To fly or not to fly, that is the question

[trekkie2]

I am trying to decide weather or not to fly for out trip or drive. on the plus side for driving, it is cheap ( at least until the gas goes higher) lots of time for some mother daughter bonding and the possibility to see the weird stuff you can only see while road tripping. the down side is that we would be driving from Colorado and that mean about 13 hours one way in the car with a teenager and the inability to take tranqulizers while driving and the thought of driving in california which scares the bejeezus out of me. the plus of flying is that, well its short, the down side is that there is no major airport close and 2 tickets will be $800.00+ plus the transport in CA. This is my first trip, what will be the easiest and how bad is traffic really? Saw the 100car pileup on the news and started to look at airfare. I need a reality check please. Part of what we want to do is 1 day at seaworld and 1 day at universal studios, how hard is the drive to those locations?

 

[MAGICFOR2]

I am trying to decide weather or not to fly for out trip or drive. on the plus side for driving, it is cheap ( at least until the gas goes higher) lots of time for some mother daughter bonding and the possibility to see the weird stuff you can only see while road tripping. the down side is that we would be driving from Colorado and that mean about 13 hours one way in the car with a teenager and the inability to take tranqulizers while driving and the thought of driving in california which scares the bejeezus out of me. the plus of flying is that, well its short, the down side is that there is no major airport close and 2 tickets will be $800.00+ plus the transport in CA. This is my first trip, what will be the easiest and how bad is traffic really? Saw the 100car pileup on the news and started to look at airfare. I need a reality check please. Part of what we want to do is 1 day at seaworld and 1 day at universal studios, how hard is the drive to those locations?

Driving to those locations is not bad, provided you time your trip to the traffic. We aren't used to it, either - but my DH does it! I was typing a Twighlight Zone-like commentary (picture if you will...6 lanes of traffic), but it just got goofy - guess I'm tired. Anyway, depending on which day of the week it is, you have to be out on the freeway by 5am to avoid getting stuck, but going South shouldn't be as bad as coming North. You can get advice on what time to leave from the hotel staff - the locals know. If you are going to US or Seaworld, you will have to drive anyway, so I would just compare cost of gas and hotels to airfare and car rental.

The locals that we go to US with get really nervous when driving to that neighborhood. Looking down from the freeway, I can see why, although it is getting better. The traffic didn't seem that bad on the weekend - took about an hour to get there. Happy Planning! Sounds like a fun trip with your DD!

 

[bumbershoot]

If I were THAT scared of driving (and there's one section of the Siskyous on our trip from WA during which I nearly passed out while driving, so I'm no stranger for being scared) I would just:

get the flights
look into grayline for the US daytrip
take Amtrak to and from SeaWorld (OK that involves a train and bus, I believe)
and...

Relax.

 

[nurse.darcy]

My parents live in So. California. My stepbrother and his wife live in Colorado (Denver). My parents make that drive at least 3 times a year and absolutely love it. The biggest thing is to make the drive enjoyable. California driving is really not that bad. I just recently moved to Nevada (Las Vegas) from California and I must say I am TEN TIMES more paranoid about driving here than I was in California. Timing is everything on the freeways when going through the busy cities (i.e.; Los Angeles County, Riverside, San Bernardino). Early morning (before 5) or after 8 p.m. are your best bets.

Okay, I just looked at a map of the drive and here are your trouble spots. When taking the I-15 through Las Vegas, you should plan that timing carefully. You either want to be through the Las Vegas section really early, during mid day or late (after 8 p.m.). If you get through Las Vegas really early, you will hit the I-60 around 10 a.m. (assuming getting through Las Vegas around 5 a.m.), this is really good timing for getting through that area (60, 57, and then the Ball Road or Katella exit. Since I make this drive frequently (my son and I are annual passholders) and we now live in Las Vegas, if you need any pointers feel free to PM me.

 

[Ratpatootie]

We live in Colorado, and have made the drive..and we will never make it again. Mountain driving is not like normal driving at all, and I hated it. Sure, its pretty, but ups, downs, winding around, etc... And then there is this area in Utah that keeps warning you that there is nothing for 110 miles (including cell phone signal) is very scary. We got 1/2 way into that, and got a flat tire. Thank goodness for a random tow truck that happened to drive by, and STOP for us

Also we went to Disneyland, Legoland and Seaworld..driving in San Diego is NOT fun...I would be all the way over in the lane I needed to exit, and the next thing I knew, 5 more lanes would be added onto the right so I had to get over more before I exited, and people there do not let you in..that was the scariest part of it for me. They drive so fast and wont let you in.

