Drive to Disney World?

[Guatemom2]

Hi Everyone,
How is the drive to Disney? How many hours? We are in Philadelphia, PA. Is parking free at Disney for guests that are staying in the park? WE are staying at AoA. Is it a pain to drive and park?
Would e leave in middle of night?
We will have an 8 & 6 yar old in the car with us.

Sorry for the questions, just never considered driving but some are telling us it's not that bad?

Thanks.

 

[Nemo14]

Back in 1998, we couldn't afford a van with DVD in it or rent a DVD player so we had a 9" TV/VCR between the front driver and passenger seats for DD 1.5 to watch Barney videos all the way down and all the way back (40+ hours). It's a small world does not even begin to challenge the repetition we had to endure!

40 hours of Barney? I'd have got out and walked.

 

[jencor]

We are from the Baltimore area and it takes me 14 hours to get there. We leave at 5am (I am an early person and my wife just gets in the car and falls back to sleep). We pack the car the night before and just need to get in and go. We take food, a small cooler and only stop for gas and maybe some food. Get the food and eat it in the car. We have no kids with us anymore. We take Disney trivia cards from games and do those as other activities and find the time just nice to be alone and enjoy each others company with no worries. We definitely enjoy having our car with us and if we stay off Disney, we can stay more days then we would if we flew down. I will say I do all the driving as my wife does not drive and If I do get tired, I can take a power nap and be refreshed in 15 minutes. It works for us and we will be going again in October. I will say the drive back always seems longer, but we start that trip after we do a park and then instead of back to the hotel, we get a few hours up the road, stop for a night and then finish the drive the next day. Makes a shorter trip home for some reason. No matter how you decide to do it, just make sure you enjoy it.

 

[Hot Lava]

Unfortunately, a lot of airlines have done away with early boarding for families with young children:

• United ended their pre boarding with children in 2012.
• American doesn't technically offer it either but depending on the airport you might get in with the handicap and those needing assistance group since the airline has not defined it. I'm assuming they will adopt the UsAir model now after the merger.
• Jet Blue is kids under 2
• I think Soutwest is kids under 4 (but only after all the As have boarded).
• I usually fly UsAir out of Philly and they allow people with young children who need extra time (undefined as to age) to board after zone 2. Half the plane boards in zone 2 or earlier including anyone with preferred status or a USAir credit card.
• Delta is the only major airline I know of that still allows customers with children to board first.

Yep, this is what I was going to say. I know for a fact it is true about SW and United.

I do not see the point. If you are carrying all the baby crap, and a big carseat, someone is going to inevitably get bonked in the head. Why not get all the families out of the way before everyone else?

 

[GoofGoof]

Yep, this is what I was going to say. I know for a fact it is true about SW and United.

I do not see the point. If you are carrying all the baby crap, and a big carseat, someone is going to inevitably get bonked in the head. Why not get all the families out of the way before everyone else?

It's one of the dumbest things done by the airlines and that is saying a lot based on their poor track record. I think it's like the checked bag fees or eliminating free meals, once one did it they all started doing it. It's mostly done in the name of boarding the plane faster, but waiting for someone to strap a car seat in is going to inevitably result in a huge backup down the aisle.

 

[diznyboyz]

We drive from south Louisiana. Takes us 12 to 13 hours driving straight through. Leave at 5:00 a.m. and get to Disney that afternoon, rest up and are ready to go next day. My husband is the best.... he drives the whole way. We have three boys, 17 (autistic), 15, and 9.

 

[TamaraQT]

We drove our very first trip and flew for 2 or 3 of our next trips due to the low air fare post 9/11.
Since then, we are drivers only. We will never fly again due to the privacy and safety concerns with today's pre-board screenings. Never. Ever. Again.

