Which is more important to you....

[FINFAN]

Mode of transportation or accomodations once there?
Unfortunately we are not able to take a trip to WDW for quite some time(as in 2005 )but I got to thinking...would I prefer to drive and stay at a or delux...or fly and stay at value? Depending on the season and many variables of course, but we are a family of 4 and without getting into a debate over cost breakdowns, etc., we have found that the cost est. difference in fly/drive would be about $500. That is roughly the difference in hotel choice for us. Just curious as to others prefferences.
I am trying to live vicariously thru all of your great trips!

 

[honeywolf7]

Drive and stay at a Deluxe any day.

 

[tstobb]

Pack the car

and drive!
We surprised our kids with the Contemporary on our last trip - didn't tell them, just drove up to the door!

 

[AMClvsMKY]

We drove from the Chicago area to WDW many times - I actually prefer it...........so I choice would be driving and staying at a Deluxe. ( I like the value resorts too tho)

 

[Beauty]

We always drive...it takes about 13 hours for us but we love to explore the Orlando area outside of Disney as well. On the last trip we visited the mall, we took the Titanic tour and went to Belz, and about 4 different Flea Markets.

 

[pixiedust218]

My choice would be to drive and stay at a deluxe

 

[PandyPaws]

Drive

 

[gina2000]

fly and stay anywhere. We spend virtually no time in the room or at the pool.....

 

[AnnMorin]

Drive... I would rather have a nice place to call "home"


although... instead of making a choice I wuld just eat a lot of tuna/hamburg/peanut butter jelly etc over the next year and fly and stay in a nice place... (I hate to drive ) BUT if that was not possible... I'd go for the nicer room

 

[helenabear]

I truthfully think I might fly... it is about 16 hours to drive and that would take 3 days off of our vacation. I just don't have the vacation time from work to do that I guess.

 

[shep]

drive straight through the night, arrive in the morning with no sleep and spend 1 day with no sleep..piece a cake...

 

[Micca]

Driving wouldn't be too bad if you have enough vacation time. I gotta think you're burning up 2 vacation days in tranportation. Also, that's some wear and tear on the auto. If you breakdown, there's a big chunk of your $500, not to mention precious time.

 

[Kitty 34]

I would fly and stay at a value but then I'm driving from Michigan.....if I was a couple of states closer, I would definetly say drive and go for the deluxe!!!

 

[Serena]

I'd rather drive and have a nice room.

 

[skuttle]

DH and I have been to WDW every year since 2000 and will be going back in a few weeks. We flew for our honeymoon in 2000, but ever since then we've decided to drive and have extra spending money/better resort while at WDW. If we leave early enough, we can drive straight to WDW...our drive is only about 10-12 hours.

 

[ead79]

I would rather drive and stay in a deluxe resort, but I spend a fair amount of time in my resort, so resort choice is pretty important to me. Plus, my drive time is only about 8.5 hours.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Fly and stay at value, but checking the moderates to see the difference.

 

[bobcat]

Drive.

 

[GeorgeG]

The other posters hit on most of the advantages of driving.

We always used to fly, but have driven the last four times. A lot depends on what you like to do once there. If you resort hop, having a car handy is good so you also have to factor in the rental car savings to the cost of flying. There's also the convenience of taking along as much luggage as you want with no hassles over having nail clippers.

I don't think I'd recommend driving straight through from any long distance unless you're okay with that. We stop over in the Carolinas each way and arrive fresh and ready to go.

I like staying at the deluxe resorts whenever the budget allows, but also have a fondness for the CBR. It's a personal choice.

After having said all that, we'll probably fly the next time since my wife just had major back surgery and might not be up to the drive anytime soon. So, you have to consider a lot of things.

The fact that you're going to WDW is the main thing. I hope you have a great time, however you get there and wherever you stay!

 

[Saffron]

Fly and stay at a value. It takes 16 hours to drive from here or 2 1/4 hours to fly. I'd rather spend the extra time I would be staying on the road, in Disney. As long as the bed is comfortable and the room is cool and clean, I'm good to go!