Drive or Fly?

[todzwife]

Heck no. We're considering driving 12 to Disneyland in November and that's still a stretch. My kids are EXCELLENT travelers too, but 4 days in the car would make everyone stir crazy.

 

[ponyboy]

I would cut my own hand off before I drove that far with kids that small. If you think the baby crying for an hour is bad, wait until they're all crying at some point on a 8 day car ride.

 

[MudQueen22]

I prefer driving over flying, but there is a lot more to consider for your situation.
how does your baby do in the carseat otherwise?
I think you definitely need to make sure you have the time. It might be a four day drive for people with no children, but children don't tend to care about sticking to a driving schedule.
In August, dd (4) and I drove to Gulf Shores, AL from SW Louisiana. A six hour drive took at least 8 hours. That isn't counting our lunch stops. She needed frequent restroom breaks, and sometimes just breaks to stretch.

If you have a good month off, I would go and enjoy the road trip and take your time.
And bring a little mini potty for the back seat. Even along i-10, you will be in the middle of nowhere for much of the trip.

 

[henry72]

Sorry there is no way I would drive (regardless of the kids ages). I guess I figure our time is too valuable to spend driving. We would rather hop on a flight and be there in 2 hours rather than drive for 20 hrs. (We are in San Antonio by the way!) We figure we can spend more time in the parks if we fly than drive. Yes, the baby cried last time but consider flying during normal nap time or give a bottle during take off to help with the air pressure.

 

[librarymom2007]

We drive from MD, a 14 hour drive. My DD is an excellent traveller though and has been making the trip since she was 4, she is now 7. In your case, no, I would not drive. Way too long. I would take 5 hours of the baby crying on a plane over that long drive.

 

[wallawallakids]

I would fly. Hands down.

We drove PDX to LAX once, when our kids were 4,4,8,&9. Yep. I am good on road trips for about 20 more years. We fly everywhere now. (And the kids were great…..It was ME who went insane sitting!!! AND this was after I let DH talk me into driving from Maine to Washington State when I was 5 months pregnant with our first! )

FLY!!!

 

[lucyem]

If you drive, look at the drive as part of your vacation and not just a way to get there. After the family stops, I mean. View it as oh, we can get out and explore for a while or whatever instead of oh, we have 10 hours to get there, stat. The more relaxed you are about it, the better it will go.

This. We have a 24 hour drive and it gets long. But we make a point to explore, see new things, etc. Part of the vacation is the drive.

Personally I would fly with kids those ages, and find a non stop flight. I would wait until they were older for the drive vacation.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Sorry there is no way I would drive (regardless of the kids ages). I guess I figure our time is too valuable to spend driving. We would rather hop on a flight and be there in 2 hours rather than drive for 20 hrs. (We are in San Antonio by the way!) We figure we can spend more time in the parks if we fly than drive. Yes, the baby cried last time but consider flying during normal nap time or give a bottle during take off to help with the air pressure.

On a trip like this, time driving is never wasted. Nobody drives entirely across the country and back unless the drive IS the "destination". That's why I brought it up early on in this thread.

Now, *if* what OP is really concerned about is Point A and Point B and none of what is in between, then yes the drive makes little sense. But, it sounded like OP has more than one destination in mind. And doing multiple stops in a single trip via plane is at least as much of a pain as it is by car, not to mention WAY more expensive. What OP has to decide is if there's enough of those attractions between A & B to make the drive interesting, and also if they are willing to commit the time needed to do it right.

 

[maxiesmom]

On a trip like this, time driving is never wasted. Nobody drives entirely across the country and back unless the drive IS the "destination". That's why I brought it up early on in this thread.

Now, *if* what OP is really concerned about is Point A and Point B and none of what is in between, then yes the drive makes little sense. But, it sounded like OP has more than one destination in mind. And doing multiple stops in a single trip via plane is at least as much of a pain as it is by car, not to mention WAY more expensive. What OP has to decide is if there's enough of those attractions between A & B to make the drive interesting, and also if they are willing to commit the time needed to do it right.

The OP only wants to spend 4 days on the road. So they are not taking time to see any sites along the way. That, to me, with that many kids, is a recipe for disaster.

 

[3princes+1princess]

Every time I think of driving somewhere, I take into consideration what the drive home will be like. After Disney, 4 days in a car will feel like a year. It is such a let down after, that the drive (we had a 4 hr flight and a 4 hour drive), took forever. You just want to be home after you leave. Not in a car.