Flying vs Driving Advice

[kerplop]

We are 16 hours out from WDW and we won't drive again. It's exhausting and we show up to Orlando already tired from our trip. If we lived a day's drive (<8 hours), it would be one thing, but two long days of driving is too much for us, no matter the cost savings. Flying can be stressful and tiring, but for me it's not physical exhaustion like it while driving. I'd much rather fly.

 

[Hikergirl]

I would spend whatever I had to on airfare to avoid driving 16 hours. I'm a 2.5 hour flight away too, I love that I can be up here in the morning and by the afternoon in sunny Florida ready to start my vacation.
My dh commutes an hour each way for work so the last thing he wants to do is drive. The buses aren't my favorite but they do make things pretty easy to get around.
Don't forget about traffic jams due to construction or accidents. That could make your 16 hour car ride a couple hours longer.

 

[SaintsManiac]

We got to our pre park ADR early riding the bus. That was from POR to the MK on a Tuesday. It took about 15-20 minutes.

For us to drive it would take about 12 hours, so we opt for the 2.5hr flight. DH refuses to ever do the drive.

 

[tvguy]

Here's my personal viewpoint...

I live in CA, so we visit Disneyland instead of WDW, but the principles are basically the same.

If we choose to drive, we have about a 7 hour (or so, depending on traffic and stops) drive. If we fly, it's a 1 hour 15 min flight (plus the two hours pre-time at the airport). It definitely costs more to fly, but I prefer it because of the drastic time savings. More importantly, the personal energy savings. For me, the drive is exhausting and painful (but I'm disabled and have medical issues, so YMMV). I like to start my Disney time a fresh as possible, and flying makes this much easier. I don't want to pass out as soon as I arrive, I want to get started on my vacation.

I'm sure others will have different opinions, or suggestions, but my advice would be to pay a little bit more and arrive more rested.

We are about the same distance from Disneyland (Sacramento). But my wife and kids have made it known, if the drive is more than 4 hours, we have to fly. And no, I didn't get a vote. We normally don't rent a car, and spend all our time at Disneyland/California Adventure and either use the blue van or the Disneyland Express to get to and from the airport.

 

[ajwolfe]

We drive about 16 hours. We like it for the most part. For us it's part of the vacation experience. We take our own car, so we don't have a rental cost so there is a pretty hefty cost savings there as well.
With driving we are in control of when we get there and when we leave, what we can pack to take with us, etc and we always make a point of stopping along the way and trying something new to add to the road trip.
Plus we have a kid that has zero desire to fly at this point so that makes a bit of a difference too.

 

[tvguy]

Option 3: Drive
Standard SUV rental : $362.17 for 10 days (We went with a SUV because we thought it would be more comfortable to have the extra room)
Gas : $180 estimated
Time: 16 hours each way; we plan on driving overnight and stopping every 2.5 hours that the kids are awake to give them a break and let them stretch and go potty. My husband and I will take turns driving, rotating every 2 hours because that's about the most amount of time I can last lol
Concern: Being exhausted upon arrival; wasting vacation hours from driving & sleeping
Total: $542.17

Not sure what SUV you are renting and what gas prices are, but assuming $2 a gallon, that's 90 gallons of gas for about 1,100 miles I guessing assuming from your driving time at 70 mph and that you are assuming 25 mpg.. Long way to my point, I think your gas estimate is low because I suspect gas prices will be higher, and gas mileage lower, depending on the SUV.

 

[lorijohnhill]

We are about the same distance from Disneyland (Sacramento). But my wife and kids have made it known, if the drive is more than 4 hours, we have to fly. And no, I didn't get a vote. We normally don't rent a car, and spend all our time at Disneyland/California Adventure and either use the blue van or the Disneyland Express to get to and from the airport.

Yep, Sacramento here also!

 

[Dashzap]

Fly. It's not worth the exhaustion to drive. And the drive is always longer than you predict.

Then I'd use Disney transportation to the parks or Disney Springs. If you want to go resort to resort, or have an early dining res, get a taxi or Uber. Just on a whim, though, I'd try to name your price on Priceline super low for a rental car to see what you'll get

 

[DisneyArie]

Not sure what SUV you are renting and what gas prices are, but assuming $2 a gallon, that's 90 gallons of gas for about 1,100 miles I guessing assuming from your driving time at 70 mph and that you are assuming 25 mpg.. Long way to my point, I think your gas estimate is low because I suspect gas prices will be higher, and gas mileage lower, depending on the SUV.

Maybe I'm way off lol. I was thinking in my car, I can drive 5 hours on a full tank so I was thinking to fill it up about 6x for the trip. I did 6x $30, but you are definitely right. I've never driven a SUV before so probably $50 would be better...and maybe times 7 instead of 6? If that's more accurate, it would put the price at over $700...which is really close to the flight price

 

[Bree]

Sorry, guys. I meant up to 2 hours to get to your destination-not wait time. This is the article that I read.

