Driving to Disney after years of flying?

[ShootingStarMom2]

Well, we're tossing around the idea of driving to Disney this year. To be honest, the thought makes me dizzy. Two travel days each way doesn't sound like fun.

We've always flown down so what are your reasons for driving if you choose to? Save money? Look forward to driving? See something fun along the way?

I'm trying to find positive things to think about but all I envision is a messy car, cranky kids, and mile after mile of highway. Anyone made the switch from flying to driving and enjoyed it?

 

[ShootingStarMom2]

nobody?

 

[FOXFIELDZOO]

We drive every year! we drive down from rockford Illinois, and stop in Chatanooga as our 1/2 way point. 3 -4 dvd movies and we are there. Depending when you drive, day or night, and the season, there are a lot of things to see. For us the drive is the only way since there are 8 of us, so flying down really isn't an option.

 

[happily single]

Where are you driving from? I've been flying to Orlando for over 20 years now and we drove this last April. Airfare was just so dang expensive and I figured we'd try to drive. It wasn't too bad, but honestly wasn't as cost effective as I thought it would be. I drove alone with my three kids. Between gas, the rental car, tolls, cheap hotel one nite each way (and the speeding ticket coming home) it cost about as much as flying with a decent rate on Southwest. But, we'll always have the memories of when mommy flirted with the nice state trooper

 

[Td1290]

I don't think it as cheap as people think, especially with the rising gas prices. When you factor everything else in, for us driving doesn't make sense.

 

[nytimez]

I don't think it as cheap as people think, especially with the rising gas prices. When you factor everything else in, for us driving doesn't make sense.

Saves me about $400-$700 per trip, and that's a fact -- not an estimate.

It's pretty easy to calculate for your own situation, though -- just price the airplane tickets, taxes and fees. Add the price of a rental car if you'll get one, and transportation to/from the airport or parking if you would need to pay those fees.

Then get the distance from your place to WDW from Google maps, double it for the round-trip number, divide by your MPG and then figure out how much gas will cost you. Add the price of a hotel if you'll need one.

If you tend to buy food at the airport/on the airplane or a prepared meal to bring with you, the cost of the pit stops more or less evens out (I've spent more on an overpriced quickie airport meal at JFK than two or three "normal" meals on the road).

Except for solo travelers, most people save money driving. And remember, as you add people the cost of flying will increase -- but the cost of driving will stay the same. So if you have a family of four or five, you will almost certainly save big money by driving.

Having said all that, I don't do it to save money -- but that's a convenient side impact. I often spend a lot of time in Florida -- sometimes months -- so it's actually essential that I have my car, and that's the main reason I drive.

But I've driven for short trips, too, because I love a good road trip, I love stopping along the way, I love the "bonding" time in the car. I love having my car with me.

And flying is just pure stress, so I try to do less of it these days.

 

[Orangeandwild]

It is about a 13 hour drive for us, depending on traffic of course. We always drove when our kids were home and with us, but last 8 years being empty nesters we started flying mostly.

Airfares have gone sky high and we can drive our truck down much cheaper than that. I am now disabled too and I would have to not only rent a car but a scooter to use so that really adds up. With driving we have our own vehicle to go to the parks, I can bring my own scooter without fear it will be destroyed by an airline and we never have to worry over flight delays, security screening or how much we can bring with us

 

[maxiesmom]

When we drove down to Florida, it was totally about saving money. Being from Southwest Michigan it takes 20+ hours, so we would spend at least 2 days each way. That is a lot of driving!

The last time my sister drove with her family I think her youngest daughter was about 5 or 6. When they got home she said she never wanted to drive to Disney again! It is hard on the little ones when they are stuck in their car seat for so long.

 

[Goofygirl17]

I drove this past summer with my two girls. We definitely drove to save money! Flights were outrageous but it was a last minute trip so I think if I had planned ahead flying might have been an option. We also rent a car while we're down there so that's another expense to factor in.

I definitely like flying better but we had fun driving too.

 

[Minniemouse07]

We always fly from Philly but were planning on driving for the first time this August because we are doing a land/sea trip w/ DCL.

When we fly, we don't rent a car and rely on DME and WDW transportation but the transfers to DCL aren't cheap and renting a car large enough for the four of us and all our stuff made the trip mucho expensive (more so than it already is)!

SO... I've been doing the research, where to stop overnight, etc.

Last week someone posted about their trip on the Auto Train on another board and I started poking around. After comparing the driving costs (including gas, tolls, meals, & hotels) there wasn't much difference between the two (Amtrak came in ~$250 more).

BUT... the train would get us into Florida first thing in the morning on the second day where driving would have us arrive later in the afternoon/evening.

