Drive or Fly?

[ashman]

Looking at 3 night cruise. We are about a 10 hour drive from PC. We are thinking about driving instead of flying. The cost for our family to fly from our city would be about$1,000. We can save about $300 on the flight overall if we leave from a major airport that is about 90 minutes away. The flight we would need to take departs at 5:25 AM. Our thought process was driving was a better option. We could leave Wednesday after school and easliy knock out about 6 or 7 hours (kids have a school break on Thursday and Friday). That would leave us about 3 to four hours to go the next day. Wanted to seek some input from others. How far do some of y'all drive? If this was you (kids 7 and 5) would you do it?

 

[gometros]

If you have the time, why not drive? With a night's stay at a hotel, gas and food, you'd probably still save at least $800 and not have to worry about getting up in the middle of the night to catch that 5:25am flight. If you can do 7 hours the first leg, you can easily get to PC in time for first boarding.

 

[KevinP1935]

My wife and I are driving from Chicago! Then again, we are spending the following week visiting my parents on Florida's west coast (St. Pete/Clearwater). Also, we're taking our dog with us and my wife refuses to fly him (he's 135 lbs. and probably won't fit under the seat in front of us ).

 

[KensJen]

I would definitely drive! You will save a lot of money, which is much better spent on the cruise! And really with all of the driving you would already have to do to the airport and getting up so early...you probably aren't going to save a ton of time. Car trips can be fun. Burn a couple of fun disney and cruise tunes on a CD to listen to on the way. Buy the kiddos some disney themed coloring books or other books/stickers for the car to get them in the spirit. I say go for it! We would drive if we could!!

 

[lindakmonty]

I flew for our first few cruises. After 9/11 the security... and they ripped my sons blanket from his hands and made him SCREAM for no reason... the hassle isn't worth it to me! We drive 16 hours from OHIO!! I would much rather have my own car there and pay the $70 to park there. After the cruise you can jump in your own car and off you go! I can't see us ever flying again to Florida! It isn't a bad drive and my son does well in the car. We got to Daytona Beach before he asked "are we there yet" at 3 years old!!! and 15 hours of driving straight. Yes he slept quite a bit of it! I would take the extra savings for sure

 

[logan1_2000]

Your idea sound similar to what we do. When we depart on Saturday for the Magic 7 night cruises, we leave Friday night and can get as far as Jacksonville before calling it a night (we also have to wait to leave until Friday traffic in ATL settles down, so this ends up being a drive from around 7:30 until 12:30 or 1:00 a.m.) Then the next morning we have about 150 miles straight down I-95, no problem, 2 hours and 15 mins. And DS has been 6 (almost 7) and 8 (almost 9) when we did these drives. He watches a DVD on a portable player then falls asleep. You should be fine--only diff is it sounds like you expect about an extra hour on the embarkation day, and you will have midweek, not saturday traffic on the interstate, but you will still arrive in plenty of time to enjoy the welcome buffet and the ship.

 

[MelanieC]

We have driven the past few years to WDW and its not that bad. Mind you, I personally prefer flying but there are some definate benefit to driving. Bring more things etc.

It takes us about 17-18 hours with stops from Philadelphia. We plan on driving for our cruise next November. We plan on leaving Wednesday and driving Georgia. Getting a motel and then getting up and finishing the drive the next morning. We will arrive in Florida on Thanksgiving day. Have dinner somewhere and watch the Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving day game from our room. On Friday we can sleep in, relax and enjoy Cape Canaveral. This way we can get to bed early and get a good night sleep the night before our Cruise.

 

[muskokaV]

Hi,

We drive. It takes us 22 hours from London, Canada to Orlando. We leave here before dinner, our 9 and 11 year old end up sleeping for almost 1/2 of the drive, and we arrive in WDW just in time for dinner. DH and I take turns driving and napping. (Funny though, he doesn't nap much when I am at the wheel!!??)

For us to fly would be about $2,000. We have rented an SUV, for the fun of it and expect to spend about $300 on gas. We are saving over $1000, and driving there and seeing the sites is part of the vacation.

 

[cindalu]

Hi Melanie,
I am also from near Philly. I think we might be on the same cruise. We are going next November. We are leaving Nov 25.

Let me know if you will be on this cruise too.

Lucinda

 

[MSWint]

By the time you drive to the Airport, find a place to park, walk/carry/waddle/struggle to the terminal, wait in line to check in, wait in line to get through security, wait in line to get an overpriced burger and drink (for all), wait at the gate longer than normal because the plane is late, wait in line to get on the plane, wait for the 200 people in front of you to put their luggage away only to find no more space available for yours, wait to gate check you luggage, wait for a bag of peanuts and a cup (not a whole can) of coke, wait for the plane to back away because some other plane was late and your waiting for them to arrive so those people won't miss their flight, wait in line on the runway to take off, fly for 1 to 2 hours (a guess, if your 10 hours driving time), find yourself in a holding pattern due to weather, wait for the slowpokes in front of you to get their luggage out of the overhead compartments, wait for the family of 5 right in front of you (who's 2 year old screamed the whole way) pack up all 10 bags and collect all their 'junk' (when they should have done this way before now), wait for your baggage only to find some of it missing or damaged, wait for a ride to the hotel, (or to the port if flying the same day) ... anyway, you get the idea.

