Driving from NJ to Orlando About This Page:

[MaggieMouse]

Hi all,

Me, my husband and our two kids are driving to Disney World for Christmas vacation (for financial not because of the terrorism!). We kinda planned this last minute (like in the last two weeks!!!) so we figured driving is best.

Has anyone else driven from NJ to Florida?Any tips for us? We're in Central Jersey so we're planning to drive to NC the first night, then the rest of the way the next night.

Or we may leave on Friday and split the trip over three days.

What do you guys think??

Thanks for your help.

[MaggieMouse]

I forgot to mention that we have a conversion van, so keeping the kids entertained shouldn't be a problem. My daughter (1) Loves the baby Einstein movies. And my son will have his Playstation with the new portable screen.

[Kruggie]

We drove from southwestern PA Straight through to Daytona via 95. We left at 6am,
stopped several times to eat and stretch and made it to Daytona, which is an hour outside of Disney, at about 3am. We slept in late, the kids played on the beach, and we were at the world by 2pm.

We intended to stop earlier, but my DH was on some sort of mission to get as close to the world as possible as quickly as possible. I felt the same way,, we couldn't wait!

The drive isn't bad, I actually enjoyed it,as did my husband and the kids (9,7 , and 16mo) were so well behaved and anxious to get there. THEY DIDN"T FIGHT ONCE! The baby handled the trip well, he slept most of the time didn't fuss much.

You should have a wonderful drive!
My only gripe, the ammount of large bugs the windshield collected!

[Suzy Q'Disney]

We drive to FL every year in Dec. from NY. It is the only way we can afford it. We leave on a Friday night about 5 pm and drive, 95 all the way. We even go straigt thru Washington, DC and Baltamore. We get to Orlando about 11 am. Husband and I take turn driving and resting, just about 2 hours a piece or it won't work. That first day we just rest whlie kids swim and check out the hotel. Kids were 5,7 and 12. the first time we wnet and they sleep all night in the car.

Anyway have fun.

Susan

We drove from NY, via I-95. We made it in 17 hours. You can probably do it in the same time too. We drove a Saturn, with 2 kids cramped in the backseat, so we stoped often.
I have one sugestion, my in-laws did it.
Brother in law slept all day while his wife entertained the kids. The packed up and left at 4 pm, she drove until about 7pm, they stopped for dinner, and a stretch, all the kids used the restroom and changed into sweats for sleeping, then BIL took over the driving, the kids watched videos until they fell asleep, and SIL napped. They switched drivers once in the night and drove straight through, arriving around lunch time the next day. And once again SIl entertained the kids while BIL rested, then BIL entertained the kids while Sil rested. By early evening all were rested and happy...and the vacation began

[Janet 46]

Hey, Maggie Mouse, from one New Jerseyan to another, welcome to the boards!

My husband, our 2 kids and I are driving down too. Check out the I-95 exit guide at www.usastar.com/i95/homepage which tells you every hotel, restaurant, gas station, and most important, construction delays, etc. between here and Florida. It really helped us determine where to stay our first night on the road.

I'll let you know all about it when we get back!

[AKLRULZ]

If it's any help - Orlando is about 11 1/2 to 12 hours from Richmond, VA (going at a pretty good clip) and we're about +/- 5 hours from the Six Flags in NJ - maybe bank on a 16-17 hour trip. Florence, SC is a great place to stop about 5 hours south of Richmond - there is a Hampton Inn Suites and a Courtyard Marriott with an indoor pool that we enjoy.

Happy and safe travels to you!

[bfth]

I'm considering this for next year's trip. So anyone who's done it and has stories to tell, please do!

[TiggGrrrl]

DH & I have driven from Brooklyn, NY to Florida twice - once to Orlando and once to St. Augustine (argueably one of the most beautiful places we've ever visited [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] ) We are driving down again in February with our son who will be 14 months at the time of the trip. In the 2 previous trips, we left around 4:30 am and drove to just past the border of North & South Carolina, spent the night in a nice motel and rested up and then continued on at around 9am. We shared the driving and really enjoyed the trip. If memory serves, the driving took around 21 hours or so (not counting the stopover for sleeping), with plenty of bathroom, stretching and eating stops. We bring a cooler with sandwiches, snacks and drinks to cut our costs. On our upcoming February trip, we are planning to do as Sleeping Beauty's inlaws did - leaving a few hours before baby's bedtime so he can sleep through a good part of the trip.

Have a magical, safe trip!

Peace ºoº

[MaggieMouse]

Thanks for all the great tips guys. I got my tour books and ordered my Triptix from AAA so we should be all set with the journey. I'm getting soooo excited!

We decided that we are going to start out about 7 am on Saturday morning. We are going to drive about 10 hours the first day and stop for the night. That will leave us with about 7 or 8 hours for the second day. Same coming home.

With the VCR and my son's Play station, the kids should be great with stops every 3 hours or so.

Thanks again everyone!

[Joe]

MaggieMouse,
We just got back from doing the NJ to FL drive! Not that bad. And we did it 17 1/2 hours straight going down! Overnight! 2 drivers.
We left Bergen Co., NJ about 3pm on Wed, 10/3 and were having breakfast in IHOP on I-4, 20 minutes outside Disney, at 8:30am on 10/4.
I have a trip report at:
2001 Vacation Report
Our little one is 20 months. Stopping every 3 hours for her to stretch helped alot. The AAA stuff really helped too. Just keep in mind, once you pass the DC area (you'll probably hit traffic), the Rest Areas are just that. Rest, vending machines, rest rooms, picnic area. You'll need to get off 95 for gas, real food & lodging. Its all clearly marked and right off the exits.
Feel free to send questions. JK2152@aol.com

[Brian]

I live just outside Atlantic City, and prefer to split the drive into two days. Driving 10 hours the first day is a great plan, so that it will leave you no more than that the second day.

As someone else said, Florence, SC is a great place to stop. This is very close to the half-way point between NJ and Orlando. This way you get Virginia out of the way the first day, and Georgia the second day. You will feel like you are in both of these states for days.

Enjoy the trip, it's certainly not as bad as it sounds!

-Brian