Driving to Disney after years of flying?

[maxiesmom]

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.

If I could get out of my driveway and to a main road, it might be a breeze! Right now I'm just hoping I can make it to work tomorrow. Florida sounds like heaven!

 

[gracie1]

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

Hey, it was worth the shot to flirt with the state trooper

 

[bookwormde]

This will be our first time driving in a couple of year, 1000 miles 15 hours 4 of us so we will save about $850 for 8 extra hours each way, plus we can take what we like instead of taking what will fit in a bag.

bookwormde

 

[disneymom06]

We have been driving down for 7 years now, about 15 trips. It is a mindset but well worth the saving our family of 6. For us it has been best to leave at 1am and if we are lucky we pull into Disney about 9pm. Hopefully the kids sleep for most of the night.

The drive home is tough and never enjoyable because vacation is over but I just remind myself that if we didn't drive, we couldn't have gone.

A DVD is a must, our kids also have ipods,and nintendo ds. Each is allowed to pack a small bag for the car which is always within their reach. It gives them some control of their entertainment.

Snacks help as well.

 

[mousebymarriage]

We always flew because DH insisted that he would never, ever make that long drive. Well I finally convinced him a few years ago and that was it, he now says that he will never fly to Florida again. He also loves the fact that it saves us quite a bit of money.

The drive really isn't bad especially if you are prepared. We like to leave shortly after dinner and drive straight through the night. Driving through the night really cuts down on the "are we there yet?" from the kids. We always pack a cooler with water bottles, juice boxes, fruit, string cheese, sandwiches etc. Plus a shopping bag with snacks like: cookies, crackers, small cereal boxes, mini bagels, and m&m's.

We have a dual dvd player for the car (the kind that straps to the headrests) and the kids take turns picking the movies. They also each have nintendo ds and I-pods, plus DD14 has a cell phone so she spends time texting/talking to her friends. We also have travel size versions of some board games like: connect four, scrabble and battle ship. My kids love to do MadLibs and a game called 20Q (hand held electronic game about the size of a tennis ball, can be purchased at Toys R'Us, wal-mart, five below etc.). we play the alphabet game and the license plate game or just talk.
*ear plugs are a lifesaver for the passenger/other driver.

We also bring a ball and frisbee so that the kids can run around for a few minutes when we stop at the rest areas.

The last time we drove was Feb. 2010 and it cost us about $300-$350 round trip for gas and tolls. We didn't pay for hotel on the way down or back because we drive straight through. We also didn't have to pay for a rental car because we had our own car. We stopped for a couple of cases of water, some snacks, breakfast food etc. at Wal-mart near Disney and that saved us a ton of money because we didn't have to pay the high prices at the resort/parks for snacks etc.
My family considers the drive as part of the fun and we are all looking forward to our June 2011 trip (just a few days in Disney and then over to the gulf coast to visit family).

 

[Obadiah Stane]

Here is what I have done in the past. I rent a car up here in St Paul from a site at the airport. I drive it to WDW, spend a week at WDW, and drive the car back and drop it off. The drive down and back takes two days (one day non-stop each way). I always get a rental car when I am at WDW because of the convenience. So, in the end this rental really only costs me two extra days. However, it saves me on wear and tear on my personal vehicle which is a huge cost savings when you figure out the mileage depreciation costs. It is cheaper than flying, however it is not as quick or convenient. This next trip we are flying as we are limited on the days we have available for vacation. The next trip after this we will likely be driving again.

 

[MulanMom]

We're having the same dilemma. We drove to WDW about 5 years ago for a two week trip. The kids were great in the car and the road trip wasn't bad at all. However, for all of our other trips to WDW with them, we've always flown. This coming summer, we'll be taking a long trip to WDW again...and we have the time....and can drive. Airfare for 4 of us is expensive. Plus, my DH needs to use a scooter and will be transporting same in our van. I know the cost of driving isn't exactly cheap when you factor in gas and hotels, but it's still a lot less than flying. I have looked into airfares, and would actually have to take days off my trip to take advantage of some lower fares. It's just not worth it.

We, as a family, like roadtrips, so I'm sure it will go fine. Yet...there's always that nagging worry that we'll regret we didn't fly. I think it's simply because we've gotten used to flying. Really, flying IS a hassle and becoming more so. It is very appealing to have the freedom and independence that driving gives.

