What would be less torturous?

[dijid]

DH and I decided to give in to the kids constant requests for another trip back to WDW. We are trying to figure out whether flying or driving will be less torturous.

We drove down last May when DD was 3 1/2 and DS was 1 1/2. Took 17 hours to get there (2 hours longer than expected thanks to a freeway closing accident). The kids actually did ok in the car, but DS gets carsick and, well, you get the picture. We also had to stop somewhere for the night and we can not all sleep in the same room. The kids just keep each other up. It was nice to have our own van there, but after a great week, it was awful having to spend all that time driving back.

In September, we flew. Can't get there direct without paying a fortune, so we made connections. Much more expensive, but quicker than driving. My kids always seem to get sick when we fly, though.

Here's the kicker - we've since adopted a baby and so we'll have a 7mo when we attempt to squeeze that 3rd trip out of the annual passes. We recently flew with all 3 kids and it was a nightmare. We also made a 9 hour drive to my in-laws with all 3 and that was a nightmare, too. We have no idea how we are going to have an enjoyable vacation unless someone invents teletransport quickly! So until we can be "beamed" to WDW, I'd love opinions for what you think is the easiest way to get there!

 

[Traveliz]

Wow good luck.

Seems like either way is less than ideal in your mind so baring being beamed there instantaneously I would choose the option you are most comfortable with and do what you can to make it work out the best.

I personally prefer to drive and we too have a van so using myself as an example here is what I would do.

Unfortunately not much you can do about the carsick deal unless there is a spot in the car the child does better - for example he might do better in the middle seats than the way far back.

Next make the car ride an adventure -- if you don't have a car tv I would recommend looking into purchasing one or borrowing one for the week. Get new videos that they want but don't know you are getting and bring along some old favorites too.

Make a goodie bag with wrapped items to open at certain time - open this after lunch, open when we enter this state etc. Some new play things might be helpful too - I hear the etch a sketch is a great car toy.

For overnights I would choose the suite hotels that have the bedroom separated from the living room sleeping area - you can get those moderately priced if you look ahead and book ahead.

The two oldest kids are a little older than last trip and that might help...we did the picnic lunch at a rest area bringing along frisbees and bubbles to let a little steam off and found that to be helpful too.

I would guess the baby would sleep alot of the trip - at least we have found that to be the case for us. Again good luck.

Liz

 

[WeLuvWDWx5]

Well it definitely sounds like a no-win situation whatever you decide. Being from Ohio also, and having flown and driven, it can be a looooong drive even when the kids are good (I also have three....7, 9, 18 months).

Since both will be equally tortuous, I would fly simply because the torture won't last as long. I would be thinking about (and dreading) the long trip home my entire vacation (especially if the drive down is as bad as you expect). At least it won't last as long on a plane!

Goodluck with whatever you decide.

 

[StinkerbellsMom]

I too have done the trip with 3 kiddos ... the funniest thing to me is how enjoyable driving down was with them when they were younger! As they have gotten older, Eeekkkk!!! There have been times I wanted to bring the luggage INTO the van and put the kiddos ON TOP of it! Seriously though, if both options are torturous, I would say go with the quickest way possible! I would think that a flight down would be the fastest way, but, the flip side of that is ... in our case it's always been anyway, finding AFFORDABLE airfare! We have always driven down from NYC simply because it would have cost us more to fly than it would to stay on-site and buy tickets!! Our girls are a bit older (11, 9 & nearly 5), so we are able to entice them with new books, tapes and other new items opened strategically throughout the trip. We have always made up little maps and things of the states we drive through with little 'worksheets' and data on them that they find fun and they don't even realize they are learning! Hope you find a solution! We were just debating this ourselves and were going to purchase a portable DVD Player for the van and just drive down, but then discovered that we could fly JetBlue for $64 each! WOO HOO So, for that price, we will be bringing Grandma down with us too! Best of luck to you!!!

 

[WDWisTheBest]

Gosh, Delta charges about double for a non-stop flight out of CVG, compared to other airlines.

It looks like the only reasonably priced one stop flights are American and US Airways. Either one takes patience to make the trip to MCO, doesn't it?

My thought for your family situation is to make the trip as quick as you can, i.e., to fly.

Enjoy your trip and I would consider flying if it were my family.

 

[Selket]

Do you have a tv to bring in the car? We found a small 9" one with a VCR at Target for very cheap and that was great for us. We watched more Wiggles than a person could possibly stand in 2 days but it kept my 20 mo old entertained for the most part. We did have other tapes too for the 5 yr old. We've found that having a tv in the car (or portable DVD player) is necessary for those long car trips. I also agree with getting a suite (like at Country Inns and Suites) so that you have 2 rooms. Good luck!

 

[NotUrsula]

How about driving to a nearby airport where you can get a nonstop for a decent price? There are nonstops on SWA out of both Louisville and Columbus.

One thing I would definitely get NOW is some liquid Dramamine. This is OTC, but usually the pharmacist has to order it. That should help with carsickness/airsickness, and it will make them slightly sleepy, too.

Do you carry lots of singles and use the services of Skycaps when you fly? It is MORE than worth it when you have to keep tabs on kids. Also, invest in good travel efficiency gadgets, they help a lot.
(Like a backpack satchel for carseats, and a lightweight stroller. Priceless.)

If you have a laptop or a portable player that will handle a DVD, it would be worth it to bring that along, especially to help keep them busy during the airport waits.

 

[3boysmommy]

Hey neighbor
we are only about an hour from you!

we will be taking our first trip in Sept.
Have to drive down because the airfare was OUTRAGEOUS!! for 5.

If you can afford it, I say go with flying, will be faster with all the little ones

 

[Prince Eric1]

Buy a portable DVD player with a rechargable battery and cigarettel lighter adapter. It will keep them quiet on the plane or in the car.
Option 2. Leave the kids with Grandma and take a well deserved trip yourselves.

 

[dijid]

Thanks for all the replies. We're still trying to figure out what to do and budget is going to play an important part. RIght now DH is leaning towards driving because it will cost quite a bit to rent a car/van to fit all our baby and kid junk in addition to the cost of airfare for 5.

We are travel veterans and have all the handy travel gadgets - portable DVD, lightweight strollers, carseat bags, etc. It just seems that every time we add another kid the traveling gets more and more difficult. Now that DH and I are outnumbered by children too young to attend school, we feel a little overwhelmed by the logistics of traveling. I have no idea why we're even contemplating another trip to the World, but we just love it so much we can't stay away LOL!

 

[disneymama73]

Well, neither option seems too appealing. We have driven and flown, as well, and I enjoyed both. I like each for different reasons.

How about making out a pro's and con's list? That's what I always do when I'm having trouble making a decision.

We are taking another trip this Oct. when our kids will be 3-mos, 3 yrs and 5 yrs. We will probably have to drive because it has gotten too expensive for us to fly...

Good luck with your decision!

 

[kadaten]

We have 2 little ones who also don't travel well. They don't get sick (not carsick anyway...although they do both manage to be sick anytime we go out of town...but I digress)

For us it not only comes down to budget (too expensive to fly) but also to convenience. Just don't want to have to try to pack everything in our allowed bags or risk extra baggage charges, carry it in airports at arrival/departure, rent a car or manage to get it all on a shuttle, etc. Just TOO much!

We've decided that driving is less torturous for us, the kids, and possible traveling companions on the airline (a quick "you're welcome" to everyone we managed not to torture in the last 3 years!!). When driving, we can entertain the kids with movies and toys (without having to drag stuff out of the overhead or from under the seat), can stop for meals when convenient, and can find somewhere to let them stretch their legs. The time involved is longer, but just isn't quite as bad as flying is.

Something that has helped in the past....I sometimes arrange the kids seats so there's room for me in the back with them. This is especially helpful during wakeful times...I can easily get toys and snacks and change movies, and just generally play with them. When it's time to sleep, I go up front, we turn off the movies, recline their car seats, pass out blankets, and put on a CD that plays at night in their bedrooms (Chopin's "Nocturnes").

It's still not perfect.....nothing I can do can make DS (18 months) like his car seat so there's still a bit of screaming every trip. (And yes, we've tried other seats...he simply hates being restrained in any way...car seat, stroller, swing, etc.) But with driving, we find we can manage it better, and arrive in a little better condition than after flying

Good luck with your decision, and hope your trip is better than you're expecting!!
Katie

 

[suslynn]

We are making our first trip in June and had the same questions you did. I found airfare through Southeastern Airlines (flyseal.com) for 138 round trip to Sanford Airport. It flies out of Rickenbacker which is south of Columbus. For airfare for 4 it came to 604 with taxes. It was honestly about the same as it would have cost us for food for 4 days driving and two hotel stays plus gas. It will cost a bit more once we rent a car, but for a direct flight, no one throwing up in the car etc...I think it will be well worth it!

 

[Kermit]

I'd look into trying to find some medicine to help with your DS's carsickness, and then I'd drive. Packing everything you'll need for your kids on a plane would be a big hassle. Plus, if the first day doesn't turn out well, you can always just stop early and let the kids get extra energy out of their systems. When you fly, you have their schedule to stick to.

If your DS is too young for traditional motion sickness meds, try antihistimines. That's what motion sickness medicines are, anyway, but they cost more. Benadryl will make him sleepy (probably, you'd definitely want to try it first to make sure it doesn't make him wired), but there are others that won't if you don't want that.

 

[thepoohbear]

Trying to load 3 children plus all the gear through an airport and onto a plane sounds almost impossible with two adults although I'm sure parents braver than I have tried it and succeeded. I'll agree with all the ideas for going by car and have one more to add. We left late in the afternoon and drove deep into the night before we stopped. DH drove while everyone else was sleeping. There were many, many hours of quiet driving without traffic. I guess we stopped around 3am. If your children normally go to sleep around 8, that gives you 7 hours of driving without a peep. (We turned off the TV then too in order to encourage sleeping.) We had probably been in the car about 5 hours before they slept. We had dinner, snacks, two movies, and then sleep. The next day DH was very tired of course but he napped while I drove. We arrived around lunch but you are a bit farther than we are. Anyway, for us, that driving while everyone was sleeping was a sanity saver.
Can't help you with the motion sickness though. So far, I'm the only one who gets that. Sadly, for me, a movie is a bad idea. I'm sorry to say it may be the same with your child.
Whatever you do, good luck and try to keep laughing. Sometimes it's so bad it has to be funny!

 

[dijid]

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. Leaving the kids with grandma is not an option. Both sets of grandparents work full time and have limited vacation themselves. Right now we are leaning towards driving, but the price of tickets on southeast airlines is tempting since it's a non-stop flight! Too bad renting a minivan is so darn expensive.

Can you believe I never thought about Dramamine or an antihistamine for the motion sickness? We actually have an Rx sedating histamine for DS already for another reason (he is our "problem" child when it comes to health LOL!) but I bet it would work in the car. THanks.

 

[deb305]

Hi from Troy Ohio.
We did the 1-75 migration in Jan '03 with our two adopted miracles ds1 and dd 4.5 yrs. They were coming off strep so between antibotics and Benadryl the were sedated on the way down (Their doctor actually preferred we drive to flying, less chance of ear infection from pressure changes, and infection for close quarter with strangers). and two tired to move on the way home. With the money we saved we splurged on two hotel rooms at Hampton Inn both ways. It worked great, the main driver got room to themself, and the other had the kids.
Having said that we are probably going to fly the only direct Southwest Flight from Columbus to Orlando at 11:00 am or so for our October trip. This is only possible because DS will be potty trained (please, God, please) and we have frequent flier tickets.

Good luck, let us all know what you do and how it went. If you drive - slow down in Northern GA, the troopers are quite thick there.