Fly -vs- Drive, Pros and Cons

[TazFan]

Hey all,
I'm debating to either fly or drive to 'Da World' from Indiana. Which do you prefer and why?

TazFan

 

[dbarker]

We prefer to fly. We drove the first two times. We are flying this time.

The first time, we drove and stayed off property.

The second time, we drove and stayed on property. I tried to talk DH into flying, but he insisted that he wanted the car. The only time we used the car was when we took a day trip to Daytona.

The drive to WDW was OK. Everyone is excited and happy and drive does not seem so bad. The drive home is horrible. 24 hours in the car just to get home about does everyone in.

This time we are flying. We will use DME and all the Disney transportation. We will be home in about 3 1/2 hours. Which is a whole lot better than the 2 days it takes to drive.

 

[robinb]

I prefer to fly, but it can be expensive! I just picked up $127 RT out of Midway to Tampa on Southwest for August. *That* was my "buy price" even if I have to drive from TPA to WDW (about 70 minutes).

Now ... our December trip is different. Christmas/NYE is a pain and airfares and car rentals are a killer! I have a good car rental so far, but I let a decent airfare slip through my fingers ... I went to book it the next day and it was gone! We may be driving from Wisconsin in December.

 

[juligrl]

I prefer to drive (from PA) since I'm a nervous flyer/control freak who gets motion sick, I'd rather drive. Although flying is a lot faster, if time isn't an issue, getting there is half the fun!

 

[kaw1218]

I prefer to drive (from PA) since I'm a nervous flyer/control freak who gets motion sick, I'd rather drive. Although flying is a lot faster, if time isn't an issue, getting there is half the fun!

I agree with all of that. We all seem to be more relax after driving 15 hours than we were after flying for 2. Besides we get to see Pedro!

 

[Psymonds]

it is a cost thing for us. to drive to disneyland (400 mi) costs about $60-100, but to fly, costs at least $89 per person. it doesn't make much sense forus to drive to WDW from here, we'd have to take an extra 4 days off from work.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

I would NEVER drive to WDW.

We HAD to do it once, WDW to Pittsburgh only. We were at the parks for 9/11 and had no idea when the planes would be flying again. So I found a rental car and DH, myself , DS(3 at the time) and DH's grandma all drove back in the car. It wasn't a bad trip considering the circumstances but very long.

Now that we also have DD(2) and she is a HORRIBLE car rider its not even an option anymore.

Why take 2 days to do something that can be done in 2 hours?

Always a flyer here!

 

[TammyAlphabet]

My kids fight constantly while in the car. If my husband is in the car, they are angels. If not, they drive me nuts. However, I can't say I won't ever drive. I am moving four hours closer at the end of this month. However, the drive is still about 14 hours.

 

[Katy Belle]

The pros of driving
*usually costs less, especially for large families
*you have your car-if you want to do meals at other resorts, you will be happy to have your car
*kids usually do better than people think they will in the car
*you can see things along the way

 

[Uncleromulus]

I agree-having a car when you get there is a big plus. We always drive from Pa.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

We always fly. It is just too long of a drive from Michigan. We get there in 5 hrs instead of 2 days. More Disney that way. We feel that the buses and other transportation around Disney are perfect for us. I do not want to have to drive once I am at WDW.

 

[musclecar_72]

We're only 10 hours away but I'd gladly fly every time to not have to hear my 3 year old and 30 year old DW complain the whole time!

 

[eliza61]

Hey all,
I'm debating to either fly or drive to 'Da World' from Indiana. Which do you prefer and why?

TazFan

We have done both and this time we are driving down from New Jersey (about 18 hours total drive time) Our deciding factor was that we always love having a car available at WDW so even if we fly we would rent a car. It came out a little cheaper to drive. Now with portable DVD's and I-pods my kids can entertain themselves for a pretty good stretch of the way.

 

[Disneyjosh229]

Flying no doubt. Although security and what not is a pain, we can cut an excess of 17 hours off of our travel, just by flying...

 

[missmun52]

We are in Ny and my DH hates putting miles on his car. Also he says I would not be able to handle the drive as I always ask "are we there yet" on our 10 hour drive to VA. Flying to me is great. You wake up head to the air port get on the plan and in 3 1/2 hours your there.
WE would have to take off an extra 4 days if we were to drive meaning less vacation time at disney or some unpaid days at work. Not worth the aggrevation to me. I would however do 8 -10 hours not the 24 it is from NY.

 

[Mandabella]

We always fly. We have limited vacation time, so driving anywhere more than 4-5 hours in one direction cuts into our vacation time too much. That and driving to Williamsburg, VA is about my limit for being in a car.

Now if I was doing a trip where we wanted to see the country side, then I'd drive. But if my only destination/interest is WDW, Las Vegas, etc....there's no point for us to drive.

 

[disneydebbi]

I have drove down to WDW twice with my 3 kids and flown once. The kids were pretty easy in the van, being the oldest was 12 and the youngest 5 on our first trip and our next trip was 1 1/2 yrs later. That being said, you just son't know how long to expect to be in the van! We are in southern Indiana and the trip has taken any where from 12 to 16 hours depending on traffic and construction. On our last trip we flew. Amazing. It was great especially with the magical express . I'm currently searching for cheap tickets for our Sept trip.

 

[Dis31]

WE love to fly, and it gives us more time in disney! I could never imagine driving( esp. with gas prices the airfare we got through jetblue/and southwest is cheaper then if we chose to drive )Plus I hate being in the car for too long, and flying for us is fun .. so its like our first "ride" of the vacation!!!!!

 

[gonemousin']

I'm definitely part of the "fly there" crowd. I've driven down in the past, but I like instant gratification and the long ride about kills me! I love being able to get on the plane and arrive on Mickey's doorstep in three hours. Driving is always our "Plan B" if we can't find cheap enough airfare. So far, we've been really lucky with SW...their DING and sale fares can't even compare to what it would cost us to drive the 24 hours.

 

[Jon99]

We always drive.. We flew once and from the time we left the house until we arrived at WDW it took 7.5 hours and last time we drove it took us 17 hours, hard to justify spending an extra $900 for that..