Best Time To Leave Driving From NY To WDW

[tterrag24]

Hi
in Aug im going to wdw for 8days. My family and i are driving to orlando from New York. We want to drive straight and as fast as possible. i was wondering what time should we leave so we hit as little traffic as possible????
thanks

 

[mousebymarriage]

We have driven from Bergen County, N.J. ( 6 miles from the GWB) twice. The first time we left at 2:30am andmade it to Santee, South Carolina exactly 12 hours later now that included stopping to eat breakfast and lunch (we also gave the kids a few minutes in the play area at the restaurant to stretch their legs) a few quick bathroom/gas fill up stops, and 1 stop on the side of the highway to clean up my vomit covered son. We stayed over at Santee that night and awoke early the next a.m. and made it to Disney by about noon or so. The 2nd time we drove we left at 4:00 pm and drove straight through except for stopping to eat (again allowing the kids to stretch their legs at the play areas) bathroom/gas fill up breaks. We got there about lunch time again but we also hit alot of rain on the way down. We would definately drive down again and would probably leave a bit earlier may 2 or 3pm.

 

[yankspy]

I have done this drive many times and I would say your best bet is around 5:00 a.m. Your biggest hot-spots are N.Y. and the D.C. area. If you leave at 5 you will miss the N.Y. traffic and you will probably hit D.C. at around 9:30-10:00 which is when the D.C. traffic begins to lighten up.

 

[rkelly42]

I leave Providence Rhode Island area about 1am. I am probably only about 3hrs from New York. I am usually in St. Augustine FL. at 530pm that same day. I have never hit traffic in New York City, Baltimore or D.C.

 

[Mr Wizard]

As you come down I95 in MD you will want to avoid where you intersect 695 ( the Baltimore Beltway ) at morning rush hour. Major bottleneck. Another hint is to take 295 South thru DC. It saves miles by not taking 495 ( DC Beltway ) around DC. And drops you off at the Woodrow Wilson Bridge which takes you into VA. The easy way to do this is to take the old tunnel ( 895 ) under the Balto Harbour and on the South side you will see signs for 295. Have a safe trip !

 

[tigsmom]

Hi
in Aug im going to wdw for 8days. My family and i are driving to orlando from New York. We want to drive straight and as fast as possible. i was wondering what time should we leave so we hit as little traffic as possible????
thanks

Best time we have found (we live 45 miles NORTH of NYC) is about 7 PM (though last time we left at 10pm). This way you will miss just about all of the rush hours of the major cities. We have tried to drive straight through, but it is a killer ride and your speed depends on the traffic, road conditions and police patrols. :lookaroun
We find it's better to stop around Santee, SC (Hampton INN is VERY good) and finish up early the next morning.

Be warned that Virginia is closing just over half of their rest stops (they were all open for the 4th) as well as some other states so you will have to venture off the highways for gas and whatever

 

[islesgirl]

My sister and I just drove from Long Island this past week. We left at 3am and got to Savannah, GA at around 4pm with a few rest stop and food breaks thrown in there. We hit no NY or DC traffic whatsoever. We did the next 4 and a half/5 hours the next morning at got to Disney at noon

 

[slappy magoo]

You don't say where in New York you are - whether you're in or near the city, or perhaps farther north, or even all the way upstate. So it's hard to judge - New York isn't one of the teeniest states, you know.

Wherever you are, you'll know when to avoid NYC traffic, you want to try to time the drive so you're in the dead of night going through D.C. So if you live in or near NYC, I'd suggest leaving around 8pm - rush hour's ending, most people coming into NYC for a night of entertainment are already in (when I leave work, I know the 8 and 9 o clock trains are much less crowded than before or after). This will get you coming into DC after midnight.

 

[yoyoflamingo]

I have driven from Long Island a few times, and I always leave at 4AM. I don't drive straight through, but I get to the first exit in Georgia at around 8PM. If you go straight, I doubt there would be any traffic that time at night.

 

[bgraham34]

The last time I drove down from Sussex County I left at around 3 pm and got to the parks at 9AM. But I drove straight through without stopping.

 

[luvlifeinfl]

You don't say where in New York you are - whether you're in or near the city, or perhaps farther north, or even all the way upstate. So it's hard to judge - New York isn't one of the teeniest states, you know.

Wherever you are, you'll know when to avoid NYC traffic, you want to try to time the drive so you're in the dead of night going through D.C. So if you live in or near NYC, I'd suggest leaving around 8pm - rush hour's ending, most people coming into NYC for a night of entertainment are already in (when I leave work, I know the 8 and 9 o clock trains are much less crowded than before or after). This will get you coming into DC after midnight.

I agree w/ you. We live 45 min West/north of DC. when we drove we would leave home around midnight, that would put us at NC line around 4:30am. Do a potty break, then switch drivers, till GA, then stop for another break. We usually would get at Disney between 4&5pm if we did not get caught in traffic on I4. I just want to through this out there. We now do not drive, we take the Auto Train out of Lorton, VA. We get to the station NLT 2pm, the train departs be 4pm. Dinner & continetial breakfast include and we arrive in Sanford FL the next morning around 9 or 10 am, and once our van is off we can be on Disney resort in less than an hour. The benefits arew we save wear & tear on the van and our bodies. So to drive from NY to here and then catch the train from VA you avoid the 95S. traffic.

