Flying vs Driving Advice

[StirlingSilver83]

We live in NJ and are a family of 4. We drive down every year to Disney. We split the trip up into 2 days and stay over night in SC. Even with staying over night we are still saving about $600-$700. Yes it takes time to get there, but my kids look at it like an adventure lol. Then when we get to Disney we have our own car and don't need to rely on Disney transportation as much. I also budget my time accordingly s well...I know how many days I want to stay in Disney and then add on 2 days for travel for going and coming home. If u are close enough I think driving is the way to go!

 

[missbrooke06]

My vote depends on how much you hate yourself and your family.

In all seriousness, my youngest (11 mos) got hand, foot, mouth on our last day in Florida. He screamed and cried 90% of our 18 hour drive home. I considered stopping around Atlanta, shipping our stuff home, and getting on a flight. We probably could have kept him happy enough for 2 hours.

Fly.

 

[MinnieSweetheart]

For roughly $300, I would absolutely fly! So much more relaxing compared to a long drive. Plus driving can cause incidentals that might eat into the cost savings. If you or your husband are too exhausted on the drive home and need to get a hotel, there goes a big chunk of the savings. Plus you eat more meals on the road when you drive than you do flying.

I've done both at disney and the one thing that's so great is if you stay on site, flying into MCO could not be a smoother process. The DME is easy to use and nice coach busses. You have your luggage delivered (if you fly in before 9pm) and then just drop it off the morning of your flight or have bell services come get it. They even leave your luggage tags on your door!!

If it was that little difference for my family, we would probably choose to fly and we don't even like the bus system much.

Since you said your son is prone to meltdowns, I don't think cars or busses will make a difference; they can both take a while. I think it's a good idea to find some quiet calm places in each land before you get there. There are some nice relaxing spaces throughout the parks.

 

[kymom99]

We have done both twice. First trip we drove. Son was almost 5 and we took 1 1/2 days down and 1 1/2 days back. That left 4 days in the parks. We never moved our car out of the lot. The next year we flew. DME was one month old and it couldn't have gone smoother. We even had my niece fly down a couple days after us and used DME staying on our reservation. A few years later on our next trip we flew again and that time we missed our car and our things a little bit. We also had a 7 AM flight so left the resort at 4 AM. Ugh. The last trip we drove straight through, NKY to CBR. Took about 13 hours. The pros of that were having room for all our stuff, access to off site stores, a car to get to an ADR, and saving some money.

With kids your age and DME, I would fly for now.

 

[duckygirl]

I am so glad that you are flying. We are 10ish hours away. We have driven 3 times in the last 12 years. The last time we drove down, it was such a horrible trip (traffic, accidents - it took us 14 hours) I told my husband that if we could not afford to fly, then we could not afford to go to Disney. We have not driven since.

It is only an hour and fifteen nonstop flight from here. Southwest is awesome.

 

[supraman215]

I may be able to help you make this decision easy.

1. You're number for the SUV rental at $362 for 10 days sounds suspiciously like an Orlando airport car rental rate. Those rates are insanely low. You will not get those rates at your local Enterprise you're looking at more like $80-90/day.

2. you also didn't count the parking cost at the hotel (can be $20/day) and the parking cost at Disney $20/day.

So this really changes the math for you even if you got the rental rates right.

 

[mjdis17]

I may be able to help you make this decision easy.

1. You're number for the SUV rental at $362 for 10 days sounds suspiciously like an Orlando airport car rental rate. Those rates are insanely low. You will not get those rates at your local Enterprise you're looking at more like $80-90/day.

2. you also didn't count the parking cost at the hotel (can be $20/day) and the parking cost at Disney $20/day.

So this really changes the math for you even if you got the rental rates right.

The OP will not pay anything to park at the hotel or the parks if they are staying on site.

 

[supraman215]

oh really?!? wow that's great advice I thought you had to pay to park at the parks even if you stay on site. hmm, I may consider renting a car again.

 

[mjdis17]

oh really?!? wow that's great advice I thought you had to pay to park at the parks even if you stay on site. hmm, I may consider renting a car again.

Yes! You get a parking pass to go on your dashboard that is good for length of your stay to be used at your resort and the four main parks. Disney Springs and the water parks have free parking regardless.

 

[DisneyArie]

I am so glad that you are flying. We are 10ish hours away. We have driven 3 times in the last 12 years. The last time we drove down, it was such a horrible trip (traffic, accidents - it took us 14 hours) I told my husband that if we could not afford to fly, then we could not afford to go to Disney. We have not driven since.

It is only an hour and fifteen nonstop flight from here. Southwest is awesome.

That is such a good idea. Next time, I will definitely add flight costs into our budget. I've been planning for almost a year now, and from the beginning I added the cost of a rental car. If I had saved for a flight instead, I wouldn't have had the "sticker stock" of having to shell out a large, unexpected amount all at once. I love Southwest because among the 4 of us, we get to take 8 checked bags total so I don't have to worry too much about packing light.

 

[DisneyArie]

I may be able to help you make this decision easy.

1. You're number for the SUV rental at $362 for 10 days sounds suspiciously like an Orlando airport car rental rate. Those rates are insanely low. You will not get those rates at your local Enterprise you're looking at more like $80-90/day.

2. you also didn't count the parking cost at the hotel (can be $20/day) and the parking cost at Disney $20/day.

So this really changes the math for you even if you got the rental rates right.

The SUV rental is low because I booked it using Microsoft's employee discount. Am I such a cheapskates that I was hoping for an even lower rate? LOL

 

[DisneyArie]

Yes! You get a parking pass to go on your dashboard that is good for length of your stay to be used at your resort and the four main parks. Disney Springs and the water parks have free parking regardless.

That's awesome! Is navigating the parking lot difficult? I don't think I will even attempt to drive to MK, but what about the other parks? The good thing about the buses is that they drop you off so close to the entrance. Is there something like a shuttle that will come around a pick us up so we don't have to walk far after parking? or do we just have to suck it up and stop being lazy?

 

[mjdis17]

That's awesome! Is navigating the parking lot difficult? I don't think I will even attempt to drive to MK, but what about the other parks? The good thing about the buses is that they drop you off so close to the entrance. Is there something like a shuttle that will come around a pick us up so we don't have to walk far after parking? or do we just have to suck it up and stop being lazy?

This a long one, I apologize in advance!

Okay to be honest I haven't ever driven to a park in WDW myself (was always just a kid) and I haven't been in a car being driven to a park in a very long time BUT I can still answer your questions. The roads in general in WDW can be a little difficult to navigate, although there are signs everywhere. You have to remember that it is a giant road system with many highway type roads, exits, multiple places to turn etc. The parking lots themselves are easy to navigate as there are signs and cast members directing you. The hardest part would be remembering what row you are in haha! Because the lots are not exactly close the entrances in most cases, plus they are HUGE, a little tram- like the open air kind with a ton of little cars being pulled along- takes you from the lot to the entrances so no worries there.

I know you want the rental car for your son's tantrums (though the car will NOT be a quick place to get to for refuge if needed) and just to have in general, but I did think I would give my input because hey, why not!

CAR
PRO- no bus queue lines
PRO- everyone gets their own seat
PRO- freedom to drive off site
CON- waiting in line for the tram
CON- car is literally hotter than the surface of the sun after a long day
CON- actually having to navigate WDW roadways

BUS
PRO- air conditioned to freezing cold temp
PRO- no driving! sit back and attempt to relax
PRO- gives you the full ~Disney experience~ (at least for me)
CON- bus queue lines
CON- might have to stand on bus if it's busy
CON- no freedom to drive off site

SO, if you don't care about driving off site and are okay with possibly having to stand on the bus a few times during peak travel windows, then I would go with the bus. No, waiting for the tram won't be as long as waiting for the bus, BUT I have never had anything longer than a 30 minute wait (except 1-2 freak times) in about 8 vacations of using buses for a week and it is usually only about 10-15 minutes. We always take afternoon breaks as well. BONUS: The busses are air conditioned and you don't have to drive!!!! These are huge selling points for me. Also, in regards to standing, people are generally good about giving up seats. The only time I've ever seen a kid have to stand is after another person offered their seat and child declined because they wanted to stand. Lastly, things are pretty far apart in WDW. I don't know where you are staying but for example all of the value resorts are an average of 25 minutes away from all parks, so we aren't talking about quick 5 minute down the road type rides. DID I MENTION THE BUSSES ARE ARE CONDITIONED AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO DRIVE?! I did? Sorry, just checking!

Another idea is that there are places to rent a car on Disney property. You could always take Magical Express from the airport and test out the buses on day 1 or 2 (especially if you are going to MK since you would take the bus anyways), and then if you decide your family really needs a car you can still get one. The car rental companies are Alamo and National and they are located at the car care center. I see that you used an employee discount- I don't know if that would help you with either of these companies so the rates may be higher.

Thank you for reading my spiel

EDIT: I see you are planning on going to grocery store. If you don't rent a car you can always check out garden grocer or other grocery delivery companies. It may be pricier than going to the store yourself and buying the same items, but it will certainly be less than renting a car haha!

 

[DisneyArie]

This a long one, I apologize in advance!

Okay to be honest I haven't ever driven to a park in WDW myself (was always just a kid) and I haven't been in a car being driven to a park in a very long time BUT I can still answer your questions. The roads in general in WDW can be a little difficult to navigate, although there are signs everywhere. You have to remember that it is a giant road system with many highway type roads, exits, multiple places to turn etc. The parking lots themselves are easy to navigate as there are signs and cast members directing you. The hardest part would be remembering what row you are in haha! Because the lots are not exactly close the entrances in most cases, plus they are HUGE, a little tram- like the open air kind with a ton of little cars being pulled along- takes you from the lot to the entrances so no worries there.

I know you want the rental car for your son's tantrums (though the car will NOT be a quick place to get to for refuge if needed) and just to have in general, but I did think I would give my input because hey, why not!

CAR
PRO- no bus queue lines
PRO- everyone gets their own seat
PRO- freedom to drive off site
CON- waiting in line for the tram
CON- car is literally hotter than the surface of the sun after a long day
CON- actually having to navigate WDW roadways

BUS
PRO- air conditioned to freezing cold temp
PRO- no driving! sit back and attempt to relax
PRO- gives you the full ~Disney experience~ (at least for me)
CON- bus queue lines
CON- might have to stand on bus if it's busy
CON- no freedom to drive off site

SO, if you don't care about driving off site and are okay with possibly having to stand on the bus a few times during peak travel windows, then I would go with the bus. No, waiting for the tram won't be as long as waiting for the bus, BUT I have never had anything longer than a 30 minute wait (except 1-2 freak times) in about 8 vacations of using buses for a week and it is usually only about 10-15 minutes. We always take afternoon breaks as well. BONUS: The busses are air conditioned and you don't have to drive!!!! These are huge selling points for me. Also, in regards to standing, people are generally good about giving up seats. The only time I've ever seen a kid have to stand is after another person offered their seat and child declined because they wanted to stand. Lastly, things are pretty far apart in WDW. I don't know where you are staying but for example all of the value resorts are an average of 25 minutes away from all parks, so we aren't talking about quick 5 minute down the road type rides. DID I MENTION THE BUSSES ARE ARE CONDITIONED AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO DRIVE?! I did? Sorry, just checking!

Another idea is that there are places to rent a car on Disney property. You could always take Magical Express from the airport and test out the buses on day 1 or 2 (especially if you are going to MK since you would take the bus anyways), and then if you decide your family really needs a car you can still get one. The car rental companies are Alamo and National and they are located at the car care center. I see that you used an employee discount- I don't know if that would help you with either of these companies so the rates may be higher.

Thank you for reading my spiel

EDIT: I see you are planning on going to grocery store. If you don't rent a car you can always check out garden grocer or other grocery delivery companies. It may be pricier than going to the store yourself and buying the same items, but it will certainly be less than renting a car haha!

