anyone make a price comparison driving to WDW vs. flying?

[starstruck93]

http://fuelcostcalculator.aaa.com/

this will give you an estimate on the fuel cost for your vehicle. Then you can budget out food/games/hotels and see how it would work out for you.

This is a great link! Thanks! WOW.... I'm happy.... just fuel cost for us would've been $287! (Washington D.C to Orlando in a 2006 BMW) That's not including food, hotels or any extras! I only paid $300 for mine and DS tickets ($150 each). DH can't go on this trip because of his job so I would have to drive all of the way from Washington D.C. to Orlando alone. I got a steal on my tickets; I'm happy! I agree with the PP who said that it depends on how valuable your time is. We have an early arriving flight (9am) and a late departing flight (6PM) so I feel like we're getting 2 extra days! Thanks, April

 

[ChisJo]

For us, the distance would be 2750 miles. We could potentially drive that straight through in about 2 days. One would drive, one would sleep (we've had to do this while moving). If we were really exhausted, we would pull over and sleep in our car for a couple of hours, or camp somewhere for the night. We don't have kids though, so that makes all the difference. Cost for fuel for our car would be about $800. Plus, the wear and tear on the car, and the food and the potential to spend money on a hotel room. Plus, you have to deal with the traffic, the uncertainties, weather, exhaustion, potential fighting with your partner (well....we would probably have a tiff or two being cramped in a car that long), and anything else that can happen on a road trip. We would never do it.

Unless you have ME, you also have to factor in the price of a car rental, tolls, parking, fuel etc, if you decide not to drive down there.

To us, getting on a plane and getting somewhere in 7 hours, beats driving any day.

 

[angierae]

We're driving, it's not even a question in my mind.

Estimated fuel: $363 (2008 Cobalt, I get well over 30 mpg highway)
We are driving from the Detroit area. We have friends we can crash with in Atlanta both ways (well, north of Atlanta) so no hotel issues. The girls are teenagers, so all four of us will be able to split driving. They have plenty of iPods and other toys and things to keep themselves occupied in the car, so no reason to buy anything like that.

Other than food on the way there and back, there aren't any other expenses. I've got $600 budgeted for travel. That's half of what it would cost to fly, minimum. Factor in having to park the car at the airport for 9-10 days and that's another $13 a day on top of the plane tix.

Leaving Friday after school gets out, driving 12ish hours, get up Saturday and be in Disney in time for dinner Saturday. The following weekend, leave Saturday, get home Sunday.

 

[SunnieRN]

We have been thinking about your very question. Driving from Austin area to Orlando. Mileage about 1100 lets say one way. Our gas now is projected at $300. We are doing an extended vacation and are going to leave at 6pm after dinner. Will drive through the night no overnight stops.

We live about an hour or so East of you. We have driven twice and flown twice. Now that my youngest grandson is three, that means five airline tickets. We are going back in October and will probably drive. We do spend a night on the way, but arrive pretty rested.

Either way, I just enjoy being at WDW!!

 

[mtquinn]

The thing is, we won't be driving through the night. No way. We will need to stop once each way, so we need to factor in that hotel stay and food/etc at the hotel. Hmmmm.

 

[eeyorethegreat]

We have a travel party of 7 so we always drive from Maine. So far the cost of flying is always more than driving, lodging on the way and meals. With gas prices going up there is less difference than there was but even when gas was $4/gal it was still cheaper to drive. Now if our family size was smaller it would either break even or be cheaper to fly. I've heard flights are starting to creap up again with all this increase in gas prices as well though.

 

[The Pink Cupcake]

We have always flown in the past. We planned a last minute trip a a few months ago and airfare was astronomical. So we hopped in our car and drove.

I don't think I will ever fly again We didn't have to worry about weighing our luggage or what kinds of liquids we packed. We left to drive down when we wanted to, without the stress of getting to the airport 2 hours early, only to have a delayed flight.

The best is, we decided to stay an extra night and had no worries about changing flights.

