Should we drive to WDW??????

[weeyore33]

This will be our 3rd family trip to WDW we are planning our trip for May 2002. We have 15 days total of vacation time and we were thinking we could save extra money by driving... FROM BOSTON?????? Is it worth the extra savings? we have 2 children, boys- 5 & 9, if we leave on a friday at dinner we could drive all night, we have a brand new car so we are not worried too much about it, has anyone done this drive??? we need help- if we fly we would rent a car for at least half the time we are there.... any help please!!!!!!
wncab4@aol.com

 

[john23tc]

Unless your family is used to long trips in the car I would see if you can get some decent airfares for that time. I would guess your drive would be at least 24 hours of driving time. That is a long time. On the other hand we have driven 8 times from southern New Jersey to Disney. It takes us between 17-18 hours of drive time each way. We usually leave about 3am and make it to Florida about 6-7pm that night. We then eat and stay at a hotel, then the next morning we are fresh and ready for the final 2 -3 hours of our drive to Disney. I really don't mind the drive and if I can save $700-800(family of five) on air and car rental, it is worth it to me. My kids have always been good on our road trips and we now travel in a nice minivan which has a vcr so the kids aren't too bored. Before the vcr, we made sure that we had books, cd players, ect. to keep them occupied. You just have to relax and realize that it is going to take a while and make the ride in the car fun too.

 

[Kermit]

We drive long distances on vacations frequently for various reasons. I agree that if you're not used to it, it probably isn't a good idea. Driving long distances is stressful, and that's not the way you want to start or finish your vacation.

On the other hand, if you've driven long distances before, it might not be that bad. You could even stop at touristy locations somewhat early in the evening to make the trip a little more exciting.

 

[weeyore33]

Thanks for the info on travelling by car, we do not have a minivan, so it would not be as comfortable, we do have a mini suv- we have a 12 volt tv/vcr that we can take, and we also thought of stopping on the way home to break it up--- myrtyl beach, dc, anywhere to break it up... if we can get a super deal on southwest we will fly! we have only done a couple of road trips with the kids to new hampshire, but we are a family that is never home- on the go constantly in the car- yesterday we were in the car for 6 hours and the kids were ok.we have time to decide, but your suggestions are helpful! thanks