Driving vs. Flying

[chach]

We have flown 3 times and are driving for the 6th time this Summer from NH (takes me a little over 30 hours).

Advantages to driving:
Lots of family time together.
We play games along with a lot of other things.
Cost- We save about $1200 (flight,car rental,food,ect)
Food- We bring a large percentage of our food which we
cook in our condo. Saves a lot of time and money.
Car- We can load our minivan to the max with everything
we will use.
Time- No schedule, we leave when we want, return when
we want.
Airport- None of the airport hassles.

Advantages to flying:
Only one, you get there quicker

 

[theduck619]

We live in Indy and have a SUV as well. I figured up what gas would cost compared to flying Airtran and it was $145 cheaper to fly then drive. Have a great trip.

 

[mgilmer]

I live about 12 hours from Disney. The price for the 5 of us to fly down was outrageous ($800 is a STEAL)! We are driving. We are leaving at 10pm and will arrive the next day at 10am. DH is sleeping the day before so he can drive while the girls and I sleep. On the way back we're driving during the day...we've got lots of coloring books, Leapster games and DVDs to keep them happy.

For $800, with a 2-day drive, I say FLY!!!

We just did the exact same thing. Watch out for those last two hours, they are rough!

 

[disney_momma21]

If I was you I would drive. I like driving so to me it's no problem. My family has driven many times to Disneyland since we live closer to that than Disney World. We usually just leave at like 6am and arrive down in Anaheim at 8pm. It's only a 13 hour drive. I like being able to just pile in the car as a family and just spend time together. Sure when we fly we get there faster but just those hours together talking about what we are going to ride first and playing slug-bugs sure is fun!!

I'm still trying to talk DH into driving to Disney World one of these days. It's a 48 hour drive non-stop so I don't know if he would be down for that. I just think it would be great to drive through so many states. Reminds me of the Griswalds taking the family truckster to Wally World!

 

[Whipperwhirl]

Remember the cost of driving isnt just Gas - I think the going rate these days is 54 cents a mile or something like that - Im sure if you look at it that way - its definately cheaper to fly - Im also one who like to have a rental car but the week we are going a cheap rental car is over 600 dollars - we are going to hire a car service (150.00 round trip) to get to the parks faster and leave the parks later. Whip

 

[Lisa P.]

Compare your prices realistically. If your preferred transportation is more expensive, you can see if the actual difference it worth it to you.

Driving, add together:

• Car prep for the trip - extra oil changes, etc.
• Gas = # miles roundtrip (incl driving locally at WDW) x ~$4.25/gal (???) / # miles per gallon, your vehicle
• Hotels en route = nightly rate x # nights needed
• Travel Meals = how much more you'd spend on food on travel days than at home
• (consider having to keep kids occupied for longer, in a closed space, though you WOULD have your own vehicle and whatever "stuff" they need)
• (for us, we need to include added unpaid days off from work in our family business, though for an Orlando trip, it's close enough not to count)

Flying, add together:

• Airfares x the # of seats, incl taxes and fees
• Gas for travel between home and home airport, round trip - matters if you're driving a few hours to an airport w/cheaper airfares
• Airport parking at home airport or transportation to/from your home airport
• Airport food or snacks, if applicable (strict limits on beverages/liquids that may be brought onboard - must be purchased on the gate side of security check-in)
• Rental car at destination, incl surcharges, taxes and fees, insurance, car seat rental, GPS rental - whatever is applicable
• Gas for destination local travel w/rental car, if applicable
• Luggage surcharges - most airlines now only permit ONE checked bag per passenger for free and ONE carry-on plus a purse or laptop. If your airline changes policy between now and your travel day, you may be held to their new policy. The cheaper the airfare, the more likely you are dealing with an airline that severely limits free luggage. Remember to count car seat(s), stroller(s) and other children's gear. There is NO luggage allotment for children under age 2 who sit in your lap without an added seat ticket.
• (consider possible inconveniences: airlines are more frequently rescheduling flight(s), changing the time of day of travel - and the amount of time you'll have at your destination on travel days - and/or messing up baggage handling/arrival)

rt2dz gave lots of good advice on road trips with children. Airline travel is not as quick and convenient as just the air-time. Add a couple hours for airport check-in, plane changes, driving to/from, etc. With kids, it can be quite challenging. Having our own vehicle has been very useful and important when, on a few trips, one of the kids had a bad asthma attack, strep throat or an ear infection. It's been easier and cheaper to visit an offsite medical clinic and the pharmacy with our own car than to rely on Disney's assistance (w/high prices and surcharges) and/or taxicabs. We'd prefer not to vacation w/young children and no vehicle. So for us, the cost of airline travel needs to include a rental car.

For our family of 5, it's been a pretty easy decision each time. We just quickly crunch the numbers. When we're all traveling together, we've usually driven when staying in the eastern half of the U.S. and then some. We've flown if our destination is a couple days away on the road. HTH!

 

[james'mommy]

We like to drive. We like having our own car and not having to rely on the busses. The trip from AKL to DTD was insanely long. I live in NC so it's only a 8 hour drive. We leave at 9pm and make it there by 4 or 5am. DH catches a quick nap and we check in at 6am. We have always been able to get our room right away. This way we can take all the luggage and junk that we want. We've also found that driving takes just as long as flying when you factor in the driving to airport, checking in, wait time, flying, lay over, ME to hotel. But this is from NC so it wouldn't be the same for you.

 

[RJBMickey]

I've been to the 'World 6 times (it will be our 7th in Sept.) and each time we drove. We live in MA, so it takes about 23 hours. The trip is incredibly long and, at times, boring, but you get to see a lot of interesting and different places along the way. You also aren't limited on how much (or what in particular) luggage you can take with you.

When we first went to Disney, I was 10 and my brother was 15. We didn't have a portable dvd player or any of that. My brother brought his cd player while I brought some dolls and books, and we made due. It takes about two days to get there and back because we stop once (each way) to sleep. We always brought a couple of pillows and blankets to take naps, along with a lot of snacks and water. And we don't have a big vehicle, neither, so it wasn't that comfortable - at least for the rest of my family, anyway. I'm the only tiny one in my family of four (about 5'), therefore I was able to nap with no problem.

We've left at different hours - last year we left around 5 in the afternoon on Friday and got to WDW at 10 in the morning on Sunday, which was the earliest we ever arrived. We also took a scenic route, so we barely hit any traffic or tolls.

The main reason we drive each year is due to the fact that my dad is afraid to fly. But what is best for our family, might not be best for you. I'd say to just weigh the costs of both driving and flying, then go with the cheaper of the two. Good luck! & Have a fun trip!

Also, if you have any questions, feel free to ask!