How far would you drive to WDW?

[hwdelien]

I drive from Pittsburgh once or twice a year approx 840 miles for WDW!!! There is me, my wife, and 3 children airfare costs over $2,000 and isn't an option. Plus, I am psychotic! We always go during the school year and leave Friday after school. Drive 1-2 hours and eat dinner. Drive 2-3 more hours and have the kids go to bathroom and change into pajamas. The I drive the remaining 10-12 hours straight through depending when everyone wakes up, we usually stop for breakfast somewhere.

 

[Cubs Brian]

For everybody who prices out the cost of driving, one thing you need to take into account is wear and tear on your vehicle and the decrease in value that the extra miles cause. Thats why if you use a personal car for business, the IRS lets you deduct (i belevel its the current rate) 50.5 cents per mile. That covers fuel, and all the depreciation and maintence. I have found that it is a pretty good swag at what it does cost. I used to work for an engineering firm where we used our own vehicles (a LOT). One guy had a truck that he only used for work, he used to keep track of all his bills and gas for that truck, and actualy depreciate it on his taxes. It was allways withing 10% of the government rate. So if its a 1,000 mile trip one way, you figure that a round trip ends up costing you about $1,000 (plus food and lodging)

-dave

Those facts are a little misleading, first of all those numbers are for TOTAL vehicle expenses which also include registration and insurance. Your car will depreciate in value to a degree whether you put 10,000 miles per year on it or 20,000 miles per year. Depreciation is based more on how old the car is now-days not necessarily the mileage. Yes you do have maintenance costs,oil changes, brakes and tire wear. One thing you have to keep in mind is that the mileage rate for cars went up about 18 months ago when gas started to rise, the adjusted rate at today's rate is about .15 cents lower.

 

[Agent1964fem]

I drove down from Pennsylvania 3 years ago and we did it in one day ...we left 4:00 in the morning and got down to Florida around 8:00 pm and that was stopping for lunch and breakfast.

 

[hcswingfield]

We drive from Birmingham, AL It's a 10 hour drive if you don't stop a lot. For us, the drive is part of the vacation. We take the back roads and enjoy the scenery and the small towns in south Alabama and south Georgia. We listen to Disney music on the car stereo, and plan what we are going to do when we get there. It gives us a chance to de-compress from work, and gets us ready for the parks and the magic.

 

[vxangelkissxv]

Well, living three hours away isn't too bad at all, so driving is really my only mode of transportation to Disney World. One time I took the train, which was a nearly four hour ride, plus another half hour just to get a shuttle into the parks (never again!) But when I was little we lived in Michigan and my family used to pack up the car and off we'd go for months at a time, just cruising across country, until we got to Florida and spent a good week in Disney. I think road trips are something all families should do, you get to see interesting places within your own country, and have a vacation within your vacation :animwink:

 

[dinandmick]

I don't think I could bring myself to drive. We live in Pittsburgh and it would be a 16-18 hour drive, which I don't think would be bad, but the drive home would be horrendous. When vacation is over, I just want to get home!!!

 

[NadieMasK2]

" Would you drive to the ends of the earth?.......Aye!"

We drive it at least once a year, takes about 16 -17 hours. We don't mind the drive at all. With a family of 4 airfare is too expensive. Now once the kids are on their own and it's just the two of us that might be a different story...

 

[disneygirl1024]

Definitely would not drive again. We drove down this past October and that drive was miserable. It took us about 13-14 hours from Northern KY. I would be in WDW in 2 hours flying that 13-14 hours driving.

 

[justducky78]

We live in Chicago so driving would just be too much. If I lived within 8-10 hours drive, I would consider it.

 

[samandwill21]

I drive about 1100 miles from just outside Boston and i think it is worth it. I do fly every now and then and it is very convenient but the cost is always less when i drive. I have made it in one day and I have taken my time and done it in 3 days. To me 2 days works best. One long first day of driving to Georgia or Jacksonville, then polish off the trip on day 2. The hotels are ridiculously cheap in those areas and there are alot of decent food options for dinner and breakfast. Another reason I enjoy driving is the freedom to buy some of your own food and items. We usually make a quick stop at Wal-Mart and get breakfast items, juices and waters. It seems easier to have breakfast in my room than in the parks. Plus if you like Dunkin' Donuts then its a short ride from most of the Disney hotels. I just feel it is cheaper on many levels to drive. I am not a cheap person (even though I sound like one now!) but I personally would rather spend my money on entertaining my family in WDW rather than feeding them 3 expensive meals a day. We like to do the Disney Dining Plan so it works out that we have breakfast in room, then a counter service lunch and then a nice sit down dinner. I use the money I save on food and airfare and get tickets to different events, souvenirs and keepsakes. That is just my opinion though, and noones plan of visiting WDW will ever fit anyone elses. The beauty of it being your vacation is that it is YOUR vacation and you can do what suits you. Thats just my opinion. And yes, I did have a huge cup of coffee before i wrote this.

 

[mikeymouse]

it takes us roughly 1,000 miles

 

[Disney05]

Just got back from a 4hr drive, that was enough for me. If I lived within 6hrs of WDW I would drive. But I can hop on Southwest and in 2hrs I'm there.

 

[Jenna]

Well if they invent a car that travels across water I'm there but until then I think I'll fly from N ire to WDW I'm not sure how many miles can be driven within a time limit but I'd be willing to do about a 20 hour drive...just to visit the happiest place on earth

 

[LoriMistress]

I live in California. It would be cheaper to drive than to drive to WDW.

 

[mousespouse]

My sister, husband and five little children are just now driving home from their Disney trip. Imagine this: 30 hours, 1800 miles, four days of driving just to get here, and Disney smiles the entire time: Priceless!

 

[Cubs Brian]

Another thing to consider. Some posts have said things along the lines of "2-3 hrs and I'm at WDW". How is that possible unless you are flying from Miami or Tampa? Every time I fly the airlines tell you to be there 2hrs before flight, which a lot of time it takes that long to check in at security and at the airline especially if you have baggage to check. Also doesn't it take time to GET TO the airport. We usually have early morning flights so 45 min is our traveling time. Now from O'Hare it's a 3 hr flight. In Orlando you spend at least 30 min waiting for luggage and or transportation to arrive. And lastly unless you take cab or limo it takes about an hour to get to your hotel. So you're talking 6-8 hrs in traveling time when you fly. My 18-20 hr drive is now at only 12 hrs longer. 12-14 extra hrs to save$700.00 to me is worth driving. Sometimes we forget to include all the details when deciding on things like this. I know I do this a lot when debating between the two. but little things like hidden expenses and travel times do add up. Again driving isn't for everyone, but the length of time between flying and driving is not as big as people think.

 

[Phonedave]

Those facts are a little misleading, first of all those numbers are for TOTAL vehicle expenses which also include registration and insurance. Your car will depreciate in value to a degree whether you put 10,000 miles per year on it or 20,000 miles per year. Depreciation is based more on how old the car is now-days not necessarily the mileage. Yes you do have maintenance costs,oil changes, brakes and tire wear. One thing you have to keep in mind is that the mileage rate for cars went up about 18 months ago when gas started to rise, the adjusted rate at today's rate is about .15 cents lower.

Yes, it does take into account things like registration and insurance, however, if you travel to WDW long distances, and do it often, it does have the possibility of effecting your insurance.

And yes, your car will depreciate just due to age alone, but milage is also a factor. Take two identical cars, except one has 25,000 miles and the other 50,000. Which is worth more.

And yes, again gas prices do figure into it.

The point I was trying to make, is that people say, well airline tickets are $800 for my family, and it only costs me $400 in gas to drive. That is an incomplete assesment of the true cost of driving.

-dave

 

[Phonedave]

Hi all,

Thanks for the many responses, I'm the one who started this thread. Just to clarify, I should have phrased my question as "How far would you be willing to drive to get to WDW?"

I realize that some people live close and driving is the only option. Others live overseas and driving is not an option. However, I'd like to know at what point would you say: "Forget it, I'm paying the price of an airlines ticket to get to WDW".

I originally thought my threshold was about 500 miles. I've been to WDW over a dozen times on week-long trips and so the "magic's" pull isn't as strong as it used to be. (Oh my, did I actually write that? :animwink However, I just priced out a trip during the children's spring break in April. Airfare is $529.50 per seat from CT. With 4 children, it's more than $3000 just to fly to WDW! At that price, my "threshold of pain" changes considerably and the 1200-mile drive doesn't sound so bad after all. Looks like I'll be taking off a couple of extra days from work and making only my second drive to WDW. (My first was 25 years ago when I was only 19.)

For comparison, the most we've ever paid for flights was $250 per seat. We've actually made several trips for less than half that so $530 per seat sounds really insane.

I hate to say it, but when airfare hits that price, I just don't go. I live around 2 to 3 hours closer than you (Northeast NJ). Airfare frorm here runs in the same swings. When I go with my kids, there are three of us.

Last year, we wanted to go over spring break. I could get fairly cheap ($100 or so) tickets one way back, but going down they were about $275 one way. I suggested to my kids that we rent a car, drive down, and fly back. My oldest stood there for a second, then said "what are you? crazy, thats like a day in the car" I guess she likes to fly too

-dave

 

[Phonedave]

Another thing to consider. Some posts have said things along the lines of "2-3 hrs and I'm at WDW". How is that possible unless you are flying from Miami or Tampa? Every time I fly the airlines tell you to be there 2hrs before flight, which a lot of time it takes that long to check in at security and at the airline especially if you have baggage to check. Also doesn't it take time to GET TO the airport. We usually have early morning flights so 45 min is our traveling time. Now from O'Hare it's a 3 hr flight. In Orlando you spend at least 30 min waiting for luggage and or transportation to arrive. And lastly unless you take cab or limo it takes about an hour to get to your hotel. So you're talking 6-8 hrs in traveling time when you fly. My 18-20 hr drive is now at only 12 hrs longer. 12-14 extra hrs to save$700.00 to me is worth driving. Sometimes we forget to include all the details when deciding on things like this. I know I do this a lot when debating between the two. but little things like hidden expenses and travel times do add up. Again driving isn't for everyone, but the length of time between flying and driving is not as big as people think.

If leave my house at 6:00 AM I am in my resort lobby at noon(ish) when I fly

Leave at 6;00, airport at 6:30. Flight at 8:30, deplane at 11:00. DME take me an hour +/- 10 minutes from gate to lobby - consistently

If I drove, leaving the same time, I would be at my resort lobby at 6:00 AM the next morning, provided I could stay away 24 hours straight.

If I did drive, I would pass within 200 yards of the runway to at the airport on the way down.


Maybe I am lucky, but even though I get to the airport 2 hours before my flight, I have made it though baggage check in and secuirty in about 30 minutes or less, except once, and that was for a 7:00 AM flight into Dulles. There were a LOT of people for that flight hung up in security. TSA came into the line and pulled us all out and processed us seperately so we would not miss the flight.

-dave

 

[stormer]

We aren't too far from you - Long Island - and we enjoy driving. We leave after dinner and drive throught the night. We make it in time for dnner the following day. Last year we left at 8 PM and were at our hotel at 4 PM the next afternoon, and we stopped for breakfast, lunch, and OJ at the welcome center. It was great. Coming home we take our time and do it in two days. My boys, 7 and 4, even like driving. They say it is like going on an adventure!