Have I completely lost my mind to even consider this???

[mom2meiko]

Hi all! I need your opinion if I am officially losing my mind or not. Background story - dh and I have a trip to WDW planned for next Jan with our bff's and their 2 kids. We will be using our DVC at WL and had planned to fly together.

Our money situation has become quite tight lately and we cannot yet afford the airfare for our family of 4. (Lap baby is not an option for us.) We really want to go on this vacation so we are trying to consider all of our transportation options. Dh does not want to drive down because it would take days away from our trip (2 weeks vacation is not an option for his work). I also do not want to lose valuable WDW time in order to drive but can take 2 weeks of vacation time if I want.

So here is my crazy idea that dh is not in favor of:

What if I take the extra vacation time and drive down with my 2 kids and the mom and 4 yr old daughter of our bff's and we let dh, bff's dh and 9 yr old son fly down and back - just meeting us there?

Is that really a crazy idea???

 

[KirstenB]

I don't think it's crazy---Ive even considered it!! I loathe flying, and dh hates riding in a car. I've come very close to telling him to fly down, and we'll just meet up when I get there. Of course, part of the deal would be him flying with the kids.

 

[kpm76]

I would want to rip my eyeballs out if I had to drive from MA to FL but I hate driving and prefer to get there the quickest way possible. Is there a way for you to scale back on Christmas gifts or birthday gifts to pay for the flights? Your kids are still young and really would not notice if they got fewer gifts at Christmas or something along those lines. We value family vacations, but as a trade off DH and I rarely buy gifts for one another for holidays because it's far more important to us to spend time traveling as a family......just a thought. If you don't mind the drive and your friend is in favor, I guess it would work.....but it's a long haul with 3 kids....

 

[TinkInPink]

I think it is the perfect solution, in fact what I was going to suggest!

Why doesn't your Dh want this, it isn't him that has to drive and deal with the kids.

Another plus is when you get to Disney you will have a car!

 

[kalc12345]

I think it is a great idea!!

 

[C.Ann]

That's a long drive - for women and children alone - and you would have to factor in gas, tolls, and probably at least one night in a motel..

Is Southwest available in your area? If so, I would keep an eye out for their specials (sign up for Ding) and try to grab some cheap airline tickets instead..

Is there anything you can do extra right now to put aside money for airfare? Garage sale? Deposits on cans? Change charge? Sell some old gold jewelry you have laying around (see the Budget Board for more info on that)? Rebates? Part time job? Babysitting?

Just a few things to think about..

 

[gn2wdw]

We do this all the time. I work at a school and have the summer off. In order to maximize our vacation time, I drive from Ohio with my two girls and my parents (both retired). My husband flies down and back. That way he does not have to use extra travel days. Also, he just likes to drive straight through and we like to make stops and take our time.

I really have not figured it out to see if we save money doing it this way or not, but I am sure you could, especially if you get a good deal on a hotel.

 

[Sandi S]

Do it! You can totally do this - I just drove 5832 miles round-trip with my 4 kids and my mom (hubby was working and I had the chance of a lifetime to get to go to a convention in CA and get some $$ toward my trip). Stay in a Motel 6 - dirt cheap, but not unacceptable, just basic.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I don't think it's crazy at all, as long as your kids travel well and the other family is on board with it, too. (In fact, the first thing I thought of is the great road trip memories you and your friend will have!) - Of course, we've never driven farther than 400 miles on vacation, so I'm really no expert!

 

[ILoveJack]

I am flying with my 2 DDs while DH is driving. He hates flying and has to go back to work earlier than we are coming home. His vacation starts on Sunday and we are not flying out till Tuesday so works out fine for both of us.

 

[mom2meiko]

thanks all for your feedback! dh is slowly but surely coming around to the idea i think - i just have to talk to bff and convince her dh that it is a good idea!

dh is just worried. he hates the idea of being far away in case anything were to happen to us while on the road. i'm not exactly a martial arts expert or anything either so i think he worries of us getting into a dangerous area during any of our stops, etc. i've assured him that with some advance planning i should be able to control most of our stopping destinations or at least have an idea of where it's not a good idea to be.

bff's are away on vacation right now so i have a week to figure out the details before presenting it to them. they went with us last year and drove (we flew). it seems like they stopped in a less than desirable area on the way home so i think he is going to fight this. plus - he tends to be more of the 50's throw back in terms of his wife being capable of handling herself. i think he is going to envision thelma and louise when he hears of us going off on our own. lol!

part of me hates the idea of the long hours on the road but the other part of me is thinking of the great opportunities to see some sites, spend some qt with my bff and kids, etc. i'm really hoping they will go for it! (bff is terrified to fly so this will likely work to my advantage.)

as for all of your suggested cost savings opportunities - trust me when i say if it's possible, we've considered it out of necessity. we've cut back on everything in our lives that we can possibly cut back on with the exception of our dvc and wdw trips. it's just hard with a new baby, new childcare expenses, we just had to replace our roof, etc. we haven't quite recovered yet but dh is picking up a lot of extra hours at his 2nd job this summer to help us out in the $$ dept. i've even switched my work schedule to work weekends to cut back on daycare expenses. i welcome the suggestions though - you never know what someone else may come up with!

if anyone has done the MA to WDW trip - i definitely welcome any advice you may have on making it a success - especially in terms of places to avoid!

 

[mommy*RN]

I think your idea is a good one if you can get everyone on board. Having two adults in the car is key. Someone to talk to as kid talk can get quite boring AND someone to watch the kids while you run in to pay for gas or whatever.

