driving from CT changing plans

[quirkle]

So our trip is 12/20-12/31, We planned to leave 12/19 at 12:00 and drive straight through then:

Plan 2 - Leave 2:30 AM 12/19 and maybe stay overnight somewhere in Georgia and then drive to WDW.

Plan 3: Leave at night on 12/18 drive through until ???????

HELP my planners - you are my only hope!

 

[Buzz2001]

We drive from CT and we usually stop in Kingsland, GA. They are some great hotels there for little cost. We leave CT around 1am and get to GA around 5/6pm. Sleep the night and head to WDW early in the morning.

 

[Plowboy]

Not to be a wet blanket, but do you have a fall-back position if the weather is ka-ka? Do you watch the forecast and leave a day or two early? Not trying to be a wise guy, but coming from the central valley in CA, probably the worst we have to deal with is fog. I can't imagine trying to deal with the kind of winter weather you have on the east coast.

 

[cynic710]

We are in West haven neighbor!!!!!

Grew up in west haven! went to (now closed) thompson school and grew up on washington ave. since moved to hamden...

anyway, both times i drove i did 95 all the way through, we left about midnight and made it to savannah in about 10 hours. we did an avereage speed of about 70-75 and stopped maybe 3 times to eat and use the bathroom. granted, it was two college guys with no kids, so things would ultimately be different, but i think its managable. snacks in the car go a long way, as do tablets with movies on them.

i think the ultimate goal of driving is to get most of it done at night to avoid traffic and the wasted sunlight, so leaving in the night makes the most sense to me.

however you do it, have a great time!

 

[Susan Savia]

I'd plan to stay overnight someplace. You'd be more rested and ready to resume your travels plus arrive ready to go, not tired.

 

[DManRightHere]

So our trip is 12/20-12/31, We planned to leave 12/19 at 12:00 and drive straight through then:

Plan 2 - Leave 2:30 AM 12/19 and maybe stay overnight somewhere in Georgia and then drive to WDW.

Plan 3: Leave at night on 12/18 drive through until ???????

HELP my planners - you are my only hope!

I would stay overnight somewhere.

Are ya'll not doing new years there as well? Does Disney charge extra for New Years?

 

[quirkle]

Grew up in west haven! went to (now closed) thompson school and grew up on washington ave. since moved to hamden...

anyway, both times i drove i did 95 all the way through, we left about midnight and made it to savannah in about 10 hours. we did an avereage speed of about 70-75 and stopped maybe 3 times to eat and use the bathroom. granted, it was two college guys with no kids, so things would ultimately be different, but i think its managable. snacks in the car go a long way, as do tablets with movies on them.

i think the ultimate goal of driving is to get most of it done at night to avoid traffic and the wasted sunlight, so leaving in the night makes the most sense to me.

however you do it, have aD great time!

My Dad taught there until around 2000 - Mr. Quirk.

I think we are going to start driving Wednesday night.

 

[quirkle]

I would stay overnight somewhere.

Are ya'll not doing new years there as well? Does Disney charge extra for New Years?

We did New Years Eve in 2009 - crazy crowds!!!! We are driving home that day- we need to be back to work on the 2nd.

 

[quirkle]

Not to be a wet blanket, but do you have a fall-back position if the weather is ka-ka? Do you watch the forecast and leave a day or two early? Not trying to be a wise guy, but coming from the central valley in CA, probably the worst we have to deal with is fog. I can't imagine trying to deal with the kind of winter weather you have on the east coast.

We have been watching it like a hawk! We need to get out of the Northeast fast!!

 

[quirkle]

We drive from CT and we usually stop in Kingsland, GA. They are some great hotels there for little cost. We leave CT around 1am and get to GA around 5/6pm. Sleep the night and head to WDW early in the morning.

About how long from GA? We do not have theme park tickets our first day to force us to rest and take advantage of the resort.

 

[quirkle]

I'll admit I have never driven that route, but when I Google-mapped it, it added 2 hours to a drive from New Haven, CT to Jacksonville, FL (from approx. 15 to 17 hours). When I Google-mapped I-95 vs. Garden State Parkway around NYC--all else being I-95, it only made the drive 10 minutes longer.

I saw that also - I think it depends on time - UGH

 

[JohnD]

About how long from GA? We do not have theme park tickets our first day to force us to rest and take advantage of the resort.

Well, from the GA/SC state line to Jax is approx 2.5 hours. And from Jax to WDW is approx 2.5 hours. So if my math is right, then about a 5 hour drive to WDW from the GA/SC state line.

 

[luv]

Personally, I liked to arrive in Orlando on a non-nocturnal schedule, bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and ready to hit me some parks. If I didn't do three days of driving, I did the huge chunk on Day One. My favorite way, though, was to bang out six hours or so the first day, do a normal amount of driving the second and the last little bit from Kingsland on our first park day.

Day One - up before the sun and on the road. Drive to the bottom of Georgia, stopping in Kingsland, just minutes from the Florida border. Grab fast food dinners for everyone from wherever they wanted (Kingland has them all, right off the highway, as well as ever chain motel, I think) and Dairy Queen, whatever they wanted. In bed EARLY...like 8:00.

Day Two - up, in the car and on the road around 5:00/5:30. Make rope drop. Check into hotel in the afternoon. I clean room, put stuff away and iron while kids swim. Nice, early dinner in Epcot, leaving well before fireworks. OR...IF THE ROOM ISNT READY...

