Fiance wants to drive, I want to fly - Help me persuade him! - Disneymoon 2012

[Jessica527]

DISers, I need your help! Fiance is set that he wants to drive the day after our wedding to our Disneymoon! We will be leaving from Reading, PA to Orlando = 16 Hours and 1000 miles (exactly)!

He feels that it will be nice to have a car when we are vacationing. I agree that this is a great idea, but really wanted this to be a "get the most out of our Disneymoon as possible" trip.

We are going Sunday to Wednesday, 11 nights/12 days.

Would you fly? Drive? Or should I just give up on the fight?

Any thoughts are great!

 

[LWQuestie]

I sure wouldn't want to drive for almost an entire day right after my wedding, but others may disagree.

I'd fly and rent a car, if having a car during the trip is important.

 

[sam_gordon]

When are you going? If it's winter, I suggest flying and the earlier in the day the better. Main reason is you could have a nasty drive if there's snow/ice on the ground. While PA may be able to keep streets clear, southern states won't be as good.

Staying for that long, I wouldn't be opposed to a drive. BUT, as far as reasons NOT to...

A) Honey, I want to enjoy my time with you when you don't have to concentrate on driving.
B) Would your car make a 2000 mile RT drive?
C) Will we really be in a condition to make a long drive after our wedding night (take that however you want)

That's all I got. The main reason (IMO) to fly is to maximize time at WDW. Probably not an issue with the amount of time you'll be there.

 

[alice99]

We have driven many times, from NY. 1200 miles, 18-19 hours trip.

I happen to enjoy the drive. I would definitely would want a car for a 13 day vacation.

You may want to leave property, especially on a trip of that length.

I'm with your fiancee, I could easily drive 16 hours in one day. I've made the trip to NY in one day.

Enjoy!

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Maybe explain that you would save wear and tear on your car if you fly. I have read several trip reports from people who drove to WDW and ended up having car trouble along the way. Why spend part of your honeymoon at a repair shop. Not to mention finding a repair shop where every it is that you might break down at that you can trust to do a good job. Plus having to pay for the repair!!!
Not to mention what if you end up in a traffic tie up. Then your travel time will be increased.
If you fly you will he able to enjoy your honeymoon a bit longer by not spending 16 hours each way in the car.

Flying would be much more relaxing way to spend your honeymoon.

Good luck convincing him and let us know how it turns out.

When is the big day?

 

[Jessica527]

Thanks for all the great options and opinions. I wish I could say the "wear/tear on car or it could break down" but we just bought a brand new car this month. We are traveiling in May 2012, so little over 6 months away.

I am going to work on the "well if we drive, we don't get to spend as much relaxation time together" card. Hopefully it works!

I will let everyone know how it goes.

 

[goofy4tink]

I just spent a week in WDW, we traveled with another couple. As we came and went from Sanford Intl, the other dh kept saying how great it would be to have driven down from Mass...just think of all the great stuff to see and do along the way. The rest of us, his wife included, tried to tell him that it would take either 24 hrs straight driving or two days to do it more reasonably. But, he persisted..saying it was great to see the world pass by.

I figure that if you have a drive of more than 12 hrs, it's best to do it in two days. Even if it's 8 one day and 4 the next. And that means you need to be on a trip that's lasting more than a week. You're going for 12 days, so it is doable. And your fiance is right..it will be nice to have a car there. But that means dropping a night on either end so you can fit in the drive to and from.

Flying is wonderful...fast, efficient. For me, I have to figure that flying adds up to about almost 8 hrs time on either end.....an hour to the airport, two hours at the airport, three hours in the air, and an hour to get to WDW from the airport, possibly more if I fly into Sanford (that's more like 90 mins). So, if youi double that, it comes to about 16 hrs of travel time. So, driving, for me, would add about 8 hrs of travel time. Hmmmm, I may be talking myself out of flying in the future....

 

[Jessica527]

Hmmmm, I may be talking myself out of flying in the future....

My favorite line! And great advice

 

[hops&dreams]

My favorite line! And great advice

Out of curiosity, why would you want/need a car? Part of the allure of Disney (to me) is that I don't have to worry about a car. Disney transportation takes care of it all.

DH, on the other hand, would LOVE to drive down. Then we can go over to Legoland and WWofHP without worrying about cab fares. I told him that we could drive when DD is older, but right now, flying is almost the same price for us, (we got RT tickets for 3 for $454.) if you figure in gas, wear and tear on the car, and a hotel on the way there and back - because I'm not sitting in a car that long without stopping for the night!

I also like flying because we're only taking so many days off work (and DD out of school) for the vacation, and I don't want over 2 of them spent driving, even if it's the weekend - that's my "recouperation from vacation" time.

 

[sam_gordon]

Thanks for all the great options and opinions. I wish I could say the "wear/tear on car or it could break down" but we just bought a brand new car this month. We are traveiling in May 2012, so little over 6 months away.

I am going to work on the "well if we drive, we don't get to spend as much relaxation time together" card. Hopefully it works!

I will let everyone know how it goes.

If I may suggest. Find airline rates now. While the prices could go down later, assume what you see now is the lowest they'll be. Is that amount within your budget? If it's not, driving may be better.

 

[bytheblood]

*Gas Prices
*Wear on the tires
*possible accident, damage to car while driving
*Long drive home after a tiring vacation
*Want to get there and enjoy your time together much faster
*Driving that much causes too much tension

I can think of more if you need them.

 

[NJtoATL]

Fly down. If you need or want a car, there are places to rent one on property. After I got married , I slept two days straight...... Weddings can be exhausting. Disney transportation is decent. We honeymooned at Disney
(1996) and we flew from NJ and rented a car. We love the freedom of having a car. There were time when husband wanted to do one thing and I wanted to do another, I jumped on the bus. My husband loves to drive but we were not driving down from Jersey.