Driving From Canada

[prairiesarah]

Hi - We're planning a trip for December of this year and giving some consideration to driving down since the flight prices at the moment are absolutely ridiculous. Multiple stops and poor flight times are sitting at $950 each CDN and anything with decent flight times and only one stop is at $1200 to $1300 round trip each. I am having a hard time with flights that expensive since last time we went (Dec 2012) our round trip flights were $550 each with great flight times and connections.

I am just wondering for those who have driven from Canada in the winter, how far south are we going to have to go before we get out of the snow belt? That is my only concern - driving in poor winter conditions.

We'd be travelling down with my BIL/SIL in their vehicle. BIL and DH are both used to long days in vehicles from their jobs. I am little concerned about the length of drive (prob 35 hours of driving), but think it is doable as it would be just the four of us, all adults and we all really like road trips. The 3 kids would be flying down a week ahead with Gramma and Grandpa.

Return home plans are up for debate. BIL/SIL and their two girls would obviously be driving home since they have their car. DH and I and our DS may fly home as I can get a reasonably priced flight home. We'd still be saving between $1,000 and $1,500 by doing this. BIL/SIL would be saving significantly more - $3,500 to $5,000 for flights plus cost of a rental car.

Anyway, it seems pretty crazy to be considering driving from the prairies in Dec, but wanting to think through this. Anything I need to think about/consider?

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

My biggest concern would be the weather as well. You might have great weather, or you could find snow and icy roads well into the Deep South.

 

[LadyBeBop]

What part of Canada would you be coming from? Would you be taking I-75 or I-95?

You can get accumulating snow clear down to Georgia or South Carolina (depending on your route). The good thing is: the worst snow won't hit until January.

I live about 10 minutes from I-75 near Cincinnati. And we do get snow in December. Usually bad for no more than about 8-12 hours. But it can snarl traffic.

 

[minnie mum]

You mention the prairies. Where exactly?. That covers a lot of territory. My advice to someone drivinf g from Winnipeg will be a !of different than someone in Calgary.

 

[prairiesarah]

@minnie mum - we're in Regina, SK area. We'd be going here to Minneapolis, then it looks like to Nashville, Atlanta then down.

 

[nacho113]

We did the trip from Winnipeg in early January 2009 and we had snow and weather issues until we were almost at Nashville

 

[prairiesarah]

Thank you @nacho113. That pretty much made the decision for me. If it was summer, I'd do it no problem, but with the possibility of 24 hours of driving in winter conditions (driving time here to Nashville) I'm out...lol. I did some more flight research today and found the flights I want on Delta for a price I'm willing to pay so once I confirm one thing with my DH I'm going to book them.

 

[Canadian Disney Mom]

we're in Regina, SK area. We'd be going here to Minneapolis, then it looks like to Nashville, Atlanta then down.

Is there a US airport relatively close on the other side of the border that would allow you to cut flight costs & driving time enough to make it worth your while? We live in NB and usually drive to Manchester NH. It is about 7-7.5 hrs away but it saves us a ton of $$ and is still cheaper than driving, generally speaking, once you factor in hotels, gas, etc.

 

[hardis5]

Different part of the country but we drove February and had snow covered roads as far south as the Virginia's (eastern US route from NY/PA) on the way back north (SB the week earlier all was clear and snow free). Flip-side we flew out of Toronto (grabbed a cheap flight out of the norm) instead of Buffalo or another border state last November and the day we flew out, western NY state was hammered with a storm shutting down the Buffalo airport and all area roads so driving would not have been an option through the area for a few days. Late fall or anytime during the winter, weather could play havoc with both driving or flying. The cost to fly (and rent while down south) helps us decide either way the weather we'll risk driving through. Our last drive through snow, we just factored in the potential need (and made a last minute reservation we ended up cancelling) for the return journey.

 

[nacho113]

Heres a thought if you didn't want to drive the whole distance, you could drive to Bismark ND and fly Allegiant Air into Sanford/Orlando airport.
Looks like its about an 8 hour drive Saskatoon to Bismark.
A quick check of flight prices, I picked Sat Dec 5 to 19 (or 20) shows $108US (taxes incl)each way per person $216US (taxes incl.) return per person. Prices fluctuate a lot. This is a non stop flight also (BIS to SFB)
We have flown using Allegiant out of Grand Forks several times and quite often see one way flight prices in the $69-$79 range.
Parking at Bismark airport is $30/week or $6/day and you will probably need to drive here the day before your flight and stay in a hotel so factor this into your costs. Sanford airport is a nice small airport (as is the Bismark airport) so its easy to get in and out of. Security lines are shorter and move faster than the big airports. Since you are flying within the USA, it's a domestic flight so you don't have to clear customs or be at the airport 2 hours before your flight.
Downside to Sanford is that you will need to rent a car as it is about an hour drive to the WDW area (need to factor this into your costs to see if you will be saving in the long run over driving or flying direct from Canada.

Keep in mind that Allegiant is an ultra low cost airline so everything is "a la carte" Checked Baggage fees $25-$30 each way per bag, Carry-on bag fee is $15-$18, pick your own seat is $10-$20 per seat (we usually don't bother now that the kids are grown up). A drink or snack on the plane is "pay as you go", $2 for a can of Coke or a bag of chips

Frontier Airlines, which is another low cost carrier, also flies out of Bismark but I have no experience with them as they don't fly out of my nearby USA airports GFK or FAR. Frontier has not posted there flight schedule past October yet so I'm not sure what their pricing is like, they do however fly into MCO which is handier if you will be staying on Disney property and want to use ME. I believe most of their flights would be routed through Denver, so one stop, not a direct flight

 

[prairiesarah]

Thanks @nacho113 . I looked at Allegiant - I am going to suggest that to my BIL/SIL. They have more flexibility in dates than my DH and I do. (We have to be home until my other BIL/Fiance get home as we have a family business and my husband or his one brother has to be here to make sure the employees behave....) I would also be nervous about that drive in the winter. It is about 6 1/2 hours to Bismarck and the first 5 are on single lane/non divided hwy through the open flat prairie which can end up in some pretty rough driving conditions if we get a blizzard. I think my BIL/SIL will definitely give that some consideration though as my BIL is fine with driving in winter condition (does it for work) whereas it causes me a lot of anxiety. I ended up booking flights out of Regina yesterady morning - found something that while it wasn't fantastic price, it also wasn't terrible.