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

BC1836 said:
According to tradition, the founder of this thread must periodically take a 2,000+ mile round trip drive to WDW. As such, our next drive begins in about 90 minutes (approximately 3 a.m.). :drive:

All the best! :thumbsup2
Click to expand...

Safe travels and have a great time!
 
Greetings from Yulee, FL, after an 890 mile drive from the Jersey Shore!
We departed at 2:48 a.m. and made it to the DE Memorial Bridge at 4:17 a.m.
We crossed into MD at 4:32. Traffic was heavy, but moving fast, by the time we crossed into VA at 6:23 a.m. Traffic was moderate to heavy until Richmond when it stopped once.
We crossed in NC at 10:00 a.m. [By the way, the weather was perfect for the entire drive.]

Now then: There is only one single-lane slowdown on I-95 south in NC. A warning sign alerted us to an upcoming delay.
Exactly at Exit 31 (at 12:20 p.m.), the traffic came to a stop and then it crawled for the next 9 miles according to Wayz app. The highway finally opened up to two lanes a few hundred yards from Exit 25 @ 1:05 p.m. It appeared that the construction crew was very close to completing the job (a new guard rail was already in place). I have a feeling that I-95 south in NC will be open within days. No problems on I-95 north.

From around mm 56 in NC until northern GA, we saw over 1,000 toppled trees and dozens of dents in the guard rails!

The GA welcome center is expected to be completed sometime in January 2017.

Tomorrow, a quick visit to a friend in Port Orange, and then on to Lake Buena Vista, home of WDW.

All the best! :thumbsup2
 
BC1836 said:
Greetings from Yulee, FL, after an 890 mile drive from the Jersey Shore!
We departed at 2:48 a.m. and made it to the DE Memorial Bridge at 4:17 a.m.
We crossed into MD at 4:32. Traffic was heavy, but moving fast, by the time we crossed into VA at 6:23 a.m. Traffic was moderate to heavy until Richmond when it stopped once.
We crossed in NC at 10:00 a.m. [By the way, the weather was perfect for the entire drive.]

Now then: There is only one single-lane slowdown on I-95 south in NC. A warning sign alerted us to an upcoming delay.
Exactly at Exit 31 (at 12:20 p.m.), the traffic came to a stop and then it crawled for the next 9 miles according to Wayz app. The highway finally opened up to two lanes a few hundred yards from Exit 25 @ 1:05 p.m. It appeared that the construction crew was very close to completing the job (a new guard rail was already in place). I have a feeling that I-95 south in NC will be open within days. No problems on I-95 north.

From around mm 56 in NC until northern GA, we saw over 1,000 toppled trees and dozens of dents in the guard rails!

The GA welcome center is expected to be completed sometime in January 2017.

Tomorrow, a quick visit to a friend in Port Orange, and then on to Lake Buena Vista, home of WDW.

All the best! :thumbsup2
Click to expand...
Thanks for the report. Good to hear that 95 was not too bad. This report is so helpfull as is all the info on here. We are still up in the air about taking 95 or the inland route. Our Friday noon departure does not give us ideal conditions. Big concern with the inland route is not knowing how much time it will add or subtract from taking 95. We may just put on waze app and hope for the best. Thanks again for the report.
 
FlatBlackLI said:
Thanks for the report. Good to hear that 95 was not too bad. This report is so helpfull as is all the info on here. We are still up in the air about taking 95 or the inland route. Our Friday noon departure does not give us ideal conditions. Big concern with the inland route is not knowing how much time it will add or subtract from taking 95. We may just put on waze app and hope for the best. Thanks again for the report.
Click to expand...
 


BC1836 said:
Greetings from Yulee, FL, after an 890 mile drive from the Jersey Shore!
We departed at 2:48 a.m. and made it to the DE Memorial Bridge at 4:17 a.m.
We crossed into MD at 4:32. Traffic was heavy, but moving fast, by the time we crossed into VA at 6:23 a.m. Traffic was moderate to heavy until Richmond when it stopped once.
We crossed in NC at 10:00 a.m. [By the way, the weather was perfect for the entire drive.]

