Am I crazy?

[Princess_Ariel_5]

Is it crazy to contemplate driving to WDW from NYC in February to save money on airfare? It would be just my BF and I so we can take turns driving down and I figure it'll save us close to $1000 with airfare being between $500-$600 per person roundtrip! Insanity. The trip would be about 16 hours. I figure we would leave on a Friday night around 8pm and drive straight through to arrive by 2pm (ish) on Saturday. Has anyone ever done the drive? Would you recommend it?

 

[TipsyTraveler]

My concern with that time of year would be snow. Even light snowfall is enough to cause hours-long traffic jams in the DC area, and you'd have several major metropolitan areas to pass through.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

Not crazy at all. I live in Michigan and drive down every February (18 hours). We don't find the drive to be too bad. We have done both straight thru and stopping halfway. With no kids, I think straight thru is definitely do-able.

 

[pat fan]

Are you sure about the air cost? Sounds very high with jet blue and southwest all flying out of major airports. I've never paid that much to fly to Orlando even out of Hartford!

That said, I would not want to commit to driving in February. Who knows what the weather would be like. Then again, I won't fly then either for the same reason, so I guess I shouldn't give advice, lol!

 

[Disneylover99]

You're not crazy. Lots of people do it. Just be certain you're comfortable driving at night in unfamiliar areas.

 

[Princess_Ariel_5]

Are you sure about the air cost? Sounds very high with jet blue and southwest all flying out of major airports. I've never paid that much to fly to Orlando even out of Hartford!

That said, I would not want to commit to driving in February. Who knows what the weather would be like. Then again, I won't fly then either for the same reason, so I guess I shouldn't give advice, lol!

On the Southwest website, it's $635 a person with the cheapest tickets! Crazy.

 

[DopeyDame]

On the Southwest website, it's $635 a person with the cheapest tickets! Crazy.

Are you going over President's Day weekend? Any chance you can shift the dates? We just got round trip on southwest for under $200 per person out of BWI for late January. If you are flexible on airports and dates, I bet you can find something much much cheaper.

That said, lots of people drive from NY to Florida. Barring a major snow storm, you should be fine.

 

[Princess_Ariel_5]

Are you going over President's Day weekend? Any chance you can shift the dates? We just got round trip on southwest for under $200 per person out of BWI for late January. If you are flexible on airports and dates, I bet you can find something much much cheaper.

That said, lots of people drive from NY to Florida. Barring a major snow storm, you should be fine.

Thanks for the advice! But unfortunately, since we are teachers, we have to go the week of President's Day

 

[pryncess527]

This is how my husband, the mathematician, always approaches these questions:

So, airfare is $1200
I'm guessing you'd spend $200 on gas

Flying would take what, 3 hours each way?
Driving will take 16 hours, each way

So you'll "spend" 26 hours of your life to save $1000. That's $38/hour. Does that seem like a reasonable price for your time?
Not a lot of people are "worth" more than $38/hour, so I think for many people, this is not crazy.

Personally, I'd be more inclined to do it if we were also able to extend the trip and find a nice halfway points to stop on each way and kind of make the journey part of the vacation. How long you get to stay also factors into my choice -- you say you'd leave on Friday and arrive on Saturday -- if this is a long weekend trip, then I'd be reluctant to give up 26 hours. If it's a week trip, then I'd be more willing.

 

[cabanafrau]

How problematic is it if you cannot get back on schedule, or have to report back to work on little to no sleep? Just something I would consider as a factor in the decision.

 

[DopeyDame]

Thanks for the advice! But unfortunately, since we are teachers, we have to go the week of President's Day

If you were my kids' teacher, I'd tell you to just skip school for a week ;-)

 

[Princess_Ariel_5]

This is how my husband, the mathematician, always approaches these questions:

So, airfare is $1200
I'm guessing you'd spend $200 on gas

Flying would take what, 3 hours each way?
Driving will take 16 hours, each way

So you'll "spend" 26 hours of your life to save $1000. That's $38/hour. Does that seem like a reasonable price for your time?
Not a lot of people are "worth" more than $38/hour, so I think for many people, this is not crazy.

