What time do you leave to get to WDW?

Pdollar88

DIS Veteran
Joined
Aug 20, 2017
I'm looking at a 9.5 hour drive from NC to get to Florida at the end of this month. I was thinking about leaving by 2 am so that I can get to the resort somewhat comfortably by 11:30. My goal is to catch the 12:30 holiday storyteller in France (Uber-ing to YC/BC to enter through IG), then heading to DHS.

Can't decide if it'd be better off to go straight to Epcot - or if I'll just be exhausted after getting up that early. I did that late night/early morning drive once, but that was right out of high school. I very much want to get there early - but the bouncing between Epcot and DHS might just be too much.

Any thoughts? What does your drive look like, and how early do you leave?
 
I'm sorry but after a long drive I just don't see going to a park immediately.

Now, if you can start out a day earlier and do a layover some place to get a rest then going to a park quickly would be more doable; because, it would be a short drive to get to Disney.
 
Our drive is about 7 1/2 hours,give or take according to bathroom stops. We usually leave anywhere between 5 am and 7 am, just depending on when we wake up. We drive straight through other than the aforementioned bathroom breaks and gas stop. We will stop about 45 min. into the trip for breakfast just because I have to have breakfast and don't eat right when I get up. We take what we call car food with us, bottles of water, cheese and crackers, fruit, that kind of stuff. We get there anywhere between 2 and 3 normally, check in. If our room is ready we go throw everything in the room and then head out to a park to get something to eat, normally either AK Nomad Lounge or Epcot if a festival is going on. After we eat we will decide if want to stay in the park we are in or move over to another one, we are AP holders so park hopping is easy. We normally get back to the resort around park close or a little earlier, depending on time of year and what time the parks close. We aren't real ride centric so don't rush from ride to ride and that first day normally just spend the day walking around and enjoying the place. Oh, and even though we drive down, we never drive to the parks, we park the car and don't get in it again unless we are doing a split stay and are moving it to the second resort.
 
Are you able to fall asleep really early the evening before you leave? If you're the kind who can fall asleep at 8pm the evening before an early departure, then you can get in 5ish hours of rest and that might be enough to keep you moving. Personally, I doubt that I'd get any sleep and would MUCH prefer to start my drive early the evening before and, when I got too sleepy to drive anymore, pull into a rest stop for a good nap. I worry that attempting a 9.5 hour overnight drive with little or no sleep endangers you and anyone else who might be on the highway at the same time. We've done the overnight thing with two drivers but I was NEVER happy when my husband would do it alone. I'd rather have you get to Epcot a few hours later than become a highway statistic.
 


Having done 9 hour driving days, I personally wouldn't count on having the energy for an afternoon in the park right after finishing the trip. You might get pumped up enough by your arrival to run right out and get some park time in, but if it were me I'd schedule a solid nap into that itinerary. As others have suggested, you could break the drive in two with an overnight hotel somewhere on your route, or you could start at night or in the small hours of the morning and take a two hour nap in your car at a rest stop. Alternatively, you could drive there in the morning, take a two or three hour nap when you reach your resort, and be relatively fresh for an afternoon/evening of fun before you crash again.
 
I've always found that after a long drive like that (granted, not getting up at 2 AM for it) that I need to unwind a bit and blow off some steam. In your case, I would think heading to France for the storyteller would be a good thing. However, I'd probably not plan on heading to DHS after that. Maybe settle into your resort a bit, take a nap or even visit the pool, then if you feel good late afternoon/early evening, then go to the park for a bit...but only if you're feeling it.
 
I normally have a drive that is 10.5 hours IN THE CAR not counting ANY stops--gas, restroom, food--those all add to that time. I normally break it into two days--personal preference. I have been known to go to a park the afternoon/evening of arrival.I have also been known to go to a park the departure morning. I recently went with my niece and others, so started an hour closer to WDW. She wanted to drive all the way in one day, so we did. We were definitely too tired to go to a park on arrival, and it was 8:30 at night. We also didn't take the time or energy to go to one on departure day.
 


I remember when I was a child going to WDW my parents would drive from New York to Orlando nonstop. It took 24 hours of only stopping for bathroom breaks and food to get to Disney. As an adult I can say I don't think I could ever do that!! After 10 hours in the car I would just spend that day to relax at the resort and save your energy to get up for rope drop in the morning.
 

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