How far would you drive for 1 day in the parks?

[la79al]

Not sure if this really belongs on the budget board but seeing as how I am looking for ways to cut costs, maybe? Anyhow, how far would you drive to do one day in the parks? For example, if you were living 1.5 hours away, would you drive home at the end of the day to save the $150 for even the value resorts?

 

[martikus]

We used to live 2 hours away and did day trips. Never two days in a row. The older I get though I wouldn’t want to. Instead would probably get a hotel night before and then drive home after parks.

I would stay offsite if costs a factor.

 

[kymom99]

We will be vacationing in Madeira beach in October. We plan to drive over for one day in MK which is about 1.5 hours away. If I lived there I would totally do it.

 

[tzeitel]

I think it depends how long you will be in the parks for and what you hope to accomplish in that one day.

We live 2 hours away from our closest amusement park. A couple of weeks ago we took DD there for her birthday, got there at opening (10:30am), left for a late lunch in the middle of the day and then went back until around 8pm. There is no way we could have driven back the same day. IDK maybe we are getting old but we were hot, tired and would have been miserable on the drive home.
That park is tiny compared to MK, and this was Denver hot - not Central FL hot.

I would totally drive down and go to the parks the same day if we lived 2 hours from WDW but I would not plan on driving back afterwards. I would find a cheap hotel and drive back the next day.

 

[a1tinkfans]

I think the break off point is 1-1/2 hours.
Doesn’t fit my criteria,

 

[smiths02]

We have a local attraction that is about an hour (maybe a little more or less depending on traffic). We have annual passes, so we go a few times a year. The attraction also has fireworks and laser show many nights. Anyhow, if we were planning a full day there, I have looked into renting a hotel room...haven't bit the bullet yet, instead we do partial days a few times a year. (And maybe once a year stay past 3 or 4 in the afternoon).
So I would say if I wanted a full day, I would probably drive early in the morning and then spend the night (maybe have an afternoon break at the hotel) if we are talking anything much more than an hour. I might still consider a partial day if it were up to 2 hours away and we had passes. I am not a late night person, though, so I would probably need to go early and leave afternoon. If I wanted to do the nighttime stuff, I would probably need a hotel (unless DH was driving).

 

[Eeyore daily]

I live 2 hours from Disney but I wouldn’t make a day trip out of it. Traffic is too awful and time consuming after a day in the parks.

 

[AndreaDM]

We live 2 hours from Cedar Point and go almost every year, only once did we spend the night because we got a good deal on a package. Yes, the drive home sucks! It's a totally different situation though, outside of the park, there is not much to do in that area at all, just a couple of chain restaurants and crappy hotels, where at WDW you have all those great resorts as well as DS.

 

[tvguy]

I have driven 8 hours. But my wife and kids (now adults) feel 3 hours of driving is the cap, then you need to fly.

 

[Random Ninja]

When my DH and I started dating, our 2nd date was to Disney. We lived 3 hours away, left around 7am and didn’t get back until after midnight. Don’t think we’d be willing to do that long of a drive after a long day anymore but it was fun while we were young & crazy.

 

[angierae]

I live two hours and 15 minutes from Cedar Point and I do daytrips 90% of the time. That's a totally reasonable drive for me.

 

[angierae]

(As for 1.5 hours, it's an hour to drive to my nieces for a family bbq or a family picnic, so getting a hotel for 1.5 hours wouldn't even occur to me.)

 

[MillauFr]

1 hour. Which in Southern California is about 10 miles away.

 

[Hikergirl]

1.5 to 2 hours would be my max for a one day trip.
We often drive that to our family's houses, the coast and to camp.

 

[Darcy03231]

I'm in the hour and a half to two hours camp. I regularly drive up to 2.5 - 3 hours a day.

 

[disneywithfive]

3 hours away and we make day trips. Not to save money but depends on our family members work schedules. When we have the time, I definitely spend the night.

 

[KMWoolley]

I would totally drive down and go to the parks the same day if we lived 2 hours from WDW but I would not plan on driving back afterwards. I would find a cheap hotel and drive back the next day

and that's where the logic falls apart for me....wouldn't you just hit the parks the next day (since you're already in the area), and then you are stuck in a loop that only ends when the money or vacation time ends?

 

[Aimeedyan]

We are a 1 hour and 15 minutes away and do tons of day trips. Most of the friends who have passes do, too. Evenings after work/school, Sunday afternoons, Saturday mornings, etc. We never do a full day, though - not even when we stay nearby and make it a staycation (which we do often, too). We stay 4-5 hours at most these days.

In our previous city, an hour was the daily commute so driving a few minutes more to go to Disney is no big deal. Definitely not hotel worthy. But we also have dogs at home, jobs, and Disney is our cheap entertainment so throwing a hotel in the mix would make it not so cheap

 

[morgan98]

I think an hour an a half is a reasonable drive for a day trip. If I spent a night, I would need to pack and bag and since I have to shower everyday, that would involve grabbing toiletries, etc, and then unpacking at the other end. I am not saying that would take a huge amount of time, but in addition to the expense of the hotel it would add that step too.

***For the record, I am the type of person that thinks packing for one night is basically like packing for 2 or 3 nights. Yeah, you may need an extra shirt or pair of jeans but the rest of packing is about the same.

 

[tzeitel]

and that's where the logic falls apart for me....wouldn't you just hit the parks the next day (since you're already in the area), and then you are stuck in a loop that only ends when the money or vacation time ends?

Knowing me I would also go into the parks the next day