We have quite a bit of flexibility and we like to drive. We live 880 miles from WDW and we’re just off Rt. 95 in Maryland. For us, if we don’t hit traffic, it’s a twelve and one-half hour drive. The traffic thing and the flexibility thing go hand in hand. For example, we would never leave home on a Friday afternoon. I like to time the trip so we don’t hit any of the major traffic tie-up areas at rush hour. We have flown down many times – always from BWI. We’ve found that if all goes well with the airline and if we have a non-stop flight, we can make it to WDW (door to door) in around six and one-half hours. Yes, I know it’s a two-hour flight, but come on, be realistic about how long it really takes. For us, the convenience of having our car down there, being able to take along liquids in 6 oz bottles, packing extra clothing, etc. (and not having to take our shoes off while having a whole body search!) is worth the extra six hours. And that doesn’t even take into account the cost factor. From where we live, I usually leave home around 9:00 am on a workday (after the Washington morning rush hour) and that usually get us to Orlando before 10:00 pm. A full day’s work. After a full night’s sleep, we are ready to go the next day. What about driving through the night? We’ve done that more than once (and this is a good option for avoiding traffic) but don’t plan on doing anything on arrival day because you will be wiped out – and hopefully the kids will not have slept through the night because they will NOT be wiped out.