Anyways, don't mean to scare you, but just being completely honest.

 

[abby]

I am trying to decide weather or not to fly for out trip or drive. on the plus side for driving, it is cheap ( at least until the gas goes higher) lots of time for some mother daughter bonding and the possibility to see the weird stuff you can only see while road tripping. the down side is that we would be driving from Colorado and that mean about 13 hours one way in the car with a teenager and the inability to take tranqulizers while driving and the thought of driving in california which scares the bejeezus out of me. the plus of flying is that, well its short, the down side is that there is no major airport close and 2 tickets will be $800.00+ plus the transport in CA. This is my first trip, what will be the easiest and how bad is traffic really? Saw the 100car pileup on the news and started to look at airfare. I need a reality check please. Part of what we want to do is 1 day at seaworld and 1 day at universal studios, how hard is the drive to those locations?

Drive part of the way to a cheaper airport???????? then fly and relax?

 

[Husker Mickey]

I'm with Abby. Drive to a cheaper airport and enjoy your trip. We live in Nebraska and drive 4 1/2 hours to DIA. We generally can get tickets for less than $250 ea. round trip (Frontier). If you choose to drive, remember that if you go hard at DL, you are really going to have a long trip home.

 

[lillybug]

We live in Idaho, and if we had the option to fly we would. We are a family of five, and we just can't see paying for 5 plane tickets. We're cheap like that.

Our drive looks like it will be between 14-15 hours long. We are leaving our house at 10 pm in hopes that our little ones will sleep most the way. We will see how that works out.


So if I were in your situation I would just fly and enjoy the short flight.

 

[ctamama]

We just drove through Colorado into New Mexico 6 months ago.....what a breathtaking road trip!!! It is truly beautiful!! That said, though, LA traffic is intimidating to me also...so I would probably fly just so save time and for peace of mind. Flying? Tranquilizers? No Problem! heh! heh!

 

[BillyFan]

I'm with Abby. Drive to a cheaper airport and enjoy your trip. We live in Nebraska and drive 4 1/2 hours to DIA. We generally can get tickets for less than $250 ea. round trip (Frontier). If you choose to drive, remember that if you go hard at DL, you are really going to have a long trip home.

I agree. We are a 6 hour drive away, and the drive home is killer, even after only 2 days in the parks!

 

[Leofoenget]

I personally hate mountain driving. not to mention 13 hours one way! Yuck! Mountain driving always takes longer because you can't go fast. I vote for flying. Making the drive from San Jose to Anaheim is easy straight shot up the 5 but yuck to 13 hours!!!!!

 

[50sjayne]

Hey ;-) I posted this huge long post responding to this earlier but I must have not sent it right...Oh well I kind of regretted the post anyway-- too much information. Anyway-- even with the cheapest airfare tickets we can find there's no way I could justify flying over driving as far as cost and hassle goes. For us it's a 2 1/2 hour drive the opposite way to the airport with Southwest, paying to park, flying to LAX where you then would have to pay for a car rental (husband won't be without a car) After all this you would have to pay for food vs months of 'collecting' cheap sandwich meat and toting it along in the cooler(frozen). I like the idea of flying-- it's fun, but I also like driving. We drive at night, less traffic, less wear on the tires, it's a 14 hour drive but around 16 hours for us with the gas station breaks and the Siskiyous. I did it in 14 & 1/2 (through rush hour traffic even) to see Bowie a few years ago lol. Driving at night is cool too because you can sleep in shifts-- we all can sleep pretty good in the car.You can also map out the cheapest gas stations from sites on the web. It is more dangerous I know, but a plus for me this time is I will finally get my husbands vision checked..lol. Otherwise he'd never agree to it. (But honey lots of people only wear glasses when they drive and they have these cool anti glare lenses you can get) If you can afford it and don't like long drives (especially if it's all through mountains) I'd look for the best airfare possible but driving's gonna be the way it is for us ;-) We also get great gas mileage as well and have a super comfy car. My husbands scared of flying too lol.

 

[trekkie2]

thanks for all the help. I am really (i think) ok with the drive out and back, we will go through arizonia, and not too worried about that, however I am worried about driving in city traffic. Denver is the largest city I have driven in and I have heard that CA is SO much worse. I have figured out a way to get everywhere we want to go without a car with the exception of the beach. DD wants to do a afternoon there and i can't figure that one out. any ideas.

