How many DVCers drive to Disney?

[qqq]

We drove for the first time after flying many times. Its a tossup from Chicago. Saved lots of $$$ on airfare and rental car. But the extra 3 days travel can really take a toll. Need an extra day on each end of the trip to rest and recover!

 

[ncligs]

qqq,

We agree with you. I think if you can "afford" it, it is better to fly. The toll of being in a car for 10 hrs a day takes a toll on you. I would rather be "rested and fresh" when I am on vacation!!!!!!
We always fly, maybe when we are retired and have more time to break up the trip with a stop at HH, then we would drive once in a while.

 

[Towncrier]

We drive from the Cleveland Ohio area to WDW every year. I guess that we are crazy because we all look forward to the drive. HHI is a good stopping place (although we stayed at Hardeeville on our last trip). We allow 20 hours for the trip including rest stops and one meal stop.

 

[sgtpet]

We are planning on driving to WDW in the future. We may occasionally fly but with last years events we feel more comfortable driving at this point. We are driving to HH this year which is about 13 hours from home.

 

[TriciaT]

Hey, sgtpet, we are neighbors! We drove for the first time during our last trip. I thought I would hate it, but we loved it. It was great to have our own car and be in control of our own schedule. We just drove to HH in November also and thought that was a simple drive. It was tempting though to be five hours from Disney and not keep going. DH and I will be going for a long weekend in June without the kids and of course will fly, but for longer family vacations, driving is great for us.

BTW, a nice area to stay is Fayetteville, NC which is exactley halfway for us. Lots of motels with low rates and free breakfasts.


Tricia

 

[kel3420]

We drove from Chicago this last Thanksgiving week to Vero. This was our first time driving, and as someone else mentioned I was leary of flying so we cancelled our air and drove instead. It wasn't half as bad as I had imagined We used our minivan which gave myself, dh, ds (14), dd (13) and dd (5) enough room to be comfortable. My husband and I bought some new DVD's for the kids to watch on the trip down and it worked out great. He figured out how to hook up three sets of headphones, each with individual knobs for volume control to his laptop. The kids also brought lots of things to keep them occupied, such as books, drawing ativities, game boy, CD player. I thought we were really indulging our kids with the laptop and DVD's until my husband noticed a SUV next to us with three seperate television sets in the back of the seats, all showing different movies.

We winged it in regards to getting a room. The actual driving time was around 22 hours for us. We left around 5 p.m. on a Thursday drove till around 2 am, got a room until 7 am, hit the road again until 9ish, where we got a room right out of Ocala. Got up the next morning, met my grandma who lives in Ocala for bfast and headed off to Vero, pulling in around 1:00. The trip home, we left early Sat morning, drove until about 9, I think we were in TN, but could be wrong, got a room somewhere off the interstate, got up early the next morning and made it home to the far NW burbs of Chicago by dinnertime.

I am not too keen on driving again, but would "consider" it, lol.

Good luck, and have fun,
Kelly

 

[msdis]

Hi Shirley, We will be departing central Maine in April and since you are familiar with the route down could you tell us what route you usually take and any tips and/or shortcuts. What time do you usually leave Maine/Disney (down/back)? Do you find certain days better/worse than any other? When you do stop, do you have any tips of where, location wise, and any suggestions of accommodations. You mention southern Va. and that looks like a good stopping point to me. Sorry so many questions, but we do not want to fly anymore and the thoughts of driving 24-25 hours is stressing us out. We were at WDW Sept. 11th and drove straight back 25 + 1/2 hours in our rental car dead tired and are not looking forward to that torture again, but we refuse to stop vacationing! Thanks a million in advance for any help you can give.

 

[sueg]

For yrs., our family flew to WDW. One trip, DS (now 7, then 2) got a bad ear infection at WDW & we were advised not to fly home. So we traded our local rental for a long distance rental and drove. Not a good trip--no time to plan, sick child etc.
DH & I were scheduled for a special adults-only trip in Oct. After 9/11, our late night flight down was cancelled (& I'm still fighting w/ Delta to get our refund) and we drove. Two adults, some good books on tape and pre-made ressies to stop once up & down. The trip was great and a sharp contrast to our earlier one-way sprint.
We were going to drive in March. Even discussed getting Harry Potter on tape for the drive. But we have a few days left on my & DH's APs (because of our Oct. trip) and our departure time is set by the start of DSs' school vacation. So although I'm angry w/ Delta & we are alittle nervous about flying, we will fly, altogether, for the first time since 9/11.
I will add that I don't like winging it, although it probably depends on the time of yr. When we drove in March, several yrs ago, AAA strongly suggested a ressie for a motel along I-95. They were RIGHT. There were no vacancies & people we actually fighting at our hotel because they couldn't find a place to sleep. In Oct., we probably could have found a place, but I got good rates w/ breakfast inc. thru advanced planning on the internet. Plus, I feel that a ressie gives a structure to a long trip (Like South of the Boarder signs!)

 

[Lyndarella]

We have driven several times from IOWA! It was 30 hours or so, usually had several drivers, and never stopped! We were young then and had more time than money. I can't imagine doing that now.