DVCers do you drive or fly?

[dianeschlicht]

If I was only 1100 miles, I would drive too. I drive from Minnesota to Philly every year, and that's about the distance it is. Not a big deal at all, but it would take me twice as long to drive from here to Orlando, and while we have done it 2 or 3 times, I don't enjoy it at all! That's why we always fly to Disney. We do enough driving to dog shows, and if I drive, it doesn't seem like a vacation.

 

[babbalooey]

Fear of flying keeps me grounded but being in VA I can make it there in 11-12 hrs., so it's not so bad. As new DVC members, my daughter and I will be taking 2-3 trips per year so even if I could fly it would be cost prohibitive. Next month is our first DVC trip...we'll leave Easter morning and be there, hopefully, in time for our Easter dinner reservation...

 

[jpeka65844]

Don't think we would ever drive. DH and I drive compact cars and will most likely keep it that way for the rest of our lives. If we were to drive our family of four, we'd have to rent a mini-van or SUV. Kind of defeats the purpose.

We've talked about flying to Atlanta and then driving to WDW with our friends who live there.

And someday, we'll rent a car in Orlando and venture off-property to eat, shop, and visit Harry Potter World.

DH also travels with work and we always have tons of free airline tix and car rental points. Another perk!!

 

[Ron from Michigan]

We always fly. We have drivin once and that was once too much. It is way to long a drive. Why drive when I can fly and be there in 4 hrs.

 

[Anal Annie]

We drove it straight thru ONCE a LONG time ago. Will never do that again. We fly because it's about a 14 hour drive from where we live and including travel time to the airport we can fly in less than 5 hours. Driving is either one VERY LONG day each way or it's a day & 1/2 with a hotel on the road. This also means less time actually spent AT WDW if we add travel days to either end. Last year we were able to get most all of our round trip flights for $150 or less (and we're only 3 people) so I think that's worth it by the time you add in the hotel & meals on the road for 2 days. We use DME so we have no other costs to worry about. Flying also makes it easier to go 2-3 times a year and slip in long weekends.

We're driving to HHI this summer which I think is probably about 10 hours for us...that's pretty much my limit for driving...but since there's no good airport to fly into right there we figured we may as well drive. Also part of the point of booking HHI this year was to cut some costs...I still think we'll likely spend $250 or so on gas depending where the prices are hovering in August.

 

[dvc_john]

When I was working and went for a week at a time, I always flew.

Now that I'm retired and go for extended stays that include SW Florida as well as Orlando, I drive. I also spend the winter in Florida (2 to 3 months) so I drive. Car rental prices for extended stays can be pretty expensive.

I do admit that I'm getting awfully tired of I-75, and have been finding alternate routes the last few times.

 

[krikiter]

I'd love to drive, but the Atlantic gets in the way. So it's 2 flights there and 2 flights back.

Best response yet. Stoopid ocean, all gettin' in the way...

 

[circhead]

I always drove when my kids were younger we are a family of 5 and I'd rather spend the airfare in Disney than give it to the airlines.

I fly occassionally now, but still prefer driving because I like to resort hop and I like the convenience of having my car. I can also easily go grocery shopping. When my kids were younger the driving was more tiresome because for many of the trips I was the only driver and I always drive straight through from NY - 1120 miles. Now that my kids are older, if they come with me there are more drivers so being able to switch off gives me a break.

I can't stand not having a car in Disney so I figure the cost of airfare from one of the 3 major NY airports more than pays my driving expenses and I don't have the added cost of the rental car.

 

[FourM's]

I would love to be able to drive but I don't think we could live any further away and still be in the continental US. (Washington State) So we always make the 6 hour flight from Seattle to Orlando. Its soo worth it!

 

[culli]

FLy and even with a family of 6 flying is cheaper. We get our tiks under $200 roundtrip direct plus the overall time savings adds up. If tik prices start climbing we may have to consider driving but that just sounds scarry

 

[myDISboards]

We flew twice and ever since drive at least once each year to central florida.

