Baltimore to Orlando (one day possible?)

[UniMom]

Good afternoon. My husband and I are planning on driving down to Disney World from Baltimore with our 2 kids for spring break. We would like to leave around 3 am and drive down in one day. On Google Maps it looks like a 14-hour trip nonstop. Can you please give me advice, if you've done this before:

1. Places to stop and stretch/potty breaks/meal breaks
2. How long will it take if we drive reasonably and take breaks (not too many)
3. Is this a distance that can be done in 1 day?

Thank you for your help.

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

I'm sorry, but no. You should absolutely not even attempt to cover the 900 miles from Baltimore to Orlando in a single day, especially on a family trip.

Despite what online mapping programs - that operate in a computer generated world where you never have to stop, much less slow down - will tell you, there is no possible way for you to cover that kind of distance in just 14 hours. Real world conditions, considering the traffic on the east coast, you're looking at around 18+ hours to actually make the drive, and that's with the bare minimum of stops. Doing that is a horrible idea for a couple of reasons.

First, it simply isn't safe. Even with 2 drivers, the human body gets fatigued by being stuck in a car for that many hours. Even if you don't feel tired, your reaction times will be dulled and you will not be nearly as safe of a driver.

The other reason you shouldn't attempt this is because it is pretty much a sure fire way to destroy any chance of having fun on the trip! 18+ hours in the car is going to be miserable for you, and even more importantly, for your kids. As I mentioned, even to cover the ground that quickly, you would have to severely limit your stops - so your kids will be belted into the back seat for basically 18 straight hours. When you do finally arrive there, you will all be so exhausted, that you'll need at least 2 days to recover (possibly even more, especially by throwing off your body clock by leaving at 3 am).

If you attempt this, you certainly wouldn't be the first, however, when you talk to people who say they hate roadtrips, it's usually because their experience with them has been brutal slogs where they tried to do too much, in too little time (and now often, with the kids "drugged" out by looking at a screen all day long) like the trip like you're proposing here.

Do your family a favor, plan to make at least 1.5 days for the drive each way, and take a little time each day to also enjoy the ride.

[glc]

I would take 2 full days - driving in "normal" daylight hours, with an overnight in Florence SC.