1st DVC Stay: Fly or Drive - Help me Decide!

[AnnaKate]

We are so excited to have recently become DVC members and have booked a split stay (which we've never done before) with 4 nights at BCV 1Bdr followed by 4 nights at OKW 1Bdr in May. We will be going from a Sat to Sun.

While we have been to Orlando several times over the last 20 years, we've never flown and have always driven the 8.5-9 hours from AL. I am contemplating flying but having a hard time selling my husband on it! To me, the pros would be being less tired after taking a direct flight, saving $ due to rising gas prices, and less stress in general due to driving (due to thunderstorms/tornadoes, etc.).

My husband is concerned about no more ME, packing bigger items like an air mattress if we fly, and getting delayed/cancelled flights. He also likes having a car when we're at Disney in case we want to drive instead of taking buses.
I should also mention we are a party of 4 with 2 sons - 1 in college and 1 in high school, so no strollers for us. We are taking an air mattress so that our sons don't have to sleep in the same bed at BCV.

Any advice/thoughts I haven't considered? TIA!!

 

[barb969]

As for driving to the parks, remember the trams are not running.
You don't mention how you would get to WDW from MCO.

 

[AnnaKate]

As for driving to the parks, remember the trams are not running.
You don't mention how you would get to WDW from MCO.

We would probably do either Uber or Lyft to go to MCO.
Sorry, I realize I wasn't clear about driving while at Disney. Good point about the trams! We wouldn't do it to go to most parks except for maybe AK, but it would be more if we wanted to eat at another resort, maybe Sanaa at AKV.

 

[Disneykate605]

We recently moved from NC to FL. We usually drove (9 hours) to Disney. It was convenient to be able to pack everything we wanted and to have our car to drive around property if we wanted to. On the few occasions we flew, we had to do without some things (not the biggest deal after we got an Owner's locker) we didn't have room to pack and we had to rely solely on Disney transportation. It was nice to be there in a couple of hours but I much preferred having our car while there. Now we have the best of both worlds...we drive and it only takes 2 hours!
ETA: The biggest advantage of driving for us was we would pack all of the food we wanted for our villa while on vacation so we didn't have to waste time shopping for groceries on our trip and we didn't have to worry about the logistics of a grocery delivery service.

 

[CraigInPA]

I think the decision also hinges on whether it's just you and your husband, or whether there are others involved.

Even with $3.55 per gallon gas, I don't think you'd find flying cheaper with 2 people, and certainly it would be cheaper to drive with more than 2 people.

If I was only an 8-9 hour drive, I wouldn't even consider flying due to the hassles of flying these days, potential flight cancellations, and the loss of flexibility in cargo. A couple of years ago, I bought a large painting at Epcot Festival of the Arts, had it signed by the artist, and then sweated whether it would arrive at my home undamaged via UPS. The year before, my wife bought a tea set from the Mikuoshi store, and likewise worried about damage in transit. As it turned out, neither was damaged, but the tea set sat on the front step for 3 days until we got home, and the painting got to my home in eastern Pennsylvania after a three plane hop that included a stop in the mid-west. One year our flight on Friday was cancelled due to snow, re-scheduled for Saturday, re-scheduled for Sunday, and we finally flew on Monday. Had we been driving, we would have left on Thursday, totally avoiding the snow.

 

[Nabas]

Welcome home, new DVC member!

We live 6-7 hours away from WDW and always drive. We are on the road by 6 am and, after a relaxing lunch (usually at UNO’s in Winter Garden) arrive at WDW during the afternoon.

We like packing the car and leaving everything in there until we arrive at our DVC. Much less of a hassle (IMO) than dealing with luggage at the airport.

We like having a car when we are there. Except for the Magic Kingdom, we find the car a much easier option, even with the trams not back in service.

We often dine at least once offsite, and also bring along a cooler. We also sometimes make light grocery runs for some basics. Having a car really helps.

Remember that with DVC, your room might not be ready till 4 pm.

A split stay is easier with your own car.

