Drive vs. Fly Which do you prefer?

[armomof3lvsdisney]

We drive

We drive, for several reasons, one being its cheaper for us (5 of us). We like to drive, there is nothing better than a road trip. So much anticipation and neat places to see along the way (I love all of the tourist pamplets you can get at rest areas of all of the neat area attractions). It takes us about 18 hours. We pack a lunch for the 1st day and have a picnic at a rest area along the way, alot of fun. This trip our plan is to drive 14 and stop overnight. Wake up, eat a good breakfast and have only 4 hours to go.

 

[donnajon]

We're in Columbia, SC (so only about an hour from you) and we always drive. We leave in the morning and get there about 2 or 3 in the afternoon. We have a room only booked for our first day and we leisurely check in - sometimes take the kids to the pool - and then have a late character dinner scheduled. Plus, you can hit all of the outlets on the way in and out of town!

 

[LovePug]

We drive rom NEPA (about 1100 miles). We stop to stay overnight in southern SC. I wouldn't even consider flying from NC because that would seem like a hop, skip, and a jump to WDW to us . That being said, not everyone likes or enjoys road trips. If you don't think you'd enjoy the drive, you probably won't. Trust your gut feeling, either way, so everyone is happy. You don't want to start out your magical trip feeling less than magical !

 

[cruise-o-matic]

We prefer to fly. Delta flies N/S out of GSO and only takes about 1 1/2 hour. Small jets, so quick on and quick off. Don't bother to check the luggage either b/c they will load it for you on the tarmac and have it ready when you we land. Last month, our flight took off at 6:10am. We were checked in at CSR and at MGM before 10am.

If you plan in advance, you can get a good deal on a rental too.

Now that being said, we're buying into DVC and will likely make more than one trip a year. Since it's double to use DVC points on weekends, we'll probably drive for our longer stays and just fly for the short ones.

 

[simzac]

I am a courier driver, at which I drive over 75,000 miles every year. The last thing I want to do on vacation is drive. Also a 2 hour flight vs. a 16 hour drive is a no brainer when you can purchase four roundtrip tickets on Southwest or ATA for $546.00. Towncar from the airport to Disney, then use of Disney transportation after that. We love the buses, boats and the monorail, just the Disney extra that makes our trips even more special. But to each his or her own. Everyone is different, and everyone travels to Disney from different parts of the US and the world. Do what feels best for you and best suits your financial needs. Have a great time, that's the most important thing.

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

It's almost always cheaper for us to fly. We're going in January - 3 RT tickets from Baltimore to Orlando for a total of $290.00. Add the towncar and airport parking and we are at $440.00. Mileage and wear and tear on the car would come to almost $660 (using the reimbursement rate used by the government, 36.5 cents per mile), and that doesn't include food and hotels.

We've driven, but only for longer trips when we wanted to go elsewhere in Florida during our visit.

 

[dizagain]

Hi! We drove down from the Dallas area (19 hours) on our first trip. We made a stop in Tallahassee the first night and then only had a 4-5 hour trip the next morning. Drove ALL THE WAY home on the way back....yuck!

We've got two free plane tickets so far for June, so we're flying this time. My girls aren't thrilled about this news...haven't flown since they were small/pre-9-11, but they wanna see Mickey!

I personally would choose to drive because of the ability to pack lots of food, drinks, beach towels, etc. Plus you can just "throw it in the back of the car" on the way home!!! I am looking forward to a little additional time at WDW due to flying however. DH just HATES driving and so he deserves to get his way SOMETIMES!

 

[dpaline]

We drive for the the cost. 10 hours in a car or 700.00 in plane fare. I'd rather give to the mouse and my belly than the airlines.

 

[Leota]

We drive. It is about a 21 hour drive & I can't do that straight thru. So, by the time you figure gas, wear & tear, hotel & food - It's cheaper to fly (there's usually only 2 of us, sometimes 3 going)

However, I did drive down once as an adult (once as a kid) & had a blast doing it. If I lived in NC, I think I'd probably drive. I just looked at DH & said "If we lived within a 7-8 hour drive, we could be at WDW all the time!" He was less than excited by that idea....

 

[tinkerbellsfan]

We have drive from New Jersey the last 3 yrs and I did it a number of times as a child. It takes us about 17hrs. We pack up the minivan, make bed with mattress in the back for 11 and 10 yr old and bring the DVD player. We enjoy the time together and kids get to brag about how many states they have been to!

