Flying vs Driving Advice

[tarak]

Too funny, I grew up driving to WDW too! He and I probably have some kind of bad flashbacks from it lol. I totally agree on flying....I never really minded it until I had kids. Now that I'm a parent, I just get so worried as to how I can help all three of them in an emergency. I think if I were further down the coast, I'd definitely drive every time. Are you headed down this summer? Just think, no matter the mode of transportation, you'll make it safe and sound both ways and you'll have a wonderful vacation!

Our next trip isn't until August 2018, so I've got plenty of time to plan things out. I just hate flying so much. We've have bad luck where the plane was delayed because the airport it was coming from closed for fog. Not the airline's fault at all. But our non-stop flight, which lasted 2.5 hours, ended up taking over 12 hours of travel time. When we could have driven it in 15 or so and not worried about a rogue pair of nail trimmers or sun block which exceeded TSA regulations, the increased cost doesn't make sense.

 

[WaywardMemphian]

I have a 6 hour rule.

time to airport: 30 minutes
Time before flight to check bags, clear security, be in place for Southwest boarding call: 2hrs
Flight time: 2 hrs or less
Getting out of airport, baggage claim, car pick up: 1 hr

If I can drive within two hrs of that, I drive. If it's more, I fly.

I base this on leaving between 7 and 8 am, eating lunch outside of car, and getting to hotel around normal check in times.

 

[Tattylou]

We always fly and use Disney transportation. For us to drive, it's like 20-something hours....never gonna happen. My kids have like a 2-3 hour tolerance for rides before they get all fidgety and complaining. The plane is more exciting to them and right when they start getting fidgety, it's almost over. Honestly, even your flight options are pretty cheap compared to what I've paid to fly 4 ppl there from Boston. So, I say fly and use Disney buses. I have no complaints about the buses.