Fly or drive with 3 kids, 2 under 2!

[Greenfield1984]

Hey everyone,

Considering going to DW again next January. We will have a 5 year old, 22 month old and 4 month old.

We're from Ontario, Canada...about a 24 hour drive away! We drove down last time (with only the 2 kids) because we couldn't find any good deals on airfare. It was long but not as horrible as I would have thought.

Of course we'd always rather fly if we can afford it as it's a 3 hour flight vs a 24 hour drive! But this time we'd have 2 kids under 2! I'm thinking getting through the airport and trying to keep an infant and a toddler happy on the plane would be insanely hard!

So any thoughts? Would you fly or drive?

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Fly. How hard is it to entertain a toddler for 3 hours versus all the car hours?

Just keep in mind that you will have to sit in separate rows due to the number of family members, even if you are holding the baby.

 

[tms295psu]

FLY.... it will be the last time you can fly without paying for 2 (under 2 kids)!!! I dread the 2 hours on the plane, but I'll take that over 18 hours in a car with an unhappy kid!

 

[Greenfield1984]

Definitely leaning towards flying. And I know it's easier to keep a kid entertained for 3 hours vs 24, but those 3 hours I have to worry about everyone else on the plane too, whereas in the car only we have to deal with it!

Thanks for the opinions

 

[Elmck]

I would say fly, but I would try to schedule a flight for when they are generally the happiest or nap time if they go to sleep easy.

 

[julie19979]

Fly! it's just so much faster and you feel so much more human instead of taking such a long road trip, enjoy!

 

[backyardponder]

Definitely leaning towards flying. And I know it's easier to keep a kid entertained for 3 hours vs 24, but those 3 hours I have to worry about everyone else on the plane too, whereas in the car only we have to deal with it!

Thanks for the opinions

I wouldn't worry about other folks on the plane. You're going to Orlando and there will be lots of kids on the plane.

When our 3 boys were small, we used to go to a very large and popular chicken restaurant. Lots of families there. We liked it because there always was a table in there with kids a lot noiser than ours!

 

[WizardLarz]

I guessing that you take 2 days each way for the drive; VS 6ish hours for the Airport arrival and the fight. I look at it this way: if you have 7 days of Vacation (Sun.-Sat.) tack on the Saturday before and the Sunday for your travel days by plan and you still get one full week in Disney. If you drive even with the extra 2 days you take more 2 days to drive giving you only 5 days at Dinsey.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I wouldn't worry about other folks on the plane. You're going to Orlando and there will be lots of kids on the plane.

People are always saying this, but I have traveled to Orlando a number of times for various reasons and I have not found a large number (sometimes none) of children on my flights; IAD-MCO. Having more children on these flights is probably true in the summer and during vacation periods, not so much the rest of the year.

 

[backyardponder]

People are always saying this, but I have traveled to Orlando a number of times for various reasons and I have not found a large number (sometimes none) of children on my flights; IAD-MCO. Having more children on these flights is probably true in the summer and during vacation periods, not so much the rest of the year.

I guess we have different experiences in life.

 

[WIDisneyFan]

If you would have asked me this question 2 years ago I would have said fly, but after 3 drives to Florida in the past 2 years and another planned for this summer I would say drive.

We also have 3 kids (now 7,5, and 3) and have done both flying and driving multiple times. Yes flying is quicker, but not as much as people like to think (don't forget being at the airport 90min or more before the flight, getting from the airport to Disney, flight delays,...) for us the net difference is 1 day of travel on each end - it is about 20 hours for us from the Milwaukee area.

For me the things I find better when driving would be:

• Cost - 5 tickets is expensive even when compared to fuel, food, and a night in the hotel
• Schedule - we leave when we want, stop when we want, it is our schedule not the airlines, and none of those wonderful flight delays (I get enough of those traveling for work)
• Luggage - no limits what we can bring, no baggage fees so if it will fit in the van its fine
• Having a car at WDW that we are all comfortable in
• The unexpected - driving gives us the flexibility to change our plans at any time

 

[deegack]

Fly and get everyone their own seat. Everyone will be comfortable and contained.

 

[CarolineB]

Fly -- save the driving for when they're older. I think that a long drive likes this just too tiring for both the kids and the parents. I know that many people do the drive but in your case, if you can just pay for 3 tickets, that's a great advantage.

