Please help me with my decision

[Hockeychic]

Well thanks to Mousey we are thinking about flying...actually have a hold on 4 seats till midnight tonight. Trying to decide which way to go. Please check over my budget for both driving and flying.. did I miss anything....are my totals about right... if we drive it will be straight through so no hotels enroute. THANKS
BTW these are all Canadian funds.

To Fly
2100.00 Disney resort and tickets
1000.00 Airline tickets
150.00 Hotel in Buffalo...which is where we will fly from
340.00 Car rental for entire stay
60.00 Gas for rental
280.00 Busch Gardens
210.00 3 nights in Orlando area hotels
1650.00 CASH
Total $5790.....Canadian

To Drive
2100.00 Disney
480.00 Gas
212.00 Cancellation Insurance which we will only get if we drive
280.00 Busch Gardens
210.00 3 nights orlando hotels
1650.00 CASH
Total $4932.00
So bascially only 858.00 and instead of 44 hours of driving 6 hours of flying.

But am Imissing anything????? Are my figures about right??

Thanks

 

[hockey mom]

If that is it for savings I would fly. What is the cancellation insurance for though? Also your Buffalo hotel is a little high but with the extra you could have dinner that night.

 

[mousy_in_canada]

looks good.. the only thing that may be different is.. did you check mousesavers for a code for a rental car? I think you can do a little better than that.. but you have to check to be sure

looks great!



adding.. did you check this hotel out. it was recommended to me by a friend who lives in Buffalo it is 79.99 USD per night AND they have a pool if you get there early.. make a day of it...

http://www.buffalo-hotels-booking.net/comfort_suites_buffalo_airport.html

 

[jersey shark]

You're not driving all that way for a 3-nite stay in Orlando are you?

Spotting the Busch tix, I'm sure you've got a few days in Tampa? (of course, hotels in Florida once down there are a wash since they are added to both sides of the equation).

You may need to consider food stops on the way down, and gas seems a little high (even if this age of $2 gas!).

I guess I'm a lucky guy...my budget often looks like this (family of 4)

Airfare from NJ: $0 (use miles, fly a lot with work)
Hotel: $0 (Grand Cypress Hyatt...use Hyatt points)
Hertz Rental: $0 (use Hertz points)
Disney Tickets: $0 (annual pass already paid for in previous visits, once you go over 8 park days...consdier it a free bee)
Restaurants/Gifts: like everyone else!

Have a good trip!

 

[Hockeychic]

No the 3 nights in Orlando are the first 2 nights when we arrive as we are going to Busch Gardens. Spending 7 nights in Disney then spending the last night off site just to get up early and start to drive or our flight is around10 ish.....

Thanks everyone.

 

[The House of Mouse]

Just a Buffalo hotel note: We stayed at the new Holiday Inn Express for $78.99, enjoyed all their new facilities, including continental breakfast and left our car for two weeks. Highly recommend.

We decided flying was definitely worth it, the Buffalo airport is hassle free!

 

[StarWarsMan]

Way to long to drive 44 hours in a row. We drive 35 hours to get to Orlando and I can't do it unless we take 3 days to do the drive.

For that money, I would fly and spend the extra day there not being completely zonked by the long drive.

 

[faithinkarma]

you should be able to do bettter on both the Buffalo hotel and the car rental. Also, do you not plan on eating en route? I see nothing for food on the way to Fla. Realistically, the difference is probably closer to 500, at which point, I would fly !

 

[NancyK]

Your gas price seems high. Are you driving from Ontario? We just got back and only spent a little over $200 U.S. return even with the new higher gas prices. I'm not sure why you have $280 for cancellation insurance for driving? You didn't take into account meals on the road, but it can be pretty cheap to eat on the trip. We usually pack lots of stuff to eat in the car and have fast food or a Cracker Barrel stop. Good luck with your decision. I'm one of the few who actually likes the drive down.

 

[mbb]

:space: :space: :space:

 

[barb45]

I can't understand the cancellation insurance either with driving. You need it more if you fly because you can miss a flight for many reasons. Also I think your gas prices are a little high. We usually pack a loaf of sandwiches and pop/juice and never stop for lunch. We have a fast food supper and always stay at a hotel using Room Savers coupons $35-$45 per night including free breakfast. We only stop one night so driving is always way cheaper than flying for us.

