Florida to PA - Where to stop and sleep?

S

Stitch in Wonderland

Member
Hey all! I often see people asking where to stop on the way down, or where to have a day trip on the way there or back...but does anyone have a recommendation of a place to just stop and sleep on the way back? I think between us we will make it down in one trip. We will be leaving in the evening and driving through the night, fully aware that Saturday will be a hang at the resort day. We will be at AK Kidani, so we are good with that!

But for the return we will be leaving probably later in the day on Saturday and I think we will need to stop and sleep somewhere. I looked and Florence seems to be about midway, but I also considered whether we could push it to Fayettville, NC? Had anyone done this and if so, where did you stop to sleep? Thanks for any and all input!
 
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Tony the Tigger

Tony the Tigger

Well-Known Member
Stitch in Wonderland said:
Hey all! I often see people asking where to stop on the way down, or where to have a day trip on the way there or back...but does anyone have a recommendation of a place to just stop and sleep on the way back? I think between us we will make it down in one trip. We will be leaving in the evening and driving through the night, fully aware that Saturday will be a hang at the resort day. We will be at AK Kidani, so we are good with that!

But for the return we will be leaving probably later in the day on Saturday and I think we will need to stop and sleep somewhere. I looked and Florence seems to be about midway, but I also considered whether we could push it to Fayettville, NC? Had anyone done this and if so, where did you stop to sleep? Thanks for any and all input!
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I’ve stopped at both on the way up and down over the years. I prefer Florence, there’s just more to it, but honestly it’s usually a highway motel, sleep and move on situation.

With the ability to book something last minute on your phone these days, I’d drive as far as I comfortably can, book whatever is available that moment via Priceline or orbitz and get to sleep.

Also consider where you are stopping and what time you leave in the morning versus where you will hit rush-hour traffic.
 
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S

Stitch in Wonderland

Member
Original Poster
Tony the Tigger said:
I’ve stopped at both on the way up and down over the years. I prefer Florence, there’s just more to it, but honestly it’s usually a highway motel, sleep and move on situation.

With the ability to book something last minute on your phone these days, I’d drive as far as I comfortably can, book whatever is available that moment via Priceline or orbitz and get to sleep.

Also consider where you are stopping and what time you leave in the morning versus where you will hit rush-hour traffic.
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I am not sure what time we would be leaving the parks, so that's a good point. I will discuss with my husband and try to time it right distance-wise. Thank you!
 
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WLBound

WLBound

Well-Known Member
We've driven between FL and PA a few times on WDW trips and stopped in both Emporia and Florence. If you are leaving earlier in the day and can make it to Emporia I would probably suggest that. You'll have a shorter drive on day 2 and I know that's when the car fatigue sets in for me.
 
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J

jim1051

Active Member
we have done that drive on multiple occasion. If we have multiple drivers we prefer to just go for it without stopping. If it's just one driver, I try to get a little farther north like Roanoke rapids which is near NC-VA border so the balance of trip the second day is closer to just 5 hours
 
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stratman50th

stratman50th

Well-Known Member
Oops! Sorry, I just reread your post. You were talking about the trip back. Kingsland was the trip down.
We've stayed in Fayettville, Lumberton, RockyMount. Just depends on how hard you want to push it. In my younger days and in a car I could do 12 or 13 hours. Now I drive our coach and require shorter legs between stops.
 
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allgiggles

allgiggles

Well-Known Member
Tony the Tigger said:
I’ve stopped at both on the way up and down over the years. I prefer Florence, there’s just more to it, but honestly it’s usually a highway motel, sleep and move on situation.

With the ability to book something last minute on your phone these days, I’d drive as far as I comfortably can, book whatever is available that moment via Priceline or orbitz and get to sleep.

Also consider where you are stopping and what time you leave in the morning versus where you will hit rush-hour traffic.
Click to expand...

That is exactly what we've done for the last few trips (PA to FL and back). We drive until we're ready to stop; get off at an exit with a lot of hotels; pull into a parking lot; pull up a few hotel reservation apps; and start looking for the best price at a hotel we're willing to stay at. Five minutes later we're booked and checking in. We usually try to stop by about 6 or 7:00 p.m. because there is more inventory available at that time than if we wait until later to stop. On the rare occasions that we want to keep driving until 8-9:00, we'll estimate where we're going to drive to and book a room there by about 6:00.
 
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