Best way to get to WDW?

[My2Sons]

Hello All!

We would probably go to WDW more often if we could find a reasonably priced way to get there! We have flown and driven. Both are expensive. We are traveling from the Northeast.

So do you drive or fly? What do you think are the pros and cons? Anybody ever find a way to fly that doesn't cost $$$? I meet people who say "Oh I flew to WDW for $89!" But somehow I never, ever find deals like that.

I'm not big on flying - but for speed it makes sense. And gas prices make it almost as $$ to drive. I'd love your thoughts, tips, and input!

Thanks!

[Dulcee]

Lived in NJ for many years.

Growing up we always drove. Biggest plus was having our car on property (except for the year the Poly valet lost our key). No limits on baggage was always nice to.

We loved the mid way stop. We'd drive for 14 ish hours then stop for the night. Found an awesome BBQ place in Pooler Georgia right off 95 that we'd stop at every year. Loved watching for billboards for Disney when we hit FL.

Got married and DH liked to fly. We've flown from Newark twice. Can't remember what airfare was in 09 but in '12 we paid $200 per person, round trip. All in all not bad. No special tricks to find it, just started hunting early and when I found a price I was comfortable I jumped on it.

For speed it was nice but even so it always involved getting up at 4 am and dragging our tired selves to the parks by 3 or so. I think I like the speed aspect more for just getting home.

We're going in January again and this time we'll drive (from NC). Honestly I like having my car on property. I like showing up the night before our reservation begins, staying in a holiday inn and then getting into the parks bright and early the next morning.

I like not worrying about what I have to cram where in order to meet baggage requirements or worrying about delays and changes to my flight.

Its really all personal preference.

[PopPhan]

Hello All!

We would probably go to WDW more often if we could find a reasonably priced way to get there! We have flown and driven. Both are expensive. We are traveling from the Northeast.

So do you drive or fly? What do you think are the pros and cons? Anybody ever find a way to fly that doesn't cost $$$? I meet people who say "Oh I flew to WDW for $89!" But somehow I never, ever find deals like that.

I'm not big on flying - but for speed it makes sense. And gas prices make it almost as $$ to drive. I'd love your thoughts, tips, and input!

Thanks!

I fly from Baltimore (BWI) on Southwest and rarely pay over $100 (one way) for my flights. I signed up for their email specials and book at the best rate they show. Also, book one leg of the trip at a time, unless both legs are priced low, that way if there is a price drop (as unlikely as that seems, it does happen!!) you can get credit for the lower cost and apply that to booking your other flight.

3 tanks of gas, one way, in my vehicle, makes it a financial plus to fly. Also, the length of the drive versus the flight time -- 16 hours vs. 2 hours (air time - add 1 to get to the airport and 1 to get from the airport to the resort -- still only 4 hours) makes it a physical plus to fly as well. I can be well on my way to a park in the time it would take me to drive through Virginia!!

Now, this all revolves around the fact that I am a solo traveler. Add more members (drivers) to the travel party and the whole justification goes out the window! LOL

[buzznwoodysmom]

For our family of 4 flying just costs too much money. I have looked into flying, but can't ever seem to find prices less than $250 per person, and most times it's more. Maybe I'm not looking in the right places. For the 4 of us to fly it would cost over $1000. We drive the 12 hours for about $420 in gas.

The plus side is that we have our own car if we want/need it, and we can pack whatever we want! The other good thing is we can leave home and arrive a day early, or stay an extra night at the end. While that does add to the cost of "driving" it's always, ALWAYS nice to have that option!!!

[allgiggles]

We always drive from Southeastern PA. We have 5 kids so flying is way more expensive than driving for us. When we went in June 2013, our travel costs were about $600 for gas/lodging (we split the 16 hour drive over 2 days). It would have been at least double that for us to fly. I didn't even bother to look at flights for the trip in June, but I checked airfare several times before our 2011 trip (thinking that since we were only taking 3 kids on that trip, we might be able to justify the cost of flying). The cheapest airfare I was able to find at any point was ~$250/person RT. That was without baggage fees and without paying to park the car at the airport for 7 days (or hiring a car to drive us to and from the airport).

Driving works well for us. I like not having to worry about how many bags we take (within reason -- we only have so much room in the van for luggage) or how much they weigh. We drive about 12-13 hours the first day and get a good night's sleep before heading out by about 8:00 the next morning. We're usually checked-in at our resort and off to a park no later than 3:00 on arrival day.

We consider the drive part of our vacation. We're fortunate that I'm a SAHM so I don't have to worry about taking vacation days and DH has 5 weeks of vacation time each year so travel time for driving doesn't cut into the length of time we stay at Disney.

We might consider flying once all of the kids are grown and not traveling with us, but that won't happen for another 10+ years so we'll be driving every time we go until then since it will be cheaper than flying for us.

[disneymom15]

We always fly! I'd rather pay a little more and have an entire week in the parks. Driving for us would probably take a day and a half (3 days total) and that's just not enough time in the parks. I check airfare daily and usually end up with decent prices.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

We always drive. It is an 11 hour trip for us and I think last trip cost about $250 in gas. On arrival day we always have time to spend a couple of hours at DTD and on departure day we spend a few hours in the park and then drive to Lake City for the night. The drive home the next day is about 8 hours

[VacationDisney]

We always fly. It's a 14 hr drive and I like to spend my time at the parks and not on the road. We are not retired so our vacation time is limited.

We stay 7 nights and get the 7 day park hopper pass. We are usually at the parks by 2 on our first day. This gives us at least 6 hours in a park before we call it a day.

I'd rather be in WDW as soon as I can:number1:

[AvonleaCF]

I'm also from the northeast and always fly. Usually about $200-$300 round-trip from JFK, a little more from White Plains (which is closer to me). The thought of spending that many hours in a car makes me nauseated.

[Opus X]

Driving, if you have a family is ALWAYS cheaper.
Always.
However, Flying is soo much more relaxing and FAST. Especially with Southwest.
Last time we drove..next time we would like to fly...no rental car of course...WDW transport is complimentary. If money were no object....FLY. If you want to save $$$ Drive. Unless there is just 2 or less going. Then..flying would probably be cheaper.

[Jillirose]

We are from MI and have done both - we find that buying tickets 6 months in advance is the cheapest.

[JerseyDad]

....we have always driven. It's not an issue because I like to drive.

...we just got back from a 9 day trip to WDW (POP) ...and the drive south was better than any previous yrs. Left central Jersey (Exit 9) ...at 6am ....pulled into a hotel in St Augustine, Fla at a few minutes after 8pm ....total elapsed time ...14hrs ...but when you take out the gas, food, potty breaks ...the "on road" time was more like 12.5 hrs. (hotel ..Fairfield Inn ...ran us $75 + tax)

....we do amazing on fuel ....only put gas in twice southbound ...still had plenty in tank when we hit WDW on second morning (2 hr drive from St Augie' )

....all told ...driving (round trip + food + lodging once .. southbound) cost us ...this time ...$420 for 3 of us ...and we had the car ...no baggage charges ....no car rental needed.

....drive home is all in one shot. It took 16 hrs exactly this past Monday (Labor Day)

[cather74]

I just think of a wonderful thought......:pixie:

[Pop Centurion]

Our first two trips we drove from South Jersey. This was mainly because of my fear of flying. When I finally "manned up" things were so much better. No lost vacation time due to the drive time and we weren't tired on our arrival date for the same reasons. The past couple years flights have been getting more expensive but we would just **** it up because my car was getting older & we didn't want to risk it and a rental would end up being more expensive than the flight.
But last year we went during Thanksgiving & the flights were entirely too expensive. I bought a new car earlier that year so we drove because the total for gas round trip was less than half the price of 2 round trip tickets. The drive isn't too bad since I enjoy driving but I was fatigued when we arrived.
Most likely we will drive again this year if we go since we're planning a NYE trip & flights will obviously be crazy. I just hope the weather cooperates.

[My2Sons]

, Flying is soo much more relaxing and FAST. Especially with Southwest.


Question. I've been told that on Southwest you have no idea where you will sit and there is a good chance you'll be separated from your kids. Do you find this to be true or false? We don't all have to sit together, but I would like at least one parent with each kid. That is what has always stopped us from flying Southwest - the inability to pick seats.



Most likely we will drive again this year if we go since we're planning a NYE trip & flights will obviously be crazy. I just hope the weather cooperates.

Just an FYI - our very first trip to Disney was in Feb 06 and we had to outrun a blizzard. Cost us $400 to fly out a day early. It was worth it because if we had waited we wouldn't have gotten out. They closed the airports and we would have lost at least 2 days of our vacation. We had to stay at a different Disney resort that first night, but it was an adventure, and Disney was great helping us shuffle our accommodations. However, when we drive, weather is actually LESS of an issue. If we see bad weather coming, as long as we get south before it gets too bad, we're good. This has happened to us twice since. Part of the fun of traveling in the winter. :mickey:

[Opus X]

Question. I've been told that on Southwest you have no idea where you will sit and there is a good chance you'll be separated from your kids. Do you find this to be true or false? We don't all have to sit together, but I would like at least one parent with each kid. That is what has always stopped us from flying Southwest - the inability to pick seats.
You do an online check in...24 hours prior...We always get group b. We have NEVER had an issue sitting together. No worries there.



Just an FYI - our very first trip to Disney was in Feb 06 and we had to outrun a blizzard. Cost us $400 to fly out a day early. It was worth it because if we had waited we wouldn't have gotten out. They closed the airports and we would have lost at least 2 days of our vacation. We had to stay at a different Disney resort that first night, but it was an adventure, and Disney was great helping us shuffle our accommodations. However, when we drive, weather is actually LESS of an issue. If we see bad weather coming, as long as we get south before it gets too bad, we're good. This has happened to us twice since. Part of the fun of traveling in the winter. :mickey:
I LOVE to fly...use magical express....then Disney Transport...But, Driving has been cheaper lately.
We have NEVER had an issue sitting together on southwest, I consider it the BEST airline by a country mile.
With Southwest....just check in via online...24 hours prior...You'll board earlier than folks that check in later...so PLENTY of empty seats.
But, again, I have NEVER and we have flown to VEGAS and WDW ALOT on Southwest...Had any seat issues. We Always sit together.

[RALPH]

We have been able to get decent prices flying out of Philly on Southwest. Used to fly Spirit out of AC, but they got rediculous with fees. This year is the first time we had to pay bag fees. My wife was irate. We like to leave early in AM (7:00) and that gets us checked in and in Epcot by 11:00-11:30, and usually avoids T storm issues. Can't beat that. But this year SW eliminated their early morning flight from Philly. Available SW flights would have gotten us there late afternoon. So we had to **** it up and fly Spirit again out of AC. Driving is not an option, although I would do it over two days. My wife says see you there, so we fly.

[1DisneyNut]

We always drive. With kids it cost so much more to fly, we just can't justify the expense. Driving cost us around $200 in gas round trip. That cost depends of course on what type vehicle we drive and price of gas of course. To fly down, it would cost anywhere from $1200 to $1800 depending upon airfare at the time. I just can't justify spending over $1000 just to save 5 or 6 hours. Even if it saved 9 or 10 hours, I still would drive.

It is important to note that I actually like driving on the interstates and seeing the sights and stopping in between point A and point B when I travel. We recently drove to Washington DC and quickly learned Virginia is by far the worst state to drive through that I have visited so far. Next summer we are actually planning on doing the whole "route 66 road trip" and will be driving from North Alabama to Anaheim CA to visit Disneyland and then down to San Diego and Tijahunna. I am almost as excited about driving through several of the states along the way as I am the rest of the trip.

[IloveJack]

Driving, if you have a family is ALWAYS cheaper.

True, since our oldest turned two, we've driven. I know flying leaves us less tired, and takes half as long, but it also costs so much that we'd have to trim time off our trip anyhow.
We go to bed early the night before, get up around midnight, and drive the 12-ish hours to get there, with DH and myself sharing the driving duties and catnapping when we can. On the way home, we drive straight through, if we can.

[SurferStitch]

For our family of 4 flying just costs too much money. I have looked into flying, but can't ever seem to find prices less than $250 per person, and most times it's more. Maybe I'm not looking in the right places. For the 4 of us to fly it would cost over $1000. We drive the 12 hours for about $420 in gas.

The plus side is that we have our own car if we want/need it, and we can pack whatever we want! The other good thing is we can leave home and arrive a day early, or stay an extra night at the end. While that does add to the cost of "driving" it's always, ALWAYS nice to have that option!!!

DH and I are exactly the same way! We've many times showed up at WDW a day early, and we love it!!

We started driving about 7 years ago. In all honesty, we spent quite a bit of time in total flying anyway. We flew out of Philly, so we were going down the night before. So, that was about $150 for the room, plus about $10/day parking = roughly $250 plus airfare, which lately I can't find for less than $600 RT for the two of us combined on SW (if we want decent times). Plus, it basically killed our afternoon/evening doing this anyway.

We drive my Cobalt SS to WDW. Rountrip we spend about $250 for gas, with Country Inn and Suites points we stay for about $25-$65 for an overnight stay on the way down and back. We stop off for meals/snacks/coffee... We either break even, but usually save a fair amount of money driving.

Plus, we have our car, which makes packing super easy. Getting to resort meals is a breeze. I estimated that overall we would save about 9 hours each way by flying, but in all honesty, we easily make that up driving and not having to take 2 busses to/from resort dinners or early going to morning breakfasts at resorts or the parks. If I buy something bigger, I don't have to pay to ship it home, either. Saves me almost $100 in shipping costs on some trips!

But, that's us. It works well for the two of us. It's not the best option for everyone.

[PopPhan]

Question. I've been told that on Southwest you have no idea where you will sit and there is a good chance you'll be separated from your kids. Do you find this to be true or false? We don't all have to sit together, but I would like at least one parent with each kid. That is what has always stopped us from flying Southwest - the inability to pick seats.

Two things to that ---

1) For an extra $10/person/flight you can get the Early Bird option. With this, you are assigned a seating GROUP at the 36 hour mark. This will almost always get you an "A" group boarding assignment. With that assigned group, you are within the first 60 to board. That pretty much assures you of being able to sit together as a family.

2) If you cannot get the Early Bird option, you MUST check in for your flight right at the 24 hour mark. At that point, it will depend upon how many Business Select and Early Bird seats have already been spoken for and your timing as to what boarding GROUP you get.

Hope this helps!!

[My2Sons]

Thank you all for your input. I am very much enjoying this discussion.

I do prefer driving. We used to fly, but I wanted to try driving, and we kind of like it. We usually do the trip down in one day. (Hubby is an early bird, so we leave super early in the morning to miss most of the morning rush in the big cities - like DC). Anyhow, we were considering flying again - for speed - but I think I still like driving.

Of course, the ride down is always more fun and exciting than the ride back up! :mickey:

I am very much enjoying hearing all of your ideas and input. Keep 'em coming!

[PETE FROM NYC]

I drive for personal reasons.
DW and I are both retired, disabled, and pooh sized. We simply can't do the airport walking any more. We each have our own scooters and there would be no way to get them to the airport. Both scooters fit into my Expedition EL. So, with me as the only driver, we do the trip in a leisurely 2 1/2 days, arriving in the WDW area a day early, usually spending that first night in Knights Inn on 192 for around $40. On the drive home, if we want we can stop at other tourist sites.

[Donald Duck]

We drive. Driving is a lot cheaper than flying especially if you go during peak times like Christmas week or Spring break when airfare is ridiculous.

I am also from the Northeast and love to drive. I do all the driving.

I also like having my own car at WDW. No waiting in lines for buses and can drive to supermarket or stores if we need to.

:mickey:
Donald Duck

[allgiggles]

It is important to note that I actually like driving on the interstates and seeing the sights and stopping in between point A and point B when I travel. We recently drove to Washington DC and quickly learned Virginia is by far the worst state to drive through that I have visited so far. Next summer we are actually planning on doing the whole "route 66 road trip" and will be driving from North Alabama to Anaheim CA to visit Disneyland and then down to San Diego and Tijahunna. I am almost as excited about driving through several of the states along the way as I am the rest of the trip.

We completely agree. We live in SE Pennsylvania and when we drive to Disney we always say that once we hit the VA/NC border we feel like we're home free. But between Philly & the VA/NC border the traffic can be very unpredictable with VA being the worst.

And we also plan on doing that Route 66 road trip to Disneyland one day. We had hoped to do it with the kids but we know we want to take at least 2.5 weeks to do it so it will probably have to wait until DH retires.

[MouseHouser]

Driving down from CT takes the starch out of me for a day or 2. Direct flights are only 3 hours, and our rate for this December is $220. We'll need to rent a car, but rates in FL are good- about $21/day total.

For me, flying's the way to go. But of course, that depends on the number of in your party.

[tinkman]

From Ohio. We have always flown. Reasons we don't drive (yet!):
1) Time. We are still working so giving up 2-3 days for travel just isn't appealing. However, I have to admit, in reality, it isn't just a "2-hour flight". Even if we have a 7:00am flight, we are at the airport at 5:00am, arrive in WDW around 9:30, then it's off to the resort. Usually we're settling in sometime around noon. So, what sounds like a 2 hr trip, in reality it's more like 7 hours.
2) Miles on my car. DW and I already drive over 400 miles per week (each) so the thought of putting a couple more thousand miles on a vehicle isn't a good idea. Renting a car for a couple weeks is almost the cost of 1 plane ticket.
3) Road Rage. Inconsiderate, even dangerous drivers...don't want to deal with. Don't even get me started on the whole cell phone issues.

Now, once DW and retire and we have plenty of time to take our time, take alternate routes, we will probably start driving.

Airline costs? That's always a tough one. We keep watching the airline websites for pricing. When we see an acceptable price, it's best to jump on it.

[pcoleman]

Living in Northeastern lower Michigan driving has always been a less expensive way to go. It is a 24 hour drive for us. We take off early evening get into Valdosta around noon next day. Book early check in, sit by the pool and relax. Do any last minute shopping for supplies. Head out early in am 3 1/2 hours later we are checking in and heading to the park. Flying always involves driving 3-4 hours just to get to the airport. Most times having to get a hotel because the plane leaves too early in the morning. So all of this has to be added to the airfare. Flying is never cheaper for us. Only perk of flying is the time. Only fly when just me and DD12 go on girls only trips.

[Lizzie]

As a family of six I wish we could drive but we live in Seattle, WA so our only option is to fly. But we have driven to Disneyland before.