"If you've got dining plans at another Disney hotel, the cheapest option is to take a Disney bus from Caribbean Beach to Downtown Disney (or an open theme park), then take another bus from there to your destination hotel. Do the reverse to get back to Caribbean Beach. While that's free, it can take anywhere from 90 minutes to 2 hours each way. If your destination is one of the Magic Kingdom monorail resorts, and the Magic Kingdom is still open, you could take a bus to the Magic Kingdom, then either walk (to the Contemporary and Bay Lake Tower), hop on the monorail (to the Polynesian and Grand Floridian), or take a boat (to Fort Wilderness, the Wilderness Lodge, the Polynesian, and the Grand Floridian). We suggest you still allow at least an hour for that."

That is just one possibility if you are traveling from one resort to another resort. Much faster to just get a taxi if you are traveling resort to resort.

I'm not a road trip person. I only live 3 hours from WDW and am sick of being in the car by the time I get there. Obviously my vote would be to fly considering that's a long drive home after being at the parks for a week.

 

[Narnia_girl]

OP, from your description I wonder if you are flying Southwest? If so there are a few ways to save $$ on Southwest flights. Depending on how much time you have and how much effort you want to put forth you could shave a little (or a lot) off the flight costs. But maybe you've already gotten a great deal--in that case, congrats!

 

[DisneyArie]

I used the trip cost calculator on Gas Buddy and was given a total trip fuel cost of $144.77 for close to 2000 miles.

 

[DisneyArie]

OP, from your description I wonder if you are flying Southwest? If so there are a few ways to save $$ on Southwest flights. Depending on how much time you have and how much effort you want to put forth you could shave a little (or a lot) off the flight costs. But maybe you've already gotten a great deal--in that case, congrats!

Yes, I priced the flight on SW. Flights are currently $102 each way, which is the cheapest I've seen since I started planning last year

 

[loves to dive]

I drive down and even though I have a car, I use Disney transportation so if that is your only worry, I wouldn't worry about it. It's silly to take a bus from CBR to Disney Springs then to a resort. Take the bus to the closest park and then hop the bus to the resort you are going to if your ADRs are at another resort, or a taxi or Uber. I've never waited longer than 1/2 for a bus and that was at Disney Springs, which I don't go to any more.

As far as flying, I live about 7 1/2 hours away from Disney but 45 min. to a hour away from the airport in Atlanta. So I would have to drive to Atlanta, pay to park my car there, wait the 2 hours to get on my plane and then the flight wouldn't be that long, maybe 1 1/2, then wait to board ME then wait for how ever many stops there were before we got to my resort, reverse that when it's time to leave then pay the parking for the week at the airport. So I might, if I'm lucky and the stars align, save 2 hours from driving plus pay a heck more than it costs me to drive, so I drive. I would advise you to do whatever you are most comfortable with, do you like to fly with the little ones? Can you get everything you need into the two free bags? If so, go for it but no matter which you decide, don't let the Disney transportation be the deciding factor and I wouldn't add the cost of renting a car once you are there to that.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

We are about the same distance from Disneyland (Sacramento). But my wife and kids have made it known, if the drive is more than 4 hours, we have to fly. And no, I didn't get a vote. We normally don't rent a car, and spend all our time at Disneyland/California Adventure and either use the blue van or the Disneyland Express to get to and from the airport.

4 hours? Good gravy! I bet if you drove & they flew, you'd beat them there 9 times out of 10!

I can drive to KC in 4 hours. 3 of the last 4 times I flew there (or back), it took 6-7 hours

 

[kirstenb1]

We got jammed up in the ATlanta airport many years ago (flight delays of many hours due to weather), so we always drive. But it is 14 hrs for us, and we have a Ford Explorer, so plenty of room. We also are DVCrs, so part of the advantage of driving is we can pack non-perishable snacks/drinks/grocery staples.

In the OP's case, I'd definitely fly. Having to rent an SUV is going to suck the savings out of driving.

 

[TellTheHubbyLater]

We have driven for many years. 14.5 hours if non stop, no traffic. This is the first year I am contemplating flying because we have a 2 year old "screamer while I'm in a car seat".
I hate the thought of being limited to what I take, having to do the whole board and baggage deal, but.....
I feel ya! Waiting to see what you decide

 

[old feller]

Early morning flight ...in parks by noon...fresh and not tired

 

[DisneyArie]

We have driven for many years. 14.5 hours if non stop, no traffic. This is the first year I am contemplating flying because we have a 2 year old "screamer while I'm in a car seat".
I hate the thought of being limited to what I take, having to do the whole board and baggage deal, but.....
I feel ya! Waiting to see what you decide

I can definitely relate to that. Sounds like my son. He can barely last an hour in his car seat, even with the dual DVD players in the back.

 

[powellrj]

I would go with the flight and rental car. We have done the drive with and without kids and if the flight is cheap enough, fly. If its an early morning flight, we would get a airport hotel so we would be right at the airport in the morning.

DH and I both have control issues and have a hard time giving up control of driving, so we hate riding on Disney transportation. Back when I was working, it was nothing for me to drive anywhere from 40-60,000 miles a year and DH drives 30-40,000. We are both is sales so we live in our cars! On our last trip, I had read how everyone raves about the busses and tried them again, they were as bad as I remembered them.