Best route to drive from SW Ontario to WDW?

[FigmentSpark]

OK, finally decided to drive either the route you highlighted, picking up i77 in Wytheville, or crossing in Buffalo, then Pittsburgh to i77.
Google Maps only shows about 20 min difference. Any idea which would be better?
Either way we don't miss North Carolina or Virginias?

Well, all things being equal... will you be going through Pittsburgh rush hour? We've had delays through that area, midday due to accidents, which could happen any time, but it reminds me to stay away during rush hour.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

Well, all things being equal... will you be going through Pittsburgh rush hour? We've had delays through that area, midday due to accidents, which could happen any time, but it reminds me to stay away during rush hour.

Still trying to work out the details but we plan to leave our house around 5 am on a Saturday morning. If we drive to cross in Michigan (Sarnia, ON) then it's 1 hr drive from our house. If we drive to cross in Niagara Falls then it's just over 2 hrs drive. Which means we would cross in Sarnia around 6 am, and in Niagara Falls around 7-7:30 am.
According to google maps, there is more construction in Ohio than Pennsylvania, but I don't know how accurate that is.

Our plan is to drive around 12 -14 hrs the first day with a stop for dinner and then stop for the night. I'm hoping this way our drive the next morning will be only 6-7 hrs....

 

[FigmentSpark]

We cross at Buffalo, not Niagara Falls. It's a little more driving in Canada, but it gets us on our way.

 

[smooreo]

Still trying to work out the details but we plan to leave our house around 5 am on a Saturday morning. If we drive to cross in Michigan (Sarnia, ON) then it's 1 hr drive from our house. If we drive to cross in Niagara Falls then it's just over 2 hrs drive. Which means we would cross in Sarnia around 6 am, and in Niagara Falls around 7-7:30 am.
According to google maps, there is more construction in Ohio than Pennsylvania, but I don't know how accurate that is.

Our plan is to drive around 12 -14 hrs the first day with a stop for dinner and then stop for the night. I'm hoping this way our drive the next morning will be only 6-7 hrs....

We're from the GTA and always cross in Buffalo and take the route through Pittsburgh. It's been great and feels more direct for us than heading so far west to I75. The mountains are beautiful and just be ready for tolls. If weather was a factor I would definitely take 75 south.

 

[ontdvc2015]

We have alternated going I75 and I79-I77-I95 routes the last few years we have gone down. There is no doubt that the route through Virginias and Carolinas is a much more scenic drive, and we love it. The only thing that still makes us take I75 is the weather conditions (I would hate to be driving through some of those mountains in a snow storm) and the abundance of restaurants/fuel/hotels at every exit. We live just south east of London and the time seems to be the same for us regardless which way we take. We general leave the I75 for winter trips and the I79-77-95 for the nicer weather months. The detour and construction on the I75 in Detroit right now may be the difference between going that way and cutting across to Cleveland and down I77 and just heading to Fort Erie/Buffalo and heading south in Erie, PA on I79.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

We're from the GTA and always cross in Buffalo and take the route through Pittsburgh. It's been great and feels more direct for us than heading so far west to I75. The mountains are beautiful and just be ready for tolls. If weather was a factor I would definitely take 75 south.

We are from the London area so it takes a bit longer to get to Buffalo than from GTA - We can cross in Sarnia though and drive through Ohio and then join the same route around West Virginia. I believe.
Hoping the weather won't be a factor as we are going next month

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

We have alternated going I75 and I79-I77-I95 routes the last few years we have gone down. There is no doubt that the route through Virginias and Carolinas is a much more scenic drive, and we love it. The only thing that still makes us take I75 is the weather conditions (I would hate to be driving through some of those mountains in a snow storm) and the abundance of restaurants/fuel/hotels at every exit. We live just south east of London and the time seems to be the same for us regardless which way we take. We general leave the I75 for winter trips and the I79-77-95 for the nicer weather months. The detour and construction on the I75 in Detroit right now may be the difference between going that way and cutting across to Cleveland and down I77 and just heading to Fort Erie/Buffalo and heading south in Erie, PA on I79.
View attachment 251591

We are going next month, so I don't think snow will be an issue
We are also from the London area... so when you take i79-i77-i95 where do you cross the border?

 

[JETSDAD]

We have alternated going I75 and I79-I77-I95 routes the last few years we have gone down. There is no doubt that the route through Virginias and Carolinas is a much more scenic drive, and we love it. The only thing that still makes us take I75 is the weather conditions (I would hate to be driving through some of those mountains in a snow storm) and the abundance of restaurants/fuel/hotels at every exit. We live just south east of London and the time seems to be the same for us regardless which way we take. We general leave the I75 for winter trips and the I79-77-95 for the nicer weather months. The detour and construction on the I75 in Detroit right now may be the difference between going that way and cutting across to Cleveland and down I77 and just heading to Fort Erie/Buffalo and heading south in Erie, PA on I79.
View attachment 251591

I'm SE of London as well....Aylmer here.

