Thinking of driving to WDW. What are your thoughts?

[Bella the Ball 360]

I use this handy tool from AAA
http://www.fuelcostcalculator.com/

LOVE IT!! So like is it really going to cost me only 411.00 from Boston to Orlando?? I wonder if it is calculating the current price of gas? We are stopping in Williamsburg so our hotel room on the way down is part of a 3 night stay package which was only 99.00 to take a timeshare tour from Wyndham. If I add that (even though it is for 3 nights) and then add a room on the way back (approx 100) it should cost around 611 round trip. I am thinking aht it would cost more to fly but I do not care I HATE to fly so I am just trying to make myself feel better. Really it should be less b/c I factored in the extra 66.00 for the two extra nights in williamsburg.

 

[DiznEeyore]

LOVE IT!! So like is it really going to cost me only 411.00 from Boston to Orlando?? I wonder if it is calculating the current price of gas?

The AAA calculator is updated daily IIRC, and it shows right on the map what the average gas price is for each region.

 

[crostorfer]

I live in Oklahoma City and its a 24 hour drive from here. I budgeted out everything including gas at $4/gallon, one extra night's hotel on the way down ($100), the same on the way back, and $100 for snacks and food for 4 people. I also added in money for the toll roads in FL. (Remember, everything in Florida costs $$$$) It ended up within $20 of the cost of airfare for the three of us on Air Tran.

Hi,
We always fly to WDW (we lived in California). We just moved to Kansas (near Kansas City). We are thinking of driving to WDW next summer. We have 2 kids (6 and 9). My thoughts are that we could save some money, and the kids could see some of the country.

I'm trying to get some idea of how much that type of drive would cost? We have a 2005 Ford minivan and a 2002 Expedition. I'm thinking the minivan would be the better choice. How can I figure out what to budget to get to WDW?

Also, what are your experiences with a long drive to WDW? The drive would probably be about 18-20 hours.

Thanks!

 

[Karibeth19]

I live in Oklahoma City and its a 24 hour drive from here.

Hi from a fellow Oklahoman!

I'm just curious, which route do you take? Because we live in Tulsa, and it only takes us 17 1/2 hours to get there. We take I-40 to Memphis, and then go SE through Tupelo to Birmingham, where we meet up with I-20. We take that to Atlanta, and then I-75 South to the Fla. Turnpike, and then the Western Way to WDW. We drive about 11 1/2 hours to Perry, GA the first day, and then about 5 1/2 to 6 the next day.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

We have been going for so many years now and have always ended up flying. But I spent the day today looking for luggage that is the right size and I can get enough in to check only 1 bag each for our cruise on Saturday. Honestly, if I were choosing right now I wish we were driving. And I HATE to drive. But this is just getting silly, all the things you need to worry about to get on a plane right now. Next year may very well be a road trip for us.

 

[MoniqueU]

I can't stand driving. We once drom from Ca to New Orleans and then on to MS. I thought I was going to die through AZ, NM and Tx. Very boring. We live 3.5 hours from vegas and that is about my max with or without children. Once we started out driving to vegas but called the airlines on the way there to get a flight. On the one trip to New Orleans my husband got a ticket, add to that traffic and nasty restrooms and it is a no brainer to fly for us. We do drive up to Mammoth from So Cal and sometimes to Tahoe, but I don't ski so if anyone has that idea again I am staying home. I have a hard enough time on cross country trips, I always try to take the red eye so I can sleep because it is so boring to me.

 

[suggies08]

We drive from KY every year and enjoy it. It takes us about 12 hours, not too bad. My dad used to drive it every weekend, he works for the railroad and was working in Florida most of last year and the first part of this year. He made the drive twice in a weekend, would come home on Friday and then leave Sunday mornings early. He never complained about it. If its cheaper than flying then I would say go for it.

 

[Nik's Mom]

I can't stand driving. We once drom from Ca to New Orleans and then on to MS. I thought I was going to die through AZ, NM and Tx. Very boring. We live 3.5 hours from vegas and that is about my max with or without children. Once we started out driving to vegas but called the airlines on the way there to get a flight. On the one trip to New Orleans my husband got a ticket, add to that traffic and nasty restrooms and it is a no brainer to fly for us. We do drive up to Mammoth from So Cal and sometimes to Tahoe, but I don't ski so if anyone has that idea again I am staying home. I have a hard enough time on cross country trips, I always try to take the red eye so I can sleep because it is so boring to me.

Hi MoniqueU! We just moved from West Covina, California (suburb of Los Angeles). We took that drive to Mammoth at least 2 times each winter for the kids ski lessons. You have me home sick for California now.

 

[Mkgaapril]

I live in Northern Kentucky and would rather spoon my eyes out with a toothpick than drive to disney with a car load of kids... It is so much easier to go to airport and be there in 2 hours....last long road trip I took with the kids was 4 years ago to sav. ga. NOT AGAIN...i don't mind a few hour trip 4-5 max...but NO WAY to Fla...plus with the price of gas...you can catch really good deals on airfare if you check often....

 

[sunnyday123]

I live in Northern Kentucky and would rather spoon my eyes out with a toothpick than drive to disney with a car load of kids... It is so much easier to go to airport and be there in 2 hours....last long road trip I took with the kids was 4 years ago to sav. ga. NOT AGAIN...i don't mind a few hour trip 4-5 max...but NO WAY to Fla...plus with the price of gas...you can catch really good deals on airfare if you check often....

I would still take a carload of kids over a plane anyday!!

(But you did make me laugh!)

 

[Sheaboys]

We have driven 2x from Massachusetts to Florida (just north of Tampa), it is about 19-21hours give or take. We have a Hyundia Entourage Minivan at about 17-18 mpg. WE fill up 4x total on the way down, that includes fill up before we go, and fill up once at my parents house in Florida. So with prices currently it takes about $70 to fill up the tank, 4x, so that is about $600 in gas total ($280 each way), we stop to eat on the road, breakfast (sometime), definately lunch and supper, we have a cooler for drinks and another for poptarts and snacks. We leave MA. about 5pm, we drive straight through. We stop for supper if we did not eat, then around 8-9pm we have them change into jammies and pee break, they all go to bed at or very close to regular bedtime and don't hear another word until about 7am.

It works for us, since we are now a family of 6. If dh, does not with us to Florida, I fly with the boys and rent a car, but to rent a van and fly the 6 of us, just makes not sense financially. However, if the prices of flights are just $200 more than driving and we are only going to Disney (no car rental), then I would fly just for the fact that we will be there in 2.5 hours as opposed to 21 hours and no tiredness for a day or two that is associated with non-stop driving.

So, you really need to look at the big picture. Good luck with your decision.

 

[mikkishelles]

We are driving down from Brooklyn, NY, in the end of June. We are leaving after my son's 5 year old birthday party, around 8 PM. We'll have the kids in their pj's, too. I figure that by the time we hit Philly, they'll be asleep and sleep until South Carolina. At that point, we'll throw their shorts and tees on, go for breakfast and then straight to Daytona, where we are staying for a few days before heading onto Orlando. The gas will run about $500 total, so it's much more economical than spending $1000 on airline tickets and another $300-$400 on a rental car. Also, DH doesn't mind doing all the driving, if I do the driving once we arrive and until we head back home, so that works for me!

 

[lemondog]

We're drivers too! The cost of airfare for 5 is just too expensive, period. Wew have a Toyota Sienna minivan, and using AAA's fuel calculator it will cost us approx. $200 round trip to drive from Nashville to Orlando...flying would be a WHOLE lot more! Also, we like having our car down there and not having to rely solely on Disney transportation, plus we can run to the grocery or wherever if we need to.

 

[mombare]

We just drove from Minnesota to Georgia (to stay with relatives) and on to DisneyWorld in January and saved a ton of money. I figured that we spend a total of 6 entire days in the car - we were lucky enough to have the luxury of time on our hands this time. It truly does matter if you can't get cheap flights - we would have spent well over $1000 to fly to Georgia. It was great to have our own vehicle. Ohh, and my children were absolute angels in the car! We seriously hardly heard a peep - we had portable DVD's, Leapsters, books and LOTS of snacks! I say go for the drive!

 

[EthansMom]

We've driven from MD to FL (before kids), which wasn't too bad. It was during the winter and we were lucky to have the luxury of leaving WDW a day early when the weather reports were forecasting a bad storm the next day.

We've also driven from CT, with kids, and while it wasn't terrible, we decided that it wasn't worth the $$ savings to drive that far instead of flying.

If driving takes longer than flying, don't forget to include the money you could have made working those extra days in your analysis for cost. For instance, from CT, driving takes two days, including a stop overnight. So, DH has to take two extra days of vacation (one day more travel in each direction) to drive instead of flying (which takes only one day).

Our cost analysis then looks something like this:

Drive:

Gas
Tolls
Food
Hotel (X2)
Extra Days of Vacation (X2)

Fly:

Parking @ Airport
Airfare
Rental Car (if any)

When I add in my husband's pay for two days, it's actually pretty much the same cost for us to fly.

 

[KELLY]

At this point flying is still cheaper for us.

 

[brenalexacamp]

we drove with our camper- we left from NH at 11:00- the kids slept.

me and dh took turns driving to I forget- we stayed at yogi's for the night- then off to south carolina for a night- then to disney

so we drove 12hrs, 6hrs, and 6hrs.

nice to have the camper- we have a child with down syndrome and at the time he needed a med and the only way he would take it is with ice cream!

we had all the foods he needed and it made the trip so much more enjoyable not worrying about what he would eat and no suitcases!

we used to small dvd players- at the time only 7inches were available- saved us- they could listen to books on tape, music or a movie- we got 2 of them.



definitely would do again- dh-just disneyed to death, I have been 2x without him- my last time me and ds only-hehe

with the gas prices up-he wigs out-
it had just started going to 1.90ish when we went