Driving from Ottawa? Questions!!

[starshine73]

I am starting to think now that driving might be a better (i.e. cheaper!) way to get to WDW this year. I figure I am looking at $1000 for both DH and I to fly, including airline tickets, parking at the airport, shuttle to WDW, etc. We have a fairly new car that I am pretty confident will be fine for a road trip.

My questions are, how much money do you think it would cost to drive to and from WDW, including gas and hotel for one night both ways. We are not fussy about the hotel, just clean with a bed and shower!

Any helpful answers are greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.

 

[Nagle]

Starshine73, we have driven down several times, most recently last December. We are in Brockville, only an hour south of you. We drove straight through on the way down last year. We spent about $100 US dollars in gas each way (give or take $20). Gas prices have risen since then so it will be a little more these days. There are plenty of exits all the way down I95 that have chain hotels that are reasonably priced. On the way back, we left at 7:00 am and drove until about 9:00 pm and stopped in southern Pennsylvania. I believe we stayed in a Hampton Inn. Cost about $65 USD. They had a very nice breakfast buffet starting early in the morning that was included in the price. Toast, cereal, bagels, juice, coffee, etc.

You might want to try the I95 Exit Guide for some tips before you go. They list recent gas prices all the way down I95 and current construction zones.

http://www.usastar.com/i95/homepage.htm

We are going again in August and driving this time also. When are you going?

Good Luck

John

 

[starshine73]

Thanks a lot for the quick reply and the link John! We are going at the end of September. I think we will leave early (like 4am) on the 27th and do the bulk of the drive that way. Then we can stop for the night and hopefully arrive in WDW at a decent hour.

 

[DisneyLisa]

Hi there,

We just drove to WDW & back from Ottawa (got back today). We spent $360.00 (Canadian) on gas (cheapest was in Brunswick, Georgia at $1.199/gal; most expensive in Orlando at $1.669/gal).

Hope that helps. If you have any other questions about driving, I'd be happy to answer them.

 

[starshine73]

Thanks Lisa, what kind of vehicle were you driving? We have a 2 door Cavalier, it is pretty good on gas.
Did you go around Washington DC? Was it difficult to find your way? I used to drive down with my parents but of course was never paying attention!
We are starting to get excited as we realize all the options that are open to us now that we will have a car on our trip (eating off-site, stopping at a store before we get there...)

 

[Nagle]

Starshine 73, we avoid DC and Baltimore when we drive down. From Ottawa you may want to follow the same route. Cross the border at the 1000 Islands Bridge. Follow I-81 south to I-66 just a few miles into Virginia. Take 66 east to I-95, then 95 all the way to Florida.


If you are a CAA member you could request a TRIPTIK from them. This would hopefully get some updated construction notes for the highways between Ottawa and I-95. ( the I-95 web site I gave you earlier is probably as good as or better that the TRIPTIK for construction in 95.)

John

 

[starshine73]

Thanks John, we are not CAA members ( have roadside assisance with vehicle warranty). I have been to mapquest.com and freetrip.com and both sites had the same directions, down 81 to 83 to 15 to 270 around Washington and merging onto 95. Is it really that bad? Looking at a map, taking 66 seems so out of the way!

 

[PhotobearSam]

Hi there,
I'm in New Brunswick right now but will be back in Ottawa on the 11 of August. I have a trick tick that shows the best and less traffic heavy way to Orlando from Ottawa. Maybe we can get together to discuss it. I have all the money we spent on our way down written in my trip diary (gas, mileage, stops, hotels etc...) but they are home and I'm here visiting my folks.

PM me if you would like to go over it. We went down with a 4 door Cavelier and did great on gas.

Hope to hear from you soon,
Samantha aka PhotobearSam

 

[DisneyLisa]

starshine73:

I was driving a 2002 Pontiac Montana Mini-van (trip computer said I averaged approx. 26 miles/gallon).

In 2000 I used the route described below by John...you definitely want to by-pass Washington (we tried going thru it once & it was a nightmare). Trust me, the I-66 Route may look longer but it will probably save you a lot of time & frustration. If you can get one, the trip-tiks are terrific...I ordered the GM Roadside Assistance one for this year's trip & it was a joke. My friend has CAA so she got the trip-tik for us, which was very helpful.

