drive or fly??

[bellebud]

if you plan on stopping to sleep, plan ahead and book yourself a decent room along the way, if you wait you might not like what is left.

I must take a moment to second this!!!

Sort of funny now (but not then!)... we were travelling from NY to Myrtle Beach when dd was a young toddler and I was pregnant w/ ds. We left mid afternoon and were around Washington, it was dark, we needed gas and were also trying to find a hotel. We got off an exit to get gas, dh is at the pump, a REALLY beat up car pulls up next to us (the door was held on with tape), a scary-looking big guy gets out and looks at my dh. Then the guy says to dh something to the effect of we better hurry up and get out of there - car jackings happen a lot - and the big scary looking guy was actually nervous for himself and his beat up car - he was being nice and warning us. And if *he* was scared, believe me, *we* needed to be scared!! Then dh notices that the windows where the attendant was had bars all over them, there was no door to go inside, just a bullet-proof glass window with a tiny bank-teller-like drawer to slip your money in to pay for your gas. We didn't even look around before we started pumping gas - if we had, we would have driven right through. We thanked the guy, paid, and got the heck out of there!

THEN to top it all off, there was something going on (a race or a convention or something), and all hotels on I-95 were totally booked!! We had to drive for an hour to find a room (and were stopping at every exit, going to every hotel!) It was so incredibly horrible!!

So always pre-book a room (I've called the local chambers of commerce in the towns we'd stay in and they're always very helpful and honest). and fill up your gas tank before dark!

 

[kettlemeetpot]

I must take a moment to second this!!!

Sort of funny now (but not then!)... we were travelling from NY to Myrtle Beach when dd was a young toddler and I was pregnant w/ ds. We left mid afternoon and were around Washington, it was dark, we needed gas and were also trying to find a hotel. We got off an exit to get gas, dh is at the pump, a REALLY beat up car pulls up next to us (the door was held on with tape), a scary-looking big guy gets out and looks at my dh. Then the guy says to dh something to the effect of we better hurry up and get out of there - car jackings happen a lot - and the big scary looking guy was actually nervous for himself and his beat up car - he was being nice and warning us. And if *he* was scared, believe me, *we* needed to be scared!! Then dh notices that the windows where the attendant was had bars all over them, there was no door to go inside, just a bullet-proof glass window with a tiny bank-teller-like drawer to slip your money in to pay for your gas. We didn't even look around before we started pumping gas - if we had, we would have driven right through. We thanked the guy, paid, and got the heck out of there!

THEN to top it all off, there was something going on (a race or a convention or something), and all hotels on I-95 were totally booked!! We had to drive for an hour to find a room (and were stopping at every exit, going to every hotel!) It was so incredibly horrible!!

So always pre-book a room (I've called the local chambers of commerce in the towns we'd stay in and they're always very helpful and honest). and fill up your gas tank before dark!

I don't know if I can beat that, but it was the year of 9/11 and everyone who was traveling seemed driving and also to be using all of the decent hotels already. We looked and looked and looked with cranky kids and tired eyes and were so grateful to have found a room....til we walked in the door, that is. The room smelled like some Pink Floyd or Grateful Dead peeps had just left (p o t) it was soooo bad, furniture was missing legs and it was HORRIBLE I actually lifted the bedspread to not only check the sheets but to look under the bed for a chalk outline or anything else!

 

[kettlemeetpot]

Sorry OP, I am not trying to discourage you, just plan ahead!

 

[swim-mom]

Hi I am from SJ area, and I have 4 children (two are twins, 5). We have driven twice. Once when I was prego with the twins (could not fly) and once when they were 18months. My older sons were fine, excited but fine. The twins were OK, but diaper duty was hard in the truck.

We get on the road at 6pm and arrive at Disney by noon. It truly worked out perfect, except DH and I were so dam tired when we got there. We also spoke to our pedi and he said to give the kids bendryl to help them self due to being excited. And it did work.

I have to say we now fly, it is worth every penny BUT shop around. Spirit is great, but you have to get a deal. Philly is great and you can get about $50 per per each way.

If you think about it, to and from disney is one day ---- so if you go for a week --- you may only be in the parks for 5 since you have two days of driving.

For six of us and our exchange student we paid $850 out of philly round trip! Not too bad I think

 

[MrsKreamer]

We are in Louisiana. My childhood trips (3 of them) we drove. It was always my aunt and uncle, me and one or both of my cousins. The drive was part of the adventure.

