Fly or Drive

[DSLRuser]

Figure on losing half a day in each direction if you fly, or 1.5 in each direction if you drive. Essentially you save 2 days total if you fly. Is that worth the added expense? Only you can decide.

Disagree.

You gain time in my book by driving.

leave when you get off work. drive all night. arrive in the monring.

where as if you fly, you will wait till the next morning and may not arrive till mid afternoon.

Anything under 20 hours, and we are driving stright through. my cheap ness wont allow me to rent a hotel room for 6-8 hours.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Disagree.

You gain time in my book by driving.

leave when you get off work. drive all night. arrive in the monring.

where as if you fly, you will wait till the next morning and may not arrive till mid afternoon.

Anything under 20 hours, and we are driving stright through. my cheap ness wont allow me to rent a hotel room for 6-8 hours.

True, that's an option too.

 

[letsgoreds]

We're struggling with this (from Cincinnati). We have driven and we have flown. Our boys will be 8 and 3 at the time...and I am concerned about the 3yo. I remember when my oldest was that age he had a hard time sleeping in the car...was a stomach sleeper and couldn't get comfortable...oncoming lights in his eyes, etc. Any suggestions of how to block out the light/make those LO who are in 5 pt. harnesses more comfortable?

We have an Odyssey...and part of why I'm leaning towards driving is that one of the reasons we purchased the van was to make longer trips more comfortable. I just don't want cranky kids on day 1...and feel that flying is much cheaper.

 

[maxiesmom]

Disagree.

You gain time in my book by driving.

leave when you get off work. drive all night. arrive in the monring.

where as if you fly, you will wait till the next morning and may not arrive till mid afternoon.

Anything under 20 hours, and we are driving stright through. my cheap ness wont allow me to rent a hotel room for 6-8 hours.

We wouldn't gain by driving. We would never drive all night (unless you work 3rd shift all the time it is way too dangerous imho) and we would still be tired by the time we arrived. I'd rather arrive and be raring to go then arrive and be cranky and sleepy.

 

[sam_gordon]

Disagree.

You gain time in my book by driving.

leave when you get off work. drive all night. arrive in the monring.

where as if you fly, you will wait till the next morning and may not arrive till mid afternoon.

Anything under 20 hours, and we are driving stright through. my cheap ness wont allow me to rent a hotel room for 6-8 hours.

You only "gain" time by driving if driving would be quicker than flying. In your above situation, one could choose to fly out the night before (if available). For us, we have a 30 minute drive to the airport, get there about 90 minutes before the flight, an hour flight to the connecting airport, an hour layover, an hour flight into MCO, then an hour to WDW. So all told, 6 hours from when we leave the house until we're on WDW property.

If we drove, it's around 12-13 hours. If we drove straight through the night, we'd need to sleep once we arrived. So all the time we "saved" would be spent sleeping.

But everyone's different.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

You only "gain" time by driving if driving would be quicker than flying. In your above situation, one could choose to fly out the night before (if available). For us, we have a 30 minute drive to the airport, get there about 90 minutes before the flight, an hour flight to the connecting airport, an hour layover, an hour flight into MCO, then an hour to WDW. So all told, 6 hours from when we leave the house until we're on WDW property.

If we drove, it's around 12-13 hours. If we drove straight through the night, we'd need to sleep once we arrived. So all the time we "saved" would be spent sleeping.

But everyone's different.

I wouldn't drive all night (anymore) but no way I'd absorb the cost of flying if it only saved 6 or 7 hours. All it takes is one delayed flight and you're back to square one.

 

[trishwal]

I know driving would be cheaper. I suppose my hiccup is the unexpected possibilities such as a breakdown and well....two kids on such a long drive.

That's what iPads are for.
I'd not go in a questionably reliable car, though. But even if you do have a breakdown there's enough cell service to make a call from wherever.

Last summer we drove from Dallas with our final destination at DW, then drove straight back in a single 20 hour drive (would have been shorter but traffic and rain were a pain). Totally loved not having to waste precious time just to stop and sleep. Good suggestions about potty breaks here, also trade drivers frequently.

We contemplated flying again this year but the rest of our extended family is driving so it's going to be a little more fun to join the caravan. We flew when the kids were 6 and 10, but then, we only paid $800 for round-trip tickets, stayed for 9 nights and had a 3 bedroom townhouse for $1000. Our income hasn't increased since then but all the Disney World costs have, so let's just say that money is a little more valuable than time.

What we're doing this time is leaving in the wee hours of a Saturday morning (like 3 or 4) and joining up with my brother's family in a beach condo TBD in the Florida panhandle, enjoying some white sand time. Next day drive to Orlando and check into our house around 4, shop, swim, enjoy a little family time, get settled in. Then 5 or 6 days of Disney, two days to drive back (staying in Jackson MS then touring the Vicksburg battlegrounds the next day). That way it's not all about driving straight both ways.

Sometimes the memories you make are even more important than the money you save, and there's something about driving that makes Disney just a little more epic than stepping off a plane and just being there. My two cents.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Sometimes the memories you make are even more important than the money you save, and there's something about driving that makes Disney just a little more epic than stepping off a plane and just being there. My two cents.

