Anyone else choosing to drive these days?

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

With how crazy flying has been lately I'm glad my sister and I are driving in a couple weeks especially because my airport has construction going on and apparently it has caused more headaches than usual.

We're from the Buffalo NY area and some people think we are nuts for driving but we grew up driving so its not really that big of a deal to do when we have the time to do it.

Just wondering if anyone else has decided driving may be easier than flying these days?

 

[Raxel7851]

With how crazy flying has been lately I'm glad my sister and I are driving in a couple weeks especially because my airport has construction going on and apparently it has caused more headaches than usual.

We're from the Buffalo NY area and some people think we are nuts for driving but we grew up driving so its not really that big of a deal to do when we have the time to do it.

Just wondering if anyone else has decided driving may be easier than flying these days?

We’ve been driving for a long time now. But we usually make other stops along the way like Savannah and St. Augustine. For a change of pace, we’ll take the Autotrain on the way back. Make sure you stop at a Bucee’s travel stop. The first time I saw those 100 gas pumps I was in Heaven. Of course the baked goods we got were soooooooo Good.

 

[5thGenTexan]

If we have 7 days for the entire trip, using 4 of them to drive seems like a poor use of time .

 

[DisneyMama830]

With how crazy flying has been lately I'm glad my sister and I are driving in a couple weeks especially because my airport has construction going on and apparently it has caused more headaches than usual.

We're from the Buffalo NY area and some people think we are nuts for driving but we grew up driving so its not really that big of a deal to do when we have the time to do it.

Just wondering if anyone else has decided driving may be easier than flying these days?

Fellow Buffalonian here…and the short answer is absolutely. We drove down to WDW last year, and we’re planning to drive on our trip next year as well. I wasn’t sure how my kids (10 & 6) would hold up to their first long road trip, but they loved it and can’t wait to repeat it. We also talked my sister-in-law and her kids into driving last year too, and they liked it so much more that they just drove down to Reddington Beach to stay at a family member’s condo on the Gulf for a week instead of flying.

For several reasons, we always choose to go to WDW in late August, right before school starts. But it does leave the potential for a major headache. My husband works for a local school district and I teach at one of the colleges, so with when we choose to go, we don’t want to run the risk of being stuck in Florida due to airline issues or a hurricane (which almost happened in 2019) because we have to be back for the first day of the school year. Plus, the cost for us to fly last year was absolutely insane. It was way cheaper to drive and grab a hotel room at the halfway point of the journey. Now we’re totally sold on road tripping to WDW.

 

[jaklgreen]

There is no way that I could or would drive. It is a 24 hour drive. I need to stop too often to use the restroom so it would take me hours longer than that. Nope, I get on my direct flight and get there in 3 hours.

 

[Raxel7851]

If we have 7 days for the entire trip, using 4 of them to drive seems like a poor use of time .

I’m with you on that! We’re retired so our situation is quite different. When we were both working we’d always fly.

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

With how crazy flying has been lately I'm glad my sister and I are driving in a couple weeks especially because my airport has construction going on and apparently it has caused more headaches than usual.

We're from the Buffalo NY area and some people think we are nuts for driving but we grew up driving so its not really that big of a deal to do when we have the time to do it.

Just wondering if anyone else has decided driving may be easier than flying these days?

We live in extreme Northern Minnesota, and we had a road trip to Florida planned last fall. We had to cancel it because the entire way down to Florida had severe weather. It was unstable and included tornadoes. So we sadly cancelled our trip. It would have been a long trip but we had a stop in Tn. to visit family and rest a bit. Still, even with that rest, it would have been a LONG trip. We are not young kids anymore and undertaking a trip that long has made us pause. I am all for flying and getting there in a few hours, verses traveling and staying overnite at least 3 nights. My husband wants to drive, so we are still debating

 

[GimpYancIent]

If the travel involves crossing large expanses of water I will fly (after considering a boat trip), but, if there is a road going to the location, I want to go to I will drive.

 

[MissingDisney]

No. Exact opposite. We used to almost always drive. Now...if I can't fly, I'm not going.

By the time we add up the time lost traveling, gas, eating meals round trip, putting a few thousand miles on the vehicle, being exhausted and stiff from the drive, worrying about weather and construction, we really don't save a ton of money and it takes a toll physically.