Personally, I'd be more inclined to do it if we were also able to extend the trip and find a nice halfway points to stop on each way and kind of make the journey part of the vacation. How long you get to stay also factors into my choice -- you say you'd leave on Friday and arrive on Saturday -- if this is a long weekend trip, then I'd be reluctant to give up 26 hours. If it's a week trip, then I'd be more willing.

Nice way to break it down. We would be leaving on a Friday night to go to FL and leaving the next Saturday morning to come back to NY. So about a week trip.

How problematic is it if you cannot get back on schedule, or have to report back to work on little to no sleep? Just something I would consider as a factor in the decision.

Oh...very problematic for me to go to work on little to no sleep. I love my sleep, lol

If you were my kids' teacher, I'd tell you to just skip school for a week ;-)

Then you're the best kind of parent to deal with!

 

[RedAngie]

Thanks for the advice! But unfortunately, since we are teachers, we have to go the week of President's Day

That's why airfare is so expensive. The airlines know exactly when demand will be high.

I wouldn't hesitate to drive in February. Sure, there's always the possibility of snow, but that snow would affect air travel as well.

Just a wild guess.....probably 90% of the time there won't be any snow on the route during Presidents Week.

 

[CarolAnn856]

Just a wild guess.....probably 90% of the time there won't be any snow on the route during Presidents Week.

You just guaranteed a snowstorm.

 

[WorldWacky]

DH is a teacher and I'm a Special Ed program aide. We have done the drive from Long Island many times over Presidents' week with our three kids. One year the airfare was $4000! That was more than the actual vacation! Needless to say, that's how we decided to drive.
This year, we're taking it one step further. We're driving our camper down to camp at Fort Wilderness. Can't wait for the DC area.

 

[MainMom]

I fly or I don't go. Double that in the winter.

 

[robinb]

I don't have an issue driving, I've done it from Wisconsin a few times. I would not be able to drive through 16 hours, though. I don't nap well when I'm in the passenger seat so I know I would not get a lot of sleep. You're planning to leave right after work on Friday? I would probably put 5-6 hours in and stay overnight and then do the other 10-11 hours the next day. You'll be more refreshed when you finally get to WDW.

FWIW, I used http://matrix.itasoftware.com/ to check flights for your days and I came up with $358 from EWR to TPA on American leaving early on Saturday and returning late on the next Saturday. It's a very easy drive from Tampa. If you really want to fly into MCO for Magical Express AA has a flight that leaves early from EWR to MCO on Saturday and returns early on the next Sunday for $370.

So ... it's not $1,000 but more like $740 (still a lot, I know!).

 

[Princess_Ariel_5]

I don't have an issue driving, I've done it from Wisconsin a few times. I would not be able to drive through 16 hours, though. I don't nap well when I'm in the passenger seat so I know I would not get a lot of sleep. You're planning to leave right after work on Friday? I would probably put 5-6 hours in and stay overnight and then do the other 10-11 hours the next day. You'll be more refreshed when you finally get to WDW.

FWIW, I used http://matrix.itasoftware.com/ to check flights for your days and I came up with $358 from EWR to TPA on American leaving early on Saturday and returning late on the next Saturday. It's a very easy drive from Tampa. If you really want to fly into MCO for Magical Express AA has a flight that leaves early from EWR to MCO on Saturday and returns early on the next Sunday for $370.

So ... it's not $1,000 but more like $740 (still a lot, I know!).

How nice of you! Thank you!

 

[Tasha228]

I've driven it many times! It is definitely doable. I find now that I am older and have kids I like to drive as much as I can and then stop for the night and then get there early the following day after a little rest. I used to drive straight through. I prefer flying but sometimes driving makes more sense.

 

[LisaR]

Oh...very problematic for me to go to work on little to no sleep. I love my sleep, lol

It isn't crazy. Plenty of people drive to their vacation destinations. What *could* be crazy is driving in the middle of the night if that isn't something you are used to. I'm a late night person, but my late nights generally consist of reading or surfing the internet. I remember when my kids were teens but not of driving age yet and I'd have to pick them up from something at midnight or 1am. It always amazed me how tired I was driving and functioning at that time when I would be wide awake if I had been plopped down on my sofa with a good book at that time. Functioning at 1am is a lot different than driving and focusing, especially for 16 hours! As you just said, you need your sleep so I'd be concerned about you behind the wheel or sawing logs while your BF is fighting to stay awake. Just something to consider.