Disney Dream:Driving from Memphis to Port Canrveral

[hamp65]

Hello,

We will be boarding Disney Dream next weekend, and we are driving in from Memphis, Tn. Still not positive we are driving the best route. Any suggestions?

 

Our Plan so Far:

Friday: Memphis to Atlanta- Can't leave till 11:00 AM (Hotel off interstate)

Saturday: Atlanta to St. Augustine ( hotel not sure)

Sunday: St. Augustine to Port Canaveral

Park at Port :)

 

Thanks so much!

[moki'smommy]

You are probably aware that you will save serious money on hotels by booking just outside the big cities rather than in them. We've also found that "stuff happens" that tends to mess up our plans for how far we want to drive on any given day. One time I made a reservation only to find that we made great time and I was able to drive a couple more hours. Fortunately, we could cancel that hotel and move to one of the same brand farther on. Another time we hit a horrible storm in Georgia and I was ready to stop sooner than I'd planned.....

 

Now we don't make reservations but we do have a tentative idea of how far we want to drive. We use Priceline's express feature to locate a hotel where we end up wanting to stay (daughter always has her computer or cell phone).

 

One other hint--if possible, allow yourself plenty of "extra" driving time. Your plan looks good because you could actually do Atlanta to Port Canaveral in one day if you had to (meaning that you have built in extra). You never know what can happen on the road and the last thing you want is to not be able to board the ship! St. Augustine to Port Canaveral isn't that far and totally do-able. Would you feel more secure actually arriving in the Cape Canaveral/Cocoa Beach area the day before?

[tweis]

Hello,

We will be boarding Disney Dream next weekend, and we are driving in from Memphis, Tn. Still not positive we are driving the best route. Any suggestions?

 

Our Plan so Far:

Friday: Memphis to Atlanta- Can't leave till 11:00 AM (Hotel off interstate)

Saturday: Atlanta to St. Augustine ( hotel not sure)

Sunday: St. Augustine to Port Canaveral

Park at Port :)

 

Thanks so much!

 

I live just north of Atlanta and Atlanta to Port Canaveral is totaly doable in a day. Our last cruise we drove straight through to the Port Canaveral area and stayed at the Radisson the night before our cruise. This time it is just DH and I and we are making a vacation out of the trip down. We are driving to Savannah and staying a couple of nights then down to St. Augustine for a night and then making the short drive from St. Augustine to Cocoa Beach where we will stay the night before our cruise.

 

Your route looks fine and St. Augustine is a good stopping point if you don't want to drive all the way to Port Canaveral. It is only a couple of hours away from the Port. I hate being in the car for long periods but sometimes I would rather just get the drive over with. Good luck. :)

[hamp65]

Thanks so much for responding! I know things never go as planned, that's why we are leaving before we have to board. I can't take the stress. We also have a 6yr old with us.

 

I thought about driving Atlanta to Port Canaveral on Saturday just to get it over with. My husband will not relax till we board the ship, so not much to sight seeing. Any suggestions on where to stay?

 

Thanks so much!

[hamp65]

Thanks! Since you are an Georgia person, any suggestions on where to book a hotel? We will be getting in around 8PM. So somewhere nice, clean,off interstate would be nice. I know there is no way to avoid traffic.

 

Thanks for all your help!

[ducklite]

It's a 13 hour drive at most, why are you spending two nights?

 

Leave at 4:00 am Saturday morning and drive from Memphis to someplace just north of Orlando for the night. 22/20/75/FL Tpke/528. Finish the drive the next morning.

 

There will be much less traffic on Saturday. Leaving at 11:00 on Friday puts you into the heart of rush hour traffic on a Friday evening in Atlanta--bad move.

 

Leaving early on Saturday still gives you plenty of time for stops as needed. It's far less tiring to switch drivers back and forth for 10 hours than it is to lug everything into a hotel room and sleep in a strange bed twice.

