Sounds Silly!!!!

[chip64]

We live in Spring Hill, Tennessee which is about an 11 hour drive and was thinking instead of paying 780.00 for 4 tickets we could save a lot of money by driving. Is this crazy? BTW, we have driven this trip many times but are concerned about the hoiday weekend. Thanks, Chip.

[luv2nascar]

We are thinking about driving 20 hrs from PA for 1st week of Dec
so no I don't think your nuts
We will do anything to get to disney
Go for it

[disneefamily]

Disnee Dad Says................................... An eleven hour drive, sometimes that just feels like a trip to work! By all means go for it.
The money you save pays for a room if you get lazy on the way back, and for much more!

[disboo]

How long would it take you to fly? Add in the drive to the airport, the time to park and get to the terminal, the two hour pre-flight suggestion, the flight itself, waiting for luggage (always last off the carousel) and it's almost 11 hours right there! :) Save your $780 for something fabulous - like a couple extra days at WDW!!!

[cindyfan]

ditto to what disboo said!
Think about the amount of time you actually spend flying.......from leaving your front door to arriving at WDW!!
For us from OH....We left our house at 2:30 and arrived at CBR at close to 9pm. So that is about 6 1/2 compared to a possible 18 hour drive. So for us....we fly.
But.......what if the flight is delayed, etc. Once it took almost 13 hours for us to get home.....cancelled flight, etc, etc,...
Also add in the cost of the rental car if you get one for the week, or the cost of taxi service to WDW from the airport.

IMHO if the drive is less that 10 hours, I would drive to save the money!

[Disneydenise]

I just did an 11 hour trip with my two children. (teens) If I lived that close to WDW I wouldn't waste the $$$ it will take you about 6 to 7 hours all in to do the travel even if you fly. I think it will save you atleast 600 to drive and that isn't including the cost of the rental car. If you can share the driving you can do it straigt thru for sure. I was more nervous when my kids were driving than when I drove so it was really only some experience driving on an interstate for them. DH had to stay home so if he had been there it would have been much more enjoyable. I think a car trip can be a great time to strengthen the family bonds.

[disny4fun]

We live in Jonesborough, TN and the commute is 10 hours. We drove half way, spent the night in GA and then complete the trip the next day. We arrived around 2pm at WDW. On the way home we drove straight through! Next time I might stop on the way home too!

BTW - when are you going?

[Kim in TN]

We live in Pulaski TN, and we have drove the past 2 times and will this do so this September. If you could avoid the big towns at rush hour, or drive in the evening/ early morning hours, that would eliminate some of the holiday traffic.

Nice to see fellow Tennesseans!

:D

[Pooh Girl 71]

It's about 10 hrs or so for us. We are driving at night the next time we go. I am borrowing the video in a bag (from my parents) in case the child wakes up. It's not a bad drive.

[Bob NC]

Last time we drove we left the house at 2:40 pm and arrived at the Hilton at DD at 11:35 pm.

Last time we flew we left the house at 5:30 pm and arrived at AKL at around midnight.

By flying we saved 2 and a half hours....Then we spent $200 on a rental car.

I say drive.

[ceecee]

We live in OH. Left at 7:00 and got to our hotel by 11:45. For us it would take a day down and back plus you feel wiped out from the long drive. We vowed to NEVER drive again after doing it the first time.

[WDW2002]

I live about 9 - 10 hours from DLR and drive down every trip. I wouldn't think twice about driving. $780 is a (short) trip in itself.

[colleen costello]

We never fly. even before maniacs were taking over planes, I was chicken. Nowadays thats OK because it is SO CHEAP to drive.

I live in Bloomington IN and have two little kids, and we do fine -- 16 hours. You have a choice. You can do one long day or two short. We do two days. We drive MOST of the way the first day and stay in Macon or Valdosta. There are nice, clean, inexpensive hotels all over -- I stay in a little Best Western in Macon for $49. We get in late, watch a little tv, and get to bed. Up early the next morning, free breaskfast, and off we go. We usually get to Mickey right around check-in time.

