REAL driving time from Raleigh

[bethian]

:mickey: NINE :mickey: MORE :mickey: DAYS!!! Oh sorry, got a little carried away. I have seen lots of posts from North Carolina folks headed to WDW...or from north of here coming through. Can anyone tell me the actual time it takes to get there from here, without any long stops, just gas, and bathroom breaks as needed?? I get so many conflicting reports of time. Google maps lists it as almost exactly 9 hours from my house in Clayton. Pretty accurate??

[BigRedDad]

Way too hard to gauge, but we have driven from Raleigh to Orlando many times. Everyone's stops are different and that takes a huge account of the time. This is the estimated travel times assuming no accidents:

NC --> SC: ~2 hours
SC --> GA: ~3 hours
GA --> FL: ~1.5 hours
FL --> I-4: ~2.5 hours
I4 --> WDW: ~1 hour

It is about a 10 hour drive. Areas where you can get caught in huge traffic are Jacksonville and Orlando. If you are approaching Jacksonville around rush hour, take the 595 bypass. The extra 15 miles will be nothing like getting stuck in traffic there.

[Melanie]

I can do WDW to Winston-Salem in 10 hours, with a decent stop in there for a meal.

[BigRedDad]

I must drive slowly or its because I have 2 women that have to go every time the wind blows :mickey:. I drive about 9MPH over the limit (old adage: Over 9 you're mine). When we stop, it is usually to get gas and meals. We will not eat in the car. It is time for my DW and DD to stretch and get out. If it were just me, gas, eat in the car, 1 bathroom break, and there.

[WRWDisney]

OK, I drive a consistent 9 1/2 over the speed limit, and find that it takes us closer to 8 hours (barring any accidents). But that is straight driving. Max of 2 bathroom/gas stops. Stops no longer than 10 minutes.

BigRedDad may be right about his times; but I find that from the Florida state line to property is only 3 hours, even with heavy (but flowing) I4 traffic. That could explain the differences in our overall time totals.

Either way, jealous! Have a great trip.

[DonaldDuckUSA]

If you are approaching Jacksonville around rush hour, take the 595 bypass. The extra 15 miles will be nothing like getting stuck in traffic there.

I second this! :thumbsup:

[BigRedDad]

OMax of 2 bathroom/gas stops. Stops no longer than 10 minutes

This is funny. With my DW and DD, I will probably have to stop twice before leaving NC.

[BrerGnat]

Stops for food and gas are where the times can really add up. When we drove down, we thought we'd do a "quick stop" for lunch at a Chick Fil A in GA. That stop was over an hour. The restaurant was PACKED, and we had to wait quite awhile before we even had our food. We also had a VERY long gas/bathroom stop in FL because there was a HUGE line at the ladies' room, and I really had to go. ;) That quick "gas/restroom" stop took over 25 minutes...

Then, shortly after leaving that gas station, it started POURING rain. Everyone slowed to about 30 mph for about 45 min. That was another major delay.

After our road trip last year, we are flying from now own. ;)

[Melanie]

OK, I drive a consistent 9 1/2 over the speed limit, and find that it takes us closer to 8 hours (barring any accidents). But that is straight driving. Max of 2 bathroom/gas stops. Stops no longer than 10 minutes.

WOW!!! To Virginia? Last month we drove straight through from WDW to our home here outside of DC. We left at 7am, stopped at Cracker Barrel (about 30 minutes), a few more quick stops, and got back here by 7pm.

[bethian]

Thanks for the input guys! We are going early morning on Saturday, so hoping for no work traffic delays anywhere. And definitely going to keep stops to a minimum. I have told everyone in the family it will take 10 hours so anything less than that will be gravy!!

[WRWDisney]

WOW!!! To Virginia? Last month we drove straight through from WDW to our home here outside of DC. We left at 7am, stopped at Cracker Barrel (about 30 minutes), a few more quick stops, and got back here by 7pm.

No, no, no :mickey:. From Raleigh, based on my experience driving from Virginia (I wish from home!).