Advice for booking a hotel in advance for the night before arrival at WDW

[Mikester71]

Okay, so I have been pondering something here for a while now in preparation for our trip down to WDW in March of 2009 and would like your advice please and thank you.

We have been down to WDW twice since 2005 and always go in March during our Spring/March Break. We drive down (4 adults and 2 teens in a van for 18-22 hours :hammer and usually try to get as far as our bodies will let us that first day so that we don't have that far of a drive the next morning. The first year we ended up stopping in Adel, GA and last year we made it to Tifton, GA before pulling over for the night. We usually just pull of the I-75 and look for a hotel/motel right near the highway. Here lies my dilema. Both years, we had trouble finding a hotel or motel with any rooms left. Seeings how it IS our March Break, most of the places were packed with other Canadian families heading down on their Spring Breaks. Last year, it took us forever to find a hotel with 2 rooms and when we did, it was a dive and way out of the way. The first year, we actually lucked out and got a nice place right off of the highway and at a reasonable rate.

We are CAA/AAA members and usually like to find a place that gives discounts accordingly. So I was wondering if it is smarter to estimate where I think we can make it to based on our past two trips and just go ahead and book us a couple of rooms NOW (or at the beginning of the year at the latest) to avoid that headache that night in March instead. I know we are all spent that night after being on the road for approx. 16 hours and just want to pull over and crash.

Anybody ever do this before or know of anyone who has and when would you recommend doing so? :shrug:

Thanks all! :wave:

 

[davidpw97]

I think it's always better to be safe than sorry. If you know you can make it to either Adel or Tifton, if I were you i'd pick one of those places and go ahead and make reservations now. It will save you from having to waste time driving around from hotel to hotel that night looking for rooms.

 

[Susan Savia]

Why do you need to push yourselves so hard? Plan ahead and make a reservation for someplace along the way, just off the highway. Stop, have dinner and a restful evening then take off in the morning refreshed. Thats what we do...We do 8 hours the first day, stop and then finish up the 2nd day with a 7 hour drive. We still arrive relatively early (1:00 pm) and we check in and head to the parks. :animwink:

 

[Cubs Brian]

Just curious, with 4 adults why can't you make the drive straight thru? When we drive(myself, wife and 2 young boys) we usually leave Chicago area around 3:00am and drive straight thru arriving at WDW sometime around 11:00-12:00 that same night.For example, we have ressies starting Jan 2nd, Jan 1st we'll go to bed about 8:00pm and let the kids stay up as late as they want. Wake up around 3:00am and be out the door by 3:30am. Kids will sleep to around 8 or 9 have a good breakfast(Cracker Barrel) and switch drivers. We normally stop once every 4 hours for about 30 mins. Coming back home is a bit more difficult because we don't get to sleep as early as the night before. I realize driving straight thru isn't for every one, but with 4 adult drivers I think you could do it.
Anyway, have a good trip.

 

[Mikester71]

Just curious, with 4 adults why can't you make the drive straight thru? When we drive(myself, wife and 2 young boys) we usually leave Chicago area around 3:00am and drive straight thru arriving at WDW sometime around 11:00-12:00 that same night.For example, we have ressies starting Jan 2nd, Jan 1st we'll go to bed about 8:00pm and let the kids stay up as late as they want. Wake up around 3:00am and be out the door by 3:30am. Kids will sleep to around 8 or 9 have a good breakfast(Cracker Barrel) and switch drivers. We normally stop once every 4 hours for about 30 mins. Coming back home is a bit more difficult because we don't get to sleep as early as the night before. I realize driving straight thru isn't for every one, but with 4 adult drivers I think you could do it.
Anyway, have a good trip.

My wife and I usually take turns driving as one of the other adults (my brother) doesn't have a licence and my mother-in-law has bad legs, so we don't ask her to drive. We usually leave at 5:30am on the Friday and the way I look at it, I would rather stop somewhere for a good night's sleep so that we won't be so beat on our first day down there. Plus, we are all usually bushed by 9 or 10pm. Legs are usually pretty sore and eyes are pretty heavy. We usually stop and get out for gas and something to eat every few hours too. We usually pull into Pop Century around 1pm the next day and hit up Downtown Disney for the night and then get another good night's sleep for the first full day on the Sunday.

Funny thing is we usually drive straight through on the way home though so that we can all get that extra day of relaxation before going back to school or work. We usually leave WDW around 5pm or so and make it back to Port Huron, MI around 11am the next day.

Thanks and we will definitely try to have a great trip. I am sure it won't be too hard, as it is WDW after all! :wave:

 

[Mikester71]

Why do you need to push yourselves so hard? Plan ahead and make a reservation for someplace along the way, just off the highway. Stop, have dinner and a restful evening then take off in the morning refreshed. Thats what we do...We do 8 hours the first day, stop and then finish up the 2nd day with a 7 hour drive. We still arrive relatively early (1:00 pm) and we check in and head to the parks. :animwink:

Usually takes us anywhere from 17 to 22 hours of driving to get from here to WDW, so I usually like to leave us with around 5 hours of driving the next day. We usually pull into Pop Century around 1pm on the day of our check-in, so it is nice to have that extra time that day to check out the resort and hit up Downtown Disney for the night before getting a good night's sleep and spending the first FULL day at MK.

That is why I was wondering if we wouldn't be better making a reservation for somewhere just off of the highway down around where we usually make it to that first day just to save us the hassle of spending another hour or so looking for a vacancy. Something for us to consider I guess. :wave:

 

[Mikester71]

I think it's always better to be safe than sorry. If you know you can make it to either Adel or Tifton, if I were you i'd pick one of those places and go ahead and make reservations now. It will save you from having to waste time driving around from hotel to hotel that night looking for rooms.

That is what I was thinking too. Great minds think alike! :wave:

 

[RiversideBunny]

You might try booking a motel in Macon, GA which is near Tifton.

The reason is that it is a larger city and also most people might not think of stopping there. Normally people take the I-475 by-pass and may miss some of the motels that are actually close by on I-75 instead of on the by-pass..

Look on the web for Hampton Inns, La Quinta, Comfort Inns, Holiday Inn Express, etc. Good value and most include a decent breakfast.

Example-
http://www.lq.com/lq/properties/pro...apProvider=MapQuest&searchType=GEO&promocorp=

Good luck.

 

[IndyDisney]

Book something. It'll keep you're mind at ease while driving. There's nothing worse than looking for a hotel for an hour when you're tired of driving.

+1 on Macon, GA. There's plenty of hotels around, Hampton, Choice Hotels, Holiday Inn. Hit up Travelocity or Orbitz to find what's there, and then call the hotels for CAA/AAA rates.

Cheers,

Dave

 

[Cubs Brian]

If you do stop you are much better off to make resv. As the rate you pay could be half of what hotels charge to someone who is a walk-in. I found that out on a trip out westwhen I payed $125.00 for a Comfort Inn and if I would have booked ahead of time it was $69.00 per night.

 

[slappy magoo]

may as well book rooms now. you're CAA/AAA. They have travel agents. I'm sure they can help you book a place.

 

[smk]

One month ago we drove to the world too. We stopped in Valdosta, about four hours north of the turnpike and Orlando. We stopped at the Georgia "welcome center" rest stop a few miles into the state and booked a deeply discounted room thru them. We got a decent room at a Best Western for 42 dollars a night with a breakfast in the morning. The room faced the interstate and was alittle noisy, I had trouble sleepling but then I was excited to be going to MK the next day for the MNSSHP. DH had no trouble at all sleeping but then he did most of the driving and was tired. We left the hotel about 930 and we were in Orlando, all checked into POP by 130ish the same day.

We have driven all over this summer, from LA to Indy, a 6 night journey with all of the nightly stops unplanned and in touristy spots and to Orlando and back. On both trips we took our chances and had no trouble. Make sure to ask for the AAA discount and if anyone in your party is over 50, the discount for that alone is better than the AAA rate at all the Choice Hotels we stopped at coming home from CA. We always looked at the AAA travel books and gauged our stops to get off the road no later than 6 PM, had dinner and went to bed. Most have breakfast starting at 6 AM so we would eat, gas up and get on the road. If you take your travel books you can call ahead and make a reservation when you know you are going to stop three hours down the road. We found the books very helpful and we could gauge how many miles we had left by reading the mile markers. Good luck and have a great trip!

 

[bigorangeandy]

Perry Georgia (about exit 136) which is about 60 north of Tifton has a Holiday Inn right next to I-75, and also a Hampton Inn (and other motels). Cordele Georgia (exit 101) has lots of motels, right on the exit, again with many of the same brands, that others have mentioned. We stayed at a nice Fairfield Inn in Tifton this past May on our trip down. Even though we live in the Atlanta area I wanted to get a few hours of driving in so I wouldn't be as tired when getting to the parks. I would take the stress off and book a room before you leave, that way you know where you are going to stop, and that you will have a room waiting.

 

[Raven66]

I would book a head of time. This past summer we drove from AR to Michigan. About half way we decided to stop. I'm not good at driving long distances. The movement of the car makes me very drowsy,so I'm usually very much help in the driving department. Anyway, the hotel we stayed at was sooooo bad. It was dirty and scary. I couldn't sleep all night because I was just plain scared. I stayed up to keep watch over my DH and DD. I was never so happy to get on the road again. It still gives me the shivers to think of it.

 

[Mikester71]

You might try booking a motel in Macon, GA which is near Tifton. <snip>

Look on the web for Hampton Inns, La Quinta, Comfort Inns, Holiday Inn Express, etc. Good value and most include a decent breakfast.

Example-
http://www.lq.com/lq/properties/pro...apProvider=MapQuest&searchType=GEO&promocorp=

Good luck.

Thanks for that suggestion and the link RiversideBunny. That place looks pretty sweet! :wave:

Book something. It'll keep you're mind at ease while driving. There's nothing worse than looking for a hotel for an hour when you're tired of driving. <snip>

Cheers,
Dave

Couldn't agree more Dave. Now I just have to talk the others into seeing why this may be better for us.

If you do stop you are much better off to make resv. As the rate you pay could be half of what hotels charge to someone who is a walk-in. I found that out on a trip out west when I payed $125.00 for a Comfort Inn and if I would have booked ahead of time it was $69.00 per night.

WOW...I didn't realize that! I'm not one who travels much, so never really paid attention. Thanks for that heads up. :sohappy:

may as well book rooms now. you're CAA/AAA. They have travel agents. I'm sure they can help you book a place.

True. I do like my CAA agent (Laura) up here alot; even though I am the one telling her about discounts and answering questions about WDW most of the time - haha! She is very friendly though and very accommodating. :ROFLOL:

One month ago we drove to the world too. We stopped in Valdosta, about four hours north of the turnpike and Orlando. We stopped at the Georgia "welcome center" rest stop a few miles into the state and booked a deeply discounted room thru them. We got a decent room at a Best Western for 42 dollars a night with a breakfast in the morning. The room faced the interstate and was alittle noisy, I had trouble sleepling but then I was excited to be going to MK the next day for the MNSSHP. DH had no trouble at all sleeping but then he did most of the driving and was tired. We left the hotel about 930 and we were in Orlando, all checked into POP by 130ish the same day.

We have driven all over this summer, from LA to Indy, a 6 night journey with all of the nightly stops unplanned and in touristy spots and to Orlando and back. On both trips we took our chances and had no trouble. Make sure to ask for the AAA discount and if anyone in your party is over 50, the discount for that alone is better than the AAA rate at all the Choice Hotels we stopped at coming home from CA. We always looked at the AAA travel books and gauged our stops to get off the road no later than 6 PM, had dinner and went to bed. Most have breakfast starting at 6 AM so we would eat, gas up and get on the road. If you take your travel books you can call ahead and make a reservation when you know you are going to stop three hours down the road. We found the books very helpful and we could gauge how many miles we had left by reading the mile markers. Good luck and have a great trip!

Thanks smk and I will definitely have me or my wife check out the CAA/AAA travel books before and during our drive down there. That was another option I was considering too (just calling a place as we get closer to the city to check availability). Just in case you fall behind your schedule or run into unexpected delays. Hope you had a blast on your summer drive-a-thon! That would be so cool to just pack up and do that some summer! :sohappy:

Perry Georgia (about exit 136) which is about 60 north of Tifton has a Holiday Inn right next to I-75, and also a Hampton Inn (and other motels). Cordele Georgia (exit 101) has lots of motels, right on the exit, again with many of the same brands, that others have mentioned. We stayed at a nice Fairfield Inn in Tifton this past May on our trip down. Even though we live in the Atlanta area I wanted to get a few hours of driving in so I wouldn't be as tired when getting to the parks. I would take the stress off and book a room before you leave, that way you know where you are going to stop, and that you will have a room waiting.

We stayed in the Rodeway Inn I think it was called in Tifton on our last trip and it was just okay. Wouldn't stay there again, but that was all that we could find on such short notice. Sounds like pre-booking a room might be the way to go and definitely has the popular vote on here anyway. :wave:

I would book a head of time. This past summer we drove from AR to Michigan. About half way we decided to stop. I'm not good at driving long distances. The movement of the car makes me very drowsy,so I'm usually very much help in the driving department. Anyway, the hotel we stayed at was sooooo bad. It was dirty and scary. I couldn't sleep all night because I was just plain scared. I stayed up to keep watch over my DH and DD. I was never so happy to get on the road again. It still gives me the shivers to think of it.

YIKES...that could ruin a trip in a hurry! Hope the rest of the trip went okay for ya's! :animwink:

 

[Mikester71]

Now to expand on something I mentioned replying to smk in my earlier post. The main reason I never pre-booked a room before is because I was worried that something would go wrong that would throw us off schedule and that we wouldn't be able to make it to the destination city and awaiting room. Not nice to think that way I know, but the first year we went we had car trouble and it threw us a few hours off schedule.

My question then is do you have to make a deposit or pay in full with your credit card over the phone or online when booking a room in advance or will they just let you pay upon arrival? Would hate to lose money because we ended up arriving later than allowed or not at all.

 

[DISMOM]

We love Hampton Inns. Stayed at one in Macon, Georgia, on the way down ito Disney in May. They are always nice, have the 'heavenly beds' and tons of big fluffy pillows..and cont. breakfast. I always give them the credit card number to hold the room for arrival after 6pm. Take the phone number and call if you are not going to make it that far. I think that you can cancel prior to 6pm, their time.

 

[Mikester71]

We love Hampton Inns. Stayed at one in Macon, Georgia, on the way down ito Disney in May. They are always nice, have the 'heavenly beds' and tons of big fluffy pillows..and cont. breakfast. I always give them the credit card number to hold the room for arrival after 6pm. Take the phone number and call if you are not going to make it that far. I think that you can cancel prior to 6pm, their time.

So if you give them your credit card number, they won't actually charge it then until you check in? Cool, thanks for the info DISMOM.:wave: