Opinions on driving vs flying.

[Orion Nebula]

I am booked for a trip at the end of Feb. It "seems" like the parks are decently doing a good job on average (reports here vary). And the transportation (buses) have some precautions put in place (barriers, seating). So my main concern is the flight / airports. I know that it has to be the riskiest part of the trip, and as of right now I am booked through SW who refuses to work with me. So my options are basically fly (2 hour), or eat the money and drive (15 hr). At first I was thinking that driving HAS to be enormously safer but then realized with six of us bathroom stops will be constant. We also would most likely stop in and stay at a hotel during the drive.

What do you guys think? Lose the money and take a two day drive, or keep the flight and hope for the best?

 

[rwdavis2]

Just so I'm clear, what do you mean by: "booked through SW who refuses to work with me ". But, I would still fly. Wear a mask or 2. Planes have decent ventilation and are probably no more dangerous that driving and stopping. With 6 people you will have 2 rows all to yourselves lowering exposure risks.

IMHO, I would not bother going to WDW while they have reduced entertainment and park hours, cut back restaurant menus, and are still charging full price.

 

[francie57]

We flew Southwest in Nov. and had no problems. The air systems on planes are just as good as the systems in hospitals. If you decide not to fly Southwest would give you a credit to use on another flight. We have cancelled with them and had no problems. They won't give you your money back since the cheapest fares are plainly stated as non refundable. We are flying again in March. We just wiped down our seats, seat belts, arm rests and tray tables and wore our mask and sanitized our hands. We actually have always cleaned everything down long before the virus. We even saw people with 2 masks on for their own peace of mind.

 

[To the honeypots]

We shared your same concerns when we went to Florida in November. We did drive and spent the night at an Airbnb each direction. This way we were able to have an entire house to ourselves and not worry about the risk of how many people were in the hotel common areas. We only stopped at bathrooms that weren’t crowded and tried to stop at places that many people hadn’t used yet - ie Popeyes at 10:00 am that had just opened and shouldn’t have had much traffic yet.

 

[revdon64]

Personally, I would always choose flying over driving because I just want to get there ASAP. I actually flew to Greenville/Spartanburg SC with a stop in Charlotte back at the end of May (I'm in NJ), and wasn't at all uncomfortable with the experience. The one caveat was that I was traveling by myself and sat in first class. I'll be flying to Greenville again in July and have no concerns for that trip either. All that is to say, if you can fly... fly.

 

[tinkerbelletreasure]

We always drive. It’s 24 hrs for us. But I’ve never been able to justify $1000 in plane tickets when gas is less than $200. Plus, it gives us the freedom to drive to the parks of the buses are full, or go out into Orlando. We do bathroom breaks when we get gas/change drivers/ stop for food. We like to road trip though and it’s park of the adventure. If I had already paid for flight vouchers that I was going to lose of I drove, then I’d probably fly, but wear an KN95 mask if you can find one. And it would also depend on what numbers were doing at the time. In august when we went, I would have been cautious but not nervous, right now the numbers are so out of control it would give me pause. Hopefully in a few weeks, after everyone who got it at Christmas has recovered, it will be more manageable.

 

[Shellyred8]

I also vote for flying. Depending on where you are flying out of, some airports aren't that busy and it's very easy to social distance. Bring a package of disinfecting wipes with you and wipe down your seats at the airport. We also wiped down our seats and tray tables on the plane. I would much rather have the one flight there and one flight back to deal with as opposed to dealing with all of the different surfaces and people you will come in contact with during a 15 hour drive.

When we fly, we also wear masks with filters, just as an added precaution. We've flown to WDW 3 times since it opened back up, and neither one of us has come down with Covid.

 

[sWDWcopeland]

We flew from MCI on SW the beginning of December and felt safe the whole way. Both airports had great safety measures in place and the airplane itself has an air filtration system that exchanges the air every few minutes. That's much better than most buildings. I was more scared to drive - the stops at multiple places with many different people. That was too much for me. I'd fly again in a heartbeat.

