Seriously considering driving..help

[petunia]

Though I have gone back and forth regrading driving from the GTA to WDW, with flight prices now (even US) I think we may bite the bullet, as we will save flights for 6 of us plus rental car. My question is (aside from any tips/advice..we have 2 older kids and a 10 and 11 yo) we would like to make it to our dinner ressie on Sat evening, and can likely not leave until midday/early evening Friday..is this possible without driving straight through?

Thx!

 

[FigmentSpark]

No.

 

[mort1331]

Not without driving straight. Remember its approx 21-24 hours of driving. Depending on how many gas/pee/stretch stops you make and the route. I would just plan a night at the Springs for the first night you get there if you plan on stopping.

 

[FigmentSpark]

If you left on Friday morning - early - and drive late into Friday night, then all day on Sat., you will make your reservation. We drive GTA to WDW and take 2.5 days. We leave at 7am (Oakville, not the other side of GTA) and get to Beckley WV on the first day (around 6pm), then leave around 7am the next day and drive to the south side of Savannah to stop (around 5pm), then leave in the morning and get to WDW just after lunch.

Hope that gives you an idea. It's worth it to drive, even if you rent a vehicle to drive there and back (and pay extra for extra mileage), because of the high cost of flying, but it does take extra time.

 

[Donald - my hero]

I only stopped in to say that when i read the title of your thread i thought "yup, you seriously need some help if you're thinking about driving"

That's only because i remember the trip we took every year --- But seriously, it's a long drive and i wouldn't even risk trying to make a reservation the following evening. You'll be exhausted if you try and cut the number of days you spend driving. Don't push yourself!

 

[mort1331]

But see Donald im the other side of the coin
I say drive straight if you have 2 or more drivers. Especially if 3 or more. Then you can at least be in the World and it just lifts you right up

 

[Donald - my hero]

Until you mentioned the extra drivers Mort, I hadn't noticed the makeup of people going on this trip! I saw "6" people and thought AAAKKK 4 kids But if it's more like 4 drivers & 2 kids, then sure, push the drive!

 

[isabellea]

I don't think you can make it to your ADR unless you drive very late (1-2 am) and start again very early (5-6 am). For example, our plan for next week is to leave Montreal Friday at 1pm and based on past experience, we should arrive at WDW around 4pm on Saturday. We only stop for meals and potty breaks with 10 minutes of running/exercice every 3-4h.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

We have driven before just stopping for lunch and dinner - with 3 drivers. We are from the London area and took i75. Left around noon Day 1, arrived in WDW around 1-2 pm the next day. GPS said actual driving time was 18.5 hrs from our house, but we had some border delays and we stopped for a sit down dinner which took over 1.5 hrs. Also, we had a little car mishap near Atlanta in the middle of the night...
Anyway with at least 3 drivers I would drive straight through if you want to get there fast.

Next month it will only be DH and I driving, so we are taking 2 days and taking a more scenic route through W. Virginia, the Carolina's etc. I got lots of great advice from this thread.
We plan to leave around 5-6 am on Day 1 and driving at least 12 hrs with a stop for lunch/dinner. Then relax at a hotel, stopping for the night around 8pm. Leaving the next morning by 6 and hopefully making WDW around lunch time.
We have dinner reservations that day but not until 7:30 pm.
We could spread it out more, but DH prefers to drive more the first day and less the second.
On the way back we will take longer and do more stops along the way.
Hope it all works out!

 

[BLAZEY]

When are you planning this for? Summer, Winter? How old are your "older kids"16-17? I may not count on them to do much driving, But 19+ I would let them help drive.

 

[Mike2023]

If you leave very early Friday you can make it to Savannah Georgia for the evening and grab a hotel. Back on the road at 7am you should pull into Disney around 4 or so.

I defiantly don't recommend having a dinner reservation on your first night at Disney, you don't want to force yourself to rush.

 

[petunia]

When are you planning this for? Summer, Winter? How old are your "older kids"16-17? I may not count on them to do much driving, But 19+ I would let them help drive.

Summer, next month. The 21 yo could help drive..I wouldnt let the 18yo.

 

[isabellea]

Summer, next month. The 21 yo could help drive..I wouldnt let the 18yo.

If you decide to drive through the night you could also ask the older kids to be co-pilots. Much safer if there's someone to talk to and interact with the night driver(s).

 

[tribus121]

I good way to figure out time on the road is to divide # of miles by 50 aka 1000 miles would take 20 hrs allowing time for normal stops and quick meals

 

[petunia]

Thx

I good way to figure out time on the road is to divide # of miles by 50 aka 1000 miles would take 20 hrs allowing time for normal stops and quick meals

THx..thats what I was wondering too, how long should I add to what google maps says (20 hours) for gas/quick meal and bathroom stops?

Also, does it make a difference to our intent of driving straight if we leave around noon on a Friday?

 

[jacksdadcan]

Thx


THx..thats what I was wondering too, how long should I add to what google maps says (20 hours) for gas/quick meal and bathroom stops?

Also, does it make a difference to our intent of driving straight if we leave around noon on a Friday?

I generally think the time estimation can be offset by driving a bit over the speed limit, especially for a trip of this length. Also, Google takes into consideration real time driving conditions. For example, if you are driving today from Pearson to magic kingdom you'll arrive in 18h 41min. (I don't know your location so I just calculated from a known spot).

I don't know how crazy traffic is in GTA Friday afternoon (plus border wait time) but I think the more time you can allot to driving on the Friday the better your chances of making the reservation.

Must be quite the reservation!

 

[FindingTheMouse]

We drive all the time straight through. When wife and I were a little younger and the kids were younger with only 2 drivers it was tough. Now that our kids our older we've had 3 drivers the last couple of times and it has helped. Like everyone has said above it is between 20 to 24 hours to get there depending on breaks. We typically leave around 1 or 2 in the afternoon from Hamilton and plan for an arrival time around noon the following day. This last time we stopped for dinner and for breakfast and it made the trip a little longer, around the 24 hour mark. You also have to take into consideration the time of year you are going. If you are going in the winter, you may have snow anywhere from here to Georgia. The further south the less snow, but you can get icy road conditions. If you are going in the spring, summer or fall, you may have construction on the highways. The further south the more months for construction. We got back last week and there were a few spots that really slowed us down from construction.