The How do you sleep thread got me wondering

[lllGurulll]

For those that book early morning flights (in my case 6:25am) and have to drive more than an hour to the airport, do you just get up early enough to drive there or do you book a cheap hotel room by the airport to get some extra rest?

Run on sentence much.

 

[bas71873]

I'd book a hotel close to the airport and get the extra sleep. I've done it before. And, the hotel actually had shuttle service and it was cheaper to park my car in there "park & fly" lot than at the airport. It was nice to just be dropped off at the check in counters and not have to park and haul our luggage through the parking garage. Worth the $$ to me

 

[disneychic2]

We've done both. The one time we booked a room worked out great! They let us park our car there for free and shuttled us to and from the airport. We got a couple extra hours of sleep and a hot breakfast for free too! Probably cost less than it would have to park for 8 days at the park and fly places...or very close.

ETA: now we live 10 minutes from the airport and it makes life much easier!

 

[DaniB]

Our flight was originally 7:xx am and moved to 8:40am when it got closer. But because we're in Ontario and the flight was out of Buffalo, we decided to stay overnight in Buffalo. We decided it would have been too hard to get up in the middle of the night and drive.

So glad we did! The hotel was great, a great hot breakfast included and the hotel's shuttle to the airport & back was wonderful, quick & friendly! We stayed there overnight on our way back home as well since the plane did not land until 8pm or after.

This time we're flying out of Toronto late morning, so we'll just drive there from our house.

 

[pharmgirl69]

We are "early to bed/early to rise" people. In fact, we are up at the crack of dawn whether we have to be or not. So we always just get up early and drive down. Usually my Dad will drive us so we don't have to pay for parking. Without paying for a hotel room, it also gives us more spending money in Disney. And does anyone actually sleep the night before they leave anyway???? lol

 

[jabaldi]

Our flight was originally 7:xx am and moved to 8:40am when it got closer. But because we're in Ontario and the flight was out of Buffalo, we decided to stay overnight in Buffalo. We decided it would have been too hard to get up in the middle of the night and drive.

So glad we did! The hotel was great, a great hot breakfast included and the hotel's shuttle to the airport & back was wonderful, quick & friendly! We stayed there overnight on our way back home as well since the plane did not land until 8pm or after.

This time we're flying out of Toronto late morning, so we'll just drive there from our house.

Do you mind me asking what hotel it was? Were considering doing something like this.

 

[LaurenT]

I got up at 2:30 am. Jumped in the shower..got all my last things together, logged in just to check for any delay.
Flight canceled.
Next available was the same time following day.
So, next day...got up at 2:30 am..CHECK FOR DELAY FIRST! Then got in shower packed up and drove to airport (5:50 am flight).

 

[bas71873]

I got up at 2:30 am. Jumped in the shower..got all my last things together, logged in just to check for any delay.
Flight canceled.
Next available was the same time following day.
So, next day...got up at 2:30 am..CHECK FOR DELAY FIRST! Then got in shower packed up and drove to airport (5:50 am flight).

Sorry, that just made me laugh. What a bummer to be all showered & ready.........

 

[imthatgirl]

We stay at a hotel next to the airport. they do those sleep and fly packages so we can leave the car there really cheap too. Makes it nice and easy.

 

[winterman]

We are 20 minutes from our closest airport but for our next trip we will be flying out of Portland, which is 2 1/2 hours away. We would stay at a hotel in that area but luckily our DD and her DH live within 30 minutes. So we'll be staying with them. Our flight was originally scheduled for 6:00 am. At that time we were going to drive ourselves to the airport but it has been changed to 6:55 so we will accept our DD's offer for a ride.

 

[jm106]

I have 1 1/2 hr drive to airport and a 8 am flight. We will get up at 4, leave by 5 in order to have time to park. We have stayed the night before but I find we all sleep better at home and I hate to move all of the stuff and repack personal things.

 

[Brer Shay]

If we're flying from an airport 1 1/2-2 hours away early in the AM, we stay nearby overnight. I'm not as much concerned about oversleeping but the "what will traffic be" wildcard is always in the back of my mind. I usually go to www.parksleepfly.com and choose something there. The price includes the hotel, shuttle to/from the airport, and your parking for the time you're gone. I've always paid less than I would have for booking my own cheap room then paying airport parking. Often you can swing a free breakfast with it too.

 

[buffettgirl]

we usually hire a van to pick us up, so even if we're half asleep it isn't much of a problem. Besides, my kids now believe that you must leave the house at 4am to go to Disney.

 

[dskib]

We used to book the hotel at the airport the night before. To be honest, now that I'm older and wiser, I now take a late morning non-stop flight and add a day to my vacation. Then I don't have to worry about it.

Deb

 

[pigletto]

For those that book early morning flights (in my case 6:25am) and have to drive more than an hour to the airport, do you just get up early enough to drive there or do you book a cheap hotel room by the airport to get some extra rest?

Run on sentence much.

One time we drove. Only about an hour to the airport, but it 's a border crossing so we allowed extra time, and then allowed 2 or more hours for the airport (I don't like to cut it close).

So the result was we got up at 3 or so for an 8 am flight.

By the time we hit our Chef Mickeys reservation for supper we were completely wiped out. Exhausted. Cranky.
Moral of the story for this family.. stay overnight at the airport hotel or book something later in the day.

 

[H20DogsNDisney]

We just get up early to get to the airport have everything packed in the car the night before. Good luck

 

[MHSweb79]

Besides, my kids now believe that you must leave the house at 4am to go to Disney.

This one made me laugh. My dad always got us on the road when the stars were out, no matter where we were going. Back then we drove everywhere, including Disney in the late '70's, from the Boston area. (South of the Border - next 350 miles!)

Not so funny - my DH is the same way. If we let him book the flights, we're out of bed at 4:30 a.m.-- and the airport is only 25 minutes away!

 

[nkereina]

I live next door to the Buffalo airport so I don't have to deal with this, but my family from Rochester will drive in an hour to fly out of the airport here. They'll stay with me or get a hotel across the street from the airport. Who wants to deal with driving an hour at 3am. The extra sleep is worth it for when you arrive, you're (slightly) less tired and beat!

To the one coming from Ontario to Buffalo, for anyone traveling into the US or Canada to fly, ALWAYS go the night before. That border can be brutal. I've flown out of Toronto several times on international flights... and missed one of them because the border took longer (for the people in front of me) than I anticipated.

And to the other Buffalonian.. most of the hotels on Genesee offer park/fly packages. Hilton Garden Inn is nice but they are building a brand new Marriott Courtyard which will be really nice. Not sure when it's due to open though.

 

[Bradsdadg]

We just get up early and drive, or in the past have asked family and friends to drive us.

 

[jlw29]

If we're flying out of the airport that's ~1 1/4 hours away, we drive down that morning. If we're flying out of the one that's 2 1/2 - 3 hours away, we usually stay there the night before. We'll stay at the onsite airport hotel and pay the parking fee so that we just have to roll out of bed and go "down the hall" to security.