Driving down - hotel suggestion?

[disneyjes]

Hello! When we go on our first trip this autumn we will be driving from NY. Google maps says Disney is about 20 hours 35 minutes from us. We don't want to waste our first day so we plan on getting a hotel the night before to get a good amount of sleep. Where would you suggest is a good town that is around 3ish hours from Disney for us to get a room at? Thanks!

 

[Captain Chaos]

Hello! When we go on our first trip this autumn we will be driving from NY. Google maps says Disney is about 20 hours 35 minutes from us. We don't want to waste our first day so we plan on getting a hotel the night before to get a good amount of sleep. Where would you suggest is a good town that is around 3ish hours from Disney for us to get a room at? Thanks!

I drive from Jersey... I usually stop in Manning, SC at the Ramada... It is off Exit 119 on I-95... That takes you somewhere around 5 hours outside Orlando...

What time do you plan on stopping at night? What time do you plan to get up in the morning and get back on the road?

I usually leave my town around 8 in the morning... Manning is 12 hours from me, but I get there in 10... So by 6:00, sometimes 6:30-7:00 depending on traffic, I'm stopping for the night.... I then get on the road by 8:00 AM the next morning... plenty of time to relax from the long drive, and to get some sleep... I'm usually in Disney by 1 in the afternoon the next day...

 

[Rasvar]

I would say Jacksonville, Fl. could work. The south part of town near Baymeadows Rd or further south. Down by World Golf Village in northern St. Johns county off of I-95 is also an option. This is right around 3-2.5 hours away depending on how you drive.

 

[tigsmom]

Don't know where in NY you are, but we are about 45 miles north of NYC and we have tried to drive straight through and will never do so again! It may be only 20 plus hours mileage wise, but add in traffic (the truck traffic is horrendous and watch for heavy commuter times), breaks and such and you will want to scream.
We start early in the morning we stop in Santee, SC at either the Hampton Inn or Holiday Inn Express, they are both right off of 95 so it's easy off & on.
The next day we start out early & get to WDW and relax for awhile & then hit the park that has EMH that evening.

We have made this trip many times because my inlaws live in Florida and my oldest went to school in Tampa, my car can do the trip by itself. :lol:

PS... add the phone numbers of the hotels in the city you want to stop and call ahead for a room so there are no surprises (sleep in your car one night and it will never happen again :lookaroun)

 

[Grumpy-Fan]

We stay in Kingsland GA. They are about 10 minutes from the FL welcome center which is a must do for us.

 

[Grumpy-Fan]

We stay in Kingsland GA. They are about 10 minutes from the FL welcome center which is a must do for us.

 

[MaxsDad]

In order of greatest distance from WDW:

I too have stopped at Kingsland GA about three times. Exit 3, I believe, just before the FL line.

I have stayed at the Baymeadows Exit. Prefer Kingsland.

I have stopped at St. Augustine. It is a better area than Baymeadows, and a bit closer than World golf Village.

All of these are 2-3 hrs out from WDW.

 

[maelstrom]

I live right by Tigsmom. We'll stop either in Fayetteville, NC or Santee, SC.

 

[DisneyRoxMySox]

I like to stop in GA, just after the border. It's exit 94. I usually stay at the Spring Hill Suites by Marriott in Savannah. Just about 4-5 hours away from WDW. Great place to stay! It's clean, very comfortable, usually about $89-$99 per night.

 

[BelleofDE]

We drive from DE. Jacksonville was about 3 hrs away from Orlando, so that was a nice stop. Savannah GA had better hotel selection the one time we stayed there, but it is much further away from Orlando. Brunswick GA is also a great place to stop, and that is relatively close to the GA/FL border.

 

[coachwnh]

did the same drive last summer from about an hour north of philly. took us 17 hours 20 minutes. drove nonstop all night. if you can do that and take turns go for it. on the way back we stopped in lumberton, NC. that made it a much easier trip back (we have an 8 and 6 yr old) planning on doing the same trip again this year. we hope to make it to daytona beach. have fun and drive safe