cheapest way to get to Disney

[dgr1973]

We live in WI and driving has never been considered.

We fly or we don't go.

Same here! We are in Northern Illinois and considered driving for our trip this summer but then somebody slapped me and I snapped out of it! We only go on one vacation a year and save from year to year so flying is in the budget. I do agree that it is high this time (1300.00 r/t for all four of us) and we usually pay around 800.00!

 

[herdtoDisney]

We are driving down next week . There will be 8 of us. The cost of flying was nuts

I rented a SUV-the cost actually has gone down since I first booked. I'd rather drive my own van but it's old and actually not running currently Anyhow, with 3 adult drivers, we plan on going straight through going down (not sure yet if we'll stop coming home). I figured up with the rental, gas, and food-it's still less than half what we'd spend flying.

It's not easy...I won't lie, it's a long trip. We've done it several times (as dh has family in Fl) but we have some fun and interesting family memories from the trips. The train is also a good option, we've done the AutoTrain-you do have to book early for best deals though.

 

[Pembo]

We've driven from Ohio numerous times but we stop. It's a 17 hour drive from here. We usually drive about 14 hours the first day, pick up a Roomsavers coupon book from the rest areas, find a cheap but nice hotel with breakfast and get a good nights sleep. The next morning we can sleep in a little, eat a nice breakfast and be in Disney around lunch time.

I've never found it cheaper to fly when you factor in car rentals, baggage fees, etc. We have 5 in our family.

 

[LisaNJ25]

If you have a car with you the savings can be significant. You have transportation to go off-site for meals and can stay off-site.

We drive from NC ($300 last trip but gas is going up), get Disney Y.E.S. tickets ($1,100 last trip for 8 day hoppers for 5 of us plus water parks and more option), $300 for two weeks of a condo stay, $400 budgeted for food plus our Disney dollars of about $200. However, since we normally spend about $150 per week on food and we were there for 2 weeks, I didn't count all of that $400 into the budget.

So, under $2,000 including gas for a family of 5 for two weeks of Disney.

how did you get the condo so cheap? We got the Y.E.S. tickets fro this year also.

OP I am from NJ and we usually drive or take the auto train. I wont fly.

 

[robin09]

I agree with Jenny-momof3. Love driving and not having to worry about airline charges or changes, security, crowded planes, etc.

We too drive from Ohio every year, although we do stop outside Atlanta overnight. Total costs round trip driving is $400 including gasoline, little food, hotel both ways. Since it is two drivers, we find it best to stop overnight to give our SUV and us a break, check tire pressure and oil, clean truck a little, etc. Stop in to your nearest Cracker Barrel restaurant and pick up "The Next Exit" book; it is well worth the $15 cost. It tells you what is located at every Interstate exit in the entire United States so you can plan your route accordingly and you will know what is at every exit before you decide if you want to stop. You may also be able to borrow one from your local library.

Interstate 77 south through Columbia then I-95 is the shortest route with two tunnels in West Virginia and Virginia (overnight stop in Columbia). However, we prefer Interstate 75 south through Cincinnati, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia (overnight stop outside Atlanta) then Florida to Turnpike. No tunnels.

Have a great trip on whatever you decide. Also, do not forget about Amtrak. You can take your vehicle on the AutoTrain from Lorton, VA or, if you want to go without a car, you could take a regular Amtrak route all the way from PA in to Orlando and it's pretty reasonable for a family.

We drive down from Upstate Ny.. We did the 81-77-26 route instead of drving down 95.. I Really stress badly when there is traffic...

Can you tell me about 77.. Where would I (or could I) get it. The last time we did this route, I was nervous that I missed my turnoffs and didn't realize I had to travel many many miles before getting to the next route. It would've been so much easier if I knew... pick up 81 in ny, take it to..... It's morning, I hope I'm making sense... and we are leaving next week!

 

[momejay]

We used to fly. I got stuck in Atlanta for 10.5 hours and never made it to Orlando. The airline cancelled the flight and put us on standby for a flight into West Palm where they would put us up for the night and then take us by bus to Orlando. They lied. Thank God I have family in West Palm...RIDICULOUS!
Since then I drive from Northern New Jersey. (myself and my now teenage children) Gas our first trip was about $300. (Cheaper than one plane ticket) Even if gas doubled or tripled which it has we are still saving, & there are no rental car companies to deal with.
I leave after school and a hearty early dinner. Our first stop is just past Washington DC for gas and a snack. We stop in GA for breakfast. I keep driving straight through and we arrive around noon. We check in eat a light lunch and take a nap. We are ready to go in time for fireworks or maybe just a character meal. We sleep in a bit the next day.
I buy water, snacks and sandwich fixings on sale and bring it with me in a cooler. We stay in a place with a kitchen or at least a microwave and fridge and eat breakfast in the room.

