Should we fly or drive? please help!!

[WHIT1]

I am from va and we are going to disney nov/dec for 14 days, with 5 being at disney itself. United is charging $248.10 per person and a rental is running about $400. Still need a room and tickets. Do you all think the plane tickets will come down ,plus the car rentals to? Which do you think would be cheaper for us and what would you do?

 

[BelleBeautyandtheBeast]

I am also going then and we are waiting to see if airfare and rental prices drop. With 5 people I cannot see spending $1250 on airfare then another $440 to rent a minivan.
I figured out that driving would cost us about $550 from NE Ohio to FL. That is gas, tolls, extra food and 2 overnights in a hotel. That saves us $1140, a large chunk of change!
I looked through the history of Southwest Ding fares and saw that last Nov./Dec. there were some cheaper flights available. I am hoping that it happens again. It is also a slower travel season after Thanksgiving and before Christmas, which I am hoping works in our favor!
I really prefer to fly but I also like to save money. I'm holding out for cheaper fares and rental prices

 

[daisy2000]

We've driven a few times from Connecticut - at least 21 hrs.

If I lived in VA or any further south, I would definitely save the money & drive.

Although driving takes longer, I liked having more leg room, the ability to stop and get out, and being able to pack as much and whatever I wanted. We are DVC members, so being able to pack food & extras came in handy. The drive is just getting too long for us, so when we can get a decent airfare, we fly.

 

[Hef4545]

I would consider driving. We usually drive from Long Island which is about 1150 miles. We leave at 3:00am and just do quick stops. I pack a small cooler with drinks and bring a bag of snacks. We do burgers or something for lunch and keep moving. We stay over in Southern Georgia (go about 850 miles first day) which takes about 15 hours for us, have a nice dinner, maybe a swim and then finish the trip the next day. It is nice to pack what you want. If you are traveling around major holidays, consider booking a room ahead of time if you need to stay over off of I95. Figuring current gas costs, it cost us one way $160 for our gas, $40.00 for lunch and stops, $120.00 for the hotel room and dinner is about $90.00 at a local place like Ruby Tuesday or Cracker Barrel. The next day we may take advantage of the Hotel Continental Breakfast or go to the Pancake House and are on the road by 10:00am and get to Disney between 3:00pm and 4:00pm. Coming from Virginia, you have a good 8 hours of my trip done already. Piece of cake.

 

[SamRoc]

We drive to Florida from New York about 3 times a year. We leave at 6pm and are at Disney noon the next day. It takes us 18 hours and my dh and I take turns driving (3-4 hours each) The kids are awake til about 10 or 11 then sleep through the night (we have a conversion van with bed, TV, DVD, playstation) We make just a few stops and drive through for breakfast then are in Orlando. We just did this Christmas week and are going again February 15-17. It saves alot of money driving. We are also DVC members and its great having our van with us.

 

[WHIT1]

We've driven a few times from Connecticut - at least 21 hrs.

If I lived in VA or any further south, I would definitely save the money & drive.

Although driving takes longer, I liked having more leg room, the ability to stop and get out, and being able to pack as much and whatever I wanted. We are DVC members, so being able to pack food & extras came in handy. The drive is just getting too long for us, so when we can get a decent airfare, we fly.

With everyone input it does make sense to drive. But its hard to handle sitting for that amount of time.My dh and i have a trip to middletown ct.Thats where he is from ,coming up in may that will tell me if i can handle sitting in a car going to fla. So thanks everyone for your advice.

 

[stacy6552]

When are you going? Spring break? Drive. The airlines are horrible. They just toss customer service because the flights are so overbooked they dont care whether or not they offend. At least that was our experience.

We drove from VA a few years back. The drive was suprisingly easier than expected. However, we did feel a bit jetlagged having done the whole trip in a day.

 

[WHIT1]

When are you going? Spring break? Drive. The airlines are horrible. They just toss customer service because the flights are so overbooked they dont care whether or not they offend. At least that was our experience.

We drove from VA a few years back. The drive was suprisingly easier than expected. However, we did feel a bit jetlagged having done the whole trip in a day.

We are going nov26-dec9. I know better than go down there at sprink break. I like nov/dec because the weather is cooler i hate hot. I went this past oct and couldn't enjoy disney much cause it was to hot for me.My dh and i put the numbers together and its cheaper to drive. But i will still watch the airlines and the rental cars to see if by luck they go down,especially the car.

 

[nordkin]

Where in Virginia do you live? If it is Northern Virginia you might want to consider going to Baltimore and using Southwest. I have been very successful getting fares out of Dulles at under $175 roundtrip on United. Keep checking daily on United because the fares do go up and down often, even during the same day. I find the cheapest fares late at night (after 11) and in the morning before 8. Maybe the time doesn't have anything to do with it, but that has been my experience.

 

[WHIT1]

Where in Virginia do you live? If it is Northern Virginia you might want to consider going to Baltimore and using Southwest. I have been very successful getting fares out of Dulles at under $175 roundtrip on United. Keep checking daily on United because the fares do go up and down often, even during the same day. I find the cheapest fares late at night (after 11) and in the morning before 8. Maybe the time doesn't have anything to do with it, but that has been my experience.

I live about 2 hrs or less from dulles. Thats where we went out of in oct because it was nonstop. I live just 5 min away from the shenadoah airport but cost to much to fly out of it. Even charlotesville is expensive. I checked wed at 6 am and continue to everyday but it hasn't budged. I figured of all the holidays and soon nascar will be starting up in feb and then there is bike week.Maybe after this passes they will have go down. Still the car rentals are to high even with codes from mousesavers. Its a wait and see game,i still have plenty of time.