To drive or fly? Whats the farthest you'd drive?

[*love*2*shop]

...here goes...

For us if we just vacation in FL, we have to rent a car...we have 2 kids and the inlaws(inlaws live in FL so when we are down there, we all drive together). a Rental Mini van is 500.00 + when we go. We dont have xm radio, navigation or a dvd player in the rental car- so THAT helps driving our own car.

Airfare from NH to orlando...I NEVER can seem to get it for under 300-400.00 PEr person. so 4 of us is $1200.00 + ..... Rental car and Airfare is total 1600.00 and Thats BEFORE that vacation starts, along with Airport parking fees of 100.00+for the week. .............

SOOO a few years ago we started driving and have done it several ways/ leaving at different times.....for us..We DO not stop and stay overnight along the way..I just want to get there already and why spend another 100.00 +on a hotel? we can make it to FL in 18 + hrs, with stops ONLY to potty and eat- quick....Other than that, its PEDAL to the METAL we have 3 rows of seats total, so hubby and i sit upfront, 1 child uses the 2nd row, 1 child the 3rd row. We have had the luggage thing on the ROOF 1x and then tried the Hitch luggage carrier. we got WAYYY better gas mileage with the HITCH Luggage rack ( we have a GMC ACADIA) we have left at night, and then 1x left in the morning...NOOO WAY ever would i start the trip first thing in the am/ 8am...OMG the kids were wild...we ALWAYS now leave our house after 7pm in the evening and can get to FLorida by the late afternoon the next day.....

WAYYY better for us $$$ to do this......

 

[mousebymarriage]

We have made the 1100 mile drive from northern NJ a few times and have also flown many times and I definately prefer driving. I think that even if we lived a couple of hours north of here we would still drive. We usually travel in the winter months and this past Feb was the only time we were really worried about the weather. A blizzard was due to hit the Washington DC/Virginia area so we headed out 12 hours earlier than expected so we wouldn't run into it, thank God we did because we just missed the storm.

my advice to anyone that is traveling during the winter months please pay very very close attention to the weather for at least a few days ahead of your trip and be prepared to leave early if necessary.

 

[bettymae1121]

I'd say about 12-14 hours is about the max, basicly what you can drive in a single day. I love road trips but it's usually not worth the time lost in driving if it takes longer than one day to get there.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

We drive from Chicago at least once a year. It's 1200 miles each way and about 21-24 hours of actual driving time, but we split it up into two days driving about 14 hours the first day and the rest the second day. When we go, we stay for two weeks so it's worth it to us. I don't think I'd drive all that way for a one week trip though.

We're a family of 6 and have been driving with our kids since the time they were born. They're 14, 12, 9 and 3 now, and the drive is just part of the trip for us. We have favorite places that we stop along the way every year. There's no way we can fly and rent a van for less than we can drive, so we drive.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

We drove our last trip, and honestly I don't think I will do it again. Not that we don't like drives- we love to road trip. Anywhere that we can get to within a days drive (meaning, no need for overnight hotel) and we will most likely drive instead of fly.

I can get good airfare on Southwest from from Dallas to Orlando for $200pp (we fly on Sat, Tues or Wed and sometimes can get it even less). Southwest has no baggage fees. So, when it's just the 4 of us and we're staying onsite, it costs us $800 to fly. We use ME and Disney transit so no car needed. We park at our home aiport for about $70. So let's just say with tips $900 for our family of 4 to fly 2400 miles RT.

When we drove, we broke up the drive over two days, and there was a hotel cost of $100 (Laquinta in Mobile, AL) each way- $200 total. It was $45 to fill up the minivan and we filled up 9 times total, so $405 for gas. Then there were meals on the road. We had breakfast at our hotel (which is why we love Laquinta) but there was still a lunch and dinner both ways so about $150 for on the road meals and snacks. So it came out to $755 for our family to drive 2400 miles RT. That does not include the time factor- it added a full day onto the beginning and end of our trip that were just spent driving.

The reason we drove this last trip was because there were 5 of us (Grandma came along) and we stayed offsite (so we needed a car). Flying and renting a car would have been about $1500 for the 5 of us so because of that driving was better. But, as long as there are just the 4 of us and we're onsite, we will fly.

Oh, and it took us about 19 hours of actual drive time. On the way there we did 12 hours-overnight-7 hours. On the way back we did 7 hours-overnight-12 hours.

 

[VAfamily1998]

I'd drive just about anywhere! We currently live in Northern VA, and the last two times we went to WDW we drove.

The furthest we have driven is from our home in Northern VA to San Diego, CA. It took us about 8 days each way because we stopped and saw stuff along the way.

I love road trips! I consider the jouney to be part of the vacation!

 

[Mas17]

I would definetly drive!! (we drove it 3 times from Indiana to Florida, April, May & June). We have driven it sooo many times from Indiana, about a 16-18 hour drive. We normally, start early in the morning, like 5am and drive as far as we can. Generally, getting deep into Georgia. (we don't have a plan, except to drive until we start getting tired).

Sometimes we have slept at rest stops for a few hours to recharge and sometimes we get a hotel. Depends on the weather really. Anyway, we leave again the next morning by 7am to make the rest of the drive. Ususally ends up betwen 4-5 hrs. We still get a whole day & usually spend our first day just hanging out - no plans.

We have 4 kids - began going when they were between the ages of 3-7 with no problems. Now, 3 or them have their liscense and help with driving when they go with us. I sleep most of the way. DH does most of the drivng and doesn't mind.

Bev

 

[MissAndrea]

Out of the 3x we've been, we haven't flown yet! We were driving from Kansas City but drove straight through. We left KC Friday after DD got out of school and would get to Orlando late afternoon on Saturday. As far as driving home, we'd leave Saturday late afternoon (after DTD shopping) and get home at a decent time Sunday to unpack and relax. We had 6 full days in the parks and we didn't feel neglected at all!!! We just moved to Branson and a nearby airport has cheap flights by Allegent Air to Orlando so we might start flying, but we'll see.

 

[MommytoaSweetie]

It depends on the trip... for WDW, we fly... for us, that's where we want to go and we don't really have a desire to stop at lots of places on the way (coming from Northern Virginia). It runs us about even - flying vs. gas + extra hotel + extra meals + extra days off work. I'm not a huge fan of driving long distances, so I like to drive for 5-8/day and stop somewhere... more than that to me isn't fun. That said, we have a HUGE desire to take a long roadtrip out west or up north or down south (other than WDW) once we get a minivan (our current vehicle would be too cramped), because we'd be stopping somewhere new every night and THAT would be our vacation - not driving a long long time TO our vacation. I'm not sure if that makes sense, but that's what we do. When I was younger, we drove to Disney a few times, and it was a pain but not too bad... but my parents had 4 kids and 6 plane tickets is pretty pricey, so if we got up to that number of kids, my opinions on the subject might change.

 

[mom2val]

If it takes longer than 1 day of driving- 8 hours- then I am flying! Dh only gets 1 week of vacation at a time- 2 total weeks a year. We do not have the time to waste driving. Also I am a horrible car rider and get cranky after a few hours. The flight from Dallas to Orlando is to long in my opinion!

 

[hopemax]

Heck, I'm thinking of taking a transatlantic cruise ship instead of flying to Europe.

Do it! We took the Magic to the Med in 2007, and it was awesome!

As for driving, not WDW, but I grew up in WA state and it was a 19 hour drive to DL. We would leave in the evening, and then drive straight through, arriving the next afternoon/evening. So it was like it was only one day of transportation.

I wouldn't want to drive if it was any longer than that, unless the vacation was a "road trip" where you would stop at a bunch of different places to do touristy things, and one of those stops was a weekend at Disney.

I did drive with my Dad from Seattle to Orlando when my parents moved to FL. That was a long 5 days. The only stops we made were gas, hotel, and a half day detour to Marceline, MO. Flying would have been preferable but we had to get their van and the cat to FL somehow.

 

[LisaNJ25]

Heck, I'm thinking of taking a transatlantic cruise ship instead of flying to Europe.

but does it bring you back? I hate to fly

OP We drive or take the train from Northern NJ.

 

[EnchantedPrincess]

We have driven twice from Houston, TX - about 16 hours drive each way and will be doing it again next month and next year. We flew in March this year but with the current security, I would rather drive than fly especially with two little ones.

 

[mrodgers]

Took our very first family vacation in June to WDW. 1090 miles, from just north of Pittsburgh, PA. 2 daughters, 6 and 9, we've never driven more than an hour and a half with them.

Bought DVD player to mount on the headrests of the front seat, they had their DS games and mp3 players. We had a bunch of activities for them and they each had their own bag of stuff. Plenty of snacks and drinks in a small cooler and we were worried about how they would handle the drive. I got up at 2:30 am, grabbed a shower, woke Wifey up and she jumped in the shower while I finalized the car packing, woke the kids up at 3 am, packed them in and we were off.

14 hours the first day it took us to reach Savannah, GA where we spent the night. My wife and I nearly forgot we had kids in the back seat. We didn't hear a peep out of them until about half an hour away from Georgia when the 6 year old started asking if we were in Georgia yet every 5 minutes. Once we did hit Georgia, the answer was yes and though we still had a few hours to go, not another peep. She was satisfied that we were finally in Georgia.

We ended up stopping at every single rest stop, mostly because the only rest areas were the welcome centers for each state (unlike driving across Pennsylvania where you will see many rest stops along the way.) Thus it took us 14 hours to drive the 12 run to Savannah.

The next morning, it was 4-5 hours to the Pop Century resort. We arrived, room wasn't ready, and my kids (ok, all of us) were seeing the castle in Magic Kingdom for the first time by noon. If we had taken the time consideration that is always the argument for flying, we wouldn't have been to the airport in Orlando or whereever until 4:30, let alone spent the afternoon in the Magic Kingdom.

I drove the entire trip down.

The drive home we just wanted to get home. We drove straight through, 19 hours (17 hour trip according to googlemaps.) So another 2 hours extra with lunch and dinner and rest stops. My wife drove for about an hour hand a half through Georgia and I drove the rest. That was a long trip, the ride home. Again though, not a peep from the kids in the back seat until about half an hour from PA when the 6 year old started with the "are we in Pennsylvania yet?" Again, once in PA, she was satisfied.

2 months later, we took a long weekend trip to Ocean City, 7 hours that took us 8. That 8 hour drive felt like we jumped in the car, ran down the road a short ways, and was there already since just recently driving 19 hours home from Disneyworld, LOL.