In 2004 I flew alone to WDW with my then 18 month old DS. DH wasn't able to go with us as he had exams to take. Lucky for me my dad and his wife joined me on that trip (they drove though) so I was able to meet up with them later on the day of arrival and have others who could help me with my kids. It worked out well.

I hope any way it goes you have a magical trip.

 

[JoshChristineplus3]

That totally doable as long as you factor in how much gas and hotel and travel food its going to cost ( I suggest to cut down on food costs, you pack a big cooler full of sandwich stuff and sodas and water etc )
I travelled 6000 miles this summer with 3 kids ages 5 and twin 2 year olds and a 90 lb dog alone due to DH being deployed. It wasn't that big of a deal. If you leave super early in the AM you can stop driving before it gets too late at night.
Good luck

 

[Sandi S]

thanks all for your feedback! dh is slowly but surely coming around to the idea i think - i just have to talk to bff and convince her dh that it is a good idea!

dh is just worried. he hates the idea of being far away in case anything were to happen to us while on the road. i'm not exactly a martial arts expert or anything either so i think he worries of us getting into a dangerous area during any of our stops, etc. i've assured him that with some advance planning i should be able to control most of our stopping destinations or at least have an idea of where it's not a good idea to be.

bff's are away on vacation right now so i have a week to figure out the details before presenting it to them. they went with us last year and drove (we flew). it seems like they stopped in a less than desirable area on the way home so i think he is going to fight this. plus - he tends to be more of the 50's throw back in terms of his wife being capable of handling herself. i think he is going to envision thelma and louise when he hears of us going off on our own. lol!

part of me hates the idea of the long hours on the road but the other part of me is thinking of the great opportunities to see some sites, spend some qt with my bff and kids, etc. i'm really hoping they will go for it! (bff is terrified to fly so this will likely work to my advantage.)

as for all of your suggested cost savings opportunities - trust me when i say if it's possible, we've considered it out of necessity. we've cut back on everything in our lives that we can possibly cut back on with the exception of our dvc and wdw trips. it's just hard with a new baby, new childcare expenses, we just had to replace our roof, etc. we haven't quite recovered yet but dh is picking up a lot of extra hours at his 2nd job this summer to help us out in the $$ dept. i've even switched my work schedule to work weekends to cut back on daycare expenses. i welcome the suggestions though - you never know what someone else may come up with!

if anyone has done the MA to WDW trip - i definitely welcome any advice you may have on making it a success - especially in terms of places to avoid!

I've driven the stretch of I-95 between Boston and Daytona (where you turn off on I-4 for WDW). Drive to Richmond, VA the first day and then you can make it to WDW on the 2nd day (late). I can't think of places to avoid except downtowns of big cities (no big ones on I-95 between Richmond and Jacksonville). Just use common sense and research mileage and stops.

 

[mickeymaker2003]

We're doing half of that plan. My DH, mom, dad, DD2 and I are all driving from IL together in our van on a Friday. My husband will be flying home the next Sunday and we will drive home on Tuesday. He gets a little over a week at the park with us, but doesn't have to take Mon, Tues, & Wednesday off work and he'll be sick of Disney by then anyway. We get him with us for most the vacation, but we get to stay long enough to use all 10 days of our tickets (no park on the arrival day--1 am ish or the day we leave). Since we will have three or four drivers, we are planning to go straight through.

 

[MarriedToAPrince]

Honestly I wouldn't drive down and the reason is because you can probably get airfair on Southwest cheaper then it will cost to drive down. You have to figure in gas, food, motel, and if you decide to do anything on the drive down. It could very easily add up to being more expensive them flying down.

 

[StitchFanZ]

If you don''t already have one, get a GPS. I borrowed one last time we were driving on vacation and it saved us a lot of time and really helped when driving in unfamiliar areas. It might also help DHs comfort level if you have one.

 

[MarieFan]

I am driving my two young girls by myself, and my dh is driving, for most of the reasons people have mentioned here. I leave in 3 weeks. I am planning the trip so that I don't have to stop anywhere after dark, and I will have my MIL's GPS and I re-newed AAA. I am looking forward to it! If it goes that badly, I may not let him get on the plane home, though. I told him to be prepared for that. However, in all honesty, he is not that helpful in the car, so I might as well do it myself and not be doing it myself and irritated with him!

 

[rockydek]

Sometimes the Auto train is less expensive for alot of people

It would take you 7 hours from MA to arrive at the Auto train...

The auto train leaves at 4PM every day and arrives the next morning at 8:30am ..... 35 minutes from Disney.
Included in the price is Dinner and Breakfast.

It is about 50.00 a person. You also get to take your vehicle. (300.00)

This is an option! amtrak

 

[MomTo4+more]

I think your plan could work beutifully. I have travelled alone with my kids a few times. Our only big trip was to Atlanta from Chicago when they where 9 months old and three years old. I brought things like bubble and balls along for them to play with when we stopped for meals. We packed a cooler and ate most of our meals at rest stops. It worked especially well that way since the baby had breathing issues that were severe when exposed to cigarette smoke. In some of the states we drove through, they still allowed smoking in restaurants. We ended up eating in a hospital cafeteria at one point because none of the other places were smoke-free. You will not be the only adult, so that should make it even easier and safer. My oldest who was three at the time still remembers our road trip fondly. You may find it very enjoyable!