Driving to WDW from Northeast Looking for good hotel 1/2 way down

[mom22pumpkins]

My family and I will be driving to WDW for the first time. We have flown many times before, this will be our first attempt at driving. We live in South Jersey, and will be staying overnight at a hotel 1/2 way down to Orlando. We're thinking North Carolina, we're hoping for South Carolina. Does anyone know a nice town with a decent affordable hotel to stay at in these areas? We have a 2 year old and a 4 year old, and I've heard if you don't pick your hotel carefully, you risk staying at a not-so-nice (I don't want to say flea-bag) hotel. We don't expect it to be as nice as the Polynesian where we be staying WDW, but we don't want to walk outside and have the family minivan missing either.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

P.S.
I've been a lurker at this site for many years. It is AWESOME!
Finally got the guts to actually join.
Thanks,
---Danielle

 

[Videoteck]

Half-Way huh, if you want half way you could stop in Mooresville, North Carolina, its really, really, really nice there, you cant miss it, I usually go all the way to Geogia the first day though, from New York.

 

[brisem]

Rocky Hill NC is also nice place to stop.

 

[WaltzingMatilda]

Hi Danielle -

Good question, one I'd love an answer to myself! We are taking the train from Jersey this trip, I wanted to drive. Would love to hear how it goes for you...be sure to post when you get back.

Have a great trip!

 

[Videoteck]

Well I think if you wanna be safe stick with mooresvillve because you could end up in a really crappy hotel. Its happened to me before and it sucks.

 

[TowerOfTerror]

I drove to Florida two times, and flew about 16 times flying out of Atlantic City International in my twenty years of going to disney. The next time I drive down is when I move. :lol: Enjoy the orange juice at the Florida rest stop and keep an eye out for Pedro ! :wave:

You will save some cash driving down though. Make sure you STAY AWAY from Washington around rush hour ! Give us a report when you come back !

 

[pescador1f]

cant remember the town name, but in s. carolina, right off 95 near parris island & hilton head island there was like 3 hotels, hampton inn, couple other brand name ones, i stayed twice at the same one, wasnt bad at all, less than $100, lots of tourists(driving to wdw probably). from south jersey you should make it this far easily. i was talking with a wdw veteran, someone that drives from central jersey to wdw for the last 25 years, twice a year, he said he goes out to PA and takes 81 south down to 75 in Tenn., he claims he has used it everytime, only takes 14 hours & is a much more scenic and much less traffic route. it looks out of the way compared to 95, but he swears by it............14 hours, no traffic, and you are driving through the appalachian mountains, very nice. if i can remember the name of the town in s.c. i'll put it up on here. good luck,

 

[maharet97a]

What I would do is look at a map and pick a town that looks good and then check out some of the travel sites like orbitz, expedia, yahoo travel, etc. and look at reviews for hotels in that area. It'll give you a better idea of what different travellers have to say about specific hotels. (btw LOVE the Eddie and Patsy avatar waltzingmatilda )

 

[tigsmom]

We drive down from upstate NY and usually stop in Fayetteville, NC (half way) and stay in the Hampton Inn on Cedar Creek Rd. Its reasonable, clean and they have a free breakfast in the morning. We also have stayed at the Red Roof Inn on Jim Johnson Rd (my inlaws actually prefer this one) and thats just as nice. :wave:

 

[Nansafan]

I can't give an exact name of a hotel since we do not come from the same area as you but here is my two cents on choosing a hotel when driving down. As a member of AAA Chicago Motor Club, before we leave I request from AAA a "Trip Tik" which is a route book for the trip, appropriate state maps and best of all, books which detail hotels, restaurants and sights along the way. The hotels have been reviewed by AAA and are rated. We have not gone wrong picking a AAA suggested hotel. Do you have a motor club in your area you could join? If not, my next suggestion would be to check the "chain" type hotels, Holiday Inns, Choice group, etc. When stopping for a night on the road, what we look for is proximity to the highway and proximity to a restaurant. All we look for in a stop-over hotel, is clean sheets and bathroom.

 

[DarkImage4]

i was talking with a wdw veteran, someone that drives from central jersey to wdw for the last 25 years, twice a year, he said he goes out to PA and takes 81 south down to 75 in Tenn., he claims he has used it everytime, only takes 14 hours & is a much more scenic and much less traffic route. it looks out of the way compared to 95, but he swears by it............14 hours, no traffic, and you are driving through the appalachian mountains, very nice,

I just can't see how this is possible....Rt 81 and Rt 75 intersect right at Knoxvile TN (as far as I can see)....I get 10 hours 4 minutes there, then another 10 hours 16 minutes to Orlando. That 20 hours and 20 minutes total, about 3 hours more than a straight shot. Can this route really knock that much time off? It just seems impossible...