 

[Leigh L]

I am booked for a trip at the end of Feb. It "seems" like the parks are decently doing a good job on average (reports here vary). And the transportation (buses) have some precautions put in place (barriers, seating). So my main concern is the flight / airports. I know that it has to be the riskiest part of the trip, and as of right now I am booked through SW who refuses to work with me. So my options are basically fly (2 hour), or eat the money and drive (15 hr). At first I was thinking that driving HAS to be enormously safer but then realized with six of us bathroom stops will be constant. We also would most likely stop in and stay at a hotel during the drive.

What do you guys think? Lose the money and take a two day drive, or keep the flight and hope for the best?

We faced this decision in August and ultimately decided to fly. Everything I read officially (and studies) indicated flying wasn't as high a risk as I thought with the air filtering and mandated use of masks. They were spacing passengers at that time.
After doing research, thinking about it, and discussing it with DH, we decided that flying was less risky since we weren't up to doing the 13-15 hour drive without stopping overnight (and factoring in the multiple stops along the way.) JetBlue was excellent in their precautions, boarding, PPE, and we felt safe.

It's a very personal decision though, and really depends upon comfort levels. I was anxious, DH was not.

I flew again in November on a PACKED United flight with DD down and by myself going home (every seat full and a 12 person wait list). Was pretty ancy about it since I knew I was seated with strangers both ways, but it worked out OK. I won't fly United to MCO again though until this is all over. Not because of the full flight - everyone was masked up and this was enforced - but the stress at the gate (no masks on several people) and boarding felt like a pre-COVID crowd. Deplaning was fine.

Flying JetBlue again next week. It's a fuller flight and hoping it's as good an experience as the last.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

I am booked for a trip at the end of Feb. It "seems" like the parks are decently doing a good job on average (reports here vary). And the transportation (buses) have some precautions put in place (barriers, seating). So my main concern is the flight / airports. I know that it has to be the riskiest part of the trip, and as of right now I am booked through SW who refuses to work with me. So my options are basically fly (2 hour), or eat the money and drive (15 hr). At first I was thinking that driving HAS to be enormously safer but then realized with six of us bathroom stops will be constant. We also would most likely stop in and stay at a hotel during the drive.

What do you guys think? Lose the money and take a two day drive, or keep the flight and hope for the best?

I would vote for flying especially if you can't get a credit or refund. We drive but our drive from SC is a lot shorter. I would only choose driving over flying if budget was a factor. Driving that far is a waste of time and energy IMO.

 

[Orion Nebula]

Just so I'm clear, what do you mean by: "booked through SW who refuses to work with me ".

We purchased our tickets January 2020 and re-booked our flight twice. Due to not booking originally in their requirement "window" for the point change over offer we did not qualify for that deal which ended December 15th (I think). As of now they will not refund, change to points or allow us to re-book past March 12th. So we had re-booked as far out as possible at the time (last nov). We have talked to CS a few times and got a very straight "no".

 

[Orion Nebula]

When we fly, we also wear masks with filters,

I am seeing more airlines banning those masks due to them supposedly not protecting others from you. I would love to wear one though and I need to look deeper into it.

EDIT: I was thinking about the "vented" ones, sorry guys.

 

[Cheburashka]

We've flown twice since reopening and it was fine. We wouldn't consider driving (2 day drive for us). Our strategy is to sit in an uncrowded spot in the airport and wait until most people have boarded so that we don't have to stand in a long line on the jet bridge (which moves really slowly these days), but that strategy won't work well on SW because they don't have assigned seats. We stay masked on the flight and save our snacks and water bottles for later. And we rent a car, to avoid shared Disney transportation.

The multiple gas stations, restrooms, drive thrus & hotels/vacation rentals on a long drive are at least as dangerous as spending a few hours on a plane imo.

 

[Bama Mom]

Up until our anniversary trip in 2019 we have always drove from North Alabama. In 2019 we flew. I hope I never have to drive again. My daughter and I will be flying (as well as everyone else in our group but from different airports) for our girls trip in March. My daughter and I were always ones to keep hand sanitizer on us anyways because let's be frank, some people have nasty habits that are gross. I will take a small thing of disinfecting wipes to wipe down our seat, trays and seat belts but we aren't too worried about flying. We both have small bladders so the stops we would have to make along the way would make me way more nervous than the plane. We can be in control of distancing ourselves from people in the airport so we aren't worried about that either.

