Family Vacation - Driving from Chicago to Orlando

We vacationed in Orlando, FL last year and decided we wanted to vacation there again the following year.

There are some must answer questions when deciding on a vacation:

1. Where do you want to go? Orlando
2. When do you plan for the vacation? Late July or Early August
3. How long do you want to stay there? 4-7 days
4. What do you want to see while there? This will help determine the length of stay.
5. How are you going to get there? Drive from Chicago to Orlando

These are the big questions. Once you answer these questions, you can start planning your trip. For example, we knew we wanted to go to Universal Studios and Disney's Animal Kingdom, we knew we were going after the end of our childrens summer sports and before the next school year started. We were driving and there were other things to do if we could extend our stay.

In January, we started looking for deals to the various places we wanted to go, deals for park admissions, combo hotel/park admissions, all-inclusivies, etc. We ended up with a Universal package that include 5 nights at a hotel and park admissions to Universal's Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios.

The year before, we found cheap flights on United Airlines and decided to fly down, we then rented a house with a pool, and bought our tickets online.

6. If Drive, how many days will you take? 2-3 days
7. Can you see everything? No, probably not. So we made a list and prioritized.
8. Where are you going to stay? Hotel, Motel, Friends House. Check out HotelsCombined and compare over 30 sites in one spot

We've done the driving thing once before, and I planned the whole trip out. Tools like GoogleMaps and MapQuest are great when doing this. This trip to Orlando, we decided we would have city goals and determine where we wanted to stop along the way. Good thing we did!

One question you have to answer as a family is how long do you want to drive per day, and it is a family question. Our family can handle 5-8 hours of driving per day. On an 18 hour trip to Orlando, that means two stops. The question is where do you stop and when. When we stop, we try to stop somewhere we know we will do something the next morning before driving again. We do like to SEE AMERICA!

We don't necessarily take the most direct route, because part of the fun of driving is seeing America. Whether its a cavern or cave in the mountains, or the 20 foot Superman statue in Metropolis, IL, it is a lot of fun to go off the beaten path.

For this trip on the way to Orlando, Florida, we were planning to stop in Knoxville, Tennessee, Savannah, Georgia, and Jacksonville, Florida (This stop was necessary do to the fact our hotel reservations in Orlando were from Tuesday thru Sunday and we started our trip on Saturday.) It also made sense, since we stopped and visited family in Jacksonville and didn't have to stay in a hotel.

On the way home to Naperville, Illinois we were planning to stop in Chattanooga, Tennessee and Metropolis, Illinois.

I was planning to get closer to Knoxville than I did, so we didn't end up Gem Mining until the end of the second day instead of the beginning of the second day.

The reason we didn't end up closer, was a flat tire. UGH!!! It's 6pm at night, it's been raining for about an hour, we had already stopped to eat, so I was ready to make it to Knoxville. As I'm going down the mountain or up the mountain, I couldn't really tell in the rain in Kentucky, the low tire pressure light illuminates. So being a guy, I continue to drive, and then it downpours, and I decide, it's time to stop for the night. So we pull into the hotel, and I get out of the van, and walk around, and yep, the indicator wasn't lying, there's the tire half flag hissing away. Now being Saturday evening in London, Kentucky, and raining, I'm glad I have my Toyota Roadside Assistance plan. I call them up and they send out a service to change my flat. (Note that the Roadside plans don't fix things) After my tire was changed, did I mention it was raining, I asked the guy if he knew where I could get the tire fixed or replaced. Long story short, I followed the guy back to his shop and they fixed my flat and remounted the tire. After I paid the guy $10 for fixing the flat, and tipped him $10 for doing it on a Saturday night, and tipped the guy that originally came out another $10 for changing my tire in the rain, I felt pretty good about the whole experience. So if your ever in London, Kentucky and need some help with your vehicle, look up the guys at >>> <<<<

The next day, we are off to the Elijah Mountain Gem Mine near Asheville, North Carolina. If you've never been Gem Mining, here's the concept, you get a bucket of dirt and using water, you wash all the dirt off and what is left should be, rocks and gems and things. You never know what your going to get and sometimes you get nothing. So, if you don't want to get nothing, then you go to Elijah's, where they have premade buckets with gems already in them. They also have buckets with Indian Artifacts and Fossils. Not really prospecting here, but the kids have a lot of fun as the sand sifts away and they see multi-colored gemstones. This stop was a few miles off of the expressway into Asheville. Other gem mines are off the beaten path a ways, so it depends on how much time you have to get to your next destination.

Being from the Chicagoland area and being of Polish decent, the chicagoland area celbrates Casimir Pulaski day, when I found Fort Pulaski in Savannah, Georgia, it was a no brainer to stop.

Casimir Pulaski was a General in the American Revolutionary War. Fort Pulaski was built by the Confederate Army prior to the Civil War.

Fort Pulaski will take you about 2 hours to walk through, they have a lot of civil war cannons on the premises and they do fire cannons and have exhibitions almost every day. The $10 yearly pass was well worth the entry into this National Monument.

For more information, visit the National Park Service site on Fort Pulaski.

If you have the time and like the old Forts, you pass Fort Jackson on the way to Fort Pulaski.

So, I must admit, I planned the stop here, just to see the 20 foot Superman statue. Metropolis, Illinois.

Besides the statue, there is a Superman store in Metropolis. The store has a lot of Superman memorabilia and a small Superman Museum. The second weekend of every June is devoted to the annual Superman celebration. And the current website shows a picture of President Barak Obama posed with Superman.

Metropolis, Illinois is located on the Ohio river on Interstate 24 just north of Paducah, Kentucky. Metropolis has a casino and not too far is Fort Massac. If I were the Metropolis chamber of commerce, I would look to have a statue of every super hero and a store for every super hero. Who wouldn't want to visit the Wonder Women store, or a store dedicated to Aquaman, Batman and Robin, or the Green Lantern.

Yes, the Superman statue and store were well worth the stop in Metropolis, Illinois.

This was our second trip to Orlando, Florida. The first time we flew and rented a house with a pool. The second trip we drove. The following are the places we have been to, in and around Orlando. If I had to rate the places in order, this is what I would do

#1 - Sea World
#2 - Animal Kingdom in Disney World
#3 - Kennedy Space Center
#4 - Florida Beaches
#5 - Universal Studios at Universal or Hollywood Studios at Disney
#6 - Magic Kingdom in Disney World
#7 - Islands of Adventure at Universal
#8 - Wet N Wild

If you are looking for a way to book your entire Orlando Vacation, check out Orlando Vacations Made Easy.com

We have visited two beaches in Florida. Daytona Beach since we wanted the experience of driving on a beach, and a beach just south of Sebastian Inlet State Park.

For the kids, they didn't care, they just love the ocean, the sand, the waves, boogie boards, swimming, looking for seashells.

If you like crowds and people watching, Daytona Beach is for you.

If you don't like crowds, travel south of Coco Beach down 1A and pick a beach. The beach we went to was on 1A just after Sebastian Inlet State Park. There's a small public parking area with beach access.

This year, we visited three Universal parks in Orlando, Florida:

Universal Studios
Islands of Adventure
Wet N Wild.

We had a great time at each, but the parks are definately geared towards those folks that spend the extra money to stay at the Universal resorts or buy their Express Pass. Definately factor in the Express Pass into your budget, if not, I wouldn't bother with these parks. Disney definately has a leg up with their FastPass system.

I think the kids liked Islands of Adventure, whereas I preferred Universal Studios. So, I guess, I couldn't pick one.

Hotelscombined.com compares over 30 sites for hotels in and around Disney and Orlando, Florida.