How far would you drive to WDW?

[almburr]

We are thinking of taking the kids back to WDW in a few years right now they are 12,8,6,5,2 and us me and DH

the four oldest have been we want to wail till 2yr old is 4or 5.

we have flown and it is a 3 & 1/2 hr flight, not bad. If we drive it would be 26hrs!!!

If we drove we would save around $1,000 but to drive a total of 4 day, 2 to get there and 2 to get back.

We have a Suburban and DVD players, but to drive that long?

What do you think? Should we just pay the fare and get there have fun, Or drive?

 

[AllesonWonderland]

I'd hate to give up 2 days on either end of our vacation for driving. (No matter how well the kids travel. LOL ) That being said, we drove 4 hours to Kansas City where our whole family flew Southwest roundtrip for $468. I'll continue to bypass closer airports for deals like that!

We drive 'home' to Nebraska and that's an 8 hour trip. Or we've driven to Colorado which was 12 from here...that's probably about the farthest I'd drive. (If I can continue to get cheap airfare.)

Good luck with your decision!

 

[fan_of_small_world]

5 kids, 26 hours?

Save your sanity...FLY!!!!!

Since you have a couple of years to save, you might as well plan for the airfare and make the experience much more enjoyable for all of you.

 

[kevschickee]

You couldnt pay me enough to drive for that long with that many kids lol I say fly

 

[Becky2005]

I think it all depends. We drove in 2005 with 4 kids -- not quite as long of a drive. I think ours was 20? However it probably ended up being 26ish -- but we did break it up into 2 days. I knew we wouldn't be able to do it in 1.

There were many reasons we chose to drive.

First off we still had a stroller & all the baby stuff since our little guy was only 1.

All the security stuff makes me nervous (I just know I'll do something against the regulations since they change daily & we will end up missing our flight or something! OR my one child with sensory issues will be pulled for extra security or something & he would completely freak out) I also didn't feel like spending 4+ hours in the airport for security checks (I know the recommended time is 2 hours before a flight but I would end up wanting to arrive even EARLIER than that just in case there was a back-up of some sort) and attempting to keep the kids happy during that.

I kept reading things on the DIS about the airlines changing flight times on people & now I've just read the one about them changing seating arrangements on you. I'm a planner -- this would stress me completely out. That's the biggest one plus with driving WE decided what time we wanted to leave, etc... Which was good because I couldn't find the key to the safe when we were getting ready to leave which had everything important in it (including the car keys!). I would have become a total witch (worse than I was) if something like that would have made me late for my flight.

I did look into flying but with 6 people it just kept coming out cheaper to me to drive.

 

[WAHMto5]

We drive every trip from Northern Illinois. We always leave around midnight (dh goes to bed at around 5:00pm) and the kids sleep the whole night while we drive! When tey wake, it is time for breakfast and change of clothes. Then a full day of driving and we are normally at Disney late that evening. We get all new DVDs for the player and lots of snacks & activites!

 

[Becky2005]

We drive every trip from Northern Illinois.

You are braver than I to do that in 1 day. It's always a 2 day trip for us but we barely made it home from Atlanta one time (with both DH & I practically falling asleep at the wheel), hence the fact that we know that's our limit.

 

[Finally_Talking]

I still remember the drive to WDW from Mass. in 1975 when I was six. It was August. There were two parents, six kids, one van with no air-conditioning (who had that in 1975?), no seat belts (who used them back then?) It was the biggest adventure ever! Sealed the deal for me as a life-long Disney fan. Yes, it was long, hot and mostly boring. It took two full days with my dad doing ALL the driving. I can only imagine how much better it would be now with nice, cool air, dvds, ipods, nintendo ds's, etc...

My first vote would be to fly for the timing/fatigue factor alone. But, if you must, then tech-up and drive...good luck whatever you decide.

 

[mnasmom3]

We drive from Michigan...detroit area. We always go straight through on the way down and plan for a 2 day trip on the way back but usually do that straight through too. It's about 20 hrs. We leave in the afternoon and the kids sleep a good part of the trip since we drive through the night. It's a huge savings since gas and food costs less then $400 round trip and flights for 5 plus the airport parking for a week costs around $850. Tack on a rental car for the week and you're at at least $1000. When I did the math it was a no-brainer for us. We'll drive!

 

[arielsleepingbeauty]

We have driven to Boston. Without children it has taken us about 21 hours. With children about 24 hours due to all the stops that we make.

If I wasn't travelling with children , I wouldn't mind driving again.

Our oldest was 2 1/2 when we drove and that was fine. But now the kids are 5 and 7 and I don't want to hear "are we there yet?" for 24 hours.

We go during the less busy season and the price of airfare seems to always be a good deal that it's worth it for us to fly. We are paying $49.00 each way per person. We have someone drive us to the airport which is about 20 minutes away and then pick us up for our return. My Dh doesn't have that much vacation time so it works out better for us to fly.

 

[Darcy03231]

I have to agree with kevschickee, you couldn't pay me enough to drive! I live about 24-26 hours away and wouldn't even contemplate it. With the prices of airfare (if you're willing to take some inconvenient flight times) I can't imagine I'll ever drive it. Also, keep in mind that if you're going to break your trip up into 2 days there and 2 days back that 4 days of vacation time, hotels, meals, etc. Factor in the 4 days of vacation time spent driving, hotels, meals, gas, wear & tear on the car, all the stuff you'll buy to keep the kids entertained for 2 days on the road and it might be cheaper (and less stressful) to fly.