I vote for driving!!! If your Van/Car/SUV does not have a DVD player, rent one ... 2 or three movies for the little ones and your there! Ours even works with the PS2 (or other console games). Anyway, good luck ... and have fun!

 

[kg66]

We drove down the last 2 years from Canada, our girls are 7&5, and they did unbelievably well. We bought a portable DVD player, new movies they hadn't seen, and each a bag with colouring books, stickers, etc. The first year we drove 14 hours straight , stopped the night, and carried on the other 12 hours( we were in our motorhome the first year, can't go as fast due to wind). The 2nd year we drove right through, left at 9pm, and arrived in Orlando 7pm the next night, stopping for gas and a late lunch. The girls each had a snack bag, limited drinks, and made them potty at gas fill ups. You'll do fine, and think of the shopping you can do with the savings!! Good luck, let us know what you decide.

 

[kcashner]

We've done it both ways....the only thing I would suggest is to be sure that you only have a few hours to drive on departure day. The closer you get to Orlando, the cheaper the hotel rooms and the less chance of a car problem or whatever....

Use part of the $ you are saving to buy a handheld DVD player! Parking at the port is $10 per day. lots of it, safe, etc.

 

[tawasdave]

I have driven straight through from Michigan (about 21 hours) by myself with two kids several times now...make sure you have a TV/DVD or VCR that plugs into the cig lighter...and headphones for kids....actually...VCR works better since you can tape shows for them off TV...I taped shows a few weeks in advance..their favorite shows etc..then told them it was a surprise as to what each tape (I had 5) contained..they enjoyed it

 

[ashman]

We got a portable one last year for Christmas it is life saver. I love that we can put headphones on the kids and not have to listen to the kid video (Don't get me wrong, love Veggie Tales but after hearing "Where is My Hairbrush for 1000th time it gets old! ) (Opps I mean Three Musketeers mustn't anger the pixies! ) and my wife and I get to talk. The other big plus about the portable player is it isn't in the car all the time and the kids don't beg for it on the way to the store!

Thanks to all who responded, it verfies that driving isn't a bad option. Besides knowing muskokaV drives 22, i can't wimp out!

 

[lds0191]

call me crazy but i just can't imaging getting off the ship w/a 16hr drive ahead of me! we drive to orlando (from louisville) at least every 2 yrs and it is not bad if we stop overnight both ways. but,,,i am going to be so depressed when i get off the magic i don't think i could drive all that way home. actually, we got such great airfare (135.00/pp) that it is not going to be much more to fly. either way though, i would definately arrive a day ahead of time to refresh and recharge befor boarding the ship.

 

[gometros]

call me crazy but i just can't imaging getting off the ship w/a 16hr drive ahead of me! we drive to orlando (from louisville) at least every 2 yrs and it is not bad if we stop overnight both ways. but,,,i am going to be so depressed when i get off the magic i don't think i could drive all that way home. actually, we got such great airfare (135.00/pp) that it is not going to be much more to fly. either way though, i would definately arrive a day ahead of time to refresh and recharge befor boarding the ship.

16 hours is one thing, but the OP said he/she had a 10 hour drive. But I agree with you, I'd be too depressed after getting off the ship too. I'd rather take the time getting home back to the "real" world

 

[Laurajean1014]

Fly, fly, fly.........

 

[Belle2667]

We drive almost everywhere we go, even DL on the west coast! It's an adventure every time. The portable DVD is a must. We look at it as adding to our vacation, not just travel. We see things we would never have a chance to otherwise. Driving in the snow in June over the Rocky Mountains was a definite highlight for the boys! We save lots of $$ this way, plus, I like that we are not restricted as to how much luggage we can bring with us.

 

[Jsme]

I sent you a pm.

I would drive. We live 30 minutes away from Greensboro and we almost always drive. You are normally as exhausted if you fly as you are if you drive. Highly suggest you leave a day or even two prior to your cruise. You can either drive straight down and stay at the port or you can do it in halves. Ten hours is not a bad drive. Just make sure you break it up. We normally leave very early so we can drive part of the way without dealing with the traffic. We always plan ahead so we do not hit Charlotte or anyother large town during rush hour.

We stay at the Radisson and keep our car there and take the shuttle over to the port. Try to book an early shuttle time because I like to get there early.

 

[mackymaddyconnorsmom]

10 hours isnt too bad for driving, but we live in NJ(By Phila) and we drove to Florida 4 times. We flew for the cruise. My kids picked flying over driving anytime. Our next cruise is in January and we will fly again. With the price of gas , you dont save as much as you did before. We get some great airfare deals. The other reason I vote for flying is because if there is a storm(snow or hurricane) you could have to drive all the way there worrying about the storm. The last time we drove there was a hurricane and the wind was unbelievable even on 95. We stopped to eat and had to go inside because everything was blowing. Also with flying there is no wear and tear on your vehicle. We got a flat once and talking about a MAJOR BUMMER