To fly or drive ... How do you decide?

[Marshay]

What factors do you use to decide whether to drive or fly to WDW?

I realize cost is probably the biggest issue, but what else should I consider?

We always fly and rent a car ... may drive for our July trip...still deciding...

(If this is a duplicate thread, please let me know. I tried to search the stickies and 2 pages but couldn't find a driving vs. flying topic).

Thank you!

 

[buzz5985]

We drove a lot in the past since my sister and her family lived in VA. LOL So it was a great excuse to visit them. Or we want to stop somewhere on the way down (Washington) or on the way back (Hilton Head). We try to make it a muli-vacation.

If we fly to WDW we never rent a car anymore with ME available , and we order groceries and beer from Gardengrocer.com. We don't find Disney Transportation bad at all. Even when we have our car with us - it usually sits in the parking lot and doesn't move. So consider doing the no rental car in your budget and see where you stand on expenses that way too.

Janis

 

[ancestry]

In general distance and money both play a factor for us. However when going to WDW we will only fly. Driving would take us over 24 hours on a good day. Wasting that much time in a car is NOT our idea of a vacation. Therefore if we were unable to fly due to financial reasons we probably would not take a vacation to WDW.

 

[OKW Lover]

Time is the big factor for us. With limited vacation time, I don't want to spend 2+ days on each end driving to and from my vacation.

Second consideration is safety. Flying is safer than driving.

 

[PSUGuy]

I hate losing precious vacation time to travel so we fly anywhere that's too far to cover in a single shift behind the wheel. I can make Myrtle Beach from northeast PA in one 10 hour overnight haul so we drive there. Any more than that and we're in the air. Since 2000 we've managed to capture most of the first day in WDW and often take a late flight home so we can stay in WDW until about 4 pm. Based on our yearly trip to Myrtle and the gas costs for that I'm sure that driving to Disney from PA would cost almost the same as a flight for 2.

Bill From PA

 

[Marshay]

We drove a lot in the past since my sister and her family lived in VA. LOL So it was a great excuse to visit them. Or we want to stop somewhere on the way down (Washington) or on the way back (Hilton Head). We try to make it a muli-vacation.

If we fly to WDW we never rent a car anymore with ME available , and we order groceries and beer from Gardengrocer.com. We don't find Disney Transportation bad at all. Even when we have our car with us - it usually sits in the parking lot and doesn't move. So consider doing the no rental car in your budget and see where you stand on expenses that way too.

Janis

Thanks for your thoughts on this! It helps us decide.

I guess b/c we have 2 small children, we find Disney Transportation cumbersome (standing while holding an infant, trying not to let the stroller and our packages/diaper bags hit other people on the bus, etc).

We just did 5 days at WDW and took ME with no rental car and both agreed never again. We waited for ME on our arrival, had 3 other resort drop-offs before they got to us and hated that we had to be ready over 3 hours before our flight on the departure and once again they went to 3 other resorts before we left for the airport.

Going to DTD our wait was nearly 50 minutes, then the bus went to two other resorts before it even left for DTD. By the time we arrived, we were all cranky and tired and hungry.

So yes, we do use a rental car ... every day and like going to Walmart for our groceries, diapers, wipes, etc.

 

[NancyIL]

We have driven a number of times when the whole family (or my 3 kids and I) visited FL. My sister lives half-way in Alabama, so we would stop there for a few days. However, most of my trips to FL in recent years have been solo, and I have flown for all but one.

 

[Marshay]

In general distance and money both play a factor for us. However when going to WDW we will only fly. Driving would take us over 24 hours on a good day. Wasting that much time in a car is NOT our idea of a vacation. Therefore if we were unable to fly due to financial reasons we probably would not take a vacation to WDW.

Got it! Our drive would only be 14 hours drive time, which is doable...we'd break it up into two days.

Time is the big factor for us. With limited vacation time, I don't want to spend 2+ days on each end driving to and from my vacation.

Second consideration is safety. Flying is safer than driving.

Yep, I was definitely considering safety -- what if we get in an accident, the SUV breaks down, has a flat tire, etc. That road trip could get ugly fast.

However, I understand about flight delays, lost luggage and re-routing, etc...

I hate losing precious vacation time to travel so we fly anywhere that's too far to cover in a single shift behind the wheel. I can make Myrtle Beach from northeast PA in one 10 hour overnight haul so we drive there. Any more than that and we're in the air. Since 2000 we've managed to capture most of the first day in WDW and often take a late flight home so we can stay in WDW until about 4 pm. Based on our yearly trip to Myrtle and the gas costs for that I'm sure that driving to Disney from PA would cost almost the same as a flight for 2.

Bill From PA

My parents are in Berks County and drive all the time. Of course, they stop down in VA to visit us first. They enjoy the drive since they are retired and have the time.

For us, that's two extra vacation days and loss of the partial park days...

 

[Marshay]

We have driven a number of times when the whole family (or my 3 kids and I) visited FL. My sister lives half-way in Alabama, so we would stop there for a few days. However, most of my trips to FL in recent years have been solo, and I have flown for all but one.

Yeah, I like the idea of stopping somewhere along the way to extend the vacation.

Although we don't have the time to do that on this trip (since we're already staying 10 days at WDW), this may just be a good plan for the future.

 

[marius97]

For us as a family of five, it really comes down 100% to cost. If it was just two or three people, I would never even think about driving. The cost difference would not be much. But as a bigger family, the cost of flying goes up astronomically. While the cost of the drive stays basically the same. We can drive from Michigan with food for about $300 vs flying for darn near $1300.

 

[Heidijs]

We're flying from Minnesota because of the weather and the fact we have a 4 year old daughter. Flying will be safer and faster. If it were summer and more than 3 of us were going, then it would be a fun family vacation to drive and see other things along the way. We're all about stopping at tourist traps along the way but since it's winter, we just want to get down there and not waste time driving or running the risk of bad weather or getting stranded in the freezing cold with a kid in the car...or the car breaking down...that's nervewracking when a check engine light comes on 1000 miles from home!

 

[NancyIL]

For us as a family of five, it really comes down 100% to cost. If it was just two or three people, I would never even think about driving. The cost difference would not be much. But as a bigger family, the cost of flying goes up astronomically. While the cost of the drive stays basically the same. We can drive from Michigan with food for about $300 vs flying for darn near $1300.

The last time my family of 5 flew to Orlando was at Thanksgiving 2007. Three of us flew from Indianapolis, one daughter flew from Chicago, and the other daughter flew from Dallas. The airfare was $1200. On previous vacations where the whole family flew, we usually used FF miles for free flights.

 

[Nalla]

I usually fly, because I can't drive.
When I go with my mom we almost always drive though, flights for three people is a bit too expensive for us.

 

[dburg30]

Since it's just the wife and myself, we will fly, period. Neither of us wants to drive that far. If airplans stop flying, we'll stop going to WDW, it's really that simple

 

[Heidijs]

I forgot to mention that we did price out both options...we figured out how much gas we'd need, how long it would take and one night at a hotel...maybe two depending on DD4 and how much stopping we'd have to do...plus eating...and it was CHEAPER to fly all three of us down on a non-stop flight and not even a redeye flight...so it was a nobrainer and less stress...

 

[Darcy03231]

We always fly because the drive is over 24 hours for us. The only way I would consider driving would be if we decided to stop and see other things along the way and we were going for longer than an week, ie stop in Washington DC for a few days and somewhere else on the way down for a day or two and then stop on the way back for a few days in a couple of places.

Also, we can usually find pretty inexpensive airfare (we flew in December 2009 for $175/pp round trip including all taxes and fees). There is no way we could drive for that once you factor in hotels and food.

 

[Anal Annie]

What factors do you use to decide whether to drive or fly to WDW?

I realize cost is probably the biggest issue, but what else should I consider?

We always fly and rent a car ... may drive for our July trip...still deciding...

(If this is a duplicate thread, please let me know. I tried to search the stickies and 2 pages but couldn't find a driving vs. flying topic).

Thank you!

We don't live far from you (Montgomery Co., MD) and we always fly as it's only a 2 hr flight and that let's us go down on Friday evenings so that we can wake up there on Saturday morning ready to go. We drove it once MANY years ago straight thru. We were SOOO exhausted. We left on a Fri. nite after work / rush hour and got down there mid-day on Sat. NEVER again. We don't want to waste a travel day on either end to spend the night 1/2 way + there's the extra hotel cost of 2 more nights so we'll fly as long as we can get reasonably priced flights (under $200 for a non-holiday). We often catch a $129 round trip on Air Tran from BWI but have also done Dulles. It's an hour for us to drive to either airport so we'll go wherever the best deal is, although parking is easier & cheaper at BWI.

We use DME and do not waste money or time on renting a car. For a free service we don't find the wait for DME outweighs the cost of a rental + the time of picking up our luggage in baggage claim & then picking up the car. By the time you do all that you could be on the bus. We just get a grocery delivery from Garden Grocer and we're set. We usually go 2-3 times a year and have the system down pat. Our Owners Locker is already scheduled to meet us down there in March.

 

[rubato]

We always drive. We live in Kansas City, so it's quite a drive. But, we have 2 factors.
#1: We like to camp and there's no way to get the RV down there without driving it.
#2: Hubby is afraid to fly because he's claustrophobic.

With that said, we're flying this time. It was cheaper to fly and stay moderate than drive and camp. Crazy, I know. We had to add the cost of some good meds for hubby and a couple of drinks onboard the plane (I hope they serve them at 9 am).

As far as the rental, I won't do that. I'll just rely on good old Disney transportation. I only have 1 child and we've never done the stroller thing, so I think that helps.

 

[Marshay]

Thanks for all the thoughts.

I just checked the airfare and rental car for our July trip and it went up significantly since I last checked around Christmas-time.

The rental car went from $338 for a SUV to $517 for a car and $713 for a SUV. Airfare went up only by about $60 total for 4 tickets.

Since we aren't willing to go without a car at this time, we have just decided to drive.

I'll keep looking for a good rental car and airfare deal but unless the price goes back under $1000, we're going to drive.

 

[Marshay]

So do any of you have a spreadsheet you use to factor in all the costs for driving to WDW? I'd love to have a copy.

So far I'm thinking:

Gas (AAA says it will cost about $275 RT for my vehicle)
Hotel
Tolls
Wear and Tear (not sure how to calculate this)
Food
Entertainment