 

[littledreamer7]

We usually drive everywhere. It first started as a money saver then when we could afford it better we still drove because we couldn't get over the cost vs savings plus we just have fun! Our best memories are wrapped in the car trip! We have driven everywhere 24+hr trips one way at times. We load up with drinks and snacks, movies, books, games etc. We stop frequently to stretch legs and when the natives are getting restless we stop and let them run. We find driving late into the night helps us because they fall asleep, but in reality it doesn't matter. They do really well in the car.

 

[lolakat]

I have not driven to Orlando as an adult (yet) but we did make the drive a few times during my childhood from near NYC. We would take two days, my mom would get me and my sister a big bag of new (cheap) toys and car games that we could only use during the drive. I remember those drives as being great fun. As a child we looked forward to the pool time at our stop over hotel quite a bit and loved to stop to eat at places like Sizzler or even McDonalds.

As an adult vacation time has always been on short supply so we flew to save time. We recently moved closer to the Mouse and we are now about 10 hours away. I'm considering my first drive down with my 3 yo DD this Spring. I think it can be fun if approached with the right mind set and it really only adds about 4-5 hours from our home in NC when you consider all the time it takes to get to/check in at the airport. All in all it will save us about $500 for a family of 3.

Best of luck on your decison.

 

[Obadiah Stane]

I have to echo the comments about how much fun driving can be. I grew in the era where everyone I knew took trips by road. Flying was expensive and only for those with a lot of money. Each year we took at least one and many times two long trips by road. Many times we traveled into Canada and throughout the western U S. We would hit all of the national parks, and many not so well known places in between.

It was so much fun and I have a lot of fond memories of it. Today, we fly for the convenience of it when we are pressed for time and looking to go to one destination. However, there will be many road trips in our future.

 

[weezyree]

We are a military family and so our plans depend on how far we are from WDW. The last five years we have been in San Antonio. That would be a 2 1/2 days drive and I can hardly stand to be in the car for more than four hours!! So, with saying that, it's just easier for us to fly.

But, now we are in Georgia and we are choosing to drive this summer since it's only an 8 hour drive including rest stops and lunch. We also have 7 people going because our oldest is flying in from Denver with our grandson and our youngest tween is taking two friends from San Antonio. The Suburban will be full and we are contemplating taking our motorcycle trailer for all our stuff but it will be fun.

I haven't had a toddler around for a REALLY long time since our youngest is 12. I have started gathering things to entertain the little one in the car the last few weeks, so hopefully that will make it tolerable.

We fly so much since we are so far from family, have conferences to attend or vacationing that we have a routine down. We taxi to the airport, grab breakfast as we book early flights, take our laptops to watch movies while waiting for boarding and we have streamlined getting through security.

Driving is okay, but I prefer to fly.

Some helpful tips would be Ipods with books on them for the kids or good kid music, XM radio cause Disney Radio plays some good music even I like it. Books, colored pencils (not crayons as they melt in the car) and coloring books, yahtzee for the older kids is fun along with a travel game of battle ship or any other travel games. Time flies when you are having fun and when they get rustled we stop for a break and let them unwind....and me too!!!

I keep drinks and snacks handy and just plan to deep clean the truck when we get home. I do keep a bottle of carpet/upholestry cleaner handy with some old cleaning rags for clean ups and some old towels for them to sit on if they do spill. I also bring plastic grocery bags for trash and wet stuff just in case. It's really no different planning for a road trip than flying logistically speaking, that is!!

Either way, have fun and enjoy yourselves.

This time, I plan to surprise everyone with a fun car game of truth, dare, double dare, promise or repeat!!!! That's always interesting if the kids are old enough to understand and participate!!

 

[Cherinva]

It's really a personal choice...for me, I fly. But..I don't have small children anymore and for just the 2 of us, it is cheaper to fly. Last December I got a flight to MCO for $59.

Weight the odds and figure out what would work....after driving this time, then you will know for sure.

Good Luck with you decision.

 

[Vickis3js]

We've driven when we bring the kids. Airfare for 5 is not cheap the cheapest I could get it was $1800 plus all the extra fees. Last years trip cost us $300 round trip. That included gas, tolls, meals, and hotel stays. I earned enough gas cards from shopping sites to cover all but $25 in gas. I also earned giftcards to cracker barrell to pay for meals. I knew where we could drive to in one days drive so I booked a nice hotel that could sleep all of us in beds but I did the no cancelation option and saved $30.

