Flying Vs. Driving

[TabithaCaine]

I never dreamed that my husband would be interested in our family of four flying to WDW for our June trip (we made the 20 hour drive OK a few years ago). But now he wants me to look into it for a few reasons: we no longer have a family member's home to stop at overnight on the way down, so there would be an extra motel fee; we have one car that might not do well on the trip, and the other doesn't get great gas mileage (and the predicted summer gas rates are scary); our kids are a bit older than last time (they'll be newly 5 and 9 for the trip) and will be more argumentative and cranky on the trip.

So please help me work through the advantages/ disadvantages for flying. Is there a fee for Magical Express? Is it timely/ convenient? How long will it take for them to get us to/from the airport to Pop Century? The resort will hold our luggage before/ after check-in if necessary, right? If we drive, we were going to bring a cooler with drinks and breakfast food for the room - which isn't going to happen if we fly. I know lots of people like doing the grocery delivery, but that sounds like a bit of a hassle. I wasn't planning on doing the dining plan (if we did it would only be Quick Service), but maybe if we fly (and aren't planning on a rental car) I should consider it?

Any opinions and suggestions would be appreciated!

 

[jaw101465]

We live in northern Michigan and have driven twice and will be flying for the second time next March. Magical Express is free and provides excellent service! We do not rent a car - we have used garden grocer.com for delivery of some groceries for breakfast in our room. We are in the same boat as you as far as vehicles go and flying is the way to go in my opinion. Have a great trip!

 

[Wallylicious]

Flying is definitely quicker, no doubt about that. However, the general rule used to be (is it still?) that driving was the most cost effective transport when the car held more than three people. You will still have your car to drive once you arrive, too.

How many days will you be on vacation? Two days for driving really cut into that, and if you stay over you might as well call it four days for driving.

We looked at something like you are considering only flying into a bit of a distant airport and then taking a train the rest of the way in (destination not WDW). It ended up being as expensive as flying directly into the distant airport, so that is what we are doing.

The only thing for it is to do the numbers. What will the gas, the motel to stay enroute, and meals cost as compared to the cost for airline fare for everyone and the cost of not having your own vehicle when you get here (where will you get snacks, in room foods, etc.).

Look into it carefully, and then have a wonderful time!

 

[TabithaCaine]

Thanks, Jaw. We're currently in northern IN, originally from southern MI. It looks like if we did fly it would be cheapest to go out of Chicago (Midway). I can see definite advantages to flying - it will just take me a while to wrap my mind around the logistics. We're not frequent fliers by any means - my oldest son took one trip by plane with us five years ago, and the little guy has never flown before.

 

[Travelingdad]

My vote is driving. We are family of five with 18-20 hour drive. Cost of flit just isn't justifiable. Bus transport when staying on resort makes need for car not too critical but still is a nice convenience to have if don't want to wait at all. Makes hauling all the Disney purchases you make back home a lot easier.

 

[sharadoc]

Driving for us is still half the cost of flying, even with the high gas prices. Our DD was 7 and DS was 12 when we first drove down. They had DVD players, video games, books and magazines and art supplies. They did fine, DD got whiny here and there, but the excitement of going to Disney outweighed the frustration.

We have done straight through 20 hours and we've stayed overnight. A hotel can be expensive but if you do your homework in advance, you can find good ones at a reasonable price.

Add up your drive to the airport, the 2 hour security window, flight time and an hour to 1 1/2 hours for ME. Is that more than half your drive time? How does the price compare driving to flying?

We hate the cattle feeling of flying, the inevitability of getting sick from the stale air, the security intrusions, the lack of control of our time and when and where we eat, and the cost. For us, driving is the only way we'll go. But it has to be a personal choice! Good luck.

 

[browneyedgrl4282]

We live in NJ and it is about 18 hour drive without any stopping. We basically drive straight through with stopping for gas and food! It usually takes us about 21 hours with all that. I have 3 year old twins and 2 year old, the drive was not bad at all! We drove a total of 3 times out of all our trips.

