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

[nono]

We leave early morning from NJ Saturday, stop over night in S Carolina.
Sunday- drive to Kennedy/Titusville(stay at Hilton.)
Monday Visit KSC then drive to Wyndham Bonnet

This would be my vote. Arrive at the Hilton, swim, relax. Next morning, be there early, and I'm guessing Monday isn't the biggest day of the week for KSC. It's a lot to absorb there, so I'd put it at the front of the vacation. Then you'll have plenty to talk about the rest of the week.

 

[amcnj]

I made a post about this but probably should have just asked in this helpful group. thanks for any input.
C/P
We are driving in June again to Orlando from NJ. The family wants to do Kennedy Space Center and Gatorland scared:not doing Disney this time due to cost.)
After 4 days in Orlando, we are driving to West Palm area.
I wondered if we should go to Kennedy before going to Orlando or after on our way to West palm Beach.

We leave early morning from NJ Saturday, stop over night in S Carolina.
Sunday- drive to Kennedy/Titusville(stay at Hilton.)
Monday Visit KSC then drive to Wyndham Bonnet

Check out Thursday. Go to Gatorland since it is a few hour park then drive to WP (we plan to arrive in evening as our friends we are visiting are working all day.)
--Other choice would be go right to Orlando then Kennedy Thursday then to West Palm that night. On the map, this seems out of the way a bit.

Going the KSC first way you mentioned may involve a little less backtracking, but overall might not be drastically different in mileage/more out of the way. But as nono pointed out, if you feel KSC might be a longer day than Gatorland, maybe you would welcome the break after going to KSC, and would find it easier going to West Palm after a few hours at Gatorland rather than after a full day at Kennedy Space Center. And might prefer having the shorter drive to Orlando from KSC versus the longer drive to West Palm.

 

[jm106]

Thanks all. I think I will do KSC first so we dont have to worry about what time we leave. Also good to give me an excuse to get done and leave gatorland (oh the things we do for our kids!)

 

[ForeverDisney6793]

Just got back from POFQ on Saturday. First time I ever had traffic issues. Got stuck in two accidents on the way down on I-95 from South Jersey in Georgia which put me behind schedule by 1.5 hours and then got me stuck in Orlando rush hour which seemed like forever. Coming home got stuck in accident traffic in South Carolina because people felt the need to stop and stare at a tractor trailer accident on the opposite side of the highway (I will never understand that -- Delayed me for 30 minutes.) Then further along in South Carolina got stuck in construction on I-95. Very frustrating when people feel the need to stop and stare at accidents that are on the other side of the road.

 

[amcnj]

Just got back from POFQ on Saturday. First time I ever had traffic issues. Got stuck in two accidents on the way down on I-95 from South Jersey in Georgia which put me behind schedule by 1.5 hours and then got me stuck in Orlando rush hour which seemed like forever. Coming home got stuck in accident traffic in South Carolina because people felt the need to stop and stare at a tractor trailer accident on the opposite side of the highway (I will never understand that -- Delayed me for 30 minutes.) Then further along in South Carolina got stuck in construction on I-95. Very frustrating when people feel the need to stop and stare at accidents that are on the other side of the road.

The Orlando traffic was while on 4? What time of day was that? Or in general does anyone know what are the morning and evening rush times on 4? So far I must be missing them and want to make sure I continue to!

 

[pwdebbie]

A 4/19 departure at approx. 6 p.m. will bring you to WDW when? [Straight thru drive? One overnight stop?]

All the best.

In the last few days, our trip has become a big "if." We are so back and forth right now, we don't know what to do. We have a room-only reservation, so we still have time yet to decide. But if we do go, we will stop overnight and get to WDW by early afternoon. And we leave earlier than 6:00 p.m. We hit the road after church on Sunday, try to overnight in Orangeburg (SC?), and back on the road by 7:00 Monday morning.

 

[BC1836]

In the last few days, our trip has become a big "if." We are so back and forth right now, we don't know what to do. We have a room-only reservation, so we still have time yet to decide. But if we do go, we will stop overnight and get to WDW by early afternoon. And we leave earlier than 6:00 p.m. We hit the road after church on Sunday, try to overnight in Orangeburg (SC?), and back on the road by 7:00 Monday morning.

Hopefully your "if" decision will be favorably resolved soon.

All the best!

 

[BC1836]

Local gas prices (regular) below $2.10 again.

The relatively low prices of the last few months (compared to 2013 and earlier) translated to two "free" WDW dinners last month.

All the best.

 

[florep1]

BC1836 thanks for assisting us in finding info. We are lucky we will gas up in Beaumont and then head out so making it through Houston won't be a problem.

Even though I live in Beaumont. I wouldn't recommend the gas stations off I-10 unless it's during daytime. There's too many vagrants and stragglers, I wouldn't feel safe after dark. Also as you're approaching the I-10 & Highway 73 fork (going towards Port Arthur), keep an eye for a flashing sign. If it's flashing, I would highly recommend taking the detour, or you can be stuck on the freeway in Beaumont for hours. They're working on the Neches River bridge and have it down to two lanes each way. People don't pay attention till it's too late resulting in a lot of wrecks. Have fun, and enjoy your drive.

 

[specialkk77]

heading out in forty days... what's the construction like on 95 right now? i remember there was a lot planned the last time i read up on it. any info would be great!

 

[edbo77]

heading out in forty days... what's the construction like on 95 right now? i remember there was a lot planned the last time i read up on it. any info would be great!

Where you coming down from? Just made the drive from MA, don't remember anything crazy in terms of construction.

Left just S of Boston around 4AM, made it to Jacksonville by 10PM so I feel like I made good time.

 

[Bkk40in2011]

florep1 - THANK YOU SO MUCH. Yes I am yelling it. I really appreciate the time you took to tell me that. That would have been a big problem. We are headed through there around 8-9pm. Do you suggest we eat in Katy on I-10 first and then hit Houston traffic to Beaumont? We were going to eat in Beaumont but it may be late if the Houston traffic is bad. We will hit Houston around 7pm on a Wednesday.

 

[florep1]

florep1 - THANK YOU SO MUCH. Yes I am yelling it. I really appreciate the time you took to tell me that. That would have been a big problem. We are headed through there around 8-9pm. Do you suggest we eat in Katy on I-10 first and then hit Houston traffic to Beaumont? We were going to eat in Beaumont but it may be late if the Houston traffic is bad. We will hit Houston around 7pm on a Wednesday.

Dinner would depend on what time you're used to eating. Should you decide to eat in Beaumont, there are plenty of restaurants along the freeway. Those are fine. The wait times are usually ridiculous. By 9 o'clock, traffic should be flowing freely, and you should hit Lake Charles around 10.

 

[amcnj]

Local gas prices (regular) below $2.10 again.

The relatively low prices of the last few months (compared to 2013 and earlier) translated to two "free" WDW dinners last month.

All the best.

Some of the cash/credit same price stations are at $2.00. So some cash prices at other stations are below $2. The prices have been going down slowly, literally a penny at a time, as opposed to the 10 cent jumps upwards a few months back.

 

[BC1836]

Some of the cash/credit same price stations are at $2.00. So some cash prices at other stations are below $2. The prices have been going down slowly, literally a penny at a time, as opposed to the 10 cent jumps upwards a few months back.

Four years ago at this time, we paid between $3.58 to $3.79 per gallon (regular) during our drive to WDW.

All the best.

 

[disneysteve]

Can I ask for some non-Disney World driving opinions? It is Disney-related though. I'm going to the Richmond DIS meet on April 10. If you were leaving from Camden, NJ just after 3pm and wanted to get to Richmond the quickest, how would you go? I'm figuring I should avoid DC and take 301 at that time of day, which is what we've typically done when going to WDW at that time. Do any of you have different advice?

 

[makwis]

Hello!! I've been a lurker here on and off for years, but we are finally taking our first family vacation! My DH, myself and 4 kiddos (14, 10, 7 and 2). We will be driving from near Green Bay, WI and I'm a little terrified about it. I have driven to Disney before (many years ago prior to meeting my DH and without kids) and the drive, while long, was fine. We could not justify 6 plane tickets and it doesn't help that my stepson (14) and myself are terrible flyers. That being said, we're trying to figure out the best time to leave?

We are roughly 3 hours from Chicago and will be leaving on 4/17 (Friday). Our reservations don't start until Sunday, so we're not in an extreme hurry to get down there. I mentioned to my DH that it would be nice if we could get to Chattanooga the first night and he said if he made it that far he'd keep going! So, we might be driving through the night!

We're also looking to get to the ocean. I was thinking Daytona Beach, but if anyone has better/different suggestions, I'd gladly take them! Thanks!

 

[ForeverDisney6793]

The Orlando traffic was while on 4? What time of day was that? Or in general does anyone know what are the morning and evening rush times on 4? So far I must be missing them and want to make sure I continue to!

Yes it was on 4. I would say around 3-3:30 PM we got stuck on a Friday afternoon.

 

[theyoungs07]

Hello!! I've been a lurker here on and off for years, but we are finally taking our first family vacation! My DH, myself and 4 kiddos (14, 10, 7 and 2). We will be driving from near Green Bay, WI and I'm a little terrified about it. I have driven to Disney before (many years ago prior to meeting my DH and without kids) and the drive, while long, was fine. We could not justify 6 plane tickets and it doesn't help that my stepson (14) and myself are terrible flyers. That being said, we're trying to figure out the best time to leave?

We are roughly 3 hours from Chicago and will be leaving on 4/17 (Friday). Our reservations don't start until Sunday, so we're not in an extreme hurry to get down there. I mentioned to my DH that it would be nice if we could get to Chattanooga the first night and he said if he made it that far he'd keep going! So, we might be driving through the night!

We're also looking to get to the ocean. I was thinking Daytona Beach, but if anyone has better/different suggestions, I'd gladly take them! Thanks!

Just remember that right ahead of Chattanooga is some interesting mountain driving that I do not suggest doing if exhausted...google search monteagle for more info. We live in IL and have driven 3 times, soon to be 4. Murfreesboro is shortly before the mountains and has a Comfort Inn with 2 queens and a pull-out bed, we've stayed there before when we didn't get going early in the morning from home.

On our last trip, we took a day off of parks to go to Tampa to check out the beach, it wasn't bad but the weather wasn't cooperative. The gulf side should have been warmer water, but it was cold in April. We probably won't do it again as we got stuck in a 1-2 hour traffic standstill on our way back, but I'm glad we tried it.

Have fun!

 

[BC1836]

One local station posted $1.99 per gallon, regular.

All the best.