I agree 95 sucks, but it sucks most of all just south of DC. So that is why I'd suggest leaving at odd hours - nighttime or EARLY in the am.

We just got back last night and we drove...we stopped in Brunswick, GA on the way down but did it all in one day yesterday. It really is not that bad!

Anonymous wrote:maybe I am insane, but I think the drive might be kind of fun. family bonding road-trip, right? I'll be taking my suburban, so not saving too much money when you consider the gas!

My good friends drove from MoCo to NC (a bit south of the VA line on I-95) not too long ago. I-95 was pure hell for much of VA. Took them 8 hours to get through VA. The gridlock on I-95 is not to be underestimated.

I had to drive back and forth between DC and Fayetteville NC this past fall for several trips. I-95 pretty much sucks. "Kind of fun" is not the phrase I'd use with I-95.

Good luck with the family bonding!

We just got back from the drive to Disney.
We stopped over in Atlanta on the way down there (to visit family), and from Atlanta the drive was about 8 hours. We stopped in Gainesville overnight.
Drive home we stopped in Florence, which like the PPs said, has decent hotel options and a few restaurants.
The drive was helped with a DVD player, lots of books and small toys, and Disney music on CD. We are a family of four with a two and four year old. Driving wasn't fun, but it sure beat the cost of four plane tickets and a rental car.

We did it one way. Flew back - thank god for that. We stopped over in florence but even then the trip was quite long. Took us 18 hours door to door.

What about the auto train did you hate? Did you get a sleeper car or not? I think that makes the difference.

Anonymous wrote:maybe I am insane, but I think the drive might be kind of fun. family bonding road-trip, right? I'll be taking my suburban, so not saving too much money when you consider the gas!

I think depends on the age of your children

My family did this all the time with kids as young as 3 (and up to 16 or so) - 4 kids in a minivan. Totally doable in one day, if you start early. We last did it pre-kids in 2007. Even better with three drivers if you could swing it but completely doable with 2 as well.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:maybe I am insane, but I think the drive might be kind of fun. family bonding road-trip, right? I'll be taking my suburban, so not saving too much money when you consider the gas!

If you drive a suburban, you're probably fitting at least 6 or so people in there, right? So yes, it would save money.

Picking up two hitchhikers

Anonymous wrote:maybe I am insane, but I think the drive might be kind of fun. family bonding road-trip, right? I'll be taking my suburban, so not saving too much money when you consider the gas!

If you drive a suburban, you're probably fitting at least 6 or so people in there, right? So yes, it would save money.

We drove to Tampa from DC 2 summers ago with our 3 yr old twins. We split up the drive over 2 days and stopped just outside of Savannah for the night. It actually wasn't a bad trip - we had 2 DVD players for the kids, brought some fun and new car toys for them and made sure we stopped at the right intervals so they could run and play. We drove to save money on 4 flights and the auto train was about the same price as 4 plane tickets. It was a lot of family together time and the trip back seemed a lot longer than the trip there - enough to want to only do it once, at least with little kids. This past summer I splurged on plane fare for our Florida trip.

maybe I am insane, but I think the drive might be kind of fun. family bonding road-trip, right? I'll be taking my suburban, so not saving too much money when you consider the gas!

We drove this past May. Left at noon on Friday. Got to Florence, Sc around 6:30. Longest part of getting out of NOVA. Left Florence at 8amish, got to Wyndham Bonnet Creek at 3. We do not mind the drive and prefer to always have our car. On the way back we drove straight. Left WDW at 9:30am, got home around 11pm. Richmond and north sucked - accidents etc, but we just kept watching the traffic and working around the hot spots. DS is 4. He colored, played, slept and watched movies on an iPod.

If you're on property why would you need to rent a car if you fly? SWA to Orlando is about $180 RT if you book enough in advance, I agree that ends up being expensive for 4 but the gas and wear/tear is pretty bad too.

Plus it really is a 2 day drive unless you don't mind being in the car for 14-15 hours straight.

Last year we barely made it to Florence due to construction on 95 just outside of DC. We left DC about 10 am and it was after midnight when we got to Florence due to construction and accidents. That said I hate the auto train. I was once stuck for 5 hours due to a computer glitch. They ran out of water and the bathrooms did not work. It was awful. Getting out of DC with the construction is the problem once you get past Richmond it is usually ok.