Having second thoughts

[mousy_in_canada]

about flying down.. We have planned to fly because my kids are young (8,7,5) and we had planned to fly but now I am thinking that perhaps saving the 1600 is better and we should drive down. They all get carsick so easy and we would have to drive straight down. My Husband does not get paid for vacation days because they get a 3 week shut down in the summer so any other time that he takes is unpaid. so would need to drive straight down and back. I am not sure if saving the money is worth that.. We are from Hamilton and it takes about 27 hours. He has to do a large chunk of the driving himself as I am not a good highway driver. anyway.. what is your opinion. Do you think driving straight down is worth saving the 1600 airfare plus the 200 rental car? How much do you spend on gas? we have a mini van 4.3L V6 if that helps. The pro to flying is that we get there quicker.. and are much happier when we only take 3 hours instead of 27

Just looking for opinions
Thanks so much!

 

[DSNY FN]

We drive down all the time we stop on our way down but drive straigh through on the way home we are in London and go I75 and it only takes us at most 22 hours usually less. We have done it in 18 hours. I would save the money and drive get the kids dinner and into their comfy clothes that they can sleep in and leave around 7 at night then they will sleep for the most part and make the drive easier.

 

[Hockeychic]

We figured the $1500 it would cost us to fly pretty much covered most if not all of our spending money. When we are converting to the US dollar disney can become a expensive vacation.

We have driven twice once I-75 and did it in 22 hours and the 77/79/95 route once...which we prefer and did it in 2 days stopping in Lafeyetteville (sp) we are going again in Sept and will drive straight through this time taking the 77/79/95 route. I drive from just north of Newmarket. We figure we will leave about 2AM and hope to arrive before midnight.

Enjoy your trip no matter what route you take.

 

[cabmom]

We have driven many times and flown many times. We last flew out of Buffalo, which saved us a lot of money. We are a family of 5 as well. We got flights on SW for $150 US each, so $700 for all of us, which was just under $1000 Canadian.
If we go this year at all, we will probably drive. I give the kids gravol for flying and sometimes for long journeys in the car. Hopefully, this would help for your kids.
Marilynn

 

[Canadave]

May I suggest to drive down...rent or borrow one of those portable VHS or DVD players (makes the drive go so much smoother)...don't forget that although the flight is only 3 hours, factor in that you have to arrive at the airport early, wait in lines, wait for customs, wait for your baggage, pick up your rental car, etc. etc...I also think you can do much better time than 27 hours, from Hamilton, maybe more like 22 hours......I was going to say it would be around $200 to 250 in gas, but with gas prices lately, maybe more like $350...still a good savings over flying.....and think of what you can do with the money you save.

 

[barb45]

One thing about the DVD player and motion sickness. The last time we drove down my son brought his portable DVD player and loved watching movies. On the other hand I am easily motion sick and I watched for about 5 minutes and felt quesy (sp). Anyway we always drive (except for 1 trip) from Windsor straight down I-75 and it takes 18-20 hours. Every year the ride seems shorter so we must be getting used to it. The one trip we flew it was just my son and myself and we flew Spirit out of Detroit Metro for $323 for both of us. Then we you get there you have to rent a car or we just used Disney transportation. It was a great adventure. Make sure if you fly that you use a town car service instead of Mears bus service because it actually works out cheaper once you have 3 people.

 

[alohamom]

Keep in mind hotel stays, food on the road and the mileage you put on your vehicle (including extra tread wear of you tires-they ain't cheap!)

 

[tmli]

We drove down 2 years ago with my dada's Montana and spent 170 in fuel. Now I would say that to be about $270 due to increased prices.

From reading your email it sounds like the only plus to driving is the money saved. Which is a big plus, but if you really want to fly and can afford the extra expense i say fly. I've done both and honestly I hate to drive, however sometimes it's worth the sacrifice to have enough money to stay longer or do more once you are there.

You'll get alot of opinions on both sides here, I say way your options, shop around for air and car, and then make your choice.

 

[Susan--Ontario]

We always drive because with my ears I'm not getting on a plane. That said, I like to drive because I also like to shop. You can get some really great deals on kids clothing at the Outlet malls. If you fly you'll need to figure out a way to get to those malls.

You do have to factor in the hotel costs on the trip down but there are many hotels that have breakfast included with their room price. We always stay at the Hampton Inns because they have a lot of choices in the breakfast items. It saves us a meal on the road. We also pack our cooler and picnic along the way. I don't factor that into the cost of my vacation because if we were home then we'd have to eat those meals anyways.

We drive a Venture van and get great gas mileage. Almost 1000km per fill up of American gas (here in Canada we can only go about 850, go figure). Our van holds 90 litres when it's bone dry or 22 gallons. We fill up 5 times so 22 @ (I'll go high on the price) $2.00 is $44.us. That is just under $220.00. However, in Georgia right now the gas is only $1.65 and we do at least two gas stops in that state. We try and time it so that our van is empty when we hit Georgia. It has never cost us more than $200. That isn't even one airline ticket for our family of four.

However, if time is of the essence then I'd look into flying out of an American city.

From London, it takes 19 hours on the road. My DH can get it a little shorter than that though when he's got a sick wife on board.

We love the drive. It's a build up on the way down and on the way home it helps us climatize to the colder weather much easier than getting on a plane in 30 degree weather and getting off the plane in -10 weather.

I also feel that it's easier to handle my children when they aren't in new surroundings (ie a plane/airport) when they are already excited about going home.(to Disney).

