Driving to WDW in Nov/Dec from Ontario

[talytam]

Can anyone tell me how the weather is typically at the end of Nov and early December? I would be driving from Southern Ontario and am curious if the weather is okay during this period

TIA
Tamara

 

[hardis5]

If I-90 through Erie and then south, it can be sketchy and unpredictable until till south of W. Virginia depending on how early and cold the season turns. We've driven through bad snow in NY, PA and the mountains and the worst was when the snow had passed and the road was clear (though icy) with us passing at least 1/2 dozen tractor trailers off the road heading WB on I-90 in NY state. I always dislike driving southern PA and the Virginia's at night during the winter which is difficult with it getting dark earlier.

Last year (mid-Nov) we spoiled ourselves flying out of Pearson (had a good price and great fly times) instead of driving or flying Buffalo - we flew out the day Buffalo and area was hit with a monster storm shutting down the entire area. If flying Buffalo, it would have been a cancelled flight and if driving, we would have had to wait a few days to make it through the area. Far in advance, we always hope south of PA warms up but have seen the opposite.

 

[starvenger]

401 between London and Windsor can be brutal in the winter - high winds and black ice can be a concern. I had an accident in 2000 just outside of Tilbury thanks to this combination.

You could go 401 - 402 - I94 - I75 all the way down. There aren't a whole lot of stops between London and Sarnia, and Port Huron and Metro Detroit (once you cross over) but there might be less wind on that route. Plus you will bypass the mountainous areas some of the others routes take.

 

[shnoukys]

Anyone take the I81 around that period?

 

[bankr63]

Just like Canada, the Interstates in the Northern US are great in the winter... unless they're not. I think we have always hit some snow on I-81 through upper NYS, even with blue skies. The lake effect just does that - but they have plenty of snow clearing equipment in the areas that get snow. In general I think the Northern states do a better job of keeping up the roads than we Canadians do. Most of the horror stories come from the Mid to Southern states that don't normally get snow/ice and can't cope.

The trick to planning the winter drive is to allow some slack in your schedule and watch the weather starting a few days before. Summer drivers plan their departures for an exact time so they can avoid traffic, or make hotel reservations en route, etc. Winter drivers should plan their departure based on weather conditions. Driving from Eastern Ontario, we have options of when we cut over to I-95 from I-81 so we can sometimes leave the Appalachians between us and a storm. Southern Ontario has route options too if you watch the weather. We figure out about when we want to leave, but always have Plan B/C that has us leaving 8 hours sooner or later. 16 hours flex is generally enough to avoid most weather unless it is barrelling straight up the coast.

If the weather is looking really atrocious, be prepared to trim a day off your vacation either end. This hasn't happened to us yet, but we've been lucky. The hardest part is staying in touch with Northern weather while you are in sunny FL - I have plenty of friends who have left at their scheduled date/time only to run into some terrible storms on the way home that could have been avoided if they had been paying attention.

 

[talytam]

Thanks everyone. I remember the storm last year in Buffalo, I had friends leaving for a cruise and they were glad I told them to leave early or they would have been stuck. I may decide to just fly and drive another time.

 

[Csaks]

Both early Dec. trips we hit snow on the way back through the Virginia's. I don't think they own plows, never seen one either time. But I have no problem with it because I plow the stuff in the winter so I'm used to it and we drive down in a 4x4 pickup. The twists and turns of that route plus snow keep you on your toes for sure. I've read most take the 75 route in the winter to avoid the nastiness of a storm if one happens.

 

[starvenger]

Thanks everyone. I remember the storm last year in Buffalo, I had friends leaving for a cruise and they were glad I told them to leave early or they would have been stuck. I may decide to just fly and drive another time.

One of my coworkers got stuck there too as she and her husband were getting their PR cards and decided to make a trip to Buffalo out of it.

And I hope we didn't frighten you out of driving down there. We are basically posting worst case scenarios.

 

[Bertie9396]

401 between London and Windsor can be brutal in the winter - high winds and black ice can be a concern. I had an accident in 2000 just outside of Tilbury thanks to this combination.

You could go 401 - 402 - I94 - I75 all the way down. There aren't a whole lot of stops between London and Sarnia, and Port Huron and Metro Detroit (once you cross over) but there might be less wind on that route. Plus you will bypass the mountainous areas some of the others routes take.

We usually take this route from Barrie. We find Sarnia a much quieter and easier crossing than Detroit or any of the Buffalo crossings. Our longest wait ever to cross to/from Sarnia was maybe 10 minutes max. On our way back in January there was a major ice storm that hit though so we ended up crossing at Detroit because the freezing rain hadn't hit Detroit or Windsor yet but Sarnia had been. I was lucky and had data on my phone so my friends and family were updating me via Facebook and texts so we knew which way to go. We also like the I75 route because we find there are more places to stop and as mentioned before, the mountains aren't much of an issue compared to the other routes. As well, we are just more familiar with that route and would probably only go another way if there was a MAJOR storm that we were able to avoid going the other way.