Help - my wife things we should drive!?!

[gilsan]

Driving for 4 days with a 4 and 6 year old in the car would not be my idea of fun. I also agree that the vacation days in the car would be much better spent at the parks. Since you live in Burlington I would fly out of the US and I would not drive.

 

[Tower]

You know what they say. Happy wife, happy life!

And, if Momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!

 

[rosebery]

No way would I willingly drive to Disney with kids of that age. It seriously cuts into your time at Disney, interstate driving is dull, gas isn't cheap, one of my kids gets carsick on long drives . . . and you can get airfare for cheap if you look around. Last time we went, we were able to score some direct flights out of Buffalo for less than $150 each including taxes. 2 1/2 hours and we were on the ground, boarding the bus to Disney, and enjoying our vacation already.

If your wife wants to do a driving trip and enjoy the drive and the sights along the way, plan a driving trip for sometime when you're not trying to get somewhere else.

 

[Debbie]

I think that in your case any potential monetary savings would be greatly offset by your dislike of the car travel and loss of vacation time. So disregard the savings and fly.

We have driven on our last 2 trips to WDW. But we are retired, so we actually can (and do) consider it as a part of the vacation. We even take an extra day on the way down and 3-4 extra days on the way back (it's like a second vacation after WDW). And we don't count milage and wear and tear on the car. We are going to drive the car into the ground in a few years anyway, so what's an extra thousand miles or two now instead of over the next couple of years?). Gas is cheaper in many states. So is food. And we usually stay in hotels using affinity points (so 0 cost).

We actually do enjoy the scenery from the interstate. And mentally file away places that we want to go back to see more thoroughly at a later time (planning a 'civil war tour' in the near future). So it doesn't have to be boring.

But some folks absolutely, positively have to get there ASAP. I can understand that. Different strokes....yadda yadda yadda. So fly for now, and save the driving for sometime in the future.

Driving *can* be fun--in some ways better than flying--if you have a different mindset, a comfortable vehicle WITH CRUISE CONTROL, and all parties are at a stage in their relationships with each other wherein twenty-plus hours shut up alone together won't result in a psychotic breakdown.
If I-75 is your route, you NEED Dave Hunter's "Along I-75". It's a mile-eater and it provides a wealth of interesting and extremely useful information.
I'm very much a "getting there is part of the vacation" person. If you're not, don't even think about driving.

The first time we went to Disney was in 1990. The kids were 3, 4, and 5. No such thing as a DVD player in the van. We had books, mini playsets, music, car games etc. I anticipated it to be the "Drive from HE11", but the kids did GREAT! We worked on THEIR time, so probably took a little longer, but we utilized the ideas from the I-75 book. Lots of stops at McDonald's play places. We even drove through the mountains from Cleveland Tenn, to Cleveland Georgia to do the Cabbage Patch Hospital (we did that later years with the youngest two, also). On the way home, we got a slow start because my 6 year old was sick, but some Gravol, and he slept. The kids were so good!

A few years ago, we flew with the youngest two (probably 13/16 at the time) for the first time and the one comment they made was: "Mom, next time, can we DRIVE please? We miss the Waffle House and Cracker Barrel stops!"

 

[NARM Forever]

We have driven three times (and will drive again this March) and flown a couple of times. The first time we drove, our kids were 6 and 9 and the DVD/games were invaluable!! My DH normally sleeps for the evening whilst I finish the packing and then we set off at 2.00 am and drive until early evening which gets us to North Carolina or beyond (we're in Ottawa).

In terms of price - when you factor in hotels, stops, gas - it really does not save much. The Pros for us, is that it gives us the time to relax and get ready for the vacation, we normally manage to spend a night or two at the beach and now our friends have moved to North Carolina it gives us chance to visit them. I also get to visit Savannah this year which I've been wanting to do for quite a while.

DS13 is at private school so he gets 2 weeks March Break and we keep DS10 out of school for an additional week. We did do one week the first time (only 5 days at WDW) and it really isn't enough time so personally I wouldn't consider it for only one week. The second time we drove we had to leave a day early because of a snowstorm and we all had flu in the last few days before we came back, so the journey back was pretty brutal even with sharing the driving. All things to consider.

NARM

 

[potzie2]

Update - after posting my comments, my sister announced she was engaged and they are getting married the second week of July in St Pete's so the trip was changed. We are going for two weeks and I gave in to help keep the costs down and committed to driving. What I consider a "win" though is that we are taking the Autotrain on our way home so that reduces the time stuck in the van and we're all really excited about it. Two weeks of car rental was just too much of a tipping point in the equation.

