Is $700 IN GAS for driving RT Canada-FLA too much?????????????????????

[laura001]

What did your last slave die of? I have the break down at home, so I'll have to answer this later.

The other reason we like driving so much is the freedom to bring stuff back. We do a LOT of shopping in WDW so this is a big deal for us. So, it's not just about cost (at least not for me anyhow).

 

[slapwhitey]

I'll bite on the wear and tear, and time points.
We traded in our 2006 Escape after 3 years (and 3 WDW trips), with 36000km. We were getting our oil changes every 3 months, without coming close to the mileage required. It was under warranty, and came wit Ford roadside coverage. We were well under the blackbook mileage allowance, and the dealership advertised the highway mileage.
Time........the quote for our flight had us departing Detroit at 6:30am, meaning either staying overnight, or leaving home by midnight. With a stop in Atlanta, we were to arrive at 3pm in Orlando. Expecting to arrive at our condo around 4pm. Without the overnight, and additional $100+, it would be 16 hours door to door. Then we would be dealing with getting our rental car. Return was 2pm (airport by noon), with another stop, returning to Detroit at 9pm. Getting to our vehicle, crossing the border and getting home around 2am. 16 hours there, 12 back. Driving, we leave at 4am, and are in Orlando by noon the next day (32 hours), and leave WDW at 8am and arrive home by 4pm day 2 (32 hours). It means an additional 36 hours.......not 4 days, if we don't stay in Detroit, amd 29 if we do. The last time I checked, those days were also vacation, and well worth the $900+.

I'm glad it seemed to work for you and under your circumstances it may have been a better deal. But if someone does not have a lease vehicle it's more than just mileage. It's whether a tire blows, transmission craps out, any number of things can go wrong with a vehicle even if it's recently had tune ups or oil changes. It's just not a risk I'm willing to take and incur further expense or delay. My vacation time is precious and I don't need to spend it with a local AAA tow truck driver or overpriced small town repair shop.

I truly think there are just some folks that like flying and some that like driving and there is no changing their minds about it. Ultimately it's the OP's decision as to how they want to spend their vacation and money. It was just my opinion that to save a few hundred dollars it's not worth the extra time and risk of further delay or aggravation. All I know for sure is that I love walking into the Magic Kingdom around noon and grabbing lunch at Casey's or Pecos Bills after I've already checked into my hotel on the same morning I leave home. As far as I'm concerned, you can't put a price on that.

 

[digskat]

All I know for sure is that I love walking into the Magic Kingdom around noon and grabbing lunch at Casey's or Pecos Bills after I've already checked into my hotel on the same morning I leave home. As far as I'm concerned, you can't put a price on that.

I guess if that option was available to me, my thoughts would be different. However, it is 3 hours to the nearest USA airport, so we would have to leave at 1am, or stay overnight, to be in time for an early morning flight. Last year, I had 4 weeks off, so time wasn't an issue. The extra grand we saved by driving went to 5 additional nights at POP, and several Christmas gifts purchased around Orlando/Kissimmee. Having our own vehicle to shop, go from resort to resort, and come and go as we please was invaluable to us. It is completely at the experience/need of the individual.

 

[Ham Ham]

Driving or flying is a very personal decision. Some folks who fly think the folks who drive are nuts and vice versa.

We frequently drive to Montreal from Mississauga in usually 6 hours. We have friends who think that driving to Collingwood, about 90 minutes, is too long.

We drove down to WDW in March of '06. Left Mississauga on Wednesday at 17:00 and pulled into Pop Century at 17:00 on Thursday. My wife and I shared the driving. Don't now if we would ever drive straight through again.

Unless you can find flights to MCO for all of your party for under $1000 and don't need a car while in Florida driving is more economical. However if you only have a week off driving may eat up a lot of your nine days off.

No matter what folks say about 2 hours flights etc. Flying Southern Ontario from you home to your hotel will take about eight hours. So a total of two travel days

Driving can be done easily in two 12 hour days. A total of 4 travel days. If you have 2 weeks this would be my recommended way to go.

This year we are driving to Pittsburgh to fly SW to Orlando in August. We'll leave out place Saturday morning for an afternnon flight.
Saving over $480 over Buffalo. Sure we'll spend an extra $50 in fuel but we will also stop at the outlets in Grove City, PA for some back to school shopping. No sales tax in PA. oney we save over fling out of Buffalo will pay for our rental car and the rest towards Universal tickets.

When we land in Pittsburgh we'll be home in 4 1/2 hours.

 

[slapwhitey]

I guess if that option was available to me, my thoughts would be different. However, it is 3 hours to the nearest USA airport, so we would have to leave at 1am, or stay overnight, to be in time for an early morning flight. Last year, I had 4 weeks off, so time wasn't an issue. The extra grand we saved by driving went to 5 additional nights at POP, and several Christmas gifts purchased around Orlando/Kissimmee. Having our own vehicle to shop, go from resort to resort, and come and go as we please was invaluable to us. It is completely at the experience/need of the individual.

4 weeks off? You need to get me an interview at your place of employment. If I had 4 weeks I'd love to drive and actually take my time to enjoy the sights. I just keep thinking of the majority only having a week or so at a time. I must admit I'm a little jealous.

 

[Csaks]

If you have two weeks off I would say driving is the better way but 7 days flying makes it a no brainer.

We are taking our new G5 this Dec. and CAA trip calculator says it will only cost $310 compared to our Silverado at $700 at todays prices. I don't think the two of us could fly for that even with the hotel stops there and back. Plus the truck is getting it's second set of heads in six months as we type, so trusting it is a little hard right now.

We also found it was a nice way to unwind both from work and the World while driving to and from. I don't mind driving but there are others who hate it. All the stuff you can bring back driving is scary, maybe we should fly .Flying is ok for me but landing scares the crap out of me everytime
We have done both and each has it's pro's and con's. You need to figure out your own families needs. Only you know everyones personalities and whether you should do one or the other.

 

[Ham Ham]

Well put Csak

I love the drive down. Great way to unwind. We usually try and find something to look at on the way down. New River Bridge visitors Center on US 19 in WV is a must for us.

Great views of the river and an interesting museum on the coal mining area.
Next time we drive we hope to stop at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta and at some point take in Savannah, GA, as well as Washington, DC museums.

A satellite radio, GPS for the adults and DVD player, ipod, ds lite and other electronics if you have kids to keep them entertained.

Packing a lunch for the day is also a great time saver.

My wife and I joke about me driving down and meeting her and the girl in Florida at the airport.

At current prices our Civic would consume $325 on around trip to WDW from Mississauga. $450 for our Windstar.

 

[digskat]

4 weeks off? You need to get me an interview at your place of employment. If I had 4 weeks I'd love to drive and actually take my time to enjoy the sights. I just keep thinking of the majority only having a week or so at a time. I must admit I'm a little jealous.

that's the bonus of 12 hour shifts. days you work, you don't get to have much of a family life, but you don't work more than 3 days in a row, and you get a week off every 3 months. 4 weeks off only cost me 3 weeks of vacation.

 

[michelle1]

I guess a big factor is what type of vehicle are you driving. According to the fuel calculator it would cost us $509 round trip from Buffalo and I have flights booked at $160pp return which is $640 for our family. We would not be further ahead if we drove since we would still need a hotel 1 night each way and some food. By the way, my DH just called me and filled up for $1.34/L

 

[disneynovic]

I haven't read every post, so forgive me if this link has been posted, but this has been recommended before to figure out fuel costs http://www.fuelcostcalculator.com/
I drive a 2006 suburban, and for the seven of us, $700 will be our cost, probably more because we don't leave until Nov. I've checked the Airtran flights for $99, but didn't like when they left or returned(plus we'd need a hotel in Buffalo), and we are staying off-site, so we'd need a large rental van to fit all of us. I can get free hotels(2 rooms each way) on the way down through aeroplan, and we have the freedom to go to the spacecentre or Universal or shopping for a day. We'll also be saving lots on food once in Orlando, because we have a vacation home, rented for $740 for the week I might add.

 

[Narnia]

we use this calculator just start at the area in the states you are goinh though we chose bufflo NY
fuelcostcalculator.com
It'll cost us 333 for the whole trip in our mini van which does save alot since we have 7 people in the family.

 

[F4disneyfan]

4 weeks off? You need to get me an interview at your place of employment. If I had 4 weeks I'd love to drive and actually take my time to enjoy the sights. I just keep thinking of the majority only having a week or so at a time. I must admit I'm a little jealous.

