Fly vs. Drive.....

[CK]

Hi! My family and I are to fly to WDW in 40 days. Like most of the other posts I have read, suddenly we are not so anxious.

Friends of ours have completely cancelled their trip, not only do they not feel safe flying, but they also feel that WDW in no longer a safe place to be. Does anyone have any opinions on this?

Also, we are now seriously contemplating driving instead of flying. Although we will lose quite a bit of money and the drive is nearly 19 hours, I become "sick" at the thought of stepping on an airplane. By the same token I become angry at myself to allow these cowards to make me afraid in my own "great" country. Has anyone had similar thoughts about driving vs. flying? I have a five year old and driving will be tough for so many hours, but my family agrees that if it comes down to driving or cancelling, we will certainly drive.

I also wanted to say that my heart breaks for all of the people that were directly affected by the recent, terrible tragedy. I will pray for all of you. GOD BLESS AMERICA AND ALL OF THE PEACEFUL PEOPLE OF THE WORLD. May the good guys win...

 

[SeaSpray]

CK:

From Tuesday until yesterday afternoon, all I could feel was sad, upset, etc. But then I was thinking the same thing you are, and it made me ANGRY for the first time. WHO are those B*STARDS to make me feel unsafe in THIS country???? We live in Massachusetts and have planned a weekend away in Vermont with our sons, in 2 weeks. We are planning on taking them to the Ben&Jerry's ice cream factory and other cute fun little things like that, and to see the famous New England fall foliage. And in December I am taking DH to Disney World, just the two of us, as a surprise present for him. When the time comes, and as long as all is OK in the country (As OK as it can be, if you know what I mean), then I hope that I don't allow what those coward, evil people did stop me from stepping on the plane and trying to enjoy the life we're allowed to have in this wonderful country of ours. I am still so sad, but I am angry now, as well. I will use good judgement and not put myself and my family in danger, but I will also NOT hide in fear and alter our way of life. The only way I am going to alter my life is to help the victims in any way I can.

P.S. As for those who choose to not go to Disney, or who choose to drive instead of fly, I totally respect and understand your decisions. I am only stating how I feel at this point, knowing my trip is still 3 months away.

 

[wdwguide]

CK,

these are just some "dry" facts that may help you make your decision.

When comparing the death rate of driving vs flying per 100,000 miles, you will find that the death rate in cars is seven times that in planes. This statistic will not be significantly altered when figuring in the terrible catastrophes of the past week.

Further, being well-read on terrorism issues, it is fairly safe to assume that air traffic will not be a likely target in the near future. Terrorists (at least organized groups) are not only very mobile, they are also very flexible and can change their modes of operation within days or less (which is one reason why traditional military action is very inefficient as a means to fight terrorism), and tend to find the tools where they experience the least resistance. This is no longer the case with airplanes due to the additional security measures and the aware public.

As for Walt Disney World, it is true that it is an icon of "American imperialism" and the "sinful American culture" in the eyes of some, and just a few weeks ago my wife and I were discussing that WDW security is not ready to face a terrorist situation on property. Despite of this, I do not think that WDW is a likely target due to its large size.

 

[SeaSpray]

wgwguide:

Excellent points, and actually ones I should've brought out if I hadn't been so angry about what happened when I typed that post. Those are the exact reasons why I don't feel afraid to fly. They've use our planes, now they'll move on to something else to avoid detection.

 

[Wish Upon A Star]

We too were contemplating fly vs. drive, but in the reality of things, it would take around 24 hours of straight driving to get to Orlando for us, a task neither me nor my DH is willing to do. We'd have to stop and rest eventually and we'd lose vacation time by doing this, so driving is OUT for us. We have flights scheduled for December 1st and July 4th, and right now my head is not clear enough on whether or not to cancel. I'm like a BIG Yo-Yo, one day let's cancel, the next let's go. I also think that with the new security measures in place we are definately safer flying now than before. I'm hoping that they are going to put the U.S. Marshalls on each flight, I know if that happened, I definately would fly all the time! My DD 12 and my DS 8 still want to go. WDW is our most favorite place to be, BUT if things get progressively worse in the next couple months, we will cancel. I don't think now would be the time to decide on whether or not to, I'm on a wait and see basis. I know if I was scheduled to fly out this coming week, I would cancel, just because I think this tragedy is on the minds of everyone, and I just want to go and have a good time, but I wouldn't be able to. We've looked forward to all our WDW vacations and now this just puts a damper on things.

"Let There Be Peace On Earth"

 

[MKingdom]

We are flying to WDW next weekend. My husband and I agree that it's important for us to live our lives like we normally would despite this tragedy. We did make one change, though. We're taking my parents along and they were scheduled to return home a few days ahead of us. We changed their tickets so they'll stay with us the whole week and we'll all fly home together.

