For 2,000+ mile round-trip drivers only!

[BC1836]

here you go.

http://www.fuelcostcalculator.com/

Thanks for that AAA link! Of course, the average prices are quite lower (at least in the Mid-Atlantic) than those posted on the regional maps.

But wouldn't you know it: OPEC is concerned about the crude oil price drop and has pushed up its next regularly scheduled meeting to deal with its so-called problem.

 

[TinkOhio]

Thanks for the link!

 

[BC1836]

Gas prices continue to fall.
Another thread reported that WDW Hess is selling for $3.17. When we were there during the first week of June, the WDW Hess price was $3.83.

 

[loribell]

My friend that lives outside of Atlanta said that all of the stations around her have gas again finally. I think she said it was in the $3.40 range.

Here I have seen it from $2.43 - $2.50.

 

[twoeeyy]

I have been back a week now.
We left MA ( attleboro / providence area ) at 4:45 pm on a thursday and checked into POP on fri at 5:00 pm

It rained well into SC.

We took 95 the entire way. We had no problems with traffic at all.

We only stopped and slept for about 2 hours. We did of course have the potty breaks and food stops. The rain did slow us down.

We paid as much as 3.99 and as little as 3.29 on WDW property.

We did run into 1 gas station that did not have gas in GA ( not sure where )

I figure we spent about 500 for gas both ways.

 

[danielle916]

Hi,
Well here is my little story, we drove to disney in 2006, 3 kids, not really a problem, now 2008, 4 kids later, we are planning on driving again, again no biggie...

But now DH comes to me and says, just for the heck of it, get some prices from airlines....
So thats where i am at, i am not a fan of flying and with 4 kids , i am sure there will be tons of pro's and con's
also i am not familiar with what the "best rate" is.....
I went to Southwest and it seems they are the cheapest plus they claim to have NO HIDDEN FEES

I guess this is a multi part question

a) whats the pro's and con's of flying with 4 kids ages 6 and under
b) whats the best price i should be looking for?

Thank you, and if you wonderful people think of more things to tell me i am open to anything!
thanks!!

 

[danielle916]

i posted my question in the wrong spot, sorry
can someone move it or should i repost?

 

[BC1836]

Generally, for folks driving the I-95 route, Maryland has more than its share of construction delays.

Here's the latest edited info from the I-95 Exit site:

Perryville - From Perryville to the bridge over Susquehanna River (Harford/ Cecil Counties). Mile Marker 90 to 92. Road and bridge construction. Thru 11/29/08
Abingdon - at the MD24 Interchange (Harford County). Mile Marker 76 to 78. Road construction. Thru 05/28/09
Temple Hills - from the junction with MD210 to MD5 (Prince Georges County). Road construction. 4.52 miles. Thru 12/31/08
Marlboro - from the junction with Forestville Road to the junction with MD4 (Prince Georges County). Exit 9 - 11. Road and bridge construction. Thru 12/31/08
Rosedale - White Marsh - (Baltimore County). Road construction. 9 miles. Thru 08/28/11
Oxen Hill - from the Woodrow Wilson Bridge over Potomac River (Prince Georges County) to Livinston Road. Road and bridge construction. 1.1 miles. Thru 11/26/08

 

[BC1836]

Good neighbors just returned from a wonderful WDW vacation. They arrived at the airport at 7 a.m. on Sunday for their 9 a.m. flight back to Atlantic City. They were informed that it was cancelled and the afternoon flight was overbooked. They were subsequently informed that the next available flight was at 9 p.m. They wanted to return to WDW for part of the day but the airline would not store their bags. So they waited. Nine p.m. arrived and another 30-minute delay was announced, They finally boarded the flight but could not sit next to each other. Not counting the return flight time and the drive home from the airport, it took 14 1/2 hours. The total time they invested in the return journey took more than the time we take to drive from our driveway to WDW!

In all fairness, if all things worked in their favor, they could have been home by noon. Instead of midnight.

 

[loribell]

In all fairness that is happening more and more these days.

 

[BC1836]

In all fairness that is happening more and more these days.

Indeed!

