Driving from NJ to Disney!

Yeah says 15 hours but I have seen people say they have gotten there in like 12

I would be extremely skeptical about beating the Google estimate. Especially since you still have to add fuel and bio stop time. And as the previous posters noted, the traffic on the 21st will be about as heavy as it gets. Though having two drivers will help.

When I drove down from south Jersey it was a little over 16 hours of drive time. As I was doing all of the driving I stopped in NC after a little over 8 hours of heavy Baltimore, DC, and Richmond traffic.

I would second the recommendation to make the northern half of your trip happen at night to avoid the worst of the traffic.

Another thought might be to consider the inland route. Depending on where you are in north Jersey you might do better heading west into PA and then south on I-81/77/26 then back to I-95. Just a few more miles but perhaps a bit less traffic.

thanks guys, as of now we are planning to leave at 6pm, worst time but dont really have a choice with work and stuff!

Totally understand the constraints and I am sure you know what you will be driving into.
Wishing you a safe drive and a pixiedust: visit!
 
Hi all, my wife and I are planning to drive to Disney on the 21st of November. We will be driving straight through! Any tips for us? This will also be our first time driving there, anyone also know the actual time to get there?

We've done a lot of straight through trips from PA to WDW and often time it to miss the worst traffic by driving at night. With heading to WDW, we usually plan our departure time based on missing DC traffic. I'm a night owl so it works great for us. DH then will take his turn in the morning.

One thing to keep in mind is the traffic you may hit on I-4. Years ago we were in Orlando for the Thanksgiving holiday and were heading towards Tampa to visit relatives. I-4 was a parking lot on Thanksgiving day. Not sure if it's still the same but may be something worth checking.

Have a great trip! Safe travels!
 
Thanks guys, I am hoping to leave either 5-7pm range. Maybe we would be able to miss the traffic but at least I know what to expect! First day we would only be relaxing by the pool and we have aloha reservations at night so at least we wont have a park to walk through! Hoping the park isnt to packed but based on the holiday I am bracing myself! Anyone ever been to the park at this time?
 
We drive down from NY (actually our next trip is 9/21) and we break it into two days. On Friday we are leaving at 4am (we’re from the city area) and completely bypass the morning traffic. By the time we get to DC we’ve missed the traffic down there and it’s usually smooth sailing down I-95 from there. The only traffic we hit is usually from road work or an accident, not from congestion. We stop in South Carolina for the night around 6:00 - usually after about eleven or twelve total driving hours. Then the next day we’re off at 8 and driving right into Disney around 1:30.

Due to conditions in NC after hurricane Florence, I think it will be a good idea to closely monitor conditions on your intended route, and be willing to adjust your travel plans. The further west you go sooner (think S/SW on I-78 across NJ and Eastern PA to I-81, then generally south but avoiding the coast and I-95 corridor), the more likely you are to avoid encountering road closures and other issues. Obviously, this will take longer, but with the continued rain, conditions in some ares of NC might possibly worsen by your travel date.

Personally, I would rather travel a longer distance, for more time on a route I knew to safe and passable, then to risk being delayed or stuck in a situation I could've avoided.
 


To kind of go along with this....I am going to be driving from NJ to FL the day after Thanksgiving, well actually Thanksgiving night. We plan on leaving NJ about 3am Thursday/Friday. I am hoping we will get past DC before the rush. Hoping there won't be much since most people have off the day after Thanksgiving, but also hoping not a lot of people traveling that early in the morning just due to it being a holiday. We will be driving straight through as well.
 
Cool, maybe we'll see each other haha! You going to the party on the 25th ?

As of now we will not be attending any of the Christmas parties :sad2: The cost for 2 adults and 2 kids would be about $400 or so! :eek: But if by chance we have the extra cash we will be going to one of them. We are there until Nov 30th.
 


To kind of go along with this....I am going to be driving from NJ to FL the day after Thanksgiving, well actually Thanksgiving night. We plan on leaving NJ about 3am Thursday/Friday. I am hoping we will get past DC before the rush. Hoping there won't be much since most people have off the day after Thanksgiving, but also hoping not a lot of people traveling that early in the morning just due to it being a holiday. We will be driving straight through as well.
Most likely no work rush hour but don't be suprised when near a big shopping area you run into traffic. I know where we live ( Philadelphia suburbs) there is traffic around the shopping areas.
 
