Family Trip, Need Advice

[LiannB-Smith]

Hello there all. I've been on 2 separate Disney trips and am in need of advice/ opinions on a few matters. The first trip we took was through my high school so it was a group trip and everything was covered, we just had to pay for our tickets. We were on the Disney meal plan, which helped and like I said, we were on a school trip technically. This past year I went again but had to pay for everything and make "grown up" decisions like not booking an actual trip through a travel agent, didn't get the meal plan, didn't stay on the grounds and flew down instead of driving, like with the school trip.

So we come to current. My family and I, (10 total) are planning a GIANT trip and the biggest argument right now is, do we fly or drive down? In our group, my sister is "having medical" issues aka she's claiming she's red flagged because she has sparatic heart palpitations. But her issues are caused because of her weight. My husband also wasn't fond of driving because of a) cost and b) losing time having to account for travel. But I'm under the assumption flying with a package deal, would make cost go down, as opposed to having the package, taking out flight cost and adding in gas for whatever vehicle we take.

So any opinions help would be awesome in this manner Thanks.

 

[sullyfam]

How far of a drive is for you?

 

[ProTraderColin]

I recommend flying. I know a lot of people who drove to Disney (from NJ/NY) and they end up being exhausted by the time they get there, then they are in a bad mood most of the time, then they can't wait to get back home.

 

[kruegeme]

The drive vs fly debate occurs in our family for every trip. The drive takes around 16.5 hours which can be exhausting if done straight thru but is doable. When we do drive, we drive straight thru when going down but stop overnight on the return trip. The key for us is the flight costs. Depending on the time of year you are traveling, flights can add anywhere between $325 and $450 per person to the overall cost. Just not willing to do this. For the drive, you have to factor in a hotel room on the road if you don't drive straight thru.

 

[Taylor'sMom]

We live in upstate NY and go to Disney every year. We have done both. Our preference is to fly but 2x we thought flights were just too much and we chose to drive to save $. After those 2x I honestly don't think we'll do it again. It's just not worth the savings.
We drove straight through, only stopping for gas/bathroom/food. We did that to a) avoid the cost of a hotel room and b) to get there faster. The downside to that decision is that even when we switched drivers, the adult passenger never really was able to sleep (much) so we'd arrive with a child ready to hit the pool and the adults were EXAUSTED. And because of our timing, rooms weren't ready so we'd sleep in the sun by the pool and that wasn't really ideal either. Then by that 1st night, schedules were off. It took 2+ days to feel "normal" again. Then the process would repeat on the way home. We'd leave ourselves a "recoup" day after returning home, but with travel time down and back, plus that extra day, it meant a lot of missed time from work to still get a week's vacation.
All told...
The savings aren't worth it for us. We pay the difference, fly, and ENJOY the vacation!!

 

[Taylor'sMom]

I should also add... we discussed the ideal time to be driving. We chose to time our drives at night so it wasn't a lot of "awake" time for our DD in the car. She sleeps in the car pretty good.
Had we chosen to drive during the day, it's more traffic, and more wasted vacation DAYS but perhaps better for sleep schedules?

 

[EPCOTgrl1]

How is the family split? I can understand that some people need to fly and other can't afford it. You can always just do what is right for you. I know that might sound crazy that you would be splitting up, but sometimes you need to do what you can afford and not bankrupt yourself of a trip!

 

[mjkacmom]

Have those that want to drive, drive, and those who want to fly, fly. Also, always do the math with package deals. Many times it's cheaper to book your own flights.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Rule #1 with extended family trips: You can't all be together all the time. Learn it, know it, live it.

And this applies equally to the manner(s) in which you all arrive at Disney as well as the time you're there.

 

[luvmy2babies]

How is the group structured? Is it 3 small families? 2 families and a couple of individuals? Several couples? With a group that large, I agree with the previous posters who said everyone should just do what they can afford; but it also depends on who needs to do what. It can just get complicated if say one person can’t afford to fly as one person driving alone is a lot depending on where you are coming from. I didn’t catch your location if it was posted. It’s a really different trip if you are far enough away that the drive has to be split over 2 days.

