Driving to WDW Vacation Planning Tips & Tricks Discuss Driving to WDW in the Vacation Planning forums; My wife is trying to get me to drive to the World this year. We have always flown. The thought of driving 18-20 hours makes me queezy. Being a pilot, ...

[Disney05]

My wife is trying to get me to drive to the World this year. We have always flown. The thought of driving 18-20 hours makes me queezy. Being a pilot, flying is for me. Can't beat a 2hr flight. I can get Southwest tix for about $720 for the 4 of us. Can anyone give me some really good reasons to drive? I'm 99% against it but there is still that 1%

[mrklig]

For that price, you would spend just as much on gas! I have done both and I would fly every time if I can. Is there some things that she wants to do on the way down or back? I would suggest that if not, flying would be better. The drive down is not bad, but the drive back is a horrible nightmare.

[Disney05]

Originally Posted by mrklig

For that price, you would spend just as much on gas! I have done both and I would fly every time if I can. Is there some things that she wants to do on the way down or back? I would suggest that if not, flying would be better. The drive down is not bad, but the drive back is a horrible nightmare.

She thinks we'll save more money driving. Figure gas and one night at a hotel on the way down.

[NC_WDW_Daddy]

Ellen, getting there is half the fun. Who want to to see the second biggest ball of twine? Seriously, we drive because we live in NC and stay at a vacation home off-site, but I would fly if I lived further away.

[zippitydoodah]

I live near Toronto and we always drive. On the odd occasion that I have gone with only one other person we've flown because its cheaper, but with 4-7 people per van (there can be up to 30 of us on one trip haha), its MUCH cheaper to drive. Also, when I fly with just the one friend we drive to Buffalo (2-3 hours) and then fly from there so we don't have to pay the international taxes, and then we have no problem leaving at 6am and doing 2 or 3 layovers and so we can get REALLY cheap flights. For my parents and my smaller cousins this isn't really doable and it would be very pricey to fly straight from Toronto.

I really don't mind driving at all... my aunt and uncle do it with their 5 small children and the kids are always fine and well-behaved. We bring dvd players and watch movies, and make sure we have a nice dinner when we stop for the night. If for some reason the kids are acting out, you're not disturbing a plane fill of people and you can just stop at the next exit and get them out and have a break. Also since this is our 11th year driving in a row we have rituals and the same places we stop (although we will try out new things too)... everyone loves the drive and no one has ever opted out to fly. When you get there you have your own car/van and don't have to worry about the kids messing it up and everything you need is in it
If you are going into it thinking and knowing that you'll hate it though, you for sure will... and you obviously aren't someone that likes driving, and lots of people in our family LOVE it and could drive for days and be happy.

[FormerFigmentCP]

I love driving and almost never fly...From NJ the drive is about 18 hours and we probably only fill up the gas 3 times each way...that's less than $200 in gas. When you drive, you don't have to rent a car or worry about waiting for a crowded bus. You can pack whatever you want, including food so yousave money on breakfast and snacks, etc while you're there. You can leave when you want and never have to worry about missing a flight or lost luggage...i hope those are enough!

[disneycrazy1956]

We've driven 3 times and flown down 9 times from Delaware. We drove in the summer of 2008 and our average price for a gallon of gas was $3.95. I spent about $250 on gas round trip in a honda accord. We averaged almost 33 miles per gallon. We couldn't find any cheap flights that year and we don't mind the long drive. My DW and I switch off every few hours and we make it from Delaware to Deltona, Florida in about 15 hours. The worst thing about the drive home is the vacation is over and now its back to reality. I still prefer to fly, but the gps really made this trip seem faster.... I don't know why.

[SnwhtNdwrfs]

I get so tired when we drive. So I am tired when we get there, then tired because of vacation, then tired because of having to drive home. I would rather just tired because of vacation! But that is me.

[tmlinz]

2 words.....

ROAD TRIP!!!!

[mickeymatt]

I have never flown but my father lives in Ocala which is 1 hour noth of WDW. So when I drive from Birmingham, AL (9 hours) we always stay with my dad for a night or two. However, I have always wanted to fly down and let Disney take care of the rest. Because we have always had a car I have enjoyed bypassing the bus system and coming and going when we want to. So I dont know for a 10 hour drive it is still cheaper for me my wife and child but 18 hours that may come down to some serious calculation to determine which is cheaper. My guess is that driving will almost always be cheaper even with night in cheap hotel down and back. But you also have to consider the cost of vacation days as they will be squandered on the drive down and back.

[Disney05]

That was my other concern. I wouldn't drive it in one day but two. So 4 days just driving. Thanks for all the input all.

[Yensid_Retlaw]

I'm driving down in June. I will be driving with a friend of mine and were going straight through with no hotel stop. I'm from Barrie Ontario which is NORTH of Toronto. I've never driven unless I was going with my parents but I'm all grown up now lol. I-75 the best way to go?

[zippitydoodah]

Originally Posted by Yensid_Retlaw

I'm driving down in June. I will be driving with a friend of mine and were going straight through with no hotel stop. I'm from Barrie Ontario which is NORTH of Toronto. I've never driven unless I was going with my parents but I'm all grown up now lol. I-75 the best way to go?

We don't usually go that route, crossing in Fort Erie and then taking the I-79 is quicker if you're heading from Barrie (my parents live in Alliston and so that's where we head from). It's a bit more scenic cause of the mountains, and we usually head that way unless the weather is bad (its always worse through the mountains). However, if you're going straight with no hotel break the I-75 might be best because there are a lot more pit stops (you pass more urban areas) and its more flat- you won't drive yourself crazy winding through the mountains haha. The one time I drove straight through with friends we took the I-75.

Hope that helps a bit- luckily I JUST was discussing what route to take with my uncle because we're leaving on Friday morning!

[Yensid_Retlaw]

Thanks a bunch! And have a great time!

[fungus_01]

I've done both driving and flying and will fly hands down any time. It may be slightly more expensive (although probably not a whole lot since it's just DH and I) but it's worth it to not have worry about bad weather while driving, tolls, speeding tickets We can fly, be there in 2 hours (instead of 18) and let Disney transportation do the rest till we fly home. Plus we don't loose almost two days of vacation that could be spent in the parks instead of in the car.