So instead of going straight to Port Canaveral and crashing at the hotel, we are going to the ILs house (they are near WDW) and spend the day and night w/ them.

This does two things... removes a night at the hotel and a dinner out from the budget, and gives us time w/ the ILs before the cruise, instead of after (where it would take away from time in the parks!...I'm really not that mean. They are super nice, but the kids are bored to tears at their house w/o something to do.).

Bonus all around!

Good luck w/ your decision!

 

[loveysbydesign]

We had always flown but in June 2010 we drove for the first and it really wasn't that bad. I have to tell you that it was a last minute super cheap surprising the kids trip. It took me 2 weeks to talk dh into driving as my kids HATE long drives. The furthest we had ever driven with all 3 of the kids was 3 1/2 hours to OCMD(in 2008) and it was pure torture as my kids picked on each other constantlyl and kept asking to stop and go to the bathroom. Prior to that we had driven to OCMD a few years ina row with just the 2 kids and it was just as bad.
To say my dh was apprehensive about driving would be putting it mildy. I got lucky in that he was having major work issues and needed a break, plus my almost 3 y.o. was saying all I want for my birthday(which was in June) is to go to Mickey's house and hug him and get a blue Mickey balloon. To top it all off I was able to get a condo rental at Windsor hills for only $300 for the week.(We had 2 park days left on tix. from a prior trip)

Anyways getting off course here....we actually enjoyed the drive. The kids were relatively well behaved. The only major issue we had was that my poor birthday boy caught strep 2 days before we were to drive home and he was very, very sick on the drive home. Think 105 fever, vomiting, refusing to take his meds. That made it difficult. I had to sit next to him and soothe him for the entire drive home except for when I was able to get him to fall asleep. And believe it or not I would do it all over again. Seeing him so happy on his birthday when he went into Mickey's house in TT and getting that blue Mickey balloon and mickey cake from the MainStreet bakery made it all worth it!

We flew this past Nov. as it was my inlaws 1st time going to WDW and we got really cheap airfare froma small aiprort 20 minutes from our house. But, we are actually driving for our 2nd time this October and are looking forward to the beautiful fall foliage in the mountains! My hubby says he actually prefers the stress of driving over all the airport stress and he's the one who did not want to drive in the 1st place!!! My older 2 kids really loved going through all of the states and seeing the welcome signs and tracking our progress in the atlas.

So all in all I say go for it...expect the best and be ready for the worst just as you would whetehr you are flying or driving!

 

[nono]

The last time my sister drove with her family I think her youngest daughter was about 5 or 6. When they got home she said she never wanted to drive to Disney again! It is hard on the little ones when they are stuck in their car seat for so long.

It completely depends on the children. Mine are 7 & 4 and they BEG to go on long drives, including to WDW! We're going to HHI for a long weekend shortly, because it is such a blast to have them in the car. We bring along chapter books on our MP3 player, coloring books with lapdesks, play games, and make sure the kids feet are propped up so that they don't get uncomfortable. We also schedule games to play for 10 min outside the car during each break -- races, Simon Says, etc. We use the DVD player as the day wears on...oh and we also try to schedule a fun lunch or dinner too.

We fly when it's worthwhile--to the opposite coast or to another country. But to FL? Nope, we've converted to driving and are having a blast doing so. I didn't think it was going to become our default choice, so just try it. It works differently for every family.

 

[sharadoc]

As you can see from my tag, we have been driving to Disney every trip since 1994. We like it for the following reasons:

1. Our trip from home is not just a 2 hour flight. It's the drive to the airport, park in long-term parking or airport valet, arrive 2 hours early for security check. Technically at least 3 1/2 hours to arrive at the gate.
2. We can take whatever will fit in the van, vs. one or two bags on the plane.
3. We are totally in control of the schedule and not at someone else's mercy.
4. We spend time together - we talk, play music, have fun as a family in the car.
5. We wouldn't extend our Disney trip by that driving day, we would still stay the same number of days no matter what transportation we took. So it doesn't "cut off" Disney days for us.
6. Cost - our round trip for gas is somewhere between $300-$400. Flying with fees, etc. would run at least $1,000.
7. Total travel time for flying and transportation to Disney World for us would be approx. 7-8 hours each way. That's one day. So we only take an extra 7-8 hours on top of that driving, either another day or straight through.
8. Did I say WE control our schedule, what we take, when we eat, what we see on the way??? That's the best part.

There is always a fly vs. drive argument that deteriorates into "people who (fly/drive) are idiots, stupid, misinformed, etc. There's no right or wrong answer - it's just what works for you.

