Considering Driving...HELP!

[momoteens]

We are considering renting a minivan and driving for our first trip to the World. We would be travelling from the Hamilton area, with 4 teens and two adults, in August.
Financially it seems to make sense over flying, but we are a bit nervous. Yahoo maps says it's about 20 hours. Realistically, can we do it in one long shot, stopping for bathroom & meal breaks? If we decide to stay over, where should we stop? We wouldn't need anything fancy, just a place to lay our heads (i.e. clean, safe and not too pricey) Are there spots along the way where we SHOULDN'T stop (thinking safety!)? I'm sure there are things I haven't even thought of that some of you experts could point out!
Any advice or tips would be most welcome!!!

 

[dancin Disney style]

You can probably get flights from BUF for about the same cost as renting a van/gas/hotel/meals.

We have driven the last two years. The first time was sort of for fun and last year we were staying for two weeks so we thought it was worth while. Anyway, you will spend around $300 in gas roundtrip, that's at current prices. You will need two hotel rooms for each way, which will run you at least $240. Meals could cost maybe $150. Then you have to add the cost of the rental, lets guess at $300. Grand total $990.

You should be easily able to get airfare for $150 per person. Maybe even less. If you are willing to look at other airports such as Rochester, Pittsburgh and Detroit your chances are greatly improved.

 

[canadaman]

Last year we drove for the first time. We live about 1 1/2 hours north of hamilton. We took the i 75. I was pretty intimidated by the drive at first. I spent lots of time with google maps, bought myself a GPS, and the book Along i 75. By the time we left I knew the route inside out.
As for cost, it cost my family of 4 (2 adults, a 6 and a 5 year old) about $600 round trip. We drove a hyundai elantra which is a smaller car. We got about 38-40 mpg and spent about $300 on gas. Remember last summer that is with gas prices at $4.00 a gallon. We pre-booked a room on the way down which cost us roughly $60. On the way home we got a room for about $45. We ate cheap on the way. We just ate fast food and we brought snacks with us as well as drinks.
Your costs would obviously be higher with 4 teenagers, but that at least gives you an idea.


happy planning

 

[dancin Disney style]

Our drive last year cost us $723. We drive a Chev Venture, we are 2 adults and 2 kids(9and 17) and live in Oakville. We stoppped for the night on the way down and drove straight through coming home. If we had stopped we would have had to add about $65. We packed breakfast and lunch in a cooler and had fast food for dinner.


BTW, if you live in the GTA/QEW/403 area taking the I-75 route adds 3 hours to the trip plus mileage.

 

[Grayce]

We were planning to drive this spring, but we found airfare for $596 for the 4 of us out of Buffalo.
If we did drive we were planning to drive the I77-79 route because it is slightly shorter and has nice scenery. If you are a member of CAA you can get a trip tik which will outline where all the rest stops, gas stations, restaurants and construction is. We were planning to spread the drive over 2 days with a night in a hotel along the way.

 

[DundasDad]

We did just drive down (driving home tomorrow - BOOOO) and took 3 days only because I didn't want to arrive at the resort late at night on night 2 and waste a day onsite. We took the i-75 route down and are going home the other way.

We drive a Hyundai Sante Fe - and with 4 of us (wife and an 8 & 6 yr old) it cost us about $175 for hotels (we stayed in a great place in Berea KY night one and a not as great place in Valdosta GA night 2). Gas was about $125 incl the fill up in Ontario before we left.

Toss in about $200 for meals (we did have snacks, etc packed for the ride so we only really stopped for a light lunch and a good dinner each night).

We have a GPS and it took us 22 hours in total driving to get down here.

I think your big expense will be the rental ...

