Black Friday driving travel

[Luvcruisin76]

Who has experience? We are boarding breeze on the 30th but trying to drive most of the way from Missouri to Port Canaveral on Friday. We don't usually travel on black Friday....how bad is it. I'm wondering if I screwed up booking then. I actually changed in from December 7-14 but now my dh is worried about traffic.

[jbethel11]

3 minutes ago, Luvcruisin76 said:

Who has experience? We are boarding breeze on the 30th but trying to drive most of the way from Missouri to Port Canaveral on Friday. We don't usually travel on black Friday....how bad is it. I'm wondering if I screwed up booking then. I actually changed in from December 7-14 but now my dh is worried about traffic.

Black Friday is notorious for drives to the stores, but Cyber Monday is infamous for trips back home (as many families take the whole long weekend off). You should be okay, but plan accordingly, and exercise increased precautionary measures while driving. 

[Gatordad815]

I’ve done a lot of Thanksgiving weekend travel in Florida, and the entire weekend is really busy on the interstates, but Friday will be better than Saturday or Sunday in my experience, so you should be ok as long as you’re patient and leave plenty of time. And since Black Friday isn’t a typical “Work” day for many, the usual rush hour shouldn’t be an issue on top of the holiday traffic. 

 

For what it’s worth, the interstates in Florida are getting so congested just about all the time, that even on a non-holiday weekend, construction or an accident could cause big problems. Factor that in, plus the lack of a typical rush hour, and Black Friday may be no worse an option than any other Friday for the drive. Good luck!

[Organized Chaos]

Black Friday shopping has changed quite a bit in recent years. With retailers offering the same sales online as in-store, there are a lot more people who don't even bother leaving their house anymore. And now there are a ton of stores who start their sales on Thanksgiving Thursday. By the time Friday morning rolls around, crowds aren't what they used to be. But even then, most people who are out on Black Friday morning are out very early. We used to go every year (before they started this Thanksgiving day stuff) and we were done shopping by the time the sun came up. Once a few hours pass after the initial start of the door-buster sales, it calms down a lot.

 

Not to mention you'll be on the interstate all day Friday. If you're just getting started Friday morning, you probably won't notice much of a difference on the interstate. Depending on when you leave, all those shoppers start winding down around 9am or so.

 

We drive to our cruises, too. We take I-95 down the FL coast instead of the FL Turnpike. In my experience, I-95 traffic doesn't start getting real bad until we're well south of Port Canaveral.

[SRQbeachgirl]

Unless you are planning to visit Walmart, Best Buy, or one of the other big box nightmares, I wouldn't worry about being on the interstate in Florida on Black Friday. Other than the shoppers, most people are off work, are already at their destinations for the holiday, and won't be leaving to go back home until Saturday or Sunday. 

[Luvcruisin76]

Thanks so much! That makes me feel better!!

[zqvol]

21 hours ago, Luvcruisin76 said:

Who has experience? We are boarding breeze on the 30th but trying to drive most of the way from Missouri to Port Canaveral on Friday. We don't usually travel on black Friday....how bad is it. I'm wondering if I screwed up booking then. I actually changed in from December 7-14 but now my dh is worried about traffic.

 

Not a lot of people travel that day. Most traffic is local to malls, and other stores.

[navybankerteacher]

We usually travel for Thanksgiving - and make a point of going early before the big rush and coming home on Friday or Saturday, when most Thanksgiving travelers are still digesting turkey with their hosts. Those are among the less crowded travel days of the year.