Driving vs. Flying

[maxiesmom]

http://fuelcostcalculator.aaa.com/

Thought I would post a link to this if anyone is interested.

 

[luvmy2babies]

For now, we have flown when we needed to get to Florida. It is just 9.5 hours from here, but it is also just me and my two children and I don’t think we would survive doing it all in one day and all come out sane. With it being just the 3 of us, by the time I added a decent hotel each way, food for the road, and gas, it is not a huge savings for me in comparison to flying. Then there’s the wear on the vehicle and on me. If I had one or more additional drivers and more children, and were Disney a bit more relaxing, I’d probably see it differently. For one thing, we could probably scrap the hotel stop each way since I could rest in the van.

I don’t drive at Disney though. I am not sure I would even if I had a car unless it was from our resort to another resort for a meal. I drive us everywhere at home, plus my commute to work is 40 minutes each way. Even though there is waiting involved and I have to be more careful with scheduling, staying on site and not having to drive anywhere is part of the vacation for me. I love that moment once I’ve parked at the airport and I can tuck my keys away and not see them again until we get back.

I drive us on other vacations but those have been 4 hours away or less. Still, a bit more maturity on my son, may change things for us next year. I’m considering driving us down to Port Canaveral next summer for our cruise. Since the boat leaves on a Sunday and returns on a Thursday, I could take two days each way to drive and not use more vacation time. Plus we could do Sea World after it the cruise without having to figure out transportation.

 

[ShortStuff]

I live in Central TX. We have driven and we have flown. IMHO there are perks and downsides to both. To fly from where I live, I have to pay lots of extra $$$ to fly from the regional airport, with at least one stop, or travel 90 min., to a larger airport, pay parking fees, and still have a difficult time finding a flight that does not stop once in Houston.

Driving, is of course a lot of work also. We usually stop one night along the way, using priceline or something similar. We tend to eat very light while on the road, as we are sitting so much. We usually leave around 9 pm. and drive all night. Last trip we left around 3 and stopped outside of Houston for dinner. That worked well also. We had multiple drivers last trip and just kept going.

One thing we always do, when driving, is spend our first night off site. We usually try to get a room near DTD, on priceline or other source, and usually it will only be about $50. That way, we just swim, go to Earl of Sandwhich for dinner and get ready for out park week.

This year, taking my daughters Fiat 500, we will be able to drive round trip for under $300, depending on gas prices. Since we will have a washer/dryer, we don't need to pack much!

 

[Pooh2]

We have flown from NH to Disney once, drove down twice (once with a camper in tow) and on our last trip, drove to VA and picked up the Autotrain.

I think for our next trip we will drive all the way down and take the autotrain on the way back. Did not sleep great on the autotrain but it was a relaxing break from the endless driving.

I like being able to pack everything I need in the car and not have to deal with TSA going through my stuff as well as having plenty of room to bring back souvenirs.

We stop along the way to check out new sights rather than just drive straight through.

 

[emksmama]

We drive from central Indiana and LOVE it. DH loves to drive, and even after driving all day every day for work (he's an Orkin route manager), he still has no qualms about driving 1100 miles to FL. Our first two Florida vacations were beach trips, and we stopped in Macon GA both times. The girls were little, 1 & 2 the first time, 2 & 3 the second, and we had an in car DVD player to keep them entertained.

Last year we picked them up from school on the last day, and drove straight through to Ft Myers Beach. 22 hours, NO in car DVD player or DS in sight. um, no CD player either. I did have my iPod loaded up with music, and they slept most of the night. I had a laptop with Verizon wifi which worked out great until it got really dark and the lit screen bothered DH while driving. He drove the first 11-12 hours, and I took over at Valdosta GA and drove the rest of the way. Coming home we also did straight through, leaving at 10am Saturday and got home at 6am Sunday. It was rough, but we easily saved $200 by not stopping.

When we drive to WDW next month (yay!!!) we're leaving late on a Saturday afternoon and hope to be at SoG by noon on Sunday. Plan is to spend that day lounging and swimming, then resort hop to shop, eat a QS dinner, and get settled into our rooms. My parents are leaving that Saturday morning, and they'll stop for the night, but they are also in their late 60s and Mom can't sit in the car for hours and hours on end. I plan to have activity bags for the girls, books, and some cool podcasts on my iPhone. DH and I have Kindles for reading while the other is driving, and I can sleep pretty well in the car. We LOVE driving and can't imagine ever flying!

 

[NewEnglandCamper]

We have driven on several occasions from Mass. It takes 24 hours.
Day 1 is the most difficult going through CT, NY, NJ, and NoVA.
Once we are past Richmond on I95 it is SMOOTH SAILING.. No traffic at all.
Have plenty of snacks, beverages, etc. Try to maximize daytime driving.

Our cost will be $500-$700 in gas. Probably $200 in hotels overnight.
This is a savings of $1000 or more it would cost for airfare and airport parking.

 

[OldsDr]

I am really shocked at what it costs for air travel for some people who are no farther away than I am. In a marathon drive I made it in almost exactly 20hours(within minutes of 20 hours) R/T Airfare for four is right at $1000 dollars for us out of Bradley in the Hartford CT area(thats on South West so we also get 8 checked bags with that price).

If i was within a 13 hour drive I would most certainly drive every time.

 

[virginiamama]

Wow! Thanks for all of the responses! We have a lot to think about. I hadn't added in the airport parking $ as well. We have a lot to think about. DH and I are both on the fence about it, but leaning toward driving. I suppose our attitude about it can make a huge difference in the outcome, so if we decide to drive we will just have to plan for it to be a fun family time together. If I go on dreading it, we'll be miserable, but if we embrace it, we just might love it!

We are vacationing with friends (like family) from our area who have more or less already decided to drive. We usually travel with just our immediate family. I'm thinking this would be the perfect time to try driving since we'd have someone else with us in case we needed help, and also the ability swap out children if our kids need a break from eachother!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Wow! Thanks for all of the responses! We have a lot to think about. I hadn't added in the airport parking $ as well. We have a lot to think about. DH and I are both on the fence about it, but leaning toward driving. I suppose our attitude about it can make a huge difference in the outcome, so if we decide to drive we will just have to plan for it to be a fun family time together. If I go on dreading it, we'll be miserable, but if we embrace it, we just might love it!

We are vacationing with friends (like family) from our area who have more or less already decided to drive. We usually travel with just our immediate family. I'm thinking this would be the perfect time to try driving since we'd have someone else with us in case we needed help, and also the ability swap out children if our kids need a break from eachother!

If both families have enough seating for ALL the kids, it could give Mom & Dad a break from the kids too. Put ALL the kids in vehicle #1 for a while, then ALL the kids in vehicle #2 for a while.

 

[Eoywin]

We live in NC so it's only a 9 hour drive. It seems short since we drive up to Michigan to see family once a year and that is a 12 to 13 hour drive. And thankfully, DD has been doing that MI drive since she was teeny so she's great on road trips.

We did briefly consider flying but the cost really got to us because it's so much more expensive.