Don't want to drive, help me!

[Dakota Rose]

We're planning :fingers: our trip to WDW for Feb 2010. DH, DS, DD, my parents and I are going. My parents want to drive from ND in their RV and stay at FW so their 2 dogs can come along.

I don't want to do this. DH doesn't want to do this. But since my parents are paying for most of the trip, we don't have too much say.

Help me think of reasons flying is better than driving besides the fact that it actually ends up being about the same price or maybe even a little less to fly and stay at a value.

The only other reason I can think of is the amount of time involved in driving.

Can you think of others so that I can make a good case?

[BluewaterBrad]

Thats a tough one since they are paying for the trip. Good luck on this one!:mickey:

[redleg96]

This won't help your case....I would never go without having a car at my disposal. Of course you can fly and then rent one....RV wouldn't cut it for us hitting grocery stores and not wanting to fully rely on the Disney bus system...there's enough things to schedule around while there...we don't want the busses to be one of them.

[ransam]

I'd stick w/ the time it will take...you have to think it's going to be 2 days there, 2 days back. Do you really want to use up that many vacation days at work? not to mention the time keeping the kids out of school?
in Feb...good chance of running into bad weather along the trip.

[joonyer]

Watch the movie "RV", and then commit yourself to having an adventure on the way. It will help to keep reminding yourself "someone else is paying for this". ;)

Bottom line: If you are determined to have a bad trip, you will. But if you make up your mind that it will be an adventure, it will more than likely turn out to be. Even with all the things that can go wrong on a cross-country RV trip, (see the movie) be determined to laugh off the bad times and laugh up the good times. There's a lot of America to see and experience between ND and Orlando. And Fort Wilderness is really cool. It's the one of the BEST campgrounds in the U.S. We have traveled all over the country in an RV with our family and made many priceless memories. :cloud9: You will too if you want to. In this case, getting there (and back) can be half the fun . . . if you let it.

But, if you absolutely can't do it, then let the kids go with the grandparents in the RV, and then pick up the tab for you & DH's airfare and meet them there. You can even rent a car when you get there for side trips, etc.

[mousejunkie]

My first trip to Disney, we drove. After 8 hours, I got car-sick (yes, I'm a adult). When we finally arrived, we were too stiff and grumpy to do anything but unpack, grab a meal, and go to bed. For the next two trips, we flew and WHAT A DIFFERENCE :mickey:! We picked an early departure time, and landed in Orlando by lunchtime. We were in a park by 3:00pm and had the energy to stay out until 11:00pm.

[Aggie97]

If you or your husband have a limited number of vacation days at work, or if your kids can miss only a certain number of school days, you could make a pretty strong case for flying. Also, how will your parents' dogs handle being left alone in the RV for extended periods while you are at the parks? :mickey:

[medic9016]

FW is a great place to stay. I bet the dogs are used to being in the RV. You can pick a few places you want to see on the trip down and back. Since your parents are paying for most of the trip, you could pay to fly down when they get there or pay for the trip yourself and do what you want.

[Live4WDW]

:mickey: Enjoy the drive and time with your folks. I wish my parents would commit to a trip to disney, they are a little older now, and not to keen on the parks anymore. Time lost out of parks is a bummer, but time gained with others is special. That is just me. I guess the only way you could present it though is, more time driving then flying. Personally flying is not my thing. Good luck, and have fun!!:D

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

We always drive (or drive and then take the autotrain) and when you do that, the journey is part of the trip, and we enjoy that time together, we act like we're on vacation, since we are!

Since your parents are paying, I think you might have to defer to their wishes. Driving isn't as bad as you think, enjoy the time together and the time at Disney.

[BigRedDad]

That's a tough one since they are paying. I am assuming they are retired and have all the time in the world. If that is the case, then the only thing you have for leverage is time. It will be 4 days of driving in total. even if you and/or spouse took a week off work, that only leaves about 5 days there.

I would simply have the discussion with them and let them know your thoughts and reasoning. They may look at it from another perspective and understand. If you hold your concerns in, it will be a miserable trip.

[jonahbear2006]

We have flown and drove and thought for sure I would love to fly, however, let me tell you why driving is better.
1.you can pack waters and sodas and anything else the airplane wont let you take.
2. you will save time trying to pack so carefully for stupid airplane rules.
3. airports, time schedules, and more lines...not relaxing.
4. having your car at your disposal is soo much nicer in disney world.
5. Fort Wilderness is prime location and value resorts are not.
6. you will see more of the country instead of just FL.
7. you lessen your chances of contracting viruses you may have gotten on the plane or dealing with air sickness or ears that wont pop. (my friend had stuffy ears the whole week she was in wdw once)
8. No chances of your luggage being misplaced; which doesn't happen often, but still can.
9. Virtually no chance of bringing home bed bugs from the airplane or from the hotel which is a major bonus for me.
10. The money you would've spent on a plane, you can now spend on something you can hold in your hands, OR on a cool golf cart!

