Decided to drive to WDW

[dryvithome]

We normally drive it and it is 16-17 hours. It was closer to 20 hours when the kids were really little.

We've stayed closer to Pensacola before, and have since decided to make it another 100 miles down the road. We found a nice place in Bonifay, Fl to stop at. That's about 600 miles into the 950 mile drive. (give or take) Nice town and nice people. Plus, it puts us close to the time zone change and the next day's drive feels a lot shorter. Even usually leaves us time to hit a park late, or Downtown Disney, or just explore around a resort.

We've pushed on to Tallahassee before as well, but felt ragged after trying that. But reaching Tallahassee means less time on the road the next day and more time at WDW!

Hope you have a good trip!

 

[lauradis]

time to fly non stop 5.5hrs about $1523 for 3

driving non stop 16.5 hrs $453 for 3 (wear and tear, tolls and food)

I love to fly but I hate the baggage rules and the security.

I love to drive but hate the waiting of hours to get there.

Best advice is to pack everything in car night before set alarm for 4ish everyone gets in car even with lots of stops we can still make it to Orlando area before midnight. Plus we take turns driving.

 

[Skjhjb]

Yes, this really depends on the size of your family. In our case, with just 3 of us, I think it is actually cheaper for us to fly. We tend to get very good airfare where we live and being DVC members, we rarely rent a car when going to the World. I guess you can say "we paid up front!"

Also, if we drove we would have to rent a car because our two vehicles are way too small to drive comfortably.

Flying sure would be nice one day! But with 5 of us, and the time of year we plan to go, I couldn't find a flight less than $400, and that was flying out of buffalo even. Toronto added even more $$ to the price. Ick!

 

[Marionnette]

That's taking into account all the driving costs? Gas, tolls, wear-n-tear, etc.?

If you really want to see the price difference, try http://www.befrugal.com/tools/fly-or-drive-calculator/.

That calculator shows that it would be cheaper for the two if us to drive our 2006 Murano for 15-16 hours instead of flying.

Of course, it also added $100 for checked bags and over $400 for a rental car. We wouldn't need either of those if we fly Southwest and use DME. If you knock out those two line items, it's actually about the same price.

I understand why people choose to drive but for us, our time and sanity have a value, too. Still, if it meant saving $1K, I might consider sucking it up and driving.

 

[momof2gr8kids]

I would have no problem driving that long to save $1000.

We are a 30 hr drive from DW so I don't see us doing that any time soon unless we have a really long vacation.

I would really like to do it though in the winter. I think it would be neat for the kids to see the climate change throughout our drive. From snow to sunny Florida!

 

[MEM]

Me, I could argue with that. Saving my sanity is worth spending $1000

Obviously we are all different and if you can do that long of a car ride and save that kind of money, its great.

I'm with you Luv! We live in Boston and fly out of TF Green in Providence. It runs about $1000 for the four of us plus parking (cheap at PVD) and we feel its worth every penny. We usually get into MCO around 10:00 a.m feeling refreshed and ready to hit the parks. A few years ago we drove to Disney's DVC resort on Hilton Head Island from Boston, taking two days to do it, and it was not fun. I had restless legs nearly the entire time and DH was stressed out by the crazy drivers.

To each, his own. My late father loved driving through the night from Pittsburgh to Sanibel, only stopping for gas and potty breaks. I did not inherit that gene.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Flying gets us almost 4 extra days at WDW and makes the airfare well worth the cost. Plus we now go twice a year.

For us, the 4 extra days in Disney would blow the budget long before we ever priced the flights

 

[joedplumber]

I also think the type of vehicle you drive for the trip is very important. No offense but I would be miserable driving 20+ hours in a compact car with luggage and 4 people.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I also think the type of vehicle you drive for the trip is very important. No offense but I would be miserable driving 20+ hours in a compact car with luggage and 4 people.

This is definitely true as well. We are 4 people in an Acadia which not only gives everyone plenty of space, it also allows us to bring along many, many things we'd have to leave behind if we flew. We've had a mid-size car that would have saved us quite a bit on gas that we chose to leave at home so we could use the space of the bigger car.

 

[monorailsilver]

We drove in April from CT to ft. Myers. We are a family of 5 and airfare was just too much for us.

I am glad we did it but I don't want to do that drive again! I booked the auto train for this April and we will try it out. That cost just under $1800 (or was it $1900) rt with a roomette and room ne way and a family bedroom the other way.

Flights came out a short time ago and I saw that it would if been around $1500 to fly but we'd be renting a car if we did that vs using my sisters.

If we don't like the auto train we can fly in 2015 assuming my sister is still living there which I think she will be.

So yeah, I am glad we tried it. The kids were great but who wouldn't bee attached to an iPod/pad the entire ride or watching movies.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

We have driven and flown all over the country. Both have their perks, but I do think it's great to at least once do the summer road trip. There is just so much you can do/see/experience in a car; the savings are a bonus.

