Driving to Disney

[diddy_mouse]

When we use to drive to WDW (coming from Northern VA) we pulled out of the driveway no later than 8am. We'd take Hwy28 to 17 where you can hop on 95 near Fredericksburg (ironically where I live now.) Then it was nothing but 95 South til we hit the NC border for lunch...Bojangles! Typically we'd grab snacks at the gas stations along the way and we'd also have a small Igloo cooler with sodas. Next it was more of 95 South (giggling at the *ahem* risque billboards), with the traditional laugh as we pass South of the Border (remember seeing these billboards as soon as you entered NC?) Depending how far my dad wanted to drive, we'd stop for the night in SC, usually near Florence. One time I think we made it as far as Hardeeville.

My brother and I would cheer once we crossed the FL state line and relax until we saw signs for Daytona Beach then we got excited all over again when we got on I-4 to Orlando. Soon we were spotting SSE, Tower of Terror, etc after passing under the "welcome" sign. The funny thing was all of us became a little dim while driving to the resort...we would be reading the signs aloud and talking like we had never been there before even though we've been countless times. :lol: I guess complete excitement kills some brain cells...

Makes for some great memories though...

 

[disneysroyal411]

I'm in the neighborhood too - New Castle, Pa!

We have driven down 4 times now, and we usually drive straight thru. The best part of it is that my wife doesn't have her drivers license (She grew up in Pittsburgh and used public transportation) so I get to do ALL the driving.

It's never bothered me the least. In fact, I usually time it to get us there around 11am or noon on our check in day and after driving the entire drive, I take about an hour cat nap and I'm ready to go. This last March, I worked 7am-2pm, came home and packed the car. I planned on napping but couldn't sleep, so we headed out at 6pm and got there around 11am. I got a shower to refresh and we were off to the parks!

Yah the NorthWestern club keeps on growing!:sohappy:

 

[tjnpd116]

We live in Louisiana and have exactly 856 miles to the gates at fort wilderness. We have a motorhome and usually drive straight through. It's been a ritual since I was a kid to stop at all state welcome centers, whether there closed or not. It was allways fun when i was a kid and now I do it for mine. They know when they see the Alabama welcome center that the tunnel is comming up next and they want to see it. Then its on to disney. The kids, (and me), love looking for disney world signs once we get on I75 heading south all the way to disney's welcome sign. And just like someone else mentioned, its funny how no matter what time you leave, you allways show up at Disney the same time, every time.

 

[Susan Savia]

The car is packed the night before, so in the morning its just very last minute things...cooler, etc. Leave time is always 7am. (890 miles) We listen to Sirrus comedy channel and oldies, WDW tapes and cassettes we've made and bought. We pack sandwich makings in our cooler and plenty of sodas and water. Saves $ the first night. We have a plastic container full of pretzels, nuts, etc to snack on. We are coming from Northern VA and so our stop over is in Santee, SC leaving just 7 hours for the 2nd days journey. We break that up tho, by stopping in Daytona Beach for an hour to look around on the beach and enjoy the sunshine and then back in the car and on down. We arrive at our lodging around 3:00, check right in and inside of an hour, after unpacking the car, we are on our way to Epcot to begin our 8 days of fun. We have always driven.

 

[1DisneyDad]

I live in Northern VA near Fredrick, MD.

Live in Middletown, MD (just outside of Frederick)! We've driven 10 times. Leave house around 8PM. 60 Miles on I-70 then 95 a long time! We drive all night and open a park the next morning. Two stops for gas in NC and FL. Takes us between 12-13 hours.

 

[IWant2GoNow]

I think a trip to CA from Northwest Ohio here would be fun. I've wanted to go on Route 66 since Cars came out. And then take a train back. Question, yesterday did you guys have a tornado warning, we did? Just a random question about the area, as it's interesting to just come across someone so close.

Nope, no tornado warning here. Wednesday afternoon we had one, it even hailed here where I work at Summit Racing. But no tornado came thank goodness. Last night mostly all we got was thunder and lightning, not even much rain.

 

[Birdflu]

my fiance and I drove from northern NJ (just outside nyc) 2 years ago and are driving again in about 3 weeks for or honeymoon.. although i absolutely refuse to go on the ches. bay bridge.. absolutely. refuse. but we usually drive to fayetteville, nc the first night which is a little more than half way

 

[Mouse Man]

I could not imagine driving to Disney and back with 2 kids, 17 hour drive each way or a 2 1/2 hour flight each way I will always do the flight and enjoy more time in the parks and less time on the road. Do you Disney drivers stay mostly on or off Disney property? If you stay on property do you drive to the parks or use the resort busses?

