Fly or Drive?

[Frank4202]

We have a trip booked starting on January 12 for 5 days. We always fly when we travel to Disney but with the recent government shut down, I don’t want to pay for a flight until it’s resolved.

We are lucky that we live in the Windsor area so we always fly out of Detroit. Currently, flight prices are around $368us per person with Delta. For perspective, we paid $179us last year for our January trip. This means we are looking at just under $1800CAD total including bags for the three of us. The only other airlines that fly direct from DTW to MCO for our dates is Frontier which is a red eye and Spirit which my wife dislikes. She doesn’t want to use them because of a past poor experience and says they’re cutting corners on plane maintenance due to recent bankruptcy filings.

Our other option is to drive the 18 hours. We have never driven to such a far destination especially with a 3 year old toddler. However, between gas, food, and hotel, I think the savings would be huge. January weather might also cause chaos.

What would you do? I want to fly but the price is expensive and refuse to book until the shut down is finished. Driving on the other hand would save a lot of money but I’m expecting to be miserable with a toddler for long. He currently gets antsy after 30 minutes of driving into town. Luckily, we still have 67 days to decide.

Thanks for your opinion in advance.

 

[ExcitedForWDW]

Everyonen will have their own opinion. Personally I would fly. 18 hours is a long drive but more importantly it is safer to fly. I wouldn't chance driving that time of year. Sure you can be delayed by the shutdown, but you can also be delayed indefinitely by a snow storm if you do drive.
Best of luck with your decision!

 

[Disneylover99]

If your child was a few years older and your trip was a few days longer I’d say drive.

But as it stands now, I think flying is your best option. If the shutdown doesn’t get resolved or if flight prices are really through the roof once you’re ready to book, I’d reschedule the trip.

 

[Tripscarcare]

Hello Frank4202,

I reside close to your area and have done the drive a few times over the past couple of years with the kids from when they were younger until now. The drive is not bad, basically 75 South all the way down after crossing the Ambassador. Once you get through the boring drive of Ohio, its more of an adventure. We would leave usually around 11p, and miss a lot of Atlanta traffic for there evening rush hour. This lets the kids sleep for a solid few hours of the trip. Macon Georgia was our 12 hour stopping point. Then a quick 6 if all went planned into Orlando. ( We do a couple trips into Tennessee as well throughout the year)

We would do these drives if we needed a car or were staying down longer than a week. The last couple trips we have flown Delta, yes a but pricier but with little kids I like that we can pre book seats etc. ( back in the time when just wife and I Spirit flight out of Detroit to Vegas was a no brainer lol)

We did a trip down April 2025 on Delta out of Detroit, Direct for $1368 Usd, booked almost 6 months prior to trip. Booked flights out of Detroit to MCO for $15XX but with return out of Fort Lauderdale. Four Tickets total.

If you actually need a car if not sticking in the Disney bubble, make your drive over a couple of days and its somewhat stress free with a lot of interesting sites to see along the way. Fuel, I drive a larger SUV its been roughly $700 round trip and hotels were usually around $180-$220. We stick with Hilton brands for points. Return trip was usually a straight drive back from Florida, by the end of the trip everyone just wants to be back home.

 

[Average Joes]

We live in the Windsor area as well. I only drove down once when the kids were 7 & 10 during March break. A 3 year old would be rough for that long of a drive. I would be reluctant to do the drive if it was for 5 days in Orlando.

If you have not tried it use google flight with "Lake Erie" as the departure airport. It will capture many airports in the area and some around 5 hours away. Last April we flew from Buffalo because I saved $800 compared to flying from Detroit/Ohio and that included renting a hotel the night before to visit the Falls.

Consider saving about $200 CAD if you only bring one checked bag and use carry-ons and small backpacks.

 

[hardcorestitch]

We have a trip booked starting on January 12 for 5 days. We always fly when we travel to Disney but with the recent government shut down, I don’t want to pay for a flight until it’s resolved.

We are lucky that we live in the Windsor area so we always fly out of Detroit. Currently, flight prices are around $368us per person with Delta. For perspective, we paid $179us last year for our January trip. This means we are looking at just under $1800CAD total including bags for the three of us. The only other airlines that fly direct from DTW to MCO for our dates is Frontier which is a red eye and Spirit which my wife dislikes. She doesn’t want to use them because of a past poor experience and says they’re cutting corners on plane maintenance due to recent bankruptcy filings.

Our other option is to drive the 18 hours. We have never driven to such a far destination especially with a 3 year old toddler. However, between gas, food, and hotel, I think the savings would be huge. January weather might also cause chaos.

What would you do? I want to fly but the price is expensive and refuse to book until the shut down is finished. Driving on the other hand would save a lot of money but I’m expecting to be miserable with a toddler for long. He currently gets antsy after 30 minutes of driving into town. Luckily, we still have 67 days to decide.

Thanks for your opinion in advance.

I would play it safe and drive at this point. I’d rather drive and not risk the heartache of being shut out of Disney completely over outside politically motivated inaction. High traffic areas INCLUDES MCO. On the bright side, you’ll be able to enjoy a lot more experiences on top of Disney when you’re on the road… getting there is half the fun!

 

[mort1331]

only you know your child, we have done the drive from the TO area many times,,plus driven to Nova Scotia. We always drive straight thru,longer stops for gas and stretching, but no issues. Our girls have no issue with cars, as said only you can tell.

 

[Frank4202]

Everyonen will have their own opinion. Personally I would fly. 18 hours is a long drive but more importantly it is safer to fly. I wouldn't chance driving that time of year. Sure you can be delayed by the shutdown, but you can also be delayed indefinitely by a snow storm if you do drive.
Best of luck with your decision!

We are heavily leaning towards flying. But just waiting until this mess is sorted before buying seats. Driving is a last resort.

We live in the Windsor area as well. I only drove down once when the kids were 7 & 10 during March break. A 3 year old would be rough for that long of a drive. I would be reluctant to do the drive if it was for 5 days in Orlando.

If you have not tried it use google flight with "Lake Erie" as the departure airport. It will capture many airports in the area and some around 5 hours away. Last April we flew from Buffalo because I saved $800 compared to flying from Detroit/Ohio and that included renting a hotel the night before to visit the Falls.

Consider saving about $200 CAD if you only bring one checked bag and use carry-ons and small backpacks.

January and Buffalo seem kinda sketchy to me. The good thing about Windsor is if things get cancelled, its a quick 1hr drive home for us.

After just checking prices, it is slightly cheaper but not enough to justify driving 4 hours out of the way.