So are we nuts to consider driving?

[Gumbo4x4]

Personally, I wouldn't bat an eye at a driving trip of that distance. I've lost count of the number of trips like that (and much further) I've taken

 

[marius97]

I have felt all the same ways as you! We are in the Detroit area, and always flew down to Orlando. After all, why waste all those hours you could be in the parks stuck in a car?!?! And I had been finding great fares! Then flight prices went up, we realized that we really like having a car with us at The World, and my husband finally got his way and we drove for the first time last year.

We left later than expected - 6pm Saturday night. My hubby got some Starbucks around 11pm, and we drove straight through the night! That was a shock to me since I was on my phone messaging my mom around midnight about at about all the places we could stop for a rest. He drove until about 6am, then I took over for a couple hours. I drove just long enough for him to get a well-deserved nap and his 2nd wind. Then he drove from the Florida border to WDW.

It was MUCH better than I expected. The kids were fine too. This is one case where having them distracted by electronics is a good thing! It's the ride home that's not as much fun.

We'll be hitting the road to WDW again in a little under 4 weeks!

Good luck on the drive from someone that grew up in Detroit.

We did the same thing our first few years driving down (going straight through.) Coming home was always a beast because you don't have the excitement from getting closer to WDW. So last year we decided to stop on the way home (driving for five hours through a monster of a tropical storm kind of helped make the decision.) After doing that, we decided that stopping was the way to go for us. But driving will always be wha this family of five does.

 

[pepe of ohio]

Here's our take on the fly/drive choice...

We've done 49 trips to WDW over the years... Beginning trips we drove, quite a few... Then throw in 1 Auto Train trip, just for fun, then a couple of regular Amtrak trips, then a couple of flights ( never for me to do again ).... Then back to driving ( our trips are around 16-17 hours and always straight thru)....

Sadly as we got older, driving didn't feel comfortable and we went back to regular Amtrak... Quite a few of these but kind of got tired of Amtraks 8 hour layover in DC... That racks up the 36-39 hours train ride from northeast Ohio....but for the 450.00 for 2 people round trip...economical ...

Now to the last 4 trips, we're back to driving... takes less time than the train ( I ain't going to fly anymore) and less money than the train if we don't stop for the night driving... We can make it to Florida Welcome Center easily ( always around 11-12 at night, nap there for 2-3 hours and be in WDW around 6 am easily and it's like having an extra day getting in , in the wee hours instead of noon or later...

Amtrak was our main means but that layover in DC is hard to get over... Sitting and waiting for the south bound train... No way around it.. there is an earlier train out but it's too close to the East / West train arrival that if you're late, you miss the connection so they won't let you book it...

As long as we can make the drive until gas exceeds the cost of driving... We'll drive... Then back to the train... I like the train, comfortable, relaxing and moves while you sleep...

 

[dgr1973]

Here's our take on the fly/drive choice...

We've done 49 trips to WDW over the years... Beginning trips we drove, quite a few... Then throw in 1 Auto Train trip, just for fun, then a couple of regular Amtrak trips, then a couple of flights ( never for me to do again ).... Then back to driving ( our trips are around 16-17 hours and always straight thru)....

Sadly as we got older, driving didn't feel comfortable and we went back to regular Amtrak... Quite a few of these but kind of got tired of Amtraks 8 hour layover in DC... That racks up the 36-39 hours train ride from northeast Ohio....but for the 450.00 for 2 people round trip...economical ...

Now to the last 4 trips, we're back to driving... takes less time than the train ( I ain't going to fly anymore) and less money than the train if we don't stop for the night driving... We can make it to Florida Welcome Center easily ( always around 11-12 at night, nap there for 2-3 hours and be in WDW around 6 am easily and it's like having an extra day getting in , in the wee hours instead of noon or later...

Amtrak was our main means but that layover in DC is hard to get over... Sitting and waiting for the south bound train... No way around it.. there is an earlier train out but it's too close to the East / West train arrival that if you're late, you miss the connection so they won't let you book it...

As long as we can make the drive until gas exceeds the cost of driving... We'll drive... Then back to the train... I like the train, comfortable, relaxing and moves while you sleep...

Thanks for your advice! Havent really considered the train cause like you said I'm thinking it will take forever to get there! I'm not a fan of flying but it has gotten easier for me over the years its just the cost is outrageous and the extra fees makes me crazy.

 

[dsnymomof4]

We've done both driving and flying trips from NJ many times and it usually comes down to price. If the airfare for all of us is under $1000, then we'll fly. This past June, we drove because air would have been around $1200. I was thinking we would save so much by driving. It was just me and the kids, so I split into 2 days each way. Spent about $700 on gas, hotels and tolls. So, in reality didn't save all that much. And to be honest, the whole time I was driving I kept thinking how much I wish we had flown! It's just such a LONG, boring drive down I-95. The kids were pretty good though, so that helped. My advice would be to drive as far as you can on day 1, and rest up. We've done the overnight, all in one shot drive, and we would be so tired the next day. So, I did like starting fresh on day 2 and getting there pretty early in the day. Good luck!

 

[cemeb4dk]

I live fairly close to you, and we drive a lot down to WDW. We obviously prefer to fly, but with our upcoming xmas and NYE trip airfare was outrageous for 3 of us. So we decided to drive again. We have always done straight thru, but this trip we are planning on stopping, at the Florida state line or so. This way we are a quick 3 hours or so from the WDW. If you guys do end up driving, try to time it where you miss Atlanta during rush hour, and figure that to be about 12 hours, 13 hours with the time change from when you leave. One trip (straight thru) we left about 9:30 or so and got to Chattanooga area about 7AM or so, and we decided to stop at Ruby Falls. It was a great way to eat breakfast and then do the tour to break up the drive, then we got to ATL about noon or so then WDW about 7:30-8PM at night. So since you have some extra time maybe make an adventure out of it, and stop and see somethings you may never be able to see since you don't drive far that often. Sometimes the drive can be just as much fun, if you make an adventure out of it.

 

[circhead]

Over the years I've driven from NYC area to Disney more than I've flown. We were a family of 5 - cost less than half the cost of flights to drive and then I had my car available once we got there. Did grocery shopping and was able to go off site for dinner (Olive Garden on 535 excellent) so we saved that way also.

My trip is 1130 miles one way - I was usually the only driver and went straight through. My strategies may or may not work for you but here they are:

Young kids leave slightly after their bedtime - they fall asleep and you get to drive without the annoying questions. Also I'm sure getting through some areas around Chicago when there are fewer drivers on the road will make it easier.

I would give each of them 25 1 dollar bills(with inflation you may have to raise this amount.) - every time you ask the driver a question it cost you a dollar. Once we get to our destination that money is yours to spend as you wish - no questions asked. During the night while they're sleeping the only stops I made were for gas - got as much done as I could before they woke.

Packed lots of travel games and such for the trip. They were each able to pick one favorite snack for the ride but it had to last the whole ride - packed a cooler with sandwiches, cold chicken cutlets etc, and a separate one with drinks - few stops except for bathrooms which I always coincided with needing gas. Limited the amount of liquid they were allowed to drink so that I didn't have to stop every hour for potty breaks.

Good luck - it's very doable and actually quite easy. I tried doing overnight stops a few times but it totally killed my timeline - it never takes as little time as you think it should to get them all out of the car, into bed (they've been napping you haven't so now that they're out of the car they're revved up - the motion of the car keeps them asleep) up in the morning, breakfast and back into the car.

 

[cemeb4dk]

Over the years I've driven from NYC area to Disney more than I've flown. We were a family of 5 - cost less than half the cost of flights to drive and then I had my car available once we got there. Did grocery shopping and was able to go off site for dinner (Olive Garden on 535 excellent) so we saved that way also.

My trip is 1130 miles one way - I was usually the only driver and went straight through. My strategies may or may not work for you but here they are:

Young kids leave slightly after their bedtime - they fall asleep and you get to drive without the annoying questions. Also I'm sure getting through some areas around Chicago when there are fewer drivers on the road will make it easier.

I would give each of them 25 1 dollar bills(with inflation you may have to raise this amount.) - every time you ask the driver a question it cost you a dollar. Once we get to our destination that money is yours to spend as you wish - no questions asked. During the night while they're sleeping the only stops I made were for gas - got as much done as I could before they woke.