 

[jaw101465]

Even though we are from Michigan - we fly out of Midway for nonstop flights and the cost is less. Detroit airport is 240 miles and Midway is 288. We fly Southwest because then we get 2 checked bags free and pack some groceries in the checked bags, then when we arrive we have garden grocer bring water, milk, eggs, bread and butter. We always have only 9 days for our vacation and when we drive we feel like it takes too much time on the road and also we need at least a day to get rested after such a long trip. Either way you'll be at Disney World so you will have a great vacation!

 

[my2lovedisney]

I vote flying. This was a big debate for me and DH last September for our first trip to WDW. We both are not fans of flying at all, but with a child who was 4 and an 8 month old, there was no way I was driving for 14+ hours straight through. My kids wouldn't have lasted and I think I would have been insane by the time we hit the FL state line. So, with that being said, I think you need to see which would be more convenient.

Flights can get delayed (ours did). The Magical Express isn't as "express" as I thought it would be, we waited about 45 mins once we boarded it to actually pull out of the airport lot. Not sure how long it would take to get to POP from the airport with Magical Express b/c I've never stayed there. You could always call and ask how the routes run. The resort will hold your luggage for before and after check in. No additional fees for either. I've never done the grocery deal but it may be a good idea, especially if you want some snack items in the room. We got the dining plan b/c we didn't want to spend more $$ out of pocket without it and it worked great for us.

Good Luck in making a decision, you'll find alot of different opinions on this.

Oh and even though my flight was delayed and the magical express took forever to get us to our hotel, I'd do it again.

We did come a day early though, just to make sure that none of our vacation plans were ruined on travel day.

 

[klmrph]

In the past year, I have done both and we are near you (from NW Indiana). We drove last May, left Indiana around 8pm and drove straight through with stops only for gas/food and we made it to WDW by 4pm the next day(lost one hour due to the time difference). DH and I took turns driving and it wasn't too bad even with 2 five year olds and a 4 month old. We had a big conversion van, so plenty of room even with 6 of us, 3 adults and 3 children.

Just got back about a week ago and we flew SW this time. It was just 4 of us (one being a lap child) and airfare was under $700 for all of us, so flying was a no brainer this trip plus I am not going to chance driving in February. We used ME and had great service.....took us about 1.5 hours from landing to being at the POP. We did have free dining, but did bring a suitcase with snacks since SW allows 2 bags.

I just checked SW for June flight prices and they are considerably higher than when we booked plus don't forget parking fees at the airport also. If you have excellent credit, you may want to apply for a SW Visa if they are still giving away 50,000 points or something like that.

 

[TabithaCaine]

Thanks for all the replies - I really enjoy hearing about other families' experiences.

 

[kapoof]

i can't imagine driving!! we are from chicago, it takes us about 5 hours total from leaving our house getting to the airport, checking in,waiting for the plane, flying to orlando and arriving. if we drove in five hours we would be at the bottom tip of illinios maybe...no thanks.

 

[mjp12831]

WDW is an exhausting vacation - I can't imagine needing to drive home when we are done.

Get the SWA credit card - they're often doing a promo where you get enough points for 2 flights and it's a $100 annual fee. Maybe don't renew it in year 2, but essentially you're getting 2 free flights right away, then you get points as you charge. You can easily have 3 or 4 free flights in a year with the two initial ones.

 

[julluvsdisney]

I love love love driving!! We planned a last min trip in july and the airfare was crazy expensive so we decided to just drive. we left boston at about 8pm and arrived in lake buena vista at about 6pm ish the next day. we had our kids who at the time were almost 3 and 9. they were perfect angels! My kids are good kids but they can be a handful if they get restless. We figured the drive would make them crazy but they were great! we brought snacks and drinks and a dvd player and nintendo ds ect. it kept them in a good mood! I will say plan your return trip better than we did. We checked out on a saturday and foolishly decided to go to MK first for half a day then turned into leaving at 4pm. Then got on the road at about 530 after stopping for essentials. we were so drained by being in the heat and walking around all day we only made it to GA before we decided to stop which made the second day that much longer. We are going in August and are driving by choice this time and Im so excited!! BUT this time we will be checking out and leaving at about 9am and stopping in VA overnight to cut up the trip home. I guess everyones different. If my kids couldnt handle the drive then I wouldnt do it. I also love road trips anyways and LOVE to see how different each state looks !