For my honeymoon trip we decided to fly. It should have been about 5 hours(time enough for secerity and connecting flights) nope took us 12 hours! Our first flight was early. When we got to Atlanta they were canceling flights left and right because some other airport had an icestorm (feb05). So I look around and notice their are a lot of people waiting for one Delta flight. Then the begging started. They had over75 people on standby! Thank goodness we had a gauranteed spot!
We didn't get to Orlando until 3 am, and were supposed to be there around 6pm. Then the Town Car driver had lesft us.

Needless to say it was a mess.

So now that we are taking the kids(Feb 09) we want our own car. WE can decide how long to drive there. WE can decide what time to leave. AND if anything should happen we don't need to wait for a taxi or disney transport to take us somewhere.

DS3 is great in the car, always has been. He was the best baby when we had to evacuate(16 hours in a car) Hurricane Katrina. Aiden is OK if we make stops, and let him run around.

Oh and one good thing about you having twins(sometimes my boys act like twins) is that they have each other for the car or plane ride.

 

[miceli20]

We have done both. My DH likes to drive to save $$$$, but always forgets how tired he is once we arrive at the parks and how long the trip home seems to drag out. For us its about an hour and a half and we are there. For me its worth it to fly my dd13 has autism and this helps so much with her. We get to orlando and then to the hotel with 3 hours how great is that. If possible don't let the $$$ decide everything, sometimes your sanity is worth way more.

 

[Aliceacc]

I've never done it, but here's an idea: look into the auto train. I think it leaves from the DC area-- that drive is certainy do-able. And then you would have your car with you, but not have the hassle of being locked into it with 4 year olds. It might be a good comprimise for you.

Or look into Amtrack, without the car. As long as you're staying on site, you may save enough to make it worth taking a cab from the Amtrack station to WDW.

 

[bellebud]

I wanted to add... if I didn't have a non-stop flight, I would pick driving over flying.

 

[Doc CW]

We live in MD and we drive, its a heck of a drive but the experience of spending forced time with my family is actually enjoyable, we have a lot of fun on our drives seeing things and just talking and bonding as a family, so I would drive before I ever fly although with gas prices flying sounds pretty good right now.

 

[maddymouse]

I've never done it, but here's an idea: look into the auto train. I think it leaves from the DC area-- that drive is certainy do-able. And then you would have your car with you, but not have the hassle of being locked into it with 4 year olds. It might be a good comprimise for you.

Or look into Amtrack, without the car. As long as you're staying on site, you may save enough to make it worth taking a cab from the Amtrack station to WDW.

We've done the auto train, it leaves from below DC and arrives into Sanford Fl. I found it hard to sleep with the clikety clack and turning squeals and we even had a sleeper room. It was an experience but i don't know if I would repeat it or not. It was also quite pricey when we went a few years back.

 

[SandrA9810]

you could always go on the amtrak train, the one from washington, DC to orlando florida allows you to bring your car, and according to the site, kids are half the price of an adult. So figure a couple hundred for each adult, a hundred for each kid and every one can enjoy the scenery. America has a lot of beautiful places to see and you can't see them a few miles in the air. Plus it's a lot more fun to to say hey, our car broke down in this little town and went shopping for a few hours and found new things, or the flight got delayed on the tarmak for a few hours and the kids behind us started crying, then mine started crying.
personal preference, but airports are no fun.

 

[Goofy'slady]

We always (well, mostly always) drive and after this year's trip earlier this month with my two girls 9.5 and 2.5 I thought I would throw myself out of the van while it was in motion on 95South. My 2yr old was driving us batty. We stop along the way and have lunch and take plenty of potty breaks and even stay overnight to break up the long drive(we're from Maryland and the trip is about 14-15 hours). My husband said that no matter how much it cost our trip next May we'll be flying instead of driving. I know with the cost of fuel and bag charges flying will be much more expensive but I'm still hoping and praying that they'll be great deals to be had. As soon as the airfare opens up for next May I'll be on it like white on rice.

If you can afford it than I say fly.

T.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Don't give up hope on decent airfare deals, esp. if you can be flexible with your dates. We just got $64 each way on Southwest Philly-MCO for Sept/Oct. I was only at their website browsing for prices for our Nov. cruise and stumbled on it. We got a Fri nite flight and Wed. return. It's a bit shorter than we like but still a great getaway.
Enjoy having kids not in school yet while you can. It's so hard to plan quickies around days off. I can't stand the thought of going during peak summer/holiday times.