Driving to Disney – do you drive overnight or during the day?

[newatt_now]

We are about 22-23 hrs from Disney, usually leave at 3am. We are an hour north of Toronto. We usually drive 15-16hrs the first day, that gets us to Rock Hill, SC, then that gets us to Disney for around 3-4pm. This works for us and I am not tired at all when we get there.
Planning our next road trip in Oct!!

I am driving to Disney this fall and will use Rock Hill, SC as my "stay over" point. May I ask, where do you stay overnight? I'd like someplace clean, nice, but not too expensive.

 

[GrumpyDad1974]

We drive from NC 9+- hours. I prefer the night drive (I work 3rd shift) but if it's a day drive we try and leave by 4 am to check in around 1 pm. Straight through, I like to drive at night and only stop for gas... no bathroom breaks.

 

[Hunterr]

I still can't believe some of you guys drive that long without stopping for the night.
I understand it adds another day you'd need for the trip, but it kinda sucks to start your vacation exhausted from the drive. And then you gotta be up and about in the parks.

 

[texasroni75]

We've made the drive twice. It's a 16-17 hour trek from central TX, so we split it over two days. So, that's one night in a hotel along the way, and arriving around 1pm at our resort on the second day. I really hate night driving and prefer to stop at a hotel for the night by 8pm. We try to leave extra early in the morning, and of course with small kids we have to make meal and bathroom breaks.

We considered driving again for our next trip, but DH is starting to think that the $500 savings isn't worth the extra travel day. He has been having some back pain that would make the drive extra hard on him (ahh the joys of getting older LOL). We are still undecided at this point but are watching airfares carefully.

 

[Manny24]

I've driven to FL from NJ a few times but never to WDW. I'm doing it for the first time in August and the plan is to drive straight through only stopping for gas and some food. We will be leaving around 5PM and if everything goes to plan we will be arriving between 10 and 12pm.
Something I made sure of is to not plan anythig that first day, I recommend to just take that day to relax and enjoy your resort's grounds and pools to get you ready for the rest of your trip.

 

[PK Disney Dork]

The two years we've driven overnight from Nashville which equates to around a 10 and a half hour road trip. Not really a big deal for me, but my fiance has decided these drives make her nervous and she's constantly worried about fatigue resulting in an accident.

So this year we'll be driving down to probably Valdosta, getting a cheap room for the night then finishing the drive the next morning starting bright and early.

 

[Cherinva]

Until a few years ago, I always drove. I would leave around 4pm, drive all night stopping only for gas and bathroom breaks. I would arrive mid day, check in, get a little rest and was good to go. But lately, it's so much easier to fly. From the time I leave the house, get to the airport, take ME and arrive in WDW it's less than 5 hours.

 

[corellianskies]

We live just outside of Atlanta, and so we've done the drive in a day - we prefer leaving super early in the morning (around 4-5am). It puts us there around lunchtime (with a few stops), so we can check-in, grab a bite, rest for a bit, and then check things out (arrival day is usually DTD, resort, chill, etc). But for both our honeymoon and this anniversary trip, DH and I are stopping in Valdosta as a halfway point both going and coming. The hotel rooms are cheap but decent and we both like to take our time on vacation, so it's a nice stop-off point. Plus, we'll leave Valdosta at around 9 and it puts us in Disney just before lunch, adding a few extra hours to the day with the added benefit of "sleeping in" for a few hours.