KECtravel

Hi all,
We are planning to drive from PA (outside of Philly) to Orlando for a trip to Disney.

Our original plan was to drive from here to Hilton Head, spend 2 nights, and then drive to Disney. That may have to change because of all the snow days we have had here (adding the days onto the end of the school year).

We will be spending about 8-12 days in Disney & then have some time to spend while heading back toward home.

We'd like to spend some time at a beach location & then maybe stop a few places along the route home.

Does this itinerary sound good?

1- leave PA to Hilton Head
2- Hilton Head

3 - Disney
4 - Disney
5 - Disney
6 - Disney
7 - Disney
8 - Disney
9 - Disney
10 - Disney
11 - Orlando
12 - Orlando
13 - Orlando
14 - Orlando
15 - Beach (St. Augustine? Daytona? Other?)
16 - Beach
17 - Beach
18 - Beach
19 - Savannah (?)
20 - Savannah
22 - North Carolina?
21 - ?
22 - ?

As you can see, I am just in the beginning stages of planning a route, but I was looking for some advice as to some places that might be nice for a short visit along our route.

We are me, DH, and 5 & 7 year old kids.

Thanks!

Gretchen

Why Hilton Head? I guess this is summer since they are adding days at the end of the year.
There are better beaches and easier to get to. And Philly to HH would be a really long drive in a day just to spend a night. I don't get that.
If you want beach time on the way back I'd go on up the coast to SC, north of Charleston.
What are you going to do in Orlando?

KECtravel

Those first 2 nights in HH are in the Disney vacation club there that a friend booked for us. We may end up skipping that part though, since we are now cutting that close (last day of school was supposed to be June 10th, now it's June 15th).

I don't know anything about the beaches on the SE coast, just from Delaware north.

We are spending 8 nights at a Disney hotel with family. Since we just got annual passes for the first time, we wanted to extend that time in Orlando. Preferably at a condo or townhouse, since we would like cooking, more space, etc. We want to really take our time & not rush around in the parks...spend time at the resorts, swimming, etc. The Disney/Orlando agenda was the primary purpose for this trip, but (since we have the time) we thought we'd make a longer trip of it & go to a beach, etc.

Does that help?

thanks!

Orlando_Vic

When is this trip?
I ask this because later in the year will give you more beach options.

Are you sure you want to spend 8 days at Disney. I understand that you have annual passes, but 8 consecutive days?

What do you intend to do in Orlando the remaining 4 days? More theme parks or....

_____________________________________________
Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie

KECtravel

We are going June-July 2011.

We spent 12 days in Disney/Orlando in August 2010 & had a blast! We could spend a month there & not get bored. I know it's not a preference for lots of people, but my kids adore it. There may be days that we don't go to the parks at all, just hang out at the resort pools, maybe walk over to Epcot at night for dinner.

Thanks!

KECtravel

Oh, and for the other Orlando days (without extended family with us)...that will depend where we stay. Last year we stayed half of the time at Disney (Animal Kingdom) and half at a Marriott Vacation Club. We went to the Disney parks, Kennedy Space Center, and just hung out at the resorts. There was so much to do just in the resorts alone, we could have spent another week.

tomfuller

Don't forget, Disney runs cruise ships as well. My choice for beach would be Cocoa Beach not far south of Kennedy Space Center. Be sure to do a tour there even if the space shuttle program is done by then.
Stopping someplace between Philly and Orlando is a good idea.
I once drove from Melbourne to Union County PA in 17.5 hours.
Never again unless I have a backup driver.

Orlando_Vic

tomfuller's suggestion of staying at Cocoa Beach and/or going on a Disney cruise from Port Canaveral is a good one. You can do much better than Daytona Beach, so consider Cocoa Beach since it is close, family friendly and close to the cruise port if you decide to do that. All other things being equal, June weather will be better for the beach & cruise than July.


_____________________________________________
Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie

bookhall

Take a look at Amtrak's Auto Train. We live in Harrisburg PA. It takes us about 2.25 hours to drive down to Lorton VA--the northern terminus. It leaves about 4 PM, takes about 17.5 hours, and deposits you about 8:30 AM at Sanford, about 30 miles north of Orlando

You can purchase your tickets online, via phone, or at an Amtrak station. If you choose one of the first two, you can change your dates without penalty, as long as you haven't picked up the tickets.