Driving from Southern Ontario

[eeyoremum]

Good Morning,

We are surprising our kids with a Christmas trip this year. The plan is to wake up Christmas morning with the bags packed under the tree. I think we will leave mid afternoon sometime we need to be in Disney on the 27th. We are about 20 hours from our hotel CBR. I thought we could drive about half way on the 25 and stay in a hotel somewhere in South Carolina.

Could anyone recommend a good hotel maybe with a pool for the kidlets. Also, is there a better place to stop? We will be enter the US in Fort Erie although I have had people say going to Windsor is better (4 hours out of our way I think since we are in Niagara).

Thanks in advance, everyone here is so helpful with all things Disney.

 

[mwbrown]

We drove twice last year crossing in Fort Erie both times. The drive is really quite nice, although the route we took through the mountains in Virginia and West Virginia could be a little interesting depending on winter weather.

We found that the mistake we made the first time was booking a hotel in advance, as one stop we got to was much earlier than we had planned and we could have driven much farther with happy children. Other than in the mountains, there are so many hotels along the Interstate that it is pretty easy to find a place once you want to stop.

The only thing about pools is that once you get farther south, more and more hotels have only outdoor pools, which might be a bit cold in December (we went in June and August).

If you Google Maps from Niagara, you should get the exact route we took through NY to Erie, PA, then down I77 through VA/WV and eventually over to I95. Make sure you have some American change as there are tolls on the Interstate in NY and again in WV I think. Total for tolls last time was only about $4 I think...

If you want more info about the drive, let me know...and enjoy.

P.S. If you don't have a DVD in the car, I'd get one...

 

[kirinan]

If you decide to go through Windsor, this may help--we've driven to WDW from Detroit several times.

We head straight down I-75, and usually stop for the night in Chattanooga, TN. Off the Shallowford Road exit (exit 5, I believe) are lots of great hotels and restaurants. We usually stay at the Country Inns and Suites (can't remember if it has a pool--we're kidless so we don't usually look for one), but I think all the hotels in the area are family-friendly so it should be easy to find one.

It's an easy drive--generally about 12 hours from Detroit to Chattanooga (give or take stops for meals). In Michigan and Ohio the scenery is monotonous, to put it kindly, but Kentucky and Tennessee are pretty, and you get to drive through the Smoky Mountains.

On the second day, we usually leave Chattanooga between 8 and 9 a.m., and generally make it to Disney by dinnertime or a little after.

We've driven this route in May, October, and early November, so given that you're going in December I'm not sure what the roads would be like with snow or ice. It's possible it could be treacherous going through the mountains, I'd imagine, but maybe someone who has driven that way in the winter can pipe in. But I hope this helps a little with your planning--have a great time. Your kids will be thrilled, and if they're not, you can adopt me! :wave:

 

[eroyee]

We have driven thru the Smoky Mtns. many times from MIch. in the winter and the roads have been all clear. Its a beautiful trip. If you stop at the welcome center of the state you want to stay in, they have discount motel coupon books. we have used them many times and got a nice motel with a big savings. you cant make reservations for those, though. Just walk-in, though I think one of the welcome centers called ahead for us. Enjoy your drive. we love it......

 

[eeyoremum]

P.S. If you don't have a DVD in the car, I'd get one...

yes we are investing in a DVD. I agree they are great.

Your kids will be thrilled, and if they're not, you can adopt me! :wave:

I hope so. We have been at Christmas before and the old one DS14 didn't like how busy it was. That was our first Disney vacation so we also didn't know anything about fast passes or arriving early...all the tricks of the trade so to speak.

We have driven thru the Smoky Mtns. many times from MIch. in the winter and the roads have been all clear. Its a beautiful trip. If you stop at the welcome center of the state you want to stay in, they have discount motel coupon books. we have used them many times and got a nice motel with a big savings. you cant make reservations for those, though. Just walk-in, though I think one of the welcome centers called ahead for us. Enjoy your drive. we love it......

Thanks for the money saving tip. I don't know if I should reserve something since it will be Christmas time?

 

[bhg469]

Waive to me when you go by!

 

[Krabinz]

Krabinz

If you don't have a dvd player a laptop works too...buy a power converter for $20 and it will convert to the AC for the plug. The laptops screens are bigger and usually better than the $99.00 dvd players.

You could also buy an FM transmitter that plugs into the earphone plug and transmit the movie audio through the vehicle's radio ($10-$20)

Better investment than a car dvd player...because then you can use the transmitter with an IPOD or MP3 player and transmit the songs into the car stereo...

 

[sweetale]

Having driven from Toronto down to WDW before, I can say it was a decent drive, although this was in April and not December. However, I would recommend NOT going through Windsor/Detroit for several reasons. First, that particular stretch of the 401 is one of the most dangerous highways in N. America due to white out conditions and not a lot of places to stop/break etc. Second, the Windsor/Detroit boarder crossing is almost always backed up (both tunnel and bridge although if your set on going this way I would certainly recommend the tunnel). That is just my suggestion and of course it may be worthwhile to take this route for you guys. In any case, safe travels and enjoy Disney during the holidays!:wave:

Amy Lynn

 

[betteratmk]

:xmas: We live outside of Buffalo and have driven many times. We usually stop in Beckley West Virginia at the Hampton Inn there. It is on Harper Pkwy. and is a few minutes from Tamarack, an artisans craft shop with a great restaurant That is abut 8 hours away from us.That would be off of 77 exit 44. There is also a Hampton Inn inWytheville VA exit 41 (77). There is a Hampton and a Holiday Inn off exit 82 just past the NC border about 130 miles past Beckley, also off of 77.:snore: Good luck we are driving down Dec.6

 

[mwbrown]

We actually stayed in the same hotel in Beckley; if you are leaving in the afternoon and planning to drive until bed time, than that might be a reasonable distance and it was a nice hotel We had stayed the night before in Erie PA as we left after dinner, and found that we got there too early and could have gone farther, but Erie is also an hour or so closer than Niagara Falls is.

I might still be wary of booking in advance as you never know on Christmas day how busy or dead the border crossing will be. We have had the Fort Erie crossing take 45 minutes, and 3 minutes...never know, but I am guessing they won't be over-staffed that day...

Of course, I guess on Christmas day you might want to be booked in advance rather than driving around looking...

 

[pixiesteno]

I am not sure if you will find this shorter or not, but we're in WNY and we go east to Corning area and pick up Rt15 South and follow that to Harrisburg PA. You would then pick up Rt 81 South until Riverton, VA and pick up Rt 66 East to Rt 15/29 South, which will bring you out on Rt 95 South at Fredericksburg, VA. This route will keep you out of the mountains and further east. You might want to explore this on an Atlas. You would want to figure about 2 1/2 to three hours to pick up Rt 15 South from crossing the border in Fort Erie. See what you think.

 

[dandaman]

I would recommend NOT going through Windsor/Detroit for several reasons. First, that particular stretch of the 401 is one of the most dangerous highways in N. America due to white out conditions and not a lot of places to stop/break etc. Second, the Windsor/Detroit boarder crossing is almost always backed up (both tunnel and bridge although if your set on going this way I would certainly recommend the tunnel).

What he/she said. Not to mention the ghastly construction goings-on at the Detroit end of the Ambassador Bridge... I've never seen more of a labyrinth of roadway.