PS Gravol is the wonder drug.

 

[SandraC]

I debate the same thing all the time. Driving vs. Flying. When it comes right down to it ~ we are flyers.

Flights are cheap right now. I calculated my family of four to be about $1200. Add limo to and from the airport = $80. Rent rental $300. Grand total =$1580

To drive it cost us:
$300+ each day missed from work x 2 days [the extra driving day each way] = $600
Extra hotels = Two night at $100 each night = $200
Gas = $300
Grand total = $1100

We would only save $480. I didn't include wear and tear on my car. I'd rather fly.

 

[Rebecca P.]

I budget between $1000.00 and 1200.00 for fuel, food and 4 nights accommodation for a family of five to drive to Florida. We take alot of food with us so this is usually means just dinner on the road. With the cost of fuel, it would be more.

The last time we drove our van was out of warranty and the repairs cost us a fortune when it broke down.

We are going next week and I bought flights on Jetsgo for $266.00 including tax to Orlando, with a car rental at $250.00 Can for a full size car just makes more sense.

I think flying is alot less stressful.

Rebecca

 

[Susan--Ontario]

Where are you guys flying out of for $250.00 all taxes in. Is that US funds? I was lookiing for flights for my in-laws and it was around $600cdn out of Toronto. I can do a lot with $2400 for my family of four.

 

[BitsnBearsMom]

Where are you guys flying out of for $250.00 all taxes in. Is that US funds? I was lookiing for flights for my in-laws and it was around $600cdn out of Toronto. I can do a lot with $2400 for my family of four.

We just got a seat sale leaving from Toronto for $150 plus taxes came to $277 (Canadian) return per ticket on Ait Transat for October. Just booked the tickets last weekend!!

 

[pumpkinboy]

If you pick you flights and dates right you can fly pretty cheaply on Southwest (Wednesday to Wednesday is looking like an attractive combination in terms of price). And some of those cheaper options will be non-stop. Unless you are a family of six or more, you should be able to do Southwest for decent prices (US$150-200 each), plus you'll have those extra days to spend vacationing, even if it's just hanging aroung the hotel pool.

Gas prices have skyrocketed here in the States in the past couple of weeks, which is making SWA flights look even more attractive.

 

[Yzma and Kronk]

Originally posted by Susan--Ontario

However, in Georgia right now the gas is only $1.65 and we do at least two gas stops in that state. We try and time it so that our van is empty when we hit Georgia. It has never cost us more than $200.

Just to let you know in the land of cheap gas - (Georgia is usually the cheapest gas in the US due to lack of taxes on it) -
it's just gone up to $1.89 per gallon. Only a few months ago it was $1.29, so factor in a few more dollars for gas......

Also, you can periodically check Airtran.com as they sometimes have really cheap flights. You have to stop in Atlanta, but that is pretty easy. Right now its $99.US one way on certain flights.

Have fun!

 

[randog]

take soom advice we have driven 7 times in the last 9 years. just think of the extra things you can do with that extra money. take dvd or vhs well worth it for sickness a little gravol goes a long way. best of luck. have fun it is the happest place on earth. randog

 

[jersey shark]

Of course, driving down you must consider the wear and tear on your vehicle. You might keep in mind that the 2004 rate of 37.5c/mile (US) developed for business use of vehicles was developed for a reason.

Call it at least 40c now (due to recent spike in gas prices) and at 1000 miles each way - not sure of exact mileage from Ontario to Orlando ....cost to drive would be about $800US. True, if you bought your vehicle for cash, this is a "pre-paid" expense that you don't have to shell out for, but it's worth keeping in mind when comparing to airfares.

If you can get a low weekly price on a minivan rental from Hertz,
(Cdn rental car rates seem much lower than US), with unlimited mileage....this may be an option to consider as well.

 

[hockey mom]

We do a combination of both and driving is way cheaper. We drive straight through and with meals on the road and gas our total is about $400-$500 CDN roundtrip.

I do love to fly but there are a few things to consider- we fly out of Buffalo for the cheaper fares but still a family of 5 runs us about $1300 CDN. Then we usually leave the night before so a dinner is required, hotel or place to leave your car, breakfast at the airport, tipping the shuttle guy, and rental car. I know some hotels have continental brekkys but when you have to be at the airport for 6 you can't take advantage of them.

 

[NancyK]

Hi,
We just got back yesterday afternoon. We drove a Ford Windstar and the gas was $205 U.S. return from the St. Catharines area. We drove to the parks every day since we were closer to the parking lot than the bus stop. The gas prices ranged from $1.89/gallon in South Carolina and Georgia to $2.15 in Niagara Falls, NY. We filled up on Disney property and it was $1.95/gallon.
It definitely shouldn't take you 27 hours from Hamilton. It's only 20 hours from St. Catharines - a bit longer if construction ties you up (we only ran into one place where we were stopped for about a 1/2 hour or so).
You can usually get a decent hotel for about $65 that includes breakfast in the morning. We have also driven straight through on other trips which I like doing, but if only your husband is driving, you will probably want to stay in a hotel.
We have always driven mostly due to the savings involved, but I actually prefer it. When the kids were small, we made sure that one of our stops was at a McDonald's play area so they could run around a bit. The rest areas on the highways are great places for the kids to run around also. When you factor in getting to the airport 2 or 3 hours early, and the hassle of making the kids use their indoor voices on the airplane, I would much prefer to drive.
Good luck with your decision. Either way, you're going to Disney World!