Is it worth driving from New England to Disney for the "experience"?

[girls]

We drive from MD and I really enjoy it. Growing up we took long road trips around the country. 20 yrs later those times "being bored" in the car with my parents and brother are some of my favorite memories.

 

[girls]

I think this is the biggest factor in driving vs. flying for many people - attitude. Yes, the kids are going to fight, yes things could go wrong, yes, you'll probably want to smack your DH on the head a time or two at one point, and your DH may envision opening the door and kicking you out on the freeway at 80 mph. LOL. So what? That's LIFE. That's every day life. And it can happen in an airport or a plane just as easily. Sure, there's less time for the negatives, but there's also less time for the positives - we have some of the greatest conversations and laughs with our kids in the car. We sing, we listen to comedy shows, we play games, the kids tell us stories (our son never fails to blow us away with his imagination), we TALK. Driving gives us real time together, to actually focus on each other without the distraction of theme parks etc... To me, having time together, yes, even when some of it means refereeing children (seriously, how is that different than any other day of a parent's life?), is priceless.

This 100%. Our kids are little and this will be our 5th trip driving with them.

 

[RustManFan]

For about half our trips we have taken the Auto Train. Once we only did it from VA to FL and then drove all the way home. Gave us the opportunity to spend a night in SC, time in NC where we visited NASCAR team shops, a night in VA (and driving through Shenandoah National Park), and a slight detour to spend the night in Gettysburg, PA and do the auto tour there before we headed home to NJ.

We have fantastic memories of this trip but likely will not drive between NJ and FL again as my vacation time is more limited. Still debating Auto Train or flying in 2016.

 

[Shir Kahn]

We drive from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada on about half our trips, which is 4140 miles roundtrip and love it! The only times we don't drive are when we just don't have the extra time, as it's 32 hours of driving each way. Yeah, it can get tedious at times, but there's so much you miss when you fly! We look at the drive as part of the adventure.

 

[GAN]

We drive from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada on about half our trips, which is 4140 miles roundtrip and love it! The only times we don't drive are when we just don't have the extra time, as it's 32 hours of driving each way. Yeah, it can get tedious at times, but there's so much you miss when you fly! We look at the drive as part of the adventure.

Wow ...do you do that in 2-days?

 

[goofyernmost]

Wow ...do you do that in 2-days?

I can't speak for them, but, probably not. Most of the time when we drove from Vermont, we took 3 days and that was 1500 miles. It wasn't so much that we couldn't have made it in two days, in fact, I did do that a number of times, but, it was a planned thing. I wanted to stop and see things when the feeling struck me and not be confined to a high pressure schedule. I also didn't want to be so exhausted when we got there that I couldn't enjoy my time at WDW. We usually took about half of it out on the first day in the areas that were familiar to me and then tapered off until the last day was an easy few hours arriving about mid-afternoon, relaxing, resting and getting ready to hit the parks on the next day.

I know that wouldn't work for everyone, but, it was perfect for us.

 

[Shir Kahn]

We usually take 3 days so that we can stop at our favorite places and don't have to rush. The whole point of us driving instead of flying is to enjoy it and you can't enjoy too much if you're looking at your watch! We have made the drive in 2 days though, when we're just wanting to get started on Disney asap! But usually if that's the case, we'll just fly instead.

 

[Eechallenger]

We drove down one year (from CT) and stopped at lots of places (Savannah, DC) then vacationed at WDW. It was a fun but long trip. The trip back was not fun and I won't drive down again for that reason.

 

[Kbee]

No way would I drive from NE, especially if the savings were only $300. I'd gladly pay that (and more) not to be in a car for 20 hours!

 

[FancyNancy]

I live in Maine and we fly every time. That being said if you want to experience it then go for it! That way you will know if it's right for your family or not.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

Whatever you do, don't decide to drive for the sake of going to South of the Border. I hate to say it, but the place is a toilet. Worse than cheesy, it is depressing

 

[Eolyn]

We drive down from GA and it's an 8-9 hour drive. Like someone said, the drive down is exciting and full of anticipation. Usually, it's something I'm excited about on its own! By the time we hit the Florida Welcome Center which is about half way we are super pumped. And we are usual at Lake Buena Vista by 4-5pm so we head to DTD for some fun.

But from New England that drive is, what, 20 hours or so depending on how far north you are? Experience is one thing, but that long of a drive isn't really worth it unless you really need to save that $300. Think of the vacation time you lose on the drive alone compared to a <3 hour flight. Plus, for us the drive back sucks. It's a snoozefest and a long reminder that the vacation is over. I think it would be a sad, boring 20 hours.

 

[dsdeleon]

Upstate NY. My favorite is renting a car, driving there and flying one way back.

 

[dpswift]

We have driven from Central New York several times. We used to stop for 1 night and on those occasions we would do a touristy thing on the way. However when we go to Disney we drive strait through.

I think a road trip is a fun idea but I personally would not want to combine it with Disney. One stop is fine but many I would not be able to stop thinking about getting there.

 

[magicbob]

Whatever you do, don't decide to drive for the sake of going to South of the Border. I hate to say it, but the place is a toilet. Worse than cheesy, it is depressing

I was just at South of the Border last week (just for a quick rest stop on my way home from a business trip) and I second that it's pretty much a dump. I remember visiting once as a kid and it was nothing fancy even then (mid-70s). But I cannot even imagine actually making that a vacation destination these days. Apparently neither can anyone else, the place was a ghost town. Don't drive just to visit South of the Border. You will be extremely disappointed.

 

[bigcrit]

We are driving from Phila area this summer just to experience it. I have flown to Disney and took the auto train years ago. Our friends always drive so we are going to give it a go. At least you can then say for sure you wouldn't do it again.

We just got airfare from Phila at 150.00 each for our trip in July. I have driven to Orlando and we spend quite a bit on gas, tolls and food. If we did stop we would need to include a hotel room. The trip is 1,000 miles each way. We spent nearly 600 hundred last year driving. Flying is nearly break even with a fraction of the travel time. My two cents......

 

[asbyrneva]

We'd like to do it once. 2 adult 1 7yr old. She would be fine.

I'd like to go to South of the Border once. I know it's cheesy but I remember going as a child and would like to again. Other than that, will it be a torturous ride when the flights are only 2 1/2 hours?

Would save us only $300.

Whatever you do, don't decide to drive for the sake of going to South of the Border. I hate to say it, but the place is a toilet. Worse than cheesy, it is depressing

Can't agree more! The South of the Border of the 70's 80s is long gone. Its not kitchy, cheesy or nostalgic anymore.

 

[TandLMommy28]

I grew up in New England and went to college in Florida. I made the drive many times. I personally would take two days in the car over 2 hours on a plane every single time. The rest of my family disagrees and so we usually fly but I love a good road trip! We are driving our next trip and we are stopping a bunch of fun places. I can't wait.

 

[TandLMommy28]

As far as nothing to look forward to on the way home--only if you make it that way. We are picking a couple of stops along our drive to do something fun to make it less sad to be leaving. We are headed towards Indy through Atlanta so we are going to spend the night in Atlanta and take the kids to World of Coke in the morning before we get back in the car for the day. And a few more little fun stops, too. Driving up the east coast there are PLENTY of things to stop and see and do to make it part of the trip.