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

George

George

Liker of Things
Premium Member
One tip, which I've mentioned before..is don't try off-road skateboarding if you have to go a good distance. It may look more direct on a map, but it took me 4.5 months from central Indiana. Plus, I eventually ditched both of the heavy trunks I was carrying. By eventually, I mean within the first 10 minutes. You'll have good anecdotes, but people can only tolerate so many fighting off the wild hogs and coyotes at night stories. Plus, no one, and I mean no one (except for those Animal Planet dorks) will believe you spent two weeks traveling with a newfound sasquatch friend.
 
donaldtoo

donaldtoo

Well-Known Member
Goofyernmost said:
Nope...you take 19 ish'es from the 22 ish'es you said that driving takes and you get 3 ish'es and the perfect time via plane. :D Man, I'm sure glad that I paid attention in Ish class when I was in school. Had that class every Wednesday instead of gym.:)
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So, you were talking about "ish hrs." and I was talking about the uses of the term "ish" in my post...? Thus, the confusal.
Wow. Was this a complete waste of thread space, or what...?!?! :confused:
BTW...I took drafting/design instead of ish class or gym...
 
zero creativity

zero creativity

Active Member
We live in Virginia about 800 miles away and it takes somewhere around 12-13 hrs if we were to drive straight. There are four of us, 2 adults and 2 kids and air fare is just too expensive. We figured that if we stop at a hotel about halfway down and on the way back with gas we spend somewere around 500. Flying would be a bare minimum of about $1000. And the last time we flew the flight was 2 hours but with travel to and from the airport, waiting for magical express and everything else it ended up taking about 8 hours door to door. For us it just makes better sense to drive, and it saves a lot of money.
 
M

merry68

Active Member
We live in Western PA.. so it's a 2.5hr drive to Pitt airport, then a direct 2hr flight to MCO. OR, a long 1100 mile drive one way, which is done in 17-18hrs depending on traffic and route taken. We did the drive 2yrs ago, when we went down the Wed before Thanksgiving and stayed for over 10days. We did make it down in 17hrs straight, and because we got in early, just found a room in Downtown Disney and slept since we got into Orlando sooner than our resort reservation. On way home, we did take 2 days to come home because we got such a late start on our last WDW day.

It was a good experience, we can say we drove to Disney, but I don't think we will do it anytime soon.

Either way, do what works best for you and your family... it will get you to Disney one way or the other!
 
PhotoDave219

PhotoDave219

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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Well, seeing as its only 20 miles, the PeterCopter isnt practical anymore....
 
Goofygirl07

Goofygirl07

Active Member
Kristamouse said:
We drive from Kentucky, about 14 hours with stops. We drove before and after kids, plane money=longer WDW stay. Our local airport is CVG (NKY/Cincy) is very expensive. Driving to a cheaper airport means layover in ATL aka h*ll on earth and most likely a delay. DH and I travel alone and by plane for his work conference once a year, we always have a significant delay/cancleation. Last July we spent 18 hours in ATL and had to corridnate a new sitter for our kids at home via phone. Can not imange how ed I would be if we were a. Missing 18 hours of WDW or B.my passel of children stuck for 18 hours in any airport. Truthfully we don't mind the drive, DH and I listen to books along the way. He never reads and I always do so it is nice for us to discuss the book for a change than me just drone on and on about what I am reading. Now that we have four kids and one on the way flying is not an option. Cost is an issue but in all honesty I don't want to sit next to my own kids in the plane much less ask strangers too. We did fly to Naples FL last May and the kids did great but the stress of security with 4 kids, 4 car sets, a stroller and two carry on bags was enough to make us hold off on any more plane adventures until the car seats and strollers are not an issue. The kids see the drive as part of the trip and enjoy getting unlimited screen time on the DVD player and I pads...that never happens at home.
Like I said first I see plane tickets as extra WDW days.
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My husband and I drive every time from Louisville. We will stay the night somewhere in the middle of GA. But I have flown in the past when I was forced to (very scared to fly) and it only took about 2 hours without stops!
 
okw2006

okw2006

Active 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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We drove always since we are only 7 hrs out until Southwest started flying non stop from Panama City to Orlando a couple of years ago really cheap. $60 or $70 one way. But, as of Jan 1, 2013 they no longer do the nonstop flight and you have to go to Nashville, Tn first then Orlando. Takes about 5 hours total time so we are back to driving again.
 
