I 10 to Disney

[MudQueen22]

To those that travel I-10 to Tallahassee to get to Disney:

What are some good, safe places to stop for the night between Tallahassee and WDW?

Also, there is a long stretch of road somewhere passed Tallahassee with nothing on it but family farms--no stores or hotels. We can't recall how long we were on that road. Can anyone remember about how long of a stretch that is?

 

[Lulubelle17]

I'm assuming you take I-10 to I-75, right? Gainsville is right off of I-75, I would look for something along 75.

Also, that stretch of road with farms, could it be Ocala? We used to live in Pensacola, but it was a couple of years ago, so it's not fresh in my mind. Sorry I can't be more help!

 

[MudQueen22]

Thank you for replying. We do go I 10 to I 75. It has been a few years, and I can't remember where all the farms were. Would Gainesville off 75 be a safe place to stop for the night?

 

[Woodview]

Is there a reason you wish to stay overnight ?

We drove last May , from Panama City to Disney area ( Hwy 192 / Hwy 27 ) .
We left at 11 am stopped for lunch & arrived at our destination around 6pm.

The long stretch looks like Tallahassee to Lake City.

Then Hwy 75 Lake City to Ocala by passing Gainesville

#
The SLOW bit is going through The Villages #

So Take Hwy 27 from Ocala to Leesburg ... to Clermont & On To JUNCTION Hwy 192 ( DISNEY SIGNS )

 

[MudQueen22]

Is there a reason you wish to stay overnight ?

Yes, we will have a long drive with two small children. We plan to leave at 3 am from our home in Texas. If we can arrive on the other side of Tallahassee in the early evening, we are hoping to have a safe, inexpensive stay overnight and leave early the next morning to arrive at our resort by noon. This way, the kids can swim for much of our first day there.

 

[Lulubelle17]

Gainesville is not that far from Orlando, definitely less than 2 hours, so it may be worth it to just get there. If you really want to stop, I would stick to a chain like Holiday Inn. Those are usually inexpensive and safe. I would just drive through rather than stopping when you're only 2 hours away. That way you could just check in at your resort that night and still spend a relaxing day at your resort. But that's just me, I would just want to get it over with!

 

[MudQueen22]

Gainesville is not that far from Orlando, definitely less than 2 hours, so it may be worth it to just get there. If you really want to stop, I would stick to a chain like Holiday Inn. Those are usually inexpensive and safe. I would just drive through rather than stopping when you're only 2 hours away. That way you could just check in at your resort that night and still spend a relaxing day at your resort. But that's just me, I would just want to get it over with!

We are considering that. We want to keep our options open in case we are too exhausted to keep driving, but we didn't want to get ourselves into trouble by driving passed Tallahassee, then getting sleepy on the road without a place to stop overnight. KWIM?

 

[bumbershoot]

Honestly, I would just make a plan to stop well before that. Pick a place with a pool (call to make sure it's open) and the kids can swim there, too. (any kid I've ever known, including me, just wants a body of water to swim in, and it doesn't matter what it looks like or if Mickey Mouse is near) Since you don't have big plans for the first Disney day anyway, might as well get more rest. And if you guys are exhausted from one day of LONG travel, it's not going to be all that safe to have the kids swimming at Disney since the adults might be very sleepy.

 

[DVC4US]

I live in the panhandle of Florida - Destin area - and make the drive to Disney several times a year. There are not a lot of places to stay between Tallahassee and Lake City. Both locations have good, safe places to stay.

Tallahassee is about 4 hours from Disney and Lake City is a little over 2 hours. Driving all the way from Texas I think I would plan to stop in Tallahassee and then leave out early the next morning. It's about an hour and 45 mins from Tallahassee to Lake City. If you are not going to make hotel reservations before hand then I would plan on stopping in Tallahassee and if you still feel good when you hit that area then you could drive on to Lake City,

 

[MudQueen22]

I live in the panhandle of Florida - Destin area - and make the drive to Disney several times a year. There are not a lot of places to stay between Tallahassee and Lake City. Both locations have good, safe places to stay.

Tallahassee is about 4 hours from Disney and Lake City is a little over 2 hours. Driving all the way from Texas I think I would plan to stop in Tallahassee and then leave out early the next morning. It's about an hour and 45 mins from Tallahassee to Lake City. If you are not going to make hotel reservations before hand then I would plan on stopping in Tallahassee and if you still feel good when you hit that area then you could drive on to Lake City,

Thanks so much for this. I recall there being a large stretch of road with no hotels and few gas stations, but I couldn't remember exactly where.
I will take your advice and get to Tallahassee and assess it from there. If we are tired, we will stay there. If we can go a few more hours, we will call from Tallahassee and book a room in Lake City.

Are there restaurants in Lake City? Fast food, or also IHOP type places?

 

[Capt_BJ]

concur with modification

Tall' to Live Oak (exit 283) is the dark stretch .... don't pass Tall' with a low gas tank!

At Live Oak, near I-10 is a Busy Bee (above average gas and food rest stop), Holiday Inn Express and Suites, Walmart Super Center and a good half dozen or so fast food options. And more if you drop down to town proper ...

Tall' to Live Oak is about 75 miles, Lake City another 20 or so ...

 

[Woodview]

No idea how far you will have driven , from X ? in Texas , to get as far as Tallahassee But I woul d stay the night

in Tallahassee , knowing that ,as pointed out , it would not be a full days drive to Disney.

On or just off Hwy I-10 ( Texas side ) there are several Motels which have Swimpool & breakfast

Best Western 6737 Mahan Dr. Fl. 32301 phone 850 656 2938 ( $ 60 + )

Comfort Inn 215 Commerce Blvd FL 32343 850 576 7300 ( $ 70 + )

Other Motels Without Pool

Baymont Inn & Howard Johnson

Hope this helps

 

[Tigerlulu]

We leave from sw Louisiana and stay in Tallahassee. There is a nice residence inn on the interstate we like. 4 hrs the next morning to wdw.

 

[MudQueen22]

We leave from sw Louisiana and stay in Tallahassee. There is a nice residence inn on the interstate we like. 4 hrs the next morning to wdw.

We aren't far from Louisiana. It takes us about 10 minutes to get out of Texas.
It takes us forever to get through Louisiana. It gives a whole new meaning to "leavin' Louisiana in da broad daylight."
Lol

 

[OKW Lover]

One other thing to keep in mind on this drive is that you will loose an hour as you travel east. The line is between Panama City and Tallahassee. Doesn't matter to your body but it may for hotel reservation purposes.

 

[DVC4US]

Thanks so much for this. I recall there being a large stretch of road with no hotels and few gas stations, but I couldn't remember exactly where.
I will take your advice and get to Tallahassee and assess it from there. If we are tired, we will stay there. If we can go a few more hours, we will call from Tallahassee and book a room in Lake City.

Are there restaurants in Lake City? Fast food, or also IHOP type places?

Yes, there are plenty of places to stay and eat in Tallahassee and Lake City. Both areas have a Cracker Barrel if you like eating there - Exit 199 in Tallahassee and exit 427 in Lake City. And both cities have I HOPs.

OKW Lover made a good point - you will lose an hour just west of Tallahassee so that might be something to take into consideration.

Another bit of information if you can plan for it - Exit 142 off I-10 (Marianna) has some of the cheapest gas on this stretch to Disney. There is a Pilot(usually the lowest) and a TA at this exit. The Pilot can get crazy busy but to me is worth the wait.

 

[Tigerlulu]

We aren't far from Louisiana. It takes us about 10 minutes to get out of Texas.
It takes us forever to get through Louisiana. It gives a whole new meaning to "leavin' Louisiana in da broad daylight."
Lol

Then you aren't far from us and pass right through our town. (Big nasty bridges!)
Long long drive! Good luck!

 

[dreiwhit]

We stay at the Comfort Inn & Suites in Midway, Florida, just to the west of the Tallahassee City limits at Exit 192. Very nice, clean and I feel safe there.

Edit: There's almost no places to eat at that exit, but the next exit east is Tallahassee (exit 196) and there are places to eat there.

FWIW, I hate the stretch of road between Tallahassee and I-75.

 

[Lmans77]

We live in suburban Houston (west of the city) and stayed at a very nice Comfort Inn in Lake City, which is right after you make the turn south onto I75. I want to say it was about 14 hours to get there with usual stops for rest and food. It was then a super easy drive the next morning. At the time, our kids were 8 and 6.

 

[MudQueen22]

We live in suburban Houston (west of the city) and stayed at a very nice Comfort Inn in Lake City, which is right after you make the turn south onto I75. I want to say it was about 14 hours to get there with usual stops for rest and food. It was then a super easy drive the next morning. At the time, our kids were 8 and 6.

That's super helpful. Thank you!!
I'm hoping we still have energy in Tallahassee. If so, we will go further.