Now then: There is only one single-lane slowdown on I-95 south in NC. A warning sign alerted us to an upcoming delay.
Exactly at Exit 31 (at 12:20 p.m.), the traffic came to a stop and then it crawled for the next 9 miles according to Wayz app. The highway finally opened up to two lanes a few hundred yards from Exit 25 @ 1:05 p.m. It appeared that the construction crew was very close to completing the job (a new guard rail was already in place). I have a feeling that I-95 south in NC will be open within days. No problems on I-95 north.

From around mm 56 in NC until northern GA, we saw over 1,000 toppled trees and dozens of dents in the guard rails!

The GA welcome center is expected to be completed sometime in January 2017.

Tomorrow, a quick visit to a friend in Port Orange, and then on to Lake Buena Vista, home of WDW.

All the best! :thumbsup2
Click to expand...

Thank you also for your update. Now have a great time!!
 
AnnaS said:
Thank you also for your update. Now have a great time!!
Click to expand...

Thank you!

Unless we are mistaken, it appears that the Wayz app does not identify a (single lane) slowdown on I-95 S in NC (south of mm 31). We won't be able to confirm this until we depart for home next week. Encouraging.

All the best by Disney Springs! :thumbsup2
 
After 1,080 miles, we have arrived at the Boardwalk!

A few non transportation notes: EPCOT was packed this afternoon (we heard it was worse yesterday!).
The Lobster roll offering at Hops & Barley shrunk in size but still carries a hefty price tag: $7.75.
A pretzel roll now accompanies the cheddar cheese soup in Canada!
The weather is perfect: 78-degrees, no clouds, no humidity!

All the best! :thumbsup2
 


We hit the road Friday. Still not sure if taking 95 or the inland route. From what we heard here 95 does not sound as bad as we thought with the closures. We hear people on here saying how they save time on the inland route but when I put it into google maps it adds an hour plus to the drive. This is confusing me because we had wanted to take the inland route since we are leaving on Friday at noon from Long Island. Anyone that uses the inland route, is the savings in time because we are missing the big traffic spots?
 
FlatBlackLI said:
We hit the road Friday. Still not sure if taking 95 or the inland route. From what we heard here 95 does not sound as bad as we thought with the closures. We hear people on here saying how they save time on the inland route but when I put it into google maps it adds an hour plus to the drive. This is confusing me because we had wanted to take the inland route since we are leaving on Friday at noon from Long Island. Anyone that uses the inland route, is the savings in time because we are missing the big traffic spots?
Click to expand...


I am too far south to make use of the inland route. But I have read many others swear by it, as is avoids the 95 traffic areas , especially DC, and so can take less time overall. I instead have to plan my timing to avoid those heavy traffic areas during their peak times.
 
FlatBlackLI said:
We hit the road Friday. Still not sure if taking 95 or the inland route. From what we heard here 95 does not sound as bad as we thought with the closures. We hear people on here saying how they save time on the inland route but when I put it into google maps it adds an hour plus to the drive. This is confusing me because we had wanted to take the inland route since we are leaving on Friday at noon from Long Island. Anyone that uses the inland route, is the savings in time because we are missing the big traffic spots?
Click to expand...

I've pretty much decided I'm taking the inland route even though Google Maps says it adds a little over an hour to the whole trip. A few things factored into my decision. I'd rather drive the extra hour than be stuck in stop-and-go traffic for an hour, but that's just me. I've only driven Route 81 once before, but the drivers were so polite! I find RT 95 drivers to be the exact opposite of polite. (Don't mean to offend anyone!) Plus, this is the perfect time to drive 81/77 with the leaves changing. If you had a little extra time, you could even try Skyline Drive or Blue Ridge Parkway for a little bit. I drove the Blue Ridge for about an hour once and it was the most beautiful road.

Safe travels, which ever route you take and enjoy your trip!
 
justreading said:
I've pretty much decided I'm taking the inland route even though Google Maps says it adds a little over an hour to the whole trip. A few things factored into my decision. I'd rather drive the extra hour than be stuck in stop-and-go traffic for an hour, but that's just me. I've only driven Route 81 once before, but the drivers were so polite! I find RT 95 drivers to be the exact opposite of polite. (Don't mean to offend anyone!) Plus, this is the perfect time to drive 81/77 with the leaves changing. If you had a little extra time, you could even try Skyline Drive or Blue Ridge Parkway for a little bit. I drove the Blue Ridge for about an hour once and it was the most beautiful road.

