"For 2,000+ Mile Round-Trip Drivers Only!" (Part V)

[Mikeb1892]

Thinking of driving from Winchester, Va to Grand Floridian in one day, are we crazy? Thinking 81-77 etc route. We'll be staying in Winchester on a Thursday night, and would like to check into GF on Friday evening. Both my boys (11, 5) are for the long day in the van, my wife not so much. We all like the idea of getting there "a day early" as opposed to stopping for another night in Brunswick, Ga or Jacksonville.

 

[amcnj]

Thank you! I'm only about a half hr from the DE Memorial Bridge! I definitely want to beat the traffic around DC for sure! Hubby more than likely will do most of the driving. I definitely can't sleep in the car, but the kids should be able to and hubby definitely can! Lol! Even if we got as far as FL that first day I will be happy! Lol! We check in on a Tuesday.

I am not a car sleeper either so do all the driving instead. The first time we drove we stopped in Jacksonville, as that seemed a reasonable target on paper. But we were there by dinnertime and felt great, so in the future went to Winter Park, Altamonte Springs, Orlando or WDW itself. The approximate times it takes me to reach each state/area are: (Note: I leave early morning so have little traffic up north, and tend to not notice speed limits too much, going with the fastest flow of traffic instead!)

Home to Delaware: 1 hour 10 minutes
DE to MD: 15 minutes
MD to VA: 1.5 hours
VA to NC: 2.5 hours
NC to SC: 2.5 hrs
SC to GA 2 hours 45 minutes
GA to Fl 1.5 hours
Fl to WDW area: 2.5 hrs

So roughly 15 hours of driving time. Of course any stops, traffic issues, weather problems will add to these figures. What I would call a typical drive was to leave home at 2:30 AM and arrive in the WDW area 6:30-7:30 PM.

 

[nono]

It's been many years since I've driven the Ferry to Bridge Tunnel route.
Two questions:

Is hwy 13 through MD more user friendly. Less 25/35 MPH zones?

What is the best route from the Bridge Tunnel to I95 South?

Thanks In Advance

Hi, so when we get off the ferry, we go briefly south on Rt. 1, towards Rehoboth Beach. Pretty quickly, we're making a right onto Rt. 24 and following that West (or is it South) all the way over to Millsboro, DE. From there, we take Rt. 113 South (some of which is limited access highway), which eventually joins with Rt. 13 near Pokomoke City, MD. After the Bay Bridge and Tunnel, We take Rt. 64 West (couple miles longer but well marked) to Rt. 58 West to eventually get to I-95. The trick is to just keep heading towards "Suffolk" whichever route you choose, because the roads around VA Beach are all knots, and there's not one bone thrown to anyone who's trying to pass through the area and get to the other side of the state.

Hope that helps!

 

[BC1836]

Gas prices up 30-cents over four days at the Jersey Shore!

All the best!

 

[ddluvsdisney]

Thinking of driving from Winchester, Va to Grand Floridian in one day, are we crazy? Thinking 81-77 etc route. We'll be staying in Winchester on a Thursday night, and would like to check into GF on Friday evening. Both my boys (11, 5) are for the long day in the van, my wife not so much. We all like the idea of getting there "a day early" as opposed to stopping for another night in Brunswick, Ga or Jacksonville.

You are not crazy at all! Driving from VA to WDW in one day is nothing. We drive straight through in one day from MA. So maybe we're a little crazy.
It should t take you very long at all.
I'm sure there's someone from that area that could tell you exactly how long it will take.

 

[BC1836]

At the Jersey Shore, one week ago: regular $2.23; yesterday: regular $2.73.

"Prices go up like a rocket and come down like a feather."

All the best!

 

[Morganpics]

We are planning to drive from central Maine, leaving early afternoon on Friday, 9/22. The plan is to get to Southington, CT on I84 and stop. Saturday, 9/23 drive to Fredericksburg, VA via I84, I81 to Harrisburg, then 15 to Frederick, MD then 270 to 495 to 95 into Fredericksburg. 9/24 drive to Savannah via 95. Finish 9/25 into WDW. As you can tell, we are not in a huge hurry. Our goal is to avoid as much traffic as possible. Is this a good plan, are there better ones out there? Thanks in advance!!

