Hokeymomor anyone else who has both flown and drove to Florida what would you do???

[riu girl]

A small (but potentailly exciting) dilemma:
Was planning on driving to WDW (from near Peterborough) but now have found cheaper then I expected air:
Please look at my transportation budget and give me an opinion on what I should do:

Driving:
Gas $400 CDN
Hotels (2 nights down and two back) $310 CDN (DH is only driver and can only drive for max. 10 hours per day)
Food $300 CDN
Driving total= $1010 CDN(estimate) plus wear and tear on van

Flying
flights (2 adults, 2 kids) from Buffalo: $1015.00 CDN(I know this seems high but we are going over holiday season)
Hotel one night in Buffalo: 120 US?? (156.00)CDN
Food in Buffalo hotel (order in Pizza, eats snacks (brought from home)on drive to Buffalo and bring snacks for plane)) 25.00 CDN
Car rental (Dec. 18 - Dec. 31) $304 CDN including tax (I don't know if we also have to get optional insurance, I have never rented a car) Car rentals seem very high over holiday season, this is BY FAR the cheapest rate I could find.
Gas from our home to Buffalo and back $50 CDN??

Total flying = 1550.00 CDN (estimate)

Difference = $540.00 CDN (Estimate)

What do you think I should do and why?????????

I am so "wound up"I will never sleep tonight!!! lol.
Please let me know if any of the budget figures seem out of whack.

 

[spewey]

At first glance (it's late), it seems your estimate for gas on the drive may be high. What are you driving? Assuming it gets at least 50 km/gallon on the highway - a safe bet - I figure your gasoline expenditures to be closer to $250 than $400 - depending on what happens to the price of oil between now and then, of course.

As for the car rental - for 14 days, $300 CAN seems like an incredible steal. Can I again assume taxes are extra? And as for insurance, unless you have a rental rider on your own policy, or a credit card that pays for it for you (i.e. Amex or VISA gold), you should always get it; it varies as to cost, but $10- U.S. a day is probably on the low end.

Even with those low-cost air fares (and $1015.00 CDN for four does not seem high to me, especially over the holidays - is this a Southwest promo or something?) you will be paying significantly more to fly. Now, the question is: How much are you willing to spend to avoid four (or, more likely, five - that's a solid 50-hour round-trip) looooong days cooped up in a car with your loving family? Only you can do that math ...

 

[momtolittlered]

FLY FLY FLY!!!!!! Also your food budget seems a little high for two days but I'm not sure of the ages of your kids- I think that will make a difference. I would pay the extra money for the convenience of flying but this is just my opinion. Good Luck and have a great trip which ever way you choose to travel.

 

[hockey mom]

Fly. I think I remember also that you said your DH is not a huge fan of driving either so just for his sake the extra money is worth it.

 

[Mortlives]

Have you driven before? We hadn't before last spring, but now we wouldn't deprive ourselves of the road trip. We really enjoyed it. But, of course, YMMV. If your DH doesn't enjoy driving, and you can afford to fly that might be your best bet, although it will be substantially more expensive. Do you really need a car?

Kungaloosh!
Morticia.

 

[Grumbo]

With gas being close to $2 per gallon U.S. it isn't cheap anymore for the drive. I think your estimate of 4 nights of hotels (am I reading that correctly?) of $310 Cdn is way too low.
The car rental for that period of time seems a good deal.

I prefer driving, my dw prefers flying. If you have the time I'd drive. Depending on your kid's ages it is a great experience. We had the DVD in the van down last time and it was painless and we enjoyed it. I enjoyed having my own wheels, being able to decide if the weather looks bad or we have to stay a day longer or leave early it is in my hands, not the airlines.
There is also parking at Buffalo, tolls (which you'd have for the driving too).

If time is of the essence though fly.

I think when it comes down to it you have to decide if your dh WANTS to drive, whether your kids will be fine with that period of driving, and if the financial savings of driving are worth it to you. It IS a neat thing to watch the brown lawns and leafless trees change as you head south
Plus if you shop (My dw taught me this one) you can bring a LOT more junk back in a van than a suitcase

Good luck,

Cheers,
Grumbo

 

[riu girl]

Thanks for all the info.

I've just booked the flights with Independance Air. New airline anyone ever here of it? www.flyi.com.



I am soooo excited, but also feeling tons of ANXIETY. The kids haven't flown before(ages 4 and 7), and does this airline actually exist? I hope so.