The Worst Part About Driving To Disney World Is Finally Getting Better

Driving to Disney World can be exciting or difficult.

We love the thrill of our vacation beginning, with our car loaded down with our perfectly packed bags! What we don’t love is traffic, lane closures, and anything else that would make our arrival at the parks delayed. Luckily, it seems like driving to Disney World is about to get easier.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, getting onto Interstate 4 is about to get easier, and soon! If you’ve ever driven around Orlando, you probably know about the horrors of I-4, one of the biggest tourist locations in the city. Is it a fun stop on your vacation? No, it’s the road that leads you to all of your fun, and it often seems like everyone in the state of Florida is on that road with you.

Starting on Saturday, July 19th, three new ramps are opening connecting I-4 to Daryl Carter Parkway. Drivers will be able to use one eastbound or westbound off-ramp to get onto Daryl Carter Parkway at the new Exit 70. You can also gett off of Daryl Carter Parkway onto I-4 if you’re heading eastbound. The Florida Department of Transportation said these new additions will help move traffic around Disney Springs and the theme parks. 

Last year, 75 million visitors visited Orlando! Thanks to the addition of Epic Universe, that number is expected to rise. Cindi Lane, a spokeswoman for FDOT, said, “As Central Florida has attracted more and more residents and visitors in unprecedented numbers, that growth has placed increased demand on state roadways, including the I-4 corridor.” The Daryl Carter Parkway opened its reconfigured “diverging diamond” back in March to prepare for these new ramp additions.

The diamond “briefly moves traffic on Daryl Carter Parkway to the left side of the roadway at a traffic signal, then back to the right side at a second signal — eliminating left turns across oncoming traffic.” It allows for almost twice the number of cars to pass at the same time and cuts crash risks in half, according to FDOT. These changes are part of the project called I-4 Beyond the Ultimate. This project involves a series of changes along the road in addition to major changes from 2022 that impacted 21 miles of the road.

Two other additions are in construction now. They include an interchange at I-4 and Sand Lake Road and an interchange with the highway at Apopka-Vineland Road. These additions will have loop ramps onto the interstate and will extend I-4 Express Lanes for 10 more miles.

Construction is expected to be complete on 1-4 in 2028. Don’t want to worry about traffic and trip planning? Let someone else do it!

If you’re looking for a travel agent to help with your vacation, we recommend our friends at Mouse Fan Travel. They’re experts in the field with over 20 years of vacation planning experience, and they can help take a bunch of the stress out of the entire booking process for you! We truly hope these changes to I-4  will make driving this infamous road significantly easier. As always, be sure to keep following AllEars for more travel news and updates.

The NEW Rules You Need to Know About Driving to Disney World in 2025

Have you ever driven along this road? Tell us your experience in the comments! 

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