Drive or Fly from NC

[Davec0910]

So we are a family of (4) with 2 kids who will be almost 3 and 6 months when we head to Disney in February. We are torn between whether or not to drive or fly. We are driving from NC and if we drove straight through with no stops we could make it in about 10 hours. However, we did make the drive once before when our son was 18 months and with stops for him, it took us a little over 12 hours.

We originally had decided we would drive this time and split the trip up on the way down and back. We use a luggage carrier on the hitch of our SUV so if we stay at a hotel on the way down, we would have to unload all of that stuff and take it in the hotel as there is no way to lock our carrier up.

Now we are thinking that flying might be the best route to go. The flight is only a little over an hour gate to gate, however there is the added expense of the flight and rental car, plus lugging two car seats and a stroller through the airport.

The only reason I am hesitate on the flight is the hassle of getting the stroller and car seats through security, gate checked, and then lugging everything over to the rental car.

So I guess my question is, can anyone provide insight on the airport situation so I feel a little less anxiety about it, or would the drive be the better way to go? Any thoughts or comments are appreciated. Thank you!

 

[xlxo]

Some thoughts when I made a similar trip on the West Coast...

10hrs on road vs flying...

• deduct 1 hour or more for the time you need to be at the airport waiting for a flight
• you forgot the cost to park the vehicle at the airport
• Can your vehicle play DVD or movies during the drive to keep the kids entertained? 4 movies there and 4 movies back is perfect.
• Do the kids like road trips? Do they want to explore cities and towns along the drive?
• modern GPS are great to quickly identify Walmart and McD's for bathroom breaks.
• how convenient are the flight times? Do you like the flexibility of a drive on how you can leave whenever?

 

[bookwormde]

If either of you are good nighttime drivers with young kids we always found it was helpful to leave an hour or 2 before their bedtime and just drive straight though (15 hrs for us) with the kids sleeping though the night. If we get tired we just stop at a rest stop and take a nap.

 

[wannaheadsouth]

We have driven last 4 times from western NC, but this time we are using airline miles to fly. We usually leave around 9-10 pm and arrive around 9-10 am the next morning driving straight thru. I hate to drive and it's about 10.5 hours each way for us, so when I can use points we fly!!

 

[PSUGuy]

All things being equal, I know, they rarely are, we choose the mode of transportation that cuts into our WDW time the least. We've often driven from Pa to Myrtle Beach straight through, starting in the evening and arriving in the AM in about as many hours as you're facing. After about a half hour on a beach chair I'm good to go so if you think you can get right to a park in the morning I'd do that. I hate losing vacation time to travel.

As far as flying, you can probably gate check the stroller and actually use the car seat on the plane. On arrival at MCO wifey grabs the luggage from the carousel while I get the rental and we're outta there in well less than a half hour usually.

Bill From PA

 

[sam_gordon]

Another side... do you have to have a rental car? If you're staying on property, DME usage is free.

Personally, I prefer to fly. But we're at ~12 hours (say 13+ w/stops). It's not the drive down that will get you, it's the drive home. However, with the age of your kids, driving might be better. You can truly do things on YOUR schedule. If the younger one has a "blow out", you can always pull to the side of the road to get him cleaned up. On an airplane, there are times you can't leave your seat (call it 20 minutes on each side of the flight). You also wouldn't have the hassle of wrestling car seats.

If you haven't done it before, I would NOT drive overnight. Any chance you can leave at like 1-2 in the afternoon (if not earlier)? That will get you in around midnight-1am.

 

[Davec0910]

Thanks to everyone for all of the comments and suggestions.

As a response to some of the questions asked, we do have a vehicle with a DVD player and that would be perfect for the almost 3 year old, but doesn't do much for the 6 month old. Also, he is not the best in his car seat. He reaches his limit after about a 3 hour trip and is ready to get out. If we drive, I feel we will have to have at least an hour or so stop to keep him out of his seat and then maybe drive another 2-3 hours and spend the night and continue the trip the next day.