 

[la79al]

We have flown several times and driven once. We have traditionally gotten Southwest fares for pretty cheap (as a family of 4, last trip in 2010). Driving was horrible because nobody wanted to stop so we got there pretty tired (I was on a Disney high, DH needed a nap). Driving home was horrible! We were so tired from the vacation. This year, because we definitely need a car once we get down there, we are probably going with the Autotrain. There is a good chance that I will be the only adult (or at least the only adult I trust to drive my children) so driving is out. I am also looking into regular Amtrak since it might be cheaper to just rent a car once we arrive. I have the luxury of being able to take multiple days to get there though, otherwise I would have no choice but to fly.

 

[mrodgers]

Again, people may feel differently, but I know in my case, I also wouldn't want to be the person at rope drop the morning after I was doing 10+ hours of driving punctuated by only mediocre sleep while my wife drove for a shift. Disney vacations can be tiring enough on their own; I can't see exacerbating the issue by arriving when I'm already sleep deprived.

YMMV... literally and figuratively, in this case.

Definitely didn't do that. We drove 14 hours to Savannah and spent the night. I think it was less than 5 hours the following day and my kids were standing in front of the Castle at noon.

We drove straight through on the way home, 19 and a half hours it took us. West Virginia is exhausting after 14-15 hours, whatever it took to get into WV. On the way down, wasn't nearly as bad driving through as the way home.

I tell the family, bus leaves at 3 am whether you are on it or not. I woke up at around 2:15 and grabbed a shower. Woke Wifey up at 2:30 so she could get up and ready while I finalized packing the car. She woke the girls up 15 minutes later and we were on the road at 3 am. Got to Savannah I think at 5:30 pm.

Gas prices were slightly more in 2010 than they are right now. I averaged 22 mpg and spent about $225 round trip on gas. Hotel stay was $95 and probably spent about $50 on food. Like I said, was standing outside the castle at noon on Sunday. Flying would have been $300/person and we would have spent more than 12 hours in travel arriving at 10 pm.

 

[englishteacha]

We're in Maine...about 26 hours to WDW with no stops from our house. Add in stops, and you're looking at about 30 hours. As a kid we drove to Florida. My dad wouldn't drive more than 8-9 hours, so we took 3 days to drive down and 3 days to drive back. 6 days in the car. Ugh.

There are only 2 of us, at the moment, so we've flown for our Florida trips. Once we have a little one who needs her own ticket, we'll have to see how much more expensive it is. From Maine, driving is going to cost quite a bit in money and time. We'd probably have to stay overnight somewhere on the way. 26+ hours in the car is a long time!

If I could get to WDW in under 18 hours, we'd drive. We've driven to Virginia in one day from here. It's a LONG day, and we always get trapped in traffic somewhere near Delaware, but it was SO much cheaper than flying.

 

[Disney*Dreamer]

I'm from Ohio and it's 1,000 miles from my doorstep to WDW. We ALWAYS drive now! It takes us about 15 hours and we do it straight through. We stop every 5 hours for gas, hop out use the restroom, grab a quick bite to eat, change the baby and we're back on the road in 20 minutes...yup we're crazy!

We've stopped overnight before and my kids begged us just to drive straight through! We leave after the kids get out of school at 3pm. My DH drives the first shift, I drive the 2nd, then he drives the 3rd. We arrive around 5am. We go to Ihop, check into our resorts and we're at MK for rope drop!

Total cost is approx $300-$350 for gas round trip. I take plenty of snacks in the car so a quick food stop runs us around $20 each way. So it costs us less than $400 for my family of 6 to get to Disney.

I can pack whatever I want, don't have to worry about baggage fees for ALL of us! And even though we hardly use the van once we arrive, it's nice to have it to make a quick stop to Target,etc. And if my kids get cranky...I don't have to worry about others complaining about them!

If you want to stop overnight, we pricelined a 3 star hotel outside of Atlanta and paid $50. So if you stopped each way that only adds in additional $100 to your trip!

This is exactly what we do, only from Northeast Tennessee, so it is more like 11-12 hours, and the hubby drives it all, I don't do well on interstates. And we go to the park right when we get there and spend the entire day.

 

[punkin]

We drive and we fly depending on prices and time constraints. This April, we are driving again. It is a 14 hour trip and we usually leave about 4 am and are in Disney around 6 pm. It is not a problem driving straight through on the way there, but coming back we usually priceline a room somewhere in NC.

 

[sbell111]

Now that we have kids, we make the drive. From middle Tennessee, it's about a twelve hour drive. We make it in about 13, stopping whenever we need to.

If we flew, it would take about ten hours once you factor in driving to the airport, waiting around for flights, picking up a rental car, and driving to WDW.

As a bonus, we don't have to rent a car, our kids enjoy the trip more because they are riding in their own seats in the familiar car, we enjoy it more because they aren't ON us, it is significantly less expensive, we get to manage our own schedules (never worrying about how long it's going to take to check in, etc).

As a bonus, we make the drive overnight so the kids sleep most of the way there. Cathy and I trade off driving and napping. We even end up rested enough that we can go to a park on day one.

 

[laurafergie]

I'm from Ohio and it's 1,000 miles from my doorstep to WDW. We ALWAYS drive now! It takes us about 15 hours and we do it straight through. We stop every 5 hours for gas, hop out use the restroom, grab a quick bite to eat, change the baby and we're back on the road in 20 minutes...yup we're crazy!

