Driving versus Flying?

[queenofthehive]

I prefer to drive. I like that I can pack as much stuff as I want. I am not a the mercy of the airlines. It is more relaxing and less stressful for me. Just pack some dvds, books, games etc for the kids. Take a few breaks so everyone can stretch and the kids can run. Yep, driving is better than flying any day...

[dminnie]

I'm in the drive camp. It's easier to bring whatever you and your kids want. It saves money for other things. With flight delays, it could take 12 hours anyways quite easily(although you can have traffic delays too). I find it easier to pack my breakfast foods/snacks at home rather than order them from a grocer to be delivered and it's another way to save money for other things.

One thing that is nice is that once you are at Disney, you can relax and let them do the driving. Take the bus and enjoy people watching on the way to the parks. It's nice to have the flexibility of driving your own car depending on which park you're going to or if you want to have dinner at another resort.

That being said, our drive is about 16-17 hours, so we split it up in two days. If airfare is super cheap, we fly. Most of the time we can't justify that extra cost. We really haven't minded the drive though.

[Three cats]

We are going to drive this year from CT. I would prefer to fly but the fiance won out this time...lol


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[PrincessesX3]

We have driven a few times but flying is definitely our preference. Driving down to WDW is fine bc our excitement fuels the way, but coming home we are all miserable. When we drive down, we leave at 7pm from NY and get to WDW by 2ish the next day. Only a couple of stops and the girls sleep most of the time; however driving home we leave around 10 from WDW and feel like it takes us three days to get home. We usually stop and stay in North Carolina. So between stops, gas, hotel and frustration we will fly.
Driving: approx 800-900 (gas mostly)
Flying: approx 1200

[samacita]

With any trip for us, not just Disney, it depends on how much time we have available. For the trip we are planning now, we only have 5 days to work with, so we don't want to spend two of them in the car. If we were able to get away for a week or longer, we'd likely drive. Road trips are fun for us and flying is too, the kids enjoy themselves either way.

[cindym]

If you are on I95, we stop at Brunswick GA or Savannah.

[goofy4prez]

Originally Posted by Angeejoe

My husband hates to fly, so we always drive. It's a long drive from OH (we only live a half mile from MI)! We stop along the way at a hotel when we get tired & then leave bright & early the next day. I wish we were only 12 hrs away!!! That would be a great 1 day trip. Sometimes I wish we could fly & spend the travel days we normally drive at Disney instead!!!

Try finding a way to knock your husband out and drag him on a plane like they did with Mr. T on the A Team.

You mention you live about a half mile from the MI. border; I have a very close friend of mine who lives about a mile from MI and lives in Sylvania.

[dminnie]

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

Kennesaw, GA is just north of Atlanta. It's a nice area and the hotels are nice there. A lot of the hotels further south in GA just aren't very nice. We prefer to stay somewhere around Atlanta even if it is a bit further drive the next day.

[scjo68]

We are around 12 hours aaway, too, and usually drive. Last week, DH and I flew to WDW for te first time, and it worked well. It was just two of us, so the cost wasn't too high. THe more people, the less expensive driving is.

We also booked a direct flihjt, which made it worth it. When I compare how long flying takes, I look at total time, door-to-door. With a direct flight, it was 6 hours flying, versus 12 for driving. But some of the flights I found with connections, would have saved no time, really.

Benefits of driving:
You are in control of your schedule
You control how you pack, and no one goes through your bags or frisks you (hopefully!)
You can bring more stuff with you
You have your own car for the whole trip
You don't have to worry about your kids disrupting the whole plane
Usually less expensive- don't forget to factor in wear and tear on your car.

Benefits to flying:
saves time
Don't need to worry about car breaking down, flat tire, etc.
Forces you to pack more lightly

[Magic3forme]

when we lived in Ohio we normally drove... 5 airline tickets was alot ( and we could use that money to upgade our hotel.)

we liked having our car to be able to get groceries or run out for a quick meal. ( we always seemed to forget something.)

we like the restaurants at the hotels, so it made it so much easier to drive rather than use Disney transportation.

[GATORinaZ28]

We only live 6.5 hours away and usually drive. However, we decided to fly on our last trip. The only benefit was the "not having to drive" part of it on the way home. It was nice to relax after an exhausting trip and just ride a plane.

We are debating whether or not we will do that again this year, though. We found that waiting on busses wasn't our thing, though 99% of the time it was not a bad wait. We also found that flying took us longer en-route than driving did.

[Lori77]

We are headed down this Saturday in our first attempt to drive to the world. It will be about 22 hours each way. We have a 3yr old and almost 8yr old, so we are not too sure how this will work.

I have some fun games and portable DVD, plus a kindle and DS's for the kids, so it should be OK. We will be driving overnight, so they should sleep, right? :-)

We are anxious to see the sights, and make some stops along the way, including taking a detour for the ocean. We are landlocked in Nebraska, so this will actually give us a chance to be near the beach rather than flying and using ME.

Thank you to all the posts for giving me some hope that this is a good thing and that we will share many memories along the way!

[Scout54]

We're in NW Alabama & we have driven down most of the times we've been! It's not that bad of a trip, 10 hours straight through, but with our 4 & 6 year old princesses, it usually stretches out to 12 hours. We try to leave VERY early in the AM. We find that leaving at 2 or 3 gets us several hours of driving time while the girls sleep & then DH & I can swap off driving & napping in the afternoon. Like others have said, DVDs & little dollar store Disney surprises help the trip go much smoother for the little ones!

Good luck!

[MinnieLovesMickey12]

We have done both. The first trip DH and I went on to WDW without the kids we drove. It is a 12 hour drive for us and it costs us about $250 in gas. That was it. Plus the 2 whole days wasted in travel time.

When we fly it is about $300 per person RT for airfare and about $200 for a rental car and gas for the week. SO flying costs us over double what driving costs us.

But to me, my wasted time when we drive is worth more. I prefer to fly.

Even when all 5 of us went we still flew even though that was quite a chunk of change for the 5 of us to fly. And we had to rent a full size car so it would be big enough for 5 of us and 7 bags.

But there is no way I was planning on being in a car with 3 tweens/teens for 12 hours.

If we couldn't have afforded to fly then I would have just waited and saved up longer so we could fly.

I will avoid ever driving again if I can help it. Unless my husband springs a last minute unexpected trip on me and says we can only go if we drive. Then of course I will go in the car.

[Missytara]

I have always flown.

This year, I am traveling with three people, Mom and two kids, who cannot afford to fly. They also wanted to have a car at their disposal, in case they wanted to go to Universal one day. They were going to drive and I was going to fly.

I decided, at 52, I may never get the opportunity to drive to Disney again, so I took them up on the offer of driving with them. That gives us three drivers, instead of 2, so we each only have to drive around 6 hours or so.

I am really looking forward to it, but I will be more than happy to fly on all the rest of my trips.