We don't lose any vacation days. We book at 11 months out when our DVC booking day opens for when we want to go. I always look at airfare and autotrain prices just in case. If airfare was doable or DH said lets fly we wouldn't add days on we would just have less travel time. So that argument for us does not stand.

DH and I flew when we went in March without the kids and I can tell you I was more exhausted on our arrival day flying then I ever was driving. We had to get up at 2:30am and be at the airport by 3:45 just to wait around until 6am to board. Yeah we got to WDW by 10am but we were beat by 6pm.

To keep the kids busy we have TVs in the headrests and since we go for Christmas and we celebrate Hanukkah as well the kids get new movies to watch and they get Itunes giftcards for their Ipod touches and DS games to play on the ride down. We mainly play the games I've printed out though. We love the license plate game. We also stop at all the welcome centers and have a look around to stretch our legs.

Its not for everyone and takes a little more planning but we love it and I wouldn't trade the time I have in the car with my kids for anything.

 

[MulanMom]

I didn't chicken out of driving completely, but I looked into autotrain and we've decided to try it for our trip down to WDW. Seems kind of crazy to be driving to the DC area during 4th of July weekend to catch the train, but since we've never tried it before, it appeals to our sense of adventure. We are only taking it one way and driving the entire way for our return trip.

 

[MichelleVW]

We drove from Dallas last summer. It was one LONG LONG LONG DAY and one short day. I said I would never do it again, but with rising air fares right now unless I can find a good deal, DH and I will be driving again for our cruise this summer.

We stopped a lot and actually spent a couple hours in New Orleans on the way back to get out of the car for awhile so it was fun, just LONG!

 

[pepe of ohio]

We've flown a couple of times way back when, I don't fly any more so we use Amtrak.

We just returned from WDW past December and we drove. Why, son-in-law, daughter and 11 month old infant, wife and I left from Columbus Ohio to WDW, 16+ hour trip...straight thru. Again why...we were taking alot of stuff for the baby's first trip to WDW and I don't fly but everyone else does, could never get all of what we brought on a plane.

Now we're driven before, many years ago to WDW, but that was when we were alot younger....this past trip cured me of doing it again....just too stressful, traffic, sitting in one position for 16 hours, worry about the car and driver getting tired and coming home to snow and icy roads....

We'll go back to the train where I can stretch out, walk about or doze off with no worries. There was not much of a savings in driving over the train, only thing was we got there 16 hours faster than the train but I don't mind the long haul aboard Amtrak..

 

[JB2K]

Former flying family, here -- Airfare from my part of the country to MCO can be fairly inexpensive (as Southwest is the largest airline at my airport), but there are other factors we have to consider:

• R/T ground transportation from home to the airport X 3
• R/T Airfare X 3
• R/T Ground Transportation to/from WDW (as we stay @ Shades of Green, we do not use DME)
• Possible rental car (if we decide to do something different)

Now, if we drive, we take into account:

• Overnight lodging on the way down (we normally stay at a military lodging facility, which runs about $35, and is great for an overnight stop). On the return trip, we stay overnight with relatives
• Gas (as of this writing, 7 tankfuls of gas is still way cheaper than airfare times three)
• R/T tolls on the two Florida tollways from I-75 to WDW

Plus, we get the benefit of complete and total flexibility, and we make a grocery stop at the Super Target in Kissimmee to load-up on sandwich stuff/snacks/drinks (and whatever we may have forgotten when we left home).

 

[sharadoc]

We don't lose any vacation days. We book at 11 months out when our DVC booking day opens for when we want to go. I always look at airfare and autotrain prices just in case. If airfare was doable or DH said lets fly we wouldn't add days on we would just have less travel time. So that argument for us does not stand.

DH and I flew when we went in March without the kids and I can tell you I was more exhausted on our arrival day flying then I ever was driving. We had to get up at 2:30am and be at the airport by 3:45 just to wait around until 6am to board. Yeah we got to WDW by 10am but we were beat by 6pm.

These are two VERY KEY points that I totally agree with! We wouldn't add on more days to our vacation if we flew, we'd just leave a day later (if we were planning on sleeping in the middle of the drive).

We have found that flying is exhausting and you're always at someone else's mercy. At least driving if within our control. We leave, eat and stop when we want!