Well It's about 10 days and Counting til the Big Drive

[diskids2]

First, I want to thank everyone on this board for your help throughout the planning stages of this trip. We have about 10 days to go and I am feeling pretty comfortable with everything (

This will be our first drive down to WDW from NY. Here is the plan: Leave NY at approx 2 am. Make necessary stops for gas, breaks, etc. along the way. Drive until we reach exit 87 in Georgia (Richmond Hill). We have an overnight res for the Hampton Inn. Hope to arrive in Richmond Hill by 6 pm.

Rest, relax, get some sleep. Leave Richmond Hill at 8 am the next day (Do you believe I have to set the clocks back during this drive - geesh, what was I thinking and to loose an hour no less, lol)

Drive to the DOLPHIN (another first for us - usually we are at CBR). Hope to arrive by 1 pm.


So, what do you think. Are my time expectations realistic? Any suggestions for dinner at exit 87 in Georgia? Any last minute tips?

Oh, we are a family of 2 adults and 2 kids 13 and 9. My DH and I will split the driving, although the 13 year old wants to help - ok I told her that she could in about 3 years - No I really just told her to get a grip on reality

 

[midge dionne]

I don't know how long you are going to be at WDW, but don't forget about the time change (spring foward) of 1 hour on April 4.

 

[NYMEDIC]

Drove 2 times with my parents, the last being about 12 years ago. My family found that driving to North or South Carolina was the most we could do in one day comfortably. I believe the second trip we stopped at Fayetville.

 

[diskids2]

NYMEDIC - Thanks for the feedback. I have a reservation in South Carolina aobut the middle of the state as a backup in case we can't push ahead to Richmond Hill.

Any other thoughts, I'd love to hear them.

 

[garylpn]

you might want to consider moving the start back to 1200 am, wash dc has a pretty ugly morning rush, and i know it the hard way, another reason i no longer drive it, from eastern li, it;s hard to time it for 2 rush hours, worse that can happen is you get south of dc earlier than expected, you could stop for a nice breakfast, and really stretch those legs, there's a waffle house at the ashland exit
gary

 

[dzneelvr]

A start time of 2am is going to be exhausting after a few hours-- It's going to interrupt any sleep you could get that night at home anyway....why not start out after any rush hours in the major cities you're driving through...say start at 7pm from your home and then plot out.
When we drive from Illinois, we get home from work; shower; finish packing and loading and then head out. Our DS and DD were about the same ages as yours so it works ok. They sleep when they get tired and you will too.

You could then stop at your hotel and do some swimming, etc prior to Lights Out if you wanted to keep on the same schedule for entry into WDW; if you want to get to WDW that many hours earlier--you can do that.

WDW ON JUNE 24

 

[diskids2]

Interesting thoughts. Since I can fall asleep at any time, I thought that I would go to bed at around 6 pm, get up and do the first part of the driving at 2. My DH and kids will have no problem sleeping in our minivan. I am not a night owl, so I don't know how I would be driving from 7 pm when I've worked all day, the kids were in school all day, etc.

I figured leaving at 2 would put me through WDC at 7 am. But you may be right about it not being early enough.

This is excellent feedback for me to ponder, thanks again!

Any other thoughts?

 

[luapgib]

Let me tell you I have been dealing with this my whole life and the traffic in D.C. is just the tip of the Iceberg. Right now you plan on being in D.C. around 7:00 am. That would put you in Baltimore around 6:00am. Now I have to admit that it is a crap shoot and really depends on the day and luck but your stop and go could start there. So instead of a 45 min to an hour drive from baltimore to D.C. it can easily turn into 1 1/2 or 2 hours (remeber crap shoot so it could easily still be 45 mins). Then you have to realize that you must get through beltway traffic which is a nightmare. Once you get south of the city you should have a little trouble in springfield just cause of consturction and the fact that no matter what time or what day there is always traffic. Then you will have a pretty smooth ride to Richmond but depending on when you get there you may still have to deal with their rush hour. When I plan on traveling south (I start south of DC in Fairfax) I try to leave around 10:00 am so that I can avoid all rush hour here and in Richmond but that is just me and you may have a higher tolerance for traffic and like I have said before you may get lucky and have no traffic. Now all this being said I hope I have not totally discouraged you I just want you to be prepared for the worst.
To echo what some others have posted I would almost suggest getting home from work taking a nap till 9-9:30 and trying to get on the road at like 10:00. That would put you in D.C. around 3-3:30 (no rush hour at that hour that I am aware of) that way you would have smooth sailing the whole way. Now I know from many trips south on my own and with my parents that it will take you ten hours from here to the Florida border so you could have and idea of exactly how long in make take you to get to your Georgia stop. That would give you a whole day of relaxation at the Georgia hotel with a nice nights rest to begin your next day.
But this is your vacation and you need to do what you are comfortable with. So basically i have wasted your time making you read this novel as well as wasting valuble posting space so pelase forgive me.

 

[diskids2]

luapgib - thank you for your "novel" I found it to be very informative and you gave me your opinion supported by facts which is what I asked for.

I am seriously considering leaving earlier than 2 am, but I want to ask all of you - does it make a difference with rush hour that we are talking about Saturday morning and not a work day?

Thank again and keep the opinions coming.

 

[luapgib]

Normally saturdays are not that bad except when you get to the Springfield area. However that particular saturday is the beginning of spring break for our schools here so you may want to take that into consideration. As a whole however when you are talking that early on a Saturday I would imagine it would not be a problem but I just wanted to give you a heads up about spring break.

 

[diskids2]

Ok thanks for the advice!

 

[crzy4dsny]

We did our first "big drive" this past July. I live out on Long Island and did what your planning on. We left at 2:00am on a Saturday morning. We are going to be driving again in three weeks and will be leaving at the same time again. We hit very little traffic, hardly any.

We didn't hit any delays in the dreaded D.C area. We were in Virginia at 6:48am. Thats with stopping for gas, and being delayed at the drawbridge. We lost about 30 min all together.

We were in Georgia at 3:52pm. Thats with some minor delays because of a couple of accidents. I guess you could figure on 14 hours to Georgia. Im not sure where in Georgia Richmond Hill is. From the Georgia, South Carolina border it took us about 4 hours to get to Disney. You could gage your time from that.

On that trip we drove straight thru and arrived at the resort at 8:25pm. This coming trip we are going to stop over night in Kingsland Georgia. Thats pretty much right on the border of Florida. We are doing this so that we can arrive at the resort early in the day. We didn't like getting there that late at night. This way maybe we can get a "good room" and explore the resort with some light.

On the night you are leaving the clocks spring Ahead one hour at 2:00am. So if you want to leave at 2:00, you are going to have to really leave at 1:00. As soon as the clock strikes 2:00, it will really be 3:00..??? I think

Check this link for my trip report
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=417463



We enjoyed the drive, Have fun

 

[wdwstar]

12 days and we will be flying see you down at wdw !