Dad and Family at WDW

Finally a Disney Guide with Dad-a-tude

Let's drive to Orlando

Dad wants to make your drive to Orlando a peaceful easy feeling... (sing it Glenn)

An easy journey down life's highway... A ride to remember (in a good way)...

So let's get your motor running, head out on the highway, looking for adventure, or whatever comes our way... (Yeah, I know, enough with the song lyrics already.)

Drive to Orlando

Drive to Orlando in a beautiful roadster
Photo by Express Monorail

How much does it cost?

Let's look at the how to figure prices to drive to Orlando.

Here's a really neat website that will calculate the price of fuel for your trip. It's GasBuddy.com. It will not only calculate the price of fuel, it will show you where to stop to get the cheapest fuel.

Just fill in the blanks and out will pop your Total Trip Cost.

Maps

The map GasBuddy.com uses is a Google map. It's real handy because you can change routes just by dragging the blue route to another area. This will cause the map to refigure your route, time and distance.

Google map Edmond, OK to Lake Buena Vista, FL

You can use this map by entering your address in A and clicking on Get Directions.

The map looks something like this -


View Larger Map

You might want to bookmark both of those sites. I think they're really helpful.

  • GasBuddy.com (Trip Calculator)
  • Google Map to Lake Buena Vista, FL

To figure the cost of flying just enter prices below.

Find Cheap Flights

Find the best price on any flight.

How do we get there?

There are 3 ways to drive to Orlando. Number 1 is the NASCAR way. Number 2 is the Mac Davis way. The third way is let Amtrack do the driving.

The NASCAR way

Drive to Orlando the Nascar way in Richard Petty's number 43Put the pedal to the metal and don't stop for anything but gas, and only stop for gas right before you run out.

Growing up this is the way we traveled. My Grandparents lived in Colorado and we lived in Oklahoma. Dad would pack us up, and we'd leave after work. We'd drive all night. (I'm sure he did this because there were 5 of us kids and we would all sleep while he and mom drove.) We'd wake up almost to Grandma's. It wasn't very fun, but it was effective. (It might not work too well on a Disney trip.)

Most of us end up driving the NASCAR way. We can't wait to get there, or we don't have any extra time off. Sometimes it's a necessity.

Dad recommends that you drive to Orlando the...

Mac Davis way

Stop and smell the roses. (See the lyrics to the right.)

It's a good motto for a Disney World vacation. It's easy to get caught up in "Commando Disney" vacation mode, where everything has to be done right now. No, son, we can't stop to have fun, "The Plan" says we have to...

We had one vacation where we actually had time to stop along the way and experience some of the world outside of Disney. (I know, I'm speaking sacrilege again. Please forgive me Walt...)

Read about our first drive to Orlando with the kids. A two week excursion to Florida.

Another way to get there

Let Amtrack take your car for you. Yes, you can ride the train and take you car. Amtrack has a special train that goes from Lorton Virginia to Sanford Florida. It has a section for cars. (No, you don't have to stay in the car.) So you get to ride on the same train as your car.

The train leaves Lorton/Sanford at around 4:00pm and arrives Sanford/Lorton at around 9:30 the next morning. So while you sleep, Amtrack does the driving. And when you wake up, you and your car are at Disney World.

If you live anywhere close to Lorton you might want to consider the Auto Train (clever name).

Things to do along the way

Shuttle engine test firing at the John C. Stennis Space Center
Shuttle Engine Testing at the
John C. Stennis Space Center

Every two-bit town in America has something to attract tourists. Tourists mean dollars. Over the last 20 years a lot of tourist traps have gone out of business because flying has replaced driving for a lot of people. But there are still some great places along the way to stop and see amazing sites.

Over the years on our drive to Orlando, we've made stops at NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center, the National Aviation Museum in Pensacola Florida, the USS Alabama in Mobile Alabama, and probably every McDonalds between Texas and Florida.

If you're coming down the east coast you might want to check out Asheville North Carolina or look at the great Carolina beaches. Coastal drives sound just great.

Listen to Mac - try one of the cool distractions along the way as you drive to Orlando. Look for things that will be fun for the whole family and plan to spend a few non-Disney hours looking at America. You won't regret it.

Trust me...

Here are some links to state tourism sites on the drive to Orlando.

  • Alabama
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Mississippi
  • North Carolina
  • South Carolina
  • Tennessee

Dad's Favorite Detour

I'm hungry. Where are we going to eat? Foley Alabama, that's where. Yes, I said Foley Alabama.

Several years ago we discovered Lambert's Cafe. It is one of our favorite places anywhere. Lambert's has the absolute best fried potatoes anywhere on the planet.

On our last drive to Orlando, we decided to take a little (30 miles) detour and stop at Lamberts in Foley Alabama.When we got back on the road, let's just say it wasn't very long until Dad was the only one awake.

IT WAS GOOD.

Dad's Bottom Line

It's the little detours that make life worth living. - Dad (renouned author)

Being from the middle of the country, we are used to driving everywhere. When we were younger, we wouldn't think twice about jumping in a car and driving 20 hours to get to Orlando. Driving to Orlando isn't as appealing as it used to be, but hey, it might be fun. Hey, Mrs. Mom ...

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Stop And Smell The Roses

Mac Davis - The Best of Mac Davis - Stop and Smell the Roses

Mac Davis

Hey Mister, where you going in such a hurry?
Don't you think it's time you realized?
There's a whole lot more to life than work and worry.
The sweetest things in life are free
And there right before your eyes.

Chorus
You got to stop and smell the roses.
You've got to count your many blessings everyday.
You're gonna find your way to heaven is a rough and rocky road.
If you don't Stop and Smell the roses along the way.


Before you went to work this morning in the city.
Did you spent some time with your family?
Did you kiss your wife and tell her that she's pretty?
Did you take your children to your breast and love them tenderly.

Chorus

Did you ever take a walk through the forest?
Stop and dream a while among the trees?
Well you can look up through the leaves right straight to heaven.
You can almost hear the voice of God, in each any every breeze.

Chorus (2 times)

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