what is the best time to leave for DW from Barrie On. (driving) ??????

[pkitty]

The last time we drove was back in 1997 and boy did my butt hurt !!! We flew down two more times since then but due to the cost of flights these days will be driving again. We left in the afternoon at about 3-4 PM and drove through the night inorder to allow my 4 year old lots of sleeping time... and us lots of peace and quiet; the down side to that was I was too tired to drive at about 4. AM and had to get the wife to drive until we were just north of Atlanta, because she drove I was too worried and did not get any sleep anyways. My question is does anyone have a good suggestion as to the best time to leave now that my daughter can bear alot more of the trip? We are travelling the I 75 through Windsor hoping to make it to Macon by days end. thanks

 

[NancyK]

I would probably leave about 4 a.m. When our kids were younger, they would have a poptart or something simple and then go back to sleep for a few hours. Schedule your meal/gas stops around the kids. If they're sleeping - keep driving. We've made it to Macon on the first day but that was leaving from London. Since you're adding another 3 hours to get to London, it might be kind of hard gettting that far in one day. We've also driven straight through, but we're getting kind of old for that. LOL!

 

[DSNY FN]

Your best bet is to have your wife tae the kid(s) out during the day that you plan on leaving. My wife did this on our last trip as we left after dinner time that gave me the whole day to relax and get some sleep so I could drive from 7 Pm till the breakfast stop at the Georgia Welcome centre. It really did help and my plan for you would be to leave either after dinner or early enough before so that you are hitting London area around 6:30 or 7 PM and stop at Mc D's on the road for food.

 

[cottontail]

Hi:

We have driven down 5 times from Hamilton. We usually leave at 4 or 5 a.m. and stop just after supper. I always book two motels about 1 and a half hours apart, that have the either 4 or 6p.m. cancellatiion rule, so that when we are close and know which one we will go to I call again(from a welcome center or wendys etc) and give my credit card to hold for a later arrival. Always we choose a motel tha offers a continental breakfast for a quick bite to eat and back on the hwy. We like country inn and suites, hampton inns, fairfield.

For Canadians grabbing a bite for lunch etc, Wendys 99C meals are great for the budget. They have salads, fries, hamburgs, chilli, baked potatoe. We found this out on our april trip.

For washroom stops make sure you go to the rest centers that have people working in them, such as the welcome stations for each state, or pull off the hwy for a fast food restaurant.

The one reason we don't drive thru the night in winter are the mountains, you don't know how the roads will be there, whether snow, fog, or icy roads. Especially with children in the car.

Take lots of snacks, and medications for whatever and throwup bags, pillow, blanket for your child. You just never know. Sorry for going on and on. Don't try to drive straight through on the way down, you will be whipped for your wdw vacation.

We drove straight through coming home only once from daytona, (19 hrs from I95/79/77 thru virginia, dont do this route in the winter) but my hubby still had a couple of days off and we knew we had a bed waiting for us at any arrival time. Have a great trip.

Debbie.

 

[pkitty]

Hey everyone!!!! My hubby is using my ID (I've just introduced him to the board) and this is his question!!!! It's a good one considering that we haven't done the drive in forever (opting to fly after our first attempt at driving...kamakaze style...you know...drive til yah drop...every first timers mistake!!!)We're olderand wiser ( I think???) now and we just want to enjoy the trip and scenery and our kid is older (9 going on 29) so I think this will be a good option!!!! And yes I did most of the driving through the mountains at night...in the fog....tired...not so great...and yes we definately want to avoid this at all cost!!!! keep the suggestions coming you guys have some great ones that's for sure!!!!! (the REAL pkitty!!!!)

 

[Limmer]

We went in Sept and left Barrie about 5 am Sat morning. We made frequent stops and drove until about 7 or 8 pm. We stopped in South Carolina. We left by 6am the next morning and got to WDW about 5pm. We took I-95 though. That was our recommendation from CAA. It wasn't too bad on the way down because we were excited but the ride home was horrible. No WDW to look forward to. We were 4 adults.

 

[MaryannF]

Assuming that you would be taking the 400 hwy to the 401 W consider taking the 407 ETR. I know it costs but we found the cost well worth it when we left North York on a Thursday morning at 7 am for our trip to WDW. We had to drive north on Bathurst street to pick it up and we got off just shy of Milton. There was no traffic and it was clear sailing, no worries about lane changes, express lanes or on and off ramps. A very relaxing way to start the drive. We missed all the rush hour congestion. It probably shaved 45 min to 1 hour off the drive. Also consider buying Dave Hunter's Along I-75. We have found it an invaluable tool when travelling with the kids. We have always driven 13 hours the first day and made it as far as Knoxville. This year we made it to Knoxville in 12.

 

[chucked]

I have done the drive many times from Orillia, the last being March break last year. I plan on going I77/I79/I95 with a backup of I75. I watch the weather via the internet for a couple of days before and make my decision for a route based on that.

Last March we left Saturday morning around 4:30 AM and stopped in Statesville NC just before 6:00 PM at a Comfort Inn with an indoor pool. This gave the kids (7,5 & 1) a chance to tire themselves out in the pool before bed. The next morning we were on the road by 6:30 and rolled into Orlando around 5:00 PM.

I have gone down both routes many times. Provided the weather cooperates I77/I79/I95 is about 2-3 hours shorter than I75 and is a lot more relaxing drive than I75 as Charlotte is the only big city that you go through.

 

[cdnmickeylover]

We've driven numerous times over the years. We prefer the I75 route for 2 reasons, one is that once you get on the highway you don't have to worry about looking for turnoffs until you get to Florida and the second reason is because of Dave Hunter's book. Well worth the money. It's entertaining and very useful in planning your stops.

We have left early in the morning around 4am and stopped either in Kentucky or Georgia depending on the number of drivers. (I drove down once alone with my son when he was 2 and I left at 4am and got to Kentucky at about 6pm. ) We have driven straight through but that's absolutely exhausting when you arrive there.

The last 2 times we've driven we have left on Friday afternoon sometime between 2-4pm and driven to Ohio and stopped for the night around 10-11pm. We've then started early in the morning 7am and driven til we get towards the bottom of Georgia -- can't remember exactly and then had a short drive the next day and arrived in Orlando at around 2pm -- time to hit the character warehouse before checking in.

One thing that we do have which is really useful is a car fridge made by Koolatron that we got at Canadian Tire. We take lots of food and therefore picnic on the drive (and in the parks) which saves us time on the drive and lots of money.

Cdnmickeylover