Talk me in to/out of driving from Chicago to WDW

[meliss8599]

What's your experience been? We're considering driving down to the World this year but DH wants to drive straight through Will we really save that much on airfare when we take into consideration food and gas costs/stops along the way? Is it a scenic or boring drive? I just worry about DD10 but we do have a DVD player and she'll have her DS and us to stave off SOME of the boredom.

 

[PoohsFan1]

We did that once (from the Southwest Chicago Burbs) and vowed never to do it again. My DH is like yours, he likes to drive straight through. Once we got there, we were all too exhausted to do anything, so from then on we decided the only way we would go to Disney (or any part of Florida) is to fly. You will definitely save money driving straight through, but it is not worth the insanity. Good luck on whatever you choose.

 

[HueyDeweyLouie]

My last trip to Disney I flew in to MCO with my family. They flew back to ORD at the end of the vacation and I seperated from them to drive back with my brother-in-law.

BAD experience. VERY exhausting. We drove home straight, and took turns driving. We made the mistake of trusting the GPS (and if you have one, you know how it re-routes...). Anyway it re-routed us to go up the Illinois route (can't rememember if it was route 57 or 55). But this was the most depressing and isolated experience I've ever had on the road. Most of our driving was at night and there were no cars, no lights, no signs of civilization anywhere. There were barely any rest stops I was worried (and tired) most of the time driving up Illinois. No scenery whatsoever. I was getting tunnel vision. Not to mention that we wasted alot of time with this route.

Looking back I'm surprised we made it alive. By the end of our road trip we were driving 1/2 asleep. Yes, VERY unsafe. I regret it. Definately try to get plenty of rest somehow (whoever is driving).

Oh, and make sure to the 65 Route thru INDIANA (like everybody else).



One last thing... No I would not recommend driving straight through. I will never do it again. Isn't airfare cheaper nowadays? Why don't you look at flights from Milwaukee and drive up there? It's only a couple hours.

 

[TrustedTraveler]

We used to drive, but we use up too much vacation time and yes, it is boring!
We now enjoy flying Southwest out of Midway and pick up a good deal on a rental car through Priceline.

 

[zulemara]

I think it comes down to how many days you have and deciding if it's worth it. I have driving from La Crosse, WI to Disney 3.5 times. Once was straight through and I vowed never again. I stop in Nashville and stay overnight then continue the next day. It still is less money than flying. Having a portable DVD player is the best thing to entertain. The times goes sssooo much quicker. The route through IL is the one I take but given you'd be through chicago, you take the IN route so it shouldn't be as bad. I definitely think you'll save money over airfare though.

 

[hearts8701]

we do it several times a year from O'hare area and like to drive just drove for x-mas
gas cost round trip $214.00 for a sonata
we eat at KFC.. Mcdonalds ..etc driving so food cost is low pack snacks and a small cooler with drinks freeze water bottles for ice as well as drinking water
construction traffic and only delay was in tifton Ga around exit 59 for 30 miles going and coming delay in same area
going we stayed over night in dalton Ga make sure you rest driving down or the first day you arrive you will sleep
coming home we drove straight thru about 18 hours
sometimes we take 57 thru IL very boring lots of farm not many rest stops IL is about 5 1/2 hours land most of the time we take 65 thru IN at least there are more towns not just fields to look at on 65 trip route 65 to 24 to 75
for the kids dvd player is a lifesaver make sure you get 2 new movies 1 for each way..get game books at the dollar store ..disney printables http://psc.disney.go.com/abcnetworks/toondisney/games/printables.html
make the drive part of the trip

 

[marius97]

If you are doing it just to say you did it, then it is not worth it. If you are doing it to save money, then it may be worth it. My family of five drove straight through this summer from southwestern MI. Gas and food round trip ended up being about $300. Compare that to well over $1000 for us to fly, and for us it is a no brainer. This next summer we are thinking about driving straight through going down, but staying a night somewhere on the way back. Going down, your energy level is so high that you'll be fine. Coming home, I just wanted to find the nearest mountain and drive off it.

 

[budbeerlady]

I would take Southwest or Airtran from Midway. We drive to Midway from Michigan since its ALOT cheaper than flying out of Grand Rapids. I did the drive once in high school, it takes forever and you are too tired to enjoy the first couple of days.

 

[meliss8599]

Thanks for all the tips and advice so far--I'm going to have DH read your responses, too, to help us make a decision. I really think his being exhausted from driving straight through (as so many have mentioned) is going to be a huge deciding factor. I guess the only way around that is to depart around 4am from Chicago and arrive in Orlando in the evening so we can just hop in bed.

Midway is a great idea, we'd just have to find someone to inconvenience to drive us there. It's about a 40 minute drive from the burbs where we live and we're down in FL too long to park the car at the airport.

The main reasons I had wanted to drive were because I thought it would be a family bonding experience and it would save us money on both airfare and a rental car. We're usually in Florida for another two weeks after Disney and I think renting a car for that amount of time is going to be killer.

Again, you all bring up valid points and I thank you. Please keep adding if you have any other comments or suggestions .

 

[Heidijs]

I wouldn't, I live in MN and my trip would be just as far and DH wanted to drive "straight thru" and I laughed at him. We have a 4 year old DD...there's no driving straight thru with her and she's a pretty good traveler...but like someone else said, you're so exhausted from the drive that the first day you're shot. We do a straight drive just to two of us out to Deadwood once a year and it's a 9-10 hour drive and we're both beat by the time we get there! Disney was like 1500 miles for us! No thanks..then the stress if the car breaks down...accidents...other idiots on the road..tickets...the cost of gas and a night at a hotel...our plane tickets cost what we'd spend if we drove down and got a hotel...plus we can spend more time at WDW instead of all that driving time...

 

[chskover]

I don't fly, so we drive. So every trip has been driving. We usually drive straight thru, but sometimes I have to stop at a rest area and sleep a little. Maybe someday I will fly again.