A ? for Texas Dis'ers...

[HunnyPots]

Have you ever driven to WDW? If so, how long did it take you? Did you feel like doing anything once you got there? Also, did you feel it really saved you enough to be worth it?
We are in the north central Texas area (1.5 hrs. from dfw) and my dh is considering driving next spring instead of flying. It is almost enough to make me forget the whole thing! Maybe that's his idea
Thanks for any input.

 

[Macmom]

Hi from a fellow Texan. We drove from west Texas last year in May. We are only a few miles north of I-10 so we were able to stay on I-10 the whole way. I know every family is different, but we had a blast. Our kids are in their early teens, so they are used to long drives. They each brought a c.d. player and of course a gameboy. About half way I pulled out some new music for each kid (almost free thanks to the budget board) and that helped to break up the trip. We took 2 1/2 days to get to WDW and then broke up the trip on the way home with a stop at Fort Walton beach. We would do it again in a heartbeat, it is much cheaper for a family and having our car was nice especially for trips to Typhoon Lagoon and Cape May Buffet. I hope you are all happy with whatever decision you make. For us it worked great.

 

[jmark999]

My family lives in Mobile Alabama so we have made the trip that far several times. We live in the Killeen/Fort Hood Area (between Austin and Waco). From our house it takes 12-14 hours to get to Mobile. WDW is another 8 hours from there I am told. If you drive down I-45 to I-10 in Houston, then go East on I-10, your pretty much a straight shot in to Florida, then you head south, (I don't know what Highway it is yet, but since I am SEVEN short days away from my own WDW vacation I will know before the end of the week!!!!!). I would not suggest driving straight in, that would be tough, but perhaps plan a stop about half-way....maybe in Gulfport or Biloxi Mississippi (the casino hotels are pretty reasonable and pretty nice. There are other hotels nearby that are even better priced than the Casinos.) and spend the night before moving on.
I hope you have a great trip!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Chuck S]

I'm about 40 miles east of San Antonio on I-10. We've driven twice when air rates were high. We usually leave about 3am. . The first time I drove straight through and slept for a couple hours at a rest area and got to WDW about 8:30 the next morning (Limit was 55mph then). Last year I drove for about 15 hrs and stopped in Marianna, FL for the night, it is about 45 min West of Tallahassee, left there about 8:30 and made it to WDW about 1:30pm. If you like car trips, it is a nice pretty drive. We're flying next week, but will drive in January, as a guest that is going with us can not fly. If you get really good air fares and a good rate on a rental car, I'd guess it's about the same cost...since you've got to figure in at least 1 room each way and meals. If your husband LIKES to drive, and WANTS to drive, let him.

Inside of Texas rest areas are few and far between, not much better in Louisianna, but Alabama, Mississippi and Florida have beatuful stops. If you plan to stop for lunch be aware that once you leave the Baton Rouge area, it's a long way to the next restaurant.

 

[mkubecka]

We have 2 children 9 and 5 and have driven with them. We had a great time. We left about 2:30 am and drove almost straight through. We stopped in Ocala and didn't realize how close we acutally were. The last time we drove down was when they were doing constrution on 25 so it took forever.

I don't mind driving at all. We usually go a day or two ahead of time so that we can rest before we go to WDW.

We had a great time. I won't forget when my 5 year old found out we had crossed the FL state line. I announced we were in FL and then I heard from the back seat, "Florida, florida, florida!!!"

 

[Snow Shoe]

Our family lives in N.E. Texas. The first vacation to WDW we drove. IMHO, it's not worth driving, but I guess everybody does it at some time going to Disney thinking about saving money. This was 4 days cut out of our time at WDW, 2 going a 2 coming back. The aggregation of everybody close to one anothe in the car, and "are we there yet!" just isn't for us. Even with some of the problems with flying, I vote that way every time.

 

[lcsmom]

Though our first trip to WDW will be in 14 days, I've done extensive polling on this question. Actually, I talked to a couple of families who go every year and drive from Longview. They agree that its about 14 hours but can easily stretch to 16. One family drives to the Pensacola/Destin area (@8 hours) and spends the night, the other drives all night and arrives in Orlando in time to go to bed early. Both stop at Destin on the way back.
Both take the same route - I20 to Shreveport, drop down on the new Interstate to Lafayette and I10, then on to Florida.
But, we discovered SW flies from Jackson,MS to Orlando. Jackson is a less than 5 hours drive and the direct flight is under 2hours.
Hope this helps.

 

[gtaylor]

Driven twice, flown once. Its two 10 hour days for us but saves several hundred dollars out of pocket dollars for our family of 4. Not a bad drive, as others note Biloxi, Mobile, Pensacola a good area to stop for the night. After arrival late afternoon, evening don't try to do anything except catch the fireworks. If I was up in DFW I'd take I20 as far as I could (Jackson?)....I10 in LA is a mess.....Greg

 

[coachv]

GTaylor,

How big of mess is I-10 in LA? I have been debating which way to go. Would not be on I-10 that much in LA but how good are the highways in MS? We are stopping in Pensacola the first night.

 

[gtaylor]

At the time we went (mid-March), lots of construction (which the roads need badly by the way) one-lane slow-downs etc. Also major backup in Baton Rouge going over the river, according to locals when we finally broke free and got off the road 1 hour plus later (thank goodness for local map in our AAA triptik, we might still be there if not for that) this is not at all unusual and this on a weekend - hate to see it on a weekday. Recall that once we hit MS things improved......

 

[VickiVM]

I think this question was posed recently, maybe on another board, and I replied that we had made the drive back in '97. Stopped in Biloxi for the night, had the most beautiful sunrise "picnic" breakfast at a gas station that had a couple of picnic tables next to it. Made it to Disney late afternoon and napped, then went to Boardwalk that evening just to hang out...no real plans for that first evening. We drove back imm. after lunch on our last day (commissary cafeteria at MGM) and spent the night in Tallahassee, then drove straight through the next day to San Antonio. The one thing I would point out is that if you have the extra time (most working couples don't have more than 1 week tops at a time for vacation), then why not take advantage of it and drive and see a little of the south...detour if you want (had it not been for torrential rains, we would have taken in a day in N. Orleans). Many years ago, families drove everywhere for vacation (which is where our parents got all those cheesy souvenirs, like that "Florida" spoonrest I have on my stove top). My husband still talks about the time he and his family drove to Miami or Grand Canyon (I forget) and he broke the camera and when they stopped at a rest stop, he climbed a tree so he wouldn't get in trouble. And I remember the time my parents took us to ALL the missions here in South Texas and we stopped to read every single one of the historical markers on the side of the road. Anyway...when the opportunity arises again, I will try to talk my husband into driving because I want my kids to talk about the various places they've visited. (My son still has the rock we picked up in Tallahasse...we painted "Tallahassee" on it....I don't want him to be without his cheesy souvenirs.