But on a lighter note, we use this link to help in calculating the gas cost (we already know how long it takes us, but it shows you a time estimate as well)
http://www.gasbuddy.com/Trip_Calculator.aspx

This site shows you where the lowest gas prices are during your trip. Enter in your starting location and of course Orlando, Fl. Then enter your vehicle info and it will show your estimated gas mileage for that vehicle. I always click on "Enter My Own Information" to input real-world mileage which will give you a more accurate estimate of the fuel cost for your trip. Then click the green "Fuel My Trip" button to get your numbers.
Hope this helps!

Thanks for sharing this info!! I have often considered driving but due to limited amount of vacation time I have avoided it. I live in NJ near Philadelphia. My hubby says he will NEVER drive to Florida. It would take him a half day or more to rest from the drive down, then he would require a day to rest up before the drive home. Therefore he feels he loses out on two days of vacation enjoyment. I know I wouldn't be much help driving. After 3 hours behind the wheel I am DONE. So we fly and rent a car for the convenience of having our own transportation. I still have the urge to try driving at least once to make a fair comparison. But I like to read the stories and comments of people that drive in the event I get to try it once.

 

[tk924]

Thanks for sharing this info!! I have often considered driving but due to limited amount of vacation time I have avoided it. I live in NJ near Philadelphia. My hubby says he will NEVER drive to Florida. It would take him a half day or more to rest from the drive down, then he would require a day to rest up before the drive home. Therefore he feels he loses out on two days of vacation enjoyment. I know I wouldn't be much help driving. After 3 hours behind the wheel I am DONE. So we fly and rent a car for the convenience of having our own transportation. I still have the urge to try driving at least once to make a fair comparison. But I like to read the stories and comments of people that drive in the event I get to try it once.

As someone already pointed out, just keep in mind that states like SC and maybe GA post low gas prices that are discounted for cash only. So you'll need to factor that in to your trip. Either set aside some extra cash for gas or be prepared to pay a little more to swipe a card at the pump when traveling through these states.

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

Hi Everyone,
How is the drive to Disney? How many hours? We are in Philadelphia, PA. Is parking free at Disney for guests that are staying in the park? WE are staying at AoA. Is it a pain to drive and park?
Would e leave in middle of night?
We will have an 8 & 6 yar old in the car with us.

Sorry for the questions, just never considered driving but some are telling us it's not that bad?

Thanks.

I am from Trenton, NJ just outside of Philly. It takes us about 17 hours to drive to Disney.

 

[MJCota]

We are driving from Eastern NC to Disney. It should only take us around 10 hours at most. We are staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge so we can park our car and be set with the buses and monorail the rest of our trip

 

[kimrn87]

We drive almost every time we go to WDW and we live in Kansas. The actual drive is 24hours and we usually do it in two days. Most of the driving on Day 1 and usually arrive in Florida late afternoon the second day. I always check ahead with the weather depending on the time of year to adjust routes etc., and I love being able to park for free when staying on site! First trips are so much fun!!!

 

[JerseyDad]

.....I look at a lot of the drive-time estimates from those that are either a bit closer or sort of in "my neck of the woods" (central NJ ...4 minutes off Exit 9 off NJ Tpke). ...and if it took me THAT long to get to WDW ...I'd shoot myself!!

.....our longest drive time ...was 17 hours ...and that was our first time in 2004 ...when I knew nothing more than "WDW is south of NJ" ...and we left on a Fri at 11am ...hit pm DC rush hour traffic ...and only drove as far as Florence SC., on the 1st day ...and then there was another 7 hrs the next day

....every time thereafter ...I left NJ at 6am ...and was in Brunswick, Ga by 6:30 or 7:00 pm ...latest (where we stopped for the night) ...with a 3 hr drive to WDW the next morning.

....this past August ...I passed up Brunswick, Ga ...and pushed on to St. Augustine, Fla. ...all told ...14 hrs flat,( 937 miles ...one driver) with a 2 hr drive the next morning. ...so 16 hrs total

....I'm guessing that a drive from Philly to WDW ...shouldn't take more than 14.5 hrs all told ....with fuel, potty and yuumies breaks (fast food).

....all told ...fuel cost was $360 (round trip ...in a Ford Freestar) ...with a hotel bill of $70 at the Fairfield Inn in St Augustine (Marriott Member discount + AARP discount saved me $30) ...and maybe $100 for food for the round trip ...for the 4 of us. (WAY cheaper than airfare for 4 people out of Newark).

....most interesting aspect of the trip cost ...is that between home...and Baltimore ...I get fleeced for something like $16 in tolls ...and then don't spend a single penny on tolls all the way to WDW.

 

[Hot Lava]

.....I look at a lot of the drive-time estimates from those that are either a bit closer or sort of in "my neck of the woods" (central NJ ...4 minutes off Exit 9 off NJ Tpke). ...and if it took me THAT long to get to WDW ...I'd shoot myself!!

.....our longest drive time ...was 17 hours ...and that was our first time in 2004 ...when I knew nothing more than "WDW is south of NJ" ...and we left on a Fri at 11am ...hit pm DC rush hour traffic ...and only drove as far as Florence SC., on the 1st day ...and then there was another 7 hrs the next day

....every time thereafter ...I left NJ at 6am ...and was in Brunswick, Ga by 6:30 or 7:00 pm ...latest (where we stopped for the night) ...with a 3 hr drive to WDW the next morning.

....this past August ...I passed up Brunswick, Ga ...and pushed on to St. Augustine, Fla. ...all told ...14 hrs flat,( 937 miles ...one driver) with a 2 hr drive the next morning. ...so 16 hrs total

....I'm guessing that a drive from Philly to WDW ...shouldn't take more than 14.5 hrs all told ....with fuel, potty and yuumies breaks (fast food).

....all told ...fuel cost was $360 (round trip ...in a Ford Freestar) ...with a hotel bill of $70 at the Fairfield Inn in St Augustine (Marriott Member discount + AARP discount saved me $30) ...and maybe $100 for food for the round trip ...for the 4 of us. (WAY cheaper than airfare for 4 people out of Newark).

....most interesting aspect of the trip cost ...is that between home...and Baltimore ...I get fleeced for something like $16 in tolls ...and then don't spend a single penny on tolls all the way to WDW.

Do you have a spreadsheet for all these trips, or is this just all stored in your head? It is a good bit of info!

 

[jaklgreen]

I live in Nebraska so if we were to drive it would be 24hours with no stops. So we would be looking at 2 days of minimum 15 hours each day. I would never make it! My poor bladder has never recovered from having children and I need to stop every hour or so. We always fly Southwest and have never had any problems. When I travel with my kids they let me bypass the body scanner and we go thru the metal detector. We travel so much that we have the airline system down. My girls and I get thru security like pros. Southwest has never lost our bags or damaged them in any way and we just pack up snacks and grab some drinks once we are passed security. When the kids were little I would grab some small stuff from the dollar store for when they got antsy but now at 11 &12 they entertain themselves and I bring my nook and read. For us it would not be worth it to spend 4 days of our week vacation just getting there and back. If we lived close enough that the drive would be under 10 hours then I would probable drive if the flights were too high.

 

[JerseyDad]

Do you have a spreadsheet for all these trips, or is this just all stored in your head? It is a good bit of info!

....no spreadsheet ....it's just that the trip route never really varies, so it's pretty much all in my head and it's easy to recall each of the trips (and we've saved the fuel receipts from all the trips to see how much we used / price varied year to year).

....only real 'variations' to our trips from the normal routine were:

• The year we went for a 4 night cruise on the Disney Wonder out of Port Canaveral. We drove to Cocoa, Fla for the night where we met up with several other families before the cruise the next day ...and then after the cruise returned ...went to WDW for 5 days.
• The year we did a cruise out of Tampa ....met with friends at the Orlando Airport ....dropped off my daughter and two of her friends there ...where they met up with several other families that flew and drove and they went to Sea World and then to Sarasota for a few days ( me and the wife had a 3 day "just us" vacation at WDW) and then met them all in Tampa for the cruise. The return trip was tedious because the ship docked late, and by the time we were on the road home it was 11 am. We only made it as far north as Wade, NC (though they call it Fayetteville). It was still about 16 hours of drive time ...but over two days, which we rarely do on the return drive. Usually it a one day drive of 16 hrs.