Safe travels, which ever route you take and enjoy your trip!
Click to expand...
Thanks. I also can't stand stop and go traffic so I think I am going inland even if it adds an hour I think not sitting in DC traffic will make up for it if not even it out. From Long Island I really don't see much time being added to get to 78 probably will take 287 over to 78 unless there is a better way that I am missing. Can't wait till Friday and thanks to all of you this thread has taken away a lot of stress about this drive.
 
FlatBlackLI said:
Thanks. I also can't stand stop and go traffic so I think I am going inland even if it adds an hour I think not sitting in DC traffic will make up for it if not even it out. From Long Island I really don't see much time being added to get to 78 probably will take 287 over to 78 unless there is a better way that I am missing. Can't wait till Friday and thanks to all of you this thread has taken away a lot of stress about this drive.
Click to expand...

That's the exact route I'll be taking a week later than you. Safe trip!
 
Flatblack,justreading, I've driven the "inland route " a few times. Lol Pending on the time of year, weather etc... I take the inland route. Over the years I made this chart. This is the only place I post this and it's not for long so take a screen shot. Lol I usually hit these numbers dead on and a few times able to out run them.
I looked on mapquest and I have to idea where they come up with there info.
Despite what some think, I'm not flying.lol I hang around 5 over the speed limit. I will tell you that we don't stop for sit down meals. We hit drive thrus and rest stops are in and out. We do stop but we don't hang around.
Now days I drive around 35k a year for work so I spend a lot of time on the road.
Take a copy of this chart with you and let me know how it worked out for you.
If your coming across I78 from NJ, when you cross the bridge, that's about home on this chart. I use rt22 which Hooks up with I78 on the other side of Allentown only because rt22 is closer to my house but stay on I78!!!! Rt22 can be a parking lot.

Let me figure out how to post a picture, they changed things around here lol. Stay tuned!
 
Just be careful when you start hitting the mountain areas of I81/I77 at night. It can tend to get foggy up there this time of year. Also, you should be ok but just check anyway, if you are heading up there at night and it's cold, it may be raining on the bottom of the mountain and snow and ice on the top. Dw and I spent the night in the car at Whites truck stop in the 80s because we got caught in a storm.
You should be fine but just keep an eye on the weather in that area. If it's a clear day, it is beautiful up there!
Some areas to watch, don't hit these areas at rush hours. Harrisburg pa, Charlotte nc, Jacksonville fl or Orlando.
In my old age, I like to drive at night. September we left at 12:30pm from home, I drove to the Georgia state line and pulled into the "welcome center" around 11pm for an hour nap.
After 32 years my wife still looks over at me and ask me, " what is wrong with you?" Lol
I can drive forever.lol I love it!! I get into a zone and I just keep going.lol
 
dvczerfs said:
Just be careful when you start hitting the mountain areas of I81/I77 at night. It can tend to get foggy up there this time of year. Also, you should be ok but just check anyway, if you are heading up there at night and it's cold, it may be raining on the bottom of the mountain and snow and ice on the top. Dw and I spent the night in the car at Whites truck stop in the 80s because we got caught in a storm.
You should be fine but just keep an eye on the weather in that area. If it's a clear day, it is beautiful up there!
Some areas to watch, don't hit these areas at rush hours. Harrisburg pa, Charlotte nc, Jacksonville fl or Orlando.
In my old age, I like to drive at night. September we left at 12:30pm from home, I drove to the Georgia state line and pulled into the "welcome center" around 11pm for an hour nap.
After 32 years my wife still looks over at me and ask me, " what is wrong with you?" Lol
I can drive forever.lol I love it!! I get into a zone and I just keep going.lol
Click to expand...
Thanks so much for the posts and helpfull info we are leaving Long Island at noon on Friday so you time line from 12:30 gives me a great idea of the time. Any rest stops that are good for stopping at or maybe any to be avoided lol. We are leaving at noon and plan to stop for the night in SC so I feel better about making it that far thanks to your info.
 