With DME ending and the price of flights for the 4 of you, driving seems like the obvious choice.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Normally, we are big fans of the flying side of getting to Disney, but I might actually recommend/prefer driving in your situation. It's not clear when you're going, but with current mask requirements in all airports and planes, it's a way different experience. It's very manageable, but you could do without it by driving. You'd also save on Uber/Lyft or the ridiculous price of rental cars at this time. The worst part of the trip would be the drive home! My wife's solution would be easy if I wanted to drive. All 4 of us would drive there, then the 3 of them would fly home and I would drive the 9 hours to get the car home!! Good luck with your planning. And WELCOME HOME! You're going to love BCV and OKW - both our home resorts for many years.

 

[Dizzydizney]

I avoid flying as much as possible. Between flights being cancelled or delayed, the price, dealing with baggage, the increase of rudeness and the “I don’t care” attitude from airline employees (before the pandemic), the constant hunt for a car rental bargain, etc....I really don’t miss it.
What we do now sometimes is get a hotel room close to Disney but but far enough away to avoid price gouging. Get a free breakfast in the morning and check into our resort early and go and enjoy a park or the pool. I realize this plan would involve driving on a Friday which is not fun either. We’ve done it both ways and will pull into our resort around 2 pm if we don’t do the other hotel thing.
We also will drive to any park except Magic Kingdom. But we leave early in the morning (take advantage of the 30 minute early opening) and we get a pretty close parking spot. I would hope that by your trip in May the trams should be back .
It’s really a personal decision...driving has its own perils like you mentioned. But we love having our own car since we do split stays. We bring a wheelie cooler with our refrigerated stuff so it’s easy to transfer to our next resort. We do some grocery shopping down there but bring a lot with us. A fold up wagon is good to have too. Saves a lot of steps. We do a lot of food planning too....the cost of everything on Disney property has skyrocketed.

And welcome to the DVC family.

 

[Dizzydizney]

. The two posts above mine appeared before I hit the post button......

 

[WilsonFlyer]

We drive 8.5-9 hours down 3-5 times every year and have (at least until now) for over 20 years now. We always flew and rented a car until I drove my SUV down once. I'll never fly again. It's not even a choice with us anymore. We take what we want. Go where we want when we want. And take back home what we want. With the price of airfare out of RDU to Orlando for going on 20 years now, I can't imagine we'd save any money. Probably cost more. It always has. "But the flight is only 2 hours." Yeah. And leave home 4 hours before your flight and get thru security and wait on a flight that these days, that may or may not even happen? And wear a mask the whole time? No thanks. Not with a net savings of maybe an hour or two if you're lucky.

If you live within 10-12 hours of Orlando, I can't see how anybody rationalizes flying anymore. I can (and do) get anywhere on-property inside 10-15 minutes. Door to door. I don't waste time on any transportation except the monorail when we're not staying on the monorail loop. "Well I don't want to drive on vacation." What? Is that work to you? Or are you just simply too lazy to learn your way around and save the time? (It's not that hard. It's actually easy, especially when you learn all the shortcuts.) You'd prefer to waste time waiting on crowded and loud buses to the tune of at least an hour or two every day? Just calling it what it is.

If I ever have to go to WDW w/o my vehicle again, the only reason will be that somebody else hoodwinked me by paying for everything and made me.

 

[CarolynFH]

Our drive is 15-16 hours, and we split it over multiple days - previously over 2 days, but now we're older and don't like spending so many hours in the car at a time, we split it over 3 days. Even then, with costs of hotels and meals on the road, we come out ahead vs. the cost of plane tickets for both of us. So a single 8.5-9 hour day sounds great to us! We too like having our own car, because we can choose whether to drive to the parks or take Disney transportation, we can eat at the resorts and get back "home" more easily, and we also like to eat offsite more now than we used to. That said, we do fly at times, based on how much total time we can spend away from home for a given trip (we usually spend 7 nights at WDW), but having to drive to the airport, get through security, be careful how much we pack, etc. is definitely a hassle.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

... we can eat at the resorts and get back "home" more easily, and we also like to eat offsite more now than we used to.

I think the benefits of leaving the bubble to eat and see other sites is belittled and fo-fooed by so many just because they've never been able to do it before and don't understand (really) all there is just outside the Disney bubble. Literally. Celebration Towne Tavern is enough excuse all by itself.

 

[CarolynFH]

I think the benefits of leaving the bubble to eat and see other sites is belittled and fo-fooed by so many just because they've never been able to do it before and don't understand (really) all there is just outside the Disney bubble. Literally. Celebration Towne Tavern is enough excuse all by itself.

We agree! We enjoyed the Towne Tavern as well as Columbia in June, look forward to returning!

 

[RoseGold]

I just got back and MCO it was not pleasant. Bags took forever, transportation took forever, security took forever, even an Uber was challenging. MCO used to be my happy, magical airport and now it’s like any other congested, difficult airport. Add 30 minutes for this, 30 minutes for that.

im not in driving range, but if I were I would be considering it after how difficult MCO was. There’s also the leaving. You can just get in your car and go.

i doubt flying saves money. I’d be considering the time hassle and whether you have a driving plan for coming home tired.

 

[mort1331]

Welcome home,,,now I am biased,,,we drive straight 21hours from Toronto every year,,,2020 we were only there for 3 days and then the closure...Love having the car flex and we do split stays most times. With the new changes with having no food being sent from resort to resort,,you can still pack up yours, take to new resort and have bell services store as long as you transport it.

 

[JoeyPeligroso]

MCO can be very challenging, especially recently.

Without ME baggage assistance, it is even more difficult - didn’t even use ME on my last two trips because IMO the baggage assistance was the main benefit. I fly based on distance to WDW, but don‘t love the MCO part. Using my credit card benefits I’ve tried to ease the pain going home with TSA precheck, Clear, and lounge access. I also try for direct flights whenever possible.

Disney on site transportation is not what it used to be. Uber is fine - it’s not always better, it’s just different. Sometimes it can save some time when on property when buses are running behind or other transportation is not available. It does allow you to feel more in control.

It would be a tremendous luxury to have my own car and drive. Having my car on site would be a huge benefit, but a flight is 2 hours and a drive is 15-16 hours.

If you can justify a drive I think that would be an awesome choice!

 

[AnnaKate]

I think the benefits of leaving the bubble to eat and see other sites is belittled and fo-fooed by so many just because they've never been able to do it before and don't understand (really) all there is just outside the Disney bubble. Literally. Celebration Towne Tavern is enough excuse all by itself.

Yes, we love CTT! We haven't been in several years and another reason my husband wants to drive is so we can easily go there to eat.

 

[AnnaKate]

Wow, thank you all for your responses! You each raise some very good points!

I believe we will end up driving for 4 main reasons - being able to go offsite easily to eat/shop, cost to fly vs. driving for 4 people, bringing a cooler to store food in since we're doing a split stay, and ease of transporting souvenirs home. I had mainly considered cost vs travelling time but hadn't really thought of the other things.
It's hard to wrap my head around the fact we will have a full kitchen and washing machine/dryer for the entire trip! We've never stayed at OKW or BCV and are so excited about trying out both. We probably wouldn't be staying at either due to the cost if it wasn't for DVC. This board has truly been invaluable throughout our DVC purchase process and now planning this trip.

 

[Skywalker3]

We live south of Nashville, and have driven every time, often several times a year, to Orlando, since moving here in 2008, and before that drove from Louisiana. It's sometimes daunting. We've had mostly good driving experiences, but ATL can be a crapshoot, Chattanooga, (or Birmingham if we go that route,) driving in terrible rain, just the idea of 12 hours each way, etc. But it would way too hard for us to give up having a vehicle there, and bringing all our stuff. We bring LOTS of stuff. Often we do our grocery shopping or Giordano's the first day, but after that, we park the car, and it's majority Disney transportation. But it's nice to have the option to drive if we want. We often do split stays, and that's great w your own vehicle. My husband and his parents flew this past March, and while it was a whole lot shorter travel time, he really, really missed having more of our usual convenient stuff.
I do know lots of folks tho who would never drive from our area. They always fly, and know a few who fly from Birmingham. I don't like to fly, (and it adds too much extra cost for us.
BIG Congrats on your DVC purchase and upcoming trips!!! You're going to LOVE it!

 

[CarolynFH]

It's hard to wrap my head around the fact we will have a full kitchen and washing machine/dryer for the entire trip!

It's the in-room laundry that makes it possible for us to fly - if we had to pack a whole week's worth of clothes, especially heavier clothes during cooler months, when we like to visit, we'd be paying for overweight bags a lot!