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

[dvczerfs]

She's not dumb! Lol
We'll be just ahead of you with the move. 5 more years and DS will be graduating H.S. Where abouts is Leesburg? It sounds familiar like I've seen it on the map.

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dead center, just north of the mouse.

 

[dvczerfs]

for our jersey drivers, had to laugh at this one....... just sayin.....

(around the 1:52 mark)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uj9OaIwLftk

 

[kbarrett]

Okay I have lurked on this thread for quite awhile. We are going to drive from Michigan to WDW for the first time next August. You all seem so experienced that I was hoping you could give me some tips.... We have four kids and will be traveling in our minivan.

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[AaronInWI]

Okay I have lurked on this thread for quite awhile. We are going to drive from Michigan to WDW for the first time next August. You all seem so experienced that I was hoping you could give me some tips.... We have four kids and will be traveling in our minivan.

I'm not nearly as experienced as most on this thread, however I'll give you my number once piece advice for first time road trippers -- take your time! Our first drive two years ago (with #2 coming up in 49 days!) was broken up into two days. We left Wisconsin on a Saturday around 3:30 am, drove until we got south of Atlanta, where we stayed the night. Then we hit the road again around 8:00 am and completed the drive to Orlando. Once we got to Orlando, we stayed offsite for one night and finally checked into our Disney resort Monday morning. I liked the relaxed pace, and I made the journey part of the vacation. Truth be told, the drive is one of the things I'm most looking forward to on our upcoming trip.

I'm sure others on here will be able to give you better advice than this!

 

[dvczerfs]

I'm not nearly as experienced as most on this thread, however I'll give you my number once piece advice for first time road trippers -- take your time! Our first drive two years ago (with #2 coming up in 49 days!) was broken up into two days. We left Wisconsin on a Saturday around 3:30 am, drove until we got south of Atlanta, where we stayed the night. Then we hit the road again around 8:00 am and completed the drive to Orlando. Once we got to Orlando, we stayed offsite for one night and finally checked into our Disney resort Monday morning. I liked the relaxed pace, and I made the journey part of the vacation. Truth be told, the drive is one of the things I'm most looking forward to on our upcoming trip.

I'm sure others on here will be able to give you better advice than this!

that's good advice!!!! its a long drive, relax. go with the flow. you will never replace the feeling you get when you see that i4 west sign off of i95. or the feeling you will have the entire 60 plus mile ride into wdw on i4.

as for the four kids, you know what makes them happy,video games, books, movies, you can put anything you want in a car now days. give yourself a goal. stopping every two hours or so at a rest stop, welcoming center for a stretch. you will be there before you know it!!!!

 

[kbarrett]

That is good advice from both of you wonderful DISers!

 

[AaronInWI]

That is good advice from both of you wonderful DISers!

 

[kbarrett]

We pushed it the first day - it was about 14 hours to our hotel in Morrow, GA. And that was with me being "lenient" with the speed limit. Then the drive to Orlando was really relaxed. We stopped at a Cracker Barrel for lunch, went to Adcock's Pecans, stopped at a few other southern looking places, and arrived in Orlando around 3:30.

Oh, watch your speed in Georgia! Smokey's are out everywhere! Once I crossed into Georgia, I don't think I went more than 2-3 over the posted limit until I hit the Florida state line.

I agree our first day will be a really long one, but I like the idea that the next day can be a little more lax to enjoy all the arrival excitement!

I better write that down about the strict following of the speed limit down there, both hubby and I tend to have lead feet!

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[dvczerfs]

I agree our first day will be a really long one, but I like the idea that the next day can be a little more lax to enjoy all the arrival excitement!

I better write that down about the strict following of the speed limit down there, both hubby and I tend to have lead feet!

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a lot of the times the western side of Orlando on i4 tends to be heavily under radar. I don't let grass grow under my tires either. I have 320 plus hp and tend to take advantage of most of it.
what I do is try to not be the left hand lane leader. find a running buddy which is not hard to do in the south. I keep someone in front of me moving just as fast or faster then im going. i don't weave in and out. i hit the left lane and keep up in the flow of traffic. they are going 65, im going 65. if there doing 95. im doing 95. don't that i have to go 100mph but for me, driving in the left lane feels a lot safer.

 

[cruisingkat]

We pushed it the first day - it was about 14 hours to our hotel in Morrow, GA. And that was with me being "lenient" with the speed limit. Then the drive to Orlando was really relaxed. We stopped at a Cracker Barrel for lunch, went to Adcock's Pecans, stopped at a few other southern looking places, and arrived in Orlando around 3:30. Oh, watch your speed in Georgia! Smokey's are out everywhere! Once I crossed into Georgia, I don't think I went more than 2-3 over the posted limit until I hit the Florida state line.

