Flying vs Driving With Kids

[pixieMandy]

We have always drove. We used to live in PA and it was a 17 hour drive, and we did it in one trip. Our kids have been taking long drives since they were 2 and 4 though. We have special travel bags for them we fill with games, coloring items, dolls, etc. They have a DS, a Nook, books, and DVDs to watch. We like driving b/c we can take whatever we want (including our Keurig with disposable cups so we get good coffee every morning when heading out!). Now it's only a 9 hour drive for us, so it's even easier. Flying is so costly and there's getting to the airport, security, waiting for the flight, dealing with luggage, etc. it almost isn't worth it if you can drive.

 

[TNS_Tinkerbell]

We live in North West Canada... I am pretty sure it would take over a week to Drive to Florida.

So Flying is our only way!

 

[bjscheel]

We go to WDW because we don't have to drive. DH drives all day long for work, so he loves a vacation where he isn't driving at all. (And having me drive instead, in an unfamiliar environment, is not relaxing to him either We have not had any major issues with using the busses.

My family does not enjoy "road trips". We went to Branson in 2012, which is 7 hours away from home. We even broke that up with an overnight stop in KC each way and the kids were sick of riding. Younger DD literally, as she threw up outside of KC. It's not our idea of fun.

 

[Iowajes]

I always like to use a "fly or drive calculator" to compare.
There are plenty if you google.
I like this one: http://www.travelmath.com/cost/
When you put in your destination, you can then click to change things like number of people, fuel efficiency of your car, cost of overnight hotel, etc.

Our car gets great gas mileage and airline tickets are so expensive where I live, it is almost always worth the extra hassle to drive unless only 1 person is going. Flying takes the whole day too, so if the first day is a long one and the second a short one, the time doesn't really seem that different. And to us, having the car available for the trip is a huge bonus- rentals are so expensive.

We do stay in a hotel overnight though- 1,000 miles is our max for a day. And Orlando is 1,300 miles.

 

[princess jackie]

I just used the AAA fuel calculator and it would cost roughly $500 round trip for gas for us to drive. Of course you will have to add in some food costs (I would pack some food and probably sandwiches for at least one meal). It's a little over 1,300 miles for us to drive. If you can find flights for all 5 of us (plus possibly my parents) then I would love to fly but unfortunately the airlines have out priced my family. Or course Disney is pretty close to out pricing my family too

 

[texasroni75]

Calculators put us at $1685 to fly. (5 people and not counting any extra bags, shuttle service to and from airport and parking fees at airport).

We just did the drive in September and it cost $550 in gas, $100 in car maintenance just to make sure everything was roadtrip ready, $225 in roadtrip hotels and several roadtrip meals $90. We were also able to bring a LOT more with us (bin of snacks, and a luggage full of other "stuff" that doesn't fit in our personal bags, etc). Total: $965 - still a significant enough savings for us to drive.

I must admit though, that DH complained A LOT on this last roadtrip about how tired he was, and it took a few hours longer to get there due to extra breaks and shorter days. We felt pretty rushed on the return trip to make it back in time for DH to be back to work. If we do it again, we'll factor in one more day for travel.

 

[MandiC]

I just used the AAA fuel calculator and it would cost roughly $500 round trip for gas for us to drive. Of course you will have to add in some food costs (I would pack some food and probably sandwiches for at least one meal). It's a little over 1,300 miles for us to drive. If you can find flights for all 5 of us (plus possibly my parents) then I would love to fly but unfortunately the airlines have out priced my family. Or course Disney is pretty close to out pricing my family too

Have you checked Southwest? We flew Southwest out of Milwaukee and it was $240 round trip per person. (I found similar rates looking at August) It's still expensive, but it's a less than 3 hour flight so factoring in the value of your time and the meals you wouldn't be eating/potential overnight in a hotel....might be worth it.

 

[laura3773]

We are going to Disney with our daughter for the first time in late September, and we will be flying from either Richmond or DC. She will be just over 2 at the time, so we have to buy an extra seat, but it will be so worth it. I've flown with her twice (as a lap child), and took a road trip with her once - VA to VT with multiple stops between. One road trip with a max of 5 hours a day driving (and often much less) was enough for me for a long time. We tend to fly out in the morning to try to mitigate any potential delays due to weather at other airports and are lucky enough to have JetBlue and Southwest to choose from with direct flights so we pay no bag fees and have no layovers. I'll take a two hour flight over a two day long drive down I-95 any day of the week.

 

[MickeyChix]

So, we too almost always drive to WDW as well! We love the drive and break it up easily enough into 2-3 days depending on how quick we need to get down there. We love driving for all the places we've seen along the way. Plus we sometimes even take a side trip on our way down--spent 4 days in Savannah couple years ago!! And it's a great reason to take a longer vaca!! And as I'm usually so flustered by the time we leave to start our vacation, it's nice to have a couple of days decompressing so I can really enjoy WDW once we have arrived.

We have flown before and did do the WDW transportation. Now it was the end of September and we got in about 3pm and had to wait half hour for a bus to pick us up. It's all a crap shoot if you ask me. Depends on when you arrive, how quick you get in line and time of year.

We also like the freedom of driving because now we can pack what we want and take a day outside of Disney should we choose too! We almost always bring some food too for snacking and early morning breakfasts as a way to help keep costs down. By the time we pay for airline tickets for the three of us and luggage fees, transportation to airport, cost way it averages out to about the same as driving!!!

 

[MatoMany]

We are driving this time, just doesn't make sense to fly since its so costly. It will take 10 hours (probably close to 12 with stops). My husband enjoys driving, especially at night, so its no big deal.

Now if I had to drive the whole way we would probably be flying. I can't stand to drive long distances!