Driving versus Flying?

[sydneysmom]

Normally, we fly......but.....this trip we are driving the 12 hours. We calculated gas to $310 where the flights are still hovering around $1260. It's hard not to see its a better value in our case. Plus, we are going in June, so the resorts are more expensive. This helps defer some of that cost.

But, we are going to leave on Friday night....drive through the night and be at the GF about 9-10 am to get park tickets. We wouldn't get there that early if we flew. (But we might be going to bed early!).

We are going to take that day off from work to pack / board dogs and my DH will sleep most of the afternoon so driving through the night won't bother him.

[maxiesmom]

We could do 12 hours in one day, so I would drive if I was that close. It is over 20 hours from where I am in Michigan, so we fly. I would only drive from here if we had a few extra vacation days to use, and we could stop along the way and see some sights.

Another problem for us with driving is that it seems someone always has a nervous tummy, and we end up stopping a lot! Makes a long trip even longer!

[jupers]

We are driving for the first time this year from Boston. But we are spending a few days in Hershey pa on the way down. So the plan is a few days in Hershey then drive 1 night to Georgia, stay with friends and next day finish trip to wdw.

[pdchris]

Originally Posted by maxiesmom

We could do 12 hours in one day, so I would drive if I was that close. It is over 20 hours from where I am in Michigan, so we fly. I would only drive from here if we had a few extra vacation days to use, and we could stop along the way and see some sights.

Another problem for us with driving is that it seems someone always has a nervous tummy, and we end up stopping a lot! Makes a long trip even longer!

Fellow Michigander (NW). We've flown & driven but with the cost of flying, driving is so much cheaper. We usually stay over-might in Atlanta.

[milmore104]

We live in upstate NY. We head down to FL twice a year now that my MIL moved there. We used to only fly. But then I showed my DH how much cheaper it would be for a family of 5 to drive. So this past Nov. we loaded up the car and drove down. It was so nice not to have to weigh my bags and worry about over weight fees. Also not worrying how to pack things to get thru TSA. We loaded up the car with all their favorite things. Brought along a little cooler w drinks and a bag full of snacks. We had so much fun playing games and being silly. It was a lot less stressful on me (the mom). Not worrying how they were going to act on a plane. I even had a newly potty trained little one. I'm talking a week before the trip she decided it was time!
On the way down we drove straight thru. It took us 26 hours. We kept them pretty close to their schedules as far as eating. We tried to find places they could get out n play for a bit while we ate. On the way home we stopped in VA. Only because it was cold in FL and they didnt get any pool time in. So we stopped at a hotel w a pool.
We are driving again in 2 weeks. If it was cheaper to fly I would. But we did enjoy driving. The only draw back for me is that it cuts at least 2 days out of our vacation :-(

[DVCMikey]

We have done both. now that we have a baby it is easier for us to drive since there are alot more things to bring with us, plus we can use the car to drive to the parks and not worry about the buses if we don't want to.

Its not that bad of a drive and we make it part of the trip, its exciting, get to see different things and stop and rest and enjoy the trip.

however it is nice to get in a plane and in 2 hours be right there so fast.

[DVCMikey]

Originally Posted by sea nymph

We are on the Eastern side of PA and are driving. Estimated drive time is 18hours non-overnight stop. We are debating whether to drive straight thru or do an overnight. Depends on how the 3 kids (ages 6 - 10) handle it.

We are northwest NJ so we have about 18 hr drive too. Its not too bad. Do you guys take 95 all the way or have you tried I-81 to I-77?

[goofyredraider]

We drive 16.5+ hours. It costs us about $460-500 as opposed to over 1500 for flights. If I can ever find cheaper flights (think $200/each rt for5) I might consider it, but I also love having my car - less waiting around, etc.

[Aatif911]

We live close to Ann Arbor Michigan, and drove down to Disney World twice last year. Both times we drove straight through without any overnight stops.
At the time we had DD1 and DD4. They were well entertained with the activities we brought along with a portable DVD player.
The journey took us 19 hours both times.
We looked into flying this year just to save time. But it would cost us $1400 to fly down. While it cost us only $400 of gas to drive down and back!

So as you can see there are so many pros and cons to each.

[DixieBelle]

We always drive. I would love to fly, but the cost is way too much for all of us- 7 people in our family. we usually leave in the early evening and stop for supper after an hour or two, depending on traffic. Between the full tummies, the dark and the car ride, the little ones drift off and the big ones settle into the trip. Luckily DH is a night owl so he doesn't mind driving first. I sleep! When we stop in Florida for gas, I take over and he naps until we get there. For us it worked.

[cindym]

We are doing both! We normally drive as we enjoy the drive down from Ohio. It takes us about 18 hours. We usually stop in Georgia overnight. This year we are driving (granma and granpa) while the rest of the family flies down. We can take everything down in our SUV and they can use just carryons. We'll have our car and can drive to the parks if we need to. They can use ME and it will be really easy for them with a 5 year old and a 2 year old! Of course granma and granpa are retired so driving down is easy for us. If the weather is bad we can leave earlier or stay longer while they fly home. Last time we all drove in 2 vehicles as they came later than us. We got in snow in North Carolina and they shut the roads down for 2 inches of snow, we got a kick out of that as 2 inches is nothing for us in Ohio's snowbelt! Our daughter was worried that they would miss work.

[Anonomom]

With the ages your kids are, I'd lean towards driving, split up into two days if possible. Leave in the afternoon one day, get down to GA, stop for the night and leave early AM the next day.

That said, we're only 9 hours away and have both flown and driven. The times we have flown have been much more fun. It's just so easy to head to the airport in the morning and be in WDW in a few hours. No screaming children, no emergency bathroom breaks, no endless rounds of "are we there yet?" The only downside (other than cost) is that you're stuck with whatever schedule the airlines have. For us, that means leaving WDW earlier our last day that we would have if we'd driven, because we needed to make the flight home.

[nugov2]

Where do you stop in Georgia? We are coming from Chicago and were going to make reservations just incase we needed to stop. I am hoping we can drive straight through. Our plan is to leave about 6 or 7 pm after the rush hour and I am thinking we will make it at least 12 hours stop rest a couple and then drive the last 6. My dh thinks we should just plan a stop over somewhere in Georgia. He is not as optimistic as me

[pepe of ohio]

Originally Posted by nugov2

Where do you stop in Georgia? We are coming from Chicago and were going to make reservations just incase we needed to stop. I am hoping we can drive straight through. Our plan is to leave about 6 or 7 pm after the rush hour and I am thinking we will make it at least 12 hours stop rest a couple and then drive the last 6. My dh thinks we should just plan a stop over somewhere in Georgia. He is not as optimistic as me

We've stopped in Kingsland Ga.... Just about on the Florida boarder.... Hampton Suites, easy off and on... Free decent breakfast..... Short drive to WDW from there and if you leave early, blow right thru Jacksonville before traffic builds...

[bigbabyblues]

We have flown twice, driven six times, and will continue to drive (15-ish hours). We live almost 3 hours from the airport, and it is more of a hassle to us to fly than it is to drive. I don't want to mess with weighing my suitcase, or worrying about now many bags we can bring, or will my shampoo be allowed...etc. However, my DH is used to being up at night due to his job, and we leave in the afternoon and drive straight through. I also like to drive because we are on our own schedule...want to spend a few more hours in a park and do that thing we missed? Not a problem. We do plan our deaprture date for a Friday, that way we have the whole weekend to get home and settle in.

I know not everyone agrees with me, and I'm fine with that