driving to buffalo airport in january??

[ONdisney]

We live near toronto. We have planned to go to disney at the end of January but now my DH thinks we should go the end of april. His reasoning is that the weather will/may be to bad to drive to buffalo (we must fly out of a US airport - involves DH's bonus points at work - long story). I would rather go in january is hopes of lesser crowds.

Any thoughts/experiences with winter travel to buffalo?

 

[Kurby]

we've gone and stayed at Niagara Falls in Jan and Feb - other then it being cold it's usually been ok driving.

you could always end up in a snow storm at that time of year too

 

[cdnmickeylover]

We've flown in January out of Buffalo and had no problems with the weather other than it was cold. It was cold in Florida btw too. One day it was down to freezing in Orlando so it's not necessarily that warm to go in January although there are fewer people. (Even at 0C it's still warmer than home but it's definately not shorts weather!!)

Ironically the only time we've had trouble with weather in Buffalo was when we flew down one October -- there was a freak snowstorm and they ended up closing the airport. Thankfully that time we were on the first flight out in the morning and did get out before they closed the airport. We couldn't believe it the next day when we checked the weather and realized how close we came to not making it! But that was unusual and it snowed in Toronto too so it wouldn't have made a difference.

 

[maryrego]

I have experienced snow storms in BUF from Nov-April
I wouldnt worry to much just leave early and check the weather starting 2-3 days before your trip
A snow storm is more of a reason to go to WDW

Thanks just me though

 

[disneyfan2]

friends went past Jan and flights were cancelled due to ice. We went in FEb and luckily at the last few days, we added a day on at beginning of trip as DH was able to get another day off and we could get the hotel 1 day early,.
Luckily we did as the flights the following day(our original date were cancelled) If you have an early flight, consider booking a airport hotel, definetly worth the effort to cross border etc the night before. If you have a later flight, you have plently of time to leave early. Buffalo does get hit alot worst then TO but you can never predict.

 

[Diamondintheruff]

My advice is to calculate your "risk".

I used to go to college in buffalo and made that drive many times during the winter. You are taking a "risk" in January flying out of buffalo. Your husband is right to worry about it.

Check out some weather websites to look at the history of storms in buffalo in late january. Figure out what the airline you are looking at does if a flight is cancelled/delayed because of a storm and add in the cost of a hotel the night before. Check into the Resort where you are staying (you didn't mention if it was disney or not) policies. Basically do your research and have evidence to back up your opinions.

Once you have evaluated all these options you are now taking a "calculated risk". Maybe by presenting your calculations to your husband you will win him over. Or maybe you will decide April is better. April is a lovely time to go too.

The big picture is you are going to Disneyworld. WooHoo for you!!!

 

[trivial]

We drove from Grimsby (near Stoney Creek) in the middle of January 2007, and had no problems. It was cold, and I had to break a ton of ice off the car when we returned, but the roads were fine.

 

[disney0210]

we went last year and at the time, it had just snowed. problem with travelling in the winter is even though a flight may not be cancelled, sometimes flights are delayed because they are de-icing the plane. the smart people that we are (NOT), from orlando to buf, we put our winter jackets on our checked luggage and when we got to buf, guess what, no luggage because although we were able to run to the gate of our connecting flight, our luggage didn't make it. so my dh got back to the car in a tshirt, fingers almost fell off due to the bitter cold, and found our car buried in like 6 feet of snow. we will never do that again.

march of last year, my dh was in a car accident when he lost control of the car when it was snowing really bad. car was a write-off, but dh is okay now. needless to say, i don't want us to be doing that again anytime soon.

only you can decide if you are comfortable driving under the conditions. i would suggest to get travel insurance though.

have fun on your trip!

 

[Goofy's apprentice]

Only you can make the decision....

Buffalo airport knows how to deal with snow. They are definitely in the centre of snow activity. We live 45 minutes away an St. Catharines and can have total clear weather while Buffalo is socked in.

We tried to fly out last January and all the flights were cancelled due to the wind storm. This was a Wednesday, the next flights to Orlando were available on the Saturday !!! We ended up flying the Tampa the next day but almost cancelled the whole thing. Those who flew out on the Tuesday had wonderful clear weather. Like they say, if you don't like the weather wait five minutes it will change.

Personally, the weather in ORlando is much better in April but the crowds are definitely worse.

Weigh all your options, if driving is a concern go the night before and stay at an airport hotel.

 

[disneydreamgirl]

January 2007 we went and had very nice weather in Disney. We flew out of Hamilton that year. Last February we flew out of Buffalo and were very glad to have booked a room the night prior and took the airport shuttle over in the early AM. If you go in January I would suggest doing this. It is not much more expensive than paying for parking at the airport for a week. You could either choose to leave your coats in the car or take them with you. We were happy for our lighter fleece coats last year in February as our first two days at Disney were very cool, especially at night.