Yeah says 15 hours but I have seen people say they have gotten there in like 12

...People saying they are doing it and 12 to 14 hours, I simply don’t believe that because if you do the averages, you would have to be sustaining 90 to 100 miles an hour for hours at a time and I find that hard to believe. ...

This ^.

If you go from the closest point in NJ (near Commodore Barry or Turnpike bridge), you're still looking at a minimum 1000 mile drive. You'd have to average almost 85 mph with no stops, no traffic to make it in that 12 hour timeframe. 15 to 17 hours is much more realistic and that is still an aggressive drive (minimal stops for gas, food, etc.). Personally, if never having done it before, I'd plan on a 2 day trip.
 
We haven't made the drive to Disney in a while, but my sister and I made three trips to Disney driving straight through from the south suburbs of Chicago. While I'm not familiar with the route you're taking at all especially with the hurricane re-routes. I just wanted to pop in to say stop as often as you find necessary to stretch your legs! Georgia was the most exhausting part for us because the states so big and it was like 10 hours into the drive at that point. I also just drove home from NY by myself a couple of weeks ago and I did the stop whenever I was feeling tired thing. It helped tremendously! And also have a safe trip!!
 
Yeah says 15 hours but I have seen people say they have gotten there in like 12
Our best drive time to central NJ was 14 hours 45 minutes. It was like the perfect storm, no traffic, only stopping when we needed too! I really doubt someone can make that drive in 12 hours, that's a good time for us from the Disney Hilton Head Resort!
 
Due to conditions in NC after hurricane Florence, I think it will be a good idea to closely monitor conditions on your intended route, and be willing to adjust your travel plans. The further west you go sooner (think S/SW on I-78 across NJ and Eastern PA to I-81, then generally south but avoiding the coast and I-95 corridor), the more likely you are to avoid encountering road closures and other issues. Obviously, this will take longer, but with the continued rain, conditions in some ares of NC might possibly worsen by your travel date.

Personally, I would rather travel a longer distance, for more time on a route I knew to safe and passable, then to risk being delayed or stuck in a situation I could've avoided.

We are traveling from PA on the same day, leaving mid afternoon/early evening. We are going on 81S for this very reason
 
I agree with PP I-4 traffic can be horrible. We do the drive in a day and a half. You have to leave time for the unexpected. One trip we got a flat tire on the jersey turnpike (ran over a screw in the road). It can set back you're schedule.
 
We are traveling from PA on the same day, leaving mid afternoon/early evening. We are going on 81S for this very reason

Yeah, I wish I could leave earlier or later but because of work(dont get until 3) earliest we could leave is about 4ish. Hopefully like one other person said, should miss the DC traffic, but not holding my breath! Where you staying!
 
It is IMPOSSIBLE to drive from Florida to NJ in 12 hours.

Unless you are a cop and can flash a badge everytime you get pulled over for speeding.

Washington DC, Richmond, Jacksonville, i4. (all wild cards in the equation)
 
We have driven from PA several times. We have found the drive easiest by leaving around 5am (we miss DC traffic) and drive straight to about an hour or 2 outside Disney where we get a hotel for the night. Get a good nights sleep and take the last hour or two as a relaxing drive to the resort. Takes us anywhere from 16-18 hours depending on how many times we stop.
 
Yeah, I wish I could leave earlier or later but because of work(dont get until 3) earliest we could leave is about 4ish. Hopefully like one other person said, should miss the DC traffic, but not holding my breath! Where you staying!

Staying at ASMovies the first 2 nights then going off site to Cypress Pointe for a week
 
Just to let everyone know, another section of I-95 closed at 6:00 PM EST today due to flooding.

From the South Carolina Dept of Highways: "preparations have begun to close I-95 in both directions from Exit 164 (US 52) to Exit 181 (SC 38) due to the imminent threat of flooding at the Great Pee Dee River."
 

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