Help us decide what to do!

[CoachG]

We're a group of 7 that likes to travel to WDW - four of the group are kids 6 and under. In the past we've flown but have grown tired of the hassle of the airport and are considering driving down this year from MI.

So for all you experienced drivers what should we rent? I don't think a regular mini van is going to be comfortable for all of us on this kind of trip. What would you rent in that situation and is it possible to rent it one way each way? We don't need it while we are there - we stay on the property in a hotel (no FW for us) and use the disney transportation.

Anyone got any good ideas? I don't want to drive some giant bus-like thing down there but I do want us all to be comfortable.

 

[Daddio]

Wow! Are you sure you want to drive? You're looking at a minimum of 21 hours inside the vehicle. If you have 4 little ones, I can't think of anything that would be big enough to be considered 'comfortable'.

I will watch this thread with interest to see what is suggested.

David

 

[sam_gordon]

I think you have three choices regarding WHAT to rent:
1) A seven passenger mini van
2) Two "normal" cars
3) A 12-15 passenger van

Between those three, I would go with #1. Using cars would put two adults in one car and a single adult in another car. Not a big deal, but having an adult to talk to during a long trip is a big help. Also, it wouldn't be hard to get separated, which cell phones would help, but just one extra pain. The 12-15 passenger vans I don't think are very comfortable... especially for a 20+ hour trip.

As far as renting one way vs. round trip, I bet you the prices are pretty close... one way prices are usually MUCH higher.

To me the hassle of flying is balanced with the stress of driving long distance. You'd basically be wiping out four days (two down, two back) of your vacation if you drove.

 

[CoachG]

Well we have a mini van already and it is a tight squeeze just loading us up to get to the airport - with the luggage every inch of that van is covered. I thought maybe a small RV or perhaps one of the large vans or conversion van would work better - maybe even the train???

The extra days are not a concern. We only take one trip a year so vacation time isn't an issue and I figured we would definitely be making the drive over two days each way. The plane is faster of course but we're looking at 7 tickets plus bag fees, 8 hours or so if you count from the time we leave the house until the time we're at the hotel and worse than anything else trying to drag four small kids through security and get them on the plane with their carry ons, our carry ons and the stroller and backpack carrier to gate check. It's a massive pain coupled with the fact that we really don't like to fly to start with so it pretty much means we've ruled out flying for a number of reasons.

 

[sam_gordon]

I don't think a conversion van will have any more room than a minivan (at least as far as seating). The RV idea is a good one, but I think an expensive one. Also, if you're not used to driving a "larger" vehicle, you may want to try it for a day before you take it on a 20+ hour drive.

I understand your concerns about flying, and if you'd rather avoid that, that's fine. I like the train idea, but part of that depends on where you're starting from. From Ann Arbor to Orlando is a 40 hour trip!

I'd lean RV if you didn't want to use the minivan.

 

[Alesia]

Keep in mind that with a larger vehicle, you will have to drive much slower than with a regular van. It's hard to even find a company that will rent out 15 passenger vans because of liability issues. They tend to roll over very easily if driven too fast.

I would take the train. At least then everyone would be well rested and comfortable.

 

[maxiesmom]

From a fellow Michigander, I have to say there is no way I would drive to WDW with 4 little kids.

I understand it does take about 8 hours to get to Orlando flying, unless you can get a direct flight, and then it is under 3 hours. Not sure where you are at but Grand Rapids and Flint both have direct flights now on Air Tran. Or Allegiant.

We have drove before, and while the drive down isn't horrible, the ride home is exhausting. Everyone is worn out and just wants to sleep in their own bed.

I know this is not the question you asked, but I would take 8 hours of hassle over 24 hours of hassle anytime. I really think you should give flying another look.

 

[MidgeD79]

I'm considering the opposite! We have driven to WDW many times (I'm the only driver) in our mini-van. Sometimes there are 7 of us and sometimes 4. We always use a luggage carrier on top. We can do the drive in 2 days, but I'm exhausted! One time we split up and some of us drove with all of the luggage and the rest went by plane.

 

[UncleRay]

We're a group of 7 that likes to travel to WDW - four of the group are kids 6 and under. In the past we've flown but have grown tired of the hassle of the airport and are considering driving down this year from MI.

So for all you experienced drivers what should we rent? I don't think a regular mini van is going to be comfortable for all of us on this kind of trip. What would you rent in that situation and is it possible to rent it one way each way? We don't need it while we are there - we stay on the property in a hotel (no FW for us) and use the disney transportation.

Anyone got any good ideas? I don't want to drive some giant bus-like thing down there but I do want us all to be comfortable.

For the time it would take to drive from MI, it would seem that flying and using the Disney bus from airport to resort would be the least hassle way to go. Just my opinion. Also, flying allows more park-time.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

Not mentioned, I doubt you're going to find a full size van, conversion van or even an RV with unlimited mileage. Honestly, for that many people I think your choices from a cost effective point of view is going to be limited without using your own vehicle.

Personally I would not drive that far with that many kids...ever.

 

[disneylover1959]

I would think taking Airtran out of Flint wouldn't be such a bad flight, seeing how easy Disney makes it to get from the Orlando Airport to WDW.

 

[CoachG]

From a fellow Michigander, I have to say there is no way I would drive to WDW with 4 little kids.

I understand it does take about 8 hours to get to Orlando flying, unless you can get a direct flight, and then it is under 3 hours. Not sure where you are at but Grand Rapids and Flint both have direct flights now on Air Tran. Or Allegiant.

We have drove before, and while the drive down isn't horrible, the ride home is exhausting. Everyone is worn out and just wants to sleep in their own bed.

I know this is not the question you asked, but I would take 8 hours of hassle over 24 hours of hassle anytime. I really think you should give flying another look.

We always fly non stop - the 8 to 9 hours I'm talking about is drive to the airport (getting there two hours early), the plane ride, waiting for the ME and the ride to the resort. Yes the plane ride itself is only 3 hours but its still 8-9 hours of travel time. There is no way we would do a plane with stops.

I appreciate the comments and those of you trying to be helpful but it's not an issue of trying to get more park time or trying to save money. I can use two extra vacation days for the extra travel days and we're going to be spending x amount of dollars flying so as long as we're spending that or less driving its fine. The point is to avoid flying.

Air travel is a nightmare for us - I don't know how many of you travel with multiple small children but imagine trying to take four kids six and under through security. Taking off their shoes and making the ones who can walk go through the scanner is one thing - then there's putting all of our carry ons and laptop plus their carry ons on the scanner, folding up a double stroller and getting that, a backpack child carrier and all our personal belongings through the scanner - then we have to collect it all, get everything put back together and get everyones shoes back on and back in their stroller etc...we literally try to grab all of our stuff and shuffle a herd of small kids and our stuff over to a corner after security to put it all back together so we are out of the way. And we're not even on the plane yet! Bathroom breaks on a plane? Yikes. Somebody doesn't feel good? Double Yikes. Not to mention that we don't even like the actual flying part.

Sure, for people who don't mind flying or have no kids (or kids who are mostly or all old enough to be able to take care of themselves like carrying their own bag or putting on their own shoes) flying would be much easier. We've flown down there 3 times now and the process gets worse each time and that was with only 3 or 2 kids in the past. Yes it will take a long time to drive and yes the kids will argue in the car and that kind of stuff but at least if we need a break or if someone has to go to the bathroom or somebody doesn't feel good we can stop. And we can always drive part of the way (at least going there) at night while they sleep. I know its not going to be an easy trip nor maybe a cost effective one but at this point its drive or wait until they're older to deal with flying and just getting to Disney would make the long trip worth it - we just need to figure out how to make the best of it