R

RedBaron

Active Member
I have done both, but I still prefer to drive. I am not a happy flier and I enjoy the scenery. My husband likes a road trip too and it takes us about 17 hours, but we stop for the night. The last time I checked it would cost my family of 4 roughly $1600 to fly and I think that is just outrageous. The last time I flew, we got to the airport at 5:00 am. for a 7:00 flight and it was canceled. By the time they booked us on another flight and other delays we got to Disney just in time for dinner. I was not happy. Getting ready to drive again in August. :)
 
allgiggles

allgiggles

Well-Known Member
We always drive from just north of Philly. We leave at about 6:00 a.m. and drive to Savannah, GA the first day -- usually arriving there by 7:00 p.m. We make a few bathroom stops and a lunch stop along the way. We get a good night's sleep and try to be on the road by 8:00 a.m. the next morning and arrive at Disney by 1:00 or so.

My husband hates to fly -- always has. He has to fly on business a few times a year and gets so stressed about it that I don't want him to fly on vacation. Our kids travel well so it's not a big deal to drive. When we went in 2011, I looked into flights (just for the fun of it -- and to see if it would be close to the cost of driving though in reality, it's not the cost of flying that makes us choose driving) and for the five of us with tickets, baggage fees, and parking for the car at the airport, we were looking at almost $2,000. Our total cost for driving (gas, tolls, and hotel rooms) was $535. No comparison. Fortunately, my husband has a lot of vacation time that he has to take each year, so adding a few days to our vacation to allow for driving time doesn't cut into our Disney time.

I also like being able to pack whatever I want to and not having to worry about what we decide to buy while we're down there. For us, the drive is part of the vacation.
 
DebDeb

DebDeb

Well-Known Member
DfromATX said:
Where from in TX? We're in Austin, there's 6 of us, and we also have a comfy Suburban, but I don't think I could handle it lol!
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We are in the DFW area. We flew the first time we took our girls when they were 6 aInd 8, and 2 of the 3 got so air sick! It was the longest, shortest flight! On the flight back they split us up, the lady sitting by my girls was nice enough to change seats with me when I told her "I hope they are good and dont throw up on you!"She was suddenly more than happy to change seats with me! But that was way back in 99 when you could switch seats! Our girls are grown now, but still look so foward to our trip! We've grown to love the road trip! We have been blessed to be able to take extra time and see the sights on the way. You have room to take your own snacks and Dr. Pepper! LOL! We feel like you get cheated out of the days you fly in and out! Kinda wasted days It's always a special memory to close down the park on your last night and load up the next morning and head west!! You can do it! Bring their favorite movies, games, Ipod! Plan to stop and see the battle ship! Most states on the way have great rest areas and clean bathrooms! Go for it!Your kids would love it!
 
cfry06

cfry06

Well-Known Member
Typically we fly. Love the early flight from PHL that lands us in MCO by 9 am and parks by lunch! We actually will be driving for the first time this June. Multiple trips this year (flying two trips, driving one) PLUS the new addition to our household (diesel VW Passat) made it hard for us not to try driving. While it will take us 17 hrs, with the gas mileage we've been getting on the car, it should only cost us $250 or less in gas round trip. We will save a ton on airfare for one trip.

I believe we will still be primarily flying in the future though. I don't like the idea of giving up park time for drive time! But who knows-we'll see!
 
koryadams

koryadams

Active Member
My family has never flown to WDW. we live in Central Ohio and have gone almost every year since I was 2 (and my parents and grandparents drove many times before that) it is cheaper than flying still and I like going through the states and then having a vehicle without having to rent one when we are there. Although it is 17-19 hours on the road, we leave at midnight and get there at check-in time (4-5pm)
 
Gabe1

Gabe1

Ivory Tower Squabble EST 2011. WINDMILL SURVIVOR
We took a road trip from Northern IL to Oxford,Ohio, the first with my 18 month DS, he was the ring bearer in my Sis's wedding, it took about 7 hours with one stop. That was the first and only road trip my family ever took. That is why God invented us airplanes. ;)
 
jonabyte

jonabyte

Active Member
We usually drive, it's 20 hours by I-75 - I enjoy driving and it gets me time to wind down before starting the disney rush. On the way back I can start thinking about what I will be doing when I get back.
Overall I feel its less rushed of a trip - but tiring by the end of the drive.
 

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