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

We are in NJ and I can tell you we did it once and will never do it again. But everyone is different-some families enjoy their time on the road. We made it just past South of the Border and my DD got viciously car sick...stayed that way all the way to Orlando. She was 7 at the time...it was awful. Not to mention the kids were bored (they had tv/dvd/video games, etc.), cramped (even in a custom van) and constantly asking "are we there yet". Me and DH felt like Clark and Ellen Griswold!

We get such limited time to be off for vacation, that we feel our time is too valuable to waste with a day or more driving there and back. Like others have said, I'd rather be there and in the parks already. Plus with gas prices the way they are, I don't know that the savings would be THAT good for us. I think you have to factor into the cost savings that you are losing nearly 4 days of being at Disney to make the drive. When we fly, we normally get the first flight of the day and touch down by 9am in Orlando, so we pretty much drop our bags and run to a park. When we leave, we don't leave until after dinner on our last day...we try and stretch our time to the max.

If it were me, seeing the ages of your kids, I definitely would bite the bullet financially and get plane tickets...but that is just my .02

 

[Steph9072]

I priced airfare for my bunch anywhere from $1600 with to transfers each way to $2100 non stop.

We will be driving from Indiana. This will be between 15-17 hour drive depending on how many stops are needed. The day we leave the older two have school & dh works. My two-year-old is going to my Moms. I will finish last minute packing and take a long nap. We will leave about 8:30 or 9:00 PM and I will drive as far as I can. If that is all the way great if not we will stop & get up early the following AM and drive in. But for the most part the kids will sleep through the drive. As long as I have Starbucks or Mt. Dew I will be fine to drive.

 

[dameodie]

We drive every trip from Northern Illinois. We always leave around midnight (dh goes to bed at around 5:00pm) and the kids sleep the whole night while we drive! When tey wake, it is time for breakfast and change of clothes. Then a full day of driving and we are normally at Disney late that evening. We get all new DVDs for the player and lots of snacks & activites!

This is pretty much our plan... we're about 21 hours away from WDW per MapQuest, so I'm saying 24 hours. We're going to leave Sunday evening after the wedding, and get to the condo Monday evening. Let the girls sleep, have breakfast in Nashville with a friend, and then drive the rest of the way to Disney. They get to sleep through some of the more boring parts but still see the mountians

It's also a matter of cost savings... Flying would be $800-$900 PLUS a rental car for two weeks... and even at $3.25 a gallon for gas it'd be about $350 round trip to drive (say $500 with food and whatnot)

 

[Barbers2005]

Another one for the "you can't pay me enough" camp. That's about how long the drive would be for us, and dh (who is obsessed with saving money on vacations) did suggest it....once. Then he remembered our last car trip to D.C.- two grouchy, tired carsick adults, one whiney carsick grumpy kid and three splitting headaches. After that, he gladly forked over the $.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Let me put is this way. If there were no flights available I would ressurect a Teradactyl (sp?), strap me and my family on it's back and dangle a steak in front of it on a stick to make it fly. I will never never never drive to WDW!!! It is roughly 24 hours in the car. I hate car trips. My kids will not want to sit in the car for that long either. We drove to Boston over the summer and a 4 hour trip took 8 hours due to traffic etc. I could have walked there faster! The kids have told me that they never want to drive there again! They told my BIL he needs to move closer or he has to come here! I cannot sit in a car for that long. I can't read in a car or do a craft etc. I get sick so I just have to sit there. That is torture for me and everyone around me. It gives me anxiety. I also wouldn't want to waste 4 days of my vacation driving. Also- who wants to be bothered driving home for 2 days after all the fun of WDW?
So my answer is no. I would spend as much money as it would take to avoid a cartrip of that magnitude.

 

[PrincessasMommy]

Let me put is this way. If there were no flights available I would ressurect a Teradactyl (sp?), strap me and my family on it's back and dangle a steak in front of it on a stick to make it fly. I will never never never drive to WDW!!! It is roughly 24 hours in the car........I also wouldn't want to waste 4 days of my vacation driving. Also- who wants to be bothered driving home for 2 days after all the fun of WDW?
So my answer is no. I would spend as much money as it would take to avoid a cartrip of that magnitude.

TOTALLY AGREE W/PP!!!
We live in Canada and have an Expedition, so we could drive, but with 4 kids for us.....no way! It it so worth our sanity and the adventure of the plane is so exciting to our kids!
Our experience is that a 5 hour trip to Montreal takes 8-9 hours with potty breaks and snack stops so NO WAY to a 2 day road trip!! For $1000 I would absolutely fly!!!

 

[dameodie]

... and a $500-$600 savings is worth the drive to me. Plus I don't mind car rides, espically when they mean $500 more to spend on food and souvineres! We're really trying to save as much as we can for this trip, and I see no reason to spend extra on transportation if we can easily work around it.

That being said, we ARE stopping in Kentucky on the way home... I can see us getting there on excitment vibes going down, but I think we'll need the break to get home.

 

[almburr]

its also a 3hr drive to get to the airport.

 

[Barbers2005]

Even with the drive to the airport, you'd still be making out better that way, IMO. After all, that's still a fraction of the time you would spend driving. BTW, I really feel for you that the airport is so far away, what a bummer!