 

[Disfreek]

We fly. We were all set to drive last August trip--but then we figured out with gas, lodging on the way there & back, wear & tear on the car--it was actually $5.50 CHEAPER to fly and rent a car than it was to drive!!! *we only had to buy 3 tickets--baby sat on our lap.


This summer we plan on going for over 10 days.. We now buy baby a seat because she is so wiggly-- so now we have 4 tickets to buy.

For our short trip this Feb.... we got tickets w/ Northwest for $809.00. (for all 4 of us). We won't be renting a car.

BUT this summer when we go & stay at our time share (off property) and 3 days on property-- we will drive to save the $$ on the rental car.

My sister drives every year to FLA and says it really isn't that bad of a drive from Detroit. I guess I will find out this summer UNLESS I can get a really GREAT deal on airfare/car renta.

 

[sters]

Fly. Hands down.

 

[chasbos]

We usually drive - it is 24 hours for us but it is a nice drive. Now this year we were prepared to drive again (I had almost bought the TV/DVD to replace the TV/VCR for the van) when I checked these fabulous boards and found flights for all 6 of us for $451 out of Buffalo. Well, we cannot drive for that price. We have to either get 2 hotel rooms or stay in a suite which is almost $200 a night and we are also self employed and the extra wages that we have to pay while we are gone has to be added on top of our vacation price. So this time flying is just a whole lot cheaper than driving. Unless of course we had to fly out of our own country (Canada) and in that case the same darn flight would have cost us $3500 - try and figure that one out! I sure can't.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

We've done both. If we are going to Florida as a whole family and have the time it's cheaper to drive (there are 6 of us) and then we have our own van. If we are going for a shorter time or I'm going with one of the kids then I fly. I would have a hard time making the drive as the solo driver.

How far is it from Charlotte to Orlando? For some reason I have it stuck in my head that we are going to retire in NC and the Charlotte area seems nice.

T&B

 

[matu8063]

The drive from Charlotte is about 10 hours. Shorter than the drive home to NY. The other problem with flying is that USAir is the major airline out of Charlotte and there are tons of flight/baggage problems lately. So really I think the decision has alrady been made just not paid for yet.

Missy

 

[jcodespoti]

If I had all the time in the world I'd drive, But I love to fly and I don't have all the time in the world!!!

Joe in CT

 

[DisDarling]

We plan on driving because its cheaper for a family of four, I can leave when I want, we can pack as much as we want, and the space is our own, meaning Im not having to worry about other people around me (in an airplane vs a van-hope that makes sense ).
Flying could cost us quite a bit, so we are just going to enjoy the ride
D.D.

 

[beccasmom]

We have always flown, but have enjoyed it less and less. We are thinking about driving this year, but haven't yet firmed up our trip dates. We wouldn't consider it in winter - too much risk of bad weather - but since we usually visit in spring or summer, that's not an issue.

 

[Simba's Mom]

This thread is very interesting. Right now we fly (it would be 26 hours to drive, time we'd rather spend at WDW), but when we retire I plan to move. And my big priority? To be within a 1 days drive of WDW (how's Birmingham or other parts of Alabama?) I think of how much easier it would be to pack-to bring my pillow, snacks from home, bottled water, bring a cooler for bringing home the refrigerator left-overs, and yes, the money we'd save-$700+the cost of renting a car vs. driving ourselves. Plus I'd just feel a little more comfortable driving around WDW in my own car (strange, I know).

 

[Tigger&Belle]

This thread is very interesting. Right now we fly (it would be 26 hours to drive, time we'd rather spend at WDW), but when we retire I plan to move. And my big priority? To be within a 1 days drive of WDW (how's Birmingham or other parts of Alabama?) I think of how much easier it would be to pack-to bring my pillow, snacks from home, bottled water, bring a cooler for bringing home the refrigerator left-overs, and yes, the money we'd save-$700+the cost of renting a car vs. driving ourselves. Plus I'd just feel a little more comfortable driving around WDW in my own car (strange, I know).

My sister lives near Fort Walton Beach, FL in the panhandle of FL, (ie Southern Alabama...)and likes it a lot. I think it's about a 7 hour drive to Orlando. Has nice beaches and the FL discount for WDW. Of course the down side is possible hurricanes, but that is not an often occurance.

T&B