Driving to Disney... to drive or not to drive, that is the question!?!

bubbles1812

bubbles1812

Well-Known Member
We drove the first time... I was 7 and my brothers were 5 and 3. 21 hours without stops (and more with) of sitting on your butt is not fun. Everyone ends up cranky and exhausted because cars arent exactly conducive to sleep. Even as a 7 year old I can remember feeling like a lump of lard after getting there. I don't find driving long distances fun. In fact, it sucks. And also eats into vacation time.

Sometimes it's not about the destination but the journey...with WDW it is all about the destination. We never drove again, and no one in my family has any regrets about that.
 
disneysince71

disneysince71

Well-Known Member
Things are different now though... A couple months ago we drove 12 hours to New York, and between cell phones, ipods, and the DVD player (Thanks to Red Box) we had NO complaints the entire trip... except for poor DH who had to drive the entire time... :)
 
bubbles1812

bubbles1812

Well-Known Member
disneysince71 said:
Things are different now though... A couple months ago we drove 12 hours to New York, and between cell phones, ipods, and the DVD player (Thanks to Red Box) we had NO complaints the entire trip... except for poor DH who had to drive the entire time... :)
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Good lord, you made him drive the whole time? Lol. I'd be willing to drive half before saying no more... Things have changed in a way. But at the same time, they haven't. Mean when I was little there was coloring, and books, and yes, even the DVD player. Music has also always been available whether it is in tape cassette, cd, or iPod form. There have always been things to distract kids in existence. But you are still in your car for a freaking long time, not able to exercise or even get up and walk, without fresh air. Sorry, just think long distance driving sucks most times. I have had one vacation where I was glad we drove because its whole purpose was so we could see the country. But again, most vacations are about the destination... And if you've seen one corn field you've seen them all.
 
disneysince71

disneysince71

Well-Known Member
bubbles1812 said:
Good lord, you made him drive the whole time? Lol. I'd be willing to drive half before saying no more... Things have changed in a way. But at the same time, they haven't. Mean when I was little there was coloring, and books, and yes, even the DVD player. Music has also always been available whether it is in tape cassette, cd, or iPod form. There have always been things to distract kids in existence. But you are still in your car for a freaking long time, not able to exercise or even get up and walk, without fresh air. Sorry, just think long distance driving sucks most times. I have had one vacation where I was glad we drove because its whole purpose was so we could see the country. But again, most vacations are about the destination... And if you've seen one corn field you've seen them all.
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My kids are 19.17.15 and 10 now... when they where little it was a lot harder... but we always leave in the middle of the night so they sleep through most of it. And yes I do drive also... I just did not on that particular trip.... :)
 
I_heart_Tigger

I_heart_Tigger

Well-Known Member
I've driven twice from Nova Scotia and it's about 30 hours of driving time though we usually have stops to turn it into a 2-3 day trip.

It's tough for flying too though since flight prices from Canada are grossly overpriced compared to the US. I have driven to Boston to save myself a few hundred in flights before. Just to give an idea this year I'm paying $590 return for flights and that's with an industry discount, last year I paid over $800.
 
WLBound

WLBound

Well-Known Member
We're driving down from PA in September. The drive down isn't so bad because we're too excited. The drive home is another story. We might take the Auto Train home again this year which allows us to get up and walk around and break up the monotony of I-95.
 
Monkee Girl

Monkee Girl

Well-Known Member
alissafalco said:
How far is too far to drive to WDW? How far have you driven from? Is it really worth saving the air fare? I'm from the northeast and Google says it would take me about 17 hours to drive. Unless you're an RV family and into the journey as part of your vacation, I don't see that as practical. "Save up and fly right", that's my motto! What's your opinion?
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I have done both and I prefer to fly. What takes me 2 days (or 18 hours non stop) could take me 2.5 hours! lol

However, my aunt won't fly, she refuses to and prefers the drive. And I won't let her go alone so half my family will fly and the 2 of us drive. Saves me a couple hundred dollars and I get bonding time with my aunt before the non stop fun starts. She drives straight through too, I don't know how she does it. lol

I leave in 2 days can't wait!
 
HouCuseChickie

HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
Much of it depends on duration of trip and price of air for us. I prefer to fly, but sometimes (often) the cost of air makes it impossible. Southwest and United are playing cruel jokes with the price of air from Houston. It costs on avg $200 less to fly from Dallas r/t...yet that plane stops in Houston...still we get the jacked up cost even though less jet fuel is burned...and we're a freaking hub. Avg r/t air from Houston is around $415pp (adds up for a family) and SW and United rarely include the FL destinations for us in their fare sales. Needless to say, I'm pretty ticked off about it. Every now and then I'll get really lucky and a fare around $250 will become available for us at the time that we need it, but most times we're not so lucky.

Still, we drove quite a bit from NJ when I was a kid...so driving from Houston is a no brainer for us when air prices are crazy and we have a little extra time to burn for the drive time. DVDs, video games, coloring, and other activites make it a breeze for the kids. And truthfully, if it came down to method of travel vs. trip stuff...I'd rather have a deluxe hotel and extra TS meals over air travel...but that's just me. :)
 
Goofyernmost

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
disneysince71 said:
Things are different now though... A couple months ago we drove 12 hours to New York, and between cell phones, ipods, and the DVD player (Thanks to Red Box) we had NO complaints the entire trip... except for poor DH who had to drive the entire time... :)
Click to expand...
Our first trip in 83, my girls were 7 & 9. Their grandparents bought them these cute little satchels (which they still have, btw) that were about 12'' X 14" X 4". In there they had some puzzle books, some regular books, a Walkman and, if I remember correctly, some Barbie's. That was it. The trip down was a lot different then it is today. It was still I-95 most of the way, but it wasn't near as developed as it is now. I tried to point out cotton fields and tobacco drying sheds and the occasional abandoned share croppers cabin, but with no luck. They showed an incredible lack of interest in anything along the way. They were quiet though and that helped to not be overly stressful. On the way back, we almost constantly sang "Now is the Time" from CoP to the point that their Mother was thinking that it was time for separate transportation. :D Between lengthy segments of song, we played a version of Trivial Pursuit. No board, they just read the questions and we would see who knew the answers. The time really went by fast while we were doing that.

As you can see, there was absolutely no high tech gadgets in the vehicle at all. No DVD's, no Ipods, no cell phones (not really usable back then) and yet they somehow managed to survive. Who knew that was possible? I usually drove all the way because my wife was afraid to drive in traffic areas, which translated to anything outside of Vermont. :rolleyes:

Good Times! (actually) :)
 

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