I think the hassle at the airport outweighs the hassle of the long drive.

I think it would be much easier to keep the kids entertained for 3 hours on the plane vs. 24 in the car. I don't think keeping the babies happier on the plane is harder than a car however you can't predict if they'll have problems with their ears and cry from discomfort. Have the kids drink water out of a bottle / sippy cup to keep the ears open during take off / landing.

My other suggestion would be to get portable dvd player and head phones and play some other their favorite movies.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Look at airfare from your nearest US airport.....I don't know what that would be though. I live in Oakville (just west of Toronto) and we fly from Buffalo all the time. I won't even consider YYZ any more. The prices are way cheaper and the airport is much easier to get around.

If you want more info on the nearby US airports .....post over on the Canadian board. I know there are a few people on there that live in the Kingston area that fly from the states.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

If you would have asked me this question 2 years ago I would have said fly, but after 3 drives to Florida in the past 2 years and another planned for this summer I would say drive.

We also have 3 kids (now 7,5, and 3) and have done both flying and driving multiple times. Yes flying is quicker, but not as much as people like to think (don't forget being at the airport 90min or more before the flight, getting from the airport to Disney, flight delays,...) for us the net difference is 1 day of travel on each end - it is about 20 hours for us from the Milwaukee area.

For me the things I find better when driving would be:

• Cost - 5 tickets is expensive even when compared to fuel, food, and a night in the hotel
• Schedule - we leave when we want, stop when we want, it is our schedule not the airlines, and none of those wonderful flight delays (I get enough of those traveling for work)
• Luggage - no limits what we can bring, no baggage fees so if it will fit in the van its fine
• Having a car at WDW that we are all comfortable in
• The unexpected - driving gives us the flexibility to change our plans at any time

For me, this may be time spent but it's sooo much more relaxing to sit at the gate than be in traffic. Also we don't have flight delays every time we fly, usually only in bad weather. In the 3x we've driven to VA we always have traffic delays on 95, sometimes for no apparent reason, and we just crawl along for a while. It seems the only way around this is to drive at a time when we should be sleeping which we don't like to do.

It's nice to have a choice so each family can do what works for them.

 

[lurkernj]

I'd fly while the two kids are still free. Save the driving for when you are looking at 5 airfares.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

if lap traveling, you will not be able to sit in one row. only 4 air masks per row.one parent with 2 kids and other parent in another row with third child. something to think about. i would rather drive in that if it gets to bad you can stop and get out for a run or down time. har to do in a plane.

 

[Greenfield1984]

Again thanks for the advice all.

Leaning towards driving. When you consider i'll be driving to rochester or syracuse (from ottawa) for the flight, how early you have to arrive in the airport, transfers etc. I figure there isn't a huge difference between driving and flying. It may be a 12 hour difference each way. But when you factor in the convenience of having our own car (can bring anything i want, can stop at anytime, not trapped on a plane) I think it may be our better option.

The real downside is that I have lots of earlier memories of catching a plane and that became a part of the trip. I actually enjoy the airport and I want my daughter to have that joy as well.

However I suppose she can have her own memories of how fun the drive down is.

Speaking of the drive. If we do decide to drive down i'm likely to drive straight down. Have the wife begin the trip in the morning and have her and i swap back and forth until evening at which point I'll do all the night driving. Love the night driving and have no problem staying awake all night (since i sleep well in the car during the day i'll have rested).

 

[momof3ds]

Having 3 kids myself, we'd be flying but with everyone in their own seat.

We have driven ling drives but the max would be 12-15 hours.

No way would we subject ourselves or the kids to a straight 24 hour drive.

 

[maxiesmom]

I can't imagine driving that far with children that small. They will not have any way to entertain themselves for that long, poor things. And to be stuck in a car seat where it is very hard for them to shift their weight around has to be very uncomfortable for that long of a drive.

I have to say too that your idea of driving straight thru is a bad bad one. There is no way it is safe to leave only one adult awake while everyone else is asleep in the car. And I say that as someone who was almost in an accident because the driver started to fall asleep at the wheel. My sister (who was awake and in the passenger seat) had to scream at the driver to wake him up. He had already hit the rumble strip on the roadside at that point. The driver was someone people would call a night owl. It didn't make any difference.

Do your family a favor and fly down. If you decide to drive, please don't try and drive straight thru. It is way to dangerous!