Our next Disney vacation is fast approaching. Once I find out the status of my mother in law's health, I will be able to concentrate more on planning the trip. Right now my mind is mush.

However, even if she doesn't go, we will still be going and there are some things I have to make decisions on - such as, should we drive or should we fly? Last time we drove and I swore I'd NEVER drive from Pennsylvania to Florida again - but the topic has come up anyway.

When I booked this upcoming trip, I booked a flight. My MIL is in Ohio, so she will fly regardless. She had to fly last time and meet us at the resort. I thought, since this time my mom and grandma won't be going, we should just fly.

We got a direct flight from Philadelphia to Orlando so our plan was to drive to Philly the night before and stay at a hotel, leave our vehicle there, in a gated and secure parking lot and have a shuttle take us to the airport. Get to the airport and within 2 hours (hopefully) we'd be in Florida. That versus a 20 hour car ride. Sounds like I made the right decision, right?

Well, I hate flying. I haven't flown since before the tragedy of 9/11 - my husband (at the time) and I had gone to California and we had just come home on 9/9 - so that was a bit freakish for me. So between all the new regulations because of terrorism and the fact that, I don't know, it seems like planes are just falling out of the sky more often lately - I admit, I am more than a bit uneasy about flying. Last night CJ and I talked about not flying and just driving. Since my mom and grandma won't be with us, we feel we'd be able to drive straight through, taking turns driving and stopping frequently so the kids can stretch.

Driving is such a pain in the butt though. Last time we rented a van - this time we wouldn't need to. Our Honda pilot is only a ear old and we have AAA in case anything should happen. I am trying to weigh the pros and cons of driving:

PROS:
  • We can pack as much as we want! I won't have to worry about packing light because we're flying. Not that I want to take all kinds of stuff with me but heck, this way we can even take our stroller along like we did last time. Plus, we will have an easier time getting any souvenirs back home.
  • We have control of the trip (for the most part) - if we want to stop at a hotel for the night, we can, if not we can keep going. We won't have to worry about our vehicle being left in a hotel parking lot for the entire time we're gone.
  • Our vehicle has a DVD player in it so the kids will be entertained. Hey, THAT is important on a long drive!
  • We will have our vehicle with us - so if we need to leave for any reason, (Gods forbid) at least we have our vehicle there and won't have to worry about trying to get a flight home.
  • Anything could happen - our plane could be delayed, flight could be canceled, the kids could hate flying and have a melt down and we could have a very stressful flight.
CONS:
  • We have already paid for our flight and it is non-refundable, so we'd be out about $900 - I think we can get our money back for the hotel stay in Philly.
  • Gas - we'd already be out $900 by not flying, then paying for gas and quick meals here and there when we stop to eat is extra money too.
  • It will take longer which means Olivia will miss an extra day of school. We'd leave Tuesday, when she gets home from school and we'd return on a Thursday. If we fly, we'd be back Wednesday night and so she would be at school Thursday.
  • Anything could happen, car accident, breakdown, it could take us longer than we anticipate depending on traffic.
It's obvious flying is quicker and since I already paid, it would seem like that is the way to go. So why am I still pondering this? I already spent the money so I'm out $900 no matter what.

I would love feedback - what would you do?