Driving vs Flying

[DreamtheImpossible]

Hello all!

I am trying to plan a trip to the happiest place on earth! I am trying to make it as affordable as possible because there are SIX of us going! My question is...should I fly or should I drive?

The relevant details:

-I live in Washington state, right along i5. It would be about an 18hr drive.
-Passengers are me, dh, mil, bil, nephew and DS.
-Nephew is 5, DS would be 19 months
-Trip would be mid-May or early june

Pricing the trip out, after gas calculations, it's about $200-300 cheaper to drive. (We would be flying into LAX)

Am I crazy for even considering driving?! My DH wants to drive the whole way straight (with stops for the kiddos to stretch their legs, potty breaks, etc) Me...I was going to drive most of the way then stop for the night and let the kiddos play in the pool, then resume the last 4-5 hrs in the morning.

Has anyone done this trip? Or a long road trip?

 

[ParkHopper1]

I drive a LOT and long distances and 18 hours in one day is VERY aggressive especially with a family and kids. I can be done...but...unless you do regular long hauls after an 18 hour drive everyone WILL be exhausted the next day even though you are just siting in a car. Realistically the drive will be a 1.5 day drive with an overnight stop somewhere...so add that cost.

So is wasting three days of my time and starting my vacation exhausted worth $200-300?...not a chance in my book. Savings of $1000+...maybe...but for $300 flying is a no brainer to me with family in tow.

(You really wanna be crammed in your car for 36 hours with your MIL?)

 

[ColoradoMom!!]

Does your savings to drive include car rental or transportation to your hotel from LAX?

I would have thought that driving would have saved you more than $200-$300.

For $200-$300 only - I also would fly

 

[avalovesminnie]

Fly! You don't need a car at DLR. Many hotels charge for parking too.

 

[DreamtheImpossible]

Thanks everyone. Yeah, I was not really gung-ho about driving. Not only would I be stuck in the car listening to video game trivia I have no interest in, I'd have to deal with 3 other adults driving.

 

[lwanthony]

I live in Portland and have done the drive a bunch of times. Here's my take. If you have an extra 4-5 days of vacation and you want to make the road trip part of your vacation then by all means do the drive. There are lots of great things to do and see between here and there. However, if you are on a time line, and planning on driving straight through skip it. It is a long boring haul straight down on the 5 and at the end of your trip when you are all out of go juice, (which you will be) the drive home feels like it takes a month in the car.

Like I said, I love the drive if it's part of a road trip adventure, but just to save a couple hundred bucks it is not worth it at all.

Hope you have a great trip!!!

-Lane

 

[Congo Queen]

Saving $200 is not enough for me to go with driving instead of flying. I live in the Bay Area (way closer than you in Washington), and I've driven down to Dland a bunch. The drive down is fun as you have so much to look forward to, but the drive home is sad. It's long, you are tired from being in the parks from 7am to midnight, and you have nothing to look forward to but school and work. Having to drive up I5 just seems like cruel and unusual punishment heaped on top of all that. Flying gets it over with.

 

[wench]

We live in Everett. I often joke with my son when we're on I-5 that we could just keep going South & get to Disneyland. It's seriously weird to think that if stops for gas & food weren't necessary, we could get from home to Disneyland & only make 4 turns or so.

But we never actually do drive. We always fly. Of course it's just the 2 of us which is huge difference price wise. But, it's such a long drive & such a short flight. If you can swing the cost of flying, I would recommend it.

 

[Geemo]

Hello all!

I am trying to plan a trip to the happiest place on earth! I am trying to make it as affordable as possible because there are SIX of us going! My question is...should I fly or should I drive?

The relevant details:

-I live in Washington state, right along i5. It would be about an 18hr drive.
-Passengers are me, dh, mil, bil, nephew and DS.
-Nephew is 5, DS would be 19 months
-Trip would be mid-May or early june

Pricing the trip out, after gas calculations, it's about $200-300 cheaper to drive. (We would be flying into LAX)

Am I crazy for even considering driving?! My DH wants to drive the whole way straight (with stops for the kiddos to stretch their legs, potty breaks, etc) Me...I was going to drive most of the way then stop for the night and let the kiddos play in the pool, then resume the last 4-5 hrs in the morning.

Has anyone done this trip? Or a long road trip?

As others have mentioned, when you priced the trip out did that include hotel parking? Or daily parking if you plan to drive to the park each day?

We did the drive too many times to count. The drive straight through from Oregon I-5 exit 282 takes us a min on 16 hours, straight through with only fuel stops. If we go the speed limit, add more time... The reason we drove is my husband does not fly. We'd have two adults and two kids in a suburban. It was a LONG drive and the kids got restless..... and so did I.... By the time we got there the kids were ready to hit the parks but the adults needed some sleep to recoup from the hours of driving, not to mention the hours we were up before we left. We needed sleep.... so add time to your travel.

I now fly, because my husband is Disney'ed out and not interested in going. I go at least twice a year, maybe three. I fly out of Portland (PDX) to Long Beach (LGB) or Orange County (SNA). The taxi from airport to hotel is around $50 or less.

I fly Jet Blue most often. They generally have the lowest fares. In January 2018, I have an overnight flight booked PDX to LGB roundtrip for $108.
When I saw the $54 flights I couldn't resist a trip.

I have found Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday flights to be the least expensive. There is no real trend for getting a great airfare. I look all the time and they can and do change hour to hour. If you see a good one book it, if you check with others in your travel party, the rate may be gone when you go back to book.

Geemo

 

[lalasmama]

We did the drive this summer with me, DH, and DD13. The drive took a LOT longer than I expected. Yes, we stopped a few times (meals, Redwoods, Pier 39, Golden Gate Bridge) so it took longer, but it felt like forever!

Remember, depending on MIL's age, you'll need to stop and stretch every 2 hours to avoid blood clots. And 5yos can really suck at timing their potty breaks to coincide with everyone else. 4 adults driving 18 hours is 4.5 hours per adult... but no long stretch of good sleep for any adult if you're trying to sleep sitting up in the car/minivan.

Like others have said, if you're planning a road trip and getting there is half the fun, go for it, and plan a night at a hotel. If a road trip is to save money, then consider fully how much you will really save--meals, snacks, entertainment--plus things like starting your Disney trip tired from 18++ hours in a car.

 

[tarheelalum]

For just a 300 dollar difference its no question, I would fly. Driving to Disneyland is never bad. Driving home is always bad.

 

[Indiana Scott]

I drove straight through form Bothell Wa. one time. We got up at 1:00 AM and hit the road. It was fabulous! No traffic of course and I could sail along at 5~10+ over the speed limit.
Unless you are prepared with food, the stops for food and potty will end up making it a 20+ hour trip. We had food but it still took 19 hours.
The down side was I was tired for a couple of days after we got there. It took me a while to catch up.

Driving home took two days.
Frankly, for $300 I would much prefer to fly.

 

[mpadilla89]

we have done both. We live inthe bay area and its only about 6-8 hours depending on what time we leave. If its just my fam going(me, DH, DD) we fly because it usually is about 100 more to fly and we save our selves the stress of driving and being tired at Disneyland is not fun. When we take our parents and siblings its a total of 8 ppl we usually drive because we rent one van and split the cost.

My DH always prefers flying even if it will be 200 or 300 more. He will usually drive most of the way there and is tired and when we come back all he wants to do is relax and he can't do that if we are driving.

FLY.

 

[Elima2015]

I think you have your answer already! :-D Fly - no question. The trip down might be manageable, but the trip back home would be rough. We recently did a road trip ~550 miles each way with a 20 month old and two 4.5 year olds. Blah. The 4.5 yr olds were terrible about giving us enough warning to find a rest stop for bathroom breaks. The little one didn't have the attention for screens yet so she required one of us to sit next to her and entertain her. We ended having to stop every 2 hours max for bathroom and leg stretching. Took forever.

If it is doable, look at flying in/out of SNA. It is closer to Disneyland, cheaper ground transportation to get to/from your hotel.

 

[onlyoneash]

I flew into LGB and it was fabulous. I have a little boy that just turned 2 and driving would have been a nightmare. That $200 extra dollars will be the best thing you ever spent if you fly. Plus statistically, flying is much safer than driving.

 

[Shanti]

Fly.

 

[Linkura]

Make sure you include hotel parking costs and park parking costs if you plan on driving to the parks in your calculation.

For that little of a difference, I'd personally fly, but I know the equation is different for everyone.

 

[Geemo]

For just a 300 dollar difference its no question, I would fly. Driving to Disneyland is never bad. Driving home is always bad.

Oh so TRUE!!

 

[GenGen22]

I have kids who are older and that long of a drive would be too long for them. That being said with small children its much harder to keep them in one place strapped in a car seat for such a long time. Its like torture not just for them but you as well. It would be a very stressful drive. Flying is the best option.

 

[scrapshappen]

We drive all the time. It's a 10-11 hour drive for us. And we almost always split it into 2 days since we have family near the halfway point. But my kids are seasoned roadtrippers and driving means we can go more often.