[Scrapnana]

Have you considered staying in a Port Canaveral hotel Saturday night that gives you parking for your cruise and shuttles you to port? Not sure how the pricing runs but check here. http://www.parkingstay.com/p/port-canaveral-area-hotels-view-port.html

[hamp65]

Have you considered staying in a Port Canaveral hotel Saturday night that gives you parking for your cruise and shuttles you to port? Not sure how the pricing runs but check here. http://www.parkingstay.com/p/port-canaveral-area-hotels-view-port.html

 

 

That's what I looking up now! Thanks for the idea!

[hamp65]

It's a 13 hour drive at most, why are you spending two nights?

 

Leave at 4:00 am Saturday morning and drive from Memphis to someplace just north of Orlando for the night. 22/20/75/FL Tpke/528. Finish the drive the next morning.

 

There will be much less traffic on Saturday. Leaving at 11:00 on Friday puts you into the heart of rush hour traffic on a Friday evening in Atlanta--bad move.

 

Leaving early on Saturday still gives you plenty of time for stops as needed. It's far less tiring to switch drivers back and forth for 10 hours than it is to lug everything into a hotel room and sleep in a strange bed twice.

 

 

I know! I thought about that too! Its just we are ready to go! Now!!! LOL! We decided to leave get some of the road trip hours ahead of us.

[drogers77]

hamp65,

 

Good advice from others. I made the trip from Merritt Island to my hometown (Northeast MS- looks like we are nearby!) in one day a few years ago, but it was 3 adults with some driver switching.

 

I would most likely change that plan now that I have a kid. In my daydreaming (since I haven't actually booked a cruise/trip), I would stay somewhere around Montgomery on night 1, and stay at a cruise-friendly hotel in Port Canaveral on night 2.

 

Depending on how well your crew travels, I'd even consider making the trip down in 1 day, and staying at a cruise-friendly hotel (where you could leave the vehicle).

 

I remember family trips to Disney when I was a kid- we'd drive the whole thing in one day. However, I was a pretty good traveling kid- I slept and read the entire time.

[hamp65]

My husband just asked me about Montgomery instead of dealing with Atlanta's traffic issues. Thanks for the idea!

[eleang]

We do not have that issue as we live in S FLorida so driving to PC for us is less than 3 hours, but if I would be in your place opposite to what others have advised I would still live on Friday, even if you have to spend one xtra night of hotel and go through the rush hour traffic in some areas, an extra day of vacation is an extra day and that will make your trip more memorable plus you will drive less hours every day. St Augustine is a beautiful very tourist friendly town, you can see it in 3 or 4 hours, it will be a lot of fun also for your 6 yrs old... I would drive as far as possible on Friday ( with no hotel reservations) and then try to arrive on Sat in St Augustine as early as possible to enjoy the day in that beautiful town.

 

In any case hope the 3 of you have a lot of fun!

 

Bon Voyage,

 

Ele

[seechickgo]

:) Here's another thought for you...

We live in Southaven, MS and drive to Tallahassee usually the first day. Spend the night, get up, and drive the rest of the way the next morning. Orlando in 4 and that would put you in PC at 5 hours. We love it! Used to get the kids just enough car time as not to 'wear' them out, and yet, the next morning, went by really fast before arriving at Orlando or Port Canaveral!

...Just a thought!

[hamp65]

We can't leave till 11 or 12:00PM on Friday because I have to work a half day Friday. I was wondering another option than Atlanta because that's going to put us right in Atlanta's famous high traffic.

 

We are certainly driving on Saturday from somewhere?? :) to Port Canaveral. The Stay-Park- Breakfast Cruise deal is great. We will be ready to board Sunday morning with a great night's rest.

 

Thanks for any suggestions!

[tweis]

We can't leave till 11 or 12:00PM on Friday because I have to work a half day Friday. I was wondering another option than Atlanta because that's going to put us right in Atlanta's famous high traffic.

 

We are certainly driving on Saturday from somewhere?? :) to Port Canaveral. The Stay-Park- Breakfast Cruise deal is great. We will be ready to board Sunday morning with a great night's rest.

 

Thanks for any suggestions!

 

You absolutely do not want to be in Atlanta during rush hour. This could add hours to your travel time. My advice would to either leave Memphis later thus getting to Atlanta later and avoiding traffic or taking an alternate route if you want to leave earlier. We either leave very early or very late to avoid Atlanta traffic.

[moki'smommy]

As to parking near the port, there are many hotels that offer a park and stay package. Unfortunately, most of those are no longer "free" with the hotel stay. Another consideration is that they are not usually fenced or lighted and there have been some reports of break ins or vandalism.

 

We like "Park and Stay," a service that offers a fenced, lighted lot and shuttle to and from the port. We find them very efficient and helpful. If you book on line in advance, you save $1 per day over the "drive up" price and assure yourself of a spot. In addition, they often offer specials on line.

 

Hotels that offer parking include the Radisson, Country Inn and Suites, and Residence Inn. Last year, several hotels had coupons for 40% off the cost of at port parking--these included the Best Western and La Quinta. Might be worth asking about!

[Host Mick]

Google maps has a feature that allows you to see historical traffic hour by hour. This might help you avoid high traffic areas that you might encounter.

[ducklite]

Google maps has a feature that allows you to see historical traffic hour by hour. This might help you avoid high traffic areas that you might encounter.

 

You learn something new every day! I had no idea they had historical traffic data. This could help me a LOT on my California trip this summer--thanks!!

[cgsouthern]

We are going to drive to the cape from Knoxville. It's honestly not too bad a drive as long as you avoid the Atlanta traffic, 6am to 9am/lunch hour/3 to 6pm. If you do get in bad traffic don't hesitate to take the HOV lane since your traveling with a group. We are prob going to leave around midnight and drive thru the night so that our 1 year old will sleep in his car seat for at least half the trip, fingers crossed.

[Beantown Momma]

If it's not to late, try to make an on-line reservation with Park-N-Cruise (http://www.parkcruise.com). They are five minutes from the Port Canavaral parking lots. Their daily parking rates are waaay cheaper than at Port ( last time I checked they were $7.99/day and no hidden fees) and they have shuttles to get you back and forth. They are very reliable and they drop you off right at the ship (no walking across big lots with all your stuff). Your car is safe and secure and the shuttles go back and forth literally every ten minutes. They are completely aware of passengers boarding times, so if you get there and someone is waiting for a shuttle to the ship and they have a later boarding time than you, they will load your luggage on the shuttle and take you over to the ship first! We used them last year based on other people's Cruise Critics recommendations and will use them again next year for our next cruise = totally worth it!...Good Luck & Have Fun!

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

Hello,

We will be boarding Disney Dream next weekend, and we are driving in from Memphis, Tn. Still not positive we are driving the best route. Any suggestions?

 

Our Plan so Far:

Friday: Memphis to Atlanta- Can't leave till 11:00 AM (Hotel off interstate)

Saturday: Atlanta to St. Augustine ( hotel not sure)

Sunday: St. Augustine to Port Canaveral

Park at Port :)

 

Thanks so much!

 

We have cruised out of PC TWICE this year! (unexpectedly the second time.) We are West KY 'neighbors'. We leave work at 10:30am and try to be under way by 11am and drive it straight. We went to stop over and it just cost too much so we got back in the car and drove it straight anyway. For us, it was 12 hrs to Orlando. We always go to orlando first. This last time, we drove straight back from PC and it was an awful 14 hr drive...but at least we didn't pay any hotel for the drive and didn't have to take any additional time. The only nights we stayed over were after Disneyworld. We go thru Nashville to Chattanooga to Atlanta past Valdosta and all the way to Orlando!

 

I hope you take a day to go to WDW while you are there! It is a great way to start the trip.

 

Also be sure and be within an hr or so the night before (or at least we do) because you never know what can happy driving in that morning!

 

oh don't forget your bag of quarters! Round up all the change you can find and pop it in a zippy bag for your glove compartment. The first (and on the way back, last) toll you come to is $3.00. After that, it varies from 1.25 to 1.75 or less. I scrounged them up from the laundry room, the dresser top, the junk drawer (lots of quarters there!) and the car. If you have exact change, you can skip other tolls lines with an attendant to get change back and get thru the lines quicker.