We're going to leave Burlington on the Friday at 2pm and make it to Summersville, WV on the Friday, then Savannah, GA the second night. We'll arrive on the Sunday in the Clearwater area and stay through the Thursday for the wedding. We'll head over to the Orlando area and stay through the following Friday before starting our way home. The autotrain lets us off just outside of Washington so we're going to do the Air and Space museum to see the new Space Shuttle display before stopping for the night in Hairrisburg, PA and then return home on the Sunday.

 

[Evelyne]

We drove down there about 20 times... You have to include the road in your vacation. Vacation starts as you hit the road. Our kids are now 16 and 19 so we drove with them at all ages... I kept a journal of all our trips including the road trip. Hour of departure, gaz stops, things about the kids, everything! Having your car makes it easier to move aroundover there, for groceries, or if you want to skip the buses at the end of the day. But think about it, the best thing about driving down there : no restrictions on what to put in your suitcase you can bring back all the stuff you want!!! Hope you have a nice trip.

1990 to 1992, off site with DB+ friends 1994 off site with DB+ family/
1995 off site DB, DS (2) and DD on the way 1998 off site DB, DS DD/
1999 off site DB, DS, DD, + family/ 2000 to 2003 DB, DS, DD All star Sports
2004 to 2008 Pop Century with DB
(after 20 years, let’s say DH), DS, DD and family
2008 to 2009 Pop Century DH, DS, DD/ 2010 and 2011 Pop DH, DD and her friend
September 2012 DH and me alone for the 1st time.
Can’t wait to check inn at the POP!!!




http://www.**************/id/1348729281.jpg

 

[LauraLap]

We are thinking of driving for a 3 week trip next Christmas. DH isn't as convinced, but I just love the idea of using our own mini-van and not worrying about rental car and flights. I'm excited and giddy that I would have no restrictions as to what I can purchase size-wise.

What is the autotrain??

 

[mike the canuck]

Fly!!!! I'm from Ancaster and we always fly. I have driven a few times when I was younger and it sucks...big time. I really dislike long road trips. It's nice being able to fly home after your trip. Especially Disney. You will be so exhausted that driving 24 hours home might as well be a jail sentence. We always fly out of Buffalo and it is so nice once you are there knowing you don't have to drive at all throughout your vacation. It may cost more but it is one of those luxuries that is sooooooooo worth it. And if you fly Southwest or Jetblue you can sometimes get flights for like $120.

 

[mike the canuck]

She says it is a vacation inside a vacation, but as I remind her someone is prison has more space and mobility that I do while sitting in the car making the journey.

Thanks.

I hear you on this one bro. I just recently drove 12 hours to North Carolina and I could not imagine how I did this all the way to Florida.

 

[MamaLema]

It's 2400 miles to Disney and back. The wear and tear on your car and gas costs will be $1000-$1200. Factor in the cost of your time for 42 hours or so of driving.

Our gas cost were less than $400. Also, I don't know where you get the 42 hours of driving. We drove straight through and it took us less than 23 hours.

As you can see, I am a big fan of driving. We are a family of 6 though. If we were a small family, we would fly for sure. One thing I love is filling up the care with shopping and and bringing as much stuff back as will fit in the car. You can't do that if you fly

 

[mike the canuck]

Also, I don't know where you get the 42 hours of driving. We drove straight through and it took us less than 23 hours.

I assuming that's the combination of the trip there and back

 

[mike the canuck]

This is how I remember those long road trips:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2XvxDaIwCw&feature=player_detailpage#t=24s

 

[potzie2]

What is the autotrain??

The autotrain is a train that leaves everyday from Lorton Virginia heading south to Sanford Florida with a different train leaving doing the opposite route. It is the longest passenger train in the world at 3/4 of a mile or 1.2kms in length. Your car is driven onto the train and you can either buy just a seat or a variety of different rooms to stay in. Your dinner and breakfast are included and the train leaves at 4pm and arrives the next morning at 9:30am. We have 2 2 person roomettes that share bathroom and shower facilities, there are also family rooms and rooms with their own toilet. I think there is about 8 rooms in each car that share 3 bathrooms and showers so not overly crowded. You eat in the dining car that also shows movies in the evenings or you can just watch the world go by out the window.

I am very excited about it. Just Google it and you will find lots of information and youtube videos on the entire experience. We booked it far enough in advance that it was about $725 for the 4 of us, our meals, the 2 rooms and the van for the one way. The best I could find for airfare was $140 each or $640 for the four of us, by time I park and pay for a hotel the night before we flew out it's about even but a different experience. I still need to drive the last 9 hours home, but that's not nearly as bad.

 

[momtoamulan]

While, it is great to see some sites while driving...eating at different restaurants, it is still expensive to drive....i prefer flying...i am eager to get there...