Anyone else enjoy the drive to WDW?

[sleepydog25]

Have done the drive 10 times from central CT -- pick up I-95 in Bridgeport and make one right hand turn at Daytona Beach! About 1200 miles to WDW. We just did the drive in December, and at $3/gal, we used 122 gallons round trip, +$45 for tolls (gotta have an EZ-Pass), one overnight stay down, one back ($135 total). Total was about $530. Can't fly three people for that much + you have your car with you.

mac_tlc

This is a great point to make (as have others above), that with the cost of flying (not to mention the hassle), driving is increasingly viable for more people. We drove about 1300 miles round trip and spent somewhere in the neighborhood of $200 for gas, another $50 for food/drinks/Starbucks, and $50 for a hotel room halfway there on the trip down, for a grand total of $300. One R/T ticket to Orlando was nearly that much. And for the pleasure of flying, we'd had to have driven an hour and a half to the airport, get to the airport a minimum of an hour and a half ahead of time, fly 45 minutes then stop enroute for a layover of an hour and fifteen minutes, then fly another hour+ into Orlando. If we did ME, then we're talking another hour+ minimum by the time we get to our resort. Let's see, that would be at least 7-8 hours (the drive is 10 hours)for the cheapest flight and we would still have to pay for parking at our original airport. Or, we could have driven two hours and skipped the 45-minute hop and layover and knocked a couple of hours off, but would have had to pay more for the ticket. For us, there was no question it was drive vice fly.

 

[emlutz23]

We drove down for he first time last year and it was great! We split it up over two days since it takes about 16 hours. We rent since both our cars already have a ton of miles on them and my DB works in the rental business. He can get us a minivan for half the price found online. I've done the math and the car, gas and hotels is still cheaper than flying with the cheapest flights.

We liked it so much, we are driving down again in August!

My favorite part is when you start seeing the mileage signs for Orlando!

It's also fun to watch people's reactions when we tell them we're driving: "You're driving? What are you nuts?" Yes, yes I am. I'm nuts for Disney!

 

[mom of princessx2]

I tried to drive there but I didn't get very far before the car died!

What did you forget your oars????

 

[joelnkelly]

Its the longest 35 minute drive our family has, the constant "are we there yet" from the back seats of the minivan makes it feel like a 10 hour drive.

 

[DisneyTravelers2008]

We have about a 10 hour drive. We usually leave at 2 am so we can checking around noon. Luckily our room is always ready.

I get excited around Jacksonville. This is usually where we are driving through when the sun comes up...and I know we are getting close.

 

[Tigger031266]

We drive as a family of 4 from PA 3x per year because DW does not like to fly. Kids don't like it but we look foreward to it. Takes about 16 hours but I can make it easily in a day so no hotel stops

Biggest advantage is cost
- Airfare 250 x 4 = $1000 vs $350 in gas plus wear and tear on old car (157K
Other advantages
- You don't need to rent a car (this can save another $200)
- Leave when you want. We sometimes leave Friday instead of Saturday. BIG ADVANTAGE if there is bad weather. You can leave at a time to avoid it.
- No frisking in Security lines
- Pack more luggage - Bikes, clothes....No Baggage fees (save another $100)
- Eat when you want and when you want
- No hastle getting a ride to the Airport or airport parking (another $80 savings)

 

[dbprimeaux]

We will be driving to WDW at the end of May. DS graduates High School on Sat at 1PM and we were planning on leaving EARLY Sunday morning. We have a free night at LaQuinta Inn, so I am thinking about us leaving late Sat. afternoon. We will be traveling I-10 from Louisiana. I have been looking at driving to Pensacola, FL and spending the night. Any thoughts on this LaQuinta location? I am hoping that gas prices don't increase between now and then.

We have 6 of us traveling together, so driving will be our cheapest way to travel.

 

[sarahk0204]

...but we have eaten there when we were traveling from FL to LA.

Not good experiences.

I use Tripadvisor for hotel advice, and that LaQuinta has not gotten good reviews. The last review was 2 1/2 years ago, though.

I believe when someone on the Transportation board asked about Pensacola, most advice was to avoid that city. Try stopping a little earlier (Mobile) or farther (Tallahassee)

 

[dbprimeaux]

...but we have eaten there when we were traveling from FL to LA.

Not good experiences.

I use Tripadvisor for hotel advice, and that LaQuinta has not gotten good reviews. The last review was 2 1/2 years ago, though.

I believe when someone on the Transportation board asked about Pensacola, most advice was to avoid that city. Try stopping a little earlier (Mobile) or farther (Tallahassee)

Thanks for the advice. We won't be able to drive all the way to Tallahassee on the Sat. night, because we are going to have such a full day on Sat.

 

[jstarcze]

I drive down from NC and love it. Time-wise it's only a couple more hrs than flying (2hrs to airport+1hr wait+1.5hr Flight+1.5hr ME to resort=6hrs travel vs 7.5 hrs driving) I am like many of you and love driving under the Welcome to WDW sign. I usually get a book on tape and before I know it I'm HOME!

 

[FindTheMickeys]

We drove down over Labor Day in 2009. It's an 18 hour drive from Northern Indiana so we drove 12 hours first day and finished the second. Wouldn't/couldn't do it all in one stretch as my traveling companion didn't like to drive and there was NO WAY I was going to drive straight through by myself.... However, I now will fly until whenever... For what we paid to drive, eat and sleep down and back was WAY more than a round trip would have cost, even including the overnight parking in Indy...

 

[Conan the Librarian]

We have about a 10 hour drive. We usually leave at 2 am so we can checking around noon. Luckily our room is always ready.

I get excited around Jacksonville. This is usually where we are driving through when the sun comes up...and I know we are getting close.

I usually get excited around JackSUNville, but, usually because of the Traffic.

One reason why I like to go down A1A instead.



You I-95 folks need to stop off here in Savannah and spend money!

 

[dbprimeaux]

Well, I decided to book us a hotel (Holiday Inn Express) just east of Pensacola. I got a 2 queen bed suite for 95.00. So, everyone will have a bed to sleep in.

 

[sarahk0204]

Well, I decided to book us a hotel (Holiday Inn Express) just east of Pensacola. I got a 2 queen bed suite for 95.00. So, everyone will have a bed to sleep in.

Yay! We've had good luck with that chain, and I think I remember from the Transportation board discussion that just outside of town was better than right in town.

 

[Pixieflip]

The drive is part of the trip to me. I love crossing the state lines- Oh to Ky, Ky to Tn, Tn to Ga, Ga to FLa. I-75 all the way baby!


We always stop in Tn at the truck stop that is next to a fireworks store that has an old ferris wheel on the side of the highway. It is like a beacon- stop here for gas- bathrooms and bad coffee!/QUOTE]



Are you talking about that Tennessee Alabama Fireworks place? I mean really, who thinks a gas station and a giant fireworks superstore is a good combo???! We laugh about that every time we pass by. Disgusting bathroom by the way.

We live in Nebraska, it's a 24 hour drive, but for the 6 of us, it's well over $1000 cheaper to drive, so we do. We do make the best of it, having fun making progress toward the south, toward the warmer weather. We have fun snacks, and gifts all the way down, like new DVD's I've been collecting...we are just a party on wheels!

 

[Pixieflip]

Two questions:

What and Where is South of the Border?

And what little traditions do you have for marking off the miles?



We stop and take a silly photo under the Welcome to Florida sign at the welcome center. But it would be fun to add more silly traditions like that.

 

[Carl'n'Ellie'sDad]

Its the longest 35 minute drive our family has, the constant "are we there yet" from the back seats of the minivan makes it feel like a 10 hour drive.

Glad to know this happens to the locals, too!

I have good success with the "Papa Smurf" technique. The answer to "Are we there yet?" or "How much further?" is ALWAYS "Not far now."

 

[sleepydog25]

You I-95 folks need to stop off here in Savannah and spend money!

Yeah, 'cause Disney is such a cheap vacation destination! lol

 

[dbprimeaux]

Two questions:

What and Where is South of the Border?

And what little traditions do you have for marking off the miles?



We stop and take a silly photo under the Welcome to Florida sign at the welcome center. But it would be fun to add more silly traditions like that.

Every 100 miles I give the kids (6 & 8) something new to do - such as a new coloring book, a new DVD to watch, a new game to play, etc... Also, we have our traditional places/towns that we stop to fuel up. They kids also know that most movies are around an hour long, so after each movie we always say "one more hour down."

 

[DVC Mike]

Driving round-trip from NC to Disney four times a year gets old. There's just not much to see, and I've already seen it before (many times).

I don't like the drive, which is why I get a huge smile on my face when I drive under the WDW sign.