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

[disneysince71]

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. 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 X was afraid to drive in traffic areas, which translated to anything outside of Vermont.

Good Times! (actually)

I bet those where great!
When I see Moms or Dads stressed with there little ones... I just want to tell them... love this part it just goes by way to fast!!!

 

[Goofyernmost]

I bet those where great!
When I see Moms or Dads stressed with there little ones... I just want to tell them... love this part it just goes by way to fast!!!

When you consider my little ones are now 37 & 39 years old...I cannot tell you how fast that went by. On the plus side I have grandkids that are 13, 11, 10 and 15 months. It all starts again.

 

[disneysince71]

When you consider mine little ones are now 37 & 39 years old...I cannot tell you how fast that went by. On the plus side I have grandkids that are 13, 11, 10 and 15 months. It all starts again.

I love it!

 

[Bloopers]

I think if you have a few drivers and can switch up every few hours, it wouldn't be too bad. Seem like it would be a pain for one person to drive 17 hours straight though.

 

[diznyboyz]

Every year we (family of 5) drive 18 hours straight thru, stopping only to gas up and use the restrooms. I pack food. DH does all the driving and loves it. It's great to have the car there (instead of Disney transportation) and the ability to pack water and breakfast food.

Our drive not so long. From Louisiana, my husband drives the whole way totalling 13 hours. Stop for bathroom breaks and stretch legs. Bring sandwiches with us. Although we still use the disney transportation. We love the fact that once we park at the resort, we don't get into our car until we leave!! 59 days and counting!!!! (Family of 5, also)

 

[Bethypoo]

I usually drive the 8-9 hours, but have decided this year to fly. It's an hour and a half flight and it doesn't cost much more than driving.

 

[emcclay]

My best friend and I drove down last year from CT. It was nice to do it once. But, there really is not much to see on 95. If you plan to stop overnight in the northern Virginia area, I would recommend booking a reservation ahead of time. We were screwed out of staying anywhere in the area of the Auto Train - everywhere was booked. Personally, flying makes more sense. You get there quicker! Plus, no offense to anyone from the following states, BUT North and South Carolina were very boring to drive through.

 

[PUSH]

Is it sad that I envy people who have a 12 or less hour drive?

 

[Britt]

Is it sad that I envy people who have a 12 or less hour drive?

Right?? It would save us sooooo much money to drive! Driving from here, 31 hours, gas, food, hotels overnights, plus a rental car (no way am I putting that mileage on my car!), it would be the same as flying.

Living closer would save us so much money!

 

[myhappyplace]

Being from PA, I always flew. Now that I've relocated to GA, fiance and I will be making my first driving-to-WDW trip in October! Looking forward to the experience

 

[I_heart_Tigger]

Is it sad that I envy people who have a 12 or less hour drive?

Right there with you! I would be there every other weekend if I were that close.

 

[PUSH]

Right?? It would save us sooooo much money to drive! Driving from here, 31 hours, gas, food, hotels overnights, plus a rental car (no way am I putting that mileage on my car!), it would be the same as flying.

Living closer would save us so much money!

I live about 10 hours closer than you. It's cheaper for us to drive and stay overnight than it is to fly. Sometimes we just drive straight through and save even more. As for food, we usually get breakfast in the car. If we stay overnight, we'll grab their free breakfast. Lunch and dinner usually come from fast food so we can get out and stretch a bit.

We always take our own car down. It's just so expensive to rent one. The mileage does suck, but we are willing to take that sacrifice for Disney!

 

[Raven66]

We are driving this time.We have flown every trip in between. I believe my husband said it was about 14 hrs. We will be staying outside the park the first night so we can be rested and ready to go go go! The first time we took our daughter she was 5. The perks of being an only child is she got the whole back seat to herself. We took so much stuff to make sure she was occupied. The trip was great. She did wonderful. This trip she is 16 and we are also taking a friend of hers also 16. I'm guessing I'm going to need a xanax to get thru this trip.

 

[Mrsdonaldduck]

We are an 18 hr drive from Disney. This past year we tried driving and we
Loved it! We are a family of 5 and it was so enjoyable to drive. We could leave whence ever we wanted, we were on our schedule not the airlines, no airport security, and no limit to what we could pack. We broke up the trip in SC. We will be driving again this year

 

[Cosmic Commando]

Is it sad that I envy people who have a 12 or less hour drive?

Right?? It would save us sooooo much money to drive! Driving from here, 31 hours, gas, food, hotels overnights, plus a rental car (no way am I putting that mileage on my car!), it would be the same as flying.

Living closer would save us so much money!

12 hours is like a Sunday drive! We're about 20 hours driving away from Buffalo to WDW. We had always flown, but drove our last trip to save money. We drove straight through with two kids in back and loved it! As long as you have two or more drivers, I don't think it's too bad. One of us slept while the other drove, mostly.

 

[FettFan]

I enjoy the 13-hour drive from Baton Rouge to Orlando. So many sights to see along the way....the Mobile Tunnel, the USS Alabama, the Florida Visitors Welcome Center with the big jet out front, the orange trees, etc.

Oh...and I once got 40 miles per gallon in my old Kia Spectra just from setting the cruise control and coasting along the hills between Pensacola and Lake City.


EDIT -- I've also developed a strange affinity for the el-cheapo vending machine coffee at each of Florida's rest areas. Fifty cents and still it tastes better than the big name chain coffee places.

 

[Susan Savia]

We always drive, doing 8 hours the first day and 7 the second. The time goes by quickly listening to Disney music, sirrus radio and periodic stops like in Daytona Beach.

 

[cowanfamily]

7 1/2 hours. Nice drive!

 

[Alison1975]

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?

We normally drive.. 1289 miles each way.. unless i can get airfare for under $100 each person each way its just cheaper to drive.. this year we got 5 round trip airfares for $949 bucks..so flying it is..but we LOVE the drive.. its an adventure!

 

[Alison1975]

wanted to add.. between tolls and gas and wear and tear on my van and food along the way (we drive straight thru) it ends up costing us about $650/700 to drive.. so flying is still more expensive... but this time we felt the $250-300 more was worth it. Its just the 5 of us this time, we learned that with FD in Sept we dont need to bring as much water, food etc with us as we did when we went in Aug. We also feel its one very good way to limit the spending..no van to load up with stuff.. has to fit in our luggage to bring it back..lol had I not been able to get $95 each way we would be driving instead though.