Vacation Overload?

[jweb20]

Ok so I've been making an itinerary for our trip to Disney in June. We are going with my family. I've been looking into maybe doing a day at Universal... I can't just decide. We have an almost 18 hr drive there. I'm almost wondering if it would just be easier to fly? Any advice? My kids are 2 and 5. I'm just questioning if this is too long of a vacation (wed-fri)? This will be our first! But if we flew we could do thurs-thurs instead. Or should I do double parks one day? Any advice would be appreciated

Wed- Leave to Savannah GA

Thurs - Savannah to Disney
Pool / explore hotel
Downtown Disney
Dinner at T-Rex

FRI -
Lunch at (QS)
Animal Kingdom around 12? open until 7pm
Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade 3:45
(Dinner at the Whispering Canyon Cafe WL) (TS)
Campfire at Wilderness Lodge?

SAT - Magic Kingdom
Lunch at Cosmic Rays?
HOTEL FOR REST.
(Dinner at Beaches and cream)
Parade at 9 MK.

SUN - Hollywood Studios
Lunch at 50's prime time cafe (TS) 12:35 pm
Pixar Parade at 3
(Dinner - Starring Rolls) QS
--Water Parade viewable at 9:45 pm from hotel

MON - Epcot
Lunch at
(Dinner: Garden Grill - Epcot - Chip & Dale, Mickey, Pluto)
Illuminations?

TUES - Magic Kingdom
Lunch at Be our guest?
HOTEL FOR REST
Back to MK
(Dinner at:

WED - ((UNIVERSAL STUDIOS??))

Thurs - Half way home.

FRI - ((RETURN HOME))

 

[davedmaine]

18 hours is a long time to be in a car with a 2 and a 5-year-old. If you can swing it financially, definitely fly.

 

[vcgirl925]

We have made the trek tons of time from NJ to Orlando with small children. Flying is always better. There are pluses and minuses to both, but i'd always take flying if it was in our budget.

 

[RedHeadedFairy]

IDK about flying vs driving - for me I'd have to weigh out the extra cost vs. the amount of time/sanity saved. Especially with small children like you have, I'd lean toward flying myself.

I'm not great at itineraries, we tend to avoid any real plan & just go with the flow. Yours looks pretty similar.

If it were me, I'd skip Universal on this trip. IMO there's much more at Disney for your kids' ages & much less run around for you altogether. Plus, adding another Disney day is bound to be cheaper than a 1-day pass for Universal.

 

[DisNikki]

I would vote for flying too but then there are other logistical challenges.

Where are you staying? If you fly, would you rent a car or use Disney transportation? If you rent a car, I think you'd need your own car seat (though someone will correct me if I'm wrong). You'd probably want to bring your stroller either way but might be more of a hassle when flying. If using Disney transportation you might want to rethink some of those dinner plans if it means going from your resort (after afternoon rest) to another resort (e.g. for Beaches and Cream) and then to the MK. You can't do resort to resort on Disney buses so you'll spend a lot of time in transit. If you're driving or renting a car it's not that big of a deal.

Just my thoughts!

 

[Disco]

I would say the gas and food and lodging(?) for the drive would cost almost as much as flying. I would second that the age of your kids would be better served at WDW. This way you could take your time and see it all. You would also get free transportation from airport to WDW and just stay on site which makes the plans much simpler.
Next trip you could do Uni and or other things.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Calculate how much gas, hotels and extra meals would cost. Then check airfares and see how the costs compare. I'm not sure where you are flying from, but I know that a lot of airlines have some good discounts on flights to Orlando. I kept checking the Southwest Airlines site until I found a price I thought was the best I could get. You can always decide to buy the airline tickets only if you find good prices.

We have driven to WDW from Chicago many times, but not when we had one that young. I think the youngest was four years old the first time we did it. Flying is much nicer. And you can take the ME and not have to worry about car seats while you are there.

I would skip Universal this trip. It is enough work having a 2 year old on vacation. Adding the stress and cost of a trip to Universal wouldn't be worth it. My mantra when traveling with little ones is to keep it simple.

 

[mrsz06]

I live 8 hours away from Disney and always drive. Sure flying would be faster but I don't know of any airline that will fly a family for $150 round trip. So we stick to driving!!

 

[disney1990]

We never took a 2 year old, but we drove with a five and ten year old - 18 hours - stopping right outside of Disney to crash for the night and then hit the parks the next day - for 5 days straight. Tired, yes. Worth it, we thought so. Is it for everybody, definitely NOT!

 

[redkel]

I would recommend flying, but it really depends on where you are?

Do you have the option of comparing nearby airports? I know I have the option of flying out of Pittsburgh, Cleveland or Columbus. Certain airlines use those airports as HUBS and they are historically cheaper because of it (more direct flights).

Check the airlines websites for their route maps. They are extremely helpful.

You can also use websites like kayak, bestfares, etc. to shop/compare fares.

I would encourage you to sign up for email alerts from the low-cost carriers like Airtran, Southwest, Frontier, etc. The DING! fares from Southwest is how we booked our trip in 2011 ($425 round trip non stop for 3).


Kel DH and DD

 

[jweb20]

I've done the math and it seems like driving is about $500 cheaper so that is why I am leaning that way. We've made many 12 hrs drives with my son no problem (starting at 15 months) But we've never traveled farther than 3 hours with my 2 year old

I wanted to make the last day at Universal to check out the Harry Potter stuff. And of course the few kid attractions they have. hehe

We probably won't be back to FL for another 4 years so Idk if should try to squeeze it in now or wait it out. I yi yi

 

[linzbear]

We're doing 22 hours in May with a 2 and 4 year old (we always rent a car so the cost benefit is huge considering it's 2 weeks!).

I would skip Universal this trip. Actually for those ages I'd skip it anyhow, it's not great for littles. If you don't want to do Disney the entire time I'd look into Sea World or Legoland instead. We'll be doing Sea World, but we'll also be there for quite a bit longer.

I personally like to do Magic Kingdom at least twice for the kids, and them the other 3 parks at least once.

 

[ErinsMommy]

18 hours is a long time to be in a car with a 2 and a 5-year-old.

I totally agree...but only you know your kids. My 6 year old wouldn't make 8 hours, much less 18.

 

[cajmom]

We are about 16 hours from Orlando. We are doing Fri (leave early) - Fri (arrive late). We will be stopping halfway in Altlanta and doing Stone Mountain Park Sat then heading to our hotel and doing DTD. We will do 1 day at Ak, 2 days at Mk, and 1 day at Epcot. I thought about adding US but I think it is too much, plus the kids will enjoy Disney parks more. It is just what you are more comfortable with. We might even skip a day, depending on how the kids are. I would rather go and enjoy ourselves then to crame so much into such a short trip.

 

[smellyia]

If you're good with driving the go for it. My personal rule of thumb is fly over eight hours, but I dislike driving. Cost is a factor and everyone has their own cutoff for what's financially prudent.

As for US, I'll share our experience. DH, DD2 and I went last summer. I loved HP although found it smaller than I'd hoped. DD enjoyed Seuss land however on our second tour through (we stayed on site and FOL pass for everything) she had no desire to go on anything again. DH loved all the thrill rides. DD spent 85% of the time window shopping, playing in the water areas and snacking while waiting on the adults to go on rides. Overall we enjoyed the park, however we won't be back until DD is big enough to ride everything. We had 5 days at WDW and didn't find that near enough to even scrape the surface. This year we're doing just WDW for ten days and every day will be twice the activities DD at 3 will be able to do than at USO. Also, I wouldn't wait in the lines at US without FOL. I found standbys brutal in comparison to WDW and felt awful for those without FOL express passes. We found better value for our money in DDs age group at WDW.

 

[Jenny-momof3]

We're 16 hours away and we make the trip 3-4 times a year. We drive straight through...and I mean straight through. We stop for gas every 5 hours, run into the restroom and go through a drive-thru on the way back on the highway. I've learned that if I let my kids out of the car for longer than 5 minutes they won't get back in! The youngest I've taken on this jaunt is 9 weeks...and he's made the drive 11 times now ( he's almost 3).

Round trip gas runs us a little less than $400. Add in another $50 or so for food. Flying runs us $1500-$2,000. No way could we go 4times a year if we flew! And I will say that my little ones do better in the car than my teenagers!

I would skip Universal at that age...there just isn't much for them to do to justify the additional cost. I would add a few more days at Disney World. We typically stay for 10 days. We hit parks everyday and enjoy every afternoon at the resort. It's hot in June and you'll want to have plenty of time to swim.

 

[PrincessMe]

I don't have a real comment on fly v drive but wanted to warn you that Starring Rolls usually closes at 4:00 and so might not work for dinner on your Hollywood Studios day. I learned that the hard way when I missed out on my red velvet and Butterfinger cupcakes in December, sniff. It was only 4:02 and I could see both kinds of cupcakes in the display case through the window. The CM outside said we were too late. I was so sad.

 

[RMulieri]

Universal is fun and there is stuff for kids to do...HOWEVER..ONE day park tickets to ANY themepark ( Disney or Universal) are not discounted and are quite expensive.Universal is like Disney in that it becomes cheaper the longer you stay.SO for that reason I would say just focus on Disney.If you are still game on Universal,head over to the Universal forums with any questions

 

[sammons70]

I'd definitely research airlines. Try Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity, etc. Try to find a bargain flight. If not, drive. I would skip Universal and do another day of Disney. Maybe let the kids pick their favorite park for that last day Have a great time. Sounds like fun!

 

[Mom2six]

Where are you staying? Personally, I would skip Universal this trip. For the first trip, it might be overwhelming to the little ones. An extra day at WDW would mean not feeling as pressured to get everything done. It is a lot more exhausting than you realize the first trip. The heat, the walking, and the we sensory overload can be quite draining so you don't want to push to overdo it!
As for driving, it depends on how you feel about being in the car for two days. I don't mind it so much, but my DH hates it. We always drive, though we are about 12 hours away. There are 9 of us so flying is tons more expensive plus my son would loathe the plane. My two you youngest - 4 and 6 - do fine with it. We've taking long car trips since they were born though. Do a little research ahead of time and try to figure out where a few fast food restaurants with the indoor play area are along your route. Start with the Internet and then maybe call directly to confirm they still have it. We usually stop and let them run around in the tubes burning off physical energy Then they can get back in the car and watch movies ex for awhile without going stir crazy.
It sounds like a great trip and you should have a lot of fun!!!!