 

[tjbaggott]

We are driving down in the fall of this year. We were planning on flying at first, but have calculated it will be a HUGE savings to drive. We won't need a rental, we'll be using our own van. We are also a family of 6 (two teenagers and two younger children plus DH and myself).
It will be our first time driving down.
For places to stop, I signed up with RoomSaver.com, you can receive their monthly coupon booklets by email (no charge). You just signify which state Booklet you want. I used map quest and google maps for directions plus tips from other Disers, to figure out how long we'll drive the first day, roughly where we'll stop, and researched reviews on prospective Hotels. These reviews helped in telling us exactly which Hotels we WILL AVOID, and which ones we would like to stay at on the way down and on the way back.
I know people have done the drive all in one shot, I guess thats easy enough to do if you and your DH are sharing the driving.
For myself, both DH and I HATE driving at night, as well we don't want to miss all the sights and scenery on the way down (first trip and all).
I do think renting a vehicle will be your biggest cost, so check out flights out of buffalo using a flight search site like expedia.com or any of many others.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

My family and I drive down every summer and we always take Interstate 75. Anyway we don't like to rush down so we take 2 & 1/2 days to drive down, so on our 1st day of driving we stay at a Hampton Inn location in Cleveland, Tennessee. On our 2nd day of driving we go all the way to Valdosta, Georgia and stay at the Hampton Inn & Suites location, because we figure why arrive to WDW around 7:00 PM or 8:00 PM when we could arrive there the next day sometime in the afternoon.

 

[rjan67]

Just arrived back at 3am Sunday morning from the drive down and back. We drive straight through. We only stop for bathroom breaks/gas and meals. It takes us 21 hours from Sarnia to Daytona area. It is much cheaper to drive straight through. Only about 300-350 dollars for the drive there and back. Gas is cheap now, we drive a Honda Odyssey...only 25 dollars per fill up and about 4 fill ups each way. That is with 5 of us (3 school age kids) and 2 adults and a LOADED van with roof box.

 

[AndyMcV]

Hi Gang

Please don't take this the wrong way as i'm just curious. Assuming that you live in southern Ontario, why would you want to drive down to WDW?

We flew out of Buffalo last June. The 4 of us cost $660 total to fly with Southwest return direct flights.

Andy

 

[mousy_in_canada]

Hi Gang

Please don't take this the wrong way as i'm just curious. Assuming that you live in southern Ontario, why would you want to drive down to WDW?

We flew out of Buffalo last June. The 4 of us cost $660 total to fly with Southwest return direct flights.

Andy

We are in Southern Ontario and we found it cheaper to drive down, partially because of when we were going, the flight for our dates was going to be $1900. We were able to drive for $220 in gas there and back and we had one hotel on the way there ($55) and brought most of our food. It really did save us a lot of money because there is 6 of us, and it really adds up. We wanted to fly and only made the final decision when we were about 5 to 6 weeks out and we saw that SWA prices were not going to drop.
So it depends on when you are going and the number of people in your group that are going too. Also I had no issue packing food and really only making one stop for hot food the rest of the time it was food in the truck.


Hope this helps

 

[dancin Disney style]

Hi Gang

Please don't take this the wrong way as i'm just curious. Assuming that you live in southern Ontario, why would you want to drive down to WDW?

We flew out of Buffalo last June. The 4 of us cost $660 total to fly with Southwest return direct flights.

Andy

I hear ya Andy.....I hate car trips but every once in a while I will do it. The first time we drove to WDW I was game to do it. We had not done a road trip in about 4 years so that was fine. Other times we have driven because we were travelling at peak periods and the flights from BUF were going to cost $300 or more per person. Last year we drove because DH said we needed the car as it was a 2 week vacation.......reality on that one was that we left WDW property maybe 4 times in that 2 weeks.....car not really neccessary.....could someone tell DH please.

Even though I always would prefer to fly, I prefer to have a vaction more so if that means driving I'll do it. Actually, since we have done the drive a few times it doesn't seem that bad anymore.

 

[Remmy]

We drove down on January 22, 2009 straight through the night and into the next day from the middle of Southwestern Ontario and it was about a 22 hour drive with just hubby and I driving. On the way home on February 6, 2009 we stopped off at a Best Western (safe but not the greatest) just past Georgia for $84.00 US total. It took us 30 hours to drive back and that was with a nasty detour just outside of Detroit that we became lost on.

We took the I-75 and it cost us $220.00 US for both ways. We own a Pontiac Torrent with a pod on top.