I have looked into cheaper airfare, etc. and we can't justify it. Plus driving saves us enough money that we can go more than once a year. Two trips = $800 transportation cost.

If you want to talk driving, then jump in on the "For 2000+ mile drivers only" thread. VERY helpful, informative - ask whatever you need to know and someone there will have an answer.

 

[maxiesmom]

There is always a fly vs. drive argument that deteriorates into "people who (fly/drive) are idiots, stupid, misinformed, etc. There's no right or wrong answer - it's just what works for you.

You know your family best. Will you all be miserable in the car, or will you enjoy the trip?

 

[PSUGuy]

10 hours is my driving limit to any vacation, I can do it in one stretch and I refuse to surrender vacation time to travel time. As mentioned, the difference in $$ is not so different if you can plan far enough ahead, and consider this: if it's depressing to have to leave WDW and take a 2:30 min. flight home, how bad will it be to have to leave a day earlier, having lost a day on the front end, and face a 2 day drive back to reality? No thanks.

Bill From PA

 

[ShootingStarMom2]

Thank you so much for the replies so far. This trip is a little different for us so driving might just be easier. Eeek! As my mother-in-law told me the other night, "the planets must have aligned!" because I said we would never drive!

Our family is going to be in a wedding so there will be a lot of extra things to bring down. We wouldn't have to rent a car or bring/rent carseats. The kids can bring some fun toys we don't have room for otherwise.

When we stayed at BLT last time we had flown down and rented a car so we went to Super Walmart to get our food for the week. But we ended up tossing so much of it out because we had no way to keep it cold on the way home. It would be nice to be able to bring our big crockpot down as well.

My sons will be 2 and 3 at the time of the trip so I want them to have a little more wiggle room but I don't want to drag out getting down there either. Our van doesn't have the dvd built in so I was thinking about getting a dual dvd player for them. It was a struggle on the plane who was going to hold it so if that will end a battle, I'm for it. Does anyone have one they really like?

I've haven't seen much of the Southern US so maybe it could be fun. The kids are pretty good in the car a few hours at a time. And if it stinks, I'll fly home and let DH drive back.

 

[loveysbydesign]

Thank you so much for the replies so far. This trip is a little different for us so driving might just be easier. Eeek! As my mother-in-law told me the other night, "the planets must have aligned!" because I said we would never drive!

Our family is going to be in a wedding so there will be a lot of extra things to bring down. We wouldn't have to rent a car or bring/rent carseats. The kids can bring some fun toys we don't have room for otherwise.

When we stayed at BLT last time we had flown down and rented a car so we went to Super Walmart to get our food for the week. But we ended up tossing so much of it out because we had no way to keep it cold on the way home. It would be nice to be able to bring our big crockpot down as well.

My sons will be 2 and 3 at the time of the trip so I want them to have a little more wiggle room but I don't want to drag out getting down there either. Our van doesn't have the dvd built in so I was thinking about getting a dual dvd player for them. It was a struggle on the plane who was going to hold it so if that will end a battle, I'm for it. Does anyone have one they really like?

I've haven't seen much of the Southern US so maybe it could be fun. The kids are pretty good in the car a few hours at a time. And if it stinks, I'll fly home and let DH drive back.

It might be better to get them each their own dvd player so they can each choose their own videos, plus many of the dual players have bad reviews. we bough this one and it comes with a carrying case that can be hooked on the back of the seat rest and you can recharge the battery easily or plug it into the car outlet. It's held up very well and we haven't had any issues with it at all!
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=12518743

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[Poohbear5]

I hate flying!

The drive does not thrill me either so last time we drove 9 hours to VA, stayed over night, went to church in the morning and got on the autotrain in the afternoon. It was a more relaxing trip.

The downside was that we got to Disney by 11 am but could not check into our rooms for a shower until 3pm.. Next time, we'd consider doing a room on the train.

 

[loveysbydesign]

Also..I forgot to ask where are you driving from?

 

[cey]

As I sit here and watch the blizzard conditions outside today and wonder how my fellow disers are making out with their flight cancellations, it really makes the drive look like a breeze.
The real advantages of driving are that you have control over when you leave, where you stop and have your own vehicle to drive when you reach WDW. We see the drive as part of our vacation, and make the most of the trip down and back. After completing 13 flights in 6 weeks during our recent trip to Australia and Maui, we are really looking forward to driving. Quite frankly, I find bag weight limits, security pat downs, and airport custom procedures a lot more stressful these days than loading up my car and driving. Following the CAA triptik and Drive I-95 guidebook make navigation seem more like an adventure than a chore. The closer you get to Florida, the more excited we get! But as OP have said, it depends on your family, so you will never know until you take the leap of faith and try it!