please help me decide on flying vs driving after looking at this

[gm]

*adding more info to my question*

Hi,

I am debating since i have a budget so I wanted to get your opinion. We are going for 2 weeks. It will be me and my kids 6 and 9 and here is the info:

The cheapest flights out of Houston I can get is $698 total for the 3 of us. Yes Southwest is $140 cheaper but it arrives at midnight and its me and 2 kids and additional money to rent a car for a week. So I would be spending almost $1000 on airfare and rental.
The only day I want to go, Southwest has only a midnight flight which is $140 cheaper than Continental. Continental is a daytime non stop flight and yes I will need to rent a car to shop around outlets and such + we like to go out to eat/grocery shop/etc.



vs.


Renting an SUV for 2 weeks total with taxes at $620. Have not budgeted for gas since I do not know how much maybe $150??. Also no worry about renting in Orlando. So I would be spending about $800ish total. I do not want to rent a smaller car because the Trip would be about 14 hrs and I wanted it to be a comfortable ride. PS. I didnt even think about overnight stays

Which sounds better. I do not mind driving.

 

[crazyforgoofy]

What's you driving time? How old are your kids? Would you need to add in a stay or two on the road going and coming back?

How much would you use a rental car once you arrived in Orlando?

 

[crazyforgoofy]

Does Southwest only have one flight or is that the one you can get cheaper tickets?

 

[rsschneck]

Not only will there be gas but hotel and food back and forth. I also consider my time if it takes 2 days there and 2 days back that is twice as long than a plane ride. That could be 2 more days at work to pay for the plane tickets.

If your kids are younger than you will be the only driver. I get tired of driving and can only drive 3-4 hours in a stretch before my eyes go crazy.

I feel time and sanity (2 kids in a car) is worth a lot! If you are only saving $100-$200 it would be worth it to me to fly. Just my 2 cents.

 

[HaleyB]

Do you have to rent an SUV? How old are your kids? For me it is easier to drive with kids than to fly with them. You can stop and take a break in a car. We will be hitting the road on May 29th.

We drive to Grandma's in California every year. It takes longer, two nights on the road.... we spend about $500 round trip on that (we do not rent a car) so we think no more than $400, maybe much less, to drive to WDW.

It is not a bad drive from what I hear, if you split it into two days. There are lots of people over on the transportation board that drive from Texas. They say 17-20 hours from Dallas or Austin, and you are a few hours closer....

 

[BrittnTylersMom]

We've only flown down, so I'm not much help on whether you should drive/fly, but IMO I'd rather fly and get it over with quickly. Thought I'd share the link I saw posted here on the Dis (TY original poster!) that helps calculate fuel costs for long drives.

http://www.fuelcostcalculator.com/TripGasPrice.aspx

 

[corinascot]

..instead of an SUV? Many of them have more room inside and they're less expensive. Also, AAA has a website where you can estimate how much you'll spend on gas.

We're driving from Ohio (about 1000 miles). There are 3 of us and flying would probably cost a few hundred more, but the thing I most like about driving is the flexibility. We've allowed several days to get home from WDW. We can either make a few stops on the way home and see some other sites, hurry home and get home with a few days to "recover" from vacation, or, if we have any $$left LOL!, stay a couple extra days at WDW (although we'd probably have to move to an off site hotel).

We can also bring more stuff with us if we're driving. We're bringing our electric cooler that plugs into an outlet in the back of our van. We'll use it in our room.

Are your children ok with long car trips? Our son does pretty well with them. We stop alot, though.

Good luck and have fun!

Corina

 

[westjones]

If you are the only adult going (meaning the only one driving), I would say fly instead. We drive 17 hours, but DH and I take turns driving and resting.

It is also nice to not have to worry about flat tires or engine problems.

I would never drive that far by myself. I would with my DH or an adult friend, but not by myself with my kids.

Another plus, you will be enjoying a wonderful meal at Disney the same day you leave! How cool is that!
DJ

 

[Twirly41]

You can check gasbuddy.com for gas prices in different states. I had the same problem deciding on driving vs flying. I know what you mean about Southwest not having very good times flying out of Texas. We are driving with me, my mother and daughter. Kind of nervous about 3 women driving alone. But after figuring the price of flying (around $700), then having to pay for transportation to and from the airport to the resort, we finally decided to drive. Also, we got the Dreamaker package with UPH tickets. If we flew we would be missing out on hours used for the parks on our first and last days there. You might also check out Priceline to save money on hotels also. Good luck!

 

[swilshire]

You didn't mention the sex of your kids, but I'm very nervous at bathroom breaks at rest areas. If either of the children are male, they won't want to go into the ladies room with you. What will you do with them if you need to go? The family restrooms are a possibility, but again, a male child might be embarrased. It's a shame that we have to worry about such things, but I am very aware of the possibility of a problem.

Luckily, I normally have my 6' oldest son along if my husband is not and he can supervise the bathroom breaks for the younger boys. When I'm alone with the little ones, I have trouble finding a way to go that I feel secure with.