We have never driven through the night and let the kids sleep, and I would agree with one of the previous posts that this would not be the best time to try that out. Not only will we be tired when we arrive, but if the kids don't sleep well, that isn't going to make for a fun day the next day.

So I guess what is boils down to is we will probably fly. We can get a non-stop flight and will rent a minivan at the airport so from the time we leave our house in the morning to the time we get out of the airport in Orlando, I am estimating about 5 hours of total travel time to get there. That sounds a little more appealing that probably 11-13 hours in a car.

Has anyone ever rented a vehicle with the car seats from the car rental company? Good/bad experiences?

 

[sam_gordon]

You'll find people have had good experiences with rental car seats and others who will say "stay far away" (you don't know how clean they are, etc).

Personally, I think you bring the car seat on the plane with you (provided it's certified to go on planes). If the younger is a lapbaby, you can check the seat for free (pretty sure), but get a bag for it. For the older one, he might travel better in his car seat on the plane (it's familiar and presumably comfortable).

Again, in case you missed it, you do know if you're staying on property you can utilize DME and not have to worry about a rental.

 

[Davec0910]

You'll find people have had good experiences with rental car seats and others who will say "stay far away" (you don't know how clean they are, etc).

Personally, I think you bring the car seat on the plane with you (provided it's certified to go on planes). If the younger is a lapbaby, you can check the seat for free (pretty sure), but get a bag for it. For the older one, he might travel better in his car seat on the plane (it's familiar and presumably comfortable).

Again, in case you missed it, you do know if you're staying on property you can utilize DME and not have to worry about a rental.

Thanks for the info. We are actually renting a house so we wouldn't be able to utilize DME.

 

[maxiesmom]

Thanks to everyone for all of the comments and suggestions.

As a response to some of the questions asked, we do have a vehicle with a DVD player and that would be perfect for the almost 3 year old, but doesn't do much for the 6 month old. Also, he is not the best in his car seat. He reaches his limit after about a 3 hour trip and is ready to get out. If we drive, I feel we will have to have at least an hour or so stop to keep him out of his seat and then maybe drive another 2-3 hours and spend the night and continue the trip the next day.

We have never driven through the night and let the kids sleep, and I would agree with one of the previous posts that this would not be the best time to try that out. Not only will we be tired when we arrive, but if the kids don't sleep well, that isn't going to make for a fun day the next day.

So I guess what is boils down to is we will probably fly. We can get a non-stop flight and will rent a minivan at the airport so from the time we leave our house in the morning to the time we get out of the airport in Orlando, I am estimating about 5 hours of total travel time to get there. That sounds a little more appealing that probably 11-13 hours in a car.

Has anyone ever rented a vehicle with the car seats from the car rental company? Good/bad experiences?

Taking all of the above into consideration, I think flying is the best choice.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

One other thing to consider is the volume of your stuff. You mentioned requiring a rooftop carrier to haul all your gear with just 4 people in an SUV. If you fly, you are going to have to cut WAY back on the amount of "stuff" you bring with you or pay a fortune in baggage fees. I do think you're being realistic with your 5-hour door to door flying time (too often, you hear folks comparing a 1-hour flight to a 12-hour drive when that's not really apples to apples). So, you're looking at saving ~7 hours each way. For me, I'd have to weigh:

The rigidity/inconvenience & cost of air travel vs the time lost with driving.

 

[Davec0910]

One other thing to consider is the volume of your stuff. You mentioned requiring a rooftop carrier to haul all your gear with just 4 people in an SUV. If you fly, you are going to have to cut WAY back on the amount of "stuff" you bring with you or pay a fortune in baggage fees. I do think you're being realistic with your 5-hour door to door flying time (too often, you hear folks comparing a 1-hour flight to a 12-hour drive when that's not really apples to apples). So, you're looking at saving ~7 hours each way. For me, I'd have to weigh:

The rigidity/inconvenience & cost of air travel vs the time lost with driving.

