Who drives to WDW

[All7OfUs]

Thanks Finally08! My DDad says it should take 10, but I thought more like 12 myself...


Mom of 5

 

[dawz1026]

A 12 hr drive would be so easy....ugh try 20

 

[Dervis]

My Family and I have driven down since 9/11 happened. We live in Northern Pennsylvania, so its a 2 day drive. We usually leave at 10:00pm on the first day, drive through the entire night to avoid Washington DC and Baltimore's rish hours, and stay a night in St. Augustine FL. The drive can be a it tiring, but its the wait before you actually get there that makes it a bit more fun IMO.

 

[AlwaysEeyore]

A 12 hr drive would be so easy....ugh try 20

With a whinning 5 year old.

 

[Dreamer13079]

We have driven and flown and prefer driving. We travel from Southeast Michigan so it takes around 19 hours. We have a 2, 3, and 4 year old so we leave in the evening and then they sleep for most of the trip and when they wake up it is only a couple more hours and we are there.

As a kid, we always drove down so it just feels like part of the trip. It just doesn't feel the same without the drive. When we go in the car, we can also bring whatever we want (no liquid restrictions) and don't have to worry about lugging 3 car seats with us.

 

[HelenePA]

A 12 hr drive would be so easy....ugh try 20

How about 22hr with a 2 yr old, a 5 yr old and a 7yr old Earplugs anyone? I'm scared! but its gonna save us at LEAST 700$ if we drive.. god I still can't believe I'm gonna drive with 3 kids to disney I have to be insane

 

[cyberbox2]

This April husband insists on driving there, he wants to drive straight from Northern Virginia but thinking that might be easier for all to stop in Brunswick Ga for the night and head for WDW early morning.


We also drive down each year from Virginia (Richmond) sometimes twice a year. The four of us have become familiar and comfortable with the drive. It takes us between 11 and 12 hours. If we leave before noon we drive straight through, other wise we will stay in Brunswick Georgia for the night it is a good stopping point for us and not far from the Florida border. We then hit the road early (8am) to get to the resort by noon.

 

[jazzmine]

We are thinking about driving on our upcoming trip, haven't decided yet. DS is going to be three for the trip and I'm not sure that we can all handle it! It would definitely save us money though but I don't know if it's worth it.

 

[dawz1026]

Anyone have a dh who insists on doing ALL the driving? Mine calls me Mrs.Magoo and does not like my driving

 

[agentpleakley]

most recently we drove in December 2007.

1. It is a 12.5 hour drive for us. Since we live 2 hours from the nearest airport -- the last time we flew December 2006 -- it took us (with layover) 11.5 hours to fly.

2. Much cheaper to drive --- cost us approximately $155 in gas roundtrip (Ford Freestyle) compared to approximately $900 to fly (not counting the cost to park our car at the airport for 10 days).

3. We were able to take cases of pop, water, breakfast foods, cooler, Christmas tree & decorations for room, presents for family meeting us there, all 5 of DD's princess dresses, laundry detergent -- well, you get the picture

4. Saved money by taking food with us for drive down - rather than eating in airport.

5. DH did not have panic attack about airline.

6. Kids were entertained by DVD, games, coloring books -- they didn't even realize how long we were in the car-- on the plane, however, littlest one complained and made it very uncomfortable for us as well as the people around us.

We were much more relaxed driving, if that makes any sense at all. We will be driving in the future unless we get an unbelievable deal on flights.

 

[DisneyDadof3]

We got back last week - we are 1060 miles from WDW. It cost us just under $350 to drive down and back - including the miles we drove at WDW. We stay off property and a rental car for our 10 days would have been over $1200 and flights leaving Christmas night or the 26th and leaving on Jan 5th would have cost $1250 plus tax (as cheap as I could ever find it) plus another 80-100 in parking. so the cheapest we could have flown for over break was approximately $2700-$3000 depending on taxes and we drove for $350 plus another $50-75 or so in food plus we could take more stuff with us than flying. No comparison!

