Driving from Philly About This Page:

[coasties]

We have always driven to WDW.
Most recently in 09 we lived in MD and it was around 14hrs.

We like to drive at night ( quiet less traffic) so we leave around 9pm and drive straight through. I say "we" but that quickly turns into "me". LOL . My DH has good intentions but he would usually give me the wheel after about 2 hours. I usually end up doing most of the driving down and back at 12 hours each way.

Driving while the others sleep is wonderful! The kids will watch a movie and then doze off. When we stop for gas it is mid-nite snack time! :-) It is rare for our family to be up later than 9 pm during the week at home, so being out and up in the middle of the night makes it neat for us.

We make a room only ressie at a value for our arrival day. We arrive mid morning and just relax, kids play at the pool and we nap, chill out on our lounge chairs, explore the resort and hit DtD.
We go to bed early and start our package the next day well rested and ready to go.

On our deprature day we leave around 8 am and drive straight through home. The trip back is always really nice. The kids , as well as ourselves, are usually ready for some down time after being at WDW for a week or more. We make sure to grab a few WDW snacks for the trip and take the time to gear up for returning home to our real life.

We usually spend around 400 round trip for gas, food fun etc...

[lissybri]

Thanks everyone for the great advice. We are still trying to decide, but will probably wait and drive another time (when I feel I can drive also). I will keep all your tips filed away for future reference. Sounds like fun. I will let you know for sure when we decide.

[tigersprinkles]

we live on the eastend of longisland 20hrs 1263 miles drive all the way 1 day stop for gas,food and of course bathroom breaks not bad but i drive a truck and dw drives a schoolbus no big deal. about 550 gas and about 100 tolls from hear cheaper then flying park at wdw and enjoy 2weeks of wdw trans

[Lil Moose]

What great timing. We are about to embark on our 2012 great road trip over Easter break. We have always flown in the past, but this time airfare was sky high. We also just a condo in Kissimmee. We are using this trip to transport out personal items and small household furnishings and whatever else we can fit in the minivan. We are planning to leave at 4 AM on Saturday. I will drive first since I have driven to VA many times and know the roads well. I also work night shift, so am used to being up all night. DH can sleep anywhere, so he should be rested when it is his turn to drive. We plan on stopping in Brunswick GA for the night. Jersey Dad, what is the name of the restaurant that you enjoy? I am always looking for a good place to eat.
Alas....no trip to WDW this time. We are going to Florida to set up the condo for future use. We plan to visit Sea World and Aquatica instead this trip. The girls were so sad, until we told them we WOULD go to DTD and eat at a resort restaurant,
Linda

[GingerJ]

Originally Posted by lissybri

Thanks everyone for the great advice. We are still trying to decide, but will probably wait and drive another time (when I feel I can drive also). I will keep all your tips filed away for future reference. Sounds like fun. I will let you know for sure when we decide.

I'm wishing you luck with your decision, whatever way you end up traveling.

I noticed your original post said you were considering driving because you couldn't find an affordable non-stop flight that landed before midnight. I'd encourage you to not rule out changing planes once on the way down. We end up hiking through airports more often than not when we fly, and as long as you have, say, an hour or more between flights, it's not that bad, really. I'd certainly prefer rushing through an airport to making a 17-hour drive, if those were the only two options (and if the flight was affordable).

Have fun, whatever you choose! You've gotten some good advice on this thread for the drive.

Ginger

[lissybri]

Originally Posted by GingerJ

I'm wishing you luck with your decision, whatever way you end up traveling.

I noticed your original post said you were considering driving because you couldn't find an affordable non-stop flight that landed before midnight. I'd encourage you to not rule out changing planes once on the way down. We end up hiking through airports more often than not when we fly, and as long as you have, say, an hour or more between flights, it's not that bad, really. I'd certainly prefer rushing through an airport to making a 17-hour drive, if those were the only two options (and if the flight was affordable).

Have fun, whatever you choose! You've gotten some good advice on this thread for the drive.

Ginger

Thanks Ginger (and everyone else). We've actually made our decision and booked a flight with a stop, but no plane change. Driving sounds like fun, but will probably work better for us when we have another driver.

[heziggy]

look at us air out of philly i was checking flights for dec and oct before we decided on oct, the flights were around 250p/p round trip non-stop.

we thought of driving but since there are only 3 of us, it was almost the same price either way. good luck!

[hockeyguysmom]

Thanks for asking this question. We have always flown SW or Airtran out of either PHL or BWI. We are planning a trip in the fall & have found that all the air fares are about double what we usually pay. Considering driving for the first time.

DHs aunt & uncle live near Orlando & have always driven over night, leaving around dinner time & getting there the next afternoon. I'm not sure how me & the kiddos would handle the over night drive though.

Still looking for affordable airfare but will keep everyones suggestions here in mind since it looks like a long drive is in our future.

[Bee]

Just to give you a idea my parents left yesterday at 5am and they live in the somerton area and arrived in Georgia around 7pm. The only time they stopped was for breakfast around 8am when traffic was getting heavy and for gas. I'm not sure what the cost was when they stopped but I will ask them whenthey call me today I told my dad to get receipts for his ride down so I can calculate it and let you know