 

[Ceekling]

As you come down I95 in MD you will want to avoid where you intersect 695 ( the Baltimore Beltway ) at morning rush hour. Major bottleneck. Another hint is to take 295 South thru DC. It saves miles by not taking 495 ( DC Beltway ) around DC. And drops you off at the Woodrow Wilson Bridge which takes you into VA. The easy way to do this is to take the old tunnel ( 895 ) under the Balto Harbour and on the South side you will see signs for 295. Have a safe trip !

I would normally second taking 295 through DC, but there is currently construction on the VA side of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge that is making travel through that area difficult (esp if you come through AFTER rush hour which is when all of that gears up). If you have a GPS, make sure you have the traffic option which informs you of upcoming problems.

 

[WDW_Emily]

I'm from Western Mass and we drive every year we normally leave around 3am so we hit NY and DC between 6-7am that way we miss the morning rush and the GW Bridge only takes about 10 minutes to get over.(I HATE that bridge, its horrible being stuck on it at 10pm coming home)

 

[tigsmom]

I'm from Western Mass and we drive every year we normally leave around 3am so we hit NY and DC between 6-7am that way we miss the morning rush and the GW Bridge only takes about 10 minutes to get over.(I HATE that bridge, its horrible being stuck on it at 10pm coming home)

Would it be easier to take 287 to 87 in Mahwah and then take 87 to to turnpike? Or 87 to 84 and then on up?

We're lucky in that we get off of 287 at Mahwah and am just 20 miles from home. :sohappy:

 

[87 GN]

In 2004 I drove from PA just 2 exits from Delaware border on I-95 south, we gassed up and were on the highway on a Sunday evening at 6:30pm, I was in Jacksonville at 6:30am. Hit a little morning traffic getting into Orlando from the Jacksonville area, but we sailed right down from PA with very little traffic and it was a nice drive.

 

[dsnylvr]

We drive down at least once a year and leave the Jersey Shore at 2am. At that time we arrive in DC by 5:30am and miss rush hour. We will drive for 14 hours, which puts us at exit 3 in Georgia, just a short hop over to the World.

 

[datw@epcot]

I started a similar thread a while back:

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=434744

I'm leaning toward leaving Hartford at 4pm on a sunday, which should get me to the tappan zee around 6, delaware memorial bridge around 8, DC around 10 and richmond around midnight. I would be taking 84 to the tappan zee, then the garden state to the turnpike and 95 the rest of the way. Pending no major traffic delays, I expect to get to wdw around 10am the next day.

 

[slappy magoo]

We now do not drive, we take the Auto Train out of Lorton, VA. We get to the station NLT 2pm, the train departs be 4pm. Dinner & continetial breakfast include and we arrive in Sanford FL the next morning around 9 or 10 am, and once our van is off we can be on Disney resort in less than an hour. The benefits arew we save wear & tear on the van and our bodies. So to drive from NY to here and then catch the train from VA you avoid the 95S. traffic.

We did the Auto Train on our last trip in December, I wrote about it elsewhere. We had an almost 5 month with us, too young for flu shots, so we were concerned about the germ incubators that are modern airplanes I had no doubt that driving all the way down with a relative newborn would be hellish, so we looked into trains, and the Auto Train seemed pretty cool. It would NOT be my first choice in getting to WDW again. I'd always prefer to fly, and once the wee one is old enough to tell us when she has to go to the bathroom, or express herself with more than cries, I wouldn't NECESSARILY mind the drive (though I'll miss listening to Howard Stern all the way down, like the last few times we drove). But I also wouldn't be adverse to taking the train again, either. It wasn't an awful experience by any stretch, it just wouldn't be my transportation of choice.

 

[tigsmom]

I started a similar thread a while back:

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=434744

I'm leaning toward leaving Hartford at 4pm on a sunday, which should get me to the tappan zee around 6, delaware memorial bridge around 8, DC around 10 and richmond around midnight. I would be taking 84 to the tappan zee, then the garden state to the turnpike and 95 the rest of the way. Pending no major traffic delays, I expect to get to wdw around 10am the next day.

Skip the Garden State. When you come over the Tapp take 87 to Mahwah (just above Suffern) and get on 287. Take this to the end and get on the Turnpike from there, it's easier & faster. We always make our first stop Mt Holly at Cracker Barrel (we live near Exit 16 on the NYS Thruway) and then we know we are on vacation! :lol:

A better bet would be take 84 over the Newburgh Beacon Bridge and then get on 87. Take 87 down to the 287 interchange and follow that to the end and get on the turnpike in Perth Amboy.

 

[RJR7226]

Me and my friends leave from Long Island NY at around 7pm on the friday....we miss all the traffic and get there around 11:00am-12pm saturday morning just in time for check-in! We dont really stop just for gas, switch drivers and ice cream :slurp: