Is it worth it?

[lnh'smom]

I have figured out approx. what it would cost us to drive to WDW. I have also found pretty decent airfare. By driving we would save about $400. We have 2 kids, DD4 and DS6 who also has ADHD. $400 is a lot of money to us, but I DREAD the idea of about 19 hrs in the car each way. If you were in our shoes, what would you honestly do? Please convince me one way or the other. Thanks.

 

[mjbaby]

Is the difference of $400 for your whole family or $400 a piece? If for your family, then that's only $25 each way per person for the convenience of flying.

While it's true that flying has its own inherent hassles, my personal threshold is anything over 10 hours = flying. If flying is too expensive, then my mental health is even more so.

BUT, another option for you might be to split the drive into two days if you can. We're doing that on our upcoming Chatanooga trip and again later in the month to go to Wisconsin.

 

[ZipaDeeDooDah]

Seriously, even though I hate flying I would rather spend the extra and fly - only because in our case it means more time at Disney as opposed to spending that extra time travelling on the road. 19 hours (each way!) is a looooooong time in a car with 2 young kids.

 

[sandy6879]

We've made the drive from CT to FL once.....here's my opinion. When we FINALLY got there, we were too beat the first day to do anything. Last day, we had to leave early to get home. We ended up staying at a hotel over night both on the way there and on the way home. On the way home, because we didn't know EXACTLY where we'd stop, I figured we could just find any old hotel to stay at. WRONG. We ended up at the most awful hotel, to the point that I couldn't even sleep there. Driving home, I ended up with a speeding ticket for going about 10 miles over the limit in VA. All in all, would have been cheaper and less hassle just flying. I don't even consider driving anymore - it's worth it to me to fly, get a rental car, and make my life easier.

PS - I only have one child who whined "Are we there yet?" the entire way....I KNOW I couldn't make it with two doing it

 

[Carrie Ellis]

Also consider wear and tear on your car. You will need another oil change I am sure when you get home. I consider myself needing a vacation too, not just the kids and hubby. Anything that makes my life easier is worth it otherwise I would rather just stay home!! Such as cooking alot on vacation! I think with your distance that with that amount it would be better to fly.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I drove to FL with my grandparents when I was 4. I am now 32 and hate car trips! I also have 3 children under 4. It is 24 hours to WDW from my house. That being said I would rather not eat the whole week than drive. $400 is alot of money -I agree with you there, but for me it would have to result in a savings of 4million for me to consider it. JMHO.

 

[lovemygoofy]

I don't have children so I can't really relate but I always go back and forth about flying versus driving especially now with gas prices and here are things I factor in to my decision:

1. How far do I have to drive to the airport and how much to leave my car while gone?

2. What kind of shape is the car in to drive on vacation? Do I think it can take the extra 1k miles or whatever and it not blow up or die in the next 6 months?

3. Am I going to stay over night on the way down or back and also include stops for food or other whatknots.

4.. Do I need to rent a car to get from the airport to my destination? Now because of the shuttle service to wdw thats not needed but if you are staying off site or planning off site trips that would need to be included.

5. Is the rest of my vacation paid for or saved up for? Do I know how much I'm planning for tixs, room, food, souvies and incidentals?

LOL can you tell I do alot of calculating but I know myself and I can't do longer than 12 hours at a time in a car before I'm ready to pull my hair out. I just get bored too easily. Hope you have a great trip no matter what.

 

[azgal81]

There's no way I would drive that much and can you imagine the drive back after you already have been to WDW.....Ugh! We are considering flying to DL next year and it's only a six hour drive!

 

[tinaluis]

I know how you feel - $400 is a lot of $$$. We were planning on driving down in August from Chicago (about 22-26 hours of actual driving time -- we stop overnight on the way there and the way back) and then I got a SWA DING fare for $54 each way -- total for all of us to fly with tax is $628. We've also reserved a car thru Budget near DTD for $169 for most of our trip. Of course, we could drive for about $200-$275 in gas, plus hotel overnight there and back $100, plus meals while driving $80 for a grand total of $380-$455 so it should have been a no-brainer, right? WRONG!!! I agonized over whether to purchase the DING fare because, no matter how you look at it, it still costs more to fly than drive. We did purchase the DING fare, but we will definitely drive down for our next trip in October, no matter how cheap airfares are!!! Good luck with your decision. I know it's a hard one.

 

[Kellydelly]

I'd rather drive than waste money on flying. I enjoy seeing the sites between Michigan and Florida! I even have four kids six and under to tote along . I always make sure our trips are at least 10 days long to make the drive worth it, though. Next time we go to Florida (this December) we will be going for two weeks. Sure the drive back is usually more tiring than the one down, but we don't mind. Driving saves us over $1,000 when you consider airfare and rental car (we don't stay onsite).

 

[disneyfreakk]

When you figured out the cost to drive to WDW, did you check the cost of gas at every place you are planning on filling up? Gas prices vary ALOT! So that is something to think about.

 

[a Really Bad Egg]

Getting there in a few hours (or less)....priceless.

Fly.

 

[My2Cinderellas]

I'd fly, but I hate long car trips.

$400 total - not even a question - fly!

$400 per person for a total savings of $1600, then I'd drive. that's a whole 'nother vacation sitting there...

 

[MELSMICE]

For the additional $400, I'd fly.

Did you factor in a hotel both on the way there & back? I'd would probably be a difficult drive to do in one day. Also the cost of meals there & back. Even if you took snacks in the car you'll want to stop to eat.

Not to mention, minimum 2 entire days from your vacation, most likely 4 - what is that worth to you. I drove with my parents when I wasa younger, the first day is a total waste because you're so tired from the trip.

I'd definitely fly.

 

[disneysnowflake]

If it was $400 total in order to fly I'd definately fly.

We live a 24 hour straight drive from WDW.

We left our house at 5:30am to drive 30 minutes to local regional airport. We boarded our commuter plane at 6:45am. We landed in D.C. 30 minutes later. We were on a plane again at 8am and landed at 9:45am. A towncar was waiting for us. We went to Publix, got sandwiches, water, etc. We checked into POFQ and were done eating lunch all before noon. I couldn't believe we were in WDW by noon that same day.

Had we started out on the road to drive at 5:30am, by noon we'd still need to drive 17 more hours to drive just to get there!!!

We would never drive. If we were within 8 hours of being there maybe, but no way would I drive.

 

[daisyduck123]

For our trip last month, we considered flying. We have always driven, it's about 14 hours from where we are in Maryland. We considered flying instead because of the price of gas now but decided against it because then we would have needed to rent a car in Disney. We've never taken the WDW buses, we always use our van.

We also needed the van because of all the souvenirs we knew we'd be buying, & they did amount to $1500.00 - - no way was I going to pay to ship all that stuff home.

If saving the $400.00 is a big plus for you, then I'd drive. For me, I would use the money on extra souvenirs!!!

BTW...about the long trip in the car with the kids...I look at it this way...in the 1800's...if the pioneers could spend weeks on end, day after day, in a covered wagon with their kids (with no DVDs or Gameboys to entertain them), then surely I can spend 14 hours with my kids in the car.

 

[runwad]

We drive should be 18 hours but can make it in 15 hours non-stop...take snacks & food in the van and only stop to get gas and then potty breaks at the same time. We get breakfast at a gas stop and usually pull in around noon. My husband does all the drivng and we all sleep in the van so we're ready to go when we get there. My kids do fine, they've never flown and know that it's not an option for us and if they want to go on vacation they'll need to be good on the drive and they always are. Kids are 10,8 & 6 but when we first started driving they were 2, 4 & 6...no problems.

 

[PaulaSue]

Honestly I would fly. The time there instead of on the road is so much more worth it, IMO.

 

[disneysteve]

We live about 17 hours away. We drive every year. Flying is a lot more expensive, especially when you add the cost of the rental car in Florida, which I'm guessing you haven't counted.

And we really don't lose that much Disney time by driving. If we fly, we leave Saturday morning. When we drive, we leave Friday afternoon and arrive Saturday evening. Either way, our first park day is Sunday. Coming home, we fly home Saturday. Driving, we also leave Saturday, so nothing lost on that end either.

 

[pearlieq]

If it's $400 for the group I'd pay it in a heartbeat! But then again, I HATE car trips and would honestly probably pass on the vacation if I had to do 19 hours each way.

Which I guess is my roundabout way of saying, how much do you mind the car trip? Is it something you just personally hate, or do you not mind a road trip?