Definitely watch your speed in GA especially in Turner & Tift counties (the last hundred miles before the FL border on I75). We have seen as many as 4 county sheriffs car on a 40 mile stretch. And the fines for speeding are outrageous - in the hundreds of dollars - there have been reports of fines between $300 and $500 or more. And there is an additional super speeder fine tacked on by the state for 15 or more mph over the speed limit. As soon as we hit the Turner county line, we noticed all the cars slowing down to the speed limit or no more than 5 mph above.

 

[Liisa1965]

I'd like to see a little more of central Florida when we drive down next May, specifically the Ocala area. Can anyone suggest an alternate route for arriving at Disney once we get into Florida? We don't really want to stop anywhere, we'd just like to drive through some of the scenic countryside north of Disney before arriving.

 

[NJRRK]

I'd like to see a little more of central Florida when we drive down next May, specifically the Ocala area. Can anyone suggest an alternate route for arriving at Disney once we get into Florida? We don't really want to stop anywhere, we'd just like to drive through some of the scenic countryside north of Disney before arriving.

You could try getting off of I-75 at exit 329, take FL44 east to US27 south to US192 east to the main entrance into Disney. That's a short diversion from the interstate.

Not sure how scenic it's been over 30 years since I've been on those roads.

 

[Liisa1965]

You could try getting off of I-75 at exit 329, take FL44 east to US27 south to US192 east to the main entrance into Disney. That's a short diversion from the interstate.

Not sure how scenic it's been over 30 years since I've been on those roads.

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll check out those routes on a map and see if they get me anywhere near the horse farms or other scenic areas. We may just end up taking a ride up there on one of our non-park days so that we have more time.

 

[nono]

Okay I have lurked on this thread for quite awhile. We are going to drive from Michigan to WDW for the first time next August. You all seem so experienced that I was hoping you could give me some tips.... We have four kids and will be traveling in our minivan.

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Synchronize bladders! Seriously. A half hour before our next rest stop, I break out drinks for all. Having 4-6 folks on different schedules means a much longer trip with all the additional rest stops.

Also, spend a few minutes at a rest stop running around. We bring a ball to toss around and also two lengths of rope to set up start and finish lines for foot races...We spend about 10 min tops* at a rest area, but we can go 3+ hours after getting some circulation going.

*At lunchtime, we can stretch this to about 25 min...

 

[kbarrett]

Synchronize bladders! Seriously. A half hour before our next rest stop, I break out drinks for all. Having 4-6 folks on different schedules means a much longer trip with all the additional rest stops.

Also, spend a few minutes at a rest stop running around. We bring a ball to toss around and also two lengths of rope to set up start and finish lines for foot races...We spend about 10 min tops* at a rest area, but we can go 3+ hours after getting some circulation going.

*At lunchtime, we can stretch this to about 25 min...

Oh that's a good one especially with me (momma bladder) and the younger kids!
I also like the rest stop exercise to blow off some of the couped up steam!
Such good advice, I am glad I posted!

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[ddluvsdisney]

I'd like to see a little more of central Florida when we drive down next May, specifically the Ocala area. Can anyone suggest an alternate route for arriving at Disney once we get into Florida? We don't really want to stop anywhere, we'd just like to drive through some of the scenic countryside north of Disney before arriving.

429 is a beautiful scenic route!! It does have tolls though.

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[nono]

Oh that's a good one especially with me (momma bladder) and the younger kids!
I also like the rest stop exercise to blow off some of the couped up steam!
Such good advice, I am glad I posted!

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Oh, you have smaller ones too! Put a piece of luggage, a cooler, something in the space in front of their seats for use as a foot rest. Keeps them much more comfortable.

 

[dvcville]

Well we received our Magic Bands yesterday and did that make the excitement build to an even higher level. The darn mouse knows how to get yah! lol

 

[dvcville]

For the fun of it I just priced flying. For family of 5 it would cost us $1500.00 and we still need to add those fees for check luggage and whatever else they charge for these days. So more like $1650.00 for us. Driving round trip will cost us $360.00. So 1650.00 - 360.00 = $1290 savings. Bank half of that savings and the spoil the family with the rest!

 

[kbarrett]

For the fun of it I just priced flying. For family of 5 it would cost us $1500.00 and we still need to add those fees for check luggage and whatever else they charge for these days. So more like $1650.00 for us. Driving round trip will cost us $360.00. So 1650.00 - 360.00 = $1290 savings. Bank half of that savings and the spoil the family with the rest!

That's awesome and exactly why as a family of 6 we decided to drive!

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