Drive or fly?

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by Banshee
we are figuring on putting 300.00 dollars aside for the drive. we were told by friends it would be a 22 hour drive? Disneysteve I believe said 17 hours?

Banshee - We have made the drive several times from Cherry Hill, NJ. Including rest stops (but not including overnite stop), it takes about 17 hours. We have never spent $300.00 for the trip, but we only stop for 1 nite. If you are stopping for 2 nites, that should still be a good budget. I don't recommend making hotel reservations for the road in advance. You can't be sure how far you will get before needing to stop. In October, you will have no trouble finding a cheap room at almost any exit on 95. You can easily get a room for under $50 and can even find places that include breakfast for that price.

Don't forget to pack lots of snacks for the trip. We usually pack one meal (sandwiches) to eliminate one stop each way. If you don't have an electric cooler, I highly recommend them. Coleman, Igloo and Viking all make them. They plug into the cigarette lighter and also have adapters to plug into the wall outlet when you get to your hotel.

Have a great trip.
Steve

 

[Sweethappiness]

I would rather fly. On one of our trips to WDW we drove and after doing that I think never again!
I would rather spend the extra money and get there faster and not have to be in a car forever.
But that is my 2 cents.
Either way have fun at WDW!

 

[WDWorBUST]

I just thought I would point out something about driving - and we are driving our next trip from Oklahoma and it is a 20 + hour drive. When you save so much money because you save a rental and airline tickets you aren't considering the wear and tear on your personal vehicle. I used the gov't standard of $0.36/mile and it would cost me over $900.00 using my own car at that rate. I can rent a bigger car (there are 4 adults going together) and with gas and the rental am spending $600 and since we're splitting it with another couple it's only costing me $300. So even if we weren't splitting it it's still cheaper to rent a car. I had seriously considered driving my own car until I looked at it that way.

 

[nicknamy1996]

Sounds like about an even split.

This is always a fun thread, you are either a flier or a driver.

I am a driver. We flew in '96. (just the 2 of us). But we have driven the last 2 years and will again in Feb.

Us drivers have all the reasons lined up...
- Less stressful (fear of flying, lack of control)
- Less hassle (Load the car a day ahead of time, wake up and go.)
- More educational (then we just let them watch videos)
- More scenic (again they are watching the TV)
- You can stop whenever you want to eat, stretch or uh, relieve yourself. (you can do this on the plane as well, allthough you generally don't have to because your there quicker.)
- And most of all its cheaper. Gas, an oil change, some milege on your vehicle perhaps a night in a hotel vs. airline tickets and rental car (yes, a lot cheaper in almost all cases especially as someone pointed out with larger parties)


So us drivers will defend it, However(and there's always a however in life) if you were to offer us roundtrip airfare and rental car for oh lets say $161 dollars for the whole family (how much it cost us last year to drive to, drive around in, and drive home from WDW.[gas only].

I'm willing to bet that 90% of us would forget about all of those other excuses we have and be smiling on our way to the airport.

 

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by nicknamy1996
So us drivers will defend it, However(and there's always a however in life) if you were to offer us roundtrip airfare and rental car for oh lets say $161 dollars for the whole family (how much it cost us last year to drive to, drive around in, and drive home from WDW.[gas only].

I'm willing to bet that 90% of us would forget about all of those other excuses we have and be smiling on our way to the airport.

Agreed. If cost were removed from the equation (wouldn't that be nice), we would deal with the hassles of flying and leave the car parked at the airport. But as long as we live in the real world, we'll stick to driving. Great post nicknamy.

Steve

 

[Banshee]

DisneySteve thanks for the info. We will be driving from Barnegat South Jersey so it was very nice hearing 17 hours versus 22 hours! I figured 300.00 to be on the safe side! That way what ever is left could go towards a nice meal or souvenirs!!I will also look into the cooler too! thanks for the info!

 

[nicknamy1996]

Banshee,

A helpful tip for traveling with youngsters is to stop at a fast food place for your meal stops and eat while the kids play. Let them spend the entire time playing, streching their legs, and hopefully wearing themselves out a little bit. Then when its time to hit the road again let them eat in the car when the have to sit down anyway. It just didn't make sense they finally get to stretch thier legs and you make them sit down? Plus eatting in the car will hopefully kill some time for them. And with any luck with tired legs and a fully belly they will take a nice long nap.

 

[jh123]

We've driven down 2 years in a row from Freehold, NJ and each time it's taken 15 1/2- 16 hours. We drive overnight though so we avoid traffic delays near DC, etc. Usually we hit no traffic once we've left NJ. We left at 8:30pm and arrived in Orlando at Noon the next day with stops only for gas and bathroom breaks. We always stop at the Florida Visitor's Center when we get to Florida for the free cup of orange juice and to pick up brochures and stretch our legs. Then we pick up a drive-thru breakfast and continue straight to Orlando. I would recommend driving at night! It's faster, you avoid traffic, (in fact on some stretches of road we didn't see another car for miles!)and the kids sleep for most of the drive! But if you're not a night person, it's tough to stay up all night. My husband and I switch off driving while the other one naps.

Good Luck Whatever You Decide!

 

[Banshee]

Thank you NickNammy and jh123 the advice is appreciated! Especially about letting the kids play while you eat. Thanks again for the advice it is really apreciated.

 

[Belle5]

I am so hyper about not having anyone get sick for our vacation I can't even imagine letting my kid play at one of those germy play pits at the fast food joints BEFORE vacation. Now, on the way BACK--that's another story! Just to give some food for thought. (We've done the vomiting and strep things on vacation before. Not what we want if we can possibly avoid it!)

 

[barbeml]

I'm with Disneysteve. We have flown several times and are now driving converts. To get the first flight out to Orlando from Philly, we always stayed over at the airport Hilton and left our car there and shuttled to airport. Cost: Minimum of $225 (hotel & dinner), plus airfare, plus shuttle from airport to WDW. Lots of money and hours.

Driving, we left at 5 AM, stopped when we needed to, stayed one night at Hampton Inn Richmond Hill, got to The World by 1 PM refreshed, relaxed, and ready to go. Also, our car cooler became our mini bar in our room, we found having our car with us to be an incredible time saver in getting around The World, and I did not get a sinus infection as I nearly always do when flying.

If I was ever inclined to consider flying again, my experience with the airline industry the night before last killed it. I had a 7:20 PM flight from O'Hare to Philadelphia. Check in was a mob scene, even with an e-ticket and self-serve. The flight was delayed three times. We finally boarded at 9:10. Then we sat on the runway for one solid hour inhaling bad air. Flew through thunderstorms and had a rough landing at 12:20 AM Philly time. Never again.