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Thanksgiving holiday traffic numbers into Central Florida to be highest in 12 years, experts say

According to AAA, more than 50 million people will be hitting the road or heading to the airport for the Thanksgiving holiday.
With Orlando listed as the No. 1 travel destination by the organization, Central Florida residents were bracing for a massive influx of tourists and other travelers over the next few days.
Angelo Costanzo brought his family from Buffalo, New York, to visit the area’s theme parks, specifically Disney, for his daughter’s birthday.
“It’s her birthday tomorrow, so she’s going to be pretty excited for Disney and her birthday, and also Thanksgiving,” Costanzo said.
This Thanksgiving holiday season is expected to see the most travelers in 12 years, and nearly 90 percent of them will be making a trip by car, experts said.
Todd Stephens was driving south from Gainesville and said it had been a harrowing trip.
“It was not good,” he said. “Five accidents, people speeding, but I just took my time.”
To help ease traffic congestion, construction work has been suspended in Central Florida, but with rain expected on Thanksgiving Day, the Florida Highway Patrol expects to see a fair number of crashes.
“Some people will be running late (and) they’ll want to speed, and therefore, we’ll see those higher numbers of crashes,” FHP spokeswoman Kim Montes said.