WWYD? Drive or Autotrain

[heartsy77]

We are having a GG in WDW Aug 28- Sept 3. We have booked Auto train round trip for me, dh, 18 stepson, dd 14 and dd 11.

We are taking our Honda Pilot on the train, so with extra lrg vehicle fees and coach accommodations we are paying 960.78 AAA rates.

Here's my dilemma could we drive for much cheaper? My husband was recently laid off so leaving earlier is a possibility.

Here are the specs:

We live in upstate NY (Binghamton Area)
We will have to drive to Lorton to catch train about 5 1/2 hrs
We could leave as soon as I am done with work on Aug 26 @ 5:30pm.
We need to meet other family in GG on Aug 28 @ POP preferably in late morning.
I do not want to drive straight through... am I realistic to think that we can pull into a cheap motel for the 1st night along the road?
Part of me wants to show my kids the southern states... we have done the auto train and you tend to see mostly bad areas.
Should we drive down and train back?
Our train tickets are booked but not printed so we could cancel without penalty.

HELP! ANY IDEAS OR THOUGHTS WELCOME!

 

[sdchickie]

I think the drive down and ride back is a great idea. We live in Md. so it isn't as far as you, but we drove 7 times last year. On one trip I got sick and couldn't drive home so we took the autotrain home. I have to say that was the most uncomfortable sleep I think I've ever had. If you leave on the 26th are you planning on doing 2 nights on the road? If so I would suggest driving as far south as you can the first night, possibly somewhere around the north/south carolina line. (Depends on how many drivers you have and how tired they are). Then get up and spend the next day in Savannah GA and find a hotel around Savannah to sleep in. The next day you should be able to get to the pop around mid morning if you leave bright and early in the morning. It's around 5 hour drive. We stopped in Savannah on one of our trips and the kids really liked it. As far as hotel prices they run somewhere around $100 for the night anytime you stay in a populated place, I don't know if I would be comfortable in some of the smaller towns along I-95. You won't see much along 95 if that's what you were talking about when you said you wanted the kids to see the southern states.

 

[Sadie22]

We are taking the AutoTrain for the ride down for the experience and because the last time I drove a long distance I developed a pinched nerve in my right foot. We will be touring the Kennedy Space Center before we arrive at Disney World.

We were going to stop and visit family on the drive back home. However, anytime I travel by car I research places of interest along the route and we try to see some of them without doubling the time to get home. That includes estimating how far we will travel each day and where we expect to end up. If possible I would make reservations along the route.