We stay on Disney propperty most of the time at PORS and a few times at WL. We generally arrive one day before our WDW vacation package begins, the DWF bickers with hotel managemnet for about 20 minutes and comes back to me and tells me we have our room for the night at a discounted rate. That room that we get is where they have us stay for when our vacation packages starts in the AM. This has been a ritual always in September for the past 14 years. Now once we get to WDW I do not drive any more unless we are eating at other hotels for breakfast. Other than that we use the Disney Transportation that has never been an issue for us.

Now going down with children, we always had snacks, suprises and games to play and we made plenty of stops for bathrooms and stretch those legs. We also always made sure we had ample time going down to WDW and coming home. That way we were never gotten into the racing ritual.

Now the Chesepeak Bay Bridge Tunnel is beautiful and fun to be on. Like I said before, we always stop at the little gift shop and resteraunt for Burger and Fries.

 

[draybook]

Including gas stops, food stops and "rest" stops, it takes us roughly 13 hours from Memphis. We leave around 3am to get a jump on traffic. We go through Birmingham, to Columbus and hit 75 South. We don't really have a tradition since we've only been twice but we do hit that one welcome center on exit 32 maybe? The one that's right off of the highway and in that little shopping center.

I wanted to fly this year but I didn't want to spend 1k for the flight. I rented a car instead and I feel better about wasting $450 than I do 1k since we normally drive our Blazer down there.

 

[dsollie]

We are driving down for the first time this August.

I've driven down as a child with my parents, but never since we've been going as adults.

My hubby is not thrilled about it, but with 4 kids and flight prices so high, flying is just not an option to us. It's either a trip with driving, or no trip.

I'm excited about it and really dont' mind driving. I plan to drive straight through. DH is fighting with me about him doing the driving, he says he can't possibly relax with me driving. We'll see who wins that argument. :lol:

Glad to hear that we are not the only crazy people driving to WDW from Minnesota. We performed the feat in February with 3 kids (7,3,2) and had a blast. You have to schedule more than a week of vacation if you are going to do this to take advantage of the time at your destination versus the time in the vehicle. With a stop to see friends along the way in Atlanta, it made for a great trip. Good luck to you!

 

[valleyfan]

We drive down once a year and sometimes twice a year from the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. We always leave as soon as my wife gets home from work at 3:30pm and we always drive straight through on the way down and always spend one night somewhere on the way home. We have enough movies for the kids to watch in the truck and enough gum to keep us awake on the drive. The hardest thing for us is when we go for Christmas which we have now done twice, once in 2007 and again in 2009 is loading the presents in the back of the truck without tearing the wrapping paper. When we leave at 3:30 we get to our Resort around 11:30am the next morning. We are going again this February but have decided to try flying for a change.

 

[kapeman]

Including gas stops, food stops and "rest" stops, it takes us roughly 13 hours from Memphis. We leave around 3am to get a jump on traffic. We go through Birmingham, to Columbus and hit 75 South. We don't really have a tradition since we've only been twice but we do hit that one welcome center on exit 32 maybe? The one that's right off of the highway and in that little shopping center.

I wanted to fly this year but I didn't want to spend 1k for the flight. I rented a car instead and I feel better about wasting $450 than I do 1k since we normally drive our Blazer down there.

Just out of curiosity why do you take that route instead of I-65 to Montgomery, 231 to I-10?

If you go US 280 through Columbus, GA you have something along the lines of 270 miles of non Interstate vs 140 by using the route through Montgomery/Dothan.

Do you just prefer that route?

I really am just curious. No offense intended.


BTW we drive as well. It's about 8.5 hours of drive time/9.5 hours of total travel time.

One tradition is the Steak N Shake in Gainesville for lunch.

And we LOVE the Western Bypass! That first view of SM, the Castle and the Contemporary is priceless!!!

We have to honk the horn going under the entrance gate!

 

[Korfar]

We almost always drive from Illinois. I call it "central Illinois", others call it Southern Illinois. But we are across the Mississippi River from St. Louis Mo. We tend to have two styles of driving. The most recent trips have been 'drive straight thru'. Which was interesting.
We left Illinois around 11PM - fueled up, loaded up, ready to roll. First stop- Metropolis Illinois to get annual photo w/Superman (sort of like a growth chart with the kids), drinks and top off gas. Then we are back on the road. We have a Cracker Barrel or two along the way that are top choices. We do always stop at the Florida Visitor's Center for our o.j. & grapefruit juice fix. The front seat passenger also takes photos as we arrive on Disney property and as we pull up to our resort. 43 days until we leave, 44 until we check-in!!!!!! I am so road trip ready!

I was born in Wood River which is in your area. I haven't lived there in about 28 years though. Still have family there so I get back once in a while. Always interesting to see people from that area. How is that drive? I now live in WI so part of my drive would be the same as yours.