 

[Mikeb1892]

We are planning to drive from central Maine, leaving early afternoon on Friday, 9/22. The plan is to get to Southington, CT on I84 and stop. Saturday, 9/23 drive to Fredericksburg, VA via I84, I81 to Harrisburg, then 15 to Frederick, MD then 270 to 495 to 95 into Fredericksburg. 9/24 drive to Savannah via 95. Finish 9/25 into WDW. As you can tell, we are not in a huge hurry. Our goal is to avoid as much traffic as possible. Is this a good plan, are there better ones out there? Thanks in advance!!

We always do the 81-77-26-95 vs 81-15-270-95 talk, but every time we go 81-77-26, even when we could be going around DC very early (pre 5 am) or late (post midnight). If you're not in any type of hurry, I think the Blue Ridge Parkway is a fantastic drive and well worth the extra time if you have it.

 

[Morganpics]

Thank you!! You are the 2d person to suggest the Blue Ridge Parkway.

 

[rotlex]

Thinking of driving from Winchester, Va to Grand Floridian in one day, are we crazy? Thinking 81-77 etc route. We'll be staying in Winchester on a Thursday night, and would like to check into GF on Friday evening. Both my boys (11, 5) are for the long day in the van, my wife not so much. We all like the idea of getting there "a day early" as opposed to stopping for another night in Brunswick, Ga or Jacksonville.

Not crazy at all. We do it once or twice a year from PA, straight through. Takes us a few hours just to get to WV so heck, starting there wouldn't be bad at all! (We also do the 81-77 route).

 

[patclairesmom]

Not sure if this is the correct spot for this post or not so please point me in the right direction if not.

We will be driving down to Disney from NJ next August 2018. This will be hubby and I 2nd time driving. Last time we drove was 2007 and it was horrible! We hit monsoon rain basically all the way down. We didn't make it to our hotel until 2am, when we were supposed to arrive by at least 11. We were exhausted and miserable. I am not a fan of long drives, but hubby hates to fly and the only way we can go to Disney is if we drive so I'm making the sacrifice! Lol! Anyway. This time we will have our two kids with us, will be 8 & 6 then. So looking for tips for the drive, best stopping point, best hotels that are affordable, any roads to avoid, things of that nature? We look to be going on I95 I'm assuming. Coming from NJ, Camden County, right over he bridge from Philadelphia! TIA!

We had that happen one trip. It rained from NJ to NC. Definitely slowed our trip down. We mostly drive straight down I95. I've found Savannah to be good stop over but try to get further down into SC as possible. It makes the next days drive easier.

 

[Antaniasmom]

Cannot wait for our next trip when we will drive from our new home base of NC ....instead of CT....such an easier drive and will def do in 1 day, piece of cake. Totally agree Savannah/Richmond Hill area are good places to stop over, only places we have stayed over 3 years.

We had that happen one trip. It rained from NJ to NC. Definitely slowed our trip down. We mostly drive straight down I95. I've found Savannah to be good stop over but try to get further down into SC as possible. It makes the next days drive easier.

 

[BC1836]

Get ready for a report from dvczerfs, the person who, as a driver or passenger, has made the most 2,000+ mile round trip drives (see page 1, post #1). He did a straight-thru drive from PA to WDW (Boardwalk) to be there in time for Irma!

All the best!

 

[dvczerfs]

Being things are back to normal around here, I'm going to do this in sections.
No, I'm not nuts.lol. When Irma looked like it was heading to Fl. I called a friend of mine who is a federal agent stationed in Jacksonville. He told me to make a reservation in Rockhill Sc. for Friday night thru Wednesday. Which I did at a Hampton inn. $130 per night at that time.
Back then the storm was to hit Orlando Sunday night into Monday. I figured if I can get in here by Saturday morning, we would be fine. We went through Wilma in 2005 so I had a good idea what goes on here during a hurricane. I didn't want to hold up in Sc. Because at the time the storm was heading up the east coast and figured I wouldn't get in here till Thursday. Which, would be fine, but I didn't want to die over it.
I figured I would use my hotel reservation as my safety net as a place to ride it out if I couldn't make wdw.
Plan, wake up 2:30am, go to work, come home 10:30 am, pick wife up at work at 11:00am and hit the road. Gas was the issue, not traffic or weather this trip. I bought three, 5 gallon gas cans. Drive to Columbia, fill up van and cans if there was no gas in Georgia and Florida, I had enough to make it in. The storm seem to be cooperating with the plan. Keeping in contact with my friend in Jacksonville who was keeping me posted on traffic, gas supplies etc....
He get advisories at work on all of this so I was in good hands.
His reports the day before we were to leave, told me south bound wide open, north bound, bumper to bumper from North Carolina all the way in!!! Gas was ok, but fill up as far out as you can, the closer the storm gets, the faster things fall apart.
Just before I went to bed Thursday, he text me, make sure your off I26 before 0800 Saturday, they are shutting down south bound and making everything north. Again, at that time, it was heading to South Carolina.
The only thing that worried me was if I hit trouble in the northeast, traffic, flat tire etc...
We had a 10 hour window of wiggle room so I felt pretty good about making it. Again I always had a safety net in Sc.
D-Day came, plan was put into action. My friend text me, I was good to go and text him when I hit sc and will get an update on gas and traffic and decide if we should go for it.
Update to follow

 

[amcnj]

Being things are back to normal around here, I'm going to do this in sections.
No, I'm not nuts.lol. When Irma looked like it was heading to Fl. I called a friend of mine who is a federal agent stationed in Jacksonville. He told me to make a reservation in Rockhill Sc. for Friday night thru Wednesday. Which I did at a Hampton inn. $130 per night at that time.
Back then the storm was to hit Orlando Sunday night into Monday. I figured if I can get in here by Saturday morning, we would be fine. We went through Wilma in 2005 so I had a good idea what goes on here during a hurricane. I didn't want to hold up in Sc. Because at the time the storm was heading up the east coast and figured I wouldn't get in here till Thursday. Which, would be fine, but I didn't want to die over it.
I figured I would use my hotel reservation as my safety net as a place to ride it out if I couldn't make wdw.
Plan, wake up 2:30am, go to work, come home 10:30 am, pick wife up at work at 11:00am and hit the road. Gas was the issue, not traffic or weather this trip. I bought three, 5 gallon gas cans. Drive to Columbia, fill up van and cans if there was no gas in Georgia and Florida, I had enough to make it in. The storm seem to be cooperating with the plan. Keeping in contact with my friend in Jacksonville who was keeping me posted on traffic, gas supplies etc....
He get advisories at work on all of this so I was in good hands.
His reports the day before we were to leave, told me south bound wide open, north bound, bumper to bumper from North Carolina all the way in!!! Gas was ok, but fill up as far out as you can, the closer the storm gets, the faster things fall apart.
Just before I went to bed Thursday, he text me, make sure your off I26 before 0800 Saturday, they are shutting down south bound and making everything north. Again, at that time, it was heading to South Carolina.
The only thing that worried me was if I hit trouble in the northeast, traffic, flat tire etc...
We had a 10 hour window of wiggle room so I felt pretty good about making it. Again I always had a safety net in Sc.
D-Day came, plan was put into action. My friend text me, I was good to go and text him when I hit sc and will get an update on gas and traffic and decide if we should go for it.
Update to follow

How about a new category: Most Arduous Drive to WDW!!!

Good luck and be safe!!!!!

 

[AaronInWI]

Being things are back to normal around here, I'm going to do this in sections.
No, I'm not nuts.lol. When Irma looked like it was heading to Fl. I called a friend of mine who is a federal agent stationed in Jacksonville. He told me to make a reservation in Rockhill Sc. for Friday night thru Wednesday. Which I did at a Hampton inn. $130 per night at that time.
Back then the storm was to hit Orlando Sunday night into Monday. I figured if I can get in here by Saturday morning, we would be fine. We went through Wilma in 2005 so I had a good idea what goes on here during a hurricane. I didn't want to hold up in Sc. Because at the time the storm was heading up the east coast and figured I wouldn't get in here till Thursday. Which, would be fine, but I didn't want to die over it.
I figured I would use my hotel reservation as my safety net as a place to ride it out if I couldn't make wdw.
Plan, wake up 2:30am, go to work, come home 10:30 am, pick wife up at work at 11:00am and hit the road. Gas was the issue, not traffic or weather this trip. I bought three, 5 gallon gas cans. Drive to Columbia, fill up van and cans if there was no gas in Georgia and Florida, I had enough to make it in. The storm seem to be cooperating with the plan. Keeping in contact with my friend in Jacksonville who was keeping me posted on traffic, gas supplies etc....
He get advisories at work on all of this so I was in good hands.
His reports the day before we were to leave, told me south bound wide open, north bound, bumper to bumper from North Carolina all the way in!!! Gas was ok, but fill up as far out as you can, the closer the storm gets, the faster things fall apart.
Just before I went to bed Thursday, he text me, make sure your off I26 before 0800 Saturday, they are shutting down south bound and making everything north. Again, at that time, it was heading to South Carolina.
The only thing that worried me was if I hit trouble in the northeast, traffic, flat tire etc...
We had a 10 hour window of wiggle room so I felt pretty good about making it. Again I always had a safety net in Sc.
D-Day came, plan was put into action. My friend text me, I was good to go and text him when I hit sc and will get an update on gas and traffic and decide if we should go for it.
Update to follow

I'm on the edge of my seat! I can't wait for the next update!

 

[AaronInWI]

If drives to Disneyland count towards thread totals, looks like I'll (finally) be earning my 2000 Mile Round-Trip bronze status in 2019! We've deicided next year will be drive #4, this time to DLR from Wisconsin (2000 miles one-way! ). Then in 2019, it'll be back down to WDW for our fourth 2600 mile round-trip drive, #5 overall (if you count DLR in those totals).

 

[dvczerfs]

Picked up my wife at work at 11:00am. My friend in Jacksonville was heading up to Sc. for a Clemson game and was returning Sunday to seal up his home. Anymore then a 12 foot surge and he has water in his living room. I text him and told him we are on our way.
We stopped very little. It was clear sailing through Virginia and into Nc. Through Charlotte and out the other side no problem. Then, it started, north bound was bumper to bumper. Heading across the boarder I text my friend. Do I hold up in the hotel or go? He text me back and told me to give him a second. This second was longest part of the trip.lol
There was NO traffic heading south and clear skies.
The text came....... Go for it dude!!!! I filled up in Columbia Sc. No lines, no national guard.
On the way down we have people posting on social media that " they closed the state of Florida " lol
Please, do yourself a favor, turn of the news channel of your choice, and what my buddy called, " The Jerry Springer of weather", the weather channel.
Heading down i26, it was clear sailing. North, all bumper to bumper. I never seen so many cars.
Ever get the feeling your going the wrong way? That was the day. Lol
Crossed into Ga. and texted my friend, is there gas in Ga?
Again, I get the wait a second. He text me back the three exits in Ga that had plenty of gas. At this time I knew we are gonna make it. We hit the second exit he told me, remember, thousands of cars in the north bound side.
I pulled into a shell, there was two other cars getting gas and a lot of campers parked.
I filled and left.
I drove the rest of the way into Boardwalk. We arrived around 3:30am or so with 3/4 of a tank. We were able to check in and got into our room!!
We did stop at the Florida Welcome Center. There were 5 cars in the entire lot, 2 were state troopers. Went to the restroom, came out and my wife said, let's get out of here, this is creepy.
All in all, it was one of the best drives I can remember.
Went to Epcot Saturday and Saturday night. Got up Sunday to some rain. We met up with some friends from home who were here at boardwalk who were stranded by the airlines.
Said a little prayer for the people in South Florida and went to the Belview in boardwalk. Just some rain on and off all day. Went down to the convention center around five for a buffet. Hung out there till about midnight, trying to run the bar out of captain and coke, they won. Lol
About 2am, the hurricane kicked up. Wind,rain till about 4-5am and the worse was over.
If you went to bed at midnight and woke up at 6am, you would have never known what was going on. We heard nothing inside the resort. We are in a one bedroom.
That was it!!! We went through Wilma in 2005 and now Irma in 2017!
Local area took the dirty part of the storm. Estimate of 100 mph winds.

 

[java]

Any gas availability updates?

 

[dvczerfs]

I have a buddy who drove in from South Carolina yesterday, took him 18 instead of 6 hours to gets here. He came down I75, I4 to try to avoid I95 mess. He got gas in North Florida without a problem. Traffic heading back in is the problem now. Over 6 million people left and 6 million have to come back.
Watching the news last night, I did hear they were talking about a major detour possible on I75 coming. I'm sorry I didn't get the details. The report was on Fox35. They were talking about maybe closing a bridge because of high water levels. I'm thinking if you go on there website, they may have something about it.
There was also a good size sinkhole on I4 just east of the building they have been building for 20 years but I didn't hear any closings or detours on that one. It was more on the side of the road.