down and will be entering from Georgia. Our normal route takes us through the Jacksonville area via I-95/I-295. I am hearing reports that their road conditions are pretty bad at the moment, but I can't find a lot of detailed info.

So my concern mostly is getting to WDW in terms of road conditions both in Orlando and also up toward Jackson. This isn't until late tomorrow we'd be arriving in Florida, of course, so there is some time for some cleanup work to be done by then.

So what do you all think? Come as planned or cancel? Anyone with any thoughts specifically on the roads/driving conditions?

Thanks!

 

[MHSweb79]

That's a tough one. There's no way of knowing what road conditions you'll run into. I'm guessing that they'd rather not deal with any non-essential traffic for a day or two- can you delay your trip?

 

[TDS533]

Agree with MHSweb79. We are here now and they are talking about all the flooding and flash flood warnings for Jacksonville as of today. There is also lack of power in most places. Just be safe.

 

[mkpat]

You should check out fl511.com for road conditions. We are planning to drive down tomorrow as well from VA.

 

[Tom P.]

Thanks, everyone. I don't want to sound selfish or like all that matters is a vacation. We're just in a position where we have to make some immediate decisions on limited information.

Here's the problems with pushing back a day or two:

1. Disney Reservations isn't open today, so we can't even talk to them and figure out our options. But since we drive over 2 days, we have to decide to either go or not today. Within the next hour or two actually.

2. If we do move, we lose free dining. We are a family of 7. That's going to add about $1,600 to our rescheduled trip, which is not insignificant. It's not worth risking our safety, but it's certainly something we have to be considering.

3. This trip is planned around my son's third birthday, which is Friday. If we don't make it by then, we miss celebrating his birthday at WDW and also it significantly ups the price even more because now he needs tickets, we need different resort rooms, etc.

So it's no small decision for us to make. Just trying to make the best decision considering all the factors.

 

[glocon]

I would try. If you can't get thru some places and get to wdw later than your ressie at least you still have your room and free dining. It looks like Georgia is getting the rain today so maybe it will be better tomorrow?
You can try calling wdw on your way down to make sure all is well on their end.

 

[Tom P.]

Thanks again, everyone. I think we're going to go ahead and go for it, since we have to make a decision right now. Tonight we'll be well away from Florida for our overnight stay, and then when we get up in the morning, we can reassess conditions, talk to Disney, etc. We'll just remain flexible and if we have to wait and drive in a day later, or adjust our route, or even turn back and come home, we will. But I think it's worth rolling the dice for us today to see if we can't try to make it work.

 

[Monykalyn]

Do you have a place to stay on drive down? Also be sure to load a gas finding app as there were reports of shortages. Be safe! Disney will likely be up and running tomorrow.

 

[mkpat]

Where are you driving from, if I may ask?

 

[Micca]

Good luck with the drive Tom, and have a great time.

 

[Tom P.]

We are driving from West Virginia. We do already have confirmed hotel reservations for Charlotte, North Carolina tonight so we're okay for tonight.

Tomorrow is the longer leg of our trip -- about 8 hours under normal conditions. We'll definitely keep a close eye on conditions and adjust as needed!

 

[Random Ninja]

There are parts of Jacksonville that are flooding right now, mostly Riverside and Downtown. Power is out in a lot of places, not sure about debris yet. The interstates here are raised up in those areas and should be okay. If you aren't driving though here until Wednesday, you should be okay but keep an eye on the gas tank. There's going to be a lot of people returning to Florida by then. I'm getting ready to go out and check on my DMIL who lives in a condo by the St. Johns river and I'm hoping I can get to her. They haven't had power for a day and her DH and mine don't get off work until tomorrow morning. I'll let you know what the roads are like when I get back.

 

[glassslippergirl]

Can you leave earlier than planned? I think you will benefit from giving yourselves as many extra hours as possible. I drove the highways in South Florida today, and the roads were clear, but there was no gas and no open restaurants. Leave with a full tank; don't go below 1/3 tank without filling up. You may have to drive to find an open station and/or wait in a long line. Take all the food you'll need for the drive. If you stop in the affected areas, even at a McDonalds, prepare to wait and maybe have a limited menu (we waited 30 minutes at a McDonalds today, I had to call 911 because a customer became belligerent, and there were only 3 things to choose from). Remember most schools are out, so local families will be flocking to the same places as tourists just to find things to do (and air conditioning and hot meals). Also, prepare to share the southbound lanes with caravans of power trucks and others coming for the relief effort.

 

[writerguyfl]

Also, prepare to share the southbound lanes with caravans of power trucks and others coming for the relief effort.

This plus the millions of Floridians who evacuated the state. Many of those people will be anxious to return to check on their homes.

It took me 13.5 hours to drive from Fort Lauderdale to Tallahassee before the storm. That trip normally takes 6.5 hours. That's the level of traffic that might happen.

 

[Random Ninja]

Back from the In Laws. Almost 3/4 of the intersection lights were out. They were reopening bridges on my way home. There's debris everywhere. I95 actually looked a lot better then I thought it would. There's an area under construction that often floods but it was fine. Very few gas stations have gas or are open and they all have long lines. It took me twice as long as it usually does to get there and back. Plan on it taking a lot longer and start looking for gas before you need it.

 

[KerriKaden]

We are planning to drive down Friday & Saturday. Will you guys please keep us updated? I've been worried about traffic, debris, etc. Trying to decide about coming down.

 

[glassslippergirl]

@Tom P., can you update us on how the drive was? Curious and hope you made it safely.