 

[Lisalyn]

Every year my daughter and i run around like maniacs the eve before we leave and head out the Saturday before Thanksgiving for our yearly weekly trip (lol) we usually leave around 9a.m. Saturday morning for the long 7 hour treck...doesn't matter how many stops or delays...it takes 7 hours to get there! I'm guessing my foot pedal makes adjustments accordingly :ROFLOL:Lindsay usually watches movies on the handheld dvd player or now plays on her DSi...we make a stop when we hit the Florida welcome center for that OJ or grapefruit juice and a pitstop then pop back into the car. And it never fails...NEVER --that instead of when we are right to within 3 or 4 miles of the World...instead of veering right for that last 5 minute stretch....my car (yes my car...it can't possibly be me! LOL) turns left and we wind up wayyyyy down the other end heading towards SeaWorld!!! Then I have to hop a U turn and make the treck BACK to Disney World and finally the frantic attempt at locating whatever Value Resort we happen to be staying it...This year it's AS Movies and I've already programed my mind to TURN RIGHT YOU SILLY GIRL! LOL That should give us 30 minutes more vacation! :lol::sohappy:

 

[Dwarful]

I was born in Wood River which is in your area. I haven't lived there in about 28 years though. Still have family there so I get back once in a while. Always interesting to see people from that area. How is that drive? I now live in WI so part of my drive would be the same as yours.

It's a small world....we have family in Wood River, but we live in Godfrey. I was a letter carrier for the Wood River Post Office, but my sister is now the Post Master there. We don't mind the drive..esp. now that they have 255 complete to Godfrey makes it that much easier. Used to seem like it took forever just to get past Fairview Heights, but its almost an immediate jump onto 255.

 

[Disney05]

My wife is trying to get me to drive. We've flown every time we go. A two hour flight is doable, 18-20 hour drive I just can't take. Even stopping once over night I just can't convince myself to do it. I would be saving $700-$800 in airfare though.

 

[Lunamis]

We drive down from NJ too so I feel your excitement! Usually we hit sunrise by the Delaware Memorial Br and stop for our first rest stop at the Maryland House. We've stayed the night in a number of locations but recently we've preferred Savannah because there is a nice Red Roof Inn (that's a newer property) and a Wal-mart and a few fast food places nearby.

South of the Border is necessary!! Nothing beats chillin' with Pedro for an hour and browsing the same souvenirs (that have been there for years).

Has anyone stayed in the South of the Border hotel? It's pretty scary looking!! Or has anyone ever seen those fairground rides open? I never have...

There are a few good side of the road stops once you get into Florida too. Driving to Fl brings back such great memories!

 

[FireChiefGoofy]

DW and I always drive to WDW from Newark, Delaware. We load up the car the night before, bathe, and hit the rack. Then it's up around 3 AM and head out to avoid traffic in Baltimore and DC. Straight down 95 stopping for breakfast around Roanoke Rapids, lunch in Georgia. Numerous exits for McD's Sweet Tea. Continuing on we usually don't stop until Palm Coast, FL. There we hit a real nice Hampton Inn and find some dinner. Up the next day between 8 or 9 and drive the final 2 hours to WDW. We usually check into our resort and hit the parks. We don't have kids yet so a 14 or 15 hour stright drive isn't a problem. Have to stop for the OJ at the welcome center also.

 

[draybook]

Just out of curiosity why do you take that route instead of I-65 to Montgomery, 231 to I-10?

If you go US 280 through Columbus, GA you have something along the lines of 270 miles of non Interstate vs 140 by using the route through Montgomery/Dothan.

Do you just prefer that route?

I really am just curious. No offense intended.


BTW we drive as well. It's about 8.5 hours of drive time/9.5 hours of total travel time.

One tradition is the Steak N Shake in Gainesville for lunch.

And we LOVE the Western Bypass! That first view of SM, the Castle and the Contemporary is priceless!!!

We have to honk the horn going under the entrance gate!

It's the directions that mapquest gives me. The 10 sounds familiar though.

 

[lbrad]

DH & I with our 3 (now 17,18 & 20 yr olds) ALWAYS DRIVE!!! From York PA. We have made this trek over a dozen times.
My DH hates to fly & I don't like the price tag (for a family of 5).
Any who our tradition is to pack the van the night before our trip. We start our journey @ 0300!!!
We pack a cooler of drinks (o.j./tea/soda/etc...), breakfast donuts/poptarts/granola/etc... and lunch (sandwhiches & snacks).
We only stop to fuel the car & potty at the rest stop.
We are in Savannah GA by 1300 hours. We always stay a night in Savannah (as I use to live there). We have a fun night out with friends
We are back on the road by 0700 and we are in WDW by noon...just in time for lunch!
We usually make a stop at Wal Mart on our way into The World.
Once in Disney we use disney transportation. We have driven ourselves to church/stores/Universal:zipit:/ and to see family at Satallite Beach ...
It is nice to have a car. We have driven ourselves to other resorts for dining reservations (just easier/saves time). And we have driven ourselves to the water parks.
Have flown (DH & I) twice. I will do whatever it takes to get to WDW:sohappy: