driving vs flying

[mymickeymouse]

Well,here my dd and i are,waffling over whether to drive or fly!we live 15 hours from the magic,so it is quite a drive,but the convenience of having a car cannot be overstated.on the other hand,we can drive 3 hours to dallas and still be in orlando before driving would get us there. A little more expensive than driving, but it would give us an extra evening in the happiest place on earth! What to do,what to do?

[MargaretMessler]

If the extra expense if not tremendous, I would fly instead of drive. Aside from getting into Orlando sooner, you will be less tired than if you had driven 15 hours. Especially if you are doing all the driving yourself (you didn't mention your daughter's age)

[mymickeymouse]

She is 21,can help drive.but neither of is sure we want to drive to dfw and then drive home! but the extra evening in wdw would be nice!

[chefmickey3]

I vote for driving. The time in the car is great for bonding and quality time together. You keep control of when you stop and when you go instead of handing over to the airline which in my opinion do not care about the passengers. The money you save could be a special dinner together or a tour you always wanted to do. We drive with our three kids every year and have really good memories.

[manutd1]

My goodness FLY!! Its safer and after 15 hours of driving.....you'll wish you flew. There is just no comparison.
I have done both....only drove once or twice. If it takes more than 10 hours of driving to get somewhere..........FLY!

[joonyer]

Flying is safer than driving, but with the exception of meals in the road, you can drive a whole carload of people for the same price as you can drive by yourself. Not so with flying. If you have 3 or more people in your family, then flying can get a LOT more expensive than driving. We live relatively close to WDW (5 hour drive) so its far cheaper and not so inconvenient to drive, But if you live farther away, the decision may not be so simple, unless you have the money to spend for airfare no matter what.

For instance, we wanted to take a family vacation (short trip to Las Vegas) to see the Beatles' "Love" at Cirque du Soleil, but the fare from Atlanta was over $2,000 for our family of 4. The gas expense for driving would have only been about $500, a huge difference for us. (We would have had an overnight in-route hotel expense also, probably about $100)

On the other "time is money" as they say, and driving to Vegas would have taken 30 hours on the road (driving time) each way, (plus overnight in a hotel) while flying would only take 4.5 hours. There's no way we could spend 4+ days on the road to spend a only a couple of days in Vegas, so flying made a lot of sense, even though it was much more expensive. We just didn't have the time to take an extended trip.

If you have plenty of time, driving can be a fun way to see the country and enjoy family time together, you know, "half the fun is getting there". But if time is of the essence, then flying is so much more convenient, in spite of the extra cost.

[Cass&KenziesMom]

I live in Opelousas and it's about a 12 hour drive if you don't count stops. We drive straight through. We pack an ice chest so we can make sandwiches and snacks so we don't really have to stop much. Leave around 8:00 at night or midnight is even better that way you don't have to deal with traffic. It is WAY cheaper to drive for us but we have to pay for 4 tickets so I'm sure it wouldn't be that bad for you. We like having our car there.

ETA: We are actually stopping a little over halfway this time because we're taking a detour down to Clearwater.

[cspenc28]

I've driven twice (well once when I was 10, so my parents did the driving and once as an adult splitting the drive with my husband), and have flown to WDW more times than I can count. Our drive is a 13+ hour drive (usually takes us 2 days) versus a 2 hour flight. It all depends on whether you want to spend the time, versus the money. We choose to fly, because we hate traffic, and now we have a small child and he flips out about 4 hours into a drive. We also usually rent a car, so yes, it is more costly, but it works best for us.

[TheVBs]

We're a 16 hour drive away and we always drive. But, there are 4 of us, so the cost savings is much more significant. I used to hate driving and always preferred to fly. However, my experiences flying in the last 5-6 years have seen the "convenience" greatly reduced. The airlines now routinely cancel, delay or change flights. It gets more expensive every year. Due to security measures you now have to get there several hours early and sometimes you still barely make your flight because security lines are insane.

It takes us a day and a half to get to WDW. Do I wish we could get there a little quicker? Yeah. But, I'll happily take that inconvenience over the others. Plus, as someone else mentioned, our schedule is our own. We stop when we want, eat when we want. We don't push ourselves to the point of exhaustion, we pick a decent time to stop driving and get a hotel that first night. We can stop and see sights on the way. Plus, and this is the big one, the cost savings actually allows us to stay longer in Disney than if we fly!

[TheVBs]

Oh! Another thing we love about driving, we bring everything we want and need to (without going crazy). No baggage lines and fees, no dragging bags through airports or competing with other passengers to stuff carry-ons in over head bins, no crush to get to your stuff as soon as the plane lands. We pack one small overnight bag to grab for that first evening in the hotel on the way down. And, on our last day, we leave WDW when we're ready to, not when our plane ticket says we have to.

[eam]

Oh! Another thing we love about driving, we bring everything we want and need to (without going crazy). No baggage lines and fees, no dragging bags through airports or competing with other passengers to stuff carry-ons in over head bins, no crush to get to your stuff as soon as the plane lands. We pack one small overnight bag to grab for that first evening in the hotel on the way down. And, on our last day, we leave WDW when we're ready to, not when our plane ticket says we have to.

These are the exact same reasons we drive. We even do the same thing with the small overnight bag. Great minds think alike.

[CanadianWDWFan]

We are 20 hours away and we almost always drive. Flights for the four of us will run $2000, driving is $500 for gas and $200 for lodging both return prices. I am the only driver so we do a 14 hour drive the first day and then a "Short" drive the next day to arrive at WDW around noon. Great timing since we nearly always get our room. Also as noted before, no extra baggage fees when you drive! While I LOVE flying it is the airport experience that I hate.

[1DisneyNut]

We are about 10-10 1/2 hours drive away. We always drive. I price flying regularly and it will always cost us 4 times as much and does not save any time. We have friends that fly and by the time they drive to the airport, get through security, check in, board, fly, get into the airport, find their bags, catch magical express and finally get to the hotel, we are already there waiting.

[JRocker]

We live about 20 hours out, and much prefer to drive.
For us, being tired upon arrival has never been an issue. Way too pumped up to get tired.

Expense is part of the reason, we actually rented a car a few years ago to drive there and back, and saved money doing so.

Another reason, we do enjoy the journey. We've found some nice spots to hang for a night or two on the way down. I think this year, we'll be dragging along our SUP Paddleboards and staying a day or two on the coast before we scoot on down to the mouse house. Can't do that if we fly.

Convenience is another. We take what we want or feel we need for our long trips, not what TSA, or airline baggage restrictions/costs will allow.

Our vacations are for doing what we want to do, when we want to do it.

[TheVBs]

We live about 20 hours out, and much prefer to drive.
For us, being tired upon arrival has never been an issue. Way too pumped up to get tired.

We usually arrive early afternoon and don't hit the parks that first day. We get settled, enjoy our resort, the pool, get a pizza. Then we wake up refreshed the next day ready to hit the parks. It's the perfect plan for us!

[#1donaldfan]

We are a 12 hour drive away and have done it that way more than our 1:50 minute flight. I choose to fly over driving any day, provided the airfare is reasonable. There is nothing better than grabbing ME and arriving WAY sooner than if we had driven.

[Tank3434]

I'm trying to make the same decision right now for our trip in December altho we also have a 2 and 4 year old to tote along on what would be our 17 hour drive. But it still makes packing so much easier. I go back and forth in my head almost everyday just can't come to a decision. Thank god I still have a lot of time! Just waiting till
It's closer and I can decide what the airfare us and what our savings will actually be and if it's worth the time and energy!

[mandaep]

They both have their advantages and disadvantages.

we live about the same distance as you (ohio) and i have driven twice, flown 5 other times.