We don't mind the drive and like the convenience of a vehicle there for the once in awhile we want to drive to the outlets or to a different resort. We also love no weight restrictions on luggage or the extra fee some charge now. We took a cooler with snack foods and only stopped for one hot meal.

This works well for our family, as we figure we would have to eat at an airport either way as we have to be there early or upon arrival. My husband would not consider flying if we had a stopover thus we would have to pay more for a direct flight. We also like the freedom of deciding when we are going, or if we don't wish to wait for the buses.

I wish you well with a decision that works well for your family. Remmy

 

[rjan67]

Because it's cheaper. We have to go during March break so it's difficult to get a cheap flight for all of us. Even with your rate I would save 300 dollars which was the cost to get into SeaWorld this year. Plus, we have to have our "stuff".

 

[OntFamily]

Hi Gang

Please don't take this the wrong way as i'm just curious. Assuming that you live in southern Ontario, why would you want to drive down to WDW?

We flew out of Buffalo last June. The 4 of us cost $660 total to fly with Southwest return direct flights.

Andy

We flew to WDW the past three years, but found no real cheap flights this year (traveling during March break....). We drove down (I-79/77 as it the fastest route from the GTA). Gas cost was approx $100 USD to drive south (we're still here, so that's only a one way cost). We stayed one night in a hotel room costing $89 USD (including taxes). Food was approx $60 USD for both days. So our cost to drive south was $250 USD.

I couldn't find any air fare, for 3 people, for less than $900 USD, for March break.

Plus, when you drive, you have a car in WDW to drive.

Previous years, I've spent $500 - $800 for air fare (for 3 people).

 

[rjan67]

Yes, that's right we would also need a car, which adds dollars (we didn't stay at the World for the break, we rent a condo south of Daytona).

 

[digskat]

Hi Gang

Please don't take this the wrong way as i'm just curious. Assuming that you live in southern Ontario, why would you want to drive down to WDW?

We flew out of Buffalo last June. The 4 of us cost $660 total to fly with Southwest return direct flights.

Andy

We have driven the last 5 years, and are doing so again this December. There are several reasons for driving; convenience of having your own vehicle while in Orlando (for shopping and just getting around), and savings (at the current prices gas will be under $200) are the 2 biggest. We priced out flights from Detroit last year, and were looking at $1500, we spent less than $700 on food, gas, and lodging. We also did the majority of our christmas shopping there, and had no restrictions on packages. Finally, the trip down is part of the adventure.

 

[nokidz]

Finally, the trip down is part of the adventure.

We always drive down to Florida. I love the drive down. We drive straight down and then take one night on the way home. We can go from Wasaga Beach to St. Augustine in 21 hours. Thats just bathroom breaks, meals in the van, gas and one or two short shopping breaks.
We go the I-95 route.

 

[Debbs]

we are about an hour northwest of Ottawa. We have driven down and love it. We have driven to Orlando and we have driven farther to Clearwater. Last time we drove down it cost us about 500.00 total, not counting food. That was gas both ways, and a 2 hotels, 1 going down 1 coming back. We like to take a break in between. We usually stop at each state line welcome center. Let the kids out to walk around and stretch then get back in. We found that we like to drive as far as Fredericksburg, VA. The hotels are really nice and the area is nice.
Enjoy your drive!

 

[pkitty]

Just got back yesterday from driving....did it in 24 hours with dh and I. no sweat....we also prefer having our vehicle. As well, when we fly out of TO for example if we have a 7 am flight we are there for 5 am up at 3 am. We arrive in Orlando, at 10am approx, wait for luggage, get a rental and then drive ourselves to the resort in WDW.....it's now 2 pm. That's half the drive down just between getting to and from the airport and all the logistics in between. We stayed in Warner Robins Georgia this time at 70.00 per night (governemet employee rate) at the La Quinta....beautiful indoor corridor hotel. Got up the next day and drove 5 hours to WDw....no sweat. Drove straight thru to home. Packed a lunch and tons of munchies going down...didn't eat out until dinner time. Had so many food credits left at WDW that we got 2 sandwich platters 2 desserts, 3 snacks and 4 drinks to go for lunch on the way home. Again spent maybe 50.00 on food on the way back. We are DVC memebers and find this works just fine for us.