Hooray! You’re finally going to Disney World! You’ve done your research, picked the best dates to go, found the best hotel to stay at, bought your park tickets, and now it’s time to decide if it’s better for your family to drive to the most magical place on earth or to fly. L1 and L2 have 7 nieces and nephews, between the ages of 9 years old and 2 months, and have both flown and drove to Florida with most of them. We live in Massachusetts, so it’s a big decision whether we want to take the extra day to drive to save money on a rental car, checking bags, or do we all fly because it’s the easiest to do?
Since L1 was about five years old we went to Disney World almost every other year until she was a teenager- and we always drove. Our father would strap the luggage carrier on the roof of our minivan, all of us kids would pile in with our favorite stuffed animals, throw blankets, a pillow, and off we went. Our father always drove the whole way and our mother was in the passenger seat with her highlighted map from AAA with the best routes (talk about older times!). No matter how many times we went, the excitement was always there. As I got older, not only was I excited to go to Disney World, but I was also excited to go through the 10 different states to get to Florida. The buildings of NYC, seeing DC at dawn, it still amazes me; the several large bridges that we had to go over and I would tell my mother that I swear I thought I saw a whale. We can’t forget the South of the Border signs, the large plantation-style houses, fields that went on forever, and another L1 personal favorite- the palm trees that greet you at the Welcome to South Carolina sign. We bonded over finding a new radio station, the cultural differences like people not knowing what Iced Coffee was in the south (it was the early 90’s Dunks and Starbucks weren’t really popular yet), and trying new restaurants.
Even though we had some great times, it wasn’t always smooth sailing getting there and back home. Not only did we always take at least a few wrong turns, there was an issue with at least one of us kids. Like when L2 was a toddler and cried the entire way down to Florida that she wanted the Kelly Barbie doll that was the toy in the McDonald’s Happy Meals. Oh, I’m not talking about whining; she was literally screaming “I WANT A KELLY” while throwing a temper tantrum. Or when our other sister, we’ll call her A, got her ears pierced a few days before we left and cried that they hurt the whole way down. Long before there were 24-hour fast-food chains and Walmart’s right off the highway, there was a trip when L1 had to go to the bathroom when we were driving, late at night, through South Carolina and nothing was open until when we were stopping in Georgia. There was another time when we were going through Georgia on our way home and got stuck in some bad thunderstorms. We finally were able to stop at a rest area and went inside only to see that the Weather Channel put out a tornado watch for where we were. L1 was old enough to read and to understand what was going on and she was afraid that a tornado was going to suck us up. Let’s also not forget the complaining about how “booooooooored we are” and the famous “are we there yet?” questions. Every single time we drove, our parents swore on their lives that we would only fly from then on- funny how things are said like that but never happen!
Fast forward to modern times, and we still have driven to Florida multiple times. Our parents have 5 children and 7 grandchildren, so normally when we go to Florida now, at least 2 of us are driving down with some of the kids in our backseat. But it’s not as bad as it used to be- well, sort of; we still get the complaining that comes along with antsy kids excited to get to Disney World. But, we now have technology that goes everywhere with us. All of the kids, minus the baby, have IPad’s with headphones, so we don’t have several different YouTube channels or Disney+ movies in the background. The adults have at least a smartphone and most likely a laptop/tablet with them to watch their own YouTube channels and Netflix shows when they’re not driving to help pass the time. We no longer have the need for paper maps. In fact, we all have phones with GPS that will yell at you if you start to go the wrong way. We still have one-liners with our oldest niece from the first time she drove with us to Florida, like how she was picking her toes and said she was going to make everyone smell them and then bring it home to our dog (oh Janelle, how much we love you and your gross sense of humor). We have definitely told the kids that we were going to drop them off with Pedro at South of the Border. To be honest, every time we have driven with the kids they have complained less than the adults.
The times that we have decided to fly down, we would definitely say it has been easier traveling with the kids. For starters, and the biggest perk, it takes a lot less time to get down there. The three and a half hours it takes to get to Orlando from Massachusetts beats the almost 24 hours driving. The kids still get that excitement of going to the most magical place on earth. It’s almost more exciting for them because of the novelty of the airport. You still have the option of renting a car at several different car rental places located at the airport. If you’re staying on a Disney property or just don’t need to rent a car, there are a couple of different options for you to get picked up at the airport and brought to your hotel- like the free Disney Magical Express shuttle if you’re staying on Disney property. Or you have Uber, Lyft, and several other resorts offer shuttle services to and from the airport. If you’re worried about the checking bag prices at the airport, we have a few friends that have told us that Disney will let you ship your extra luggage down to the hotel a few days prior to your arrival date and keep your luggage until you check-in. They all have sworn that it costs less than checking bag prices!
In the end, no matter how you decide to get there, you’re still going to Disney World and will be making memories that will last a lifetime! There are big pros and cons to either driving or flying. When the time comes when you decide if your family is going to drive or fly to Orlando and back home, remember hiccups and tantrums can happen with either option. It’s all about how you make the experience a memorable time, whether it’s taking a road trip, or hopping on that plane!
Mouseketeer Crew 