Road trip advice Illinois to Disney

[tguz]

@embracejg it was a long haul for us too, but once I get in a groove for driving I'm good to go. The funny thing is I remember playing football with my wife at a gas station around 2AM, and other things on the drive down. I honestly don't remember the drive back at all. Enjoy your trip, and drive!

Long drive from Iowa too but like you, once we get on the road I am good to go for a long time. I love it when everyone is asleep because there won't be anyone wanting to stop.

 

[cedricandsophie]

My husband drives from Evanston to Orlando every year. Needless to say I fly. He leaves about 3 am to get through chicago and Indianapolis ( I 65) before rush hour. He stops only for diet cokes and bathroom breaks and maybe a meal at McDonald’s. Although he’s not much of an eater. He always stops before Atlanta because traffic is horrendous. He gets those discount books you get at the state borders and uses a coupon for a cheap hotel. And then gets up very early next day to get through Atlanta before 6 am. Usually when he drives back he does it all at once, leaving at 3 am from Orlando and getting home before midnight. Again I fly. Doesn’t seem like fun to me but he loves it. Listens to books on tape.
If I were with him we would stop every two hours for a bathroom break, stop for lunch and stay in a decent hotel and go out for a decent dinner. Hence I fly.

 

[polyqueen]

Sorry for the late reply on why 57--Actually we do 57 to 24 to 75 (through Paducah, Nashville, Chattanoogs and then through Georgia) We just don't like 65; sorry Indiana friends.

 

[embracejg]

To bring this thread to a close, here's how our trip worked out:

We left Chicago around 8:30 a.m. on 11/16. We were making good time until Google Maps warned of traffic near Chattanooga and suggested a detour. This, unfortunately, took us off the interstate and onto Georgia Route 136 -- a winding two-lane mountain road with a steep drop-off on our side that I had to navigate in the dark. That was terrifying and I would have much preferred just to sit in traffic than fearing I would slide off the road to my death.

We made it to Forsyth, GA around 10pm and regretted not having booked a hotel about 2 hours north. The drive the next day was relatively easy. The way back was uneventful and we kept a much better pace: a 8-hour drive from Orlando to Chattanooga the first day, then about 9.5 hours from Chattanooga to Chicago the next.

All in all, an interesting experience, but not one I'm likely to do again. While we saved a fair amount of money compared to flying and renting a car in Orlando, we felt it wasn't worth all the extra time considering we're a childless couple in our 30s.

 

[Pop Goes the Weasel]

I just did a road trip with my son. We stopped over near LaSalle/Peru (SW of Chicago) and went south on Nov 15th. To avoid Atlanta on a weekday, we decided to try the suggested route of heading SW at Nashville into Alabama through Birmingham, Montgomery and Dothan. Then we entered the pan handle at Marianna.

I've done the trip a couple times via Atlanta. This is the first time avoiding GA. It was an enjoyable route because it was a little more laid back. It is slower than the Atlanta route on a good day and faster than the Atlanta route on a bad day. If you are towing something heavy, you might also find it preferable because it contains gentler slopes and bends than the Chattanooga area.

 

[chipndaleluver]

I hope to drive that route one day with my husband.

 

[courtky]

I stayed in Kennesaw, GA which is right before Atlanta. Nice area. It's only about 10 hours from your starting point but you could take the extra hours and wake up early and get Atlanta over with.