 

[CamColt]

We have cancelled our plans to fly and instead we are driving. Not so much for the fear of it, although I am scared to fly again, but more so because of the chaos in the airports right now. Flights are cancelled left and right, and we dont want to end up stuck in an airport for God knows how long and miss out on a day or 2 of our trip. We will leave earlier now, and drive for 24 hrs(we could be stuck in an airport for longer).

 

[sncbird]

Several Good points have been brought up!!!

We are scheduled to fly non-stop on United out of O'Hare to Orlando on Oct. 12th returning on Oct. 20th. We have a 4 & 5 year old that are now very afraid to fly. I personally am concerned there are still terrorists out there, bomb threats at the airport etc.... Another questions I have asked myself, when we do go to War how often will the FAA shut down the airports? With all the carriers downsizing, will our flights be cancelled? We still have a few weeks to go but, it's VERY unsettling. I certainly do not want to be stuck at an airport for several days with a 4 & 5 year old.

At this point, we are leaning towards driving. We will have to pay $400.00 penalties but, we will feel more in control if we drive.

 

[dbhpsu]

I am scheduled to fly to WDW in 62 days. My wedding is scheduled for a Saturday, and my lovely new bride and I are scheduled to depart for the land of Mickey the Monday after. In light of Tuesday’s events, we had a long discussion about the wedding/honeymoon and have decided to continue on with our plans and lives as usual. I am saddened to hear that some are giving up their trips entirely, however I do understand the reasons for your decision.. My fiancé and I have been planning our time with the mouse for so long that we cannot back out now. If the time comes that the lord decides to place us in harms way, it is all in his plan. We will be together, and at a time like this, that is all that matters to us. We chose to be together, and will not allow fear to hold us back.

 

[rbuzzotta]

For those questioning losing money from not flying. contact the airline, maybe they will compensate you because of the happenings. It has been announced that many airlines are cutting schedules and laying off employees. As a former flight attendant, I too am nervous to get back on a plane. Time will heal all wounds.

For those willing to drive. We have done it several times from Boston with 3 girls, now 10,5 and 3. It isn't as bad as you may think and you get valuable time conversing with your children.

I wish you all the best in whatever you choose to do.

God Bless America

 

[SnowWitch]

My husband and I had a discussion Tuesday about other possible terrorists attacks. One of my suggestions was Disney but I doubt anything as extravagant as a plane would used. As another poster stated Disney isn't ready for that type os situation. My concern for Disney would be bombs brought into the parks and placed in large capacity areas. I don't see how Disney could possibly screen every backpack, diaper bag, etc. I don't mean to sound paranoid but its an easy target. We don't have a scheduled trip to the Mouse any time soon and I'm kinda glad.

 

[JESW]

We have plans to be at Disney in November (just under 8 weeks away). If things seem ok we will still go.

We have a 6 yo DS and a 2 yo DD and the thought of driving to Florida with them from MA is insane! Our kids fight so much in the car and the 2 yo tries to get out of her seat.

On a non-stop flight it takes us just under three hours. I'd rather go through that than the long ride.

Who knows what will be happening in November. I still think flying is much safer than driving. One of my friends wanted to save money and drove to Disney from here and was hit by someone who had fallen asleep at the wheel. Their vehicle was totalled and they all had some (small) injuries.

It's all a personal decision. My parents are supposed to be flying home from New Mexico tomorrow (they were supposed to leave on saturday) At first they were very nervous, now they just want to get it over with.

Jill

 

[erikthewise]

We're going in December, and already have plane tickets. But even if we didn't already have them, I wouldn't think twice about flying. I think I heard somewhere that there are roughly 1 million airline passengers on an average day in the US, and on nearly all days there are zero fatalities and few injuries. It would take more than a few terrorists to make a dent in those odds. I'm more worried about driving to and from airports.

(I know 1 million per day sounds like a lot, but if you think of it as saying the average person takes a round-trip flight once every year and a half, it sounds OK.)

 

[Uncleromulus]

Uncleromulus planned to go on December 1, planned to fly, and STILL plans to go on December 1, and fly. Truth is that he dosen't like flying much to begin with, but getting to WDW in 2 hours (from BWI) vs. 16 hours by car, carries the day. In the 2 hours it takes to fly, Uncleromulus is only in Fredricksburg Va. in his car. And having just driven around Baltimore and Washington DC on I-95, his nerves are shattered. Just one trip around the capitol beltway and thru the "mixing bowl" lane changes to stay on I-95 is enough to convince anyone to fly!!