Sorry, I would love to help you state your case, however, after flying last Semtember, though it was a good experience with Southwest, I will never want to fly again bc;
1. We missed out on so many things we could have brought with us.
2. The hidden costs of flying such as; parking at the airport, taxes on tickets, not being able to bring such things stated in 1., and more tip cost made it sooo not worth it to save the time.
3. After I stayed up all night worried we would miss our flight, drove to airport, waited, security, getting out of the next airport, magical express, and all the careful packing; I think it saved me 4 hrs....not good enough for me.
4. If we would've had our car, we wouldve been able to see the ocean OR any OTHER part of Orlando.
5. Stopping at IKEA on the way back, in Atlanta, was thoroughly missed by all 6 of us.
6. Nerves on the last day of not knowing how to finish our trip off bc we had to be back on magical express and packing quickly was soooo not vacation like and not how i want to leave disney.
7. waking up to magical express tickets on our door ruined our day.
8. When we got home we had money we still owed on tickets when driving would've been 1/3 of the cost.
9. Had we driven, the money we spent on tickets couldve paid for 2 more days at the disney beach club.
10. My children are now a little bit more spoiled and haven't been able to endure a long car ride since. Before they were absolutely perfect angels on 18 hr car rides.

So,.....(sorry this is long), why not go in with an open mind. You may be suprised how wonderful Fort Wilderness is and how great it is to have a car.

[MNNHFLTX]

Your best chance of changing your parents mind would be the story that you already have--that you could save time and probably not spend too much more money by flying and staying at a value resort.

That said, I can also understand your parent's point of view. I'm sure they bought the RV with the idea that they would be able to use it as a home-base for most trips that they go on (at least here in the U.S.). Throw in the added bonus that this enables their dogs to come along and it's a pretty sweet deal for them.

If you are absolutely dreading it, I would do what others have said and make arrangements to fly down and meet up with them.

[Dakota Rose]

Thanks guys for the help.

We've done 4 cross-country trips with them in the RV back when it was just 1 kid and 1 dog. They were fun but stressful. DD doesn't drive the RV because he's overwhelmed by it and also falls asleep.

I hadn't even thought about the winter weather and potential road problems. THANK YOU for that reminder.

And whether we drive the RV or fly, we'll use WDW transportation.

So I'll continue building my case. Really it's only my mom who wants to drive and she only wants to drive because she wants to take the dogs along.

[Disney Doll]

I'd stick w/ the time it will take...you have to think it's going to be 2 days there, 2 days back. Do you really want to use up that many vacation days at work? not to mention the time keeping the kids out of school?
in Feb...good chance of running into bad weather along the trip.

Agreed. We never drive because that would eat up nearly all our vacation since we only take off work for a week at a time.

[DisneyAggies]

Yeah, I think you'd have to defer to the parents on this one (since they're footing the bill).

I don't see issues with you guys flying (and paying out of your OWN pocket for the tickets) and meeting your parents there. I know for my own sanity (and 2 DSs that do well in the car for about 2 hours), it would be worth it to me!

[PETE FROM NYC]

After 12 trips by plane, DW and I are driving down next month. Just the two of us with me being the only driver.
Here is our list for reasons for US to drive:
We are both retired, so time is plentiful.
She gets around with a scooter and its in the back of my Expedition with a lift.
We will be making frequent stops to see other places, like King's Dominion and Busch Gardens in Virginia.
After 9 nights in WDW, we are booked off property to see the other area attractions, and visit relatives.
No airports to deal with.
We can bring as much stuff as will fit in the vehicle.
Neither of us has ever done a lengthy road trip before, so we want to try at least one before health issues prevent them.
My only complaint is that I will have to pull my boat out early.

[Gregandmel]

If neither you or your husband want to drive, it'll be a looooooong trip! I'd recommend what some of the other posters have said about offering to pay for the airfare and try to coordinate "about" the same arrival time. For us, it has to do with losing the 2-4 days of actual "vacation" due to driving time (there and back) plus how stiff and sore we get being in a vehicle for too long. Some people really LOVE long road trips, but for some of us - I just want to get there and even if it costs more, we want to fly. Just takes too much out of us being in a car for that long. Good luck though!!!! You'll have a blast once everyone gets to Disney! :mickey: