Planes, Trains, and Automobiles...

[ValenciaCalling]

I'm mock planning possible trips for the future (which I have no idea why, because we're broke! haha), but I'm comparing the prices of all three options, and they all seem about the same. It looks like even if we do the bare minimum of everything, there's no possible way we can swing it for less than $1000. I would go through Magic Journeys, but I feel bad bothering them for a quote when we probably won't even be able to go anyway.

Here's the breakdown if anyone has any ideas on how to save a few pennies:

-Two Adults
-We'd prefer at least 2 or 3 days with the park
hopper option (though I'd probably spend most of the time in Epcot anyway).
-Would prefer to stay at the POP, but might stay off property if considerably less expensive.
-We could live off of crackers the whole time if we have to, but we know we'll want to eat the park food, too.
-We'd be going from Philadelphia to Orlando. If we drove, roundtrip gas calculates to $349.70.
If we book through Southwest for two roundtrip flights, it's $695.60, and Amtrak for two coach seats is $528. Numberwise, driving makes the most sense, but then we have to figure in a night in a hotel on the way down, so it pretty much comes out even.

Maybe I should just stay home and watch park videos on Youtube instead...sigh...

[faline]

It's hard to know how things would break out. ?When driving, you also need to factor in the cost of wear and tear on your vehicle as well as the cost of meals on the road (unless you pack food to eat along the way).

Airline prices are all over the place. Given that you are not planning for specific dates, airline fares could be up or down from what you have currently seen.

While you can limit your food costs, crackers doesn't seem to be a viable option. You might do some strict planning so that you don't do the park hopper option.

If you stay off-site, you will need to factor in the cost of parking as well.

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

I've done this too ... planned trips that were a bit crazy ... just to kepep me going between visits.

For a short trip, it is especially important that you don't arrive so tired you can't enjoy it. For us, that means spending a bit extra on the train, so we all arrive having slept the night before.

Since there are two of you, could could drive straight through, and add an extra night at Disney ... but you'd have to factor in the sleep factor.

With the price of the train, it seems like a choice between driving and flying, and again, for a short trip flying might be the answer.

But then, if you stay off-site, you'll have to factor in parking and car rental, so I'd go with driving down, staying off-site (since price is a huge factor) and use what you save for an extra day to enjoy Disney.

[Bay Lake]

Look at Frontier Airline out of Wilmington Del, They fly to and from Orlando on Tuesdays and last I looked it was $169.00 round trip. this would cut your travel expense in half.

[BigB]

We have found that for a trip for two the cost is the same. We would rent a car because both of my vehicles are ten years and 170,000 miles plus. They still run great and are well taken care of but I don't want to put 5-7K needless miles. For a quick trip I say fly. Its two and a half hours from PHL to MCO. The train on the other hand takes twenty-four hours. Try to fly out on the red eyes. Our morning flights (7am) are usually not to capacity and when we arrive at our hotel we still have two thirds of a day in the park. Another plus to the early flights is the security check points are empty.

[TinyDancer]

Depending on what side of PHL you're on, sometimes flying out of BWI is significantly cheaper and has a much better selection of flights. Southwest doesn't charge for carry-on bags and usually has a flight arriving into MCO before 10am. For meals, keep in mind that lunches are usually cheaper than dinners. We usually get the latest lunch seating we can so it serves as a dinner.

[MargaretMessler]

If your travel dates are flexible, wait for a free dining promotion. That'll save you $$ on food and you still get to partake of park food