Jump on a flight and being there in 2-3 hrs....wonderful.


Edited to add: we visit frequently from across the country. Giving up four days out of week or so vacation for travel time doesn't cut it. When we fly, we get a 9 day trip each time.

 

[Lilofan]

For my relatives in VA, drive all the time. For a group of 6 , 2 drivers leave at 12am, arrive 3pm which includes a lunch stop check into resort then start the Disney vacation. Much more cost effective among other things. They noted a large number of NY, NJ, Ontario cars driving I-95S into FL.

 

[DisneyFanatic12]

We drive everywhere. Not that big of a deal, and we prefer being in control. We’ve all flown once or twice (when it was cheaper to fly than drive), but we have never had good experiences flying. Had a long delay and then cancellation experience recently that delayed a trip by over 24 hours! But for most trips, we’ve always driven. Plenty of good gas stations along the road, and there is no pressure of worrying about whether or not the weather, overbooking, or someone calling out of work will cost you a whole lot of stress…

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

There is no way that I could or would drive. It is a 24 hour drive. I need to stop too often to use the restroom so it would take me hours longer than that. Nope, I get on my direct flight and get there in 3 hours.

We stopped at least every 2.5hrs to use the bathroom. It didn't add much longer really. We stopped at a few rest areas but for the most part we stopped at travel centers when we were getting gas or we stopped to get something to eat and went to the bathroom in the restaurant.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Arrived home last night.
really wasn't bad at all.
We left at 6am on Saturday August 5th. Got close to the SC/GA line and stopped at 9pm.
Sunday August 6th we left about 7am and arrived at Disney World at about 12pm.
The way home Thursday August 10th we left Disney World at about 1pm and stopped a little ways into NC at about 10pm.
Friday August 11th we left at about 8:30sm and arrived home at 7:30pm.

 

[jaklgreen]

We stopped at least every 2.5hrs to use the bathroom. It didn't add much longer really. We stopped at a few rest areas but for the most part we stopped at travel centers when we were getting gas or we stopped to get something to eat and went to the bathroom in the restaurant.

I have a medical issue that causes me to use the restroom much more frequently than the average person. I need to have access to a restroom.

 

[mkt]

Yep. We're WDW locals going to North Carolina for Thanksgiving, and we're driving rather than flying.

 

[Lilofan]

Yep. We're WDW locals going to North Carolina for Thanksgiving, and we're driving rather than flying.

Probably get to NC faster. With Thanksgiving airport delays, traffic, rental car waiting in line, baggage claim, etc, driving to Carolina is a smarter move. That tourist trap of South of the Border is for suckers. Pedro says - " you have never seen sausage place".

 

[mkt]

Probably get to NC faster. With Thanksgiving airport delays, traffic, rental car waiting in line, baggage claim, etc, driving to Carolina is a smarter move. That tourist trap of South of the Border is for suckers. Pedro says - " you have never seen sausage place".

Plan with a toddler is day 1 to Savannah GA with a pit stop in Jacksonville FL, day 2 to Asheville with a pit stop in Columbia SC.

 

[Bbeagle]

Just wondering if anyone else has decided driving may be easier than flying these days?

We're from Buffalo too. We went last year Dec 10-24. We drove. It was nice to have a car there.

Buffalo had that 7 feet snowstorm Dec 23. The airport was closed. The only way we were able to get home was driving. Thankfully we did. It was hard to drive with most of the roads closed on Dec 24. But we did - and made it home on Christmas Eve.

We stopped on the way down at the Disney Hilton Head resort In South Carolina. We always love driving as we're able to stop at Buc-ee's. We can also bring much more luggage than the airlines allow, and for free.

 

[Raxel7851]

Probably get to NC faster. With Thanksgiving airport delays, traffic, rental car waiting in line, baggage claim, etc, driving to Carolina is a smarter move. That tourist trap of South of the Border is for suckers. Pedro says - " you have never seen sausage place".

@Lilofan , South of the Border is like a ghost town! It was a happening place years ago. We would stop there and grab a few of those tacky bumper stickers.

 

[Bbeagle]

@Lilofan , South of the Border is like a ghost town! It was a happening place years ago. We would stop there and grab a few of those tacky bumper stickers.

Didn’t those close?