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

[hearts8701]

We leave Sunday morning from MI! Planning on driving about 12 hours the first day and stopping for the night in Macon, GA then finishing the remaining six hours the next day. Any advice?

The best exit from the turnpike is 429 to disney property paying a toll beats 4 with all the traffic 429 to exit 8 western way leads you right onto disney property

 

[disneysteve]

We're going to have a bit of a tease on Friday. We're driving along our Disney route but only as far as Richmond. Every time we drive down, we say we should plan trips to some of the places we pass someday. This is one of those trips. We're renting a condo from VRBO and spending the week exploring Richmond. It will just be kind of weird to not keep going once we hit Richmond.

 

[BC1836]

We're going to have a bit of a tease on Friday. We're driving along our Disney route but only as far as Richmond. Every time we drive down, we say we should plan trips to some of the places we pass someday. This is one of those trips. We're renting a condo from VRBO and spending the week exploring Richmond. It will just be kind of weird to not keep going once we hit Richmond.

We have traveled to WDW twice after staying at Colonial Williamsburg. Why? From our perspective, VA to WDW is a "short" ride.

All the best from WDW!

 

[BC1836]

Less than 90 minutes remaining in 2014.

All the best from WDW!

 

[pwdebbie]

Dh told me to book a trip for our anniversary. First time he's been the one to initiate Disney talk. So we will be hitting the road after church on April 19 and getting home May 2. Our son (35) gets married May 9, so this will keep me out of the way for most of the preparing, lol.

 

[Rvillediser]

Leaving the Chicagoland area 3am, on our way to Coronado Springs annnnd to finally see our daughter who's been doing the Disney College Program since August! She finishes 1/5/15, and we will hang around til the 8th and head back home. Hello 70s and 80s!!!

 

[hearts8701]

Leaving the Chicagoland area 3am, on our way to Coronado Springs annnnd to finally see our daughter who's been doing the Disney College Program since August! She finishes 1/5/15, and we will hang around til the 8th and head back home. Hello 70s and 80s!!!

Right behind you leaving Chicago O'hare area at 5:00 AM staying at old key west safe travels

 

[Rvillediser]

A bit of road construction in KY, but did 55 all the way thru it!

By Mammouth (sp) Cave now, making pretty good time.

 

[mickeydonalgoofyyyy]

Hi everyone!
This thread has been a great find. Thank you, everyone, for all of the helpful advice! So, last year we booked a 4 night Cruise out of Port Canaveral for this April school vacation. We figured we would add on a few days at WDW and upgraded our tickets last trip to annual passes. It was a great plan until the airfare came out . So it came down to rescheduling the trip or driving. So believing we are up for the adventure, we will take this little road trip . It will be my husband, myself, DS( 12) and DD (10). We will be leaving after the kids get out of school (3pm) on weds. 04/15 from southeastern MA. My DH would really like to get to WDW late Thurs. I know this is pushing it. We thought we would avoid 95 in the North East going around New York City and Washington via I81. We want to drive to about midnight and then check into a room. I am thinking maybe we'll make it to around Winchester, VA if all goes well. We want to make a reservation somewhere before we leave home to make sure we have a room. Has anyone stopped around there? We would then get back on the road about 5 am. Our kids are pretty good at sleeping in the car. Factoring potty breaks, food breaks, refueling , and stretching legs is it unrealistic that we can make it to WDW that night?
After the cruise disembarks that following Friday (7:30/8:00am) our plan is to hit the road immediately. We want to stay one night at Disney's Hilton Head and then continue onward staying an additional night somewhere else heading north. we figured we would allow ourselves a little more time for the return trip . This is a work in progress. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you

 

[BC1836]

Hi everyone!
This thread has been a great find. Thank you, everyone, for all of the helpful advice! So, last year we booked a 4 night Cruise out of Port Canaveral for this April school vacation. We figured we would add on a few days at WDW and upgraded our tickets last trip to annual passes. It was a great plan until the airfare came out . So it came down to rescheduling the trip or driving. So believing we are up for the adventure, we will take this little road trip . It will be my husband, myself, DS( 12) and DD (10). We will be leaving after the kids get out of school (3pm) on weds. 04/15 from southeastern MA. My DH would really like to get to WDW late Thurs. I know this is pushing it. We thought we would avoid 95 in the North East going around New York City and Washington via I81. We want to drive to about midnight and then check into a room. I am thinking maybe we'll make it to around Winchester, VA if all goes well. We want to make a reservation somewhere before we leave home to make sure we have a room. Has anyone stopped around there? We would then get back on the road about 5 am. Our kids are pretty good at sleeping in the car. Factoring potty breaks, food breaks, refueling , and stretching legs is it unrealistic that we can make it to WDW that night?
After the cruise disembarks that following Friday (7:30/8:00am) our plan is to hit the road immediately. We want to stay one night at Disney's Hilton Head and then continue onward staying an additional night somewhere else heading north. we figured we would allow ourselves a little more time for the return trip . This is a work in progress. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you

Once you assess the weather and make your drive, Winchester (a small city rich in history, especially the American Revolution and the Civil War) is a satisfactory place to find hotels. Everything is there, from the basic chains to the George Washington.

