We plan to drive down to WDW in Oct. We are checking in to our Disney resort on a Sunday. Where would be the best place to spend Sat. night so we can get to Disney for a nearly full park day on our first day? Should we try for an Orlando area hotel or stop sooner in St. Augustine/Daytona?
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Driving from the DC area?
- Thread starter MichieB
- Start date
Susan Savia
Well-Known Member
We drive from that area too, and stay in Santee, SC. It's 8 hours on the first day and on the second days drive, we make a break stop in Daytona, then on down to Kissimmee arriving about 1:00pm.
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I used to live in Alexandria, VA and made the drive several times. When we left in the morning, we would generally drive at least into Florida. Sometimes we stayed around St. Augustine, and sometimes we pushed it and drove all the way to Orlando. It really depends how important it is to you to get to WDW early on Sunday.
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I have done the drive from the Baltimore area at least 20 times in my life. Here are our three most often chosen options:
#1 - stop in southern Georgia somewhere - Richmond Hill is one of our favorites for price and options. Get there early enough to get a good dinner and to bed early. Hit the road at 5am so you get to the World at least close to park opening.
#2 - stop in Daytona or St. Augustine - this means that the first day of driving is VERY long, but it also means only 1-2 hours on the road in the morning before hitting Disney
#3 - Don't stop for the night. Trade drivers on a regular basis (if you can) stop at an assortment of rest areas between South Carolina and Disney for meal breaks/picnics and an hour or so of sleep at a time
Most people think that given the fact that we are now in our 40s and DD is 10, we would lean more toward option #1, but the truth is, the last 3 times we have done option #3 and been quite happy with it. We leave the Baltimore area some time mid/late morning (so we can be through DC/Nova before the worst of the traffic) and take 2 hour shifts driving with a couple of 1-2 hour stops to sleep in the car.
Why do we choose option #3? Cheapest. Rather use that $70-$100 at Disney than on a cheap hotel whose beds are rarely much more comfortable than a reclined car seat. DD can sleep anywhere any time and I can function quite well with very little sleep, so it works for us!
BTW - if you want more info/details, I keep a log of every drive (yup, that AR) and can give you lots of information - just message me.
#1 - stop in southern Georgia somewhere - Richmond Hill is one of our favorites for price and options. Get there early enough to get a good dinner and to bed early. Hit the road at 5am so you get to the World at least close to park opening.
#2 - stop in Daytona or St. Augustine - this means that the first day of driving is VERY long, but it also means only 1-2 hours on the road in the morning before hitting Disney
#3 - Don't stop for the night. Trade drivers on a regular basis (if you can) stop at an assortment of rest areas between South Carolina and Disney for meal breaks/picnics and an hour or so of sleep at a time
Most people think that given the fact that we are now in our 40s and DD is 10, we would lean more toward option #1, but the truth is, the last 3 times we have done option #3 and been quite happy with it. We leave the Baltimore area some time mid/late morning (so we can be through DC/Nova before the worst of the traffic) and take 2 hour shifts driving with a couple of 1-2 hour stops to sleep in the car.
Why do we choose option #3? Cheapest. Rather use that $70-$100 at Disney than on a cheap hotel whose beds are rarely much more comfortable than a reclined car seat. DD can sleep anywhere any time and I can function quite well with very little sleep, so it works for us!
BTW - if you want more info/details, I keep a log of every drive (yup, that AR) and can give you lots of information - just message me.
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JohnD
Well-Known Member
Well, being a native of Jacksonville and having lived in DC for eight years, I can tell you it's exactly 12 hours to Jacksonville from DC. So staying in the Jacksonville area would be a good bet. St. Augustine, as mentioned above, works as well. I think you would be more relaxed if you stayed somewhere along I-95 between Jax and Daytona Beach. Orlando is pushing it. Might as well drive all the way to WDW.
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DisneyDebNJ
Well-Known Member
We used to drive from NJ every year when my son was younger. Sometimes we drove all the way to Orlando (would make it by around midnite) and always stayed at the Embassy Suites in Buena Vista. Nice room (suite actually) very reasonably priced, and a wonderful buffet breakfast in the morning before we would head to our Disney resort. We stayed in Daytona once, only once LOL.
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Maleficent61
Member
I agree with JohnD. Once you hit the Welcome to Florida sign you might get a second wind you would be about 31/2 hours away depending on the traffic. I'm from Jacksonville and it's about 2 1/2 hours to WDW. St. Augustine is 30 minutes south. Next is Palm Coast which has nice hotels Daytona is next. Once you hit I-4 your 1 hour away.
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