Driving to WDW from Montreal

[oret]

Hi everyone-1st time poster. This will be our first time in Fla. and WDW. Any information, tips, suggestions for places to stop at on way
from Montreal to Orlando. Do most people do this over a 2 or 3 day drive? How long a drive is it usually. Also will be there 1st 2 weeks of August-busy time I know but no choice- is it really buggy at this time?
Where is best place to purchase ParkHopper tickets-CAA?
Really appreciate your help.
Thanks

Oret

 

[Cruisin]

Oret, Welcome to the DISboards and to the Canadian DISboard. It is nice to have you here.

Well, I can't help you with the drive stuff from Montreal cause I'm from Ontario, it takes 20 hours of straight driving time to get there from here. And yes we usually stop for 1 night on the road. Where would you cross the border into the US?

As for the ParkHopper tickets just be careful if you by them from CAA that they don't have an expiry date, sometimes they do. Tickets you buy from the park gate never expire.

I was in the CAA office this week and heard them quote a price of $1112. US for 4 - 5 day parkhopper passes. I just bought the same thing the first week of November at the Magic Kingdom gate for $1008. US. So I guess you just have to check around

Again, welcome and if you have any questions just ask.

Robin

 

[Nagle]

Oret, quite a few people (my parents included) who live in the western part of the province actually cross over the border at Gananoque, Ontario and take I81 south and cross over to I95 after they are south of Washington DC. and Baltimore. It usually takes us about 21 hours driving time. We drive straight through on the way south and usually stop one night on the way back. We usually stop somewhere in southern Pennsylvania.

John

 

[DisneyLisa]

Hi Oret,

Welcome to the DIS. We've driven it many times from Ottawa and one of the routes we've taken is the following: 401/Thousand Islands Bridge/I81/I66/17/I95. This route by-passes Washington, which is advisable.

It's about a 24 hour drive from Ottawa and the half-way point is around Richmond, VA. We usually try to drive a little more than half way the first day (makes the 2nd day more enjoyable & gets us to WDW earlier that second day...we're more refreshed & able to handle a longer drive that first day). Another thing we like to do is stop on the southern side of a major city on the way down (northern side on the way back) so we don't have to deal with rush hour traffic as we leave in the morning.

Hope this helps a bit & if you have any other questions, I'd be happy to try & answer them for you. Happy planning.

 

[Nagle]

Oret, we have taken the route outlined by DisneyLisa the last few times. I found I95 VERY busy coming home this past April and am now considering staying on I81 all the way down to I77 then I26 over to I95. Still have not decided for our next trip hopefully next spring.


John

 

[DisneyLisa]

I definitely agree with you John (that's why we don't take that route anymore if we can help it) but it is the quickest route from Eastern Ontario/Quebec. Some people don't seem to mind the traffic but I think it's terrible and a little tough on the nerves...I've never seen so many transport trucks on one road as I've seen on the I81 and the northern portion of the I95.

I love the drive when we go the southern Ontario route (Niagara Falls/I90/I79/19/I77/I26/I95). It's so beautiful and there's a lot less traffic...but it does add several hours to the trip. It's worth it in my opinion but it just depends on the driver.

 

[oret]

Thanks everyone for your kind welcome as well as your help. We will take all tips into consideration when we sit down to map out our route.
We are between one and two hours from the New York State and Vermont borders respectively. We have driven to PEI, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick on past vacations-I don't know why the drive to Orlando should seem daunting to me.....
Thanks again.

Oret

 

[jersey shark]

Hello Oret:

A couple of things about your trip

a) you say you have no choice about the timing....you must go in Aug. Hope you like very hot weather....many of us would NEVER go to WDW in the summer ....crowds are bad, weather is worse since it is so hot/humid...be prepared! I would STRONGLY advise against doing this if you have kids under 5 or 6 and may in the near future be able to go down at any other time of year.

b) that said, since you have 2 weeks and are not, as in the winter, "racing" to get to warm weather....consider a more leisurely pace and take in key sights on the way down...good suggestions include NYC, Philly, Wash DC, Williamsburg, and Hilton Head Island. What better way to take full advantage of fact that you're driving down???

c) If you handled Atlantic Canada fine, this trip will be a breeze...I recall driving through Nova Scotia & New Brunswick in the 90s and was surprised that the freeway system was very underdeveloped (translation - took forever to get around!) and needed to pass trucks on 2-lane highways (never in my life before!) & hope and pray you didn't get in a head-on collision!!!
Nice countryside and friendly folks, though!
Driving to Florida will be all interstates unless you don't want it to be!

 

[TimNDansMom]

Hi Oret, I won't be of much help as we live in SW Ontario and drive straight down the I-75 but I did want to WELCOME you to the Canadian DIS Board! Have fun planning your trip!

 

[Sandyrella]

I just wanted to let you know that there is a new book out called Drive I-95 written by Stan Posner. I had the pleasure of meeting this man when we were both recently candidates for jury duty. He was just about to leave on a book tour down I-95. He showed me the book and I think it's great. I have already ordered two copied, one for me and one for my in-laws who drive down regularly.

It tells you what is at every single exit on the way down and on the way back up.

I strongly suggest purchasing this book. Sorry I can't remember the website though.....

Have a great trip!

Sandy

 

[oret]

Thanks so much for your suggestion. Was surfing the web and found the site-lots of information and a forum too!

Oret

 

[faithinkarma]

Welcome to the DIS. We've driven it many times from Ottawa and one of the routes we've taken is the following: 401/Thousand Islands Bridge/I81/I66/17/I95. This route by-passes Washington, which is advisable.

This is the route we always used from Montreal also. We have done it driving straight through, and we have done it with two overnights. The time you take getting there should be dictated by your age. When you are young, you can do the 24 hour drive and bounce back quickly. As you get older, it can take you the entire vacation to recover lol