 

[Hockeychic]

I did go a little high on gas to account for munchies along the way and I figured I would rather guestimate higher.

As for the cancellation insurance, I guess I should have been more specific. We we drive we would get the cancellation i nsurance on the package at disney, if we flew we weren't going to because te flight was non-refundable so we figured we were going regardless.

Thanks for all the input.

 

[pumpkinboy]

I concur with my Maritimes pal mbb:
Fly baby, Fly!
:space: :space:
Either that or teleport

Anything to avoid that long long drive. Spend your vacation vacationing.

 

[Amberle3]

Gotta chime in here on the cancellation insurance, even though I know it's not the main issue here.

I always advise my clients to get cancellation insurance, even those who are "positive" they're going on the trip. There are several reasons.

1 - Even though you might not have any plans on cancelling, fate might have other plans. Car accidents, serious illness, airline strikes etc.

2 - Cancellation insurance almost always includes interruption insurance as well. This will pay to fly you home if there's an emergency and you need to return early. This will also pay for part of your pre-paid vacation if you have to return early. I had a client who booked airfare to Arizona on her own last year, didn't take any kind of insurance. Her mother (back at home) ended up dying a few days after she got to Arizona. Oneway airfare back from Arizona to Winnipeg was I believe in the $2000 range. She ended up staying in Arizona and missing her mother's funeral.

No one plans to have an emergency. If they did, they wouldn't be emergencies! But things do happen. Basically you need to figure out if you can afford NOT to have the insurance if things go wrong.

 

[barb45]

Amberle3 is right. That's why I brought up the question about the cancellation insurance. It seems to me that more can go wrong when you are flying and you stand to lose more. Since the tickets are non-refundable it stands to reason to insure them (it may be too late). We missed our connecting flight to Scotland (bad weather in July of all things) and because we had insurance we were covered for a hotel in Toronto, food, phone calls plus the day we had to pay for our flat rental in Scotland and one day's value on the rental car - it can to over $250.00. The worst thing is if you get to within a day or two of your trip and someone gets sick or a family member dies and you can't go. Just something to think about.

 

[Hockeychic]

We have actually decided against flying because I am terrified to fly and have been having major tummy aches since we started to think about it that have disappeared since we decided to drive.

I do have a question I can't get answered through CAA who is booking my trip. With all the talk now about a terrorist attack will the cancellation insurance cover us if we can't cross the border due to the border being closed???? We were suppose to book our package today but what insurance to cover this. ANY advise???

Thanks

 

[Snowwark]

Originally posted by Hockeychic
We have actually decided against flying because I am terrified to fly and have been having major tummy aches since we started to think about it that have disappeared since we decided to drive.

Thanks

It may too late to suggest this, Hockeychic, but have you thought of speaking to your doctor about medication to relax you when you're flying? I also dislike flying, but my doctor presribed some anti-anxiety medication for me, and it works great. I fly down to WDW by myself sometimes (well, there are other people on the plane...lol.. ), and although I still feel a little nervous, it has really helped.

 

[Hockeychic]

I thnk I need medication to stop my panic attacks....I always worry about everything, if you read all my posts over the last week or two you will see....... I need to start seeing the glass as at least half full and not always on empty. Unfortunatley one of my other obsessions is medication I won't even take a tylonal if I have a massive headache. I just go to bed.

We have decided to drive and I am OK with that, it would have been nice to get there in 2.5 hours but hey what is 20 more hours when your with family........lol

I am (I think) booking tonight I just have to find the right cancellation insurance then we are set.

Thanks for the advice

 

[Amberle3]

Originally posted by Hockeychic
I do have a question I can't get answered through CAA who is booking my trip. With all the talk now about a terrorist attack will the cancellation insurance cover us if we can't cross the border due to the border being closed???? We were suppose to book our package today but what insurance to cover this. ANY advise???

Well, it depends. Some insurance won't cover terrorist attacks. I don't currently sell the RBC insurance but last I saw they did specifically include it. I think that all the cancellation insurance will cover you if the Canadian government issues an advisory NOT to travel to the US.

So basically, if the border closes and the there's no advisory, no coverage. If the border closes and there is an advisory, you're covered.