Need advice on driving from PA.

[Mallow]

We are considering driving to WDW next Sept. We have only ever flown before & I'm not sure if the savings out weigh the convenience. My kids will be 8 & 5 at the time of the trip & I'm unsure if we'll all survive the long trip. BTW, does any one know how long to expect (from NEPA)?

 

[jagafen]

It's roughly 17-18 hours From Philly to Orlando...depending on how far you are from Philly.

Have you driven down 95 yet? I went to college in Orlando, and would drive home for visits and such....I wasn't on a "Disney High" at the time, but let's just say it wasn't a whole bunch of fun! Are your kids good car travelers? I'm a really big fan of flying....airfare prices/sales are good from Philly to Orlando...not sure what airport is closest for you though....good luck whatever you decide to do!!

 

[Debi]

Hi Mallow!

The Transportation Board is the best place for this question, so I'm moving this thread to that board. Happy planning!

 

[donatalie]

Hi!
It takes us about 17 hours to pull our RV from Harrisburg, PA to WDW. We stay overnight in Florence, SC. The dvd player in the truck keeps the kids occupied.

It's not a bad trip.............We've done it 3 times and are planning a 4th!

 

[kato0627]

We usually fly from Philly-Orlando on Southwest or AirTran. Can usually get a one way for 80.00 or so. Really worth the money IMHO. You need to do what is best for your family though. I have 3 kids, driving is not in the cards right now. Gas prices make that decision really easy!

 

[MinMouse]

We have done the drive from Wilmington, Delaware seven times. We have also flown and will fly if the "deal" is right! Sometimes you can't beat those Southwest deals. I think the PP is correct that it takes 17-18 hours. On our first trip we stopped in Savannah, Georgia at a hotel with a pool (our kids were the exact same ages as yours for this trip). We continued on the next a.m. We have done the drive several ways (including the overnight method which we determined is not for us!) Currently we like to leave home sometime between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. (to get through that DC traffic) and we stay overnight just north of Orlando in Lake Mary, Florida (only about 30 miles from Disney). The next morning we head to the resort, check in and hop on a park bus til our room is ready. It works for us and our girls actually enjoy the drive. It's kind of an adventure in and of itself. Our DDs did have some "driving experience" prior to the Disney treks. My brother is in northwest Ohio (a 10-hour drive for us) and we have good friends in western PA (about a 6-hour drive for us).

 

[Mallow]

Thanks for all the great advice. DH & I will have to decide which is best for us. For any one who has stayed overnight on the way there--what are the average hotel prices?

We are about 2hrs from Philly & on our last trip we flew airtran. The only real problem was that our flight left so early we had to stay at a hotel the night before. Then we still had the two hr drive back. Of course, this was still only one day's worth of travel as opposed to two. Has anyone figured out how much they saved driving as compared to flying?

 

[Matt'sMom]

Just to give you another option to consider...

You could take the Auto-train from Lorton, VA to Sanford, FL. Our family has found that we much prefer that to driving the entire distance from central PA to FL and back. Cost for us works out to be similar whether taking the train, or driving (including meals enroute & over-night lodging).

The trip to VA from Harrisburg, PA is a pleasant drive down 15 to South of the Leesburg area, then we shoot on over to Lorton (we avoid the DC traffic!). By taking the Auto-train we then have the convenience of having our own car with us while in FL... allowing for a lot more flexibility. The train departs late afternoon and arrives early the following AM. Dinner and breakfast are included free of charge.

The first time we tried the train, we took the train down, and then drove the whole way back home from FL. Needed a day to 'recover' once we got home, after all those hours of being cramped up in the car. We now prefer to take the Auto-train round-trip!

 

[Mallow]

Thanks, I'm definitely going to look into the train idea.

 

[disneymarie]

In Wilkes Barre/Scranton AVP, Boscovs travel center has a charter several times a year. They also leave from various other airports,
www.boscovstravelcenter.com

2:20 minutes from take off to landing.
dianne

 

[carissanboys]

Thanks for all the great advice. DH & I will have to decide which is best for us. For any one who has stayed overnight on the way there--what are the average hotel prices?

There is a Best Western in Santee, South Carolina that is a decent place to stay (free breakfast) and it quite inexpensive. We decided to stay there after reading great reviews and we weren't disappointed.

At this point, we prefer to drive as it's less stressful to me than flying with little ones. I also like having our vehicle once we're there.

 

[doombuggy]

Mallow, my uncle's family in Wilkes-Barre comes down here a bit, mostly to visit my aunt's sister in St Pete. Aunt & uncle are retired school teachers from Dallas & Coughlin. They fly out of Allentown, most recently on Aliegent. My aunt & her sister talked my mom into flying down to visit me last spring the same way. It was a little cheaper, and it flies into the Sanford airport (which is closer to me anyway). You could get a rental and drive to Disney - from there about 1 hour.

When I moved here, Dad & I drove down from Chester County to my friend's house in Polk Cty (she lives near AK) and it was about 1050 miles. We left around 7am and stopped at about 5pm at a hotel/motel we had previously booked for the night, as I had a cat. It was a Days Inn in Florence, as someone mentioned above (it's right off I-95). We left in the morning around 7-7:30 and arrived in Davenport around 2. We made a stop a day for lunch, and probably 1 to 2 quick bathroom stops (remember: cat).

A friend of mine took the train once (from 30th street) but she didn't like it - neither did her kids. 22 hours in that train seat was not so great in her opinion.

Good luck what ever you do!

 

[MinMouse]

Thanks for all the great advice. DH & I will have to decide which is best for us. For any one who has stayed overnight on the way there--what are the average hotel prices?

We have usually paid between $70 and $90 per night. We use our AAA books and stay only where they offer a free continental breakfast. Our favorite hotels are: Wingate Inn on Lenoir Avenue in Jacksonville (right off I95 exit 344; about 3 hours from WDW); LaQuinta Inn on Greenwood Blvd. in Lake Mary, Fl (off I-4 exit 98; about 30-45 minutes from WDW). On our first trip down we stayed at a Fairfield Inn in Savannah, Georgia (right off I95 exit 94; about 5 1/2 hours from WDW). I remember that it was a clean hotel with some walkable restaurants (we didn't want to get back in the car at that point!) and it had an indoor pool. We promised our girls that we'd try to find a place where they could swim as a treat for a long day in the car! It gave them something to look forward to and we had decided that we were stopping by dinner time on that first trip down.

 

[solfan68]

The Train and Driving from PA

In June of 2007 my family set out from Central Pennsylvania for our DS5's first trip to Disney. My wife won't fly. my son is fixated with trains. The Auto Train seemed like the best of all possible worlds. I will say here, that I did check flights just for my own information. The train - which includes vehicle transport, basic breakfast and dinner, plus a place to sleep(in our case, a roomette) - cost us just shy of twice the airfare, roundtrip(with AAA discount). YMMV

We in Lorton arrived ahead of the scheduled departure. The Amtrak employee greeted us at the guard shack only to tell us the train was not running today. It seems there had been a derailment and we needed to check in to find out what our options were. The train would likely be running Sunday, Monday for certain.

Our vacation with the mouse started Sunday. We decided that we would get back in our vehicle, and head South. We drove as far as the southern portion of North Carolina and found a comfortable hotel for the night(about 6:30pm). Amtrak had refunded our south-bound trip and was going to reimburse us up to $65 for a hotel stay.

The next morning, we got back in the vehicle and continued South. We ate in the vehicle and were fortunate that we had brought DVD's and my wife's laptop. DS5 was quite the trooper and we arrive on property around 5pm. It wouldn't have been our first choice, obviously. But it wasn't unbearable. We had a great week and caught the train north without a hitch. I would do the train again. And the drive isn't all that bad, especially if you know that its coming.

 

[Flyin2MCO]

Mallow, my advice for anyone considering that long of a drive to WDW would be to fly, but I am biased. In addition to quantifying the time/fatigue/grumpiness factors for each option, here's what I'd suggest you contrast and compare in terms of potential cost:

Driving
* Gas - (just take your average MPG, Mapquest the total distance and do some simple calculations, assuming the price of gas will probably be around $3/gallon)
* Tolls - you will hit some toll booths along the way
* Hotel - probably 1 night on the way down and 1 night on the way back
* Meals - you'll also need to eat if you fly, but you'll need to cover more meal times on a drive
* Parking - if you use your car while at WDW

Flying
* Ground transportation to/from your home base in PA
* Airfare
* Ground transportation while in Orlando (may vary, depending on how you get to-from MCO and to-from the parks, and whether or not you rent a car)

There are probably some other factors, but these are the basics...If the difference is within a few hundred dollars, I'd say fly, but of course I would say fly anyway. I'd suspect there won't be a huge difference in cost, and I really believe the time you save and the energy you avoid spending on the road is more than worth it for the overall quality of your vacation!!

 

[Mallow]

Doombuggy, I graduated from Coughlin. Maybe I had had either your aunt or uncle. Small World.

 

[Mallow]

Thanks everyone for the great advice. I knew posting on the Dis would give me all the info I needed. My DH & I have a lot to consider. Thanks again.

 

[GinaGrumpyDwarf]

Me and DH have decided to drive to WDW this year. The cost difference for me is substantial approx 1000 Dollars for airfare and 500 dollars for a car rental. Driving costs are Gas 400 room's 200 food 100 So by driving I figure to be saving approx 800 Dollars.

 

[Ethan's dad]

One other idea on the train - a few years ago when we did the autoTrain, we used airline frequent flier miles - using miles you just had to pay for the room rather than per person, so it was a great deal! I forget which airline Amtrak has the relationship with, but it may be worth looking into if you have some frequent flier miles.

 

[Patio]

Malllow and Doombuggy, my DH is also a 1982 graduate of Coughlin. It's a small world after all.......