For those folks driving!

So I'm getting a bit nervous about our upcoming trip. We live in Winnipeg and the prices of flights are ridiculous around here right now. So I decided to book an early morning flight out of Kansas City this Saturday morning at 6:15am. My wife isn't able to get out of work until maybe 2pm on Friday. So the plan was to drive the 12 hours and 19 minutes (according to google maps) right after she was done work, getting us to KC somewhere between 2 - 3am. Now though, I29 has a large chunk shut down between Omaha and KC due to flooding. I entered the route with the detour of I80 to I35 down to KC and it bumps it up to over 14 hours! There is another route that I see on google maps that takes us through Minneapolis and it's around 13.5 hours, so I might have to change to that route. But that is going to be cutting everything pretty close! And that's even if there's no more flooding to cause us more issues! I feel really bad about all the people with the crazy flooding down there!

Wow, hope you made it. Driving 12-13 hours to catch a flight, and no flexibility on when you start the drive... I can’t imagine.

I know flying out of Canada is expensive; I drive 2 hours to the nearest major US airport too. But 12+!?
 
Looking for the best/easiest route from Amtrak Lorton, to central Mass. Dh is driving dd's car home and will take the auto train to Lorton. But, is it just as easy to take 95, or is there a better route?
 
Looking for the best/easiest route from Amtrak Lorton, to central Mass.
Well, "easiest" might be a problem. Basically taking he auto train has cut off the easy part of the drive leaving you (DH) to deal with driving through the congested cities up north. Time of day and day of the week might affect this decision so that you don't hit the cities during rush hour. Perhaps on a weekend just getting on I-95 will work fine. During a work week...not my cup of tea.

As an alternative, consider getting over to I-81 and taking that up though Harrisburg and Scranton to I-84. Continue on I-84 thru Hartford and on up to your home. Difference is about and extra 30-45 minutes of driving, but certainly a lot less potential traffic issues.
 
Thanks Jeff. He arrives in Lorton around 8:30am, on a Sat morning. Might not be too bad a drive then. Someone suggested the 81/84 route but I thought it might be too far north at that point.
 


Thanks Jeff. He arrives in Lorton around 8:30am, on a Sat morning. Might not be too bad a drive then. Someone suggested the 81/84 route but I thought it might be too far north at that point.

Small point, but unless you (DH) are paying the extra $60 to be one of the first 30 cars off the train, you could get your car back as late as 11 AM or so. When I took the Auto Train, my car wasn't in the very last group off, but I did wait a LONG time to get my car back.

I've only gone as far north as NJ, but when I took the auto train, (I can't remember if my NB trip arrived on a Friday or a Saturday), but 95 North wasn't any worse than anything I was used to in NJ. My preference is for the East side of the Beltway, even though online maps say the West side is shorter.

I don't know what's most convenient for getting where you need to go in Mass., but a priest at the church I used to go to in NJ had family in the Boston area. Once he got into NY, he'd take the Sprain Brook Parkway up to I684 to I 84 into Mass. The Sprain Brook's not exactly convenient to I95, so if your DH is interested in this, I'd take I95 in NJ to I78 (Exit 14) West to I287 North to the Sprain Brook.
 
Small point, but unless you (DH) are paying the extra $60 to be one of the first 30 cars off the train, you could get your car back as late as 11 AM or so. When I took the Auto Train, my car wasn't in the very last group off, but I did wait a LONG time to get my car back.

I've only gone as far north as NJ, but when I took the auto train, (I can't remember if my NB trip arrived on a Friday or a Saturday), but 95 North wasn't any worse than anything I was used to in NJ. My preference is for the East side of the Beltway, even though online maps say the West side is shorter.

I don't know what's most convenient for getting where you need to go in Mass., but a priest at the church I used to go to in NJ had family in the Boston area. Once he got into NY, he'd take the Sprain Brook Parkway up to I684 to I 84 into Mass. The Sprain Brook's not exactly convenient to I95, so if your DH is interested in this, I'd take I95 in NJ to I78 (Exit 14) West to I287 North to the Sprain Brook.
Thanks! That’s good to know. And he’s pretty familiar with 84, he’ll probably use that.
 
Small point, but unless you (DH) are paying the extra $60 to be one of the first 30 cars off the train, you could get your car back as late as 11 AM or so. When I took the Auto Train, my car wasn't in the very last group off, but I did wait a LONG time to get my car back.

I've only gone as far north as NJ, but when I took the auto train, (I can't remember if my NB trip arrived on a Friday or a Saturday), but 95 North wasn't any worse than anything I was used to in NJ. My preference is for the East side of the Beltway, even though online maps say the West side is shorter.

I don't know what's most convenient for getting where you need to go in Mass., but a priest at the church I used to go to in NJ had family in the Boston area. Once he got into NY, he'd take the Sprain Brook Parkway up to I684 to I 84 into Mass. The Sprain Brook's not exactly convenient to I95, so if your DH is interested in this, I'd take I95 in NJ to I78 (Exit 14) West to I287 North to the Sprain Brook.

Thanks! That’s good to know. And he’s pretty familiar with 84, he’ll probably use that.

If he's on 95 he can simply take it to the Bronx River Parkway to the Cross County Parkway to the Hutch, which leads directly to 684, or take 95 to the hutch to 684.
Source: I have been doing this drive for 20+ years to get from Queens to the Candlewood Lake area in CT. I don't do the Cross Bronx (I95) part of it, but have done the other segments to get to 684 from the RFK bridge.
 


