Driving from Indianapolis, Indiana

[todpatcam]

Well it looks like airfare will not be dropping for our mid-October trip so we will be driving this year. Map Quest says 16 hours but that doesn't take into account the weak bladders in my family .

Couple of question to you traveling experts:

1) Is it common for airfare to drop at all when you are only 20 days out or are the lowest fares gone for good? We are not able to be flexible with our dates so we're stuck with a Sat / Sat travel days.

2) If it ends up being a road trip from Indy; where is a good stopping point in the trip to only have about 4 hours left after a lay over after the first day of driving?

Thanks to all that can provide any guidance for a first time road trip to the most wonderful place in the world!!!

 

[todpatcam]

We just came home, drove down. Took 16 to 17 hours. Valdosta is about 12 hours from Indy. Exit 16 has a lot of good hotel options. Takes 4 hours to get to WDW from exit 16. I74 to I75, no construction, gas prices 3.59 to 3.69, lots of police around Atlanta. Get in the HOV lane in Atlanta and stay there, straight thru, no problem. Have fun, we sure did!

Awesome - this will only be our 5th trip to WDW but we've fallen in love with all thing Disney. Thanks so much for the info; we are all set for the drive (first time driving) and will be staying in Valdosta. We're hoping to get a Priceline deal on a room there. Glad to hear you had a great time. Thanks again!!!

 

[Figment2005]

I will be making the exact same drive on October 26. I'm from Shelbyville so the distance is close. But since this is a solo trip, my plan is to leg it the whole distance so I don't have to drag it out.

 

[todpatcam]

I will be making the exact same drive on October 26. I'm from Shelbyville so the distance is close. But since this is a solo trip, my plan is to leg it the whole distance so I don't have to drag it out.

I know Shelbyville is a pretty big town but would you happened to know; Kathy Heistand, Judy Elkins or Alan Curson? I work with these folks and they are all from Shelbyville.

I hope you have a save drive to WDW and a great vacation in the best place in the world

 

[Cosmic Commando]

It's not right for everybody, but I'll just throw this out there: drive straight through! Last October, my wife and I drove to the World from Buffalo straight through. That's 1200 miles, versus 973 from Indianapolis on Google Maps. You could leave right after work on Friday and be in Orlando in time for lunch on Saturday! Leaving in the evening is good for the kids: your son will be in the car for a few hours, and then around the time he gets sick of it, he'll be out for the night. Then you've got 10-12 hours with no bathroom breaks, no problems or distractions from the back seat. In your case, by the time your son woke up in the morning, you could easily be 3-4 hours or less from WDW! No traffic in the middle of the night AND you save that money for the hotel.

Our trip: We hit the road around 6 PM on a Friday. I tried to go to sleep right away, but it took me about 45 mins. I took over for my wife when she got tired around 12-1 AM. Had some pop for caffeine, some snacks within arms' reach, and some good music and it really wasn't bad. 90% of our problems were during the 30% of the trip that the kids were awake. We got to Pop Century around 2:30 in the afternoon doing about 5MPH over the speed limit (it adds up over long distances!).

 

[Figment2005]

I know Shelbyville is a pretty big town but would you happened to know; Kathy Heistand, Judy Elkins or Alan Curson? I work with these folks and they are all from Shelbyville.

I hope you have a save drive to WDW and a great vacation in the best place in the world

can'
I don't think I do, but don't take my word on that. I'm horrible with names so I might and not realize it.

 

[tecowdw]

Sadly, most of the times once you are within 21 days of departures fares will begin to increase substantially. I find that 3-4 months out is when I've found the best fares. The occasional airfare war might change that up a bit but I've seen less and less of those. Some of the airlines offer last minute (i.e. for the upcoming weekend) fares out of big cities but those aren't very conducive for family trips.

It is sad that airlines have been pricing families out of the market over the last few years as fares rise. I use to be able to easily secure RT tickets in the $200-$250 range 2-3 years ago and now they are never under $300 - usually over $350 for the majors.