How bad is the drive to Orlando?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Getting through SC is the worst!!! But a trip to Orlando in one shot is very doable.

This! And if there's a traffic jam, there aren't many alternate routes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We just did that for spring break. We were in Orlando by 8pm with generous breaks. Totally doable. Left at 5am.

+1

Leave very early to get past Richmond.

Coming home sucks because traffic builds as you get farther north. We’ve had better luck on Saturdays if that works for your schedule. Or a weekday might be even better.

Don’t drink a bunch or you’ll have to stop more often. There are multiple Starbucks and Chik-FIL-as along the way. Better bathrooms (and food).

Bring devices for everyone. Good music. Audiobooks. Gum.

It’s manageable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We did it with our four kids in August 2020. We left around 4pm and drove overnight. It took us about 17 hours, but we also stopped for a longer dinner, had a bit of trouble finding places open for the bathroom (b/c 2020), and got caught in some traffic.

Even with all that, it was totally doable--so much so that the next summer, we drove all the way across the country to San Diego and back for our summer vacation.

I am convinced there are two kinds of people in this world. The people who can do the above, and the people who can’t (and my family is in the latter group.) 8 hours is about our limit. Beyond that we either fly or don’t go. Yes that is a privileged position to be in.

I should have prefaced this by saying our drive to San Diego was broken up over about a week of stopping in Memphis, Santa Fe, Grand Canyon, etc. and other places on the way back, but we did a lot of 8+ hour days. We weren't just driving to SD to vacation just there. If so, we would have just flown.

[Anonymous]

This drive is hell but if it’s your only choice you’ll live

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Getting through SC is the worst!!! But a trip to Orlando in one shot is very doable.

We have a house in Hilton Head. SC is no worse than the rest of the states. You are in each state for roughly 2.5 Tom 3 hours. SC is no diifferent than driving through VA, NC, GA, FL.

[Anonymous]

Wait until June 16. That's when Southwest opens their schedule for December and onwards for booking. They typically offer at least 8 non-stops a day from BWI to Orlando. YOu'll get a good deal, espeically if you don't mind taking a flight at a sligthly weird time like 6;30am or 9pm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ll never find out. SC was bad enough.

Virginia is bad enough!

[Anonymous]

We drove to Florida twice since Covid. It wasn’t that bad but each time we went, we stayed for more than 2 weeks.

We spent the night in SC and spent a few hours in Georgia to break up the drive. Did the same on the drive up.

Before Covid, I was one of those people who would rather not go or pick a different destination than drive too long.

Are you trying to go to theme parks Xmas week? I would not want to deal with Disney crowds the busiest week of the year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ll never find out. SC was bad enough.

Virginia is bad enough!

That is why you make sure to get through VA at non peak times . It isn’t rocket science.

[Anonymous]

I think it comes down to attitude. Plenty of people do this. We did it once bc of Covid. Stopped for a night in Savannah on the way down, drive straight through on the way back. All perfectly fine yet I hated it and will never do it again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it comes down to attitude. Plenty of people do this. We did it once bc of Covid. Stopped for a night in Savannah on the way down, drive straight through on the way back. All perfectly fine yet I hated it and will never do it again.

Attitude and also what is the alternative. My family only has 4 people in it and we can plan our travel around flights we can afford. So there really is no scenario where we would feel the need to do this. Obviously other people have different priorities and constraints. I was tempted to do it during the first Covid winter when school was virtual, but even then my other 3 family members were not interested. So we waited until the adults were vaccinated and started flying again.

[Anonymous]

The worst part is the stretch between DC and Richmond. Always.

We’ve done this a few times and it sucked but was doable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The worst part is the stretch between DC and Richmond. Always.

We’ve done this a few times and it sucked but was doable.

Yeah. Who cares about the 11+ hours after that?

Hard pass.

[Anonymous]

You could do the auto train

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You could do the auto train

Typically the same or more than flying and takes longer than driving.