Driving is cheaper, especially if you find the right price ticket. it is cheaper if you have to pay for multiple people (if you have kids), but may not be much cheaper if you just have to pay for two tickets or something.

pros of driving

-you don't have to deal with an airport and shuffling around a plane, worrying about losing luggage
-You don't have to deal with other people (which is an advantage for me because i have small kids)
-You don't have to wait for a bus and you can usually park super close to where your room is.
- you can bring more things and you don't have to worry about bringing back too much
-we stayed at pop century and we parked incredibly close to our room
-traffic is usually pretty light around the resort and with gps you can get to each park in 10 minutes or so (we stayed at pop, again). and the drive to each place was so easy (besides downtown disney which traffic around there with the construction was a hot mess).

pros of flying

-you get there a lot quicker.
-you don't end up bringing too much just because you can and get overwhelmed by all the stuff you brought (happened to me last time).
-even if the trip is bothersome (you have a bad seat on the plane) it is over before you know it.
-you have more energy saved up for your trip from not driving long and exhausting hours.
-nowadays more airlines are providing free checked bags to compete.
-disney magical express is rarely slow (in our experience) and you get to watch that awesome video on the bus and sit back and relax.
-your luggage will show up on its own when you fly.

this last trip I was determined to drive bc we had two small kids and this was our first trip with both, and I wasn't sure how it would go. we also had the free dining and were trying to go a super cheap route for our 1st trip w/the kids bc again, we didn't have our expectations too high.

in the future we will fly. it was not worth the exhaustion of driving in a car. I was sick the whole way back and it was late and my husband was tired. when i look back on it, it was probably way more unsafe to drive all that distance especially with kids.

also, we didn't need all that extra stuff we packed. we just didn't. and i ended up spending more time unpacking it and reloading it than i needed to. next time we are keeping it simple for sure. the only thing i worry about this next trip is them crying on a plane and someone else getting mad at us.

[SurferStitch]

DH and I have been driving from NE PA for the past 7-8 years or so. We love having our own schedule, and have made it a tradition to head down a day early and stay either offsite or at a value resort for our first "pre-night". That way we get to our vacation resort bright and early the official first morning to check in, which over the years has gotten us pretty much our pick of room locations.

Total driving time is about 16.5 hours, but we stop for meals (no rushing... we love to hit Cracker Barrels on the way and enjoy a relaxed meal). We stop around Savannah, GA, and stay overnight. We usually get in around 7-8pm, grab dinner, relax in the room, and get a great night's sleep before getting back on the road by 5:30-6am. We are refreshed and ready to hit the road!! We actually find that we are more energized and feel more energetic than after sitting in an airport for several hours before our flight, then crammed into a plane for a couple/few more hours, then grabbing a DME bus.

Like someone else mentioned, we pack an overnight/day bag so we don't have to dig through luggage. No fighting with carry-ons!

We then get to the WDW are by about 11am, and like to hit the outlets for some last minute vaca shopping (I love White House Black Market and always get some great things to wear). We then check in at our "pre-night" resort and then hit Epcot for dinner.

Cost? Well, including gas, food, hotels.... we don't pay any more than if we flew Southwest out of Philly. I've crunched the numbers EVERY year, and we always spend the same or less driving. PLUS, we have our car in WDW, which saves a ton of time when we dine at the resorts. And, we can stay an extra day if we decide, or leave earlier/later on our last day based on how we feel, or how the weather is.

Don't have to pay to ship any purchases home, either... just pack it in the car!!! More savings!

Of course, the drive down is much more exciting than the drive home, but being able to pack how we want, bring food/beer/wine without needing to do a grocery run in Florida, and having flexibility and freedom to come and go as we please... driving is our preference.

Oh yeah... I've also found that since we started driving, I don't get sick anymore!! I almost always caught a cold or a virus on the flights home (not on the way down for some reason), and felt horrible a couple days after we got home... not anymore!

[MouseHouser]

Driving takes its toll on me, and I'm not in bad shape physically. I'm always a day recovering.

Flying can be an inconvenience, but with ME, that's done once you're on the plane.