Need some advice.

[ajnesbitt07]

My husband and I can't decide on our best method of transportation for our 9/24-10/1 WDW trip. We are from Lancaster, PA. Our kids will be 4.5 and 7 at the time of travel.

The original plan was to drive. If we are going to drive, we're going to leave after our son's preschool is done at 1pm. We'll pick our daughter up early from school immediately after. We planned on using the morning while they're at school to pack the car, fuel up, etc. We would stop for gas and a fast food dinner and probably stop at a hotel near Columbia, SC around 11-11:30pm. That's just shy of 600 miles/about 9 hours. That would leave about 7-7.5 hours and 458 miles for the next morning/afternoon. We would like to check in by 4:30 or 5pm. My husband wants to go to EPCOT that night after we get checked in and situated. One option I hadn't really thought about was not sending the kids to school at all and just leaving in the morning. That would be fine for my son in preschool. Would my daughter's elementary school freak out about her missing 6 consecutive days? She's an excellent, well-rounded student so I'm not at all concerned about her getting behind or whatever. We're not telling the kids about the trip until we're on our way. We could drive much farther on Friday that way, and still get to a hotel in the evening in time to go to bed nice and early before getting up to complete our drive.

Are we going to be completely exhausted by that? Is it going to be a nightmare travelling that long with kids that young? We have 4 breakfast ADRs that are 8:20am or earlier that week. Would it be beneficial for us to have a car there for those so we don't necessarily have to rely on the buses?

The other option would obviously be to fly. The four of us could fly round-trip on Spirit airlines from Baltimore on 9/24 and be in Orlando by early afternoon for under $500 (before adding luggage). We'd probably end up being checked in around the same time had we driven, after we factor in getting off the plane and catching Magical Express. Please note, I know virtually nothing about Spirit airlines.

If it matters, we drive a Ford Flex, so space is not an issue at all.

Thanks in advance!
Andrea

 

[cassie58]

Just to throw out another option, we live in South Jersey and did the Autotrain out of Virginia when our kids were 9 and 6. You check in around 1-2 and the train leaves about 4. You get to choose a time for dinner, can get snacks, and they show a movie and have cookies in the evening. Then you have brft in the morning between 6 and 8, and the train pulls into Sanford, FL around 8am. It is about 45 min. from Disney, so you can be there by about 10 am, once your car comes off the train. It is a fun adventure, and nice because the kids can walk around, go to the bathroom, etc. We slept in our seats, which recline almost all the way and have foot rests, because it is cheaper than the sleeper car and we figured we could do it for one nt., but you have that choice. You can bring your own pillow and blanket, carry-on bag, and even small cooler with drinks and snacks for the ride. The nice thing is you save the hassle of dealing with traffic and being cooped up in the car, and you are there when you wake up, and have your car with you to use. You also have your car packed, so no worry about how many bags and paying for luggage, and can pack a case of water, etc.

You can go to Amtrak's website and put in your dates to see what the current rates are - the further ahead you book, the prices are better. We only took it one way, as we drove and stopped at Myrtle Beach on our way back for a few days. Since we went at the end of August, they had a summer special where kids were half price with an adult, so it ended up being about $400 for the car and the 4 of us, which included meals and saved hotel cost, so we thought it was worthwhile. I'm sure the price will be higher now(7 yrs. ago) and you can see what discounts you can get (I know they had a AAA one), but it could be an option to get down quicker, and you could drive back if you want.

If you take Spirit, just know that they charge for carry on($35) and checked luggage($30) and it is more if you don't pay for it when you book. There is also a fee to choose seats ahead. We try to take SW, so we don't have to worry about any luggage costs and don't pay for advanced seats since we check in online at 24 hrs., and get group A or beginning of B, and never have a problem getting a seat, and they serve us a drink and snack. Sometimes Spirit does have great deals, and it may be worth it even with the fees, just an FYI.

cassie58

 

[ajnesbitt07]

Well that certainly adds another option in to the mix! I didn't even know that was a thing!
I'll go do some research on that, thanks so much for mentioning it!

 

[mjdis17]

I completely agree with absolutely everything the previous poster said, down to her preference of Southwest, and I wanted to say that I can also vouch for the Autotrain! It is definitely the priciest of the options but my family has ridden it in the past (last time was probably 2003 BUT I have friends who rode it last summer and it sounds like nothing has changed), and we have some pretty awesome memories. We have stayed in a small suite type room (free upgrade on a virtually empty Christmas Eve train) as well as the two seats that turn into bunk beds and honestly I would just stick to the cheaper option of the seats that turn into beds. It is so much fun and would take a lot of the stress out of driving down there as well as adding another mini vacation to the larger vacation if you know what I mean.

 

[nacho113]

That's just shy of 600 miles/about 9 hours. That would leave about 7-7.5 hours and 458 miles for the next morning/afternoon.

Those are pretty ambitious drive times with kids that age.
The Autotrain idea sounds quite interesting, wish we had known about this when we drove to Florida a few years ago.
Flying is my preference, if it's within your budget.

When our kids were about that age we drove to St Louis from Winnipeg just over 1000 miles (Interstate all the way).
We split it into 2 - 500 mile chunks and google maps estimated driving time at around 8 hours per day.
In actuality, with meal stops, potty stops, rest breaks etc, etc, etc it turned in to 2 very long days (almost 12 hours each)
We thought we were prepared and thought our kids were good travelers (which they were)
However, many quick stops at the rest areas turned into 15,20,25 minutes each (little bladders don't hold much), the same with gas stops, meals gobbled up 45-60 minutes each. By the end of the day we were exhausted and had to get up and do it all over again the next day.
On the return trip we split it into 3 days and I'm still not sure if this was any better

Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[mecllapfigment]

My first reaction was that flying sounds like a better option -- but not sure how much your drive to Baltimore would factor in. Are you looking at 4 days of driving for 6 days of WDW time? Or 2 days flying for 6 or 7 days of WDW time? Driving costs including gas, food, motel, etc (and likely delays of one sort or another). vs. driving to airport and paying for parking plus tickets and luggage? Might need to check with school; they have different polices for absenteeism (some are fine with such trips, some not so much). Missing 6 days will have little to no effect on your daughter, unless there's some special event that she's counting on being part of (I once surprised my then 13-year-old daughter with a trip to Hawaii during the summer, and she was furiously unhappy about it; long story, and it was a great trip, but she pouted a lot during it). Have a great trip! (I'm going to be there then, too -- Halloween Party!).

 

[ajnesbitt07]

Thanks everyone!

After talking to my husband, it looks like we're going to spend a few extra $ and do the Auto Train! I think the kids would love it. The station in Virginia is only 2.5 hours from our house. We may not sleep great, but I think we'll feel more rested then if we were to be stuck in a car for 1100 miles. Honestly, I don't think it'll be much more expensive, when we factor in all the money we would have spent on hotels each way, gas $, food $, etc.

Glad I posted on here!

 

[mjdis17]

Thanks everyone!

After talking to my husband, it looks like we're going to spend a few extra $ and do the Auto Train! I think the kids would love it. The station in Virginia is only 2.5 hours from our house. We may not sleep great, but I think we'll feel more rested then if we were to be stuck in a car for 1100 miles. Honestly, I don't think it'll be much more expensive, when we factor in all the money we would have spent on hotels each way, gas $, food $, etc.

Glad I posted on here!

You are going to have so much fun!!! I'm having so much second hand excitement for you after reading this post.

 

[cassie58]

Thanks everyone!

After talking to my husband, it looks like we're going to spend a few extra $ and do the Auto Train! I think the kids would love it. The station in Virginia is only 2.5 hours from our house. We may not sleep great, but I think we'll feel more rested then if we were to be stuck in a car for 1100 miles. Honestly, I don't think it'll be much more expensive, when we factor in all the money we would have spent on hotels each way, gas $, food $, etc.

Glad I posted on here!

I think it will be a great adventure! My DD(now 12) has been asking to do it again, but with older kids working around school, flying time has made more sense. The other thing I would mention to think about is motion sickness. I had no idea how my kids would be on a train, and ended up giving them each half a pill just in case - the only time we really felt it was in the morning trying to walk back and forth to brft as there seems to be more curves in that part of the route, but just an FYI. Also, the movie they show may or may not be appropriate for young kids(we had Mall Cop), but I'm sure you might have portable DVD player/IPad/laptop that they could watch something else on. If you have more questions as it gets closer, let us know!

 

[ajnesbitt07]

I think it will be a great adventure! My DD(now 12) has been asking to do it again, but with older kids working around school, flying time has made more sense. The other thing I would mention to think about is motion sickness. I had no idea how my kids would be on a train, and ended up giving them each half a pill just in case - the only time we really felt it was in the morning trying to walk back and forth to brft as there seems to be more curves in that part of the route, but just an FYI. Also, the movie they show may or may not be appropriate for young kids(we had Mall Cop), but I'm sure you might have portable DVD player/IPad/laptop that they could watch something else on. If you have more questions as it gets closer, let us know!

You're the best! I'll definitely make sure to have some dramamine or whatever along! I get a bit motion sick myself, and I probably wouldn't have thought too much about it until it was too late. Good call on the lap top. We'll bring something along just in case!

Thanks so much!