Wwyd?

[la79al]

Which would you do? We can drive from PA, leaving around 6pm Friday and arriving around 9am Saturday tired from driving all night for ~$300 in gas. Or we can fly from BWI leaving sometime Saturday and arriving around 9:30pm for ~$850. It looks like either way we will lose most of Saturday right? At least driving we will be able to pack more and head off property. Opinions?

 

[robsmom]

is the $300 in gas one way. is the $800 in air roundtrip? If yes than i would fly. it would be so much easier. If you fly will you rent a car or stay on site and use ME? I am not sure where in Pa you are but at best you are 900+ miles. considering traffic, construction, toll booths, rest stops (your kids will need to stop), etc. i suspect you are going to be longer than 15 hrs. Even if you do get in by 9am, you will be sleeping much of saturday anyway.

 

[NU2WDW]

Opted out of flying for a few reasons:
1. We're going to be there for 2 weeks
2. We're staying off property
3. Decided airfare for the 5 of us plus rental car for the whole trip was too much
4. We're taking 2 days to drive it

If we were only going for one week, we'd probably fly and rent a car, but having the extra week we figure it gives us leeway.

Personally, I just wouldn't drive that long straight thru, even taking turns. Overnight, especially, it just seems dangerous -- night driving can be hypnotic. You're going to be tired, it's going to make for an unpleasant first day there. I think if it were me, if I couldn't allot 2 days to drive, I'd fly. JMHO

 

[zurgswife]

Which would you do? We can drive from PA, leaving around 6pm Friday and arriving around 9am Saturday tired from driving all night for ~$300 in gas. Or we can fly from BWI leaving sometime Saturday and arriving around 9:30pm for ~$850. It looks like either way we will lose most of Saturday right? At least driving we will be able to pack more and head off property. Opinions?

1. You have only allowed about 15hrs for driving. I have driven at least 4 times and the shortest time was 17 hrs and it was not leaving during rush hour on a friday night. Not sure where in PA but we are in Philly.
2. You will be more then just tired. You will be absolutely exhausted and won't be able to get a hotel room until 3pm usually.
3. Have you tried SW out of Philly...I just got 7 RT tickets for July for a total of $820.
4. Are you staying on property or not?

 

[runwad]

Me, I'd drive and that's what we are doing in 18 days from Ohio. We leave around 8 or 9pm and get in next day around 12pm (offsite) chill at our pool for the day, get to bed early and up early the next day to be at the park at opening. For us to save $500 its a no brainer. Plus we save more than that in all we can bring instead of buying there (food).

 

[daisyduck123]

We drive, always.
We'll be doing it in May...14 hours from here to WDW.
We don't mind it at all.
We've got a nice big, clean (no eating or drinking, except water, allowed in it).

For our upcoming August trip, we actually toyed with the idea of flying...but it seems to be more of a hassle than driving. Then I realized, hey, I won't be able to bring home all the souvenirs I want to as easily as if we drove...so we're driving.

Last time, we spent over $1000.00 on souvenirs (that includes the BIG FIG) & I don't want to have to worry about flying them home.

We also like having our van with us in WDW.

 

[fan_of_small_world]

We thought about driving with our kids, 4 and 7 at the time. Then we came to our senses, LOL!

We did end up deciding to fly. For us, we estimated $300 in gas and at least $250 for two nights on the road (one going down, one coming back). Our airfare ended up at $750. We decided that for the extra $200 was worth it.

 

[mom2aredhead]

We are about 1100 miles away - 17 hours according to Mapquest.
Gas would be about $300.00 r/t
Tolls - I don't know, maybe $50?
Room on the way there and back - $150
Wear and tear on my car - ???
(I would NEVER attempt 17 hours in 1 day - I know a lot of poeple can do it, but I don't have it in me to spend that long in the car)
Our flights round trip are $651 total, and our rental car (thanks mousesavers) is $145 for the week. For me, it's worth the extra money. I'd try to skimp somewhere else...
Good luck whatever you choose. Keep shopping around flr flights, maybe you'll find something better to make your decision easier.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I have to be honest here. You would have to duct tape me in that car to get me to go on a car trip that long. I would fly no matter what. It's not like you are saving thousands IMHO. Honestly even if I was I would still fly. Did I mention that I hate cartrips? Besides, who wants to drive home? People always say that they can take more stuff with them but how much stuff do you really need? Buy the plane tickets. You will be happier in the long run.

 

[dianemb]

I think your under estimating the time. My husband and I did it 3 times with very little stopping and it took a bit more time. Several hours longer then your estimate. You will be very tired even if your not driving and also cranky from the hours in the car. I hate flying but unless I had 2 weeks I wouldn't drive and then I would stop on the way down and the way back for a night.

 

[HelenePA]

I'm in NE PA and at first we thought about driving... it would be with a 1, 4, 6 yr old... then came to our senses... they use to LOOOVEE car rides... Last weekend we took a trip to the DC zoo... about 3.5 hours (with out getting lost like we did... ) and it was HORRIBLE are we there yet.. mommy mommy i need to go pee, Mommy i'm bored, Mommy I'm hungry... Mommy put the wiggles on.. mommy put sesame street on (notice its only mommy!) mommy this mommy that.. I wanted a drink BADLY after just 3.5 hours... NEVER would I even think of driving almost 18-19 hrs from where I am... NEVER you couldnt pay me enough! 550$ is the difference between driving and flying? Oh its worth the 550$ EASY! I got RT tix out of Philly 49$ each way per/person... total was just under 600$ Look out of Philly it was cheaper by 30$ per person each way to fly out of philly and not bwi!

Oh I want to add that was for 5 seats. Baby will be on my lap and my grandmother the kids great grandmother is going with is... your a family of four.. the price would be about 500$ if you can get the 49$ perperson each way!

 

[MomNeedsVacay]

...I'd say.... DRIVE...getting there is half the fun...and whats a trip down the East coast (95) without seeing the "South of the Border" signs? It was my favorite part when I was a kid....

Jaime

 

[tadamom]

are we there yet.. mommy mommy i need to go pee, Mommy i'm bored, Mommy I'm hungry... Mommy put the wiggles on.. mommy put sesame street on (notice its only mommy!) mommy this mommy that.. I wanted a drink BADLY after just 3.5 hours...

I'm glad that I'm not the only mommy that deals with everything being "just mommy"!!!

 

[tadamom]

If flying were an option for us I would soooooo be doing it! It is about an 8 hour drive from here to Orlando but buy the time we stop for lunch, bathroom breaks, etc. it is probably going to be about 10+ hours. We checked in to flying and the flight is only 1.5 hours long and it would cost us around $750 for the 4 of us to fly roundtrip. If my SIL wasn't terribly afraid of flights then we would have opted to fly and then rented a car if need be. But sadly, we will be making the loooong car trip (7 adults & 3 kids) in two vans that will be packed to the limit!!!

Good luck on your decision!!

 

[Mouse House Mama]

...I'd say.... DRIVE...getting there is half the fun...and whats a trip down the East coast (95) without seeing the "South of the Border" signs? It was my favorite part when I was a kid....

Jaime

We drove once when I was 4. I threw up. It was not half the fun.

 

[Mickey'sfriend]

We always drive from PA, too; however, we stay the night in a hotel. You can get some cheap rates in the remote areas of GA. We don't make reservations. We just stop when we are tired. With five of us and the cost of a rental car, it is still cheaper than flying.

 

[SuziQZee]

Ok...I admit it, we are CRAZY but we drive from IL to WDW every year. (About a 21 hour drive.) DH and DD WON'T fly so we really don't have a choice but I do have to say that we've made our car trips a lot of fun. We are staying 2wks and we allow 2dys to drive down and back. Our gas is similar to all the other posters...approx. $300.00 and we do get a hotel room. We get a hotel that has a continental b-fast in the morn to save time and money. We usually make it to Atlanta area before we stop and hopefully have time for the kids to swim before bed. We have tons of things for the kids to do in the car and it's actually nice time together. We find a lot of funny things during the drive, we all talk about EVERYTHING and it's just a nice transition from our daily lives to vacation. So eventhough driving has it's pros and cons, it really works for us and we enjoy it! Good Luck and most of all...Have Fun!!

 

[3mickeymom]

We drove down to Disney under very similiar circumstances. We left from Central NJ around 6pm,driving straight through arriving at around 12 noon. My husband and I took turns sleeping and driving. We stopped for pizza in Maryland and pancakes in Georgia. The kids slept until morning. We hung out at our hotel pool, had an early dinner at Boardwalk and then went to bed early so we could be ready for the next day. It was great, not too tired, and the togetherness was kinda fun. Coming home is a completely different story. We were tired and depressed from leaving. We didn't have that " start of our vacation energy". Just be prepared for this. We weren't at all. Maybe we should have planned a stop somewhere on the way home to break up our trip. I would drive again, but I would have to stop at a hotel coming home for sure!! We stayed offsite so having a car was great. Also, at that time there wasn't any good deals for flying like there seems to be now. If you want to save money,remember too that you will put miles on your car and tires, plus oil changes and tolls. And when you fly there is renting a car and airport parking. Either way, you will be going to Disney and it will be GREAT

 

[FayeW]

Why does it have to be drive straight through? Drive til midnight. Get a few ours sleep, leave at 7:00 am or so. That would put you in Orlando sometime Saturday evening and you could relax and enjoy the pool, etc and have a good night's sleep. You have already acknowledged that Saturday will be pretty much a write off from being exhausted if you drive right through, so you haven't really lost anything.

Now, having said that, we priced out driving (for us, about 22-24 hours) and factoring 1 night hotel each way, food for 4 people for 4 travel days (we'd bring drinks and snacks but certainly you'd stop to eat at least once per day to get out of the car for awhile!) and gas, it came out to pretty much what we pay to fly, or at least withing a couple of hundred dollars. You know what the commercials say: Not being stuck in a car with your kids for 2 days: PRICELESS.

 

[jillyjoey]

From now on (I got out voted) we will be driving. We never drive in 1 day -- we drive to Valdosta GA and spend the night- - giving us a short drive the next morning. I've gotten rooms as cheap as $45 in Valdosta. Here are some things to consider

1. How far do you live from the airport & what time is your flight? For us, we live 2 1/2 hours from the airport and had to be at the airport at 5am. We ended up staying at a park and fly hotel -- cost for this hotel room was $135.

2. Timing For us, it is a 13 hour drive. Flight -- it took us exactly 12 1/2 times from the time we got to MCO to the time we drove into our driveway on return flight. Not a big difference

3. Costs We would have saved about $400 driving. We had to eat 2 meals at the airport (long layovers). When we drive, I pack a picnic basket and we take a cooler. [I don't count wear and tear on my vehicle for trips just as I don't count wear and tear on my vehicle for normal driving.]

4. DD screaming on the plane Despite taking gun, drinks, food, DD's ears would not pop and she screamed on every flight. DH had the same problem and I think his complaining was worse that DD.

5. On our last day, DS complained because we had to leave at a certain time to get ME back to MCO. When we drive, we always extend our departure time a little. DS also commented that the drive was part of the trip as well.

Everyone's situation is different. You have to do what's best for your family. Good Luck in making the decision.