Driving from Indianapolis, Indiana

todpatcam

todpatcam

Active Member
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!!!
 
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Briangwen7

Briangwen7

Active Member
todpatcam said:
Is that a Priceline deal? Can you specify the times you fly on the site? We don't won't to give up 2 days at the parks by flying in very late in the evenings and then flying out first thing in the morning when we leave. When I first started searching airfare the cheapest flights were those very late arrivals to MCO and very early departures from MCO. I'm sure they have a hard time filling those flights.
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I posted the picture of what it said, check it out! and you tell me. :)
 
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todpatcam

todpatcam

Active Member
Original Poster
Thanks - we've flown the last 4 years for $99.00 each way and we've not found anything even close to that - I think those fares are a thing of the past. Thanks for the spot in GA.
 
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todpatcam

todpatcam

Active Member
Original Poster
Thanks so much!!! The problem with those deals are that the times can be any time between 6am and midnight and you have no idea until after you pay for the airfare. We would drive before taking the chance to possibly lose two days in the parks. Thanks again for the help though - we really appreciate it.
 
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Dad 2 M & M

Dad 2 M & M

Well-Known Member
rob0519 said:
Valdosta, GA is on US75 and just about 4 hours from Orlando.
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When we drove, we always stopped in Lake City Florida.....being from Georgia, we had to make it to Florida for the psychological feeling of being in the same state as Disney.

Valdosta would be perfect for any traveling from Indiana....decent sized metropolis with plenty of fast-food to mid-level dining. Also the likes of Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, etc....
 
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G00fyDad

G00fyDad

Well-Known Member
todpatcam said:
IND - Indianapolis, DAY - Dayton, MDW - Chicago Midway or CMH - Columbus
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You'd drive to Chicago Midway to fly out? I live in Indiana just North of Louisville, KY and I've driven to Chicago. That's still a pretty long haul from Indy just to fly out.

I'd like to drive to WDW one year to save money ($300 in gas versus $1400 in airfare), but we'd be in divorce court before we hit the Georgia border. Ever seen National Lampoon's Vacation? That would be us right after Aunt Edna died. Total freak out.
 
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G00fyDad

G00fyDad

Well-Known Member
Also, keep checking Kayak.com I signed up with TripAdvisor.com to alert me to changing airfares for a round trip from Louisville to Orlando during the month of October and it keeps sending me alerts that the price has risen or dropped. The lowest I think I have seen it so far was $155 per person. However, you have to jump on that price very quick since it will always shoot up within hours.
 
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todpatcam

todpatcam

Active Member
Original Poster
Thanks for all the good advise everyone; I love all of the Vacation movies and hopefully if we end up driving it won't be that bad. There's only three of us and we have the DVD player in the back to keep our son entertained. My son is really bummed about Test Track but that gives us a reason to go back next year - like we really need a reason - lol.

That's about where we are with cost; $300-$400 to drive versus $1,100-$1,400 to fly. With that difference it will be a road-trip for sure. We've flown the last four years for roughly $750 (RT for three) or so which is well worth it but I've not been able to come anywhere even close to that.

We're keeping our fingers crossed that fares might creep down so we can fly - divorce court was thrown at me a few times but all in fun - I think????

Thanks for the Valdosta tip - sounds like a perfect spot to stop for the night.
 
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Zipadeelady

Zipadeelady

Well-Known Member
Our family has driven 3 times from Fort Wayne IN and we always stop around Cordele. There are some nice hotels in that area. When we head out the next day we usually arrive at Disney in 4-5 hours.

Looks like your trip is real soon...Have a magical time!!
 
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Tinkerbell 8

Tinkerbell 8

Well-Known Member
My DH and I usually drive from Philly to Disney and we try to make it fun. Granted we don't have a kid with us, but we bring our dog so its similar to a kid. We actually enjoy the drive because A it saves us a TON of money, B you can bring food, more suitcases, and not have to worry about trying to pack the stuff you end up buying in Disney, and C if you think about it, its not really taking much more time than flying because you have to get to the airport so early for security, then you sit on the runway to wait for other planes to take off, your flight can be delayed or cancelled, then you have to wait for your bags once you get to the airport and then wait for transportation to the hotel. It takes us 14 hours to drive from Philly, we usually leave mid afternoon and arrive bright and early in Disney. Our room is never ready so we take a nap in the car in the parking lot for a few hours then hit the parks. Its also nice being able to leave Disney whenever we want on our last day. If you do end up driving, just try to do some fun things along the way, we have written down funny city names that we pass on 95, all the state license plates we see, we bring along a DVD player just incase.
 
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caslers

caslers

Member
We will be making the drive from just north of Indy starting on Oct 17. We will drive to around Atlanta the 1st night then on to Orlando the next morning. :) Valdosta is a good place to stop if you only want 4-5 hours to drive the next day, we are leaving after work so we don't think we can make it all the way to Valdosta the 1st night. Maybe we will see you there! Have a safe trip!
 
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davidc1578

davidc1578

Member
We are driving down from Indianapolis this Friday! Last time we stopped in Valdosta and it was a great spot. Were able to make it to Disney before lunch the next day. This time we are leaving after school lets out so I am not sure where we will stop. I would like to get past Atlanta but I don't know how late I will feel like driving.
 
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todpatcam

todpatcam

Active Member
Original Poster
Zipitidoda said:
Our family has driven 3 times from Fort Wayne IN and we always stop around Cordele. There are some nice hotels in that area. When we head out the next day we usually arrive at Disney in 4-5 hours.

Looks like your trip is real soon...Have a magical time!!
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Thanks so much!!! We can't wait to get there :)
 
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smk

smk

Well-Known Member
todpatcam said:
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!!!
Click to expand...
 
Upvote 0
smk

smk

Well-Known Member
davidc1578 said:
We are driving down from Indianapolis this Friday! Last time we stopped in Valdosta and it was a great spot. Were able to make it to Disney before lunch the next day. This time we are leaving after school lets out so I am not sureP where we will stop. I would like to get past Atlanta but I don't know how late I will feel like driving.
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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! :)
 
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