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I've never driven this as an adult. As a teenager, my parents took the normal I-70 to St. Louis, thru Paducah, KY to Chattanooga and I-75 thru Georgia. We are thinking of staying in Chattanooga on the first day. We are planning 2 days to travel.
Is there a better southern route through Memphis and Birmingham to avoid Atlanta? Is it worth it?
We will be driving in June with kids 16, 13, 5. Where do suggest staying along the way too?
Welcome to RTA!
It's over 1200 miles from KC to Orlando, which is stretching the limits of what would be prudent for a 2 day drive. You will be on the road for 12+ hours each day. Anything other than I-70/I-64/I-57/I-24/I-75 would just add more miles and time and necessitate another day.
Sure, you could take I-49 (US-71) to Fort Smith, I-40 to Memphis (or I-70 to I-55 to Memphis), I-22 (US-78) to Birmingham, I-65 to Montgomery, and US-231 to I-10 to I-75, but this will add over 150 miles and 3 to 4 more hours. It's not all Interstate quality roads.
While I fully understand the desire to get to Disney World so that your kids can have a great time, it seems an utter shame to 'waste' four good days just getting there and missing out on a large section of the country just to get there. Meanwhile the kids, whom this trip is supposedly for, are cooped up for hours on end in the back of a car with at best (worst?) a few video games to keep them occupied.
Compare that to what they could see and do if you were to take one day extra on the drives down and back (by different routes each way): the St. Louis Zoo (free), the Land Between the Lakes (free), Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park (free), Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge ($5/carload); Andersonville National Historic Site (free), FDR's Little White House, Elvis' Birth Place, Mud Island (free), the Ozarks (free).
Also consider that the accommodations you'd need for two extra nights on the road will almost certainly cost lest than spending the same two nights in close proximity to Disney World and you can see how you can give your kids a much more meaningful RoadTrip than just hermetically sealed transportation to a plastic amusement park and back, for less money.
AZBuck