Anyone Driven to Orlando from DFW?

[Elle23]

With the cost of flights being insane for when we are scheduled to go, I am looking into possibly driving.

Has anyone made this trek before? How is it? Is it doable for one person to drive (if we stop for the night at some point).

How was the drive home after a long week at the parks? (That's probably my greatest concern....the drive there we'll all be on a Disney anticipation high and won't care that it's a crazy long trip!)

 

[supersnoop]

I don't think we could make it with one driver. We have two drivers and still have to break it up into two days. And it always seems to take longer than I think it should.

We've driven from DFW once, but we've made the trip from the Austin area a couple of times.

 

[Elle23]

Thanks for your reply!

We would definitely break it up into 2 days. I don't think I could do it otherwise!

 

[Simba's Mom]

With the cost of flights being insane for when we are scheduled to go, I am looking into possibly driving.

Has anyone made this trek before? How is it? Is it doable for one person to drive (if we stop for the night at some point).

How was the drive home after a long week at the parks? (That's probably my greatest concern....the drive there we'll all be on a Disney anticipation high and won't care that it's a crazy long trip!)

We're about a full days drive from Dallas (way down on the Border of Texas/Mexico) and we drive regularly. However, our son lives in Farmer's Branch and he wouldn't do it from there with kids. We wouldn't recommend it with kids, but if you do it, takes us 2 days.

 

[Shanti]

With the cost of flights being insane for when we are scheduled to go, I am looking into possibly driving.

Has anyone made this trek before? How is it? Is it doable for one person to drive (if we stop for the night at some point).

How was the drive home after a long week at the parks? (That's probably my greatest concern....the drive there we'll all be on a Disney anticipation high and won't care that it's a crazy long trip!)

I live in Austin and just can't stomach the prospect of such a long drive, especially on the way back. Mapquest says it would be over 16 hours nonstop, which means a two-day trip or driving through the night. Add the costs of gasoline, meals, a night's lodging, wear & tear on the car, & it's just no deal for us to drive.

I've always been able to find reasonably-priced nonstop flights via SWA or Jet Blue. Have you tried either of them? If you're only looking at SWA's opening-day rates, I suggest checking back about 3 months before the trip. That's when SWA's cheapest rates tend to show up. It's mid-May and I just booked $190 round trip flights between Austin & Orlando for this summer. But the one time I booked a SWA flight on opening day the prices were unbelievably inflated for a budget carrier ($500 - $600 round trip). Never again will I book them on opening day.

 

[Elle23]

We're about a full days drive from Dallas (way down on the Border of Texas/Mexico) and we drive regularly. However, our son lives in Farmer's Branch and he wouldn't do it from there with kids. We wouldn't recommend it with kids, but if you do it, takes us 2 days.

I do have kids, but they are teenagers and pretty good travelers!

 

[Elle23]

I live in Austin and just can't stomach the prospect of such a long drive, especially on the way back. Mapquest says it would be over 16 hours nonstop, which means a two-day trip or driving through the night. Add the costs of gasoline, meals, a night's lodging, wear & tear on the car, & it's just no deal for us to drive.

I've always been able to find reasonably-priced nonstop flights via SWA or Jet Blue. Have you tried either of them? If you're only looking at SWA's opening-day rates, I suggest checking back about 3 months before the trip. That's when SWA's cheapest rates tend to show up. It's mid-May and I just booked $190 round trip flights between Austin & Orlando for this summer. But the one time I booked a SWA flight on opening day the prices were unbelievably inflated for a budget carrier ($500 - $600 round trip). Never again will I book them on opening day.

Thanks. I'll keep checking prices. As of now, renting a car, 2 nights at a hotel, gas, and food would be half what it would cost to fly.

My other concern now (which I hadn't considered) is driving the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It is probably a high traffic day.