Is Ocala the best area for a 1 night stay on way to Disney World?

Ocala is surprisingly redneck and southern for being central Fla

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Why not just make the drive to Disney the same day? Ocala is only about an hour away.

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Depends on what time we can leave.

It's about a 10 hour drive for us, including making a couple of decent length stops, and accounting for traffic / construction / Mobile tunnel / etc.

That last hour can get rough. If we don't leave until 10 am or later, I usually would rather stop in Ocala, sleep, and get up and leave at like 7 am to make rest of drive.

If we leave at an earlier time, like 6 am, I like to go to that one in LBV. Get there around 4 pm, kids can relax, swim, we can eat at Sweet Tomatoes, and get a good night sleep before getting to parks first thing next morning.

It's great if you need meth on the way or something. Ocala the town is a shithole. Last week a 9 year old literally murdered a 5 year old there, and shocked nobody in the state. Outside of the city it is beautiful horse country, as hilly a Florida gets.

lake city

If in Ocala and have some time hit up Big Daddy's museum

Lake City is my preference.

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There's not really any small towns with a decent hotel that I know of right off the interstate.

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Clermont isn't right off the turnpike, but it's not that far out of the way down Hwy 27. It's about a 30 minute drive to the DW gates from there. It's a fair sized city with plenty of dining options as well.

When time gets that tight, I start to do the A/B on flying.

Once you factor in an entire day of travel (with meals, gasoline) AND an overnight stay - I'm not saying flying will be cheaper, but at that point you're getting 20 or more hours of time for the additional money.