....like I said ...most of the 'details" are just stuck in my head.

 

[maelstrom98]

Hi Everyone,
How is the drive to Disney? How many hours? We are in Philadelphia, PA. Is parking free at Disney for guests that are staying in the park? WE are staying at AoA. Is it a pain to drive and park?
Would e leave in middle of night?
We will have an 8 & 6 yar old in the car with us.

Sorry for the questions, just never considered driving but some are telling us it's not that bad?

Thanks.

I drove from Philadelphia this past summer. It's a long drive, but saved so much money at the time because flights were crazy! The drive is really, really easy, it's just long. The only time we hit traffic was in DC (of course) and then once we hit the Orlando area. We left at 4am and made it to Disney at 10p. I would do it again, but I would leave earlier (maybe 1a or 2a) since we had the most energy when we left since we were so excited! We listened to Disney music once we crossed into Florida, played "who can spot the first palm tree". It wasn't too bad!

 

[Flora-Fauna-Merryweather]

Due to a medical issue, I can't fly, so I've driven the past 3 years. I'm in PA right at the DE border ... with gas stops and stretch breaks, getting to Kingsland, GA takes about 12 hours. There are many nice hotels there that you don't need advance reservations for. Up early the next morning, and I'm in WDW by noon (again with breaks for gas and stretching). In 2011 and 2012, I drove home straight through (2012 I was racing Hurricane Sandy up the coast!) and, while doable, I wouldn't recommend it. I spent the next 2 days on the couch sleeping! This past year, I stayed in southern North Carolina on the way home and was actually functional when I got home.

Enjoy your trip!!!

 

[jim1051]

We are in Chadds Ford, and we always drive, even when we had a 2 yo, 5 yo and 8 yo along. We leave at 3 am, thru DC by 5:15. We stop for breakfast around 6:30 in Ashland VA. after that it is rest stops and gas, and a fast food lunch combined with one of the gas stops. We have done it as fast as 14 hhours last may, and as long as 19 hours on a holiday weekend. DVD palyers, Ipads etc. keep kids occupied . My wife hates to fly as does one of the sons, who has the 8 yo now 11. Drive straight thru even on those trips with only one driver, though it is anice break if there is more than one.
We have found that the return trip is harder because we don't leave until 7 or 8 and driver gets tired around Richmond, but if weather is OK we push on.

Hope this helps

 

[Hot Lava]

We have found that the return trip is harder because we don't leave until 7 or 8 and driver gets tired around Richmond,

...and b/c you are leaving your vacation at WDW, not going to it.

 

[tndinnc]

I'm driving from the Piedmont/Triad area of NC with my kids tomorrow! We've never been before. We're leaving out at lunch. I hear it only takes about 10 hrs?! from the NC boarder so that should be about out time if that's right. But, we'll need to stop for the night since we can't check in until Friday Anyone have a good overnight spot? I'm thinking Jacksonville? Brunswick? or Savannah? Not sure how long the kids can hold out in the car!

 

[JerseyDad]

....as per some of the above comments related to traffic and the DC area ....it's imperative that you NEVER go though DC on I-95 ......ever.

....on the southbound journey ...we take the easterly side of the 495 Beltway (passes Andrews AFB) ...because the westerly leg is more within a residential saturated area ...and you get more commuter traffic. If we are heading south ...leave NJ at 6am ...we are passing DC and into Alexandria, Va by 9:45am ...and have missed any rush hour traffic because the majority was coming northbound out of Va ...and heading into DC via I-95.

....from there ...I stay on I-95 right thru Richmond ...because the 295 by-pass is out of the way ...and a waste of time. If you're on I-95 thru Richmond ...don't blink ...because you'll miss it!! My wife used to work for Phillip Morris Corp ...and said that when she was in Richmond ...it was the smallest "city" she'd ever visited ...to that point.