Drive or fly?

[POOH&PIGLET]

Our next trip is in October. Our family consists of DW, two DDs (who will be age 3 and 10 months at the time of our trip), and myself. If we fly, I don't expect it to cost over $500 (for 3 seats).

How bad is the drive from New York City (Queens) to WDW? Six hours is about the longest family drive we've been on so far. DW would like to save the $500 but I think the long drive isn't worth it. When we have more kids (God willing) I expect we will drive because the savings will be greater.

Any advice / suggestions?

 

[welovemickey]

We drive every year from the Boston area. We have 3 DS's (11, 8 and 3). We would rather drive than fly. We usually leave home around 2pm and drive all night. We arrive at DW around lunchtime the next day. DH and I swap the driving so neither one of us is too tired when we get there. The kids sleep well in the car and we have a TV/VCR combo in case they get restless.

PM me if you want more information.

Lisa

 

[Dr. Happy]

Its going to take you more than 24 hours to drive the distance. I'm not sure what a savings that will be, as gas prices are rising in the south and you would likely have to break up the drive with an overnight at least once, probably twice. By the time you arrive at WDW you'll likely be fatigued from riding in a car for so many days. You'll also have to contend with all the traffic on I-95 along with the "smoke fog" along I-95 in the southern states of South Carolina, Georgia, and Northern Florida. Smoke fog is the result of a burning swamp polluted with tires. What a joy to drive through!! Then, you can look forward to I-4 which takes you to Orlando, which is one of the most accident-prone interstates in the system. I don't know how many times I've seen major collisions on that stretch of highway.

As for our family, we used to drive to WDW before kids, but now with kids we wouldn't think of driving, although I can appreciate that many people do drive. It simply is not for us. I would rather pay the few extra dollars to fly than drive. But it you do fly, you will have to contend with the airport procedures that are truly annoying. Case in point: I and my 7 year old daughter flew north for the holidays. As we were flying first class I didn't suspect a problem. Wouldn't you know it, my 7 year old daughter was "selected" to be patted-down and carry-on "inspected" (aka: ran-sacked). Fortunately, the USAir gate agent had the where-with-all to see the stupidity and opted not to perform the personal search. But, I have seen dozens of unlikelies being frisked and searched: little old men, little old ladies, the handicapped, etc. Heavens knows, 80 year old octagenarians are quite the "risky population" of people. Statistics surely reveal that 80 year olds are quite the terrorist group, aren't they??

If you can get by all this airport security over-reaction, by all means fly...

 

[jenny2]

Ugh, the last time we drove every now and then we'd pass through some horrible smelling areas and we couldn't figure out what it was. Why are the swamps burning, may I ask?

To get to your question, POOH&PIGLET, DH, DD (20 months) and I have driven from Mass twice. No bid deal either time. DH refuses to fly (he's an aircraft mechanic, too... doesn't that make you feel safe?). We also drive through the night, starting after dinner. That way we're off to a fresh start during the most difficult part of the drive. If you drive straight through it won't take you more than 24 hours (unless you stop alot). It usually takes us between 20 and 22 hours, and you're closer.

The deciding factor for us isn't the money, nor even that DH doesn't like to fly. Driving is just no big deal for us and we make the drive part of the vacation. It's even better on subsequent trips because you start to recognize landmarks and if you keep a travel journal you'll know how long it should take you to get to the next landmark. Then of course there's the South of the Border billboards... well they're just obnoxious!!

 

[LinK]

Although my DH would probably fly and Ds doesn't matter. We have done both. Flying is quick and done over with. If you have the time we enjoy driving it adds to the excitment of the trip. Had a tv/vcr for ds. We had no problems. Its also great family time and saves you money.

 

[Spinning]

We drove for the first time this year. I was very much against it...But DH really wanted to. Thought it would be a nice change and see the sites! (HA Along 95!) but I agreed and to tell you the truth it was great! I was shocked! We had a tv/vcr for the car. We left about 3:30 AM drove till about 6 PM it took us forever the first day, but we stopped all the time! We got a hotel in Florence SC for $34 then headed on down we were visiting my mom ourside of Sarasota so it is 18 hours of straight driving..
Coming home was a little faster we left from Disney so that was about 3 hours closer but getting a hotel was much harder, Motorcycle week or something like that was going on but we did fine a place for $49 a night. Oh and going around Jacksonville was horrible! Take the bypass!
We only spent about $100 on gas and maybe $50 on food. We packed alot of food and drinks.
Granted gas was only 96 cents! and the most we paid was $1.12
We also had 2 weeks. I don't know if I could do it in a week. But I say give it a try once and then decide. Like I saidI wasn't for it at all! But it wasn't bad!

 

[LKS]

The "swamps full of tires" aren't burning. In fact, the swamps aren't full of tires (and I know because we canoe them.) For the past few years with the drought in the southeast, there have been extensive forest fires in the summer. This year there were only a few small ones, but the summer of 1998 was particularly bad in Florida, as some of you may recall, and certain segments of I-95 had to be closed because the fires were burning right across the road. There were days that summer in Jacksonville where the smoke from distant fires was so thick that the children could not play outside, but it was not because of tires burning in swamps. I live within 7 miles of I-95 near Savannah and I lived closer to it than that in Jacksonville for 7 years before we moved here. Needless to say, I have driven I-95 between Jacksonville and Beaufort innumerable times.

The worst problems are due to drivers traveling at excessive rates of speed who then run up into the back of slow or stopped traffic in front of them. If you drive, you want to avoid the days after major holidays or major holiday weekends (like the Sunday after Thanksgiving) and try to avoid Jacksonville and Orlando during morning and evening rush hours. They can both have horrendous traffic and lots of accidents. Hardeeville, SC also gets bad at times, I believe because lot of people are slowing to take the exits there.

