For those folks driving!

[sam_gordon]

leaving thursday on my 1500+ mile journey to POR. i read in the spring that I-75 thru kentucky was not great. anyone been on that route lately?

There are two areas where one lane is closed.... 128mm to about the 112mm, and 106mm to 97mm. Things flow fine about 60% of the time, the other 40% can be at a CRAWL. Heaven forbid there's an accident.

This can affect NB, SB, or both.

 

[ParrotBill]

Making my first drive from Western NY in 5 years due to the pandemic.
19-20 hours of driving. I'm the only driver, have adult daughter to keep me awake and navigate. Plan to take long nap breaks and avoid hotel unless it feels impossible.

I take I-79, US19 and I-77 rather than US15 and deal with Baltimore and DC beltways and I-95 traffic.

Least favorite part of drive: the 2 lane part of I-95 in SC, Wytheville VA area (heavy traffic), and Jacksonville area during busy times.

Looking forward to: Excessive Starbucks, loud music, and Buc-ees (new since we last drove!)

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Driving from Blacksburg, VA to Pop on Sunday. This is my first time driving to Disney since I lived in state. Any suggestions? It's just me so I can stop as much as I want - other than the fact that I have a bachelor party dinner to attend at 7:30pm that night. And a full day of touring on Monday to round out the bachelor party.

 

[Mikey15]

Driving from Blacksburg, VA to Pop on Sunday. This is my first time driving to Disney since I lived in state. Any suggestions? It's just me so I can stop as much as I want - other than the fact that I have a bachelor party dinner to attend at 7:30pm that night. And a full day of touring on Monday to round out the bachelor party.

Looks like you’re starting just off the 81-77-26-95 route that a lot of us northerners take! Off the top of my head:

1. I think the mountain pass & lookouts on I-77 right near the VA/NC border are gorgeous. Definitely a nice area to pass through in daylight, especially sunrise.
BUT
2. The more “off time” you are getting through Charlotte the better. Mind you are you doing this all on a Sunday? It probably won’t be that bad
3. I’m slightly confused about how much time you have to work with, but you’re driving a detour away from Charleston, and right past Savannah, both of which are considered gems of the south.
4. Another short detour off of I-95 is St. Augustine. Maybe this is higher on some people’s radar than others but personally I’ve found it’s criminally underrated and overshadowed by other coastal / Floridian destinations. Really neat OLD city with a really old historic fort.

I think you’re looking at an 11 hour drive? I’m pretty sure I made it from the VA/NC state line to Central FL check-in in 10 hours before, including pee breaks. To me that’s a straight-through drive if you only have Sunday, but plenty of places to stop if you have longer!

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Looks like you’re starting just off the 81-77-26-95 route that a lot of us northerners take! Off the top of my head:

1. I think the mountain pass & lookouts on I-77 right near the VA/NC border are gorgeous. Definitely a nice area to pass through in daylight, especially sunrise.
BUT
2. The more “off time” you are getting through Charlotte the better. Mind you are you doing this all on a Sunday? It probably won’t be that bad
3. I’m slightly confused about how much time you have to work with, but you’re driving a detour away from Charleston, and right past Savannah, both of which are considered gems of the south.
4. Another short detour off of I-95 is St. Augustine. Maybe this is higher on some people’s radar than others but personally I’ve found it’s criminally underrated and overshadowed by other coastal / Floridian destinations. Really neat OLD city with a really old historic fort.

I think you’re looking at an 11 hour drive? I’m pretty sure I made it from the VA/NC state line to Central FL check-in in 10 hours before, including pee breaks. To me that’s a straight-through drive if you only have Sunday, but plenty of places to stop if you have longer!

Yeah - I'm doing it all in 1 day down. I guess I was asking about nice but quick places to take a short break from driving (and get gas, food, pee, etc). Google says 10 hours and 25 minutes so I'm hoping to only add an hour to that with stops. I've driven to/through Charlotte before (because that's where I usually hop a plane home). That mountain area and then the lake area into Charlotte is beautiful. I look forward to seeing that in the earlyish morning. Thanks for your advice.

Oh, and St. Augustine is on my radar for a future trip. My mom and I are ghost hunter fanatics and we NEED to get inside that lighthouse.

 

[gsuoumu]

My mom is a bit of an over planner and worrier and today the topic is toll roads. We'll be coming from down I-95 through Jacksonville and on I-4. Google Maps shows me that there are tolls onto WDW property but I can't seem to find definitive knowledge on how much we'll have to pay. It looks like maybe you just drive through and they bill you? Can anyone provide me that info so I can share with her?

 

[LadybugsMum]

There are tolls for the HOV lanes if she chooses to use them. I believe it's a bill by plate, but I have the NC Quick Pass which has an agreement with FL. She can avoid them for toll free driving.

 

[Mikey15]

My mom is a bit of an over planner and worrier and today the topic is toll roads. We'll be coming from down I-95 through Jacksonville and on I-4. Google Maps shows me that there are tolls onto WDW property but I can't seem to find definitive knowledge on how much we'll have to pay. It looks like maybe you just drive through and they bill you? Can anyone provide me that info so I can share with her?

There’s a few toll options possible (including none - there are toll free routes), and there’s a calculator here:
https://www.cfxway.com/for-travelers/tolls/toll-rates/

Coming from Jacksonville/Daytona/Deltona there’s a Western Beltway (SR-429) and a “Greenway” (SR-417) that split off of I-4, avoid downtown and the worst of I-4 traffic, and offer exits near Disney World (Western Way and World Center Dr). Whether they actually save you any time or not over I-4, which is the more direct route, depends on time of day and traffic.

Separately, if you stick to I-4 there’s a limited stretch of Express Lanes. I’m not sure if Toll by Plate works for them or if a transponder is needed, but if you have an out-of-state transponder like E-Z Pass or I-Pass, they work in FL.

 

[MikeF;NJ]

There are tolls for the HOV lanes if she chooses to use them. I believe it's a bill by plate, but I have the NC Quick Pass which has an agreement with FL. She can avoid them for toll free driving.

According to the I-4 Express website, Toll-by-plate does NOT work on the I4 Express lanes. You must have a transponder. In addition to the Florida transponders, many other state's transponders are accepted. See https://i4express.com/tolls/ for which are accepted.

 

[bluecastle]

According to the I-4 Express website, Toll-by-plate does NOT work on the I4 Express lanes. You must have a transponder. In addition to the Florida transponders, many other state's transponders are accepted. See https://i4express.com/tolls/ for which are accepted.

Thanks for posting this link! My DH hates paying extra for express lanes (here in VA they are outrageous) but I’m glad to see that they accept EZPass (which I always callFastPass)