Now i dont know..........

[disneymom0811]

We decided we would drive (from ny area), staying overnight somewhere so we didn't have to do it all in one day (only one driver) and now my husband mentioned how airfare prices are a little more reasonable, and might cost about the same. We will be traveling with a toddler, so I think most airlines provide lap child option, but it would still be about 700/800. Now I have never driven there, so idk what the cost would be, if it's close at all or what, it's a minivan too. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, not sure what the best option would be

 

[Zooshoveller]

We have a 10 year old minivan and drove 8 hrs to WDW. Round trip was ~$150. We filled up 3 times. For us, it would be silly to fly. But time is money!

 

[disneymom0811]

It's about an 18 hr drive for us.

 

[GaBelle]

Don't know if you have Southwest as a carrier or not, but they are running a sale right now (thru Thursday). Really low airfare! It has put me in a dilemma as well. We live in Ga and always drive. We can fly for about the same as drving + one night hotel.

 

[Zooshoveller]

It's about an 18 hr drive for us.

I'd fly.

 

[Gracie09]

before you decide to fly with a lap child you should check out the information on the ntsb website about the dangers.

 

[tgmousechick]

Have you taken any road trips with your toddler, and how do they handle them? 18 hours is a long time to spend in a car seat, even accounting for an overnight break and rest stops. Some kids handle that better than others.

My kids are/were not great nappers in the car, and movies would have only gone so far. They could do the 4-hour drive to the annual family reunion, but it was pushing it with the 9-hour drive to see my parents. I shudder to think of keeping them occupied for 18-hours, even now that they can read and the DS/tablet will keep them busy for a bit.

For us, our better bet was to pay to fly (2 hours non-stop to Orlando) and only need to keep them "confined" for a couple of hours. But, you will know your child best.

Good luck!
Kim

 

[goofyfigment]

The drive for us is 17 hours when I went at xmas I spent 240 round trip on gas. I have a cavalier driving from Pennsylvania

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

We decided we would drive (from ny area), staying overnight somewhere so we didn't have to do it all in one day (only one driver) and now my husband mentioned how airfare prices are a little more reasonable, and might cost about the same. We will be traveling with a toddler, so I think most airlines provide lap child option, but it would still be about 700/800.

A lap child must be under 2 years old. You will need to show the airline a birth certificate as proof of age.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Here is a cool tool. Just plug in your vehicle info, starting address and ending address and it will tell you how much it will cost. But you also have to figure in wear and tear on your van.

http://gasbuddy.com/Trip_Calculator.aspx


If it were me I would fly. 18 hours in a car is a LONG time verses about 3 hours in the air. Why spend 36 hours of your vacation sitting in a car! That is almost an entire work week spent in a car.

 

[MinnieLee]

Don't know where you are in NY but definitely check out SW. We would definitely fly. Gas prices outside of NY are alot cheaper but you have the hotel charge, tolls, meals on the road and the time it takes to drive. I also would not want the fear of something breaking down on the van. When we go to WDW, we want to GET to WDW asap and start our vacation.

 

[monorailsilver]

I wouldn't fly with a lap child. We had that option twice but booked a seat for them when they were that age. It worked out better for us since those airline seats are not very big & a small bump is one thing to the passenger in front of you but continuous ones can be a pain in the rear!

We just drove in April but a little farther south & from CT. My dh did the whole drive. He wouldn't let me drive. I was the navigator. My kids were great. They were 11, 9 & 7. They had their books in the car plus ipod, pad, phone & ds's. I got them each a trip tic to use as well.

The worst part of the whole drive was NC, SC & VA since they were long states. The traffic we hit on the NJT on the way home was far more enjoyable then those 3 states.

Flying was not an option for us since we are a family of 5 & airfare was crazy expensive. My sister lives in Ft. Myers so we could of flown into there & she could of picked us up or we could of flown into Tampa & did the drive down.

We only made it to Santee, SC the first night. Our goal was either Savannah or the GA/FL border or close to it. We left my moms (30 miles from the NY border) at about 6am & stopped driving for the night around 9 or 10 (it is a blurr).

Good Luck in your decision.

 

[CNYDisneyFan]

What part of NY are you driving from? I live in the Syracuse, NY area and we drove 4 times. The last two times, we stayed overnight outside of Charlotte, NC on the way down and went to Disney World from there. I'm not sure if the airport you'd use has JetBlue, but it's worth looking into.

 

[shyjade]

FYI, when I flew with my toddler (under 2) on my lap, I was not allowed to belt her into the seat while on my lap because bad turbulence (or worse) would likely crush your child's pelvis. The flight attendant I spoke with had apparently witnessed something quite awful for a belted-in child. More than a decade later, I still clearly remember the look on her face as she talked to me about it.

 

[sam_gordon]

18 hours @ 60mph = 1080 miles.
1080 miles/20mpg = 54 gallons
54 gallons * $3.50 per gallon = $189
$189 * 2 (RT) = $378 in gas.
2 nights hotel (RT) * $100 = $200 in hotel.
2 extra days meals (RT) @ $50/day = $100

So a VERY rough estimate is it would cost you $678 to drive.

How much would it be to fly? With that kind of drive, it would have to cost $1200+ to make flying NOT worth it. Anything under $1k, fly.

 

[ktate82]

We drove the first year (16 hours) in our minivan and it was about $300 in gas round trip. But we drove straight through with out stopping to sleep, just switched off. The kids (then 5 and 4) slept most of the way. Since then though, we have flown. It is much nicer and with a toddler, I would fly.

 

[maxiesmom]

I wouldn't do it with only one driver. I know I'm a big worry wart, but I would worry about what if the one driver started to feel unwell. What if the driver became tired? Would you have the time and money to stop more than one night if needed?


I also think that is an awful long drive for a toddler, who will have a hard time keeping themselves occupied. At least with an older child you can try and explain that it will be a few more hours, and if you keep going you will get there quicker. Hard to make a toddler understand that.

 

[disneymom0811]

A lap child must be under 2 years old. You will need to show the airline a birth certificate as proof of age.[/QUOTE


Under 2

 

[disneymom0811]

Here is a cool tool. Just plug in your vehicle info, starting address and ending address and it will tell you how much it will cost. But you also have to figure in wear and tear on your van.

http://gasbuddy.com/Trip_Calculator.aspx

If it were me I would fly. 18 hours in a car is a LONG time verses about 3 hours in the air. Why spend 36 hours of your vacation sitting in a car! That is almost an entire work week spent in a car.

Thx I'll check it out

 

[disneymom0811]

18 hours @ 60mph = 1080 miles.
1080 miles/20mpg = 54 gallons
54 gallons * $3.50 per gallon = $189
$189 * 2 (RT) = $378 in gas.
2 nights hotel (RT) * $100 = $200 in hotel.
2 extra days meals (RT) @ $50/day = $100

So a VERY rough estimate is it would cost you $678 to drive.

How much would it be to fly? With that kind of drive, it would have to cost $1200+ to make flying NOT worth it. Anything under $1k, fly.

Right now I'm quoting about 8/900 round trip if I do under 2 lap child, im going to keep looking, maybe airfare prices will lower even more