 

[sdwsq2005]

My husband and I spend an average of 1-2 nights a week in hotels, due to his work. We stay in Hampton Inns whenever possible. The rooms are nice and most, if not all of the chain, have upgraded the bedding, linens, etc. Plus they have free breakfasts...not just the continental typeeither. They usually serve scrambled eggs, sausage, biscuits, gravy, cereal, sweet rolls, bagels, toast, yogurt and fruit. We also belong to the Hilton Honors rewards program (the parent company), so we get discounts whenever they're available. This is free and you can sign up online. Since we spend so much time on the road, we're pretty picky about the comfort level of the rooms and I must say that Hamptons are consistent. There's nothing worse that spending the night on a bed of rocks, especially when you're trying to enjoy yourself the next day. LOTS of visits to the chiropractor!

 

[bgraham34]

I remember as a kid we use to stop at South of The Border, but its not as clean as it once was.

 

[Nemo14]

South of the Border =

I'll second the Hampton Inn endorsement - we love them!
Also, you might consider driving more than half-way that first day so the second day's drive is much easier, and you get to WDW earlier. We used to drive from RI every summer, and we'd generally stay in SC or GA on the first night. Keep in mind that once you cross that FL border, it's still a long drive to WDW.
BTW, stop at the first rest area in FL on I-95 for free orange juice. (A funny story about this - several years ago when we were driving there was a sign right before the rest area that said "Free OJ" We wondered how many people realized they were talking about the beverage!)

 

[SewIn2Disney]

Every time we go, we drive as well, and we're from South Jersey as well. We used to make reservations ahead of time, but now we're smarter. We just take along a card with the numbers of the nicer hotel chains (Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn, etc) then about an hour or two before we're ready to quit driving, my mom starts calling the main line. She tells them where we are on I-95, and asks for hotel numbers within the next 100 miles or so, and makes reservations from there. That way, if we're making good time or something we don't have to stop early just because we have a reservation.

Don't, however, stay at South of the Border, while it may be fun to stop at and laugh at, it isn't very safe.
And, coming from another frequent driver to FL, may I suggest Cracker Barrel for all of your meals. You get a chance to stop and walk around, get a quick cheap meal, and you won't get sick on fast food. Every CB has a map by the registers (free) that lists all of the CB's in the country. There are a thousand down I-95.
Have a great trip!

 

[tigsmom]

I just can't see how this is possible....Rt 81 and Rt 75 intersect right at Knoxvile TN (as far as I can see)....I get 10 hours 4 minutes there, then another 10 hours 16 minutes to Orlando. That 20 hours and 20 minutes total, about 3 hours more than a straight shot. Can this route really knock that much time off? It just seems impossible...

You avoid all the cities along 95 and all the construction (we lost over 3 hours at the Woodrow Wilson bridge last summer). My inlaws have friends who swear by that route. We haven't tried it as we visit family in Virginia on our way down or back.

 

[shoppingnut]

Don't, however, stay at South of the Border, while it may be fun to stop at and laugh at, it isn't very safe.
And, coming from another frequent driver to FL, may I suggest Cracker Barrel for all of your meals. You get a chance to stop and walk around, get a quick cheap meal, and you won't get sick on fast food. Every CB has a map by the registers (free) that lists all of the CB's in the country. There are a thousand down I-95.
Have a great trip!

South of the Border is a snake pit, I wouldn't stop there ever again. We just stopped to check it out and it was gross.

I also recommend Cracker Barrel for meals, they are good and consistent food. You can get a decent meal for about $10pp including soft drink. You can only eat so much fast food before getting sick. Their general store is great to look around in or even sitting outside in one of their famous rocking chairs if you have to wait for a table. Generally the wait times at them isn't very long because people are not looking to have leisurely meals, they want to eat and get back on the road and their restaurants are quite large.

 

[tigsmom]

I remember as a kid we use to stop at South of The Border, but its not as clean as it once was.

South of the Border =

We always take about an hour to stop at South of the Border to visit with Pedro, but don't eat there or spend the night. :hurl:

Did you know its a very popular spot for weddings? The happy couple gets a free nights lodging...they do about a dozen each week. :zipit:

 

[shoppingnut]

You avoid all the cities along 95 and all the construction (we lost over 3 hours at the Woodrow Wilson bridge last summer). My inlaws have friends who swear by that route. We haven't tried it as we visit family in Virginia on our way down or back.

When I drive 95 passed DC, I go the other route through MD&VA on the 495 beltway, it's generally much faster and you avoid the construction that has been going on for years at the WW bridge and probably will for the rest of my lifetime. Also the merge back onto 95 is better than coming from the other way. We go down regularly to visit my aunt in Manassas and go this way all the time.

 

[shoppingnut]

Did you know its a very popular spot for weddings? The happy couple gets a free nights lodging...they do about a dozen each week. :zipit:

OMG, that's scary !