Everyone goes to the pool, dinner at the hotel, then kids back to pool while I put the room together.

Either way, we are in bed early after all that and well rested for the next day.

 

[JerseyDad]

.....let me expand upon what I said previously and throw my other .02 cents in related to the drive to WDW ...because I've done it 11 times now since 2004 (twice that year)

1. The overnight drive ...unless you are used to it, is / can be brutal. I found that out on trip #2.
2. We "perfected" our journey on trip #3 in 2005. Leaving central NJ at 5:30 - 6:00 am (latest) and driving to Brunswick, Ga., ...a total of 850 miles ...in 12.0 to 12.5 hours (made in the 12 hrs flat once ...when Hurricane Irene was headed up the coast ...and we passed each other in northern Georgia).
   
3. Our departure time from home has us going south past the Wash DC area at a time where most are traveling north (between 8:30 - 9:30 am). We use the eastern side of the 495 Beltway around DC (going past Andrews AFB) ...because it keeps us away from the western suburbs.
4. We go straight through Richmond on I-95 ...because the I-295 by-pass is a waste of time (and miles) and it brings you back onto I-95 to the south of Petersburg, which is a good place to get food and fuel up.
5. The loop around Jacksonville is a waste of miles and time ...we just stay on I-95 ...through Jacksonville. Believe me, if you blink, you'll miss the city.

As I mentioned, we changed up a bit this past trip ...not stopping in Ga., ...but going as far as St Augustine, Fl (it was 14 hrs flat from home to a Fairfield Inn there ...and the room was $80 bucks ...with my AARP / Marriott rewards discount). Next day ...2 hr drive to WDW ......

....we rarely did a park on the first day anyhow. We usually settle into the room ...do some pool time (I take a nap because I was the only driver) ...and then we do our DtD night ...dinner ...shopping ...etc. The parks come on the 2nd day....


...the drive home ....all in one day ...leave WDW at a bit before 8am ...walk in the door at midnight.

 

[Buzz2001]

About how long from GA? We do not have theme park tickets our first day to force us to rest and take advantage of the resort.

I believe it took us 3 hours to get to WDW. Left at 6am and checked in at 9am

 

[JohnD]

The loop around Jacksonville is a waste of miles and time ...we just stay on I-95 ...through Jacksonville. Believe me, if you blink, you'll miss the city.​

The "loop" you are referring to is now what is called "I-295 West Beltway", formerly just "I-295" that goes around the west side of town. I agree it goes way out of the way where I-95 is a shorter route straight through. I wasn't referring to that but the newly renamed "I-295 East Beltway", formerly "9A". It is not as well known and is slightly longer than I-95 driving straight through, but not by much. There is also a lot of construction on I-95 just south of the Fuller Warren Bridge (crosses the St. Johns River downtown). I would advise taking the I-295 East Beltway to avoid that logjam. See http://goo.gl/maps/NbDHm

 

[cynic710]

My Dad taught there until around 2000 - Mr. Quirk.

I think we are going to start driving Wednesday night.

you HAVE to be kidding me, Mr. Quirk was my 3rd grade teacher! what a small world!

 

[JerseyDad]

The "loop" you are referring to is now what is called "I-295 West Beltway", formerly just "I-295" that goes around the west side of town. I agree it goes way out of the way where I-95 is a shorter route straight through. I wasn't referring to that but the newly renamed "I-295 East Beltway", formerly "9A". It is not as well known and is slightly longer than I-95 driving straight through, but not by much. There is also a lot of construction on I-95 just south of the Fuller Warren Bridge (crosses the St. Johns River downtown). I would advise taking the I-295 East Beltway to avoid that logjam. See http://goo.gl/maps/NbDHm

....never seen a logjam on I-95 in Jax ....but then we were always going south thru there between 8am and 9am on a Saturday morning.

 

[JohnD]

....never seen a logjam on I-95 in Jax ....but then we were always going south thru there between 8am and 9am on a Saturday morning.

Well, lots of construction between the Fuller Warren Bridge and University Blvd. It's a mess. At least you get a great view going over the Dames Point Bridge (cable-stayed) when taking the I-295 EB.

 

[CtDisneyGuy33]

Love to see some CT members on here!!

 

[Dog Ate Mouse]

I live in South Jersey and we drive to WDW every year. We leave about 6:30 AM in the Morn and hop on 295 and stop at Cracker Barrel for Breakfast just a tad before the Delaware Memorial Bridge. Then go into Delware Rt 13 to RT 1 and then back onto rt 13 through Delaware, Maryland and Virginia over the The Chessapeak Bay Bridge Tunnel. We stop on the rest stop on the tunnel for lunch then onto RT 58 to Emporia and back onto 95 12 miles before NC. We stop off close to Hilton head at night around 8:00 PM. We Normally stay a Holiday Inn express. Prices are decent and the rooms are clean and we get a free breakfast in the AM. Then drive to WDW and normally arrive a day before our resort package starts. We just add a night to our stay and go to DTD for dinner and shopping. We like to stop hear and there along the way and it breaks up the drive and allows us to stretch our legs and have a little fun. Now driving straiht through we did one year on the way home due to a emergency at home. We were so messed up for a few days from lack of sleep. I strongly suggest to stop off and sleep instead of driving straight through.