Our first round-trip drive to WDW in 2002 was not planned. We had a partial town-wide power failure following a storm the night before our scheduled departure. The following morning the power had not returned.

We called the airline, explained the circumstance and asked for a change in flights because we had to wait for the power to return (food in fridge, home alarm system, garage door opener, timed lights, etc.).

The airline stated that since the power failure was only local and not regional we were out of luck: either we had to take our original flight or lose it---and, of course, pay for another if we wanted a change in flights. We were angry! So we decided that if the power came on by early afternoon, we would drive to WDW. It did and we drove.

And we continue to drive to WDW (however, we did fly to Disneyland in June). Eleven round-trip drives so far.

And trip #12 is fast approaching.

 

[loribell]

We last flew in Dec. of 06. I had a convention in Orlando @ the beginning of Dec. & we had a family trip for Christmas. Both times we had major problems with the airlines & flight delays. Of course it was winter so some delays are to be expected but add lost luggage both trips, destroyed bags and completely uncaring airline employees and we have not even considered flying again.

 

[danielle916]

thank you all for your inputs, we are 90% set on driving now!!
thanks again!!

 

[JanineandMike]

when we were flying home from orlando last year we showed up three hours early for our flight to find out that the flight was delayed three hours, then we got on the plane and they had us sit there on the runway for another three hours. it was horrible and al sharpton was on the plane too.

we flew down to miami earlier this year and a couple of days after booking our flight we wanted to make a change and fly down one day earlier. it was the same flight at the same price, just a day earlier and they charged us $200 more.

needless to say we will be driving to disney this year and making the trip part of the vacation. now with the gas prices dropping we will really be saving over flying and renting a car.

 

[sharadoc]

Good neighbors just returned from a wonderful WDW vacation. They arrived at the airport at 7 a.m. on Sunday for their 9 a.m. flight back to Atlantic City. They were informed that it was cancelled and the afternoon flight was overbooked. They were subsequently informed that the next available flight was at 9 p.m. They wanted to return to WDW for part of the day but the airline would not store their bags. So they waited. Nine p.m. arrived and another 30-minute delay was announced, They finally boarded the flight but could not sit next to each other. Not counting the return flight time and the drive home from the airport, it took 14 1/2 hours. The total time they invested in the return journey took more than the time we take to drive from our driveway to WDW!

In all fairness, if all things worked in their favor, they could have been home by noon. Instead of midnight.

Once again, exactly why we're driving. Add in the transportation time to and from the airport and we're almost door to door at Disney. Thanks for sharing yet another airline horror story. Makes us feel better and better about driving.

 

[huskies90]

Thanks for sharing yet another airline horror story. Makes us feel better and better about driving.

Horror stories aside, flying is soooo much more convenient, safer and economical. You can’t just look at the price of gas when calculating cost. Wear and tear on your minivan and on your body as well as the cost of your time has to be considered along with the tangible cost of hotels, food, gas, etc…

I have always flown…Dozens of times, but I’ve always wanted to try driving once just to say I did it. So, next Feb ’09 (President’s week) I’m planning on joining “the club” when the four of us drive from Connecticut. I probably won’t be getting $200 R/T fares that week and in Feb there is better chance of bad weather so it is good time to have the flexibility of driving. Even though I prefer flying, I am excited about trying driving because it will be fun to plan and the drive itself will be an adventure, I am sure.

But if a decent airfare pops up, I’ll probably jump on it. Unless you have an unbelievable fear of flying, I don’t understand how you can prefer driving that far. Who knows, after my adventure in Feb, maybe I’ll understand and be ‘hooked’ too…

 

[loribell]

Horror stories aside, flying is soooo much more convenient, safer and economical. You can’t just look at the price of gas when calculating cost. Wear and tear on your minivan and on your body as well as the cost of your time has to be considered along with the tangible cost of hotels, food, gas, etc…

I have always flown…Dozens of times, but I’ve always wanted to try driving once just to say I did it. So, next Feb ’09 (President’s week) I’m planning on joining “the club” when the four of us drive from Connecticut. I probably won’t be getting $200 R/T fares that week and in Feb there is better chance of bad weather so it is good time to have the flexibility of driving. Even though I prefer flying, I am excited about trying driving because it will be fun to plan and the drive itself will be an adventure, I am sure.

