This will be the first time that i have ever driven to florida i've always flown and i wanted to know which route would be the easiest and fastest I-95 to I4 to wdw or I95-beachline expressway to wdw. Can anybody help me with this. We will be leaving Delaware on Nov 17 around 8pm and should arrive in florida by atleast noon Sat Nov 18th. And how many tolls are there ?
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Fastest Driving Route
- Thread starter shybre
- Start date
orangewarrior
New Member
No Tolls on I-95 south of Washington DC. We always take I-95 to I-4. I think its the fastest.
As one poster said you may want to avoid major cities during rush hour. In particular, DC and Richmond. Although the bypass around Richmond usually takes care of any traffic issues, and doesn't add that much time.
But from Richmond to Jacksonville, you shouldn't have too much traffic. A little slot of congestion around Fayetteville NC normally, but all in all its a good trip, and one that I thought I'd dread three years ago, when I first made it. But one that I now look forward to each year. The benefits of having a car in Disney make it well worthwhile for me.
However, do avoid DC at rush hour. There is nothing worse than a long trip, starting with bumper to bumper traffic on the beltway around DC. We are considering taking I-81 down into the Carolinas this year, and skipping across to 95, because it looks like we may have to depart at a time where we'd be stuck in Friday night rush hour DC traffic. But we don't leave til December, so that might change.
As one poster said you may want to avoid major cities during rush hour. In particular, DC and Richmond. Although the bypass around Richmond usually takes care of any traffic issues, and doesn't add that much time.
But from Richmond to Jacksonville, you shouldn't have too much traffic. A little slot of congestion around Fayetteville NC normally, but all in all its a good trip, and one that I thought I'd dread three years ago, when I first made it. But one that I now look forward to each year. The benefits of having a car in Disney make it well worthwhile for me.
However, do avoid DC at rush hour. There is nothing worse than a long trip, starting with bumper to bumper traffic on the beltway around DC. We are considering taking I-81 down into the Carolinas this year, and skipping across to 95, because it looks like we may have to depart at a time where we'd be stuck in Friday night rush hour DC traffic. But we don't leave til December, so that might change.
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Can't really help you until you reach Jacksonville so I'll go from there.shybre said:
There is a lot of construction going on in Jacksonville along I-95 right now. They are replacing the bridge at Trout river which can result in periodic lane closures. The interchange at I-95 and I-10 is also being heavily worked on so if you hit these areas at rush hour (about 7:00AM-9:00) you could encounter a few delays but nothing too tragic unless you get a major accident. If for some reason there is a major and I mean major wreck that has I-95 shut down you can bypass that section of I-95 by taking I-295. Use this as a last resort as I-295 will have much worse typical rush hour traffic than I-95 not to mention it is a longer route.
I-4 vs. the Bee Line Expressway again depends on what time you will hit I-4. General rule of thumb if I can't get to I-4 by 7:00 AM or 3:00 PM I will opt for the Bee Line (I-95 to 407 to Bee Line). The Bee Line route is about 40 miles longer but you can run at a pretty consistent 70-80 mph where as I-4 can turn into a parking lot even without an accident. Bee Line would be your only toll in Florida. There are either 2 or 3 stops from I-95 to I-4. Your total toll is less that $2.
Your total travel time from Jacksonville to WDW will around 2-1/2 hours without traffic delays.
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driving
We are near you in Chadds Ford PA. We always drive and it is usually 15 to 16 hours via I 95 and I 4. That include a total of 1 to 1.5 hours for food stops, gas and rest stops. We did have a problem last year on Easter weekend, it took nearly 20 hours. We always leave around 3AM to get past Washington DC while they still sleep. I would guess that driving thru the night you should be there by noon.
Tolls south are Delaware, Baltimore tunnel (3 or 4), northbound Tunnel , MD turnpike and good ole Delaware($8 or 9).
We are near you in Chadds Ford PA. We always drive and it is usually 15 to 16 hours via I 95 and I 4. That include a total of 1 to 1.5 hours for food stops, gas and rest stops. We did have a problem last year on Easter weekend, it took nearly 20 hours. We always leave around 3AM to get past Washington DC while they still sleep. I would guess that driving thru the night you should be there by noon.
Tolls south are Delaware, Baltimore tunnel (3 or 4), northbound Tunnel , MD turnpike and good ole Delaware($8 or 9).
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I had one trip that it took me 2-1/2 hours to go form Downtown Orlando to DTD but that was during rush hour. We typically leave Jacksonville about 6:00 PM ,which keeps us out of rush hour, and we are on Disney property between 8:30 and 9:00 PM . I do around 70 -80 mph the entire way. I have made it from Orlando to Jacksonville in as little as 1-1/2 hours but that was at about 3:00 AM and I was following a Viper and a Corvette. On that trip the speedometer rarely went under 100 mph.tigsmom said:
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Thanks for the replies i assume we should be hitting Florida about 9-10 am will i be missing the rush hour traffic by then, or should i be preparing myself to be sitting in a parking lot. I just happen to live right next to i-95 and during rush hour here in Delaware i-95 looks like the mall parking lot.
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orangewarrior
New Member
I'm usually getting to Jax area mid-morning. But that is usually on the weekend. I can't recall a trip from Jax to Orlando or Orlando to Jax - 6 in all in the last 2+ years taking more than 3 hours, and 2.5 seems more reasonable.
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scpergj
Well-Known Member
jax to orlando
I have to agree with the 2.5 hours from Jax to Orlando. If you are worried about I-95 through Jax, take the bypass (I-295), it'll keep you away from the worst of the construction, even though it is out of the way. Timewise, it'll be about the same, but as long as you are not on it in rush hour, there is really no traffic on 295. I've made the trip 6 times in the last couple of years, and the only time it's taken longer is when hitting rush hour in Orlando. As was already stated, if you'r not in Orlando by 3, then take the Bee line...it'll save your nerves!
I have to agree with the 2.5 hours from Jax to Orlando. If you are worried about I-95 through Jax, take the bypass (I-295), it'll keep you away from the worst of the construction, even though it is out of the way. Timewise, it'll be about the same, but as long as you are not on it in rush hour, there is really no traffic on 295. I've made the trip 6 times in the last couple of years, and the only time it's taken longer is when hitting rush hour in Orlando. As was already stated, if you'r not in Orlando by 3, then take the Bee line...it'll save your nerves!
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You should be fine. Depending on the weight of your foot it takes about an hour to get to downtown Jacksonville form the Florida Georgia border. This should also put you at I-4 at or before 2:00 so you will miss that traffic as well.shybre said:
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