what time do you leave?

[monalsw]

when you drive to disney? nighttime, daytime? after work, after sleeping all night? do you go straight through? how long of a trip, in either one or two days?


we've decided to drive in november and i'm curious as to how most people do it. we have driven straight through and have stopped overnight, usually at columbia, sc (i think it's sc). like everyone else, i'm anxious to get there, but flying is not an option this trip.

so, what do you do?

 

[Buzz's Buddy]

When we drive, we usually leave late at night. Since we have to travel south on I-95, it's usually the only way to avoid significant traffic between Philadelphia and Washington, DC.

Before we leave, I try to get as many hours of sleep as possible. Then we leave around 11:00pm. We drive straight thru, with my wife taking over when I need a break. On one trip, we were both pretty tired so we got off the road and took a little nap.

It will usually take us between 16-17 hours if we're lucky. Granted, I'm pretty tired when we get there, but it's nothing a little extra sleep won't cure.

 

[Nebsky]

We drove in March...

We left Dallas at 4am Central.
We had reservations in Lake City Florida. We were there in 14 hours. Had we not made the reservations, we would have driven straight through.

 

[prncess674]

We left New Orleans around 7AM and it takes us 10 to 12 hours depending on traffic.

 

[VaGal]

We are in Virginia, on the NC border and it usually takes us around 12 hours. DH and myself work so we try to catch a few hours sleep before leaving. I drive 4 hours and we switch drivers. We love traveling at night, we get a good start before all the " big traffic".

 

[crazelion]

We leave at 8:00a.m. and have a 10 hour drive. It depends on traffic in Atlanta how fast i get through Atl.

 

[tci1212]

We leave in the early morning depending on the route we take.
If we take the Ferry from Cape May then we have to wait until 7:30 am to cross to Delaware. It is about 16.5 to 17 hrs from there. If we drive up to the Delaware memorial bridge then we leave at 3:00 am and we are in Disney by 8 pm. Our drive in around 1000 miles.

 

[Uncleromulus]

We leave at 4:00 AM on Friday, so as to beat (barely) traffic in DC. WE stop in Brunswick Ga. for the night.

 

[monalsw]

thanks for the replies!!

i know we'll be anxious to get there and i am even considering leaving at about 6pm, after work. we are stopping on the way back in charleston, sc (i think sc, lol), which i've always wanted to visit, but i just want to get to disney as quick as possbile!

 

[Chicago526]

From Chicago, it's about 16 hours or so (maybe more, I can't remember exactly). We broke it up into 2 days, driving about half way down the first day (stoped in Kentucky) and the other half the second day. We left about 5 am from Chicago, but only to beat rush hour traffic going south around Lake Michigan. Otherwise we wouldn't have left so early. Second day I think we left around 8 and got in around 4 or 5. Stayed off site the first night to save money (it was in the fall so parks closed early, why pay top dollar for on-site when we could stay at a Quality Inn for $36?) and then checked into the Ft. Wilderness Cabins first thing the next morning. Didn't even have to wait until 3pm, they had a cabin ready and waiting!

Anyway, have a safe trip down!

 

[bigbabyblues]

We also drove from Ohio, and we left around 2 in the afternoon, drove to Columbia, SC, then started again the next morning about 6 from there; I think we got to CBR around 3 pm or so.

Steph

 

[Deafmedic]

Since I am used to working all weird hours due to my career, we normally leave at 3 AM and arrive at 3 PM. We also stay off site the first night and spend the evening at Downtown Disney.

 

[danny1649]

Around noon and drive to Macon,Ga. arrive around 9:00 and spend night with DW's sister.We get up around 5 am and leave Macon around 6am and arrive Old Key West Resort at WDW in early afternoon.

 

[ILPHIL]

It's about 1250 miles and with a lot of stops we do it in about 24 hrs. 18 1/2 hrs of actual driving time.
We will be leaving at 8am tomorrow!!!!!

 

[Blueberry]

When we drive we leave around 6am, sometimes earlier, it is about a 12 hour drive and we are there around 6pm normally....

 

[frazzled one]

We've driven several times from the Syracuse area, usually in early November. We leave around midnight, after dh/primary driver has worked all day but slept 4-5 hours after dinner. He drives until 7 AM (breakfast), I take over for a few hours, then we take turns until we're near GA somewhere (usually 5-6 PM). Our 3 girls tolerate the trip pretty well in the minivan, and sleep the first part of the trip.

The very best trip we've ever had, driving-wise, was when we left on a Friday after school (3 PM), drove 7 hours to Winchester, VA; spent the next day driving 14 hours to Kingsland, GA; got up early the following day and were at the CR before 9:30 AM. Everyone was refreshed and in a good mood, ready to have a wonderful time.

We did a mom-and-dad-only anniversary trip this past November. Since we were taking a smaller car with a 10-gallon gas tank, we didn't leave until 2 AM (dh was afraid we wouldn't find a gas station if we left any earlier). We drove 17 hours quite comfortably to the Savannah area, left at 6 AM the following day, and were checking in at the WL by 10:45 AM.

I love reading WDW driving tales!

 

[AspiringCindy]

Our trip is a 17-18 hour trip! We leave Jersey at 9:00AM and drive to SC(usually Santee)...that way we only have a 6 hour drive to WDW!

Frazzled! You say you like WDW driving stories?! Here is one for you!
On our last trip, we borrowed a kangaroo pouch that goes above the SUV. It really wasn't that sturdy, but we knew we weren't going to put anything of great value in it anyway! The first day of driving, we had to stop every now and then to check the pouch as the belts(straps) kept hitting the car and making loud noises and the zipper kept pulling open! The next day, we thought we found a way to better secure the kangaroo...and started off on our last 6 hours to WDW! 2 hours into the drive, cars are pulling up next to us waving at us. We're thinking gee...people from Georgia are really nice. We start waving back. Finally, a lady points to the top of our car! OH NO!!! It was like a scene from Planes, Trains and Automobiles! Diapers are flying everywhere! Needless to say, we didn't use it on the homebound trip!

 

[CrazySun27]

We are leaving from Houston at 10 pm (16.5 hours), driving straight through, my DH and my sis are taking turns at the wheel... i'm looking forward to the drive actually

 

[parmtoo]

We were planning to leave about 4am on a Fri. morning.........we have now change our plans to leave @ nooon on the day before. Just to get on the road and put in a few miles. This will make the trip a little easier for DH.

 

[AspiringCindy]

Bumping!