We have driven for our trips that were only 5 days at WDW it truly is all part of the trip when you drive so many things to do and see even without stopping for long periods of time. The memories you make and treasure during a drive are worth more than any short flight to Florida IMHO.

 

[MomtoEmIs&Ow]

We drove from Pickering ont. It cost us about about 460 in gas and another 240 in hotels. We had 3 adults and 2 kids in a venture extended minivan. It was packed full. I really doubt we could have found flights that cheap. We drove but I'm not sure I would do it again or I would take an extra day, which adds to the price. However, we do normally enjoy driving, we drive down east every summer which isn't as far, its about a 16 hour drive which we do in two 8 hour days. The drive to WDW seemed to take longer then I thought it should. The first day was 17 hours! The second 11. My kids both got car sick though and we drove the speed limit. We stopped in Charlotte North Carolina. I would stop sooner next time plus we won't have the extra adult.

We loved having the car in Florida, we stocked up at Wal-mart, bought t-shirts and souvineers. We also drove to another resort for a character meal and to a couple of the parks when the lines for the bus was too long and we needed to get to a ADR. That part I would miss if I flew but we may go in January next time so we may have to fly. I wouldn't let the high cost of gas discourage you because gas prices are much cheaper in the states but if you don't enjoy driving and can afford it, Fly!!!

HTH

We got flights for the 5 of us for $630. For future if you do fly, we fly out of detroit. And these kind of deals can be found if you take the time to look.

 

[digskat]

We got flights for the 5 of us for $630. For future if you do fly, we fly out of detroit. And these kind of deals can be found if you take the time to look.

Where did you find that deal? We looked for our trip this year (cheap flights/travelocity/discount flights/expedia/flight network), and couldn't find anything under $1100 for the 4 of us, and that was with a stop. Heck, even without taxes and fees, our best quote was $656. We are considering flying next December, when we take our cruise, and I would love a deal like that.

 

[MomtoEmIs&Ow]

Where did you find that deal? We looked for our trip this year (cheap flights/travelocity/discount flights/expedia/flight network), and couldn't find anything under $1100 for the 4 of us, and that was with a stop. Heck, even without taxes and fees, our best quote was $656. We are considering flying next December, when we take our cruise, and I would love a deal like that.

I check Airtran, Spirit, and Southwest (DING) websites very regularly, and receive all the sale notices via e-mail. We fly out of Detroit. I guess it all depends on how often you look, when you want to go, and how far in advance you start looking....
I found that particular deal for our free dining trip in Sept. on Spirit. And that is for 5 of us. I hope that you can find a great deal!

Oh DH and I booked a trip awhile ago to NY city, and I got our flights for $56 (for us both!!!) Also through Spirit, but we ended up having to cancel , but we were only out $56.

 

[F4disneyfan]

I looked at Spirit for Oct to Tampa to go see the HABS play the Lightning and man it was still over 400 from Detroit to Tampa and home for 1 person and out of Pearson it was 878 to fly return for one person. That is way more than my gas to drive to and from Disney. Especially when you add in another 5 people you have to get there and back.

 

[drag n' fly]

I'm all for driving. Well I'd fly if I could afford it.
We are driving to San Diego again this summer. Yes gas is up but the cheapest tickets I 've seen are $1000 return to LAX for both of us. Then you have to rent a car (at least I would) stay in a motel (we tent camp) not have a cooler for cold drinks. I figured it would cost me double at least to fly.
Looks like between 600-700 for gas this year. We camp 30-40/night. It has never rained in our 8-9 trips.
And best of all no tv for my son to be glued to, no 'wait til this show is over'.

Last year in Anaheim my son bought hockey goalie gear, at least half the price as here. If we were flying we would have to pay for extra luggage & it's kinda hard to pack goalie pads. He has a hockey list started for this summer already.

Not to mention the scenery and changes in landscape you see when driving. We finds lots of little stops and side trips to check out. Not sure if its the same going to Florida tho. Heading south we go from foothills, to farm land, to desert to the ocean.

Once we buy into GCV we are planning to do this. It is only a 22 hour drive from Calgary to Anaheim. I am actually looking forward to the drive How long do you take to drive there and back? I am still wincing at the cost of just driving to Vancouver Island this summer and back

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

If you are going in the summer months does the $700 include using the air conditioning? Remember you will also be drive on a lot of hills to get to Florida that also mean more gas consumption to get up those hills so the $700 is not really a true figure when you factor in the extra cost.

