WWYD Driving from NY to WDW

[angel2931]

Our family of 5, (DH, Me, DS-10, DD-6, DS-3) will be arriving in WDW on Sun Aug 14th. That is also DS's 3rd Bday. Our plan was to leave early Sat Am and drive from NY (Rockland County) to Brunswick, GA. Then Sat night stay over and Sun we have a 3-4 hr ride to WDW. I want to figure out the best way so that we don't lose a lot of time on our 1st day. But I am worried about hitting lots of traffic on a Sat on 95 in August. Any other suggestions??

[DisneyFr33k]

We've always flown down, arriving to our resort by around 11am. We always do Animal Kingdom first, as you can cover that park in half a day. We love eating lunch at Flame Tree (great BBQ and large portions), and hitting the highlights - Everest, Kilamanjaro Safari etc. This park is large, but you can easily see everything in 5 hours. Just Fast Pass Everest or KS as soon as you get there as those lines can get long towards the end of the day.

Have fun! Is this your first trip?

[DisneyWFan]

from your area I would try to go Interstate 84 to Interstate 81(in Harrisburg PA) to Interstate 77 (in VA South of Roanoke) to Interstate 26 (Around Columbia SC) to Interstate 95 this route should cut out a lot of the bad traffic areas (ie: the DC beltway)

[lynnek]

Can you get out of NY earlier? When driving south out of NY, we would make sure to get out of the NYC area before 7:00. My husband would eat a heavier, early dinner and go to sleep until about 2:00, shower and then load everyone in the car. I think this also got us through most of the Northeast corridor mess before it got crazy. We would do a major stop after DC and Richmond--anything like a park, play area etc. You will get into your hotel Sat night a little earlier, but it allows for recovery of husband, a swim, a relaxing dinner and then to bed normal time.

[BigRedDad]

There is almost no way to plan for delays driving that far. There will be accidents, weather, and other things to contend with. If you want to be at WDW and not lose time, leave early enough to get there when you want to be.

For me, driving at night is the best option. Your biggest concern will be getting to GA. Best advice is leave your hotel by 3AM and you will be at WDW by 7AM.

[spoiledraf]

We leave Friday night for a Sunday checkin and go straight through, 17 + hours. This year we are getting a value for one night, but ususally stay off site near Downtown Disney.
We arrive late morning, get lunch at a resort, usually on the Boardwalk, enjoy the fact that we are on Disney property, then go to bed around 6:30. To check in for the week, we get up around 6:30, we'll be at the Beach Club around 7:30 am, get breakfast, and hit the parks by 9.

Works for us but it's just the wife and I. We'll beleaving in 12 days! Can't wait.

[Posterchild]

Lots of good advice here already. I concur with the folks who say driving at night sometimes works best with little ones. We used to live in South Carolina, and I would head out in the evening, have some food, and the kids would sleep until we stopped (In JAX), at around midnite/1AM (I am a late night person anyway). Then like your planning, we would ride into Disneyworld the next day.

One word of warning on the I-77 route, it is mountainous, and not a very relaxing ride at all for your husband. I have taken it once. While riding through a mountain pass is fun for a few miles, doing that for a few hours is not that much fun, that is pretty much what I-77 is like.

Saturday/Sunday you should have no problems through South Georgia and through JAX and onwards to Disneyworld.

[iceicebritney]

We drive from Philly, and we do the overnight drive. It's rough after a day at work, but the only people on the road are commercial drivers.

The best advice I can give is do whatever you need to avoid DC and Richmond at rush hour, however there will be accidents and traffic at other times as well. If you run into traffic the first day, get up earlier the following day to make up for the lost time.

Good luck and drive safe

[Pastcastmember1715]

I have to agree, if at all possible I would avoid the DC metro area, even on Saturdays the traffic is bad. If I81 is an option for you then I would reccommend taking I81 south to Winchester Va and then to I66 east to Rt17 south (this is a 4 lane highway and traffic is light). This will take you around Warrenton Va and to Fredericksburg at I95. We take this route all the time from Maryland and it works out well, just keep in mind based on the time you get to the Richmond area, you can easily bypass downtown Richmond by taking the 295 bypass around Richmond and Petersburg, it's 6 miles futher but if traffic is heavy it's much faster than going I95 through Richmond.

[angel2931]

Ok, so I spoke to DH and I think we are planning to leave Fri night now and drive straight through through the night. Can anyone recommend a reasonable offsite hotel for 1 night in Orlando/WDW area?

[DisneyMom12]

Ok, so I spoke to DH and I think we are planning to leave Fri night now and drive straight through through the night. Can anyone recommend a reasonable offsite hotel for 1 night in Orlando/WDW area?

We are driving for the first time and added a day. I was able to book just a standard room at All Star Sports for $77 with tax. So try a value first, you may find just as good, if not better price.

[Belle1217]

We will be driving down from Orange county NY in Nov. I really have not put too much thought into the drive yet but thought we would leave very early in the morning on Sat. for a Sunday check-in. If possible when you get back let us know how the drive was. Good Luck!! Enjoy

[Mickey'sGirl]

from your area I would try to go Interstate 84 to Interstate 81(in Harrisburg PA) to Interstate 77 (in VA South of Roanoke) to Interstate 26 (Around Columbia SC) to Interstate 95 this route should cut out a lot of the bad traffic areas (ie: the DC beltway)

That's exactly how we are doing it! We are leaving Toronto Saturday morning, and staying in Columbia SC that night (a 13 - 14 hourish drive), for a 6 - 7 hour drive to WDW Sunday morning. It's our usual route and it is hassle free! Just watch your speed!

[barnaby]

Ok, so I spoke to DH and I think we are planning to leave Fri night now and drive straight through through the night. Can anyone recommend a reasonable offsite hotel for 1 night in Orlando/WDW area?

We stayed at the Magic Castle Inn and Suites for one night on arrival day last August. I think it was $38/night. The place was OK. For the price and one night, it's not bad. It is about 10 mins from the WDW. We plan on staying there for a night our trip next August.

[Arielfan98]

Well I've always flown down, I live nearby (Westchester County), but the only thing I can think of is to make as little rest stops as possible.

[jonahbear2006]

Your driving trip is similar to ours. We come from Illinois and We just drive straight through for this reason and many others. if we need to rest we do it during the day and at a comfortable rest stop. I pull out a picnic blanket and lie down for an hour or two and nap while daddy plays tag with the kiddos. This is much more efficient and saves us the $100 we wouldve spent on a room where the kids wouldve slept better in the car anyways. This gets us to disney world at about 7am and we beat most of the traffic. If we are arriving 1-2pm it seems that we sit in a lot of jams and dont want to do that again...same goes for when we leave. We have decided to just leave in the evening and spend our last day at the parks bc otherwise we spend so much time on Florida turnpike that we wish we wouldve just stayed and played. I have seen that some people go to a waterpark or the pool so the driver can rest on a chair for a bit before hitting the parks. We bring a laptop and an audio cord that plugs into the car stereo and play movies for the kids that we have pre-loaded to our lappy. This keeps them busy for most of the trip. We buy them journals to draw in and write about their ride and when they get fiesty we stop and get soda, candy bars, candy, and anything else they desire with sugar. About 30 min later they are droopy eyed from the massive amount of sugar they so eagerly injested before. We always leave out an extra outfit and pjs so they can sleep comfy in the car and come morning they can dress in the car, brush their hair, and head straight for the parks! It doesnt work for everybody but I drive 100% of the drive and it works really well for us!