FlatBlackLI said:
Thanks so much for the posts and helpfull info we are leaving Long Island at noon on Friday so you time line from 12:30 gives me a great idea of the time. Any rest stops that are good for stopping at or maybe any to be avoided lol. We are leaving at noon and plan to stop for the night in SC so I feel better about making it that far thanks to your info.
Click to expand...
Those times include rest stops etc...
We stop at rest areas for restrooms. The only one that comes to mind is the Georgia welcoming center is still restroom trailers. Portable facilities while they are building the new center. Other then that, I feel safe at all of them even at night. For the most part, there is always someone around, even over night.
Gas stations on the other hand, during the day, I feel pretty safe. I pay at the pump, gas and go. Overnight, I've pulled in and out of a few over the years. If it don't look right to you, dark, lonely, pull out and go down to the next exit, there are stations all over. I pulled into one on the way home in September, the store is closed but the pumps are on for credit card purchases. There were two cars parked at the station, looked like nobody around, not much lighting and I just kept going, gave me the creeps.lol
The exit signage is great. Once you get out of Pa. It will tell you what's at the next exit. Don't stress over finding food, stations, test areas, they are all along the interstates. The inland route has become more developed over the last 10 years or so, you'll be fine.
 
dvczerfs said:
Those times include rest stops etc...
We stop at rest areas for restrooms. The only one that comes to mind is the Georgia welcoming center is still restroom trailers. Portable facilities while they are building the new center. Other then that, I feel safe at all of them even at night. For the most part, there is always someone around, even over night.
Gas stations on the other hand, during the day, I feel pretty safe. I pay at the pump, gas and go. Overnight, I've pulled in and out of a few over the years. If it don't look right to you, dark, lonely, pull out and go down to the next exit, there are stations all over. I pulled into one on the way home in September, the store is closed but the pumps are on for credit card purchases. There were two cars parked at the station, looked like nobody around, not much lighting and I just kept going, gave me the creeps.lol
The exit signage is great. Once you get out of Pa. It will tell you what's at the next exit. Don't stress over finding food, stations, test areas, they are all along the interstates. The inland route has become more developed over the last 10 years or so, you'll be fine.
Click to expand...

You have been a tremendous help sharing all your knowledge of the "inland route". I plan to stop for the night by 6pm, I'm not comfortable driving through the night. So I shouldn't have a problem with sketchy gas stations. Your chart is such a big help in planning my trip! thank you! I'm waiting for BC1836 to report on his trip home up Rt 95. If it is uneventful, I think I will take 95 home.

Flatblack, I look forward to your report of how your drive goes!

:thanks:
 
justreading said:
You have been a tremendous help sharing all your knowledge of the "inland route". I plan to stop for the night by 6pm, I'm not comfortable driving through the night. So I shouldn't have a problem with sketchy gas stations. Your chart is such a big help in planning my trip! thank you! I'm waiting for BC1836 to report on his trip home up Rt 95. If it is uneventful, I think I will take 95 home.

Flatblack, I look forward to your report of how your drive goes!

:thanks:
Click to expand...

We will make the report upon our arrival home on Monday. As for now, we are enjoying the incredible weather at WDW!
Transportation used today: boat from the Boardwalk to Epcot; boat from Epcot to the Boardwalk. :boat:

All the best! :thumbsup2
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page


GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!


New DISboards Threads

S
Check In
Replies
1
Views
14
Best Aunt
Best Aunt
Jimmy Mouse
Blue Milk available at Publix!
Replies
4
Views
56
BrianL
BrianL
D
Canadian cell phones
Replies
3
Views
45
EACarlson
EACarlson
S
What's something about yourself you hope never changes?
Replies
4
Views
53
CamilaGS
CamilaGS
Capo
Honest opinion. No Genie+ in June
Replies
5
Views
128
hertamaniac
hertamaniac
slo
  • Poll
slo’s FRIDAY 4/19 poll - Green Olives vs Black Olives
2
Replies
28
Views
256
DisneyHardin
DisneyHardin
NEWS & UPDATES
CAR SERVICE
CAR RENTALS



Latest posts







facebook twitter
Top