 

[Missytara]

You can check out additional information regarding ME, as well as experiences with driving long distances, on the Transportation board.

 

[summermac]

WDW is one of the few places I prefer flying. Once you're there, you just sit back and let them do all the transportation. SO NICE!

That said, I have a threshold for what I'm willing to pay for airfare. It used to be $200 but now I'm okay with $250 (especially after gas just jumped). We were going to drive this trip but I constantly check airfare just in case and we lucked out big time and found a flight for $180 pp with the fees, except baggage. I was and still am ecstatic about that. We did have to pick an airport a little further away but only by 1/2 hour. I'm okay with that!

 

[Camno's Mama]

We've done both. Actually, we only flew when we had two, but last year if we wanted to go with our three kids, we had to drive. Other than a quick peek at fares, we didn't even think much about flying this year. Even with bad gas mileage, it's still much cheaper for us. It will cost us about 500 (maybe a little more), there and back with gas. Last year, we were able to get a hotel in Macon for less than 100-and stayed somewhere else for less than a 100 on the way back. That's 700, give or take. I couldn't find fares for less than a thousand.

That being said, when we had two kids, with a good fare flying was certainly worth it if you don't rent a car. We had years where we spent less flying than we would have driving. No brainer. ME is wonderful and I don't mind the buses all week at all. It's actually kind of nice not to have to worry about driving around Orlando. Even when we drove, we still mostly used the bus system.

I have three boys-8,6 and 2. The oldest two bicker constantly, but were great during the car trip. We just packed lots of stuff to do-there are some great road trip ideas on websites like Pinterest. And we bought or checked out some new dvd's from the library to use in the portable dvd player. DS and Leapsters and books and snacks and lots of stops to let them run around. It was actually one of the best parts of the vacation. Other than a sore back and some crazy traffic in GA on the way home, it was wonderful.

I don't think you can go wrong. Do what it most financially convenient if they are really a toss up for you.

Have fun!

 

[SquirtsMom]

We've done both...fly and drive. This trip there are 5 of us, 4 teenagers and myself so we are driving. I just couldn't justify the cost of flying and renting a car when we get there. We like having the freedom to venture off of Disney property so we always rent a car when we're down there. We drove in 2010 and the drive wasn't horrible...we made it in about 21 hours. I did most of the driving and only stopped for gas/food and an occasional nap.

If cost was no issue, we would fly every time. Nothing better than knowing that you can get to Florida in less than 3 hours.

 

[scdufek]

Thanks, Jaw. We're currently in northern IN, originally from southern MI. It looks like if we did fly it would be cheapest to go out of Chicago (Midway). I can see definite advantages to flying - it will just take me a while to wrap my mind around the logistics. We're not frequent fliers by any means - my oldest son took one trip by plane with us five years ago, and the little guy has never flown before.

We live in Indpls, IN and are a family of 5. In 2010 we drove to Orlando in which it took us about 18 hours. My husband said "Never Again"! To us we could have been to WDW within a few hours and in a park within 3-4, instead of just past Kentucky at that time. What a wasted day! So we are now flying on our upcoming vacation to WDW, where we will be in Orlando by 11:30 am and are taking a later flight on our checkout day, so we will have until 3:00pm until ME even picks us up. That way we gain two extra park days. For us the money is definitely worth that extra time.

 

[Elmck]

We are flying. Thought about driving but it is a long drive from the VA area and I only have 5 days off work. I did not want to lose any time at Disney that we could get. DH has enough mileage for a free ticket and will fly separate from us. DD and I are flying SW. Already bought the tickets and since then the prices have gone up. We are doing the dining plan. but I may pack a few snacks in the luggage for the late night munchies. DD has never flown before so this will be another thing for her to be excited about.