Am I crazy?

[la79al]

We are going to Disney June 2007. I was thinking about renting a car and driving me and the two kids (ages 6 and 11) down to Florida (from PA) then meeting DH at the airport as a way to save on airfare for the three of us. Taking off from my job is not an issue and the kids will be out of school with nothing to do anyhow. This will probably only save minimal amounts of money and DH told me I am crazy. Any opinions?

 

[IMGONNABE40!]

I don't think you're crazy. I am assuming that DH is flying to save on vacation days? I would suggest that you spend at least one overnight on the road. With only one driver it would take a recovery period upon arrival if you were to drive straight through.

 

[IMGONNABE40!]

I don't think you're crazy. I have driven to FL with DS more thatn once when DH was unable to join us for whatever reason. The drive to my mom's house was just over 1000 miles.

I would suggest that you spend at least one overnight on the road. With only one driver it would take a recovery period upon arrival if you were to drive straight through. When you factor in the hotels and gas, are you saving much?

 

[CarolA]

How much is "minimal"? That's a long drive with kids and I would want to make sure I was saving enough to make it worth while. Plus driving always seems to have costs I hadn't planned on (more stops for drinks and snacks for example)

 

[Goofy Minnesotan]

You are not crazy, it is very doable. I live in Minnesota and my parents are in NJ I have driven alone with the 3 boys since they were babies. I go about 650 miles each day for 2 days. The good thing about driving is you can come and go when you please. We always leave when we are ready.

 

[pepe of ohio]

Have you given the choo choo a thought ? We've used Amtrak exclusively the past 5 years, no more driving for me, and the rates are not bad. Same amount of time but cheaper than driving and the train keeps moving while you sleep and no wear and tear on your car. We're looking for our trip in September and Amtrak has the 3 person deal that 2 at full price and the 3rd fare 90% off. Only the 2 of us and our fare down and back is 424.00 for both of us, thats with the AAA discount and Disney utilizes AAA discount also. Bought a AAA membership last year whe the AP discount got all twisted around and used it on the train tickets and last WDW room reservations, paid for itself many times over and we have road coverage for our local driving too. Something to mull over, great experience to kids too, our kids enjoyed Amtrak when they were still with us and we even used Auto Train once, driving to Lorton Virginia to board but now we never use a car while at WDW, bus transportation is good enough and has never been a problem during our stays.

 

[Allison]

If the savings are minimal, I would definitely be on a plane and not driving by myself with the kids.

 

[Webbie]

Depends on the what the savings are going to be. Are you thinking of driving straight thru? If not take into consideration the cost of a motel room, meals, snacks, gas and tolls. Not sure if I would drive. I would be looking for a good ding next spring. Maybe you could drive to BWI as a way to get a better fare.