I really want to go to Walt Disney World with my girlfriend. We can’t afford to fly so I’m thinking we should drive. How can I figure out how far it is to drive, then share that info with her in a funny way from my Windows PC?
Not knowing where you’re based, I can’t tell if we’re talking two hours on the turnpike or five solid days behind the wheel, so I’m going to offer up a solution on how to use Microsoft Maps on a Win10 system to figure out driving directions to Disneyworld, Orlando Florida from my location in Colorado. And before we go any further, yes, Denver to Orlando is a long darn way. But let’s see how it all works.
Keep in mind that because it’s using basic map route data like speed limits to calculate time its estimate could be way off if you, say, hit some major construction that slows down a highway from 75mph to 35mph for 20 miles, or an accident that shuts the highway for a few hours and leaves you stuck. Then again, your idea of a quick stop for lunch might involve a leisurely two hour meal so that’s a factor too, right? Still, Walt Disney World. Who wouldn’t want to go there and have a vacation??
Let’s start by launching the correct program. Easiest way is to just search for “maps” on your PC:
If you haven’t used the program in a while, it’s possible it’ll need to update its map data on launch, but more likely than not, you’ll click or tap to select Maps from the results above and be looking at a map of your current location.
Unless, of course, your privacy settings are such that you block Maps from seeing your location…
It’s not clear from the window verbiage, but if you say “Yes” you’re allowing the program to access your location forevermore and will need to go back into Settings to disable it again. Don’t want that? Say “No” and start by searching for your current location. Or just allow it and then you’ll see that map of your location:
You can see my location at a café on Wadsworth Blvd in Westminster, CO. That’ll be my starting point.
Next step is to enter the destination. For something as well known as Walt Disney World you can just type in the name and it’ll suggest possible matches:
Not sure about that Disneyworld match in Gujarat, but otherwise they’re all in the right area. Choose the second, Walt Disney World, as that’s the formal and correct name of the Orlando location.
It’ll then show up on the map and be in the info box both:
You can share this with your girlfriend but… let’s get those driving directions so you can see what kind of challenge you have ahead of you to get to Orlando in the first place!
To do that, click on “Directions” on the top right of the info box.
Notice you can choose between driving, public transport (the tiny bus icon) and walking. Seriously, walking? Probably going to take me a year if I want to walk from Denver, Colorado to Orlando, Florida. And possibly a few weeks via bus! I’ll stick with driving directions. The above looks good for starting and ending points, so click on “Get directions” on the lower right…
You can see all the critical information on the top left: 1857.4 miles with an estimated driving time of 32 hours and 29 minutes. It also highlights that this route has a 6 hour delay due to traffic and includes toll roads. Hmm… if we could drive a consistent 55mph for the entire time, that’d be 33.7 hours of driving. Pretty darn similar to the actual time estimate!
Okay, there’s the driving mission. Definitely an epic road trip! Now, to share this with your girlfriend – if you aren’t already dissuaded from how long it’ll take – click on the “•••” icon on the very top right of the Maps window. That offers this menu:
Choose Share (though you might want to sidetrack and check out some of the Settings options too). Once you do that, there are a bunch of different ways you can share the driving route, etc from directly within Win10 Microsoft Maps:
Sharing it to your phone could be helpful if you’re ready to jump into the car, but “Messenger” is probably the best choice here, or possibly Mail. In any case, now you know how to get driving directions within Microsoft Maps for Disneyworld and share ’em with someone. The hard part’s still left up to you: Actually driving that route!
Pro Tip: I’ve been writing about Windows 10 for years. Please check out my extensive Windows 10 help area for lots more useful tutorials while you’re here on the site!
15 years late!!!