 

[lilpixie]

lilybug -- we live is Idaho as well and have a family of five also. But I am the opposite -- I am so willing to pay for 5 ticket to avoid driving LOL!
I get soooo carsick and my kids don't do well on car trips (literally ask "are we there yet" after like 20 minutes) I hope your trip goes well! Those DVD players can be a huge help!
To the OP -- did you decide what you are doing yet? I am scared of driving in CA as well -- but if you feel comfortable, you can go for it. I am a flying kind of girl due to not having the patience to drive lol.

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

First off, driving in California is not that bad! I've been doing it for 12 years now and I'm still alive. It really isn't that different than driving anywhere else. Traffic is traffic no matter what state you are in, it's just stop and go on the freeway.

I see lots of pros to driving:

-cheaper (of course)
-you will have a car already so no need for a rental or shuttle (saving money again)
-you can bring groceries for breakfast and snacks (saving money again)
-you can bring an ice chest of milk for cereal, bottled water and soda (saving money yet again!)
-plus by the time you factor in the 2 hours you get there early, the flight, waiting to get off the plane and baggage, then wait for your shuttle and get to the hotel you are probably close to the amount of time in the car anyway

We considered flying this time as well even though our drive is only 6-7 hours.

Can you borrow a portable DVD player from someone to keep your daughter entertained for part of the trip?

 

[Wendi2000]

I would fly. If I drove for that length of a trip, I would stop halfway to spend the night - I drove to Vegas once, it was about 10 hours... too long!!! I will drive to Disneyland on occasion, it's not too bad, about 6-7 hours, but I'd rather fly.

 

[50sjayne]

You can get those portable dvd players pretty cheap these days-- I would look for one in the Black Friday ads. My son who is 16-- will be 17 for the trip has a dvd player and various handheld games, I'm thinking of picking up another mp3 player for him this black friday. I have one and loved it on our CA road trip last summer and I got one for my husband for xmas-- so we'll be set. I'll also bring a book for the trip back as it will be all dayight driving with a stop in Sacramento to visit husbands Uncle that evening. We're lucky in that I5 is a straight shot. California drivers annoy me much less than people here in Eugene-- they drive faster. I would just do what another poster said and time heavy traffic times around problem areas, even if you just have to pull off and eat somewhere. We've never had a problem coming into LA in the early AM.

 

[lilpixie]

mommy2allyandaveri ~ I did live in CA for a time, and driving there was *much* different than driving where I live now. Not even comparable. For people that aren't used to it, it can be scary. That is just my opinion, and obviously many people don't have a problem with driving in CA. Of course, if it is something you grew up with or are accustomed to -- it probably isn't a big deal at all. But since the OP mentioned that she was a bit nervous about the driving, I just didn't want that fear to be totally dismissed. It is a relevant fear for some . . .

 

[bumbershoot]

mommy2allyandaveri ~ I did live in CA for a time, and driving there was *much* different than driving where I live now. Not even comparable. For people that aren't used to it, it can be scary. That is just my opinion, and obviously many people don't have a problem with driving in CA. Of course, if it is something you grew up with or are accustomed to -- it probably isn't a big deal at all. But since the OP mentioned that she was a bit nervous about the driving, I just didn't want that fear to be totally dismissed. It is a relevant fear for some . . .

Definitely. I live in Western WA, and driving here is bizarre, b/c there are "transplants" from all over (I am from CA, but moved here at 17 so that barely counts, LOL). You get the fast, super-defensive drivers from CA, the faster, almost-offensive drivers like my brother who learned in Miami, FL, then people from everywhere in between, and it is scary.

When I ride in the car with my brother (learned in Miami, now living in San Diego) in southern CA it is terrifying. Traffic jams in WA are slow, and stop/start. Traffic "jams" in CA can be quite fast! It's just so different.

Whenever you're driving in an area with significantly different traffic patterns, it can be dangerous. If my brother moved to CO (not likely, as he despises snow!) I'm sure he would find CO driving weird compared to what he's used to, and he would have to be careful.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Even though I said it was no fun to drive - we are also driving this coming June. We will be taking it in two short days each way - 6 hrs each - with a 3 yr old and a 10 mo old - and 4 adults. We are doing 4 days of driving for 3 days in the parks! It was an extra trip this year with our youngest DS - doing DCL with our oldest DS and fam in Sept. We had planned to go all together on DCL, but our youngest is in his Master's and won't be able to get away.

So due to budget for 5 plane tickets, we also are driving, bringing breakfast food, and using DVC for DL hotel. Shouldn't be too expensive,
except gas is probably going to be $5.00! That is the scarey part!