road Trip nyc to florida

[2005SUBMARINER]

hellow rwg members , any road trip freaks did the NYC to FLORIDA TRIP ?

will be my 1st long distance road trip with my wife & my lil 2y/o girl & was wondering if any of the members who done this trip before can post there pros & cons of taking this kinda road trip .

heres some specs .

i will be traveling in a nissan xterra

will be GPS ready at time of trip .

my wife , me & my little 2 y/o :cloud9: ..

i know its dirt cheap to just fly down there but latley iv come down with a lil airplane fobia

i guess im watching to much national geographic countdown to disaster

thanx in advance .

Edited July 6, 2007 by 2005SUBMARINER

[chris5264]

Well,,,,my advice would be to fly. I've got to have the worst fear of flying. I didn't fly till I was 20 and since then I've had two emergency landings and at least 10 bad flights, but my 3 year old has already had four flights and loves to fly. I really don't like to fly but worth it to see my daughter actually enjoy flying. I guess my theory is get them flying early and they will actually enjoy it.

[Triodus]

Me and my familiy just spent 7 days at Disney World. If you have the time to drive I guess it would be OK. My experience on road trips with my Wife and 5 year old Daughter has been that it is almost impossible to make any real good time down the road. Someone has got to stop every couple of hours. We flew in from Texas and never needed a car. The Disney transportation system works really well, the bus service is better than any city bus system that I have ever been on. We were picked up at the airport and our luggage was taken to the room for us. Plan on spending some really long days if you want to do everything, we went to the Magic Kingdom twice and were able to see and do everything there. We went to 4 other parks during the rest of our time there. Hope this helps some. Enjoy your trip.

"SOF"

[fotoman]

suck it up and get on the damn plane

your way more likley to die driving on the highway than in the plane

your too old for that crap

[2005SUBMARINER]

hey thanx for all your help guys ! ..

PHO your right man !

[2005SUBMARINER]

iv been there many times before but never drived down there ..

im planing to do disney world & discovery cove , cause my daughter is only 2y/0 & i dont think she can take too much park hopping .. the resort in wich we are gonna stay has a water park in it my little one loves the pool ! ..

i have 2 days to drive to florida from nyc .. i hope this is enuff to get there in time ..

thanx for all your input!

[TJGladeRaider]

It all depends.

If you're object is to get to Florida, fly.

If you're object is to enjoy time with your family, travel, and create a great vacation, driving can be a great option, especially if you identify the things worth seeing along the way and allow the time to stop.

Bill

[2005SUBMARINER]

hey bill you hit the nail on the head buddy!

my wife is new to the USA & wants to see the states so thats why im taking the road trip down there ..

p.s. just bought a garmin gps system ! works great !

Edited July 7, 2007 by 2005SUBMARINER

[jfreeman420]

I did the drive from Long Island to South Florida. Horrible 32 hours straight through. Construction on amny parts of I-95. If you drive do it on a weekend. Flying is much easier especially with a young child. It is hard enough keeping a two year old busy for a few hours in the house never mind a car.

I hate to rain on your parade but I will never visit Disney again. The whole area from Kissimmee to Orlando is jam packed with annoying scum sales people trying to get their hands in your pockets. Every where you go someone wants a deposit to catch a cab or a tip for saying hello. The restaurants are horrible and the lines are ridiculous. Disney in the summer time is also unbearably hot.

Whatever you do DO NOT get sucked into a free ticket time share tour. The last one I went on was Westgate resorts. This tour ruined my whole vacation. They say they will give you free tickets to a park for a 90 minute tour. It turns into 4 hours and they have no interest in giving you anything for free. The sales people are high pressure assholes that won't leave you alone. God forbid you tell them you don't want a timeshare.

I loved Disney as a kid but with all the commercialization and tourism it has turned into one big advertisement. I think the tickets are somewhere around $100 for one day at one park and they charge around $8.00 for a hot dog. Really dissapointing that corporate scum ruined something that should be a right of passage for all kids.

I hope you have a good time, but just avoid all the tourist crap and sales pitches. Stay at a hotel in the park rather than outside. If you don't leave the Disney grounds you will have a much better experience.

[2005SUBMARINER]

wow 32hours ... oh man i dont think i can do 32 hrs in my car man .

sounds horrible .... thanx for the free ticket time share tour info JF , but for me its too late ..

5 years ago i went down to florida & those MF'ERS ! timeshare assholes wreeled me in man

21k for a freakin timeshare i rarely use & what makes it worst i bought the unit together with an X girlfriend wich shortly afetr the vacation we split up & i got stuck with a 21k bill

now shes leagaly in the deed & disapeared & there is now way on earth i can sell , give it away without her consent! ..

anyways that story is horrible man 32 hrs is much more than i calculated .

i thought it was something like 19hrs ..

thanx again for your help guys ...

i was planing to leave sept 20th 9am from staten island NY ,. thats on a thursday .

Edited July 9, 2007 by 2005SUBMARINER

[z80]

Z80's guide to Disney:

I have driven to Disney from Baltimore so many times I can't count them all. If you want to drive it will take 2 solid days from NYC.

The first major obstacle will be Washington DC. Traffic there is a nightmare. I would strongly suggest going to the LEFT at the 495/95 split. The worst that way is the drawbridge and since they put the taller one in they don't have to raise it much. There is construction going on but it's not too bad if you avoid rush hours.

Once below DC there will be traffic until Fredricksburg, VA.. once past this it's smooth sailing until Richmond.