Agree 1,000 percent. You really are missing something if you don't try it at least once.

Now, I realize for many folks Disney is a "destination" type of trip - get there ASAP, spend as much time as possible, and rush home ASAP. But, a lot of vacations really work better in a car (sight seeing out West, for example). And as you say, it's just something everyone should try someday

 

[luvmy3]

Agree 1,000 percent. You really are missing something if you don't try it at least once.

Now, I realize for many folks Disney is a "destination" type of trip - get there ASAP, spend as much time as possible, and rush home ASAP. But, a lot of vacations really work better in a car (sight seeing out West, for example). And as you say, it's just something everyone should try someday

That is true, but you don't always have to drive 12+ hours for those types of vacations. I have driven to some beautiful places all within 7 hours of my home.
Dh, I and our dd drove from NY to CA once. The sights were amazing but being in the car that long definitely took its toll, and that is even with stopping every night. We were an hour away from the Grand Canyon, an hour! But by that time in the trip we just wanted to get to our destination in CA. Some people just aren't meant for road trips!

 

[purpledisneyprncess]

In 2 weeks, this will be our 4th trip to Disney World driving. It's an 18 hour drive each way and we drive straight through. I've always loved road trips, well before I had kids me and my friend had driven to Utah from NJ...when I was a kid I would take the 12 hour ride up to Maine w/ my grandparents. Something about being on the road late at night going thru all the diff. states is adventurous for me! My kids and DH like the ride as well.

The ride home is obviously not nearly as fun, but we make do. Plus, when we do get home, it really makes us appreciate being in our comfy beds that much more. LOL

The savings alone is a good enough reason to drive, aside from the fun we have on the road trips.

 

[joedplumber]

Agree 1,000 percent. You really are missing something if you don't try it at least once.

Now, I realize for many folks Disney is a "destination" type of trip - get there ASAP, spend as much time as possible, and rush home ASAP. But, a lot of vacations really work better in a car (sight seeing out West, for example). And as you say, it's just something everyone should try someday

Agreed! We had a blast from CT to South of the Border. I have such great pictures of the kids doing the silliest things at South of the Border. I can't wait to stop there again.

However, SC & GA are the most boring states to drive through. Trees, trees, and more trees. Thank god we have no problem entertaining ourselves on a drive.

 

[JB2K]

Because it will save us about $1000 versus flying. Who can argue with that, even on a trip with three kids that will take 17 hours? It's $1000!! I just can't make any argument that justifies that much money.

As my avatar says, I live about a thousand miles away from WDW.

The first time we traveled as a family (two adults, one child), we flew down -- while that was OK, we had to rent a shuttle to get to Shades of Green, and ended-up renting a car for the day to do some off-property stuff.

The second and third times, we traveled by car -- besides gas/wear and tear considerations, the only added expenses we had was lodging for the night, (which, since I am retired military, is done at Arnold AFB, near Tullahoma, TN, and very inexpensive), and tolls (I maintain a SunPass for that purpose).

Plus, we have the added benefit of having our car anytime we need it!

 

[joedplumber]

That's taking into account all the driving costs? Gas, tolls, wear-n-tear, etc.?

If you really want to see the price difference, try http://www.befrugal.com/tools/fly-or-drive-calculator/.

Just did this for our April trip. Flying is 6.5 hours door to door and $2,200.00. Driving is 22 hours door to door and $750. $1,450.00 is a lot of green. That can be a nice weekend getaway for me and the DW.

I wish we could get the same airfare in April as we did in October.

 

[Ginny Favers]

Thanks for this post, we're driving down next weekend!

It's our first time with kids (we've done it several times without). I've been a little nervous about it, but I'm hoping we like it because it saves quite a bit of money and will allow us to go to WDW more often!

 

[The Princess]

We have done it several times. The truth is its not bad going to WDW just coming home isn't fun!!

 

[ssawka]

Of course, it also added $100 for checked bags and over $400 for a rental car. We wouldn't need either of those if we fly Southwest and use DME. If you knock out those two line items, it's actually about the same price.

You can remove these items from the calculations. Just set the values to $0.00.

Agree 1,000 percent. You really are missing something if you don't try it at least once.

Think this is true when you have multiple children. With only one, I am not sure she is missing much. Besides, the only way for us to avoid I-95 traffic is to leave at 4:00 AM. Not thanks! I'll take the two hour flight with TV and Snacks on Jet Blue and save money to boot (for us).

 

[Jaime4004]

We drive about once/year, around 24 hours. Will be driving again in Dec since flying 5 of us at christmas is crazy! The kids like driving, i'm not crazy about it. But it will save about $1300 so it's worth it for us! It's nice to have our own car (minivan) also. When we fly and rent, usually get a midsize since it's so much cheaper. We are not disney bubble people, like to visit other areas in FL...