I have to constantly remind my wife to cut down on the luggage! The only reason we have to use the hitch carrier is because if we drive, my mother in law is going as well and we would have to put in the third row seat in our SUV and that won't leave enough room for even 2 suit cases.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I have to constantly remind my wife to cut down on the luggage! The only reason we have to use the hitch carrier is because if we drive, my mother in law is going as well and we would have to put in the third row seat in our SUV and that won't leave enough room for even 2 suit cases.

So, if you fly the MIL stays home?


Hmmm...................

 

[boBQuincy]

We live in Cary and also have a 10 hour drive to WDW. Flying takes about 4:30 door to door, using Magical Express. Driving home 10 hours on I-4 and I-95 is about the easiest way to lose the magic that we know of!

+1 vote for flying.

 

[Davec0910]

So, if you fly the MIL stays home?


Hmmm...................

No....MIL still will go whether we fly or drive. I am just saying if we drive, she will ride with us and thus we will have to put in the third row of seats in our SUV (a GMC Yukon) and therefore will have no where to put our luggage except for the carrier we have that installs in to our hitch.

 

[Davec0910]

We live in Cary and also have a 10 hour drive to WDW. Flying takes about 4:30 door to door, using Magical Express. Driving home 10 hours on I-4 and I-95 is about the easiest way to lose the magic that we know of!

+1 vote for flying.

We live in Durham so we would take the same route that you do. I agree that I-4 and especially I-95 make the trip pretty dreadful. I-95 is the most BORING drive.

 

[kirstenb1]

I have to constantly remind my wife to cut down on the luggage! The only reason we have to use the hitch carrier is because if we drive, my mother in law is going as well and we would have to put in the third row seat in our SUV and that won't leave enough room for even 2 suit cases.

I was wondering why you'd need to carry extra luggage. We have a 3rd row too, and bought this SUV just so we wouldn't need the luggage rack. But I see your point with a 5th passenger. We wouldn't have enough room either.

We have 2 kids, much older than yours, but I always found flying with an infant to be kind of stressful. The car, less so. We're in Virginia, so it takes 12 hours in a perfect world. With kids, more like 13-14, so we stop in Savannah on the way down and spend the night.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

We're lucky in that the 3rd row in our Acadia splits so that we could still put 2/3 of it flat and use 1/3 for a 5th passenger. OTOH, it's built on a minivan chassis so no "real" towing capability like a Yukon.

 

[Davec0910]

We're lucky in that the 3rd row in our Acadia splits so that we could still put 2/3 of it flat and use 1/3 for a 5th passenger. OTOH, it's built on a minivan chassis so no "real" towing capability like a Yukon.

The third row in our Yukon is 2 separate seats, so we could just keep one seat out and have more room for storage, but to be honest, there isn't much leg room in the third row and I don't think I would be comfortable back there for a 12+ hour car ride! Now, if we have the Yukon XL which is 4' longer than the regular Yukon, we wouldn't have an issue.

 

[MommyMK]

We live in Cary and also have a 10 hour drive to WDW. Flying takes about 4:30 door to door, using Magical Express. Driving home 10 hours on I-4 and I-95 is about the easiest way to lose the magic that we know of! +1 vote for flying.

We live way more than a 10 hour drive and thus fly every trip. I dream of living that close! We'd be there every long weekend with the allure of the mouse only one day's drive away!!! Different perspectives.

OP, how does it breakdown financially for you? Obviously doing the drive in one day would be cheapest. When you add in the cost for 2 nights hotel stay how much savings is there on driving vs flying? If the PP is right and flying saves you 6.5 hours, how much an hour are those hours costing you? That's how I personally decide flight times, sure 3 more hours in disney would be nice, but is 3 more hours worth $200? The answer is almost always no and we take the earlier flight.