Please help get me excited about driving!

[MinnieMommy07]

$800 for round trip airfare from Chicagofor a family of four??? Try over $2000! The cheapest non stop flights I have found from Chicago Midway, O'Hare or Indianapolis are over $500. If we stop and change planes and are willing to travel at midnight or 5am, we can get flights for $360 each. So driving round trip will cost us about $800 figuring gas, 2 nights in a hotel, food, tolls, etc. Therefore saving us over $1200. If you can get me roundtrip air for only $800, I will gladly fly!

That is WAY expensive! Everytime I go to price airfare for our trip (for three) each person is around $200 roundtrip and thats for mid-May, nonstop coach, early morning (7am) coming out of Ohare or Midway to MCO.

Have you tried the Disney website or a website like Travelocity?

I just don't understand the discrepencies....


Well, if you don't find a better deal on airfare, have a great trip nonethe less! Once you reach the southern states they are very beautiful and it will definately make your vacation feel longer! Have fun!

 

[capecoddisneyfamily]

I just don't understand the discrepencies....

March is a busier time to fly, with all the schools on vacation. May, schools are in session so flights are cheaper

 

[spfldfan]

We are from Central IL also and have driven two times and will do a third this spring. We always start in the morning and stay overnight in GA. It is an easy drive. Having a car is nice, the drives to and from the parks are really easy (GPS is the best). DVD players and Nintendo DS are best inventions ever.

 

[breick]

Try pricing airfare out of Bloomington, IL (45 minutes from you) or Moline,IL ( 3 hours from you) on AirTran... bet you can find a reasonable fare there.

 

[HHSTigerFan]

Coming from the south edge of the Chicago area, we always leave in the afternoon, drive all night and into WDW by lunch the following day.. works out very well!

 

[kirsangel]

Try pricing airfare out of Bloomington, IL (45 minutes from you) or Moline,IL ( 3 hours from you) on AirTran... bet you can find a reasonable fare there.

Tried Bloomington, Moline, South Bend, Peoria, St. Louis, Rockford, Indianapolis, Chicago...nothing is reasonable! Bloomington is over $600 for a 1 stop flight. I will continue to monitor prices but right now driving seems like the best option. I would rather have the extra money for a nice vacation and to start saving for next time! I just hope we make it down there trouble free!

 

[Funwith4kids]

It's too late for decent fares for spring break out of Bloomington. You need to watch spring break flights early on to get the better prices. We booked ours several months back for ~$150 ns rt BMI/MCO.

You may catch something last minute on some flights that are not booked up. We decided to fly last year at the last minute and landed $200 ns rt STL/MCO.

Now...we have done the drive every year for 10 yrs. We can pretty much pack whatever we want - forget the 3-1-1 rules of flying..pack any size liquids...explosives (well, not really, but do pick up fireworks on the way home)...clothes...and even the kitchen sink. You can do that when you fly. (We missed the fireworks on the 4th last year since we flew). In addition, you can extend/shorten your stay when you drive without the hassle/expense of changing flights...

 

[MinnieMommy07]

Now...we have done the drive every year for 10 yrs. We can pretty much pack whatever we want - forget the 3-1-1 rules of flying.. In addition, you can extend/shorten your stay when you drive without the hassle/expense of changing flights...

March is a busier time to fly, with all the schools on vacation. May, schools are in session so flights are cheaper

I see the differences and hope you the best!

 

[minniemee]

We are driving for Spring Break from the Houston area for the first time as well! My boys are 7 & 15 so they "should" be able to handle the 15-16 hours in the car!!???(hopefully without driving me bonkers)
We will leave after school on Fri. & stop to sleep in Pensacola at around 1am according to my calculations..... Then I'm thinking we will wake up, have a little breakfast & jump back on the road to Orlando. Should be just in time for the 3pm check in !!
We will have the DVD player, nintendo DS, leapster Didj, ipod touch, crayons, markers, coloring books, word search puzzles, snacks, & drinks for entertainment! Oughta be quite interesting......

 

[kirsangel]

Wow, I wish I was able to book flights a few months ago. I love Bloomington airport -45 min away and free parking! We only found out last week that we were going for sure. So I guess we'll drive it and enjoy our time in the car! Thanks for all the supportive words!

 

[okiedokieartichoke]

The fun thing about driving is all the sight seeing. the mountains of TN and KY if you pass through those states is absolutely beautiful. It is definitely a long drive, but you'll live. Also for your kids I'd reccomend some dramamine so they don't get car sick. when i was a kid i got car sick alot (still do...ha ha ha) and when we drove to FL for the first time my mom gave me some medication for it and I didn't get sick AT ALL! didn't even feel sick at all...it's seriously a miracle. use it!!!!!

 

[wtpfan]

Subscribing..we are thinking about trying to get there this March break. For us, flights were more expensive than last March when I booked so we will have to drive. DH wants to drive 19 hours straight through. Help me!