Packed lots of travel games and such for the trip. They were each able to pick one favorite snack for the ride but it had to last the whole ride - packed a cooler with sandwiches, cold chicken cutlets etc, and a separate one with drinks - few stops except for bathrooms which I always coincided with needing gas. Limited the amount of liquid they were allowed to drink so that I didn't have to stop every hour for potty breaks.

Good luck - it's very doable and actually quite easy. I tried doing overnight stops a few times but it totally killed my timeline - it never takes as little time as you think it should to get them all out of the car, into bed (they've been napping you haven't so now that they're out of the car they're revved up - the motion of the car keeps them asleep) up in the morning, breakfast and back into the car.

I like the dollar a question charge. I may steal that even though my 7 year old daughter is a great traveler, it may just be fun. to help pass the time and trick her into asking me questions. LOL

 

[dgr1973]

I live fairly close to you, and we drive a lot down to WDW. We obviously prefer to fly, but with our upcoming xmas and NYE trip airfare was outrageous for 3 of us. So we decided to drive again. We have always done straight thru, but this trip we are planning on stopping, at the Florida state line or so. This way we are a quick 3 hours or so from the WDW. If you guys do end up driving, try to time it where you miss Atlanta during rush hour, and figure that to be about 12 hours, 13 hours with the time change from when you leave. One trip (straight thru) we left about 9:30 or so and got to Chattanooga area about 7AM or so, and we decided to stop at Ruby Falls. It was a great way to eat breakfast and then do the tour to break up the drive, then we got to ATL about noon or so then WDW about 7:30-8PM at night. So since you have some extra time maybe make an adventure out of it, and stop and see somethings you may never be able to see since you don't drive far that often. Sometimes the drive can be just as much fun, if you make an adventure out of it.

Hi neighbor lol! We actually lived in North Aurora years ago when our oldest was a baby, we had a townhouse near Randall/Oak street and we loved Tommy O's!! I have heard from many people around here that if we stop we should try to get past Atlanta cause of the traffic but I wonder if we could make it that far? Im thinking Chattanooga will be a more likely stop. This may sound dumb but I am scared about driving thru the mountains in Tennessee cause we just went to Branson and those hills freaked me out!

 

[dgr1973]

Over the years I've driven from NYC area to Disney more than I've flown. We were a family of 5 - cost less than half the cost of flights to drive and then I had my car available once we got there. Did grocery shopping and was able to go off site for dinner (Olive Garden on 535 excellent) so we saved that way also.

My trip is 1130 miles one way - I was usually the only driver and went straight through. My strategies may or may not work for you but here they are:

Young kids leave slightly after their bedtime - they fall asleep and you get to drive without the annoying questions. Also I'm sure getting through some areas around Chicago when there are fewer drivers on the road will make it easier.

I would give each of them 25 1 dollar bills(with inflation you may have to raise this amount.) - every time you ask the driver a question it cost you a dollar. Once we get to our destination that money is yours to spend as you wish - no questions asked. During the night while they're sleeping the only stops I made were for gas - got as much done as I could before they woke.

Packed lots of travel games and such for the trip. They were each able to pick one favorite snack for the ride but it had to last the whole ride - packed a cooler with sandwiches, cold chicken cutlets etc, and a separate one with drinks - few stops except for bathrooms which I always coincided with needing gas. Limited the amount of liquid they were allowed to drink so that I didn't have to stop every hour for potty breaks.

Good luck - it's very doable and actually quite easy. I tried doing overnight stops a few times but it totally killed my timeline - it never takes as little time as you think it should to get them all out of the car, into bed (they've been napping you haven't so now that they're out of the car they're revved up - the motion of the car keeps them asleep) up in the morning, breakfast and back into the car.

Oh yes love the dollar bill idea!! My girls are teens but they still can be very annoying with the questions on long trips. I may tell them not only will we take away a dollar with every "how much longer" type question but also for the snide bickering that sisters do when in a small space together for too long!

 

[Wood Nymph]

We used to drive to Disney all the time when the kids were younger. Since you are going in June, you won't have to worry too much about driving when it is dark out, which is a plus. The worse part is driving through the mountains when it is dark and foggy, but I think you should be alright.

Our goal was to always get through Atlanta before stopping. On a good trip we would make it to Valdosta, GA before sunset. Just leave really early.

We are from the Chicago suburbs, too, but about an hour closer to Disney than you are.