Sheila

 

[LisaRay]

So where are you staying in orlando? If it is onsite and you will be there for 2 weeks then maybe another way to save money if you fly is to not have a rental car for the whole 2 weeks.

just the 1st few days to get you from the airport and a few days of offsite shopping, eating etc. Then return the car onsite and rent again a few days before rent again to get you to more offsite places and back to the airport. We did this on our last trip but only kept the car one day both times and got a van for $45 x2. So it was $90.00 for our tansport to and from the airport plus we could shop offsite our 1st and last days.

Other than that I would say that my opinion would be to fly. just has to be easier than that long drive! good luck with whichever you deciede!

 

[Microcell]

I think you are even further than I am away and it is a two solid day trip for me. My DD could handle it at 6 but i would get a TV if you drive. It seems like a wash when factoring in hotels on the road and food. I would fly, and I hate to fly!! I have flown in at 1 am before and it is not the most fun I hever had, but maybe the airport would be quieter? At least you don't have a baby with you!

 

[Microcell]

Swil- I thought you meant six years old and not 6 feet tall. LOL I was thinking, woah there. My DS will probably need therapy but I would have to drag him into the ladies room even at 9 if in a rest area. They are scary places. I actually would go to Mickey D's if you do drive. Have you seen "There's Something About Mary" ?

 

[swilshire]

I went a few places alone with my oldest when he was younger, and it got to be a real issue. There was one drive we made often and sometimes late at night. Not a fast food restaurant or Walmart for 75 miles. He was always tall, so after a while the other women started looking at him funny in the ladies room at the rest area.

Even at restaurants and in the airport I tend to stand right outside the door to the men's room if one of the kids is in there. They have instructions to yell loud if I'm needed. I've had a few funny looks from men coming out that way, too.

Sheila

 

[ceecee]

I would fly. If it was just myself and two kids I'd be afraid I'd get lost, have car trouble, etc. Plus we drove from Ohio the first time and said never again, that was almost 14 years ago...need I say more? That just isn't enough of a savings in my opinion. By driving you also loose precious WDW time!!!
If you are staying onsite you would not need a rental car the entire time, maybe just a few days, if you really want to do the outlets. We have arrived at 10:00 pm the last several years and have taken Tiffany to the resorts, easy and stress free. We have also rented but really like not driving for 10-14 days!!!

 

[DFSquare]

We are in San Antonio and will be driving our mini-van. Each boy gets his own benchseat to minimize fights

We will be stopping overnight in Louisiana/Mississippi, but that's because I don't like to drive straight thru.

I take the boys (5 & 7 now) to Iowa alone often. I've been doing it for about 4 years now. That trip is just about as far as our trip to WDW. Granted, when I go to Iowa, I take my BIG chow/lab dog along. But no one knows that unless they approach the van.

So, for what it's worth, I vote to drive. Look at a mini-van over an SUV. You'll save a lot with the V6 vs the V8 and the rental fees should be lower as well.

Dawn

 

[bobcat]

I drive solo with my kids every year and haven't had a problem. I don't mind driving long distances however.

 

[zurgswife]

My thoughts are..

If you were driving your own vehicle it probably would be a sound decision monetarily....but

It is a 1000 miles so gas costs will be between $150 to $175 (maybe more if it is a true SUV).

Cost of rental. $620

food $50 RT

If you don't stop $845

If you stop $915 estimate.

Savings for driving straight through
$1000 - 845 = $155 savings with additional 30hrs of travel time

Savings for stopping over night
$1000 - $915 = $95 savings...with additional 46 hrs of travel time.

Even if you are traveling alone...I'd pick flying even if arriving at midnight. Do you have to have a rental car or could you have a limo service pick you up....

When the savings are minimal my vacation time is valuable...

 

[gm]

Well, after debating and getting everyones valuable information, i went ahead and decided it is better to fly so I went ahead and purchased non stop for 3 at $698 which is quite high but at least it is non stop and daytime hours flights.

There was a cheaper flight but it arrives at midnight and that is a big no no for me after what happened last year.(I arrived at 12:30pm at night, waited 20 minutes at National Car rental because the only person working was on the phone with a customer and when Finally he gave me my rental info and the section where my car is, I went up there and there was no row 24(or something like that where they keep their compact cars) like he mentioned and not a soul working up there and I was just walking back and forth, back and forth, so I called back in the terminal since I did not want to walk way down there again after midnight and a lady picked up the phone and said just take any car there so I did. With 2 very sleepy kids, that was no fun. when we arrived at the Airport hotel on our first night, I could not sleep because I was worried they would charge me xtra for the car I took which I think was an intermediate but thankfully they didnt when I returned it.

Now I will have to see about where to stay since that took a big bite out of my budget.

I have enough points to stay 9 days at Sheraton Safari for free but my heart says no and to stay at a Moderate but the extra money would sure come in handy in other ways including rental car.

thank you

 

[crazyforgoofy]

How about splitting your stay Sheraton Safari on points and a moderate on Disney property using Mousesaver codes? Then you might not stretch your budget to the breaking point and can rent a fairly small car at with a good code from Mousesavers.

Any way you do it, have a wonderful time!