Hmmm...I think I could use the buses, but for my two resort ADRs, I can use an Uber? (Although I'm not sure how the price compares. If I get a compact rental at MCO, it would be $80 for our entire trip). I definitely don't want to get an extra workout walking in the Florida heat to the car though. I was looking at it as a quick escape to get back to the room, but if the buses don't take that much time and will cut out the walking, I think it would be fine. I also think Amazon Prime Now will deliver to WDW so that will help out a lot. I use it here in Houston, and I put the resort's zip code it, and it was accepted as a valid delivery zip...not sure if that is a true confirmation or not, but if so, that would be awesome! Otherwise, my husband mentioned we could pack a suitcase full of items. I will just have to buy a luggage scale to make sure I don't go over the 50lbs in one bag.

 

[mjdis17]

Yes, you can use Uber! I actually plan on using Lyft when I go in August because you get $10 off your first 5 rides when you sign up, and I did fare estimates to see I'll never really spend more than $10 going to/from All Star Sports and my ADRs. This is the discussion that talks all about Uber/Lyft at WDW: http://www.disboards.com/threads/everthing-you-wanted-to-know-about-uber-lyft-at-wdw.3443634/
Warning: I assume your kids are in car seats? I'm honestly not sure how all of that works with Uber/Lyft. The post I linked talks about it a little but I don't know any details.

As for Amazon delivering to Disney, yes they do. BUT I looked into Prime Pantry for my trip, and realized it is NOT a 2 day delivery window like regular prime. Its a range of days so you wouldn't know when your food is actually arriving. I guess you could order food with regular Amazon Prime, but I don't think it's necessary for you. Since your family will have so many free bags with Southwest I think you are better off just packing a ton of food. I always do that and you'd be amazed how much food and heavy drinks fit in a 50b bag, and I just weigh them on a regular scale. Another thing: If your family is going to have a lot of bags, that's another reason to stick with Magical Express since Disney takes your bags from the airport right to your room. That way you can save the time of baggage claim and lugging bags all over the place.

The fact that your rental is only $80 did get my gears turning a little bit. I just feel as if overall there are more pros overall to using busses and Magical Express (as well as Uber/Lyft) so you don't feel so overwhelmed. Also, neither a car nor a bus with be a quick escape back to the room and they do both involve a little bit of walking- busses are a little less though. Just pack a bunch of food and let Disney basically do everything for you in regards to transportation! Honestly, it is going to be hot, tiring, and there will be cranky kids at some points whether you're riding on a bus or in a car, so I would stay stick with busses to eliminate the aggravation of driving/navigating. That is my final thought and I am posting before I start weighing the options again!

 

[dreiwhit]

We're 7 hours straight driving away, more like 8.5 to 9 with stops.

IMHO, I would prefer to fly, but with the exception of Spirit Airlines, the cheapest flights for a family of four were about $600 and we would have had to get a rental at MCO.

Our rental car we rented locally cost $268 for 9 days. Gas was about $70 for the whole trip. We drove just based upon simple economics.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

That's awesome! Is navigating the parking lot difficult? I don't think I will even attempt to drive to MK, but what about the other parks? The good thing about the buses is that they drop you off so close to the entrance. Is there something like a shuttle that will come around a pick us up so we don't have to walk far after parking? or do we just have to suck it up and stop being lazy?

We've never stayed onsite, but I always found it a breeze to get around WDW. I have "heard" the area around some of the resorts is a little more confusing than around the parks, but again just what I've heard.

 

[DisneyArie]

Yes, you can use Uber! I actually plan on using Lyft when I go in August because you get $10 off your first 5 rides when you sign up, and I did fare estimates to see I'll never really spend more than $10 going to/from All Star Sports and my ADRs. This is the discussion that talks all about Uber/Lyft at WDW: http://www.disboards.com/threads/everthing-you-wanted-to-know-about-uber-lyft-at-wdw.3443634/
Warning: I assume your kids are in car seats? I'm honestly not sure how all of that works with Uber/Lyft. The post I linked talks about it a little but I don't know any details.

