To save money on a trip to Walt Disney World, it can be worthwhile going by car. You’ll need to take into account travel time (several days will be “sacrificed”), the cost of gas and a hotel, wear and tear on the car and the addition of at least 5,000 kilometers to the odometer.
At the same time, it’s a great road trip to take! My family and I have done it several times, most recently in an electric car.
Here are the best routes from Quebec to Florida with your own car.
Total driving time: approx. 24 hours Total distance: approx. 2,400 kilometers
Alternative: To avoid tolls: I-87, I-88, I-81, I-77, I-26, I-95 and I-4 Alternatively, you can take the Mille-Îles Bridge (see Route from Gatineau, Ottawa and Eastern Ontario).
Total driving time: Approx. 25+ hours Total distance: Approx. 2,550 kilometers and more
Alternatives to avoid tolls: Highways 20-30-15, I-87, I-88, I-81,I-77, I-26, I-95 and I-4
Total driving time: Approx. 22 hours Total distance: Approximately 2,275 kilometers
Alternative: I-81, I-70, I-270, I-95 and I-4
Our usual plan is to leave early in the morning (around 4 a.m. from the Greater Montreal area) and arrive in Orlando the following evening.
For the evening of Day 1, book accommodation in Rocky Mount, Wilson or Smithfield, North Carolina. It’s easy to find a hotel close to the freeway.
For our part, we stayed a few times at the Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Smithfield Selma/I-95. Breakfast is free for everyone. This saves time. There are also plenty of hotels offering free breakfast for all.
Use Marriott Bonvoy points or an annual certificate to get this free night.
We made the trip in 2 days, just like when we travelled in a Internal Combustion Engine car.
The A Better Route Planner website was a great help in finding the best bollards on our route. Then PlugShare helped us look at other chargers for Plan B. In the end, we always had room with our initial plan and never encountered any problems.
Most were Electrify America charging stations, which were the most reliable and the ones we preferred. We also tried out a few EVGo kiosks, which was a good network.
To save around 25% on the cost of recharging, we took Electrify America’s Pass+ Membership monthly plan at $4 USD. Just start it before you leave on your trip and stop it when you get home.
A credit card with no conversion charges was used, to avoid the 2.5% foreign currency charge on charges. I took the Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card, also used at all Walmarts and restaurants along the way.
Our car has a range of around 420 kilometers, with a 91 Kwh battery. The total round trip cost for winter recharging was $184 USD (about $244 CAD).
The stops were in Walmart stores. This was perfect for us, as we could go to the toilet, eat, buy meals and snacks or buy forgotten things at home!
Here are the stops for electric charging stations from Montreal to Orlando, for a 2-day trip:
It’s a long road, but a beautiful and rewarding one for people who love to drive!
And that’s just the first part of a great trip to Walt Disney World.
For more Disney content:
Savings are here: