Anyone else choosing not to fly to Disney anymore?

[jcc0621]

We have driven every year since 1992. When my son was born and we took him on his first trip, we left for the 1st time at night. He sleeps from the PA/Deleware border until we stop for breakfast, usually somewhere in Georgia. We love having our own car so we can do what we want, when we want and not have to depend on others for our travel arrangements. With both me & my husband taking shifts we have the irde down to 17 1/2 - 18 1/2 hours, with stops for breakfast, gas, and potty stops

 

[imagineer boy]

We only drove to WDW once which was right after 9/11. It was actually kind of fun! We stopped by many places to sight see, listened to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets audio cassette the whole way, and we stopped at a hotel and watched LOTR the Fellowship of the Ring on the inroom movies. It was a fun experience. Ever since then though, we've been driving.

 

[bhg469]

Driving with 2 extremely firm racing seats does not allow for a 5 hour drive let alone 20+ hours. More time in wdw outweighs everything else for me.

 

[eroyee]

:wave: we dont have little kids with us, so we prefer to drive. I hate being tied to the disney transportation if I get sick of the food or something. Plus, I like to make stops on the way down and back. we never come straight home. We used ME in Dec. and it was quite efficient, though. I didnt like having to leave for the airport on the way home 3 hrs. ahead of time, though. Just sit and wait at the Orlando airport. I hate flying anyway. too crowded and too long and too uncomfortable. just me, though. Yes, its nice to leave home and be there in a matter of hrs. I will still take the old road trip.....:lol:

 

[Aurora_25]

We do both depending on how much airfair costs since we have 2 kids and all the hassle of toting their luggage and stuff plus ours gets hard at times. It is a 16 hour drive and our kids do ok with that because we have the portable tv and they sleep part of the time. Plus we don't have to worry about how much luggage we have or the weight of it. Makes it nicer, but sometimes flying is nice too. I haven't been flying since the liquid issue, but we are flying to Disney this weekend so I will see how that is- do they let you take sippy cups of apple juice at least??

 

[barnum42]

OK - driving is not an option for me from the UK, but having driving from Boston to Atlanta - a twenty hour stint I personally would rather fly than spend all that time in a car.

Whilst I like driving, twenty hours of looking at the same old road surface was too much for me.

To each their own - with a well planned route with some interesting stops I can see a drive being part of the holiday.

 

[darthjohnny]

There are a number of factors, from the fact that I don't like feeling treated as a criminal by the airlines

I think that's a little of an exaggeration .

 

[tecowdw]

Fortunately, my air travel options changed about a year ago. Allegiant Air started flying direct to Sanford/Orlando from my airport. No more layovers!
:sohappy:
This has turned out to be the best thing. I was never able to fly direct before they came to town. In a short 2 hours, I'm at Disney World which is unlike the 5-7 hours with the majors and a layover. This doesn't include the additional travel time when the first flight segment arrives late either ~ add another 2-5 hours then.
:fork:

And once vacation is over, I'm back home in 2 hours ~ and once vacation is over, I just want traveling to be done with. Sanford has turned out to be a small, quick airport that I just love (it's about the size of my local airport too). OIA just plain stinks with all the crowds! Plus Allegiant Air is normally a little cheaper than the majors from here ~ and really great prices when they run sales.

So in my case, things have changed so that I actually look forward to flying down now. Of course, since I wouldn't drive for 12 hours, I don't have much choice. Not to mention the WDW addiction I have that must be satisfied on some kind of regular basis.
What's the number of Disneyholics Anonymous again?

 

[Robfasto]

With the new security after 9/11 I found that we can drive almost as fast as we can fly....

1.5 hours to nearest Airport
4-5 hours to Orlando depending on Airport we leave from and layover.
2-3 hours getting bags, rental car or shuttle and getting to Disney.

I can drive door to door in 10 hours.... and with the advent of portable DVD players the trip goes by really fast as the childern don't complain nearly as much.

 

[Nemo14]

We always used to drive (from Rhode Island) when our kids were younger, but we went in the summer when DH (a teacher) had plenty of time off. However, we've discovered just how great FL is in February, but unfortunately we have only one week off then, so thanks to SW we fly down now. There are defininte advantages to both, but right now the convenience of getting there in 2 1/2 hours rather than 22, and being able to avoid the risks of winter driving, is worth the price difference to us.

 

[durangojim]

To me the hassles of flying are still better than the time it takes to drive (2 days down and 2 days back). If I had an unimited amount of time to stay on vacation then I'd consider driving, but living in a metropolitan area that's about 1000 miles from wdw as the crow flies, spending 4 days of total travel time doesn't compare to the 6 hours spent going to the airport, flying to mco, and getting to the resort via magical express. Also the original poster mentions he feels like he's treated as a criminal at the airport. I'm not exactly sure what he's talking about, but if it keeps the rest of us safe, I'm all for it, and I respect his choice to drive and not fly.

 

[Firewolfe51]

Well we are just the opposite. We live in north alabama, driving takes anywhere from 81/2 to 12 hours depending on I-75 traffic and I-4 traffic. Its almost 600 miles one-way with gas prices right now its about 200 or 250 a trip. Now if I look long and hard we can get round trip for two for about 300 to 350. Here is the best part, we live very close to Birmingham alabama and the round trippers are from BHM to MCO NON STOP. I can cut the lawn wash the car and pack my suit case, drive to bhm, fly, and hit the MK for extra magic hour then still have time to eat a great meal. At this point still not as tired as if I had drove for 10 hours. Cant even think how bad a 20 hour trip would be.

The Wolfes

March 2007 PO French qtr 6 days see ya'll then!

 

[pinkrose]

We live 9 hours away, so we always drive.

 

[Jessie&Buzz]

I've only flown to Disney 2 times. In 1996 for our honeymoon then in Dec. We've driven every other time. We always timed it so that it was the kids nap time when we left home then we drove all night taking turns. Let me tell you that was murder! I was so tired when we got there that I didn't want to do anything but sleep. One time we did stop going but then it took 2 days out of our vacation. I really didn't think that it was that much of a hassle at the airport and I have 2 kids. The only downfall was the lack of things I could take. When you drive you have room for just about anything.

I'm willing to fly again, but it all depends on the time of year and $$ for the tickets. I'm also willing to drive again but that depends on if gas is cheaper than Southwest's tickets!

 

[smk]

I'll fly too. Driving two days, hotels, potential car problems (even new cars have problems), other drivers, weather. We used to drive, when there were always 5 of us going and the kids were younger. A vacation by plane would have cost a fortune. Now, we fly and rent a car. I check airfare and fly into Tampa if I can find it cheaper than Orlando, rent a car and take a short drive, stop for dinner or whatever. We have done that twice in the past two years. I don't like DME (used it last Christmas), so I would take anything other than that back to the airport! Three hours early is way too much time for the average, non Holiday travel time. Three hours was way too much last year for Holiday travel time. Rental cars are great, get cheap airfare and 2 some hours later we are in MCO. Sounds so good I wish I could go tonight!:lol:

 

[SallyShine]

2 days of driving vs. a 2 hour direct flight? Are you kidding? I can leave on an 8 am flight and be in the MK by noon! My DH's time is too valuable. We can use the four driving days to go somewhere else.

 

[Scooter]

I'm a people watcher so Airports are a fun place for me.

We fly out of Chicago so direct flights are no problem.
I might consider driving when I retire because time wouldn't be an issue, but as it is, we take off from O'hare airport in Chicago by 7:30AM and are eating lunch in The Magic Kingdom by noon.

Driving for 20+ hours just doesn't make much sense to us.

I don't mind going through Security and always obey the rules and never bring anything to slow us down. I'm not crazy about taking off my shoes, but hey, if it keeps me safe and secure, I'd go barefoot through the line.

As for the 3 hour rule on Magical Express...We LOVE it...it gives us time to explore all the awesome shops in the Orlando Airport, get something to eat, and plenty of time to find our departure gate.

I'd rather be 3 hours early for a flight than 3 minutes late.

 

[cmatt]

this thread makes me feel dirty for flying from edinburgh to london every two months... im sure that feeling will pass

imho - is the 20 hour drive worth the hassle and sleep deprevation? imho driving for sustained periods of time (ok i know your not driving 20 hours solid - but still...) is dangerous - the mind wanders and you can get your self into a bit of a pickle.

Not to mention the journey back which will be agonising mentally as you will already be tired :lookaroun

If i was in a similar situation id fly, for the main reason as all the coffufle of flying doesnt bother me whatsoever, i get to the airport in good time. Grab a coffee and a newspaper and crank my ipod up in the lounge.... only hassle i get is strange looks as i air drum to bands like lamb of god or ministry

that said if i had this: http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/...ving/06.bugatti.veyron/bugatti.veyron.340.jpg

id be willing to drive it through europe into russia then get it transferred to alaska then travel down through canada and the states.....

 

[MickeyfromSTL]

I personally still like flying better. Just like the original post, I live 1000 miles away and it is a big hassle at the airports and such, but I just do not enjoy the 16-20 hour drive. I think driving that far CAN be unsafe (not always) even though I have done it many times. Also when I am going on vacation I like just getting away and not losing 2 days because of travel time.

However I do agree with the original post in regards to having your own car/transportation with you to eat off property a couple times a trip.

 

[Dagger]

We went last month and flew but only because we had only a few days and we only went for a few days to get a honeymoon. I would definitely drive next time because I also like driving and the comforts of having my own vehicle at my own leisure.

Our experience...our plane left NC at 230 so we had arrived at the airport about 1215, we parked in long term parking, hopped a bus which took us to our gate, checked in and were in and through security by 100 so we had nothing to do for 1 hr and 30 mins...we boarded the plane first since we had a child, which was good, but then had to sit there with her and wait for everyone else to board, which made her restless. Thank God she slept but that was a mere miracle, because if she hadn't slept, even on the 1hr and 10 min plane ride, it would've been way too long for a toddler to be confined to that small area.

We arrived in Orland around 350 and it took until 815 to get our luggage, get on a shuttle to go to our rental car place (enterprise i believe) then take the rental car to check in...we wasted 8 hours doing all that whereas we could've left NC just a little before we left from the airport and arrived at the same time. If you take away the cost of gas, which I would put at what? $150 tops, you save about $250 on each ticket and about $200 on a rental car, plus the $20 on long term parking and various other costs! We also were there for such a short time with a packed itinerary that we never used the rental car except to drive to and from the airport, which was a waste of money...we never went off property even when DH forgot to pack (lol) shirts and socks and had to buy super expensive WDW ones :hammer: