How long from Ohio?

[lisajl]

Hey everyone....

Just a quick question. How long of a drive is it from Central Ohio to the wonderful place called WDW?
I have looked at mapquest and it says about 17 hours.

Is that accurate?

Both my DH and I will be driving. Could poss. have our DD drive also.

Any good places to stop on the way?

We are getting closer to our leave date and just trying to tie up loose ends!

Thanks for all your help!

Lisajl

 

[Disney845]

I find that mapquest constantly overestimates driving times. That being said, we have driven from central FL to Ohio a few times and it took us about 15 hours perhaps even less depending on how fast we could drive and how long our out of the car stops were. We do drive faster than the posted speed limit however, but usually only by about 5-10 mph, maybe even be a tad faster than that on occasion!

 

[lisajl]

Disney845,

Thanks for the help! We are staying at POR!
Was it decent? Most of the posts on it are equalling out.
Some say it was alright, others great.

I just want a decent room to sleep in, won't be doing much else there!

Lisajl

P.S. My husband did not think it would take 17 hours to get there, either.

 

[Disney845]

POR was great. I used to live in FL and never had the reason to stay at a WDW resort before, but this September when I went down to FL for a month for vacation I spent a wonderful week at that resort. We didn't spend much time in the rooms or at the resort I am sorry to say, but the room was nice and the atmosphere was great. My only issue was breakfast at Boatwrights which I thought was awful, but like you said, some people like things when others don't.

Tips for the drive down: We did not stop at restaurants on our drives. Rather we packed lunch foods in the car in a cooler. We used a stop at a rest area to have a sort of picnic lunch. This was much prefered to the greasy fastfood that sometimes doesn't settle well in your stomach for long car rides. It gave us a chance to breat in lots of freash air and walk around. Some of the rest stops have breathtaking views of countryside or mountains in their picnic areas. Of course I am not sure where you will be stopping or how the weather might be so an outdoor picnic at a rest area may not be feasible! I also enjoy playing car games to pass the time. A good one is the license plate game, where you see if you can find a license plate from all 50 states. That is hard. I think the most we ever got was 38!

If you have any more questions feel free to ask. I have made a drive between FL/Ohio, FL/Indy, and FL/West Virginia quite a few times.

 

[lisajl]

thanks for all the advice. It has been so long since we have been down there! Hopefully, the weather will be nice.

Lisajl

 

[ncligs]

For us in NE Ohio it is............"to long"!! So we fly down.

 

[lisajl]

LOL! I understand that! This is really the only way we could afford it. We have not been since our DD was 4...she is now 17!

We also have an 8 and 5 year old. Their first time to WDW!
They are getting so excited! They are counting down the days!

(So is mom!)
Lisajl

 

[ncligs]

lisajl ,

Have a "safe and great" trip!!

Go Buckeyes"!!!

 

[judi]

From the Cleveland area in the winter it takes us about 17 hrs. This past summer we did it in 15 1/2. Depends on how fast you drive, number and length of stops and that sort of thing. There are some nice Hampton Inns on the way down. We usually stop at one of them.

 

[jxh1]

I agree with those that say it's too long of a drive, but if you have it in you to do it - good luck! Maybe if I have a carful of little ones one day I'll be making the drive myself, but for now the longest drive I want to make is from my house to the airport, lol.

Have fun, be safe and good luck!

 

[bobcat]

It takes me 15 hours. I usually drive 12 hours the first day and stop at Kingsland Ga right before the Florida border. There are plenty of hotels and the gas is the cheapest the entire trip. You can get a discount hotel book from one of the gas stations for the best rates. The next morning we have a 3 hour trip to WDW. Take the Jacksonville outerbelt to miss all of the construction through Jacksonville. It's about the same amount of time and a lot less hassle. Stop at the welcome center and pick up park maps ans a glass of OJ to pass the time to Orlando.

It is a very easy drive from Central Ohio to WDW. I have made the trip at least once a year for the past four years and I drive solo with my kids. With two drivers you could make the trip in one day by leaving early. We usually leave about 8-9 am and drive until 10-11 pm.

Have a great trip!

 

[lisajl]

Bobcat,
Thanks for the info! We are getting very close to leaving, and trying to tie up loose ends.
We appreciate the info!

Lisajl