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

 

[ryguy]

Leaving from long Island we always left at 4am, but stopped at the South Carolina border. Driving straight through was just to much. Have fun and safe travels.:wave:

 

[DABIGCHEEZ]

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.

It is a Sunday so it really shouldn't matter which route you take. If it were on a weekday at rushhour, I would take the GSP(southbound) over 287. I am on both roads very often and the GSP usually moves much better then 287.

 

[Phonedave]

We have driven from Bergen County, N.J. ( 6 miles from the GWB) twice.

Hi neighbor (From my door, the GWB is 3.3 miles )


-dave

 

[Phonedave]

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:

Or take 297 to the Tappan Zee, then 684 to 84 - Thats how I head to Vermont when I go (East side of Vermont)

-dave

 

[Phonedave]

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.

IF its not rush hour you could take the PIP after you cross the Tappan Zee. Take the PIP south and pick up I-95 in Fort Lee, which is where you would pick it up if you crossed the GWB, you just avoid all that mess comming down though Yonkers and over rhe GWB.

If you get caught at the wrong time on 287 where it bends from N-S to E-w (around South Bound Brook) you can count on taking a nap. I worked in South Bound Brook for a while. I had to get in EARLY, or else sit in traffic forever.



-dave

 

[828tnt]

i may have missed it in an earlier post, but i didn't see where in ny you're leaving from. i can offer our driving experience leaving from central pa, about an hour north of harrisburg.

we left right around 6.15pm. its about 3 hours to the dc beltway, so we can def use that as reference. we did hit a small construction delay just north of gettysburg (10 min tops). dc traffic was smooth, 9 pm-ish, or at least as smooth as the beltway can ever be- lives there for 3 years and still go to many redskins games....

my wife and i made sure we and the kids ate before we left, and did't stop for much besides gas on the trip down. at least not until we hit jacksonville. the weather wasn't very nice heavy, heavy tstorms. so we stopped for breakfast in jacksonville, horrible experience btw, at a mcd's drivethrough.

we arrived at the contemporary at 8.45 am. there was no accessive speeding (still be very wary in sc), we stopped only for gas (avoid south of the boarder at all costs!!!!!!!), and had a relatively enjoyable trip!

honestly though, we thought we could get there in time to enjoy the morning at the mk, not wanting to lose a day. bad idea. we were very tired from the trip. keep that in mind!

enjoy the trip!!!! no matter how or when your get there....

kungaloosh, my friend!

 

[tigsmom]

IF its not rush hour you could take the PIP after you cross the Tappan Zee. Take the PIP south and pick up I-95 in Fort Lee, which is where you would pick it up if you crossed the GWB, you just avoid all that mess comming down though Yonkers and over rhe GWB.

If you get caught at the wrong time on 287 where it bends from N-S to E-w (around South Bound Brook) you can count on taking a nap. I worked in South Bound Brook for a while. I had to get in EARLY, or else sit in traffic forever.



-dave

Might work for the OP, but not for me as I am 45miles North of NYC and I don't have to cross any bridges, I travel South to get to 287. And besides that, that is where EVERYTHING dumps out and you get all traffic coming out of the city.
That is why I told him to take 84 across the N-B Bridge and avoid NYC traffic altogether (I'm West of that). The PIP is a mess right now and I try to avoid it at all costs since the Summer people tend to use it as well as commuters.

The only time we've ever had trouble on 287 is in a snowstorm or when there is an accident, guess we always time it right. :lol:

 

[mjmyers]

We usually leave outside of Philly at 3:30am. We are in Disney at around 7pm. We pretty much miss all the rush hour traffic although we go through Jacksonville around 5ish.

 

[Phonedave]

Might work for the OP, but not for me as I am 45miles North of NYC and I don't have to cross any bridges, I travel South to get to 287. And besides that, that is where EVERYTHING dumps out and you get all traffic coming out of the city.
That is why I told him to take 84 across the N-B Bridge and avoid NYC traffic altogether (I'm West of that). The PIP is a mess right now and I try to avoid it at all costs since the Summer people tend to use it as well as commuters.

The only time we've ever had trouble on 287 is in a snowstorm or when there is an accident, guess we always time it right. :lol:

You get all the traffic comming out of the city, but there is never any delays they. They all happen on the city side of the bridge. Now going INTO the city, thats a different story.

For the OP, thats a much more direct route than going west, south, and then east to pick up the turnpike. For you it does make sense.

The PIP may get congested, but even when it is congested, it moves - unless you have an accident of course - but then you bounce over to 9W and sneak down on that

-dave