I have done it both ways with my two children. We flew for 3 of 4 trips to Disney. I drove us down for one a couple of years ago. The children were 10 and 3 and since I was the only adult I split it into two days even though we are just 9.5 hours away in NC.

Are you talking about doing a package with Expedia, Travelocity or Orbitz or are you talking about booking a flight through Disney? I’ve heard flights booked through Disney can be expensive. I am also not sure if the dining plan can be added to a package booked on a third party site. Although that may not be a concern for you.

Generally I book our flights through Southwest (again not sure if that is an option for you or not) and I have booked the outbound flight one month and the return flight the next month to make it work out budget wise.

Speaking though as someone who has been in the large family trying to do a vacation situation, each person has to be realistic and make decisions for themselves at the end of the day, even if it means watching everyone else go and staying behind. As one person who has the expenses of three for any trip, been there done that more than once. No fun; but neither is taking a trip you can't afford. Been there done that as well. Learned the hard lesson. I hope things work out for you.

 

[Happyjen27]

Have those that want to drive, drive, and those who want to fly, fly. Also, always do the math with package deals. Many times it's cheaper to book your own flights.

Rule #1 with extended family trips: You can't all be together all the time. Learn it, know it, live it.

And this applies equally to the manner(s) in which you all arrive at Disney as well as the time you're there.

I agree. I could compare this to a trip in which many families are coming from different locations. Just meet up in Disney and start the vacation at that time. There is pretty much zero chance I would enjoy to drive from Upstate NY. I have done it twice in the past, and it's not something I enjoy. My ILs, however, drive up and down twice a year and don't mind.

 

[LiannB-Smith]

How is the family split? I can understand that some people need to fly and other can't afford it. You can always just do what is right for you. I know that might sound crazy that you would be splitting up, but sometimes you need to do what you can afford and not bankrupt yourself of a trip!

It's not the initial cost, it's the fact that not everyone is 100% sure flying is the right option, not everyone is sure driving is the right option in terms of cost.

 

[LiannB-Smith]

Have those that want to drive, drive, and those who want to fly, fly. Also, always do the math with package deals. Many times it's cheaper to book your own flights.

We're doing a package deal with Triple A which means some people would lose the "discount option" if they decide not to fly.

 

[worm761]

You can do a package deal through AAA without the flights. And honestly, AAA is probably not going to be your best discount. As for the fly vs drive debate, let those fly that want to and let those drive that want to. We had a group of 13 of us. We all arrived at different times. And not all of us stayed in the same resort.

 

[EPCOTgrl1]

It's not the initial cost, it's the fact that not everyone is 100% sure flying is the right option, not everyone is sure driving is the right option in terms of cost.

I don't know where you live so I am unsure of your cost but as someone who drives and flies from Maryland it is cheaper to drive hands down. The cheapest flight we can get down normally is with Southwest and with the cost of 1 ticket and the fees we can drive down for the same cost. We normally have to fill the tank 2-3 times, which at most is $40. The think it affects is time because it does take anywhere from 10-14 hours to get down there. If you preplan and add a day on either end of your trip you will be fine.

 

[KMK102015]

We opted to fly to be able to spend more time at the parks and not lose out on the travel time (family of 5). It ended up being cheaper flying. My wife and I signed up separately for the SWA credit cards and got 2 free tickets each, so we only ended up having to pay the fees and the 1 ticket. If you chose to fly, definitely look up the SWA credit cards!

 

[msmama]

As a family of 10, would you rent a large van and all drive down together? If so, you may be looking at more $$ to drive than to fly. But generally driving is going to be way less than 10 flights.

Like someone else said, look into other discounts. I've never heard of AAA being the best option in terms of discounts.

And if some people want to drive rather than fly and do lose their discounts - well, that's up to them.