I used to access this favorite website for I-95 exit services from Maine to Florida at http://www.i95exitguide.com/

For the last 3 years, I drove straight in 16-17 hours including bio-breaks and meals with 07 Odyssey mini-van with factory GPS/entertainment and it needed $100 gas each way.

I usually leave at 6-7pm Sat (to avoid traffic around Woodrow Wilson Bridge in VA/MD) and arrive in central florida 11-12noon Sun. I always rested well before 6-7pm Sat.

The money we saved in airfares bought us a lot of souvenirs and DDP.

 

[WolfpackFan]

Though we have flown a couple of times in the past, we mostly drive now. It's 10 hours door to door driving. But we've gotten so we like to drive to Savannah which is halfway there on day 1. Then on day 2 we drive on to WDW. Last trip we stayed the night before at the Hampton Inn - Lake Buena Vista. That way we can check in our DVC resort early the next day and go ahead and hit a park, knowing our room probably won't be ready. I think we'll do the same thing for our trip this October.

 

[musical2]

I usually do a combination of taking the Auto Train to Sanford, FL then driving the rest of the way. There was no option for this so I didn't vote.

 

[schewy]

Living just north of Atlanta,Ga we always drive. A plus is we don't have to fight the crowds using the transportation for the resorts at the end of the day. We just hop in our car and we are anywhere on the property within minutes. I even have learned shortcuts by exploring around the property. I have even accidently entered restricted areas by driving down roads not properly closed while exploring.

 

[LSchrow]

fly only
i can usually get flights around $100 each way, so unless there's a lot of ppl(we're normally 2-4 ppl), driving isn't a big enough cost saver
i just can't bring myself to spend so much of my vaca getting to/fro my destination (we do rent a car at wdw for groceries and outlet runs)

 

[Judique]

We drive almost exclusively. It is 870 miles from our house and we usually stop either at HHI or Savannah for our first night. We use hotel reward points to get a room or we use DVC points or cash to stay at Disney's HH. If we stay at Disney's HH, we often do a couple of nights. My credit cards also gives Visa cash cards as a reward so I often use these for gas. I just ordered $150 of them so gas is on the card so to speak. We leave on March 24th for an 11 night trip. (Navy Federal reward cards for anyone interested.)

I could get cheap flights out of my area as there are 3 major airports within 45 min to an hour of me, and everybody flies to Orlando pretty much, but I've gotten into a pattern and I kind of enjoy it. I also have 5 weeks vacation with my job and just about every holiday known paid - so time is never an issue. And sometimes I book a trip and add on days when I get there - but that's not as easy now - BWV fills up and stays filled.

I love to drive and I can stop anywhere I feel like. We then have our car at Disney, which is what I consider the biggest perk. I like to explore, shop and I usually drive to the parks - even DHS when I stay at BWV. (After waiting almost an hour in January for the boat after Fantasmic I'll remember to drive if seeing Fantasmic again!)

 

[dvc at last !]

We fly. In a few years when we have more time a driving trip would be ok.
Then we could drive to DD's in DC and even use the autotrain or
stop in HHI overnite. Till then flying us for us !

 

[Ctsplaysinrain]

We do both.. We live in AZ. During the summer, my kids and I do a 6 week or so roadtrip to/from the East coast. Disney is just part of this trip . Overall, we average around 6,000-8,000 miles. For other trips through the year, we fly as we usually don't have any extra days to waste. They tend to be a 2-3 day Mommy escape trip and about 7 days in early december as part of a chess tournament my son participates in. We have gone to DL twice now since we have been members ( june 2009.) When the whole family went, we drove- only about a 8 hour drive. When I went alone, I flew- I don't like driving in So Cal.

 

[tidefan]

We drive. It is about 8.5 hours from Shelby County, AL (south Birmingham suburbs) to WDW and only about 9 to Port Canaveral (many advantages to driving to a cruise...).

We take Hwy 280 to Columbus, GA (take the by-pass 80/185 around) then through Albany to Tifton, where we hit I-75 and take it the rest of the way in...

 

[HsvTeacher]

We drive, because it's only about a nine/ten-hour drive. However, AirTran just announced nonstop flights from Huntsville to Orlando, so we may be flying more often now.