As for Amazon delivering to Disney, yes they do. BUT I looked into Prime Pantry for my trip, and realized it is NOT a 2 day delivery window like regular prime. Its a range of days so you wouldn't know when your food is actually arriving. I guess you could order food with regular Amazon Prime, but I don't think it's necessary for you. Since your family will have so many free bags with Southwest I think you are better off just packing a ton of food. I always do that and you'd be amazed how much food and heavy drinks fit in a 50b bag, and I just weigh them on a regular scale. Another thing: If your family is going to have a lot of bags, that's another reason to stick with Magical Express since Disney takes your bags from the airport right to your room. That way you can save the time of baggage claim and lugging bags all over the place.

The fact that your rental is only $80 did get my gears turning a little bit. I just feel as if overall there are more pros overall to using busses and Magical Express (as well as Uber/Lyft) so you don't feel so overwhelmed. Also, neither a car nor a bus with be a quick escape back to the room and they do both involve a little bit of walking- busses are a little less though. Just pack a bunch of food and let Disney basically do everything for you in regards to transportation! Honestly, it is going to be hot, tiring, and there will be cranky kids at some points whether you're riding on a bus or in a car, so I would stay stick with busses to eliminate the aggravation of driving/navigating. That is my final thought and I am posting before I start weighing the options again!

I looked into the Uber Family which provides car seat and there is a $10 surcharge. That charge combined with the min fare puts the price at around $20 each way so about $100 total for our two resort ADRs. That's just the base charge and doesn't include a tip. I think it may be cheaper for us to do the rental. I'm also considering extending our vacation by two days. If I do, I won't do the rental because then it would cost less for the Uber Family.

I also confirmed with Amazon that Prime Now does deliver to WDW. That is amazing!! They deliver your order within two hours. You can order things like deli meat, cheese, bread, juice, fresh fruit, etc.

 

[DisneyArie]

We're 7 hours straight driving away, more like 8.5 to 9 with stops.

IMHO, I would prefer to fly, but with the exception of Spirit Airlines, the cheapest flights for a family of four were about $600 and we would have had to get a rental at MCO.

Our rental car we rented locally cost $268 for 9 days. Gas was about $70 for the whole trip. We drove just based upon simple economics.

I definitely think if we lived 7 hours away, I would drive 100%. Buying the flights took a huge chunk out of our budget.

 

[scrapquitler]

I'm hoping you guys can help me out deciding if I should drive or fly to Disney World this September. Of course, driving the MUCH less expensive option, but is flying worth it to save time?? We are a family of 4 - 2 adults and 2 small kids.

Option 1: Fly & use Disney Transportation
RT flights: $815.84 (4 people, 2 free checked bags each)
Concern: long wait times for buses (we will need to take a break about mid-day), not being able to leave exactly when we want; long transport times, price
Total: $815.84


Option 2: Fly & get a rental
RT flights: $815.84
Compact Rental car : $79.72 for 8 days
Gas: $40 estimated (We won't go around except to the parks & to the grocery store once)
Concern: Is the price worth it?
Total: $935.56

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

I guess I'm mainly hoping people who have done one or both to provide some insight. We have taken a road trip before. It was about 10.5 hours total, but it took us close to 12.5 as my youngest was just under 1, and he needed to be fed/changed/given a break quite often. We drove straight through and immediately passed out as soon as we arrived, taking about a 6 hour nap. My oldest was wide awake while my husband, the baby, and myself were all exhausted. We had my niece to keep him company while we napped; we won't have anyone at WDW.

This decision is stressing me out lol. Please help!

For us, flying definitely wins. We live in New England and it's 25 hours wheels turning from here to Orlando. That means we have to stay overnight on the way down and the way back, so we really don't end up saving very much money, and it's three days of lost vacation time. Plus we are exhausted. When we fly, DH can work in the airport and on the flight, so he doesn't lose work hours while we travel, he can't work in the car because he gets motion sick when he tries to use the laptop. He loses too much work time if we drive (and yes, he works on our vaction for several hous every day, it's just a fact of life for us).

With your option one, driving to the parks doesn't actually save very much time over taking the bus from the resort, especially if you are going to MK. If you are going to MK, you still need to take transport from the TTC to the park.