Originally Posted By jazzfan4 Well for me, I don't want to drive 2500 miles one way and take a 4 days to get there, so I'll fly every time. 5000 miles round trip, 25 mpg = 200 gal X $3.00 is $600 for airline tickets, the price for two on Southwest.
Originally Posted By a1stav For your dates on US Airways from Allentown, the fair is $168RT. You are looking at about $209ea. RT including taxes and fees.
Originally Posted By sun-n-fun We drove in July with 2 young kids. We actually had a great time on the way down and back. It added to the vacation. It is a 20 hour drive. We did have a DVD player - which is a huge help and stopped and spent the night in NC. If we go in Feb driving isnt an option only because we only have a week total, but in the summer we had the chance to stretch it out longer and it was wonderful.
Originally Posted By pixiedust1 <<We drove in July with 2 young kids. We actually had a great time on the way down and back. It added to the vacation. It is a 20 hour drive. We did have a DVD player - which is a huge help and stopped and spent the night in NC. If we go in Feb driving isnt an option only because we only have a week total, but in the summer we had the chance to stretch it out longer and it was wonderful.>> I agree there... we also traveled with young children and it was fun.. driving straight through as some people do is very hard on every one.. Yes one week is tow short a time if you are driving.. we always had two weeks vacation, also coming from the west coast is just to far away to drive.. 20 hrs seems to be the norm from the northeast.. by the way I forgot to add, that we needed a car for all of our gifts and souvenirs.. back then we would end up with twice the luggage lol...
Originally Posted By sun-n-fun Driving sometimes beats packing an empty suitcase If driving would require a two night stay on the road - I don't think I'd consider it. From Western NY it's a beautiful drive through the mountains.
Originally Posted By tinkerbellfly We live in the Chicago area. We have flown and driven to Orlando. When we drive, it takes us 19 hours. We usually spend the night in Macon,Georgia. Its not to bad. But we are going back to DisneyWorld in August. We were thinking of driving, but it is probably going to be cheaper to fly. Here, they are talking about gas prices possibly going up to $4.00 a gallon this summer. I have priced Southwest and air would be $646 and Airtran at about $626. If we drive I would be filling up three times there and back. Plus the cost of lodging at $75 there and back. Then we gotta eat while on the road! My husband was reading an article in yesterdays paper about driving to Orlando and what the cost of gas would run. If you have a Toyota Highlander driving from Chicago to Orlando, it would cost $240-$250 to fill up on gas ONE WAY!That is gas alone. I am definitly flying. You get there quicker and a little bit cheaper.
Originally Posted By DVC_dad Well we drive too, but I am only 7 or 8 hours away in Atlanta. I don't think I COULD drive that far with 6 kids in the car, but the 8 hours isn't that bad as we set out around 7 PM and the kids are soon asleep.
Originally Posted By t1lersm0m When we drive, we leave at 8PM so Tyler can sleep, and we check into our hotel at 4PM. However, right now I am starting to lean towards flying. Ideally I would love to fly out of Allentown because it is a much smaller airport, its a shorter drive, and it's easier to get through security. But all of the cheap flights have a stop somewhere, and the total travel time with the stop is 6+ hours. If it wasn't for that, I'd book the flights now. But I want to wait, because I'm hoping that since the airlines are having such great specials for summer fares, they will do the same, or close to the same for fall fares.
Originally Posted By tinkerbellfly I forgot to mention, when we drive, we leave Chicago at about 3:00 am, yes am. We then get to Georgia early evening. Spend the night there and then leave at like 4:00 am to get to Disney at 9:00 am. Flying this time around will be much better for us.
Originally Posted By sun-n-fun We do the same type of thing, leaving NY about 5 am. The kids still sleep a little longer in the car or at least take a nap during the afternoon. I wouldn't be surprised to find it cheaper to fly, until airlines raise their rate to match the gas.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 <Well for me, I don't want to drive 2500 miles one way and take a 4 days to get there, so I'll fly every time. 5000 miles round trip, 25 mpg = 200 gal X $3.00 is $600 for airline tickets, the price for two on Southwest.< I don;t think I'd drive 2500 miles one way either - but the cost calculation also has to not only include gas -- but cab/limo to and from airport at home and to and from airport in Orlando - that will change the $ benefit of driving quickly- not counting if you rent a car in Florida -- and for our family it is a family of 4 not two -- so plenty of cost savings driving
Originally Posted By vbdad55 <We live in the Chicago area. We have flown and driven to Orlando. When we drive, it takes us 19 hours. We usually spend the night in Macon,Georgia. Its not to bad. But we are going back to DisneyWorld in August. We were thinking of driving, but it is probably going to be cheaper to fly. Here, they are talking about gas prices possibly going up to $4.00 a gallon this summer. I have priced Southwest and air would be $646 and Airtran at about $626. If we drive I would be filling up three times there and back. Plus the cost of lodging at $75 there and back. Then we gotta eat while on the road! My husband was reading an article in yesterdays paper about driving to Orlando and what the cost of gas would run. If you have a Toyota Highlander driving from Chicago to Orlando, it would cost $240-$250 to fill up on gas ONE WAY!That is gas alone. I am definitly flying. You get there quicker and a little bit cheaper.< also from Chicago area and saw that article on gad costs -- however if there are just 2 of you then it may be cheaper to fly-- but for us we are 4 - and both kids would be adult fares -- so driving still far cheaper - plus we have a car while in Florida. Also again in your calcs- what about car/limo to and from the airport in Chicago as well as Orlando into the cost ?
Originally Posted By vbdad55 <I forgot to mention, when we drive, we leave Chicago at about 3:00 am, yes am. We then get to Georgia early evening. Spend the night there and then leave at like 4:00 am to get to Disney at 9:00 am. Flying this time around will be much better for us. We stay in Altanta with friends on the way down - so stop a short of Macon we leave like 7 AM and get to Altanta before 7 PM their time. the next moring we don't leave until 9 AM because check in time isn;t until 4 PM anyway
Originally Posted By t1lersm0m <<I don;t think I'd drive 2500 miles one way either - but the cost calculation also has to not only include gas -- but cab/limo to and from airport at home and to and from airport in Orlando - that will change the $ benefit of driving quickly- not counting if you rent a car in Florida -- and for our family it is a family of 4 not two -- so plenty of cost savings driving>> Yes, the savings are definitely multiplied the more people there are in your party. For the three of us, it would definitely be cheaper to drive than fly. But for a family of two with a 2500 mile drive each way, that probably wouldn't be a big savings. I think it's about 1900 miles each way for us. That extra 600 miles can add a lot of money and time! I just wish that the airport in our back yard (Wilkes-Barre Scranton) wasn't so expensive! It's over $300 each! For that price, I'll drive to Allentown or Philly and fly from there.
Originally Posted By jazzfan4 There were all sorts of things I left out of the equation, Motels both ways the speed trap in Alabama or was it Mississippi. the wear and tear on the car and tires and all those things. When I drive to SoCal and DL it would be 1500 miles round trip and leaving early we don't need a motel so the gas alone at 30 MPG and $3.00 per gal would be $225. Flying would cost About $400. Of course lunch in Vegas can be expensive.
Originally Posted By avromark Generally when I go with my family (6), 1311.2 miles, about 20 hours (Darn Photo Radar, high gas cost, and drag of trailer) We'll probably drive again. A bit hard to take the trailer without driving, but your situation may be different. We used to drive to California/Mexico in the past but haven't since about 2001. Good luck and enjoy either way.
Originally Posted By t1lersm0m <<Well for me, I don't want to drive 2500 miles one way and take a 4 days to get there, so I'll fly every time. 5000 miles round trip, 25 mpg = 200 gal X $3.00 is $600 for airline tickets, the price for two on Southwest.>> Wow, I just mapped it out on mapquest.com. For us it is only 1097.94 miles, so I understand why you wouldn't want to drive 2500 miles one way. That makes total sense to me!!!! For some reason I was thinking you were only a few hundred miles more than us...say like 500 or so. But, I understand why people that live closer than us wouldn't want to drive. It's all a matter of personal preference. I've meantioned this on LP.com before, but growing up we didn't have a lot of money, so we drove everywhere. My first time flying was last year. Dave insisted if we were to go on a cruise, the only way he'd go was to fly. Then I flew out to Disneyland because there was no way I was driving or taking a train there. Here's what I think I'm going to do. Keep watching the airfare, hoping I can find a great deal (I know $200 per person isn't bad, but with the deals they are having this summer, I was hoping I could find something that low for the fall.) If when Southwest releases their airfare for that time, or the fall fares go on "sale", they are not lower but indeed higher than I am seeing now, we will just end up driving. I like the idea of driving because then we can take a lot more stuff with us...basically whatever will fit in the trunk. We will also have a car down there without paying for a rental car (I have a concern with getting from Pop Century to other resorts for dining).
Originally Posted By Disneymom443 My DH loves to drive even though gas prices are so high. When we go we will fill up 5 times one way. On a 18 gal. van, and it was still cheaper to drive. But We have 6 people in the van. Plane tickets for us is $2700 to drive and eat and sleep in a hotel is only $2200. A $500 difference is enough to drive.
Originally Posted By sun-n-fun Even with 4 people it saved us about $1000 to drive last summer. We packed enough food to get us down there and that saved some too.
Originally Posted By avromark A nice thing is in some states they have rest areas where you can sleep a few hours in the trailer for no $, here it's illegal...