 

[DavidL]

We have driven from London Ontario to Disney World in March for the past 5 years. We've taken the I75 all 5 trips, and one of the biggest issues with "traffic" is when we hit the Atlanta area. Atlanta traffic we find is worse than Toronto traffic. Arriving in Atlanta after 8PM seems to work best to avoid the morning or afternoon rush hour. We've learned from being stuck in traffic for hours to plan our trip around what time we will be in Atlanta so that we can try avoid the gridlock.

 

[ontdvc2015]

We are going next month, so I don't think snow will be an issue
We are also from the London area... so when you take i79-i77-i95 where do you cross the border?

We live about an hour closer to the Buffalo border than London so we always cross at Buffalo. And as I said, with that construction on the I75, which apparently takes about 20-30 min longer to get out of Detroit, even if I lived in London I would be heading to Buffalo then to Erie, PA.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

Wna

We have driven from London Ontario to Disney World in March for the past 5 years. We've taken the I75 all 5 trips, and one of the biggest issues with "traffic" is when we hit the Atlanta area. Atlanta traffic we find is worse than Toronto traffic. Arriving in Atlanta after 8PM seems to work best to avoid the morning or afternoon rush hour. We've learned from being stuck in traffic for hours to plan our trip around what time we will be in Atlanta so that we can try avoid the gridlock.

Yes when we drive i75 we always plan around Atlanta. Last time we drove through it around 4 am... it was fine.
But it's either before 5:30 am or after 8 pm as you say.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

We live about an hour closer to the Buffalo border than London so we always cross at Buffalo. And as I said, with that construction on the I75, which apparently takes about 20-30 min longer to get out of Detroit, even if I lived in London I would be heading to Buffalo then to Erie, PA.

Stupid question maybe.. if we cross in Sarnia instead of Detroit, do we avoid the construction?
Google maps is taking us through Sarnia right now.

And if we decide to drive down the QEW, could we cross in Niagara Falls instead of Buffalo?

 

[petunia]

Sorry to hijack..we are just east of the GTA, in Oshawa..we are driving for the first time, is there a "best route" option for the GTA to WDW? Thx

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

Sorry to hijack..we are just east of the GTA, in Oshawa..we are driving for the first time, is there a "best route" option for the GTA to WDW? Thx

Based on the answers above - from GTA, cross border in Buffalo and drive through Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Carolinas, Georgia... during warmer weather months. During winter, cross border in Detroit and take i75 all the way down.

 

[Mike2023]

Ok everyone, you all seem to know what you are talking about so a couple of questions. We normally do the largest leg of our drive first and stop in Georgia for the night. This time we will be leaving in the afternoon, 2pm or so on a Thursday. Do you think we should drive until we feel like stopping and grab a motel? or should we book something around 8 hours from Toronto and set that goal? If so, any recommendations?

Here is the route I will probably be taking. This passes through Pittsburgh and Charlotte.

 

[purple hippo]

We have driven many times the 79-77-95 route many times and it is a lovely drive. This year we are driving down in December and I am a bit concerned about the weather and driving through the mountains. I was thinking about taking the 95 all the way down but being closer to the east coast is there a better chance of bad weather? Are there mountains along this route?

Also considering driving the I75 this time but wondering instead of taking the 401 from Oakville to Sarnia and crossing there, has anyone crossed in Buffalo and then taken the I90 to I71 to meet up with the I75? According to google maps it a difference of 20 minutes (20h 17 min vs 20 37 min). Based on the stories about traffic and Detroit but weather along the 401 I'm wondering if this a more feasible option? I haven't driven the I75 in many years and I think there are mountains along this route as well but I think they are further south than if I take the 79-77 route, correct and therefore less of a concern weather wise?

 

[morrik5]

I can't even get google to show me the Buffalo route
11 min is nothing! I don't like crossing in Windsor, usually do Sarnia or Rainbow Bridge Niagara Falls.
I think getting out a plain old road map would help right about now
I vaguely remember what they look like from my childhood trips in the 90's, lol. My dad only relied on the maps!

We recently travelled from Ontario to Newburgh, NY and up to NS and back to Ontario and did have to rely on an actual road map when we got around Montreal as we chose a different road than the GPS and CAA planned for us knowing Hwy 30 would be much less stressful. Take a map as a backup, you won't regret it (even if you don't need to use it).

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

Did you buy an actual map or atlas? We are also going to get one, as "old-fashioned" as they are for the reasons you mention.
We got CAA (even though my husband is handy, he won't have all his tools), The Next exit book, Along i75 in case we go that way coming back, and will get a map too. I'd rather be prepared travelling that far by car.

 

[FigmentSpark]

If you have CAA, don't buy an atlas, just ask for the maps you need. You should be able to get a triptik, as well.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

If you have CAA, don't buy an atlas, just ask for the maps you need. You should be able to get a triptik, as well.

Just got CAA so not sure what it all includes... I just ask for the maps at a CAA store? Great thanks.
What's triptik?