But if a decent airfare pops up, I’ll probably jump on it. Unless you have an unbelievable fear of flying, I don’t understand how you can prefer driving that far. Who knows, after my adventure in Feb, maybe I’ll understand and be ‘hooked’ too…

I think my biggest problem is the fact that I worked for Xerox for 15 years. I was totally customer focused. The airlines are increasingly becoming less and less customer focused. They are treating their customers like crap. They do not care what their customers think. They are charging for things now that should be included in the price of a flight. I could have never treated a customer the way I was treated on my last two flights.

Our last two flights we had major problems. The flight delays were one thing. The treatment we got over our luggage was unacceptable. On one of the flights our luggage never arrived. No one would help us locate our luggage. We recieved no compensation either. On the second flight when our flight was cancelled they never unloaded our bags. They said they had gone out on an earlier flight. Surprisingly when we arrived home the next day our bags still weren't here. They just didn't want to let us have our bags back.

This is an absolutely unacceptable way to treat your customers. Unfortunately people continue to give them business so they have no reason to change. I will not give them my business any more. They don't deserve my money.

 

[danielle916]

Once again, exactly why we're driving. Add in the transportation time to and from the airport and we're almost door to door at Disney. Thanks for sharing yet another airline horror story. Makes us feel better and better about driving.

good point, about adding in the travel time too and from the airline and then the sitting and waiting!

Exactly, makes me feel better about driving!!!!!!!!!!

 

[2xDisneyDad]

Hi All,

Thanks for the info, I have gone through most of the pages trying to find out if there is an alternate route available to us other then the usual I95 straight down. We drive down 2-3 times a year and always wind up hitting traffic somewhere. Our times have gone from a best of 15 3/4 hours to a worst of 22 hours . I realize that from NJ this is most likely the most direct route and timing has alot to do with it. Sometimes we don't have much choice when to leave based on business or family commitments.

We do, however, live right outside of Easton PA off route 78 and have seen some people opting for 78-81-11-26-95 or 78-81-64-95. I would really like some opinions, if based on where we are in NJ, it is a viable route (and if one is better then the other). I have heard the pluses of no tolls and less congestion, as well as the drawbacks of it being a less direct route. I have no problem with not being able to make it in 15 3/4 hours again, but don't want it to take 19 or 20 every time.

If someone has any hotel info at about just before they hit 95 to stay for the night (preferably a Marriott property) that would also be appreciated.

Thanks,

Steve

 

[BC1836]

Hi All,

Thanks for the info, I have gone through most of the pages trying to find out if there is an alternate route available to us other then the usual I95 straight down. We drive down 2-3 times a year and always wind up hitting traffic somewhere. Our times have gone from a best of 15 3/4 hours to a worst of 22 hours . I realize that from NJ this is most likely the most direct route and timing has alot to do with it. Sometimes we don't have much choice when to leave based on business or family commitments.

We do, however, live right outside of Easton PA off route 78 and have seen some people opting for 78-81-11-26-95 or 78-81-64-95. I would really like some opinions, if based on where we are in NJ, it is a viable route (and if one is better then the other). I have heard the pluses of no tolls and less congestion, as well as the drawbacks of it being a less direct route. I have no problem with not being able to make it in 15 3/4 hours again, but don't want it to take 19 or 20 every time.

If someone has any hotel info at about just before they hit 95 to stay for the night (preferably a Marriott property) that would also be appreciated.

Thanks,

Steve

Howdy!

That 15 3/4-hour trek was an excellent time. If possible, take that route and leave early on a weekend.
The other routes you mentioned are satisfactory, but remember: avoid southern MD and DC whenever possible---especially on a weekday. The I-81 route is out of the way but it avoids DC.


Do an internet search on your preferable hotel/motel chain and print out multiple locations (at least 30 minutes from each other) near your designated stop-over location. You can have someone phone from your vehicle when you think you can make the location of your first choice. Your fall back hotel/motel is the next one on your list.

All the best.