 

[chinadoll03]

We (my husband and I) always drive down from Louisville, KY. We usually do it in two legs, but we're pondering a straight-through drive this year at Christmas. We'll see...

 

[druidcat]

Anyone have a dh who insists on doing ALL the driving? Mine calls me Mrs.Magoo and does not like my driving

We're the exact opposite, I won't let dh drive...I'm to much of a control freak, lol

 

[kimberh]

We are only 6.5 hrs away if I-95 is flowing. We always drive... Now, if it is Thanksgiving Sunday, the trip home can be 12 hrs. We said, Never again!!

 

[dawz1026]

flying= ....driving =

 

[SmithFamily2003]

We have driven and flown from St. Louis. We drove with a 20 month old in 2006 and she did wonderful. She either slept, looked out the window or watched the DVD player. I think she handled it better than me. We decided to fly in 2007. Never again! The DD was 2 and half this time. Trying to carry the carry on bags, the car seat for the rental car in Orlando, and keep track of her at the airport gave me a major headache. She didn't want to sit still on the flight. It was worse on the way back. She wanted to sit on my lap, but she had her own seat she had to be buckled into. Trying to get her through security with all of our stuff was a major problem also. We will definetly always drive when the kids are little. If there is a problem with the kids you can always stop. But on an airplane, you can't do alot if they have a meltdown.

 

['OhanaMama]

I am wondering if we should drive or fly in June. Truth be told, I am scared to drive. I'm afraid it will be too much and too long, about 20+ hours total there. We usually fly but the flights are alot more than usual right now and we are spending a week in Sanibel Island afterward. So between flying and a rental car, it seems the driving would be worth it but...... Neither my DH or I can take turns driving straight through so we'll have to stop overnight. So 2 days there and 2 days back, ew, I don't know. Plus I need to figure out the math as far as how much it would cost for gas and hotels. Would there be a BIG difference or not so much of a difference.

Stephanie

 

[torinsmom]

I am wondering if we should drive or fly in June. Truth be told, I am scared to drive. I'm afraid it will be too much and too long, about 20+ hours total there. We usually fly but the flights are alot more than usual right now and we are spending a week in Sanibel Island afterward. So between flying and a rental car, it seems the driving would be worth it but...... Neither my DH or I can take turns driving straight through so we'll have to stop overnight. So 2 days there and 2 days back, ew, I don't know. Plus I need to figure out the math as far as how much it would cost for gas and hotels. Would there be a BIG difference or not so much of a difference.

Stephanie

I would think you would come out about even. I plugged my mini van into that drive(gas trip calculator) and it estimated around $300 round trip for gas. If you're renting a car, add that in. If you're staying at a hotel, guess $50-$60 a night. And food for those days of driving. Then add in losing 2 extra days of work for those traveling days and maybe a day after if you're driving 10 hours that last day. Just add it all up and see what you are willing to "save" by driving. If I was more than a 1 day's drive away, I wouldn't consider driving.

Marsha

 

[dawz1026]

We have driven and flown from St. Louis. We drove with a 20 month old in 2006 and she did wonderful. She either slept, looked out the window or watched the DVD player. I think she handled it better than me. We decided to fly in 2007. Never again! The DD was 2 and half this time. Trying to carry the carry on bags, the car seat for the rental car in Orlando, and keep track of her at the airport gave me a major headache. She didn't want to sit still on the flight. It was worse on the way back. She wanted to sit on my lap, but she had her own seat she had to be buckled into. Trying to get her through security with all of our stuff was a major problem also. We will definetly always drive when the kids are little. If there is a problem with the kids you can always stop. But on an airplane, you can't do alot if they have a meltdown.

That would be the exact situation we anticipated if we flew..Thank U!

 

[jazzmine]

We are planning to give driving a go on our trip down in March/April. We've flown with DS before and I have to admit that while he was a dream on all the flights, it's really a pain in the butt carrying everything through the airport and limiting what we bring with us. I look forward to driving down and taking our own car because we can bring whatever we want with us and do things on our own time table. Granted, it will be a longer time table that flying but hey, we are up for the challenge!!!