Who drives to WDW

[kimsuenew]

We drive, from Northern Ohio down! Mainly straight I-75, not a scenic trip but not to bad!

 

[Amyz00]

We drive from Texas! When it's not raining, we can make it in 16-17 hours, including pit stops. However, the last time that we went, we endured a light rain all night long and the trip ended up taking us 21 hours. I was so happy once I saw the WDW entrance sign!

 

[DaParkers]

Thank God for Minivans. I never thought I would like having one, but long trips are so much easier! We have a Nissan Quest and it is perfect for trips. It's comfortable. Everyone has enough space. My son can watch movies or play video games, so the trip is just 4 movies or 2 movies and a DragonballZ marathon long. When we bring our dogs, they even have the whole back seat to themselves. And we always bring our large cooler and we always are comfortable! Anybody else ever bring a microwave? We have 2. A small one and a larger one. I'm thinking about bringing the small one with us this August.

 

[GRUMPY0711]

Sounds like you have your travel plans down very well. May I ask why two microwaves?

 

[Flametamr]

We drive and it takes about 7 hours from my home in So Alabama. I guess that would be about 3 good movies long. We usually stop for lunch somewhere and then go straight to a park after check in. This time we'll relax and swim some before heading to the MK for the MNSSHP the day we arrive.

 

[mickeystoontown]

We've made 12 trips to WDW and we have driven every time. The drive has varied between 813 miles to 858 miles one way. The mileage depends on how turned around we get in Mobile, Alabama, if there are wildfires we have to detour around, etc. etc. etc. How long a drive just depends on the weather and traffic. We've made it in 14 hours and once it took over 18 hours.

Our first trip was taken when our son was just 1 and our daughter was just
11. I am a planner and packer so the drive was no big deal for us. I had enough stuff to keep ANYBODY busy during the drive

We leave between 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. on a Wednesday, drive until we can't stand it anymore (usually between 11:00 or 12:00 midnight) 'cause we have worked all day long. We get up around 7:00 a.m. and hit the road by 8:00 a.m. and make the remainder of the drive.

We thought about flying this year but airfare gets pretty expensive for three people. Our hometown airport isn't very large so, to get decent airfare, we would have to drive over 2 hours and then pay parking for 10 days.

We, honestly, like the drive. We get to spend one-on-one time with each other and the closer we get to WDW, the more excited we get. The drive home isn't so great though since we drive it straight through.

 

[babiektcher]

We even bought a Suburban to be able to travel, but with the cost of gas, I have been flying Air Tran, this last time in Dec 07, 49 dollars pp on the way down and took southwest 59 dollars pp on the way back. Definitely would have spent more money on gas. With my DH and DS 5 DD 3, the kids are just use to flying now.

 

[dawz1026]

I am hoping our drive in April goes as quick as possible.Last year the first 4 hours was all a rainstorm that slowed us up and we ended up in DC traffic for a LONG time...DH usually puts us in WDW overdrive and can drive pretty far without stopping (loves to drive).Its poor old me and my backaches and whining kids lol that slow him up

 

[mroehl2]

We do the drive once a year in March from SE Michigan which takes about 15-17 hours depending upon many things (how fast my husband drives , construction , traffic ). We've done it since my DD was 22 months and now she's 4 1/2. I couldn't ask for a better traveller down to Disney . She knows it's a long trip...but it's worth it for her. Driving home...she and us are a little more antsy...ready to get home. The best time we've ever left was in the afternoon last year...we we're in the mountains of KY/TN by rush hour everywhere else. We usually have to stay over one night somewhere. We could do it straight through (and have before), but it's just TOO exhausting! We're ready to have some fun when we get there!! Only 3 weeks from tomorrow!!!

 

[Kaler131]

We have driven down a few times. It's so much easier to fly, but with 6 people in our family, it's not very cost effective! We don't mind the drive too much. My sister drove down with me and my 4 kids last year and said "never again!" LOL! We usually drive about 11 hours and stay overnight at Hilton Head Island or Savannah, Ga. and then do the last 5-6 hours the next day so that we are not too tired when we get to WDW.

 

[princessreilly]

We usually fly, but this is a budget trip! We just went in December and are already going back! We will be driving for almost 9 hrs! We're going to drag the kids out of bed around 3 or 4am and pray that they stay asleep for most of the ride! DD has no idea we're going. When she wakes up she'll be in Disney!

 

[mel]

We've always driven and it takes about 18 hours from Arkansas. Those have been some of my favorite times with my children!! I have "treats or trinkets" that I keep hidden until certain times and they always have personal dry erase boards which provide endless hours of entertainment. They get so excited and we talk about all the things we want to see and make sure we don't miss and what all we want to ride....it's great! (ok, there have been a few "she's looking at me" and that kind of thing, but I don't care......the good far outweighed bad.

 

[sazcjg]

We live in central Illinois which is about 1200 miles away. I drove in 2005 and I swore after that I would never drive again. We get about 350 miles to a tank of gas which equals about 7 fill ups there and back. At $3.00 a gallon and a 25 gallon tank we are spending $525.00 just for gas! I have 3 children and my wife and I so we must stop and spend the night. So 2 nights in a hotel, once down and once home equals approximately $200.00. Add it all up and we spend $700.00 to $800.00 for travel expense and spend 3 full days in a van! We can fly out of Indianapolis direct to Orlando for $1000.00 for the 5 of us. So for $200.00 to $250.00 more we choose to fly.

 

[dawz1026]

flying........

 

[blondimom]

We are driving down from NYC in the end of June, unless I can find a great deal on four tickets {less than $1000}....

 

[Dimaline312000]

I've never flown anywhere but I feel that driving to Disney would be much more fun; at least for me. It helps build the anticpation of the entire trip and the rich reward you get when you arrive at WDW.

 

[Amyz00]

I really did a comparison today on air fare vs. driving to WDW from our house. The cheapest air fare that I could find would cost us $1500, and that's not including the parking fees at the airport. Now, the distance from WDW from our house is 1061.34 miles. Our SUV will get approx. 18 miles per gallon (highway miles). I figured that it would end up costing us approx. $400 for gas (not including food, which we usually stop and eat once and then snack on the way there). We would save at least $1000 just driving! I think that we will stick with that!

 

[DaParkers]

Sounds like you have your travel plans down very well. May I ask why two microwaves?

The first was small and took long to heat food. We wanted a bigger and better one, so we bought one. But, we never got rid of the first smaller model because it stilled worked. And now, I'm glad that we didn't. It comes in handy.

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

We have 2x out of 100+...that was enough!

 

[MAKHayes-DisneyDiva]

Drove once, flew once. I prefer to fly, but we live almost 2 hours from an airport, so it isn't exactly convenient. I think the drive takes about 14 hours.
We are driving in 2009 to cut corners, and becauses DH said so.