Then you can continue on your drive...a long stretch from Winchester to the southern end of the state.

All the best.

 

[ddluvsdisney]

Hi everyone!
This thread has been a great find. Thank you, everyone, for all of the helpful advice! So, last year we booked a 4 night Cruise out of Port Canaveral for this April school vacation. We figured we would add on a few days at WDW and upgraded our tickets last trip to annual passes. It was a great plan until the airfare came out . So it came down to rescheduling the trip or driving. So believing we are up for the adventure, we will take this little road trip . It will be my husband, myself, DS( 12) and DD (10). We will be leaving after the kids get out of school (3pm) on weds. 04/15 from southeastern MA. My DH would really like to get to WDW late Thurs. I know this is pushing it. We thought we would avoid 95 in the North East going around New York City and Washington via I81. We want to drive to about midnight and then check into a room. I am thinking maybe we'll make it to around Winchester, VA if all goes well. We want to make a reservation somewhere before we leave home to make sure we have a room. Has anyone stopped around there? We would then get back on the road about 5 am. Our kids are pretty good at sleeping in the car. Factoring potty breaks, food breaks, refueling , and stretching legs is it unrealistic that we can make it to WDW that night?
After the cruise disembarks that following Friday (7:30/8:00am) our plan is to hit the road immediately. We want to stay one night at Disney's Hilton Head and then continue onward staying an additional night somewhere else heading north. we figured we would allow ourselves a little more time for the return trip . This is a work in progress. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you

Yes, flights to WDW for April vacation are just plain ridiculous!!!! We had to drive last year as well. This year we were lucky and got flights early and paid w points.
We also live in SE MA and found leaving at that time of day is brutal. We also find that driving more hours the first day works better for us. We are wiped the second day. We usually do about 12 the first day and 8 the next, stopping in NC for the night. Just something to think about. You need to do what works best for you.

 

[ddluvsdisney]

Dh told me to book a trip for our anniversary. First time he's been the one to initiate Disney talk. So we will be hittng the road after church on April 19 and getting home May 2. Our son (35) gets married May 9, so this will keep me out of the way for most of the preparing, lol.

That is so exciting!!!
We'll be there too but flying that trip.

 

[pwdebbie]

Instead of taking I-4, has anyone taken 415 to 417? I was playing with maps and Google showed me this route. When we left the last time, someone here directed me to take 417 home when I mentioned that I-4 was awful on our trip down.

 

[mickeydonalgoofyyyy]

Thank you BC1836 and ddluvsdisney ! We appreciate all of the help.

 

[suse66]

We are planning our first drive to the World on March Break. We live about an hour north of Toronto, Ontario and hoped to fly at first but airfare is $$$$$$! Yikes, even out of Buffalo is crazy expensive. So, we are thinking of either leaving Thursday afternoon right after school is out and driving straight through (2 drivers) OR leaving early Friday morning and do 12-14 hours on day 1 and 6-8 hours on day 2. Thoughts, advice etc are most appreciated. We are currently looking at I75 as I'm not keen on the Virginia mountains in March. TIA for any help!

Susan

 

[LadyBeBop]

We are planning our first drive to the World on March Break. We live about an hour north of Toronto, Ontario and hoped to fly at first but airfare is $$$$$$! Yikes, even out of Buffalo is crazy expensive. So, we are thinking of either leaving Thursday afternoon right after school is out and driving straight through (2 drivers) OR leaving early Friday morning and do 12-14 hours on day 1 and 6-8 hours on day 2. Thoughts, advice etc are most appreciated. We are currently looking at I75 as I'm not keen on the Virginia mountains in March. TIA for any help!

Susan

You realize that it's a 21 1/2 hour trip from Toronto to Orlando via I-75. And you're an hour north of there. And this is without stops.

Anyway...14 hours would put you somewhere around Chattanooga. From there, it's about another 8 1/2 hours to Orlando. Doable, but hard.

It's two hours quicker if you take the Virginia mountain route. My suggestion...if you have clear weather through the mountains, go ahead and take the Virginia mountain route. Follow weather.gov, the Weather Channel or Weather Underground.

Remember, I-75 does have mountains. But it's pretty much straight up and down for about 40 miles. With no winding.

 

[dvczerfs]

hello all !!!!! greetings to the new faces on here and of course, hello to my old friends!!!! We have two trips coming up in 2015. We will be at okw for both of them. We haven't stayed there in over a year and we are missing home. We are going to be arriving May 2nd and departing May 11th. The second we will be arriving September 9th and departing September 19th. If anyone is interested in meeting up for a hello and a hand shake just pm me or let BC know and he can get in contact with me. I spend a lot of time on facebook anymore, yes, the old man is now on fb. Most are disdads lol. I guess I should explain a bit why I don't hang out on here or any of these sites anymore. To be honest, I just couldn't take the 7th grade drama that you find on these places lol. Nobody from this thread, this thread has to be the greatest thread on the boards. I don't care if they delete this post or me for that matter but when you have a mod tell you " I just hate when someone thinks they know more then me", I had enough. People misunderstand, take things wrong and some even have there hench men following them around from thread to thread. Not to mention they could argue over anything and everything. The best part most are faceless, throwing in there gutless comments and just being a smart behind. I just don't live my life that way and don't want to be apart of it. I look at WDW as a place that makes me happy. I have been there and done it and will most likely do it again lol. I have driven it as an adult and sat in back as a kid. Every inch of our house is Disney. (its sad lol)
For some of my old friends, if you are on fb, I would love to hang out. Most of my post are Disney and nothing you wouldn't show a 5 year old. Again pm or BC can pm my info to you and where to find me. I had a blast hanging out here and talked to a lot of real nice people, some I have met personally and some even took time out of there vacations to stop to see my cm daughter when she was there. Anyway...... keep in touch...... see you in the world!!!!