We save so much money by driving, and I am spoiled by always having my OWN transportation when vacationing. We often go off-property for meals, which saves money too. Gas plus a few fast-food meals plus hotel NEVER comes close to the cost of tickets for 4. The money saved means some years we can visit Mickey TWICE!

Try it! I hate the hassle of the airlines and love being my own "pilot." We come and go when WE are ready and I promise you, you will LOVE having a vehicle at WDW. Good luck! :D

[Poohbr618]

What Holiday weekend are you going? What days are you planning on driving? We live just outside Kingsport TN and we have made the trip down several times. Sometimes we will do it in two days, leaving in the evening and stopping in GA and then others we drive straight thru (10 hrs) It's a fairly easy drive. Not alot of major cities to contend with. $800 is a lot of Disney dollars...compared to maybe 200.00 round trip for driving..plus you save on a rental car!

[Justhope]

OH gosh!! Disny4fun I live in Telford Tn , It's a small world.

Hope

[campingcorgi]

Mt. Juliet, TN, here, and we always drive! The drive is part of the fun of the trip!!

[cocacolamom]

I say go for it! 11 hours is not a bad trip to take in one day. My DH, DS's (1 & 4) and myself are driving for the first time and I'm kind of excited to have some family time in the car. From MI, it's a 21 hour trip, so we will take 2 days to make the trip.

Last year it took us about 8 hrs. from the time we got to the airport to getting to the hotel. But that trip cost us about $400 more than what we plan on spending on this "driving trip".

[AmyA]

Hi Chip64!
We live in LaVergne, so about one hour further away than you. We had planned to drive for our upcoming trip in September, but when when SWA came out w/ their $39 each way flights we decided to fly. However, it's just the 2 of us this time and we just wanted to be at WDW as quickly as possible!

We are taking our kids next May. Flying is out of the question for that trip. Besides being too expensive, I'll want our vehicle and our car seats at our disposal. Waiting for hours at the airport with 2 little kids doesn't appeal to me much, either. We are planning to do 2 days each way for the trip and just enjoy each others' company in car (LOL, if you call "When are we gonna beeee there?" 15 times an hour enjoyable!).;)

Have a great trip!

[Lisa P.]

From the mountains, it takes us about 11-12 hours to drive to WDW, including 2 stops for light meals. For a solo trip or a trip of 3 nights or less, a flight is worth the money. Otherwise, we always drive our van. Our kids have reclining seats and plenty of space, walkman cassette players, gameboys and favorite books. They've been fine with this since they were 7, 5 & 5.

I've driven the kids myself during the daytime, straight through, but it's way easier when DH is with us. Then he starts driving in the evening, I take the midnight to 6AM stretch, and he finishes with the morning driving. We've driven longer trips now that the kids are older (13, 11 & 11) and they've done so well on them (up to 16 hours in a day) that we're considering a cross-country road trip soon. :D

A few tips: let each child bring a backpack of toys/games/cassette tapes & player
pack a small, soft cooler with drink boxes & favorite snacks
do not allow the questions, "when" or "how long?" - don't answer, just smile
show the kids a map ahead of time: they can follow along & look for "welcome to..." signs
bring a lap blanket & small pillow for each - sofa pillows are good
consider driving for at least part of the trip while they'd normally sleep
borrow a car tv/vcr if you can & bring tapes
Hope that helps! :cool:

[Jordan's MOM]

We are about 11 hours away and we debated the drive-fly issue on our first trip. Never again. The drive is just too easy to pay out that kind of money. We have a honda and get great gas milage, drive straight through and eat sandwiches for lunch. We could not really afford to fly on the first trip and even though we now could, I choose to use the money somewhere else. Next trip it goes toward our first deluxe.


Jordan's mom

[chris1gill]

Eleven hours is NOTHING!! By the time you wake up, drive to the airport, check in, take your flight, get off the plane, get your luggage, get your car & get to Disney it's probably close to 8 hours!!! I'd drive if I was 11 hours away!!!

