Should we just drive?

[michvin]

Okay, here's the "problem"...

We have miles with US Air. DH travels A LOT and so we have miles (I mean the man goes to India once a quarter at least). Anyway, next October (yes, I am obsessing about a vacation 11 months away and we were just there this past October and we are going for a long weekend in January, but you know) I want to go back for the week. DH is fine with that...I think he is addicted to WDW and it is nice to get away from it ALL considering our lifestyle with the job.

So, US Air has levels to using the points. 25k is budget or something or as I like to call it "the crappy, crappy times you can get a flight if you can get a flight at all level". The next level is 50k. Oh, yes, you may say, double the points. Yes, and it opens up the level to what I like to call "yes, we don't care that you traveled over 200,000 miles with us in the past year...we want you to spend more of you money with us because we like to *&^%$# people". The next level is 100k, which is absurd because I would have to be really needing to get somewhere desperate to use that many points at once.

So, this past Oct. I got 4 tickets for 80k. They upped the rates to 25k a ticket from 20 a ticket. (There are five of us, but one was a baby and lets not open this up to lap babies on the plane discussion, there is already one of those ). 4 tickets for mid oct for flight out of philly at 12:20 on a friday and flight out of Orlando on Saturday at 12pm. Great. Not a busy time of year, not a holiday. Cool. Next year I am getting, the "crappy, crappy times" for my measly 25k. I mean crappy...Friday am at 6 and back home Sunday am at 5:30!!!!!!! How on earth and I going to get 3 kids under 8 up and at the airport at 3:30 in the am? So, here is the issue,
We don't have enough points to put us at the 50k mark...plus, my dh and I think its ridiculous to use all of our points up when there is the 25 k level. So, do I just deal with the times, or do I , gulp, drive? We could not afford to pay for 5 plane tickets. Its crazy. And, if we use points for 3, and buy 2 , there is not way to guarantee sitting together. Can I get us up and out that early? Has anyone done this with kids? Its crazy....

Please help me decide so I can make the ressie and stop worrying over stupid stuff.

 

[ADisneyQueen]

We have used US air ff miles in the past a few times. Although it is best to book them as early as possible for the best dates/times, they do add more flights as time goes on. A few years ago we were able to book flights (4 people) for Thanksgiving week in late July from PHIL. In fact, a better time came up for the return flight about a month later and they let me change it for free. If I were you I would check the flights daily since you have a lot of time to plan.
We have also debated over using ff miles for 2 tickets and buying the other two. Maybe this would work better if you bought all the tickets over the phone? Good luck.

 

[Pinkprincessmom]

How long would your drive be? We drive 10 hours and it's not bad. Sometimes we break it up over 2 days, but even driving it all at once isn't bad.

 

[jorodopo]

We drove for the first time in Aug. and will be driving again in Jan. with DD2, DS6 and DS9. It really was less stressfull for us than flying would have been. We leave after dinner on Friday. Watch one movie in the car. The kids go to sleep. Stop for breakfast and get there in time for a late lunch. We were surprised at how NOT tired we were when we arrived on Saturday. Adrenaline or pixie dust, I'm not sure. I do admit that we WERE tired the day after we got home. (We leave Friday nite and have Sat. and Sun to recover). But I'm not sure we wouldn't have been that tired from a vacation at WDW anyway. Stress level was definitely much, much lower with driving and the cost was less also. As a previous poster suggested keep a look out on the flights but if you have to fall back on driving it really did turn into a very pleasant experience for us.

 

[java]

We drive about 16 hours for the trip and we do it at least once a year!!
Forgot to say we have 4 kids (11,8,3,1)

 

[LegoMom3]

Really depends how much of a headache you are willing to put up with! Of course I'm biased because of more-than-one absolutely horrible experiences with USAir.....

Anyway we always drive on big trips, mainly because of the bottom line: we are a family of five and we can drive to FL (from NH) for a few hundred dollars vs. flying for $1000 or more. Our last trip the kids were 2 1/2, 4, and 7. But they are also pretty good about being in the car for long trips (I find it's the short trips across town that they drive me nuts on! ). We make the trip in about 2 1/2 days, and that's with plenty of stops built in. We don't arrive exhausted (to the contrary, we are anxious to get moving around!).

But there is always going to be another side to this coin, where folks will praise the virtues of flying and they would NEVER make a long car ride to WDW. Have to go on what your family is like, and how much time you have, really, since the cost of tickets isn't much of a factor. Just remember that no matter how you get there, the destination is MICKEY!!

 

[rt2dz]

We drive everywhere in the US. We just find it much, much easier. I don't think it is a hassle at all. Last trip to WDW was in May with DS4 and DS 15 months (at the time) and me 6 months pregant. We just drove 1260 miles for Thanksgiving week with DS4, DS 21 months, and DS 2 months. It really isn't bad.

We stop and get out to eat. Because of the Star Wars toys that meant BK this last trip, but they have playgrounds for the kids to work out energy. We also take the portable DVD player, a few toys (magna doodle/aqua doodle, view master, coloring books & crayons, action figures, and books work the best--some new, some favorites). Everyone has a travel pillow and blanket. We stop at rest stops where DH leads the kids in mini calestenics.

As far as driving, we go straight through, switching off drivers. We also leave at night a few hours before dinner. Drive a while, have dinner, drive a while, get out stretch, use restroom, kids go to sleep. The adult not driving also sleeps. If both adults are tired, then we will stop to sleep. Amazingly, we are never tired when we arrive, but raring and ready to go. Do keep toothbrushes and toothpaste with you to brush your teeth when needed, makes a world of difference. Soap for washing your face too! FL has wonderful reststops!

We additionally have the mindset the drive is part of the trip. And the point of the trip is to have a good time v. making good time.

 

[Kitty-chan]

It would definitely be a challenge to get everybody to the airport for a 5:30am flight! But fwiw, you almost certainly don't need to be there 2 hours in advance for a flight that early -- one time I arrived 2 hours early for a 6am flight, only to find out that in that case, the ticket counter didn't even open until 5am! So boy, did I feel silly and tired sitting at the airport.

If it were me, I'd go with the option of getting some tickets with miles, and paying for some. Even if all five can't be together, seating 3 and 2 means that no kid needs to sit alone. Also, in plenty of cases they're able to seat groups together even if some are miles and some are paid, plus even if all the tickets are bought together it's still no guarantee that everybody gets seating assignments together. (Of course, it's usually possible to swap seats on the plane if necessary . . . sometimes it's unpopular, but most reasonable people won't let a small child sit alone anyway and will swap with you if necessary.)

 

[My2Cinderellas]

I'll pose a solution that hasn't been mentioned yet. Use the FF miles, even if it means a 5:30 am flight. but consider checking into an airport hotel the night before. 4am is not my best hour, or my kids, so cutting the commute down to nothing might help.

 

[SqueakyMouse]

We've had such bad experiences flying with our children that we always try to drive when taking them anywhere. Christmas will be our 3rd driving trip to WDW this year (2 others flying). While long, these trips are far less stressful than flying from an airport over 2 hours from our home on flights that leave at ongodly hours. I will warn you of this: Driving actually costs us more than flying...for 5 of us.

 

[LegoMom3]

... I will warn you of this: Driving actually costs us more than flying...for 5 of us.

Where are you driving from??? We're a family of 5 (way up in NH) and I can't imagine the cost of driving (which we've done plenty) even beginning to touch what it would cost for 5 airline tickets (which I've priced plenty!), even at a really good discount!

 

[kydisneyfans]

We drive every year-about 12-13 hours each way depending on traffic and construction. We find that making frequent stops actually wears us down more than if we took 4 5 minute breaks.

We drove half way back and stopped in Atlanta for an overnight last trip-but in the future we will leave on Sat and drive straight home-using Sunday as a recoup day.

They key is to make the drive a part of the vacation, not "we'll be on vacation when we get to Disney". Have fun with the kids, play games, get the backseat bingo games where the kids identify signs, etc.

Based on cost and airport hassles, we'll never fly.

 

[poohfriend]

I would see if you can get paid tickets for the price of driving. Maybe you can combine some FF tickets at the 50k level and some paid tickets for less than driving. With magical express available now, there's one less expense when flying --no need for a taxi or towncar! How much would it cost on one of the less expensive airlines? (jet blue, southwest, i don't know what flies to your area).

If it costs more, debate if the price is worth while FOR YOUR FAMILY.

I have found that there are folks that travel nicely in a car...and others that a car trip deflates. I personally don't mind a drive, but DH gets uptights after a while, so I'd rather deal with the shorter travel time of flying.

I imagine no matter what you decide (the early US air flights, or driving) that your family will be so delighted with a trip to the World that it will all be okay. Enjoy whatever you do. ANd good for you for early planning!

 

[wdwluver]

I agree with Poohfriend.

You have to weigh the cost of airfare (and rental car) to gas prices to drive and possibly hotel if you're going to break up the trip to a couple of days. You also have to consider food breaks too and overall stress and wear and tear on your car - over 2500 miles in a week for us to drive down.(I got lost coming home, but we won't talk about that )

We are a family of 5. it would have cost us well over $1,000 to fly but gas prices were better back then so I decided we could drive it in a couple of days. I got our hotels for the road through priceline and bought discounted gift cards for restaurants along the way.

I usually hate being in the car with my kids and husband for long periods of time but it turned out to be an amazing trip.

 

[TerriBelle]

We FLY!

We have driven to HH twice and it was ok but that is in the Summer when the kids are not in school. We always go to Disney in the off season and the kids are in school. We would rather use the time in Disney instead of on the road! Flying for us has never been a problem and from Baltimore it is only a few hours!