 

[skeeter31]

I am seeing more airlines banning those masks due to them supposedly not protecting others from you. I would love to wear one though and need to look deeper into it.

I think they were referencing a different type of filter. They probably meant the inserts you add to a mask that can filter out more particles. I believe you are speaking about masks with a valve in the front that exhales everything you’re breathing out, making them useless at protecting others.

 

[Moliphino]

I am seeing more airlines banning those masks due to them supposedly not protecting others from you. I would love to wear one though and need to look deeper into it.

Are you thinking of vents? Lots of places aren't allowing masks with vents (Disney included), but masks with an internal replaceable filter are ok.

 

[Moliphino]

We drove in Sept/Oct because being stuck in close proximity to strangers for three hours seemed too risky. We felt much safer and more in control when driving, even when stopping for food/gas/hotel. If anything looked unsafe we could just leave.

I had to fly for work in early December and I was not really comfortable with it. I did not get sick, but I'm also not looking to repeat the experience anytime soon.

 

[ford91exploder]

Personally I'd fly as aircraft are now equipped with the same filters used in electronic clean rooms and surgical suites.

If you want a mask that WILL protect against COVID you want one of these US Army M50 CBR mask, It even has a safe access for a straw so you can drink without removing your mask.

 

[sam_gordon]

We purchased our tickets January 2020 and re-booked our flight twice. Due to not booking originally in their requirement "window" for the point change over offer we did not qualify for that deal which ended December 15th (I think). As of now they will not refund, change to points or allow us to re-book past March 12th. So we had re-booked as far out as possible at the time (last nov). We have talked to CS a few times and got a very straight "no".

I thought Southwest would do changes or give you a refund (in travel vouchers). https://www.southwest.com/html/customer-service/purchasing-and-refunds/refund-info-pol.html

Anyway, keep in mind your "two hour flight" will probably be closer to five. Figure 30 minutes to the airport, arrive 90 minutes ahead of time, two hour flight, then 60-90 minutes minimum to get to Disney.

You also don't say how much money you'd be losing by not flying. That would factor into my equation.

That being said, I would still fly over drive 15 hours. We've driven to Poinciana (about 30 miles south of Disney) the last three Christmas (2020 excepted). It's about a 13 hour drive including stops. The drive down isn't that bad (driving on Christmas Day the highway is just about empty), but coming back is a awful. I would do everything I could to make sure me and my traveling companions feel safe while flying... especially if I've already spent money on tickets.

 

[Orion Nebula]

I thought Southwest would do changes or give you a refund (in travel vouchers). https://www.southwest.com/html/customer-service/purchasing-and-refunds/refund-info-pol.html

Anyway, keep in mind your "two hour flight" will probably be closer to five. Figure 30 minutes to the airport, arrive 90 minutes ahead of time, two hour flight, then 60-90 minutes minimum to get to Disney.

You also don't say how much money you'd be losing by not flying. That would factor into my equation.

That being said, I would still fly over drive 15 hours. We've driven to Poinciana (about 30 miles south of Disney) the last three Christmas (2020 excepted). It's about a 13 hour drive including stops. The drive down isn't that bad (driving on Christmas Day the highway is just about empty), but coming back is a awful. I would do everything I could to make sure me and my traveling companions feel safe while flying... especially if I've already spent money on tickets.

My wife handled all of the CS back and forth so I might be not explaining things well enough. But I do know at this point they will not allow us to get a refund or switch to vouchers. And I think it has to do with us buying (cash) the original tickets in Jan 2020 and having to re-book twice (wanna get away). And I have about 1500 to lose.

I did not really take into consideration airport / shuttle time (obviously) into my comparison. You make a good point, that 15 hour drive though is MISERABLE. So that weighs in for me too, but if it was a guarantee against Covid it wouldn't be a question.