[dbond]

We drove 21 hours from Texas last Fall. We have been countless times before, we've always flown. Last year with Sept 11, our flights in October were cancelled and we decided to take the refund they offered and drive instead. I have to say, it was our best trip ever. So relaxing. We took our time and stopped to see the sights along the way. The kids had movies to watch, we rented books on tape to listen to. We had car games to play. They talk more about what they did and saw along the way than the actual WDW trip. We'll do it again without hesitation.

[f-LORI-da]

Heck, I wish I lived that close to WDW. I envy all you southerners who live so close. I love to fly, but living that close would make quick trips so easy... you know, so I can get the most out of my AP;)

[taylor1293]

I don't think you are crazy at all.

We live 1000 miles away and will be driving with 2 kids, 2 and 8 yrs old.

I estimated gas for the van will be around $200.

Tickets (the cheapest I could find) were $600 for the 4 of us, plus the cost of a rental car, another $200.

I'm spending my extra $600 at Disney instead of on travel!

Have fun!

Teresa

[Magic2000]

We've been to Disney many, many times. Most times, we drive - its about 11 hours for us (and you lose an hour going there). We usually try to leave around 3:00 AM, and we usually get there around 3:00 PM. We stop for lunch (quick & cheap) and it really isn't a bad drive.

The kids have been doing it since they were a year old and we make the most out of our family time!

If we fly, its only about an hour and a half flight, but again, if you're flying five people, that's a lot of money!

We're driving down for our "Christmas trip" this year. We've been adding a "Christmas" trip the last two years, but this year, we're trying to save a little. So, we'll drive down on Wed afternoon/night, arrive early Thurs morning. We'll do the drive back on Sunday! Can't wait!!

[tinaluis]

11 hours -- a piece of cake. That's actually the first leg of our trip and then we stop overnight and then onto WDW the next day. I love the drive and saving the nearly $800 it would cost between the cheapest flight possible and the rental car -- even thru Priceline. We're driving for our upcoming January trip and thinking we may also sneak one in in October if we can swing it.

[Princess49]

My very first Disney trip-- when i was 5 years old-- we rented a motor home & drove from NY & stayed in this HUGE motor home the whole time (even better than a hotel to a 5 year old!:D ) I havent driven there since. Me & my bf spend a good penny on airfare but we dont have very flexible days off so adding almost 4 days worth of driving time doesnt make sense for us. We've done long road trips though & never had a problem-- we get up bright & early & make lots of bathroom & coffee stops!! But we have a good time trading off driving & spending down time together! My Aunt & Uncle drive with their kids from Long Island NY to WDW everyyear & they wouldnt fly if you paid for it! The only complaint i have & have also heard from them- & I'm sure we can all relate--- The trip there is a piece of cake adreneline pumping & youre so excited to get there-- but at the end of your vacation you may not want to get back in the car-- if you were fully relaxed you probably wont be by the time the drive is over! Now I know that even flying back home that we're still exahusted because we always do anything & everything while we're there so maybe driving wont make a difference. $780 does seem like a lot for airfare though! Did you check for internet specials on airlines like southwest or jet blue? We've never flown them but I hear spirit has some good deals too. Last week I saw airfare on southwest for $44 each way & thats all the way from NY-- (I'm kicking myself for not taking it that moment!) Also on southwest- check for weekly specials city to city orlando usually has good deals to almost anywhere depending on your travel date. If not-- save that $780 & make the drive-- no matter what you'll be in WDW & theres nothing better than that!!

[chinamom3]

I'm a flyer. We live 45 minutes from the Atlanta Airport, and we chose to fly down when we go in December. I choose the convenience over the money. I prefer not to have to deal with bathroom stops, getting food, "are we there yet?", etc., especially with little one. However, because of the $590 airfare for the 3 of us to fly, I chose to stay at an All Stars onsite rather than more expensive hotel, because we won't be in the room much anyway. I'd rather fly and get there in an hour and a half, also won't use up day time getting there and back.