And not just for Disney. So many great memories for us of all the places we'd have missed had we flown.

 

[maxiesmom]

And not just for Disney. So many great memories for us of all the places we'd have missed had we flown.

I think that depends a lot on if your drive down is just a drive down, or if you plan on taking it slow and making the drive part of the vacation. Otherwise you can make memories as easily sitting on an airplane as you can sitting in a car.

 

[brockash]

Personally, I think 1200 for 4 people round trip, is a pretty decent price. We usually pay between 1000-1300 each year for only 3 people, and that is with really actively watching airfare etc. We're in NM, so not much further than you. The only way I'd ever consider driving 17 hours is if the flight prices were really insane. You also have to think about the travel time to get there etc. Good luck, but I'd fly, hands down.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I think that depends a lot on if your drive down is just a drive down, or if you plan on taking it slow and making the drive part of the vacation. Otherwise you can make memories as easily sitting on an airplane as you can sitting in a car.

Yes and no. Even something like finding a fast food place you don't have at home can be fun. And you can find that kind of stuff even on a drive straight through. But yes, taking the time to stop and smell the roses takes it up a Notch.

I can't imagine making memories ON the plane, unless it's unpleasant ones

 

[maxiesmom]

Yes and no. Even something like finding a fast food place you don't have at home can be fun. And you can find that kind of stuff even on a drive straight through. But yes, taking the time to stop and smell the roses takes it up. Notch.

I can't imagine making memories ON the plane, unless it's unpleasant ones

At least if you are not driving you can interact with everyone. One of my favorite memories is sharing my nieces headphones while playing hangman and the dot to boxes game. And trying to play travel Boggle and finding that the travel version is pretty bad.

 

[baboo800]

no debate just fly-you'll regret it if you don't


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[Gumbo4x4]

no debate just fly-you'll regret it if you don't


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No, YOU'd regret it if you don't. Everyone's preferences are different.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Disagree.

You gain time in my book by driving.

leave when you get off work. drive all night. arrive in the monring.

where as if you fly, you will wait till the next morning and may not arrive till mid afternoon.

Anything under 20 hours, and we are driving stright through. my cheap ness wont allow me to rent a hotel room for 6-8 hours.

I don't think I'd gain anything by working all day then driving all night. Maybe a headache & some swerving. I like my sleep.

Maybe if I had 6 kids I'd think driving is a better bargain.

Btw, who says you need to wait til the next morning to fly? We often fly as soon as the kids get out of school. We crash at the Hyatt right inside MCO. We all get good sleep & wake up ready for fun.
That said, do what works for you.

Yes and no. Even something like finding a fast food place you don't have at home can be fun. And you can find that kind of stuff even on a drive straight through. But yes, taking the time to stop and smell the roses takes it up a Notch.

I can't imagine making memories ON the plane, unless it's unpleasant ones

We're only on the plane for 2 hrs. It's often not enough time to see the end of my movie. The memories we make are in FL.

 

[sam_gordon]

I wouldn't drive all night (anymore) but no way I'd absorb the cost of flying if it only saved 6 or 7 hours. All it takes is one delayed flight and you're back to square one.

The 12-13 hours I listed as drive time, is just driving. If you stop for the night, let's say 8 hours, which MIGHT get you 6 hours of sleep, now takes you 20-21 hours to drive. So we "save" 14 hours... 28 hours round trip. That's a day at the parks.

 

[sam_gordon]

no debate just fly-you'll regret it if you don't


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I'm in the "fly" camp, but I'd never tell anyone they'd regret NOT flying.

I also wouldn't tell anyone they'd regret driving.

 

[stevil73]

We are in the drive camp for now. With 3 preschoolers ( 4 yr old and 2.5 yr old twins) its just too expensive to fly, nevermind the logisitics of getting all the gear that goes along with 3 little kids to and through airports. We also need a vehicle in FL since we visit my parents about 1.5 hrs away. So driving gives us the flexibility in schedule and packing room and saves us the cost of renting a minivan too. I am looking forward to the drive, but hopefully only once!

 

[Three cats]

We are/were having the same issue. Fly or drive from CT. It is definitely my preference to fly. I would much prefer to be there in 2 1/2 hours vs 20 hours in the car. It doesn't seem like the ride down would be that big of a deal but the ride HOME could be another story. After much talk and realizing we would be losing at least a half day at the beginning and end of our trip, plus the cost of gas and food stops along the way we have (thankfully) decided to fly.


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[Liltx]

In the past we have always picked flying (8 times). This year we are going with friends and have decided to drive (from San Antonio, TX) for a few reasons.

1. Our kids are older 7 and 9

2. I think they will enjoy the time together in the van with the other kiddos, or at least make it better

3. The cost of 6 people flying vs. 6 people driving in one van is a BIG difference, we will stop one night on the drive over

4. We want to stop in Destin for 5 days on the way back so there will be something to look forward to and some restful beach days ahead, our spouses will meet us there with another car.