At Richmond, if you are going to be passing through during rush hours TAKE THE BYPASS!!! if not, cruise straight through on 95, it will save about 20 mins vs bypass. Rush hour can kill you through Richmond though.

From there it's all gravy unless there is a random accident or new road work. Look to find a Motel around the NC/SC border.. in fact South of the Border was made for just this. Sure it's cheezy and old and not the cheapest thing on 95 (not the most expensive either).. but I reccommend staying there at once in your life and of your wife hasn't seen much of the USA then this would be a good way to introduce her to a tourist trap.

From SC throguh Georgia and northern Florida it should be clear. You may hit traffic in Jacksonville and Daytona depending on the day and the hour, but nothing too bad. Take I 4 off I 95 toward Orlando and look for Mickey. There is some roadwork on I 4 as you near Kissimmee (as of about 3 weeks ago).

The drive can be a pain, but it can also be fun. Also remember, if you stay on Disney property you are trapped unless you have a car. A cab ride to pretty much anywhere outside is going to be expensive.

If you haven't settled on a hotel, there are some nice non-Disney hotels on Disney property on Hotel Plaza Blvd. like the Grovsenor (the absolute closest hotel of ANY to Downtown Disney), a few Hiltons, Doubletree and such. If you want a full kiddie friendly hotel then there's the Holiday Inn Sunspree, they have a cartoon theatre and mini-mall right in the hotel and have "Kidsuites". I stayed there once before I knew what it was, but I recommend it to families with small kids. That is off-property, but they run a shuttle to all parks, but I would recommend driving to the park if you have a car. If you want the best possible Disney Experience and can afford it, stay at the Disney Boardwalk.. That is my favorite place of all there. I've stayed there a few times. Saratoga Springs (also a Disney Resort) is great if you are into horses or spa treatments.. also a killer pool area. The moderate resorts are cool too.. my favorite of those is the French Quarter followed by Coronado Springs. I haven't stayed at any budget Disney hotels like the "all-Stars" ones, but they can't be all bad. Of course there is also the Polynesian and Grand Flordian and Animal Kingdom Lodge if you fancy it. Oh!! you HAVE to go to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for dinner at Boma..It's and African Buffet (yeah.. I was thinking sand and rocks too), but it's incredible.. so many things that I would have never got to try elsewhere and it's all actually good.

Other eating places to hit:

Epcot: Germany, buffet, lots of good German food.

Epcot: Norway, cold Norweigan buffet and choose a hot entree.. this is also Princess Dining for the kiddies

Epcot: Mexico, standard Mexican fare with a VERY cool atmosphere.

Epcot: United Kingdom, good fish and chips, a pint of Guiness and the world just seems like a better place.

Downtown Disney: Raglan Road.. Irish Pub, they actually imported a full genuine Pub brick by brick and re-assembled it. You have to try the "Loin of Bacon" It's out of this world..

Magic Kingdom: Chef Mickey in the Contempoary Hotel (stay away from the good looking steakhouse there and go for Chef Micky)

Downtown Disney: Capt. Jack's.. not Jack Sparrow, been around long before him, looks kind of diveish, but it's all by design.. the food is great (seafood)

Animal Kingdom: Like I said, hit the Lodge and go to Boma

Polynesian Hotel: Ohana.. family style Hawiian, very good, at least it was when I was there last

If you stay in a genuine Disney Hotel you can get on the Meal Plan (at least I think anyone who stays there can) it's about $35 per person per day and man you save a wad if you eat in the parks, you get a snack, a full counter service lunch (drink, meal, dessert) and a full table service dinner including tip!! My one meal at Capt. Jack's would have been over $60 alone and it was covered. Alchol is not included (oh well).

[jfreeman420]

sounds horrible .... thanx for the free ticket time share tour info JF , but for me its too late ..

5 years ago i went down to florida & those MF'ERS ! timeshare assholes wreeled me in man

21k for a freakin timeshare i rarely use & what makes it worst i bought the unit together with an X girlfriend wich

Sorry to hear that. The place looks great on the tour though. People riding bikes having fun at the pool and they are gorgeous. Way overpriced and it is a big pain in the ass to use an exchange program to switch out your week with another destination. Those sales people are the lowest form of scum. Worse than used car salesmen. I have been in sales for 17 years and never stoop as low as they will. Sorry for the rant but I hate timeshares.

Other eating places to hit:

Crystal palace in the Magic Kingdom is great for the kids. Decent buffet with Pooh and other disney characters for pictures. Don't remember how much it was though.

Whatever you do stay away from the boston lobster feast. This is an all you can eat lobster buffet on international drive. Something around $20 and you would think that it was great. Who could [censored] up lobster right? Wrong. They are over cooked and not cleaned. I got one with eggs in it. I think a lot of the lobsters are undersized and illeagal. The other seafood was all steamed in water that must have been used for hundreds of pounds of seafood. Clams still has the necks and lots of grit.

The one lobster buffet that is decent is Angel's. Part of a hotel on the same road.

[2005SUBMARINER]

holly cow great feed back from you guys !

i will be staying at Liki Tiki Village , has a huge water park in the resort my lil one loves the pool ..

i think ima gonna attemp this voyage with all the help from you guys i can plan this much better .

iv already bought a gramin GPS system ( wich works excellent ! ) , i dont wana waste time getting lost out ther man

ill only be visiting disney & discovery cove .. & just relax for about 10days .

depending on how much my lil 2y/o can wistand will be visiting more parks .

thanx again for all your help guys ..

Edited July 10, 2007 by 2005SUBMARINER

[2005SUBMARINER]

yuk lobster with eggs still in it :velho: