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

[Queen_Riviera]

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!!

If flying remember my mom’s saying. If you want it, you carry it. One kid has to carry the mattress if he wants a separate bed. For us it was always a coat. My sister always wanted to take it and then have my mom carry it. At some point my mom got fed up and just wouldn’t accommodate my sister.

 

[RoseGold]

Now that you're an owner, maybe think about an Owner's Locker. Maybe next time you could fly without checked bags, which is now what I do!

 

[davper]

I agree with your husband. Driving gives you so much flexibility. If I lived 9 or 10 hours away by driving, I would drive every time.

Traveling by air will take up half that time. You are suppose to arrive at least 2 hours early. An hour or 2 flight, getting baggage, getting a rental or other transportation. So for just a few more hours, I am taking my car and getting the following:
No stress of getting to airport on time, no danger of flight being changed or canceled, can bring anything you want, and freedom to stay longer or leave earlier.

I always stay in 1-bed and wish I could bring a box of pantry items with me for cooking. I hate buying ingredients that I will only have to throw out because I only used a small portion. So our meals are rather blah without a splash of this or a pinch of that.

 

[The Jackal]

Unless flights are super cheap, $50 a ticket round trip. I do not see how flying could be cheaper than driving. We drive there about 1,300 miles each way. Even with tolls and inflated gas prices, it cost me less than $240 each way. On the return trip we did stop over night that cost around $200. So it cost around $680 for our family of 4 to get there. That is $170 per person. So for us tickets would have to be well under $150 round trip to be cheaper. We have driven through both ways which would have lowered our costs to $120 per person. We bring so much stuff with us and we do use the vehicle a bit when we are there. It might seem hard to believe but we usually only stop once for fuel. My vehicle gets over 700 miles on a tank. We make more stops for food and bathroom breaks.

 

[mel&me]

Welcome Home

If we were within driving distance we would always drive.
Always get a rental car anyway, because we do more that just go to Disney.
There is a lot to do around town. And we find it more convenient to drive to
the parks. Some people like it but waiting for and jumping the buses got old for us real quick.

 

[CarolynFH]

I always stay in 1-bed and wish I could bring a box of pantry items with me for cooking. I hate buying ingredients that I will only have to throw out because I only used a small portion. So our meals are rather blah without a splash of this or a pinch of that.

That’s some of what our Owners Locker is for! Even when we drive we appreciate that locker, because it contains over a suitcase full of things that are very useful in our 1 BR villas.

 

[Stargazer65]

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.).

8.5-9 hours?!! That's not even a real drive, that's just a casual local outing.

We always drive since it's only about 1200 miles from Connecticut. Plus I have a physical limitation where I have to stop for barbeque in South Carolina, and the airplane pilots absolutely refuse to make an unscheduled layover there. Go figure.

 

[kilik64]

8.5-9 hours?!! That's not even a real drive, that's just a casual local outing.

We always drive since it's only about 1200 miles from Connecticut. Plus I have a physical limitation where I have to stop for barbeque in South Carolina, and the airplane pilots absolutely refuse to make an unscheduled layover there. Go figure.

You stop one state too far for good BBQ.

 

[Stargazer65]

You stop one state too far for good BBQ.

Yeah, I shoulda said "the Carolinas" because we stop in North Carolina for barbeque too. I just had the last place we stopped in mind when I posted.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Even if flying takes six hours when all said and done, and driving takes nine, for me flying saves more than the obvious three hours. If I drive nine hours I am whooped by the time I get there. I’m certainly not in party mode. Now flying, I’m relaxing and likely even taking a nap in the airplane. I am ready to roll when I arrive. So, for me the three hours is really a 1/2 day.

 

[LadybugsMum]

I find flying worth it since it's 9.5 hours with minimal stops, but becomes 10.5-11 with my kids. I'm also a single parent; so there's no one to share the driving. We drove Jan 2021 and flew Apr 2021 and I swore I wouldn't drive again unless absolutely necessary. I've got TSA precheck to help with the security lines and we can all take carry ons since I've got an Owner's Locker.

 

[Dizzydizney]

I always stay in 1-bed and wish I could bring a box of pantry items with me for cooking. I hate buying ingredients that I will only have to throw out because I only used a small portion. So our meals are rather blah without a splash of this or a pinch of that.

When we had to fly before we moved, we had 3 separate backpacks filled with things we needed on every trip (not big heavy backpacks but the string like backpacks that DVC would give out when they had Welcome Home Wednesdays). One was for non-perishable food items .. spices and recipes, sandwich bags, gallon sized ziplock bags taken out of the box to use for leftovers...things like that....spices were put into smaller airtight containers and labeled. Also leave myself a note in it for last minute items...garlic bulbs, garlic press, certain kitchen utensils. Another contained personal care items: tums, Advil, Tylenol, a small first aid kit, small sewing kit, eyeglass repair kit, toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, qt-tips, shower soap, hair spray. The third would have dishwasher tabs, color catchers, dryer sheets, some powdered detergent, bug spray, lint roller, bathroom spray, poo pourie. Items like hair spray and bathroom spray would be placed in ziplock bags just in case. These backpacks would either be placed into our two large checked bags or in its own smaller checked bags, depending on what time of year....heavier clothes take up more room. Having to pay extra for the checked bag was worth it to us...never wanted an Owners Locker because I’d rather have my things with me, plus that stuff needs to be replaced/replenished, but to each their own.

Upon returning, I would replace the OTC meds and refill the spices as needed. Now that we drive, I still keep the backpacks filled and ready to go. We also keep an alphabetized food shopping list for items we purchase once there and a separate list for other things.....ponchos, makeup mirror, etc.

 

[kandlsutton]

I prefer to have a car but DH prefers to fly. The 9-10 hour drive down for us isn’t a big deal, although I-95 can be stressful and then we get I-4. It’s the drive back that is difficult after a week of park hopping, walking and riding.
I think losing Magical Express changes the equation for us. With ME, no rental car is needed (going to dislike having to go to baggage claim though) and we save about 3 hours each way. Without ME, we have to pay to get to WDW - rent a car, ride share, etc. - and that cost will probably push us back to driving.

 

[Memorymakerfor4]

OKW without a car was not a good experience for me. Unless you're staying near the Hospitality House I would 100% take your car just for this reason.

 

[DSLRuser]

an 8-9 hour drive is nothing and I could do that with no problems.

We live 16 hours away and it is the limit. Have done that drive (straight thru no stopping) 16+ times. Only recently did we start flying more often, as we have shifted from a single 7-8 day trip to multiple 3-4 day trips each year

 

[alldiz]

Do you have southwest as an airline?
2 free bags?
If not I would prob drive…. But I would stop overnight somewhere I hate driving.
But yea that adds 2 days to time off
Happy planning
Kerri

 

[dvc lover 1970]

Drive, 9 hours is not a bad drive at all and its really nice to have your car there. Also changing resorts is much easier with a car.

 

[perchy]

We have about the same drive. I say drive.

Start driving the night before if you can and stay somewhere cheap half way. Then you can arrive at Disney earlier and on a more relaxed fashion.

With a split stay, you can toss a bag of dirty laundry in the car and it’s less you have to deal with in the second room. And, while bell services can move your bags for you (do this on a full park day because it’s not a quick process) if there’s anything you have to have sooner rather than later, you can leave that in your car too.

 

[ScottOKW2K]

I've done both and I much prefer driving. To put this in context the drive is approximately 750 miles and takes about 12 hours driving time. There are three aspects of traveling that matter to me : Time, Stress, and Expense.

I've generally found that flying doesn't save me that much time. When you compare actual door-to-door time the real time savings by flying are typically only a few hours. This alone is enough to sway my decision towards driving.

Now lets talk about Stress - once I choose to fly after I pick a flight almost everything about this is out of my control. I know the vast majority of flights are on time but you still have to be a certain place at a certain time. When I drive it's all under my control. If things work out and I can leave early, I can. Same if it doesn't work out - I simply leave later. A perfect example is last year - I drove down on Thanksgiving day. I went and had the family get-together, spent time enjoying myself, and than later that evening started the drive to Orlando. Fun and relaxing - and it would have NOT been that way if I had chosen to fly.

And how about Expense? Last time I flew between flights, airport parking and other things my travel cost was about $500. As far as driving I am lucky enough to have a company vehicle that I can use on vacation. My last trip driving - about $50 and this includes tolls and snacks. And we also have to take into account that starting January 1st of next year Magical Express is gone, so getting to/from the airport in Orlando will have a cost associated with it.

For me driving is the only option I would choose. In addition, I like driving. It is so much more relaxing for me that even if the other things were equal I would still choose it. And it gives me so much more freedom and choices once I arrive it's a no-brainer !

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

We are about an 11-1/2 hour drive. We used to always drive when we went with our two DSs. Now that we take trips without them, we fly. IMO, flying saves time. We pick the earliest flight and are there before lunch. I absolutely HATE to fly, but I love the convenience. Even when we used to drive, we always used Disney transportation. My DH loved to park the car and not move it until we went home. So it made sense to fly when we only had two tickets to purchase. That said, we will be driving in February. I'm not happy that DME is gone, but actually, we are driving because we are taking a side trip to the Daytona 500. Rental cars are ridiculous right now! We had already booked airfare for a November trip that we ended up cancelling. Rather than use our flight credits for our February trip, we decided we could drive since we need a car anyway, and we used to flight credits to book a trip out west, a place we definitely would NOT drive to.

If I were the OP, I would definitely drive due to the split stay, the number of people traveling, and the relatively short drive. OP, good luck with your decision!