 

[BC1836]

hello all !!!!! greetings to the new faces on here and of course, hello to my old friends!!!! We have two trips coming up in 2015. We will be at okw for both of them. We haven't stayed there in over a year and we are missing home. We are going to be arriving May 2nd and departing May 11th. The second we will be arriving September 9th and departing September 19th. If anyone is interested in meeting up for a hello and a hand shake just pm me or let BC know and he can get in contact with me. I spend a lot of time on facebook anymore, yes, the old man is now on fb. Most are disdads lol. I guess I should explain a bit why I don't hang out on here or any of these sites anymore. To be honest, I just couldn't take the 7th grade drama that you find on these places lol. Nobody from this thread, this thread has to be the greatest thread on the boards. I don't care if they delete this post or me for that matter but when you have a mod tell you " I just hate when someone thinks they know more then me", I had enough. People misunderstand, take things wrong and some even have there hench men following them around from thread to thread. Not to mention they could argue over anything and everything. The best part most are faceless, throwing in there gutless comments and just being a smart behind. I just don't live my life that way and don't want to be apart of it. I look at WDW as a place that makes me happy. I have been there and done it and will most likely do it again lol. I have driven it as an adult and sat in back as a kid. Every inch of our house is Disney. (its sad lol)
For some of my old friends, if you are on fb, I would love to hang out. Most of my post are Disney and nothing you wouldn't show a 5 year old. Again pm or BC can pm my info to you and where to find me. I had a blast hanging out here and talked to a lot of real nice people, some I have met personally and some even took time out of there vacations to stop to see my cm daughter when she was there. Anyway...... keep in touch...... see you in the world!!!!

dvczerfs is back! For those new to this thread, check out page 1 and see the number of times he has made the ride to WDW! We're talkin' serious mileage..and a serious attachment to WDW!

All the best!

 

[ddluvsdisney]

hello all !!!!! greetings to the new faces on here and of course, hello to my old friends!!!! We have two trips coming up in 2015. We will be at okw for both of them. We haven't stayed there in over a year and we are missing home. We are going to be arriving May 2nd and departing May 11th. The second we will be arriving September 9th and departing September 19th. If anyone is interested in meeting up for a hello and a hand shake just pm me or let BC know and he can get in contact with me. I spend a lot of time on facebook anymore, yes, the old man is now on fb. Most are disdads lol. I guess I should explain a bit why I don't hang out on here or any of these sites anymore. To be honest, I just couldn't take the 7th grade drama that you find on these places lol. Nobody from this thread, this thread has to be the greatest thread on the boards. I don't care if they delete this post or me for that matter but when you have a mod tell you " I just hate when someone thinks they know more then me", I had enough. People misunderstand, take things wrong and some even have there hench men following them around from thread to thread. Not to mention they could argue over anything and everything. The best part most are faceless, throwing in there gutless comments and just being a smart behind. I just don't live my life that way and don't want to be apart of it. I look at WDW as a place that makes me happy. I have been there and done it and will most likely do it again lol. I have driven it as an adult and sat in back as a kid. Every inch of our house is Disney. (its sad lol)
For some of my old friends, if you are on fb, I would love to hang out. Most of my post are Disney and nothing you wouldn't show a 5 year old. Again pm or BC can pm my info to you and where to find me. I had a blast hanging out here and talked to a lot of real nice people, some I have met personally and some even took time out of there vacations to stop to see my cm daughter when she was there. Anyway...... keep in touch...... see you in the world!!!!

I was wondering where you'd been Dave! I'm sorry that that happened. Something similiar happened to a DIS friend of mine and she's not the DIS anymore either. It's a shame.
I would definitely meet up w you but we won't be in the World then....going Feb., April and July. Hope you fabulous trips!

Deb

 

[BC1836]

I was wondering where you'd been Dave! I'm sorry that that happened. Something similiar happened to a DIS friend of mine and she's not the DIS anymore either. It's a shame.
I would definitely meet up w you but we won't be in the World then....going Feb., April and July. Hope you fabulous trips!

Deb

Perhaps, by the time of your July WDW trip this thread will break the million reply mark! Since Part 1 began in Dec. 2007, over 921,665 views have been noted.

One wonders how many total miles we all have driven since our first respective drives.

Until then...keep posting drive details, suggestions and tips. Share info and traffic reports. Above all, stay alert and be safe.

All the best.