Is it worth driving from New England to Disney for the "experience"?

[monica9]

We'd like to do it once. 2 adult 1 7yr old. She would be fine.

I'd like to go to South of the Border once. I know it's cheesy but Iremember going as a child and would like to again. Other than that, will it be a torturous ride when the flights are only 2 1/2 hours?

Would save us only $300.

 

[Alesia]

I would fly.

We drove 15 hours this summer and it was fine, but flying is much better.

 

[piccolopat]

I wouldn't drive if flying only saves $300. It is a long, boring ride and takes up most of two days each way. South of the Border is definitely cheesy and not worth the effort to see, even if you end up driving. There are plenty of other much more worthwhile things to do with your time. Have fun!

 

[klo1335]

We are driving from Phila area this summer just to experience it. I have flown to Disney and took the auto train years ago. Our friends always drive so we are going to give it a go. At least you can then say for sure you wouldn't do it again.

 

[MainMom]

The trip down might be fun due to anticipation, but the return journey would be a drag. I wouldn't want to endure that if I had the choice.

 

[BradChristian]

Save South of the Border for a South Carolina vacation like charleston or Myrtle Beach.

Remember it's still almost 8 hours from Orlando when you pass the nc/sc state line.

 

[alvernon90]

I would not drive from any point farther north than Washington, D.C. The drive is tedious!

 

[dlsanchez]

For 3 people, I would definitely fly. Not worth the drive at all. We drove last year and we live in NH. I will never drive again. I do have 3 kids though.
We bought tickets to go in late April for under $200/person RT. It is cheap to fly and we won't be renting a car or paying to park at Disney.

 

[monica9]

The trip down might be fun due to anticipation, but the return journey would be a drag. I wouldn't want to endure that if I had the choice.

I agree. I wouldn't mind at all going down there but would want to fly home. If we rented a car to go down only, it would end up being more than our flights.

 

[mm1971]

For $300, I would fly. Remember that all that driving takes a toll on your car as well. My Brother and his family are there now and drove, but the flights were over $300 one way. That would have meant $2400+ just for the flights. We have flights booked over the summer for under $900. For a $1500 difference, driving was the best choice for them. They also drove straight through (22 hours) and did not stop to see anything along the way.

As an alternative, how about renting a car for the trip down to get the experience of driving if that is what you are looking for and then flying back. That drive back is really tough in my opinion. No anticipation, just an anxiousness to get home and settled in our opinion. I'm not sure if there are any savings this way.

 

[ModernArtist]

Meh..to each his own. We go almost every year and drive from NH. I don't fly anymore. I hate it.
We have fun and my kids are used to it. My husband and I take turns driving and sleeping so we go straight through in about 23 hours.
Now, I will say the return trip isn't much fun, but we usually stop mid way and spend the night somewhere. But like I said, we're used to it and we like road trips.

 

[ghtx]

Fly

 

[minniemous]

We fly. We also have three people. I drove once in college and drove straight. It is long and really tiring and the first full day we were there my back was killing me. If the cost of the flight was higher then I would think about it, but when you an get a flight for three people round trip for $600 it is hard to justify that amount of driving.

 

[Brian Noble]

Even if getting there were half the fun, getting home is NOT the other half.

 

[GatorMama]

We lived in southeastern VA for most of five years and I will be super glad to never make that drive again. We are four hours farther south and being able to make the drive all in one day without hating ourselves or each other at the end of the day will be AMAZING.

 

[sunsetbeachgal]

Fly. South of the Border is not very nice, and certainly not worth the effort. The potential to hit traffic problems around NJ, Washington, DC, Maryland and road construction is horrendous and could make the trip a nightmare.

If the difference was say $1,000 or more then maybe I would consider it, but for $300 which probably doesn't even take into account wear and tear on the car, absolutely forget it!

 

[DizDaD7]

I was about to say Drive, but as others have stated.....Not worth it al all for $300 IMHO.

We've done the trip twice from Northern NJ.
1st time was my 2 kids & DW & myself, in a minivan..Took the middle seats outs...Plenty of room for cooler, games & stuff. That time it would've cost us $1400 to fly which wasn't horrible, but we were on a tight budget. We drove straight through so no motel to spend on , just gas...I believe that was around $500 r/trip...Savings of $900

2nd time was 2 years later. This had the original 4 plus my DSil & Nephew... We had a big conversion van this time, and it kinda was a last minute thing..3 months or so, & plane tickets were around $400 each. So $2400...We had 3 drivers this time which helped, and they also split the cost for Gas by 1/3. Gas this time was $550.

While I do agree it saves money , it is such a drag on the ride home ,Always. Nothing to look forward too. So we've gotten great deals on flights our last 4 times.

This upcoming trip in August , will be our LAST Drive...& the only reason I'm doing it, is to see some of the other DVC properties...So we'll be driving straight through to Vero Beach, then head to the BWV, for a bit, then start heading home & stopping in HH. 1 more stop I might make is in Wash. DC to fully break up the trip coming home, into only 6 hour mini trips each day.

Good luck whichever route you take..

 

[tink9702]

The only way I'd want to drive is if I was making stops on the way home to see things. So I'd drive straight there, then on the way home I'd stop at Mrytle Beach or in DC or Baltimore (love their aquarium!) for at least a day to see something.

edited: I'll add that we live in New England as well. Growing up my dad would drive straight down and it was fun for us kids in the back of the minivan with the seat out, but painful for my dad!

 

[caitcance]

I live in CT and wouldn't ever consider driving. Even without kids I'd be miserable in the car that long. Add the kids in there and it sounds like a nightmare. It would have to be more like $3,000 savings, not $300.

 

[Toad_Passenger]

This past January was our 2nd trip from PA driving. Our kids travel really well, though, so that takes out half of the stress right away.

This year, in January, gas was dirt cheap. We did the whole round trip on ~$200 worth of fill ups. We did 2 overnights on the way down ($200 for the hotels), and one overnight stop on the way back home ($100 for the hotel). We packed all of our snacks, and ate cheap. Sure there is the time investment, but it would have cost us $1400 round trip in airfare. We've had great times in the car during the trips, and have saved 50% over airfare costs this year & last year. That $700 we saved this year was well placed into the WDW cash supply!

Most people already know, though, if they travel well enough to do it. For us, we're lucky enough that the length of the trip doesn't faze us at all.

As with any trip, the more planning you put in to where you want to stop, how long each "leg" between breaks should be, when (if possible) the drivers will switch to give the other break, the better the entire trip will be.

I vote "drive" but only because we've been successful with it, and, as a kid, we drove PA to Disney for every single trip!