We've stopped overnight before and my kids begged us just to drive straight through! We leave after the kids get out of school at 3pm. My DH drives the first shift, I drive the 2nd, then he drives the 3rd. We arrive around 5am. We go to Ihop, check into our resorts and we're at MK for rope drop!

Total cost is approx $300-$350 for gas round trip. I take plenty of snacks in the car so a quick food stop runs us around $20 each way. So it costs us less than $400 for my family of 6 to get to Disney.

I can pack whatever I want, don't have to worry about baggage fees for ALL of us! And even though we hardly use the van once we arrive, it's nice to have it to make a quick stop to Target,etc. And if my kids get cranky...I don't have to worry about others complaining about them!

If you want to stop overnight, we pricelined a 3 star hotel outside of Atlanta and paid $50. So if you stopped each way that only adds in additional $100 to your trip!

This is exactly how we travel anywhere. Though we do usually stop for a night on the way back. Funny how tired you are after vacation.

 

[nyrebecca]

We drive down from Upstate Ny.. We did the 81-77-26 route instead of drving down 95.. I Really stress badly when there is traffic...

Looks like we come from around the same area We had been doing the 95 route but I am done with that nightmare. We will be changing it up this year. How long does it usually take you when you go 81/77/26?

 

[robin09]

Looks like we come from around the same area We had been doing the 95 route but I am done with that nightmare. We will be changing it up this year. How long does it usually take you when you go 81/77/26?

You're about an hour south of us. We've driven the 81 route about 2 years ago, and honestly it wasn't as stressful as 95 was. I would say it took us about 12 hours the first day, and then another 8 or so the next day... and we stop at every state marker, as we say goodbye to one state and hello to the next... Pictures at each welcome sign. I enjoyed driving this,

 

[lisajl]

I'm from Ohio and it's 1,000 miles from my doorstep to WDW. We ALWAYS drive now! It takes us about 15 hours and we do it straight through. We stop every 5 hours for gas, hop out use the restroom, grab a quick bite to eat, change the baby and we're back on the road in 20 minutes...yup we're crazy!

We've stopped overnight before and my kids begged us just to drive straight through! We leave after the kids get out of school at 3pm. My DH drives the first shift, I drive the 2nd, then he drives the 3rd. We arrive around 5am. We go to Ihop, check into our resorts and we're at MK for rope drop!

Total cost is approx $300-$350 for gas round trip. I take plenty of snacks in the car so a quick food stop runs us around $20 each way. So it costs us less than $400 for my family of 6 to get to Disney.

I can pack whatever I want, don't have to worry about baggage fees for ALL of us! And even though we hardly use the van once we arrive, it's nice to have it to make a quick stop to Target,etc. And if my kids get cranky...I don't have to worry about others complaining about them!

If you want to stop overnight, we pricelined a 3 star hotel outside of Atlanta and paid $50. So if you stopped each way that only adds in additional $100 to your trip!

Hi Jenny! We are in Ohio too and drive our crazy way down to Florida!
Glad we are not the only crazy ones. This trip we will have 5 drivers! Should be fun switching out drivers!

 

[kirstenb1]

We're in Virginia. We drive to Savannah the first day. Then like Mrodgers said, the next day is only 5 hrs. WE check into our room, and it's a pool day. Then we're ready for the parks early the next day. After 2 nightmarish trips full of airport delays, I can't envision ever flying to WDW again. Of course if we lived further away, we wouldn't have much choice.

By driving, the kids can pack some toys, stretch out a bit, eat when we feel like it etc. Plus, since we have a full kitchen at our resort, we can bring down plenty of drinks and non-perishables.

 

[KarlaG4Kids]

Im jealous....I wish we were closer than a 25 hour drive. Especially now with air fare prices.

 

[shells4]

We normally fly. This is the first year we are going to drive. We are renting a van, 3 adults to share the driving, and 3 kids. I would much prefer to fly but we need a vehicle once we get there because we have some friends/family in FL that we are going to spend a few days with also. For 6 people, it cost a fraction of the price to rent a van and drive vs airline tickets and renting a car there. It is about an 18 hour drive with no stops. We are hoping to leave when the kids get out of school Fri. afternoon and be there Sat. by noon. Keeping our fingers crossed.

 

[LovinPooh]

I am in NH and am renting a car. The only local rental doesnt do unlimited to FL anymore GRRR!! So I get the car at $228/week, 150miles a day and .25/mile after that. With the car parked 8days it helps, but I get 2100miles and paying after that. Total will approx be around $750ish, with gas, about $1100. We drive straight through as well. Just get a hotel cheap in Orlando that night, get sleep and check into WDW the next morning. I priced airfare adn couldnt find anything under $1600. So I figured we would enjoy some quality family time in the car lol!! We used to go 95straight down, the northeast is the worst! Now we zip over to I believe 81 through PA and connect to 95 right below DC. The NY-NJ area is a nightmare!! Nevermind the tolls!!
In a perfect world I could just pay off my WDW balance and teleport myself there LOL!!
Out of curiousity.. is airfare cheaper if you book flights earlier than closer to your dates?