Driving from Detroit to Disney

[maxiesmom]

It would be more of a drive, but have you priced Southwest out of Grand Rapids? A few days ago I purchased tickets for $109 one way to Orlando. Delta had flights for as low as $119 each way.

 

[ain0004]

We are about 2.5 hours from Detroit. We too have always flown. Have you looked into flying into Tampa? We are doing this on our next trip.
Most likely we will drive in in 12-14 hours then stop.

 

[bianca]

If you MUST drive, I am a vote for plan B. We've done the Detroit/Orlando drive over 25 times over the years and almost always followed plan B. That being said, we gave up driving a few years back, as we saw toooo many fatal accidents on I-75. Very sad. As for driving through Atlanta ...... Child's play. If you're used to driving in the D, then you can handle Atlanta. We also always took the bypass ...... Much easier.

Now, I am a huge proponent of flying. In particular, we like to fly Spirit out of Metro, as it is straight through. I checked flight prices for your dates: $112 each way to/from Orlando, $88 each way to/from Tampa and $78 each way from Ft. Lauderdale. Also, a little known secret of Spirit is that if you buy tickets at the airport prior to date of travel, they cost $17 LESS per leg of the trip per person ....... Another savings of $136. You could then afford a rental car upon arrival! If you were willing to purchase tickets at the airport and fly into Ft. Lauderdale, you could do it for $490 plus car rental (which I usually get for $100/week from Budget). You can skip purchasing seat assignments as long as you are committed to getting to the airport early (this is critical). If you decide to fly into Orlando, you can use ME, but seat purchases on the way back to the D are mandatory, as ME frequently runs late. Also, pack under the seat size bags so that you don't have to pay for checked bags, or pay for only one. We recently got $59 flights for our October trip from the D to Orlando ..... Can't beat that.

 

[katied718]

Thanks so much for all ideas & suggestions & info! As of right now, we are on plan "F"-or something like that, lol. We looked into flying and we would need to add on a day to the front & back, so that was going up cost almost $1,000 for 2 days. Also-we have a standard room right now and there are no standard rooms left, so we'd have to upgrade to preferred or move to sports where there would be no food court cuz it's being renovated.

Our main concern is having a good day on Saturday @ mickeys BBQ, so we decided to leave in Thursday night around 8pm. We know we are going to hit Atlanta rush hour in the morning-hopefully it won't be as bad as evening. At that point we are going to stop for nice long breakfast. We should be at ASMo around 4:00 Friday. And then we will have a nice relaxing evening and go to bed early.

I'm a nervous driver in unfamiliar places so I think that and a big Starbucks topped with adrenaline/excitement will get me thru my driving shift.

 

[bianca]

Excuse my confusion, but why do you have to add 2 days to your existing reservation and change room category if you fly? Am I missing something? Can't you still arrive and depart on the same day except via airplane? Obviously, you have your reasons for driving, but am curious about the need for 2 extra days.

 

[LadyBeBop]

I'm also confused. You're leaving at 8 pm Thursday night, which is earlier than your leaving at 3 am Friday morning, yet you're driving straight through. You were originally staying at ASMU starting Saturday. Now, it's Friday.

What I'd do (and I think this will save money). Leave at 8 pm. Stop somewhere south of Cincinnati around midnight or 1 am (from Ft. Mitchell all the way to Lexington would be fine...keep in mind, there is about 30 miles of nothing from Dry Ridge to Georgetown). Leave your hotel about 9 am, and drive as far as Northern Florida (I think you can make that by about 10 pm). Leave your hotel again about 8 or 9 am, and you'll make ASMU by noon.

I know that's two nights in a motel room. However, two nights in a decent motel room would probably be as cheap as one night at ASMU.

 

[katied718]

I know you guys must be confused-cuz I'm confused, lol! These suggestions have definitely stirred up a lot of "what-ifs" and we appreciate you helpin us out.

Much of the dilemma is the Mickey BBQ and being well rested for that. We are also trying to get the most value out of our first/last days. So by bumping our check-in to Friday, that is like an unplanned bonus day & I won't feel like I have to go to the parks.

In our experience, flying has eaten the first/last day of our vaca. On our first family trip, we didn't get to the park until 6:00 pm-even tho our flight was supposed to land at 2:30, but our flight was delayed cuz they had to call in another flight attendant from home cuz one called on sick. Then on our last vaca, our return flight back to Detroit was bumped up to 3pm instead of 6pm so we has to scramble to a park and be back by 11:30 for Magical Express. So that was a reason why I would want to check in the day before/after our *originally planned* dates. But the flights would have added about $450 to our travel cost & then the room was another $470. Oh-we upgraded our free dining plan to the reg dining, so there was some of the added cost too.

So with the 8pm plan, checking in on Friday-it seems like the middle ground. It's going to cost a little bit more than originally planned, but we will be there the night before our vaca was supposed to start.