Thanks Jeff. He arrives in Lorton around 8:30am, on a Sat morning. Might not be too bad a drive then. Someone suggested the 81/84 route but I thought it might be too far north at that point.
If he hasn't yet left, tell him not to get gas in FL if he doesn't have to. Its significantly cheaper in VA. Val & I just got back from a road trip up to Baltimore and back to Orlando via Asheville NC. Florida gas prices right now are as much as 45 cents higher than those in VA.
 
If he hasn't yet left, tell him not to get gas in FL if he doesn't have to. Its significantly cheaper in VA. Val & I just got back from a road trip up to Baltimore and back to Orlando via Asheville NC. Florida gas prices right now are as much as 45 cents higher than those in VA.
Thanks....good to know. He isn't headed north until May 10. I'll make sure he double checks prices before getting to Sanford!
 
Hi everyone, looking for some advice. We're driving from NJ down to the World this coming Friday and we're debating 95 vs. 81. Anyone driven 81 recently and can comment on the construction? We know from a previous trip that 81 took a little longer but there was fairly significant construction. Even with that, it was a nicer ride than 95 and we're willing to spend a little longer to have less traffic and stress. It's just the construction that has us a little concerned. Would appreciate any help!
 
Recently (last week) did a trip from Orlando the the Baltimore area via I-95. On the way back we made a detour to Asheville NC before going back to Orlando. Part of that drive was on I-81. We didn't find construction to be an issue at all on either route with one huge exception. That was I-95 around Washington. Traffic was horrible from well below DC until almost up in Baltimore.
 
Has anyone driven from Northern IL? My husband insisted on off-site/driving this time. I'm digging off-site honestly. Not the driving. I'm trying to talk him into flying. How bad is the drive? He wants to stop and stay overnight. That's 4 travel days. That's insane to me.
We stay offsite and drive from the Quad Cities area, so Northwest IL. Drive like heck and get past the mountains and Atlanta on your first day, then the second day is easy. I have also driven straight through and would rather do that every time, but sometimes the timing doesn't work out. For us, Google says about 17.5hrs, it's more than that with all of the stops my family has to make. We like the drive, kids have entertainment, we have control to stop when we need to rather than fighting through airports...etc.
 
We haven't driven to Disney World since 1997, so I have to wonder: do they still have a bunch of those "South of the Border" billboards on 95 south?
 
We haven't driven to Disney World since 1997, so I have to wonder: do they still have a bunch of those "South of the Border" billboards on 95 south?

Yes, they do but not nearly as many as they had when we first started driving to Disney in 2001. I seem to remember on that first trip we counted well over 50 in each direction. On our trip last June I think we saw about 30. Counting the signs is something we look forward to each trip!
 
Yes, they do but not nearly as many as they had when we first started driving to Disney in 2001. I seem to remember on that first trip we counted well over 50 in each direction. On our trip last June I think we saw about 30. Counting the signs is something we look forward to each trip!


lol same here (counting them). It was like a game and reaching the place was kind of a milestone in the trip. I think there was a time when they had signs practically every mile ("you are 99 miles from South of the Border,""you are 98 miles from South of the Border," etc.)
 
Are there "easier" places to drive on I-77, I-26, I-95 that are not real congested? My husband is doing most of the driving. I would like to give him some breaks. I am somewhat of a "country girl" though who has anxiety on city freeways and bypasses where lots of merging or rush hour traffic is happening. I am just wondering what areas I may be able to handle with a bit of ease? I know major cities are "out". . . so Charlotte, Columbia, Jacksonville, and Orlando will most def be his areas to navigate.
 
Hello! We'll be driving from the Philadelphia area to WDW in late July, and I'm looking for recommendations for a clean, inexpensive hotel to stay at just past the Florida border. Has anyone stayed somewhere that you would recommend?
 
Hello! We'll be driving from the Philadelphia area to WDW in late July, and I'm looking for recommendations for a clean, inexpensive hotel to stay at just past the Florida border. Has anyone stayed somewhere that you would recommend?

There is a Hampton Inn in Jacksonville (Jacksonville South /I95) that is right across from a Dave & Busters that was nice. Jacksonville should have tons of options for you.
 
Are there "easier" places to drive on I-77, I-26, I-95 that are not real congested? My husband is doing most of the driving. I would like to give him some breaks. I am somewhat of a "country girl" though who has anxiety on city freeways and bypasses where lots of merging or rush hour traffic is happening. I am just wondering what areas I may be able to handle with a bit of ease? I know major cities are "out". . . so Charlotte, Columbia, Jacksonville, and Orlando will most def be his areas to navigate.

From what I remember, Georgia is pretty smooth. Just stay in the right hand lane and keep up with the rest of the people there. It also depends on what time you are going through.
 
I don't trust my dog with anyone except my daughter and son in law. Unfortunately for this year's annual September trip, they are not able to watch my little guy. My husband and I have made the drive dozens of times by ourselves.

I booked Best Friends Pet Hotel right on Disney property for our dog during our stay. I feel good about this choice as we will be able to visit him any time we want and take him for a walk and even check him out if we want him to hang out with us for a bit. He is a 13 pound mini poodle.

My concern is driving with him that long in a car. He is used to traveling. He likes going for car rides but has not done 18 hours in 2 days car rides. We plan on driving to somewhere in Kentucky the first day and stop at a hotel for several hours to get a little bit of sleep. Then the next day will be 12 hours in a car. The most he has traveled in a car is 2 trips back and forth to Tennessee- 10 hours in 1 day. I think we will keep him in the car in his crate with his blankets most of the time because he always uses his crate as his safe place to relax and chill out. Other than stop every 2 hours for all of us to stretch and use the potty does anyone have good tips and tricks for driving a long distance to WDW with a dog?

Also, any good recommendations for a pet friendly hotel along the way in Kentucky or north Tennessee from Chicago to WDW?

Thank you!
 

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