Driving vs Flying?

[ashleyr409]

Hello all,

I am debating if we should drive to WDW, or fly. Driving will take about 13 hours( me and DH) will take turns. Or flying 2-4 hours.

Driving $600.00
Flying$1800-$1900 for a family of 5

At this point, I am willing to do the drive to save a lot of money. But I am also thinking that I don't want the hassle of driving and want to enjoy as much time with my family.

Which one would you choose and why? TIA!

 

[piccolopat]

For that kind of savings and your driving time, I would drive. You can make the trip in one day and so won't need a hotel stopover. If you don't mind driving and take frequent short stops to stretch and eat, it's not that bad. Of course, this largely depends on your kids and how they will do in the car for so long. If they have things to keep themselves busy, you should be fine. If they are old enough to understand saving money by driving, you might consider bribing them with extra spending money out of the savings if they behave on the trip down. I would plan to leave as early as possible in the morning (they may sleep for a few hours) so you have time for dinner and the pool when you arrive. After that everyone should be ready for a good night's sleep.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

Where are you coming from? 1800-1900 seems high for a family of 5. Maybe check into lower cost airlines and see if you can find something cheaper. If not, I would probably drive. 13 hours isn't too bad if your kids can handle it.

 

[piccolopat]

I should have added that when you compare the time savings, don't forget to include the time it takes you to get to and from the airport as well as the time in the airport to go through security and then wait for your flight. Also don't forget to include the airport parking costs or car service to the airport and any food costs while waiting for your plane. Sometimes the little things add up to enough to tilt your decision making one way or another.

 

[ashleyr409]

Where are you coming from? 1800-1900 seems high for a family of 5. Maybe check into lower cost airlines and see if you can find something cheaper. If not, I would probably drive. 13 hours isn't too bad if your kids can handle it.

We are coming from HOU. I know I can't check flights now because we are a year out but I have looked into flights once before we planned a vacation and the price was around that. I have looked into cheaper flights but I can never get anything less than $275 per person and that's on dates we didn't want to travel.

 

[musika]

I think my answer depends on the length of time you're planning to stay. For a 4 day trip, I'd fly. If you're planning on staying for 6-7 days and can afford the extra travel time on either side, i'd drive. It would also depend on how your kids generally do in a car.

 

[ashleyr409]

I think my answer depends on the length of time you're planning to stay. For a 4 day trip, I'd fly. If you're planning on staying for 6-7 days and can afford the extra travel time on either side, i'd drive. It would also depend on how your kids generally do in a car.

My kids will be okay in the car. I don't think that's an issue. My 4 year old is a little cranky sometimes, but I think we will be okay for the most part. We are doing 6 days 5 nights trip.

 

[Day-Day]

I should have added that when you compare the time savings, don't forget to include the time it takes you to get to and from the airport as well as the time in the airport to go through security and then wait for your flight. Also don't forget to include the airport parking costs or car service to the airport and any food costs while waiting for your plane. Sometimes the little things add up to enough to tilt your decision making one way or another.

In addition to all the good points above, flying includes leaving on the airline's schedule which can sometimes be a burden as well.

Our drive is roughly 13 hours as well and we have elected to drive several times when the airline prices seemed too high for us. Sometimes we left late afternoon on a workday and got a good ways into the trip and slept overnight at a hotel on the road. Other times, we left early morning to cover the trip in one day; we usually did this on the return home.

The savings would add up over several visits; kind of a buy 3 (or 2) get one free deal...

 

[0sw@ld]

With your drive times, I would drive. More savings and you'll have a vehicle there should you need it. Best to take breaks for you and the kids.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

My drive is 16 hours and we always drive. For 7 people flying would be a fortune. We usually leave at dinner time and get there around 11 am. We all sleep much of the drive, and my DH sleeps on arrival while we hang at the resort. Our next trip down we’re going to leave a day or two earlier than usual and stop and explore sites along the way. Of course the trip down is always great, but the trip home is always sad and depressing.

 

[sam_gordon]

For that price difference, I'd probably drive. BUT, that doesn't mean I wouldn't constantly be checking airfare, you never know when a sale might pop up. If you can get the flight down to $1000-$1200, I'd give serious though to flying.

We just did the drive, for us it was about 12 hours including stops. We left on Christmas day and did it all in one day. We came back NYE, but because of a late start, we stopped at the halfway point.

 

[mco65]

My rule of thumb is 8 hours... if its more than 8 hours drive, I prefer to fly.. (caveat: my wife works for a major airline so we fly free).. if its less then it depends on the flight availability but driving is ok with me! Luckily I live in Atlanta and can be at WDW in about 6-7 hours so we drive often... but not always!

In your scenario, ~$1200 would cause me to drive.. leave a bit early, maybe even plan an overnight hotel stay half way or something... That's 1200 you could put towards your next WDW trip...

 

[mco65]

I should have added that when you compare the time savings, don't forget to include the time it takes you to get to and from the airport as well as the time in the airport to go through security and then wait for your flight. Also don't forget to include the airport parking costs or car service to the airport and any food costs while waiting for your plane. Sometimes the little things add up to enough to tilt your decision making one way or another.

Great point... even flying from Atlanta, its about 5 hours from the time we leave our house to the time we get off the ME bus at the resort.. I can be there in 6.5 by car... I remember one year we were all set to FLY but a flight cancelled the night before which backed up the mornings flights, meaning we were not gonna get on.. so me and the kids took off in the car. My wife went to work (ATL airport) to do a few things then caught a later flight (noonish).. we met her at the airport (MCO) arriving almost the same time her flight did..

 

[Gr8t Fan]

Our drive from Chicago is 18-24 hours depending on traffic/weather for our family of 5, so we'd do 13 hours without batting an eye. If you have a reliable vehicle, drive. We have driven every year, at least once a year since 1993, and it's made more sense as we went from a family of 3 to a family of 6. Our oldest lives in Orlando now, so we have even more of an incentive to visit.