to fly or drive with 8 of us!!!??!!!

[Belle & Ariel]

belle and ariel,

thank you so much for the info on Allegiant Air. I actually live just as close to Chattanooga as I do to Nashville and they are soooo much cheaper, half price at least!! I am thinking we can drive to Chat, fly to Sanford/Orlando and get 2 smaller rental vehicles from there for the week. The Alamo/Allegiant agreement also saves a bunch on car rental so we could get 2 rental cars from the airport for half of the price of the big van.

flight $71 each way,= $1400, 2 rental cars $300 (plus parking at airport maybe $75 or so). That would just be $1800 transporation expense.
So, we would get 20 extra hours in Disney, seperate cars for young ones and old ones, and save over $1400 from Southwest etc.

Thank you DISBOARDS!
You guys are the greatest! Time to book those dining reservations

If you are close to Chattanooga you will save another hundred or so if you go to the airport and buy the tickets in person. They are open a couple hours around each flight and you save the convenience fee.


I'm so happy it worked for you.

 

[tlh0726]

belle and ariel,

thank you so much for the info on Allegiant Air. I actually live just as close to Chattanooga as I do to Nashville and they are soooo much cheaper, half price at least!! I am thinking we can drive to Chat, fly to Sanford/Orlando and get 2 smaller rental vehicles from there for the week. The Alamo/Allegiant agreement also saves a bunch on car rental so we could get 2 rental cars from the airport for half of the price of the big van.

flight $71 each way,= $1400, 2 rental cars $300 (plus parking at airport maybe $75 or so). That would just be $1800 transporation expense.
So, we would get 20 extra hours in Disney, seperate cars for young ones and old ones, and save over $1400 from Southwest etc.

Thank you DISBOARDS!
You guys are the greatest! Time to book those dining reservations

For that price, book it and FLY!

On the rental cars, make sure you are booking in the name of the primary driver of each car, and that person will need to pay with their credit card at time of pickup.
Book at a good price and keep checking back to rebook and cancel previous reservation as the prices drop.

 

[MickeyHereWeCome!]

We've got a family of six. It costs way too much for us to fly anywhere, so we drive. Our kids are quite used to it. Our drive to FL is 14 hours. We split it up, leaving late afternoon on day one, and arriving late afternoon day two. It's really a no brainer for us. We have a mini van, so we don't have to rent anything, but even with that expense, it would still save us so much money.

 

[AR81]

I am considering driving from Dallas for the first time to save money on flying. From what I have researched it is 17-18 hours. I would love to fly but don't think we can afford it unless we get a great deal. If I am figuring it right for us I think it will save us around 750.

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

another vote for driving

We drive our RAV4 down - 10 hours almost exactly from Wake Forest, NC (just barely north of Raleigh). It takes 2 tanks of gas each way.

I would also vote for 2 cars - it would be fun to switch people around at stops and allow you a bit of flexibility especially when some folks want to go to Universal.

Have fun!

 

[ktate82]

I was looking at the allegiant air and its a lot cheaper here too for the flights. But then I looked at the luggage fees.... Yikes! They charge for checked and carry on bags. It would take doing the math to figure out if they are really "cheaper" after that.

 

[honeydiane1953]

I have to fly out from Hartsfield. Since 9/11 flying is ridiculous!! I would rather drive any day than put up with the hassle. Truly after all the "mess" I am give out physically and mentally by the time I get into my seat. Drive honey.

 

[SandrA9810]

I am considering driving from Dallas for the first time to save money on flying. From what I have researched it is 17-18 hours. I would love to fly but don't think we can afford it unless we get a great deal. If I am figuring it right for us I think it will save us around 750.

I've driven it a few times now. My grandmother does not like to fly, so it's out of the option. Getting through Louisiana and Florida are the longest parts. We usually stay in Covington, LA. This last trip we stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott.

 

[crl]

You'll get a lot of opinions but ultimately it comes down to what works best for you. I enjoy driving so the 11 hour drive for half the price would be an easy choice for me. Drive!

Also, if you are staying offsite that rental van will come in handy the whole time you are there. I think with that many people you are going to have to rent some sort of vehicle to get around Orlando.

Unless there are some health or sanity issues that prevent you from making the drive, eleven hours isn't really that bad, especially if you can share the driving. Eleven hours is within my window to drive straight through, though. If you would have to break it into two days, eating up vacation time and costing you money for hotels and such, then flying starts to look more attractive.

This!
We normally drive 17 hours with 2 kids. We started driving when DS was 2 and no longer a lap baby. Now that we have an infant and 5 of us, we found cheap airfare and are going to fly for the same price as driving this year. We'll probably be back to driving again next year.