Driving from PA to Fl..Need a good hotel half way..

[hokies4life]

We come from just north of Baltimore, MD and usually stop at the Hampton Inn in Santee, SC. There isn't too much in the area but they provide complimentary hot breakfast (eggs, waffles, sometimes biscuits and gravy) along with the normal bagels and pastries. It normally ends up being about 8 hours for us to get there, and then another 6 hours to get to WDW. It works out well for us.

[barnaby]

Its a little more then halfway, but on our trip in 2008 we stayed at the Days Inn in Port Wentworth (Savannah, Exit 109), GA. It was clean, had a free breakfast, and had the usual gas stations and restaurants nearby. We bought duct tape at the gas station nearby to hold our front headlight in place that had come loose during our travels.

[mydisneygirls]

When also stayed at the Comfort Inn & Suites. It was very clean and we got a continental breakfast.

[shortcake311]

On our last trip my husband and I stopped in SC on the way to Disney from NJ and NC on the way back to NJ from Disney.

In SC we stayed at the Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, Florence, SC.
In NC we stayed at the Hampton Inn Fayetteville-Cross Creek Mall.

Both places were well priced and nice experiences. If we weren't driving straight thru this time we'd be doing the same thing.

[BigRedDad]

Plan on where you are stopping. Motels on I-95 are not that pleasant. We leave from Raleigh NC around 4PM and make it about half way near Port Wentworth GA. Lots of nice places there because it is so close to Savannah.

The Days Inn was actually a hotel, very clean and nice. However, the bed was hard as a rock, the floor was more comfortable, I wound up sleeping 2 hours of restless sleep. I threw my DD and DW into the car at 1AM and pulled up to US at 6:45AM Long stop for breakfast and hit morning rush hour traffic).

['Guest' of the MasterControlProgram]

Just to follow up, we checked out on Monday the 16th. So where did we stay? That Best Western in Emporia, Va at exit 11 off of I-95 that I'd mentioned and stayed at in 2002 (where does a decade go?). It was okay. Good price (iirc $63-68 before tax with AAA). Two queen beds - an improvement over All Stars for sure. But they were a tad too firm. All Stars seem so too but have mattress pads. This might have been better with a nice pad. But I slept fine. I know the feeling of the floor being better than the bed and this was far from it. I will say that the beds "squeak" so that made for a few laughs.

If you leave WDW at breakfast time and don't dilly dally on the way back then this is doable. If you do as we did and leave closer to lunch than breakfast and then have a 2hr+ dinner then you will probably want to consider stopping sooner else your eyeballs will feel close to falling out of your head. To be fair we stopped at exit 36 in GA (Brunswick) to visit my wife's cousin and daughter over dinner (and they live an a good hour to the west). What would've been a late lunch became an early dinner. Sonny's BBQ Pit great BBQ and great service - very understanding of the two 5yo cousins meeting for the first time and doing as kids that age will do.

The Best Western at exit 36 Brunswick was something else. Stayed there in 2006. I asked at the BBQ and they said that a newer bigger one was built at exit 38.

I noticed Port Wentworth brought up (okay I briefly mentioned it too). Those Comfort Suites were really good - better than some others. Also at GA exit 109 was the Savannah Inn which although is found by Google Maps it is redirected to a site called the Inn at Mulberry somethingoranother. That motel was new in 2002 and may well be a consideration.

There something psychological about reaching the Georgia border and then stopping for the night. Then it's only 6ish hours to WDW depending on your stops and traffic. I concede that it may be a bit much for those who are further from WDW and like to drive (and do it in 2 days). For those a little closer or without kids or younger with more energy (the last two are kinda the same ) then it's wonderful to push it to the FL border. Like I mentioned, we stayed at GA exit 36 in 2006. In 2003 we made it to exit 3 in as much time. The Ramada there was full so we stayed at the gloomy HoJo that I'd bet was built around 1971 (i.e. for the purpose of snagging WDW traffic). I don't feel bad about saying it was bad because I can't even find it now. Either it is totally gone or whatever replaced it looks newer and nicer. I said gloomy because of how it looked in the dark, considering that it didn't seem lit well back in 2003. I honestly don't remember where sit was except exit 3 off I-95 in GA and kinda across from a Ramada. Now the exit has seen some new construction in the years in between.

In fact we stayed at the Microtel off that same exit 3 in 2009. Instead of getting there (well, the exit) by midnight, as my future wife and I did in 2003 when it was just us two, the three of us (a 2.75yo) got to Port Wentworth (exit 109) by midnight. I have a picture to prove it as there is a big electronic sign at one of the hotels or gas stations at exit 109 and I took a shot of it saying it was midnight. So do the math. I was tired when I reached exit 3 wishing that I had not reserved ahead. Worse, the Microtel had no water pressure in the morning If I drank coffee I would likely have found my prospects better by sticking my head under the coffee machine.

Funny how there doesn't seem to be anything in FL until you've driven a little bit. Perhaps by design so you enter during the day and see the Welcome signs and can stop at the welcome center for some free OJ?

[Jeff T]

We have been driving to WDW from Pittsburgh for the past several years. We travel I-79 south, to I-19, to I-77, to I-26, to I-95, then exit 94 in Savannah, GA to the Marriott Spring Hill Suites. Typically $100/night AAA rate in the summer months. It takes 12 hours from Pittsburgh to Savannah, then 4 more hours to Disney the next morning traveling I-95 to I-4. On the way home we split the trip in half by stopping along I-77 north of Charlotte at exit 18, and stay at the Marriott Fairfield Inn. Rate is usually $90/night during the summer. It's only 8 hours from Disney to Charlotte, then another 8 to Pittsburgh.