You're right...having a car is great...we stopped for a few groceries & went shopping a few times. But once we're in WDW, we always use their transportation for the parks.

We stayed at Hampton Inns (handy breakfasts) and they averaged around $75 U.S. (w/tax) per night. Our travelling cost (excluding food) was about $600 Canadian (gas & 1 night's hotel each way).

Hope this info helps a bit with your planning. Feel free to ask if you have any more questions.

 

[starshine73]

Thanks so much for all the info everyone! I don't know what I would do without the disboards to go to for all my obsessive trip planning needs!

 

[shillee]

Hi there,

There is currently a seat sale on which ends on the 25th of July (for booking). Prices are about $385 per person from Ottawa to Orlando (via Toronto).

You must travel on 'weekdays' as a restriction (not Friday/Saturday/Sunday) and must stay over at least 1 Saturday.

Hope this helps,
Shillee

 

[starshine73]

Thanks, I have actually seen even cheaper flights, but we are kind of stuck on driving now, I am looking for Disney Cds on ebay for the drive down, as DH just smiles and rolls his eyes!
Anyone been to the outlet malls? I am looking forward to not paying Disney prices for souvenirs! Which mall is the best one, in people's opinions?
Disneylisa, we also plan on using WDW transportation once we get there, I have no interest at all in driving around the parks once we get there! Part of our vacation is not having to drive, just hop on a bus, monorail, etc...
Thanks again everyone.

 

[Nagle]

I also love having my own car while at WDW. We use it a fair bit. With parking at the vaiious parks covered by staying onsite, I like taking my car and leaving exactly when we want to leave. If we are just out to the parks for a leisurely evening ending with fireworks, then we take Disney transportation.

 

[lfw]

Shillee,
Which airline did you see those prices for, and do you know if it is for travel within a specific timeframe?

 

[starshine73]

Disneylisa, rt 66 looks (on the map) like it joins I-95 right at Washington DC. Does it avoid the city driving? You just merge onto 95 with no problems? Thanks for any help, sorry for all the questions!

 

[DisneyLisa]

Just got my old Triptik out so here's the route: 81 to 66, follow 66 to Hwy17 to Hwys 15, 29 & 17 and onto 17 again...right to 95. It sounds complicated but it isn't. Check & see if you can see it on your map, if not I can scan the 2 or 3 pages from my Triptik & e-mail them to you. Hope this helps.

 

[starshine73]

Thanks, that makes more sense, I can see that route clearly on my map.

Thanks again!

 

[Nagle]

Starshine73, DisneyLisa has it right. It sounds hard to follow but is pretty straightforward. Once you are on #17 you follow the signs for I95. It will lead you to I95 at Fredericksburg (sp?) about 40 miles south of DC.
Now to throw another option into the works, a friend from work told me he uses virtually the same route except he gets off I81 at exit 313 and goes Highway #50 to # 17 and then the same route as mentionned previously. It cuts out some of the loop that you take by having to come back north through the first stretch of I66. He says it is a nice drive on a smaller highway that actually can save you about a half hour.

I think I am going to try it in August. Will let you know how it goes.

John

 

[lfw]

We had planned to fly, but now that I've extended our trip to 2 weeks instead of one, I'd consider driving.How long is the trip from Ottawa to Disney? Should we plan on just one stop over,or 2, as we will be travelling with DS 6 and DD 8?

 

[DisneyLisa]

Ottawa to Disney is approximately 24 hours. We travelled with three kids under 7 one year & drove straight through, but I wouldn't do it again. If your kids are good travellers, 1 stop works well.

In 2000 we left Ottawa at 6 am and stopped for the night in Kenley, NC at 9:30 pm. Up and on the road again at 6 am the next day, we arrived in WDW at 3:30 pm. It left us plenty of time to get cleaned up & head to Chef Mickey's for our first Character Meal & then to Downtown Disney for the evening.

We didn't stop for much more than gas & a quick meal, so if you want to add in some shopping & sight-seeing, it will obviously take you a little longer. Good luck with your planning.