Driving to Walt Disney World from St. Louis, MO

CrazyaboutCinderella

Can we please move to Disney?
Joined
May 4, 2007
Since flights are so expensive and my husband refuses to fly, we are driving for the first time ever to Walt Disney World at Christmas time. This is also the first time my husband has ever agreed to go with us. The route he wants us to take through Alabama is going to take us 16 hrs to drive( We are doing it over a two day period). I was wondering if we go through Atlanta, which would shave a couple of hours off our trip, if the drive through the mountains are bad?
 
if we go through Atlanta, which would shave a couple of hours off our trip

I'm not sure "shaving time off" and "Atlanta" should be in the same sentence. The traffic there is usually pretty bad. Not LA bad (yet) but not good. My parents drive from Huntsville, AL to mid-Mo annually (I-65 to I-24 to I-57 to I 64) and it seems like a pretty easy drive (they are old-ish). So it sort of depends on the driver and whether the gamble of saving a little time is worth Atlanta traffic.
Sorry he won't fly :(
 


Ive done the Atlanta route over a dozen times (I'm coming from Kansas City area, so I'm even further west than you) and I think it is a very easy, non-intimidating route. Mountains had very little impact, perhaps if anything, a bit of ATL traffic is what slowed us down but it was never more than 45min worth.
I did not prefer the Alabama route. We tried it a couple of times and we struggled with cell service a big portion of it, plus it got pretty scary at night as a huge stretch of it is along freeways/country roads that aren't as well lit. I'd say if you are doing almost 100% daytime driving and perhaps have Verizon, then go for it. Other than that, it isn't horrible either...it may have left a bad taste in my mouth since one year a horrible multiple vehicle accident pushed my ETA home by like 4hours. However, that is obviously something that couldn't be predicted and I do not wish to speak ill of it since I'm sure more than a few fatalities were involved. I could be in a worse boat after all, ya know? Have a wonderful trip...road tripping has a bit of unique charm you just cannot get through flying. ;)
 
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From STL area as well...
Drive through mountains is really a non issue. Atlanta, if timed properly, isn't a problem either. If you leave STL by 3/4 am-ish you can slide through between am and pm rush and be close to the FL border in the evening (but may hit minor am rush in Nashville). Otherwise wait until later in the morning to get through Nashville prior to PM rush there then through Atlanta after PM rush and stay the night south of Atlanta.
That being said, the in laws ALWAYS take the AL route and swear by it. I just don't think it's worth it.
 
There are lots of great tips in the transportation board. We drive from north of Chicago and it's not too bad. For us, the key is having 3 drivers, timing our trip so we avoid Atlanta during rush hour, and leaving at night when the kids are getting tired. Right after dinner has worked best.
 


From Southeast MO, I would pick the Atlanta route every time! Our last trip was in April and one day after the bridge collapse in Atlanta. We opted to go thru Alabama and hated it. Came home through Atlanta. Just do the math and pay attention to Nashville and Atlanta rush hours. The drive through the mountains is nothing and actually very pretty!
 
I have gone thru Atlanta several times at all different hours and have always been slowed by anywhere from 45 minutes to almost 2 hours (accident for the 2 hour one.)

Time Nashville outside of rush hour, and you should be ok. Nashville traffic has gotten a lot better in the last year or so.

The mountains are no problem and actually our favorite part of the trip.
 
DH and I are from St. Louis and have made the drive 8 times. The mountains are not bad at all - so I wouldn't worry about that. As other posters have said, just try to time the drive to avoid Atlanta rush hour either in the morning or evening. Last year, we left St. Louis mid-afternoon on a Friday and then stopped in Atlanta for the night and left on Saturday morning and traffic was not a problem at all.
 
The mountains aren't bad at all. There's a small area where I yell at DH to slow down, but it's nothing I'd go out of my way to avoid. We do the STL to ORL route about once a year (if I have my way). The worst part is going through Nashville. You stay on I-24 but you have to take all these different exits which come up quickly and are opposite of the ramp you just came off. And the drivers are kind of jerks about letting you over. (Sorry, but it's true.) Give me Atlanta over Nashville any day. I least it's a straight shot and you have a great view of airport leaving the city. Since we drive down on Sunday, rush hour isn't much of an issue, but it's pretty horrendous if you're stuck in it.

We usually start at 5 am and aim for Valdosta. It's a long drive that first day, but we get to WDW around 1:00.
 
My DD has a friend that drives up from Florida (she is spending the summer with us, after spending part of winter break too) and she despises the Alabama route. (to SW MO).
We will be driving to WDW in August and Thanksgiving but on weekends-wondering if you can time your trip to be on weekend when passing through Atlanta?
 
We are a bit north of you and have driven that route. As others said, the mountains are not intimidating--actually there is some beautiful scenery!
The traffic is another thing, though. Last time we drove it over Christmas break it was a steady stream of traffic from Nashville to Atlanta.
Have a great trip! :)
 
I'm from STL also and we drove down in 2011. The mountains weren't bad at all and we timed hitting Atlanta very late at night. We drove straight through and decided never again! It's just too long of a drive with kids and only having a week for vacation it's a waste to spend 2 days driving there and 2 days driving home. We watch Southwest for a deal on a nonstop flight and get there in 2.5 hours, priceless! For our trip next week we booked our flights for $116 to Orlando & $90 back to STL.
 
*Following!*

We're looking to drive from Kansas for our next trip. We're thinking straight through on the way there, then break up the return over two days. Insane? Probably. But we've got a hybrid, which means we can get down there for about $100 in gas. It's now a matter of figuring out what time we need to leave to avoid Nashville and Atlanta traffic, and also make sure the kids aren't too psycho on the long stint.
 
We are in Central MO and we choose the Atlanta route every time for the drive town. One time we came back thru Alabama to mix it up but didn't care for it. It added time and there just wasn't many places to stop for gas/food.
The mountains can be so pretty especially if you come thru early morning/evening.
 
I'm in St. Louis and we've driven to Florida/Disney many times. I'd have to agree with what others are saying about Alabama. We came home that way one time because of an ice storm going through Atlanta. It was long and boring and not a lot of places to stop. If you can time it right and avoid rush hour, Atlanta is the way to go.
 
I live about 3 hours due east of STL and have driven to WDW or Port Canaveral more times that I would like to admit. We have done the Alabama route once, and I like the Atlanta route best. The mountains are no problem at all, but I agree that Nashville should be staged so that you avoid morning or evening rush hour. It can be a bear there nowadays. Absent rush hour or accident, Atlanta is pretty tame. We also like some other posters try to get there at night after rush hour and then continue on until we are somewhere near the Georgia/Florida border and spend the night. Then its only a few hours until Orlando.
 
The mountains in Georgia are easy as is Atlanta IF you hit it at the right time. Off topic but wanted to say we fell in love with your city. The Gateway Arch and Fitz's were awesome. The city museum is the best children's attraction we have ever been to.(sorry but it even topped Disney) Lone Elk Park was a nice surprise. Have a great trip.
 
We are doing the same drive in Oct. Our plan is leave early on a Friday and spend the night somewhere in northern Atlanta suburbs Then drive to Orlando early on saturday
 

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