Need good advice from those who have done both...drive and fly

[Flyerfan]

I am so indecisive. Fly or drive? We've done both before.

Love flying and getting there in two hours, taking ME and just knowing we don't have an 18 hr drive ahead of us at the end of our trip.

Love driving and being able to pack what we want and not have to worry about about the hassles of flying. Also love having a car with us when we need it (we don't rent when we fly).

There are only two of us, both adults and the cost is the same either way.

For those who have done both, give me your thoughts, please.

 

[peabody58]

Of our last 4 trips, we flew three times and drove once. Our next two trips are already planned for driving.

Personally, we despise flying. The only saving grace is the time savings. We are now in our mid 50's and the road trips now require an overnight stay.

Economically, driving is winning out. Having a car at WDW is a great advantage for driving to the parks, off-site groceries, etc.

 

[cruisingkat]

Don't forget when flying - it is not just the flight time - it is the two hours you have to be at the airport before the flight , the time waiting when arriving for luggage to appear, the hassles of packing just right so you are not overweight, the stress of lines and going through security.
We have done both and actually find that driving is more relaxing. We do take two days to drive down and two days back.

 

[vicki_c]

We find flying to be more hassle than it's worth (for all the reasons posted above) and more expensive. So for short trips, we will fly just because we can't afford a whole day or day and a half of driving. But we prefer to stay longer and drive.

We are going for a long weekend in November, so obviously we will fly then.

 

[PrincessAli]

For many many years--lots of trips to Disney--we flew. Loved arriving in a few hours , BUT then we normally rented a car as we also spent time visiting Universal and Sea World.
For the past two years, since we have retired we drive from Massachusetts. One year we decided that we weren't ready to head home after two weeks, so added days to our vacation. Something we wouldn't have been able to do if we had flown. No time frame any more.
I do miss the fun(??) of getting to the airport on time--and the excitement of going through security , boarding the plane-and of course the fun of the very first monorail ride to the main terminal!!

 

[Flyerfan]

the fun of the very first monorail ride to the main terminal!!

Yeah, that monorail ride is fun isn't it?

We'll be there for 7 nights so it's not really a short trip. Leaning towards driving.

 

[BLTtinkerbell]

When I was a kid, my family always drove to WDW. We enjoyed the road trip! My Mom would pack all kinds of food, snacks & drinks. We played games like looking for cars of a certain color & finding license plates from different states. It really was fun.
Now I have my own family & we always fly to WDW. Just started talking about driving next summer.....

Off toptic but when my oldest son was a little boy, he had a sweatshirt w/a Flyers logo on it & he wore it all the time!

 

[jasko5990]

My family & I prefer to drive for the same reasons you like to, and we're only about an hour closer to WDW than you. The few times we have flown (usually for a cruise, but a couple of times for WDW) it's taken 8 hours from the time we left our house until we arrived at our hotel, and that's when the flights have departed and landed on time. I think it's worth the additional 8 hours of travel time in order to have our own vehicle (which means we're on our own transportation schedule, not Disney's) and so we can pack as much as we like. Have you considered the Auto Train? We took it round trip a few years ago and realized there are many pros for taking it, especially for the return trip, however we felt there were some negative aspects as well.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

There are pros & cons for both. I prefer to fly because driving is so stressful. Even when people factor in having to arrive at the aiport 2 hours in advance, it's still not nearly as stressful as driving. Relaxing at the gate with my ipod is easy peasy. I can work til 4 on a Friday, kids get a full day of school, leave for PHL by 5 for an 8 pm flight, and arrive at MCO by 10:30.
To me that's awesome. We crash at the Hyatt right in MCO and ALL wake up well rested and ready for our vacation.

5.5 hours of driving would probably put us in VA somewhere.

We're not big packers to begin with so it's no big deal to conform with airline requirements. SWA allows 2 free bags pp so for our family of 4 to exceed 8 pieces of luggage, well... let's just say to me that's a ridiculous amount of stuff to bring for a week's vacation. Even when packing formal wear for cruises, we only have 4 bags. We've all done airport security enough times that it's easy. My kids usually have their shoes off before I do.

I would fly to PHL if I could!

jmho!

 

[babesboo99]

Our first trip we flew our second trip we drove and the third trip we will be driving. Yes, flying gets you there quicker but it is also expensive. When we drove it's cheaper and the family got to spend time together we stopped at restaurants and hotels for a night we talked and played games etc. granted it wasn't always pleasant but the good out weighed the bad and we will be driving again.

 

[Alexander]

Our drive time is 22 hours. That is only driving (not factoring in stops). It is too difficult for us to drive overnight, so we have to factor in a hotel down and back. It would cost us about $700 to drive R/T including hotels. Flying and renting a car is about $1200. There is no way we are driving. The stress alone of the kids getting bored, having to use the bathroom, fighting, etc. No way, we won't drive.

I paid $2200 in April to fly and rent a car rather than drive. It is just too long.

Flights are 2.5 hours. We only get to the airport about an hour before our flights, 2 hours is really only necessary if you are flying from a big, busy airport. Including drive time to the airport, waiting, flying, getting our rental car and arriving at our resort, we are looking at less than 7 hours. Compared to 22+ not happening.

 

[francie57]

At this stage in our lives we always fly. Like being there in just over 2 hours. Even with having to be at the airport early it is worth it - although we have never gotten there 2 hours early, usually about and 1 1/2. Once we are retired we will probably start driving since we won't be under any time constraints and can make stops on the way down and back to see other things. So for now flying is the way for us since it is the quickest way and we don't have to use vacation days to get there and back.

 

[ShannyMcB]

I was just about to post a thread entitled "Am I a crazy person?" when I came across this! DH and I went to WDW last year and had a blast, I was hesitant about going again (nothing against WDW I luv it but we were just there) so just for kicks and giggles I was calculating the price difference between flying and driving...and even with figuring in a night at a hotel both on the way down and on the way back it would be almost $1000 less to drive! $900 if we stopped for many meals and bought all our snacks...which would be silly since we could bring a cooler. Granted I know RI to FL is a crazy long drive, but there are only 2 of us and if we do go this year the decision probably would not be made until about a month ahead of time...fairly easy to cancel and get a refund on a room...not so much on a flight. I am not good on planes so I know for me I would rather be in the car...we can stop when we want or push right on through, right? Load the ipod up with a few weeks worth of podcasts? Our vacation would be the week before a Monday holiday so we would have an extra day to recuperate....and with the extra $$ left from not flying we could stay in a nicer hotel or take a cool tour. I don't know...I have been through quite a bit physically this year and don't know if I can mentally cope with a plane trip right now, sad but true
Does this make sense or am I a nut? I want to make my hubby happy with a trip to WDW but I want to make my nerves happy too!

 

[babesboo99]

We come from upstate NY and for us the drive is about 24 hrs. We are going back and we are driving again the cost of flying and driving is to big of a difference for us. it only cost us in gas goign and coming back about $500 if that we did stay at a hotel but we have AAA so that saved us some I would have to say that all together the trip driving cost us about $800 that includes 2 hotel stays and gas we brought our own snacks we only stopped once or twice for food something different than sandwiches so for us it was worth it

 

[skm]

Don't forget to factor in the days lost traveling (by car) that could be spent at WDW! For us, it's not worth it and the fact that we are at least a 24 hour drive from Orlando, makes flying the only way to go. Might end of costing a bit more for airfare and rental car, but at least we have more days at WDW! With gas at the current price, I think the gap between the cost of flying and driving is narrowing - though it remains to be seen what airfares are going to do. After much discussion we have concluded that vacation time is precious and we are willing to pay a little more to get the most out of our time!

 

[Minniemouse07]

We booked the Auto Train out of Lorton, VA for our August trip....at about 7 months out.

At the time of booking, it was $70 more to take the train (includes dinner, snacks, & breakfast) round trip than to drive with 1 overnight stop each way...AND.. the train would get us there significantly sooner (next morning instead of late afternoon)!

Since booking, the cost of gas has gone up considerably and the same tickets (2 adults, 2 kids in coach w/ an oversized vehicle) are more than twice the price!

We usually fly and use ME (no rental car) but we are doing land/sea this trip and don't want to have to pay $$$ for transfers or to rent a van in Florida.

I will have to come back and compare the experiences.

 

[chicagoshannon]

That's tough. I think with just the 2 of you I'd fly. It shouldn't be too much hastle going to the airport. If it costs that same it's slightly better to fly. You won't have all the wear and tear on the car and will get there quicker.

We now prefer to drive with the kids. The rode trip is so fun. Airports are such a hastle with kids and all the stuff you have to bring. I flew once with my DD, 2 at the time, and it was horrible. The flight was majorly delayed so instead of arriving home before dinner we arrived to the airport after bedtime. We then had to wait a long time for the stroller and bags. Now with 2 kids I won't fly to FL anymore until they're a lot older. We have too much gear and getting through security is not fun. In the car we can stop where and when we want

We do have to stop overnight when we drive. I think if we flew when all is said and done it would take about 4.5 hours. Driving takes a day and a half with overnight stopping. We leave around 3am stop around 8 or 9pm and arrive in Orlando around noon the next day.

 

[babesboo99]

That is true.. I guess my DH and I are lucky enough where we accumulated enough vacation time during the year where we can drive and it wouldn't effect us hence the reason we drive. I do not like to fly so I guess that is also part of the reason as well for us driving.

 

[disneymom06]

It all depends on how many people and how long is your vacation. For the 6 of us it is always drive. Driving is much cheaper, no worrying about what to pack and we usually drive staight through to FL. We will stop if needed but usually I am so wired that we are able to split the drive time.

On the other hand, I recently took a last minute trip with just 3 of the kids and we flew. It cost me $1097 to fly and I calculated about half that to drive. It was just me driving so flying was the best and only option. Also DH drove us to the airport and picked us up so I did not have to factor in that cost.

Flying was a new experience in that everything had to be in seperate bins, DVD players and laptops, etc. My DH thought it was nuts as he viewed the process through the security screen. He kept motioning to me what are you doing? When I later told him why, His response was that when he comes with us on vacation we are driving. Another item I don't usually have to worry about is the weight of the suitcase which had to be adjusted on the way home because I was 11 pounds overweight. I couldn't believe it. They were nice about it and helped me but another plus for driving.

Every family, every trip is different. You just have to ask yourself which makes better sense for you.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I paid $2200 in April to fly and rent a car rather than drive. It is just too long.

We just paid $1212 for next Easter's cruise. That's the most we've ever paid in 25+ trips but I knew it would be high due to it being holiday season.
Usually we pay between $400-800 for our family of 4 so for a couple hundred $, it's not worth it to drive. I do get 5 weeks off per year but try to use 4 for vacay, the rest for other stuff (dr visits, school events, etc.)
To drive we would have to shorten our trips or do fewer if every trip meant 2-4 more days of travel time.

I have a friend with fof and lucky for her, her dh has a business that is seasonal, busy as he** all winter, dead in summer so they take their motor home to FL, (not Disney lately but more when their kids were younger) spend at least a month, stop in Myrtle Beach a few days to visit her sister, etc. They can take their dog. So for them, driving makes sense. Though I'd hate to see the gas & toll bills for that motor home. It's like a rock star tour bus. Incredible but huge....