driving to WDW in February - are we crazy?

[tmcgraw]

We're planning a trip this February and are hoping to drive it. But, I'm nervous about the weather on the drive. We drove last April and loved it, but it was dry and warm the entire way. I'm pretty clueless about the kind of weather they get south of the border. Is it safe to drive through the mountains of West Virginia? Do they get snow through those areas in the beginning of February or at all? Would it be safer to take an alternate route?

 

[bankr63]

Not in the least crazy. The key is a bit of flexibility. The best route down is the one that doesn't have any weather systems threatening on your drive day. Don't pick it until about 3 days before (and even then be prepared to change) based on what the short range weather says. Yes, there is snow in the Northern and Central US in February. But the systems are generally more "stable" then when we drive down in March, so it should actually be fairly easy to pick a route. Personally we have 3 good routes available to us from Eastern Ontario, but I never set my final route until just before departure, and will adjust as things happen.

If you can, don't plan too much for the first day in Orlando, just plan to settle in and relax a little after the long drive. This cushion of not having plans means you won't feel you have to push through if you are delayed by weather along the way. Just pull over and ride it out. Last March we hit some pretty bad weather in NYS and PA, and pulled over earlier than planned to let it pass over. An earlier start the next morning had us back on track under cleared skies and on cleared interstates. The trucks lining the ditch were a stern reminder of why pulling over when we did was a good idea.

 

[Sue M]

I wouldn't risk it. I live on the west coast and last winter was insane. So much snow, and lasted so long! I wouldn't have driven to DL in Feb. The weather systems have been changing so much lately across the country. We never had so much snow like this year.
Not to mention how much valuable vacay time driving eats up. And driving home is never fun!

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

We live in NYC and drove to DW every February for years (we stopped 2 years ago - once the children started college - their schedules were off). Not sure where in Canada you are but we never had an issue on 95.

 

[jenng1983]

We drove from Alberta to California last February (2016) and we lucked out by not getting anything too terrible. Mind you, my husband is a professional driver who drives in bad conditions all winter, so that may have helped. I wouldn't have done it otherwise.