That intermittant horrible smell some of you encountered is almost certainly the fumes from the paper mills. You can see (and smell) some of them near Brunswick, GA, in particular. That is THE worst smell and quite different from the smell of a forest fire.

 

[MinnieGi]

We are deciding between flying and driving too. Last Nov. we flew and this fall we are leaning toward driving. I drove the trip many times growing up and never minded it and even looked forward to it. You can bring your own pillows to rest on and lots of activities to make the trip fun. We are thinking of leaving right around dinner time and drive through the night so our DD will be asleep most of the trip. With taking turns we can probably drive right through.

Driving will save us some money too and it will be nice having the car down there to get around (even though most times we will be using Disney transportation). The ride may get long but flying was no picinic either last Nov.

Good luck on your decision and trip.

 

[jamsmom]

Anything over 30 minutes is too far to drive Can you tell I hate to drive?

 

[POOH&PIGLET]

Thanks for the input.
Since I would be doing most (if not all) of the driving, I will not enjoy the trip one bit.

For me, the decision revolves around transportation at WDW. Will having a car at WDW make up for a long drive (that I will hate)? We expect to buy a Kolcraft double stroller. We have never had any problems with WDW transportation in the past, including two trips with one child. We will be staying at the Wilderness Lodge Villas for 13 nights. If no car, we would use the boat to MK, cabs to Downtown Disney, and the buses for everything else. We don't expect to travel outside WDW.

Is a car at WDW of much use?

 

[Spinning]

I also did almost all of the driving. DH isn't a big distance driver, so funny he was the one who wanted too!
Since you are going for a long time the car may be to your advantage. I must say having our car this year was wonderful! We ended up taking it too all the parks but the MK (we were staying at FW) I found I was less tired, less frustrated and just got around easier. We have 2 kids and had one stroller, sit and stand. It was so nice to just pop it in the car and get out and go. Plus coming back To FW in the car was easier. I never thought it would be but it was for us. We didn't have to wait for the bus at night, didn't have to hold all the stuff on a crowded bus and the kids. (we may bring to much on the bus ) Even my Step dad and mom said it was easier and they go to Disney all the time.
If you were just going for a week I would say no fly. I actually felt like I had mild jet lag when we finally got there.
Oh does the 3 year old still nap in a stroller? If not you might want to look at the sit and stand! We love it! my kids are now 4 and 6 and the 6 YO hopped on and would ride when tired or crowded! Just a thought. We had a nice double stroller but my olders really grew out of it quick!

 

[LKS]

If offsite or at Fort Wilderness, I think a car is important. We are staying at the Contemporary and expect to park ours and leave it except on the day we move to the AKL for the last three nights. I doubt you will need one if not going off-site. I think if you will HATE to drive, you should just fly.

We kind of like to drive AND have three kids we'd have to buy tickets for, so we drive everywhere. Obviously we drive to WDW (5 hours), but we also drive to the northeast, midwest, northern Michigan, or wherever we go. We always stop to see sites of interest or visit friends en route. I wouldn't do it if I hated to drive though. It's not worth saving a few bucks to start and end your vacation on a miserable note.

 

[TerriBelle]

We fly! We like to go off season and now our daughter is in school. We don't like to waste all the travel days driving. We can fly from BWI and get there in 2 1/2 - 3 hours! We might try driving sometime if we go during the summer and can break the trip up.

 

[Jacksmom99]

We drove form the Boston area last summer with DS 2 1/2. It was sooo easy and he was fine in the car. (although I'm still finding Mr. Potato Head pieces ) Last year we did the trip in 3 "short" days, stopping around 2 or 3 each day so DS could swim and run around. This year we are doing it in 2 days with DS and the "To Be Announced" brother or sister who will be almost 3 months old in August. We plan on leaving each day around 5 am and drive for 12 hours, only stopping to feed the baby and let DS run around. DH does do most of the driving since I'm usually so excited I can't sleep and am up with the car packed by 4am and then I crash around 10!

We have found the drive to be easier than dealing with our VERY active and stubborn little boy on an airplane. If he has a major melt down in the car, we are the only ones who suffer and not the 200 other people sitting around us. We flew to Hilton Head in Feb., and he was a wreck by the time we got there. Don't forget, airtime does not equal travel time. With all the security check in Boston, we had to be at the airport 2 hours early. And me, the waddling pregnant one, got pulled out of line to be searched. Of course I happened to be carrying the diaper bag with the 47 pocket all full that had to be checked while my husband got my son on the plane who was melting down because mommy wasn't there. Not fun...although my FIL got a HUGE chuckle at the mental image of a pregnant woman storming the cockpit. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad of the added security, I just wish it hadn't been me that was picked. We also use our car quite a bit on property since I hate crowded buses and working with someone else's time table. Hope this answers some questions for you.

 

[Dr. Happy]

LKS, you quoted me wrong, I said:

a burning swamp polluted with tires

I did not say, as you said:

swamps full of tires that are burning

These are not the same...

And having lived in the South and travelled that route all too many times, I know, as you also likely know, that the burning swamp occurs spontaneously and without advanced warning, and has caused far too many auto accidents. Correct me if I am wrong, but they STILL have warning signs along the interstate warning of "Smoke Fog" areas, just because the problem persists. Maybe you are used to this??? And yes, there are TONS of tires dumped into the swamp and along the shores as environmental policy in these regions has been all too lax for YEARS, and current legislation has not begun to address past dumping practices; only current and future dumping. So, regardless of what you may want to say about the problem, tires, swamps, & fires are a regular occurrence in that region of the I-95. Unless some miracle from "out of the blue" has improved things substantially...

So, be prepared for that as part of your drive...