Driving to Disney From NY

[huggiebear23]

I was thinking of driving to Disney. My dh has a business trip and we are planning to meet him the last 2 days then swap hotels and start our Disney trip. It would be just me driving with my 10 & 8 year old. Am I crazy? Should I just fly?

 

[lnuss1988]

We always drive. We Drive from Central PA. 17 hours non stop. You are looking at driving over night no matter what. Unless you stop and sleep. If you are set on driving, I would plan a stop somewhere overnight. Drive as long as you can, stop, sleep and continue the next day.

We never stopped because we always had 2 drivers. While one was driving the other would sleep. Then we would swap positions. Its easy for us to drive straight threw because there is two of us. Driving yourself will be tricky, unless you can stay awake ... but better be safe than sorry, especially with your prize possessions on board!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

With 1 driver, I would definitely break it into 2 days.

 

[huggiebear23]

How much do u say it costs to drive? Tolls and gas?

 

[lnuss1988]

If you go on Mapquest.com , you can put your vehicles info in and they will estimate your gas cost and even show you gas prices on your route down. With my car, a Honda CRV it'll cost around $150 one way, that's with gas prices right now. Which, compared to $300 a person flying, I'll take the 17 hour drive!

 

[huggiebear23]

Driving seems so much better for me. I'm an overpacker. I usually ship my stuff to the resorts ahead of time. Lol

 

[lnuss1988]

Do what is comfortable for you. If your happy the kids will be happy!

We are driving because it's all I know and my DH, DD and MIL have never flown before, so Driving it is!

 

[Gillyrose779]

We drove from IL- 18hrs. Ended up stopping in Atlanta for the night- oh and our kids were 2 and 4. I thought they did great for being so young.

Since you are by yourself I would def. split into 2- mapquest it and find a good place to stop.

I could see doing it again but I just found great prices on plane tickets so we are flying this time.

 

[huggiebear23]

I'm gonna wait and see if I can get a ding. If not driving it is..

 

[MSSANDRA]

Im the odd one out. I will drive 8 hours with our 7 year old, but that is as long as I like to do it alone. Much more than than, and I am just overly tired. I am a bit older than most moms of kids that age soooooo. I would try to find a good price on a flight and cut that money somewhere else if you can.

 

[Shleedogg]

For the first time since we've had kids, we're driving this trip from Western, NY. It's about 20 hours. My DH figured the cost of gas to be around $400 both ways. We were looking at approx $2000 for flights because we waited so long to book (and they were with delays, bad times etc). Since we're doing Universal this time too, we were going to have to rent a car so it just made sense to drive. We'll trade off though and probably stop for the night.

I don't think it's crazy at all, especially since your kids are older. I drove by myself to Virginia this summer to visit a friend with my girls, 4 and 2. The drive ended up being closer to 9-10 hrs with stops but I was pleasantly surprised by their behavior. I jus brought tons of stuff and bought lap trays on amazon.

We won't drive every time, but it's worth it this trip.

 

[DisneyRegulars]

My biggest consideration when doing a drive vs fly decision is time. If I had the time to drive I really don't mind driving. But for me, if I have a week off work, I want to spend as many days at Disney as possible, typically 8 days. If I drove I would only get 5 park days max. Add to that, that I would arrive exhausted because for some reason driving makes me tired. I would also get home from vacation even more exhausted than usual. I'm not willing to sacrifice 3-4 park days and starting off my vacation exhausted to save the flight money.

Now if through some act of magic I had more days off from work and could spend the extra days driving and still get my 8 park days in, then maybe I would drive. Especially if there was something cool along the way to see.

I'd say, if you have the time, and you don't mind driving, go for the drive.

 

[huggiebear23]

My DH will be in Orlando (at the Swan) before us he has a business trip, The girls and I were planning on meeting him the last 2 days of this trip then start our Disney Vacation. I have the time. I did drive to Virginia Beach last May that took about 8 hours. It wasn't so bad. So confused. I guess when airfare comes up it will make my decision a lot easier

 

[mm1971]

My opinion, and that's all it is, would be to fly since it is just you alone. Too many variables. I would say if it were you and your husband driving would be easy. Just my opinion. I would not want my wife driving 20 hours across country with the kids by herself. For that matter, I would not want to do it either and I'm sure she would worry the whole time. Again, just my opinion.

My concern is a flat tire, car breakdown, someone gets sick, etc….Just too many things that may be hard to handle by yourself. I hope if you do decide to drive that you take it easy and take breaks when you need to so you do not get too tired. Good luck with the decision.

 

[huggiebear23]

I think that is what My hubby Is worried about.

 

[mm1971]

I think that is what My hubby Is worried about.

Sound like a great guy.

 

[huggiebear23]

Thanks he is. I'll keep him along

 

[DravenGSX]

You're looking at a solid 18 hours on 95 assuming you don't get hung up too long in DC. Once you get past DC, it's generally smooth sailing. If you have an extra day to spend, I would highly recommend stopping for the night in Savannah and taking half of the next day to explore. There are a couple of really cool candy shops for the kids along the waterfront and the city itself is really cool to explore.

It's a bit past halfway (4.5 hours from Orlando), but I know I'd be at my wit's end by then.

 

[huggiebear23]

Thanks so much. What time do you think I should leave? What's a good time?

 

[JessM]

I personally wouldn't drive that far by myself, especially with 2 kids. Being able to switch off with two adults would make life so much easier.