Driving from New York......

[Todd L]

I did it once and hated it. It was 15 years ago and With time the memories faded.

We began talking about Driving again and then we spent the weekend driving to northern Vermont for a wedding....Over 1000 miles in a couple of days!!

It wasnt so bad but here i am a day later and im still exhausted!.,

So what do tou do to make the long drive managable??

 

[PhilharMagician]

No worries Phil...I'm kidding of course.

I've been watching Breaking Bad non-stop for the last 3 months so meth jokes are my go to thing right now.

uh huh, sure. I believe you. Breaking Bad? Sure you were. Face the car and put your hands on the hood and spread you legs sir.

 

[Minthorne]

A good supply of crystal meth usually makes that kind of drive manageable.

This. Not for the driver, but to keep the passengers out like a light. A quick stop at Los Pollos Hermanos and it's like a crystal blue sky...

 

[ShookieJones]

This. Not for the driver, but to keep the passengers out like a light. A quick stop at Los Pollos Hermanos and it's like a crystal blue sky...

Good stuff...Great show.

 

[SyracuseDisneyFan]

We drove in 1994, 1999, 2002 and 2004. We'd usually stay in North Carolina or South Carolina overnight on the way down and make the rest of the trip down the next day. When we'd drive back to Syracuse, we'd drive straight through and get home early the next morning.

 

[allgiggles]

We're leaving on Saturday for our 5th drive to Disney World since 2001. We've had 2, 4, or 5 kids with us on each of those trips. We're a little north of Philadelphia so it's about 1000 miles one way for us. We leave home by 6:00 a.m. and stop in Savannah, GA for the night. The next morning we have about a 4.5 hour drive to Disney so we're usually there a little after noon. My husband does all the driving which is his choice. There have been 1-3 other drivers in the car (depending on the trip and which kids were with us) but he won't let any of us drive (he doesn't understand why I don't have to be the first car a line of traffic -- I'm content to be a follower). All of our kids travel very well by car. They have iPods, DVD players, and a few other things that they choose to bring along to keep them occupied. We have small cooler with drinks and everybody packs their own bag of snacks for the trip. We stop every 2-3 hours either just for a rest stop or for a meal (except when the kids were really young -- if they were sleeping we drove until they woke up. ). We usually arrive in Savannah early in the evening so it gives us plenty of time to have dinner, maybe go for a quick swim, and get a good night's sleep. We're on the road by 7:30-8:00 the next morning.

The last time we drove (2011) it cost us about $500 round trip. Gas & tolls were about $300 of that and our hotel rooms were around $100 each night (we typically stay at a Comfort Suites or something similar). We don't add the cost of food to our expenses since we'd have to eat whether we're driving, flying, or sitting at home, so it's not an extra cost (in our book). Also, driving doesn't affect the number of days we stay at Disney. We plan our Disney trip according to our vacation budget and 2 travel days get tacked on each end of it (we're fortunate that my husband gets a lot of vacation days). I looked into flying in 2011 and couldn't touch airfare for the 5 of us for under $1300...and that was before baggage fees and parking costs at the airport. For our family, driving is significantly cheaper than flying.

 

[armyfamilyof5]

Totally agree, save yourself some wear N tear and fly.

I had an 8 hour LATE flight the last I flew from Houton to Orlando, just sitting there in the airport, everything was closed by the time we were told what time the flight would leave and everything in Orlando was closed at 1+am when we arrived, it sucked, the airline gave us all $100 voucher's but it was just not wotrh that voucher....flying is not always as easy as it sounds. Had we been driving I wouldn't have someone on the other end waiting to pick me up and I could have stopped along the way and gotten a meal and a drink. Driving may be time consuming but at least you are the in control of your situation....

 

[DABIGCHEEZ]

Right on....My airfare this year from New york was $1100 for 4 people round trip. It would be AT LEAST that much to drive when you figure in gas, food, hotel, tolls and all that stuff.

But you would have your car to get around the world which is priceless in my eyes. Not a fan of WDW Transportation.
If you are getting rental car then you need to add that to your total.

 

[DVC4bestvacations]

We will be staying at BWV for Christmas. In researching airfare I'm finding prices in the area of $500 each X 4= 2000. I'm sure I can drive for under $1000 even if I stop half way. Thankfully we have flexibility of days off at both ends of our vacation. I do agree that the fastest way possible is preferred. But the savings is too great. I addition there is a benefit of having a car while you are there. We haven't rented a car during our WDW vacations in years

It's been 30 years since the last time I drove to Florida.

Believe me I will be watching airfares closely

 

[Todd L]

But you would have your car to get around the world which is priceless in my eyes. Not a fan of WDW Transportation.
If you are getting rental car then you need to add that to your total.

We go every year and Ive never rented a car once. I just find it so much more enjoyable to not have to drive while we are there.

 

[allgiggles]

We go every year and Ive never rented a car once. I just find it so much more enjoyable to not have to drive while we are there.

We're the same way. Even though we always drive to Disney, once we get to our resort we park the car and don't get in it until we leave (other than to move it to a better parking spot or just to start it a day or so before we leave). We've always had good luck with Disney transportation and even on those rare occasions that we have to wait more than 10 minutes for a bus (usually only at park closing when it's to be expected or when wanting to go to DTD from the GF), we've never wished we had chosen to drive to a park instead of taking a bus. We're just not in that much of a hurry that a few extra minutes on a bus is going to ruin our vacation. We're at Disney World....'nuf said.

 

[AngryEyes]

This'll be my first time driving. All things considered, we'll save about $700 by driving vs. flying for the (roughly) 17-hour trip from Williamsport, PA.

It's going to be a long one, but once we check in at the Polynesian, the kidlets can swim, the wife can have tropical drinks, and I will sleep (around a late dinner at Ohana). I'll be rarin' to go the next day, I'm sure.

 

[AngryEyes]

We're the same way. Even though we always drive to Disney, once we get to our resort we park the car and don't get in it until we leave (other than to move it to a better parking spot or just to start it a day or so before we leave).

I gotta ask. Why are you worrying about what space your car's parked in if you're not using it? Just like bragging rights or something?

 

[allgiggles]

I gotta ask. Why are you worrying about what space your car's parked in if you're not using it? Just like bragging rights or something?

No, just want to be close to the building when we have to load up for the ride home.

 

[PixieDust62]

We also drive down from Baltimore Maryland. it takes about 14 hours. We start at 5:00 am and get there in the evening. DH does all the driving, his choice. I pack breakfast sammiches and lunches and plenty of snacks. We stop every so often to replenish DH's coffee and fill up on gas (it helps that we have a Prius). We stop at South of the Border to walk around and stretch our legs. We prefer having our own car to get around, especially going from home resort to another resort for dinner.

 

[OrderMuppet]

The drive down usually isn't too bad because you're in a good mental place. You're going to WDW! Woohoo! Once you're there, all memories of the drive disappear. The nasty part is the drive back.

There have been 1-3 other drivers in the car (depending on the trip and which kids were with us) but he won't let any of us drive (he doesn't understand why I don't have to be the first car a line of traffic -- I'm content to be a follower).

We drove from the northeast for almost ten straight trips until the year I turned 18 and said "Now *I* can help drive, too!" Dad booked a flight two days later.

Edited to say: Enjoy traveling in your own car as much as you can. Bring food and stretch out. Think about the fact that you can't do that on a plane!

 

[john edward]

I have tried road trip once and that was awesome. That was not about saving the money that was for fun and enjoyment. Me and my two friends we rented a car from http://www.tripntourpackages.com/ we saved money as well. Such kind of adventure plays an important role some time to make your life more memorable.

 

[smk]

I did it once and hated it. It was 15 years ago and With time the memories faded.

We began talking about Driving again and then we spent the weekend driving to northern Vermont for a wedding....Over 1000 miles in a couple of days!!

It wasnt so bad but here i am a day later and im still exhausted!.,

So what do tou do to make the long drive managable??

We do not drive straight thru. It is too much for us anymore. We have about a 16 hour drive so we break it up over two days. One long, one short. We try to get as far south as we can, usually Valdosta and then the next day we have a very short drive. We play games, this year we will take audio books, we take trivia cards and read to each other....boring stuff but we do enjoy it. We also make up stories about the cars around us on the road. Like where they will be staying at WDW, what park they love the most, where they will eat breakfast. Does not matter one bit that we have no idea if they are going to WDW, we pretend they are. Kinda fun. Some stories can grow to be whoppers and some go nowhere fast. It helps pass the miles and hours and beats looking at mile markers!

 

[Todd L]

We do not drive straight thru. It is too much for us anymore. We have about a 16 hour drive so we break it up over two days. One long, one short. We try to get as far south as we can, usually Valdosta and then the next day we have a very short drive. We play games, this year we will take audio books, we take trivia cards and read to each other....boring stuff but we do enjoy it. We also make up stories about the cars around us on the road. Like where they will be staying at WDW, what park they love the most, where they will eat breakfast. Does not matter one bit that we have no idea if they are going to WDW, we pretend they are. Kinda fun. Some stories can grow to be whoppers and some go nowhere fast. It helps pass the miles and hours and beats looking at mile markers!

You make it sound fun!!
Im not good about being able to relax when I have a big drive ahead of me and I suffer from Insomnia so Its usually a bad nights sleep before I drive and I Just cant do it in a weeks time.
We went to a wedding in Vermont this year and I planned on leaving the house by 5a.m. and wound up sleeping until 9....I was up all nighty stressed about the drive. Its awful!!

 

[JillC LI]

Take a plane

I live in NY and I agree wholeheartedly. I can't stand being in a car for more than 6 hours, and by 8 hours I want to jump out of the window. I would hate driving to FL more than I would enjoy the vacation. I'd rather visit Disney less often and fly there than drive there more often.

 

[smk]

You make it sound fun!!
Im not good about being able to relax when I have a big drive ahead of me and I suffer from Insomnia so Its usually a bad nights sleep before I drive and I Just cant do it in a weeks time.
We went to a wedding in Vermont this year and I planned on leaving the house by 5a.m. and wound up sleeping until 9....I was up all nighty stressed about the drive. Its awful!!

We do love to get on the road and drive. Flying is easier for sure but something about road trips just get me excited. When I was a child we always drove to Oregon from Indy to visit relatives, each and every summer. Sometimes we took the train, which was really fun, but most times we drove. I know I get my love of the road from those long rewarding trips. We obviously had to play games back then because there was no such things as TV's in the cars or phones. So I know a ton of car games and my husband plays along just for the fun of it all. When you end up in your happy place, the drive is nothing!