I resent the airlines for the "herding" mentality they have sprung on us all over the last decade. We pay top dollar and are treated like garbage.

I never thought we would enjoy driving as much as we did! Without a doubt, it took away so much stress.

 

[3boymthr]

We had to drive. No choice in the matter as I had ruptured my eardrum just a few weeks before our trip and it wasn't healed enough to withstand airplane cabin pressure. We have driven all over and I mean that literally - we even spent 28 days one summer driving 7,000 miles to california and back. And we'd driven to Florida before that time all the way to Key West. We love a driving vacation, but would I drive to WDW again - NO WAY! We lost way too much of our vacation, the time, the stresses of driving in heavy traffic thru DC, just wasn't worth the savings.

 

[mafibisha]

Since we've done both the driving and flying thing, there are two things regarding the cost of meals / food when driving . . .

1) Wherever you are - home, on the road, in the air, in WDW - you need to eat! Eating = money.

Since we realized that very simple but often overlooked factor its made a difference in our planning and don't put too much emphasis on that cost. IOW we're going to eat whatever we do, even if we're staying home

2) Driving does save us money as we can better choose what to eat and how much to spend if driving.
I pack picnic lunches and dinners, if driving through. We can take turns eating as often as we take turns driving. Or make an event of it by finding a cool little place to stop and picnic.

Then I always buy ahead (at great savings) and pack ALL (or most) snacks, water, juices and soda. None of the liquids can be bought ahead and taken on the plane, so that too, saves us some big bucks!



(also, while I definitely buy treats for the trip, I sure don't buy additional big ticket thiings that have been mentioned. If our kids don't have enough of those to take anyway - and they do - they're getting yet another trip to the world and THAT anticipation is already a big ticket treat! LOL )

 

[hanutedmansionmomma]

We drive from KS. With 4 of us, it's less $. I would say it might change w/ gas prices going up, but I'd have to imagine plane tix will go up with fuel costs as well...

We leave mid-morning on day one, and are checked in and eating dinner at the Earl of Sandwich on day 2. Doesn't seem like a big loss of time to me, vs. hours in airports for a whole day.


I like the ability to stop and go whenever we want. It feels more relaxed and vacationy to me.

We use Hilton Honors Points and stay at Hampton Inn. They have nice bedding and free breakfast. Every few trips we get a free night's worth of points to use.

 

[HHSTigerFan]

We never factor in cost of a hotel of food, because we don't need to.. We leave from NE Illinois after having dinner, around 10:00 we stop for a quick snack/bathroom break and then back on the road, won't eat again until breakfast, by that time we are through Atlanta and lunch is always on property and with the dining plan..

For us, if we leave at 6:00PM and drive, we arrive by noon the next day.. If we fly, leave the house at 4:00AM for an early morning flight and get to resort by noon..So its easily worth it as from 10P-5A I am the only one that knows any different, and we save a bunch of money (this time, $600 to drive, $1500 to fly) and we gain flexibility, ability to bring what we want and bring home what we want.

That said, a few times we have done short 3-4 day trips, then we fly..

 

[delmar411]

driving cost 50% less than flying for us. We budget $600 for driving/traveling costs. That includes hotel rooms.

We do leave in the early AM to get to WDW by around 10-11pm. Grab a room at the doubletree and then check in, early am at our WDW resort.

On the reverse we'd driven straight through back home which didn't work out well as we were so exhausted from the week at WDW. Another time we stopped at some awful hotel just past Atlanta. We won't do that again.

This time we are planning on staying one more night at WDW and that's for me to get lots of sleep. DH and the kids will play the last day while I pack, rest and sleep. Then we'll leave early AM and aim for being home around 10-11pm that night.

I'm the only driver for the trips so that's why I need the sleep!

 

[HeatherC]

Last week we drove from MA to SC. It was 987 miles each way.

Including gas while we were there all week, we spent about $325 total in gas. We also stayed in a hotel for around $100 on the way down. On the way home we drove right through.

The drive was 15 1/2 hours coming home if that helps you estimate distance.

So it was DEFINITELY cheaper for us to drive. We are a family of five so airfare is a killer.

We drove a Toyota Sienna minivan and averaged 20.6 miles to the gallon. We paid anywhere from $3.09 in NJ to $$3.50 a gallon in Virginia.

So total was $425!

Hope this helps.

PS We also packed sandwiches and snacks and used a gift card for dinner on the way down. So reLly no food costs since we had to eat anyway.

 

[DawnM]

Toyota Sequoia, 17mpg or so.

At $3.50 per gallon it costs us $226 to drive there and back.

5 people, airline tickets

$250x5= $1000
Parking at the airport- $50
Rental car- $150-$180
or shuttle service- $100 for to the hotel and then back to the airport

Total flying: $1,300 or so.

Honestly, it doesn't make sense at all for us to fly......just getting to the airport is an hour for us, then an hour or so on the other end to get to Disney. Waiting at the airport is about 2 hours total, then a 2 hour flight.

So, flying is about 6-7 hours vs. 9 hours of driving. I would rather drive.

Dawn

 

[momejay]

We drive from NJ. I am a single mom & have 3 children & sometimes a few extra. I used to bargin hunt for flights & think that 2-3 hours on flight vs. 20 or so driving is a smarter idea. Then our drive to the airport is 1.5 hours, we have to be there 2 hours in advance of flight, flight is often delayed an hour or more, I could be through Washington DC traffic by that time & we haven't gotten off the ground yet. Our last flight we didn't have a direct flight & we were stranded in Atlanta for 11 hours because of a huge thunderstorm.
When we get to Orlando we have to rent a car or pay for Disney transportation. Last time I looked it was $40 a person round trip, well for that price I can almost get a rental car & take advantage of local grocery stores. I need a minivan which is at least $300 even with discounts. I have had problems with extra charges on my credit card from rental car companies so I hate renting cars. We got home one time & were told we broke the windshield of the car. I think I would have noticed a broken windshield driving to the airport. Take a picture of your car with your cell phone when you return it!

Instead of flying I choose to drive. I take a nap that day. I work nights so I am used to sleeping strange hours. We leave just after dinner & drive straight through. My kids don't need that much entertainment they watch a movie or 2 & fall asleep. When they wake up, we eat breakfast, usually in Georgia. I stop for a bit & maybe take a power nap & we head in to Orlando arriving by noon. We get lunch. We check into our room & take a nap. We eat dinner & go watch fireworks or do some shopping. By then, I really need to sleep.

Cost wise, it is much cheaper for us. The cheapest ever flights were $99 round trip. (Most often $200.) We usually have 5 so that would be $500 - $1,000. Parking the car at the airport for the week is around $20 a day. (so parking would be around $150) Add the rental car fee to that. When we drive, we are able to bring cases of water snacks the kids really enjoy & food items so I can cook in our room. Our food costs during travel are usually breakfast at fast food place so about $20. I also get a bag of licorice & a few packs of gum. (Chewing & music or audiobooks on my ipod keeps me awake.) I have two 16 year olds that take turns talking to me & riding shot-gun. Between the internet, the phone, school activities & friends I hardly ever get to talk to them. It is great family time!

 

[Minniemouse07]

When we get to Orlando we have to rent a car or pay for Disney transportation. Last time I looked it was $40 a person round trip, well for that price I can almost get a rental car & take advantage of local grocery stores.

... Parking the car at the airport for the week is around $20 a day. (so parking would be around $150)

While I think your decision to drive over flying is valid... some of your information is incorrect.

Disney's Magical Express is free and I'm not sure which airport you fly out of, but here in Philly I never pay more than $6-8 a day for parking at the off site lots (either with a coupon or AAA discount).

 

[dragonfly08]

I've estimated that it would cost around $600 to drive, assuming I paid all of the costs myself (my dad is probably traveling with us, but 1) I wouldn't feel comfortable asking him for gas money and 2) I have to account for the fact that he may not be able to make it). Airfare for myself and my girls is around $750. That $150 is absolutely worth it to me to fly. I don't like driving, my kids hate being cooped up in the car. No way can we go straight through so it's two days with all of the related meals, getting luggage into the hotel and being sure to repack all of the toiletries and toys, etc. I'd much rather have DH drop us at the airport after breakfast and be in Orlando in time for a late lunch.

 

[budafam]

We're driving for our first time for a few reasons. First reason, I hate flying. I have flown once and literally cried when we pulled into the airport. I just have a fear of it and really don't feel like dealing with that. Another reason, it's cheaper. Even if gas goes up to $5 a gallon (which it won't), it would STILL be cheaper for us. We're planning on loading up our minivan with all kinds of goodies (including a mini fridge) and we get to see sooo much more. The time really doesn't bother me too much either. We'll be leaving Friday night at 9pm so the kids can sleep in the van and we'll drive straight through until 4pm the next day where we'll be close to Florida. Hoping the next day to only have to drive 4 hours and be there. I figure if you fly, you still waste a day pretty much with having to sit in airports, lay overs, etc. and what if a flight is delayed? We had family that flew and they were delayed 3 times wasting 2 days of their "vacation" time.

I like having a lot of room to bring home whatever I want too and on the way home we can take our time a little more, stop and enjoy things.

We're driving from Wisconsin (halfway between Green Bay & Milwaukee) and are expecting it to take around 22 hours total. It will be me, DH, DD2 & DS4.

 

[redandblue]

I prefer driving. Cost of food doesn't count in cost as you are going to be paying for meals either on the road or at the airport.

Sure you may pay for a hotel on the road but the kids will enjoy the swimming and relaxing. It may be more time but the flexibility is worth the extra time.

Both DH and I work full time so if we are not working we are happy, doesn't matter if it is driving or actually being at our destination.

 

[mousebymarriage]

I actually just crunched the numbers for our upcoming trip in June. We are planning to drive and leave northern NJ on Friday June 24th to arrive in Disney on Saturday June 25th. We well then leave Disney on June 28th (just a few days in Disney for DS9's b-day which is on the 27th), then head over to the gulf coast of Florida to visit family for a few days. Departing Port Charlotte, Fla on July 3rd to arrive home on the 4th.

-Our current plan is to drive straight through (we have done this before and it works well for us), so no money spent on hotel stays.
-I checked a few airlines plus, a site called sidestep.com (we have gotten some pretty good deals using them and no problems).
-currently flights seems to average around $300 pp round trip from Newark, NJ to Orlando airport. *keep in mind these prices are for non-stop flights. I don't do stopovers because I am not a big fan of flying to begin with.
-I was able to find a flight for $206 pp round trip non-stop. However, the flight would depart Newark, NJ at 9:15pm and arrive in Orlando at 11:57pm. I tried both Friday,the 24th and saturday the 25th. these times are too late, we definately prefer early am flight but, would even be open to afternoon flights.

-so at a cost of approx $300 ppx 4= $1200.

-I used that fuel calculating site and they quoted the cost of driving round trip at $650. Which by the way I think is high because we drove last year when gas prices were just under $3.00 per gallon and it only cost us $300-$350 round trip gas and tolls (that's what the site is quoting for one-way). I understand that gas prices keep rising but, I still think their estimate is a bit off. We will be driving the same minivan as last time.

-so cost of flying is $1200 vs. driving $650 (and that's using the high quote from the fuel calculator). we don't stop to sleep so no hotel cost. We do stop for 1 meal (cost wise $50). snacks and drink we bring with us. It's still cheaper for us to drive. the only thing is that it will take us a bit longer to get there but, that's ok because to us driving is part of the fun.

*Oh, and this trip we would have to add on the cost of a rental car if we flew because we are going to see family for a few days after leaving Disney, so definately cheaper for us to drive this time.