For those of you who drive to WDW

[chipndale09]

This thread is a little off WDW...but...Every year we drive to WDW from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in total it is a 24 hrs drive. We usually take I81 to I66 to I95 and do it 2 days with one stop around Rocky Mount, NC and then the next day at St-Augustine,FL. We like the St-augustine stop because it allows us a good night sleep with a short hop to WDW the next day. We get to the World nice and early allowing us to choose our room at the hotel with an early checking in.

My question for you who drive, do you have any favorite places to stop overnite where the hotels are clean and right off the interstate?

We usually stop at Best Westerns, they seem to be clean and not too $$. We are starting to like the St-Augustine stop and are thinking of investigating 1 or 2 days there before heading to WDW.

Doe anyone know about St-Augustine, hotels, restaurants..the "touristy" things. I hear finding a hotel with parking in old st-augustine is quite the task..is this true?

thanks in advance for any advice :wave:

 

[Annielkd]

I drive each time, but, we can do it in about 18 hours so we drive straight through. When we do stop it generally is in Virginia at Hampton Inns. They are always clean and very comfortable. This time when we drive, we are going to stay a day at Vero Beach (we are dvc members) and this was pretty good points. Resting a day is good before the hustle and bustle of the parks. I drive 1-95 most of the way and stop every two hours.

 

[R W B]

I don't drive down the east coast like you so I can't say much on where to stop but St Augustine is a place that I would like to visit and spend a few days at one day. I believe it's America's oldest city so I'm sure theirs a lot of history that could be learned there.

Also, Hampton Inn and Suites is one of my favorite road trip hotels. IMO they have some ofthe most comfortable beds I've slept in at hotels and this is including some 4 & 5 star hotels in Vegas, Miami Beach and Dallas that my company has put me in.

 

[invader]

Well, we drive but it's only about 30 minutes. Definitely go to the Fort at St. Augustine! It's pretty fun!

~ Being local is a plus! ~
FD.

 

[chipndale09]

I don't drive down the east coast like you so I can't say much on where to stop but St Augustine is a place that I would like to visit and spend a few days at one day. I believe it's America's oldest city so I'm sure theirs a lot of history that could be learned there.

Also, Hampton Inn and Suites is one of my favorite road trip hotels. IMO they have some ofthe most comfortable beds I've slept in at hotels and this is including some 4 & 5 star hotels in Vegas, Miami Beach and Dallas that my company has put me in.

On the way back this year we stopped in Emporia, Virgina for the night. The Best Western was sold out so we went to the Hampton across the street. For the extra $30 a night was well worth it and you are right about the beds! I think we have become "Hamptonians"

 

[popsicletrees]

My family has done a few ghost tours in St. Augustine. It is a neat way to explore the city at night and get some history of the area. The Spanish fort is also a neat place to visit.

 

[c-one]

This thread is a little off WDW...but...Every year we drive to WDW from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in total it is a 24 hrs drive. We usually take I81 to I66 to I95 and do it 2 days with one stop around Rocky Mount, NC and then the next day at St-Augustine,FL. We like the St-augustine stop because it allows us a good night sleep with a short hop to WDW the next day. We get to the World nice and early allowing us to choose our room at the hotel with an early checking in.

My question for you who drive, do you have any favorite places to stop overnite where the hotels are clean and right off the interstate?

We usually stop at Best Westerns, they seem to be clean and not too $$. We are starting to like the St-Augustine stop and are thinking of investigating 1 or 2 days there before heading to WDW.

Doe anyone know about St-Augustine, hotels, restaurants..the "touristy" things. I hear finding a hotel with parking in old st-augustine is quite the task..is this true?

thanks in advance for any advice :wave:

It is a bit difficult in St. Augustine -- but that's because St. Augustine is a dense old city, not a suburb. The hotels don't have parking and are more expensive, but on the plus side they're gorgeous and full of charm. Beats the heck out of staying in a bland chain hotel in Nowheresville, South Carolina.

 

[Mr_Incredible]

St Augustine is nice!! Dont stay at the Super 8, its off the interstate. We had a long drive from NC to WDW it was late and we were tired decided we need a room so we stopped got our keys. My husband first walked into the room and backed up slowly and said we need to go!!! There was a man sleeping in the room not decent!!! lol

 

[timeman]

I usually drive straight thru myself as it only takes me 12 hours. There is a book that lists every stop along I95 and lists places to check out. The website for the book is DriveI95. For St Augustine it actually lists a couple of good places to eat.

 

[vjgraham]

This may seem strange to some, but our trip is a little over 6 hours and we always stop on the way there and back. It's a tradition we always do each year and it helps to extend our vacation by a couple of nights. On the way down we always stop in Jacksonville at Embassy suites. It is right off I95 and has great rooms and free breakfast and evening snacks and refreshments. The next morning after breakfast we drive the rest of the way to Disney, and since it is only 2 hours or so away we arrive refreshed and ready to start our vacation. On the day we leave we spend the day at a park after checking out of the resort then drive 2 hours to Jacksonville and spend the night. Although it would be easy to drive straight through it has always been part of our trips to make these two overnight stays.

 

[MaxsDad]

The first time I took the family to WDW, we stayed in a Hampton Inn right off I95 in St. Augustine. This was 1999, and it was new then. It was nice. Have always wanted to go back, but haven't.

We often stay at the Kingsland, GA exit now. It is right before the FL border, and I can make WDW from there in less than 3 hours the next morning.

We stayed at a Motel 6 in JAX one time. There were cop cars in the parking lot when we pulled in. Not very comfortable.

 

[shmmrname]

We drive from Chicago for our vacations. We've only planned overnight stops twice, but both times, I just couldn't bare the idea of sleeping when I was in the 'zone'. My wife keeps hoping that'll wear off, but we'll see...

 

[jlevis]

We drive taking I 75 from SE Michigan. We typically stop around Macon GA. there are a number of good franchise hotels there. For reasons unknown our trip home can take various routes but we'll stop after about 12 hours. We prefer Marriotts Courtyard or Hampton Inns.

 

[draybook]

Only a 12-13 hour drive for us so we go straight through. We mainly stop for gas and food and potty breaks. I thought I was going crazy this last trip because we stopped at that rest stop near Troy, AL, and I kept seeing Blackhawks flying around at semi-low altitude. Now this was at night and I thought that the zombie apocalypse has actually happened. That is until I asked the worker there and he informed me that Fort Rucker was only a few miles away. :lol:

 

[DarkImage4]

When we used to live in NJ (now in Florida less than 2 hours away...yay!), we had a drive that usually took between 16 to 18 hours depending on traffic etc, Going to WDW, we usually did it in one day (on the road by 2/3am and in Orlando by dinner). Goign home however, we would sometimes break up the trip with a quick stop. We've found "decent" places around Savannah GA and into Santee SC. Of course, I can't recommend one in particular, just use your best judgement and remember to take care with anything you might leave in your car overnight. we've heard stories of people having a quite a Magical time, only to have it ruined and/or parts of it stolen while they slept.

 

[whitney37354]

We have a ten hour drive. We stopped in Macon, GA both coming & going. We stayed at a Country Inn & Suites, beside Carrabba's, our favorite place to eat! Easy to find, near lots of restaurants, seemed safe. I think we will try to drive farther down next time---maybe Valdosta, or get on into Florida so we can have extra time at the parks.

 

[Cold71]

Just out of curiosity, is it really economical to drive anymore with gas prices? I feel like you could easily get round trip airfare for what it's going to cost you to drive and be there is much less time. I'm not sure how it is around the country right now but you can't get anything less then about $4 a gallon around here.

 

[pixiesteno]

Okay, we have driven that route numerous times. We have stayed at the Hampton Inn at Emporium VA - very nice. If you ever are really running late there is a Quality Inn at the second Winchester VA exit on I81 that is really nice and great rates too. Last summer we got a room in Rocky Mount NC on the way home, it was a Comfort Inn/Suites and it is quite new and very nice. I have stayed at both the Best Western and Hampton Inn in Florance SC, by far the Hampton Inn was nicest. I have stayed at the Comfort Inn just off I95 in St. Augustine - nice, but don't believe the room rate posted on the billboard. There was a very nice Comfort Inn and Suites that we stayed at just down the road from St. Augustine heading southbound. I believe it is in the Palm Coast area (it was very late that night) We have stayed several times at the new Comfort Inn at Ormond Beach and the Hampton Inn, both are very nice. We haven't gone wrong at a Hampton Inn yet. There are some places in the Comfort Inn- Quality Inn line that I would advise avoiding: one in particular, is as you are north-bound on I95 just across the GA boarder, avoid the Quality Inn - musty, damp, nasty rooms.
We try to stay with either the Hampton Inn or Comfort Inn. I have found that the extra $20.00 or so a night for the Hampton Inns well worth the price.

 

[Annielkd]

Okay, we have driven that route numerous times. We have stayed at the Hampton Inn at Emporium VA - very nice. If you ever are really running late there is a Quality Inn at the second Winchester VA exit on I81 that is really nice and great rates too. Last summer we got a room in Rocky Mount NC on the way home, it was a Comfort Inn/Suites and it is quite new and very nice. I have stayed at both the Best Western and Hampton Inn in Florance SC, by far the Hampton Inn was nicest. I have stayed at the Comfort Inn just off I95 in St. Augustine - nice, but don't believe the room rate posted on the billboard. There was a very nice Comfort Inn and Suites that we stayed at just down the road from St. Augustine heading southbound. I believe it is in the Palm Coast area (it was very late that night) We have stayed several times at the new Comfort Inn at Ormond Beach and the Hampton Inn, both are very nice. We haven't gone wrong at a Hampton Inn yet. There are some places in the Comfort Inn- Quality Inn line that I would advise avoiding: one in particular, is as you are north-bound on I95 just across the GA boarder, avoid the Quality Inn - musty, damp, nasty rooms.
We try to stay with either the Hampton Inn or Comfort Inn. I have found that the extra $20.00 or so a night for the Hampton Inns well worth the price.

I've stayed at the Quality Inn you are referring to... it was great and cheep. BUT, they have one at a close exit that was HORRIBLE. So you have to be careful. We don't go to that now, we just stick with the Hampton Inn since all of them have been fantastic. I love the bedding.

 

[wylde75]

Our drive is a little over 14 hours and we drive straight through. We stayed overnight once somewhere in Florida. I have no idea where it was but we got a late start and were exhausted so we stopped for the night. Im the type that thinks spending the night other then in the "world" is a wasted night. On the way home though, we stop near Pensacola for a few nights on the beach for a vacation from our vacation. then we feel rested and relaxed to go back to reality.