Something else to think about what it you run into a traffic accident that leaves you sitting in a backup... That means you will use more gas idling the van plus it eats into your vacation time.
.
It is summer and that means road construction which could slow you down and take away from valuable vacation time and consumes more gas.

Plus you need to factor in you will have luggage to transport which will add weight to the van. That means you will use more gas because of the added weight. I read an article on MSN recently that said for every 100 pounds you add to your vehicle you increase your gas consumption by 3%. So factor in the weight of the luggage the weight of everyone in the van and that adds to fuel consumption.


What about wear and tear on your vehicle. What happens if you get a flat tire? Now you will have to buy a tire and wait to have it changed and that will eat into your vacation time and add to your vacation expense.

What if gas goes up before you leave - that means the $700 will increase.
I would as some one said early look into flights at near by airports.
I live in Cleveland Ohio but got a great flight out of Detroit for $125 less a person.
Just last week Southwest Airlines had a fare of $64 each way out of Philadelphia to Orlando.

 

[digskat]

If you are going in the summer months does the $700 include using the air conditioning? Remember you will also be drive on a lot of hills to get to Florida that also mean more gas consumption to get up those hills so the $700 is not really a true figure when you factor in the extra cost.

Something else to think about what it you run into a traffic accident that leaves you sitting in a backup... That means you will use more gas idling the van plus it eats into your vacation time.
.
It is summer and that means road construction which could slow you down and take away from valuable vacation time and consumes more gas.

Plus you need to factor in you will have luggage to transport which will add weight to the van. That means you will use more gas because of the added weight. I read an article on MSN recently that said for every 100 pounds you add to your vehicle you increase your gas consumption by 3%. So factor in the weight of the luggage the weight of everyone in the van and that adds to fuel consumption.


What about wear and tear on your vehicle. What happens if you get a flat tire? Now you will have to buy a tire and wait to have it changed and that will eat into your vacation time and add to your vacation expense.

What if gas goes up before you leave - that means the $700 will increase.
I would as some one said early look into flights at near by airports.
I live in Cleveland Ohio but got a great flight out of Detroit for $125 less a person.
Just last week Southwest Airlines had a fare of $64 each way out of Philadelphia to Orlando.

Ooooh ooooh, I wanna play too.
What if the door blows off your plane, and you are stuck at the airport for a day, waiting for another flight....that takes time from your vacation.
What if your discount airline goes bankrupt, and abandons you in Florida, while you have to wait for a new flight with a different company....that adds expense to your trip.
What if border traffic/guards hold you up, and you miss your flight, you get stuck waiting for another flight....that takes time from your vacation.
What if your budget airline can't fill seats, and cancels your flight, and you end up waiting for another flight....that takes time from your trip.
What if the airline loses your luggage, and you have to spend the first day getting clothes, etc....that takes time, and adds expense.
What if your flight gets delayed, and you miss your connection, leaving you stranded, waiting for another flight.....that costs time.
What if stuff goes missing from your luggage, causing replacement costs.
What if you purchase souveners, and your luggage becomes over weight, causing you to pay for additional baggage.....more cost.
The first seven actually happened to family and friends.

'What ifs' can happen any way you travel.

A flat tire......45 minutes and maybe $75

An accident...always possible, but so is a plane crash.

Wear and tear....we sold our van after our first drive down, and the additional 4500km cost us ..........nothing. We leased our next vehicle, and after 3 trips, the wear and tear cost.....again nothing (we were well under mileage)

Increased gas prices....kind of noticing the same with flights, since they too require gas.

 

[endy]

Drag N Fly
Driving to Anaheim:
I drive about 80mph, something tells me I'll be slowing down this time.
We usually leave mid Friday afternoon (I have to work but boss usually says to go early), stay in Great Falls or Chateau, MT overnight, stop at Walmart in Butte for a stretch & cheap sandwich supplies. Stay in Provo, UT Sat night, hit Anaheim or San Diego Sunday around supper.
I stop for lots of pee breaks & usually throw a couple hours worth of gas in at the same time. Kid is always hungry and needs a burger, sub or taco everytime.
I really don't mind the driving. Except for vegas to LA, this stretch is is torture. Between the heat & the fancy wheels going way way over the limit and of course it's always on a Sunday when everyone is racing home.