Lots of driving questions from the far north east

[msdis]

Long story short, we, being just DH and myself, have decided to drive from now on to Disney. It will be a 25 hr (+-) trip which we hope to do in 2 days, 14-16 and 8-10. We figure we can get the worst over the first day and land somewhere around the southern tip of Virginia or the northern tip of NC. How does everyone plan when stopping for the night? Do you make ressies ahead or just play it by ear according to when you get tired and where you just happen to be. How do you know where a good safe place is? Are there a lot of good places right off I-95? Do you feel you pay more or less by just walking into a motel as opposed to making plans. We have AAA and the entertainment feature thru the Disney Club. Do most places honor the card? On the average for end of April first of May (off season I think) what could we expect to budget per night for accomodations? Driving is all new to us and we are so used to Disney standards that we are really not sure what to expect. Any info and tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Lucky4me]

I've driven at least a dozen times from upstate NY. In years past we would wing it and try to find a hotel whenever we got tired of driving. With kids this was problematic. Since Priceline has come into business we plan exactly how many miles and book a PL hotel in the place we stop. Priceline is so much cheaper than any other discount you can find if you bid correctly.

There are tons of hotels right off I-95 and if you stick with the major chains you'll do fine. No matter what they quote you at the desk, always ask again (very nicely) if there aren't any other discounted rooms available. They will usually tell you a higher price first.

Call AAA and get a free TripTik for the trip. This is a detailed, very easy to read, map and guide of your route. They will mark where there is any construction going on and even places where you shouldn't speed because of speed traps. Along with the triptik you'll get planning books for each area you drive through. They will list all hotels/motels, restaurants, etc. and the costs.

Have fun and stop every couple of hours to stretch! Good luck!

 

[KLL]

If you belong to AAA, contact them for a TripTik. They will be very helpful. We usually drive until we are ready to stop. With a AAA TourBook you can pick out an exit that has several motels and eating places. We also drive the largest part of our trip the first day starting early (4:00 a.m.) and drive until about 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.. You may find this site useful in your planning. It provides a lot of information about Interstate 95.

www.usastar.com/i95/homepage.htm/

Enjoy your trip!!

 

[dandelion]

AAA has recently added online triptiks, similar to what Mapquest offers. I find them to be more accurate than Mapquest. You may have to be a AAA member to access their site, but I love it. I order maps and tour books online (a free benefit) and they are delivered within 3 days. As I have two small children this is much easier than visiting the AAA office.

Also, you will find if you stop at the state welcome centers there are a slew of coupon books offering discounts on hotel rooms. We've had pretty good luck with those. One of the coupon books is now available online.

http://www.roomsaver.com/roomsaver/default.asp

Personally, I would still check the AAA tour book for the hotel description.

Happy travels.

 

[Jen in MA]

Hi,

We drove to Disney from MA in the summer of 2000. On the way home, we had planned to wing it and just stop when we got tired. The only problem was... every hotel we stopped at on I-95 was full! This happenned to be around 11pm on a Sat night somewhere in VA. We stopped at about 5-6 places, by that time it was midnight, so we just kept driving for a while. Eventually, we stopped around 2am at a rest area and napped for a couple hours. I'm assuming this was a freak kind of thing... I actually still have trouble believing all those hotels were full. Didn't mean to scare you with this post, just wanted you to be aware that this can happen.

 

[Uncleromulus]

We drove in early December(down on a Friday, back on a Saturday) and "winged it" both down and back. No problem whatsoever in getting rooms at best Western's in Florence SC (down) and Emporia (back). Of course you would be perfectly safe if you were able to pinpoint exactly when you wanted to stop driving for the day, and were able to make actual reservations--
I believe you will be just fine if you stay at any of the "known" national chains. We always get some sort of an AAA room discount.

 

[The4Foxes]

We've driven down many times to WDW from Northeastern MA, (Methuen) - Having done this many times (6x) we know that leaving around 5 in the morning puts us around Rocky Mount, NC at about 7 - 8 pm (depending on traffic) and it really doesn't matter if you go straight 95 or veer off (at the Delaware Mem. Bridge) and go Rt. 13 South then over the Chesepeake Bay Bridge to 58W to 95S - It is more scenic, it adds about a 1/2 hour to the ride - We always stay at the Hampton Inn in Rocky Mount, NC - I've booked on-line and got a rate of 65.00/night with AAA. The check in was a breeze and I felt more secure having the ressie than 'winging' it - (We've done that too!) The next morning they offer a nice continental breakfast with bagels, cereals, fruit, yogurt, coffee, juices and we take off from there (around 8:00) - We are at our timeshare (Orange Lake) by 6 pm or so. On the way back we usually aim for Emporia, VA - we have felt very safe on all our trips.

12 weeks and counting!! May 2 - 18 - This time we're trying Amtrak from Boston's South Station through NY Penn Station and then connecting from there to Sanford, FL - $408.10 for 2 round trip with AAA.

Have a safe and fun trip!

Pam

 

[poohraedopey]

dandelion I was born in WILTON!

ANyways my parenst usually play it by ear when they travel and stay at the nearest travelodge. I think if we ever did it we would have to plan stops and I would use pricline also. We are flying for our upcoming trip but plan to go again with my inlaws in the next 4 yrs or so and I think we will drive then......

 

[Dizzy-Disney4]

Hey 4foxes, we live in Haverhill and took Amtrak down this past September...wasn't too bad, but we're planning on driving next time (April 2003). Our kids loved the train ride, but I think I want to drive and see which one is easier on us. Have fun!

 

[dandelion]

Originally posted by poohraedopey
dandelion I was born in WILTON!

Well, you're missing a dandy ice storm today.

When is your upcoming trip? Mine is next weekend I'm very glad I'm not driving to Albany airport today.

 

[Candlelady]

Dandelion,

Thank you so much for that link to roomsavers! I've printed off every coupon for the exits that we thought we might stop at from N.Carolina to Georgia. Gives me some piece of mind as we aren't making reservations and don't know where we'll stop along the way down or back home.

Thanks again!

We leave in 7 days!! woooooo hoooooo!!!!!!!

 

[dandelion]

Candlelady, so glad to have helped.

I'll be in WDW 2/7-2/11. See you there.