ORLANDO, Fla. — Memorial Day travel wrapped up on Monday after a record-breaking holiday weekend across the country.
AAA projected that 45 million Americans traveled at least 50 miles from home for Memorial Day between Thursday and Monday.
This year’s domestic travel forecast is slightly higher than last year and sets a new Memorial Day weekend record with 39.1 million people traveling by car and 3.66 million flying to their destinations. While gas prices are higher than last Memorial Day weekend, average ticket prices for flights are lower than last year for those who booked early.
Memorial Day weekend marked the unofficial start of summer, and according to AAA, this year Orlando ranked as the top domestic destination for the holiday weekend, as visitors filled theme parks and hotels.
“My son is getting married in September, so we came for the bachelorette party, and we got in on Thursday. We saw most of the Disney parks and Disney Springs today. So, it was a great trip,” traveler Mackay Schwarz said as she got ready for her flight home to Oklahoma City out of Orlando International Airport.
Air travelers make up 8% of the share of travelers this holiday weekend, according to AAA. Schwarz said they used a rideshare service to get to MCO, but once they arrived, they experienced some long lines.
“The drop-off line for bags was considerably longer than normal. And I’ll also say the ticket was considerably more expensive,” she said.
“We had some brief delays coming in here from Oklahoma City, but it was mostly just due to weather on that end. But so far everything’s been smooth and everyone in Orlando couldn’t have been any nicer,” traveler Sydney Schwarz said.
According to AAA, passengers traveling on Memorial Day can experience longer than usual wait times in the afternoon hours – one of the busiest times as people head back home.
“The roads are pretty busy, and the lines to check our bag is pretty busy, so I came in to visit my parents and my sister,” Naman Kumar said.
Kumar says he flew in from Maryland on Friday night, and it was also busy then.
“Yeah, actually my flight to here was delayed by 20-30 minutes. So yeah, there were some delays, but there’s no delays today, so let’s keep that the same way,” Kumar said.
According to AAA, about 39.1 million people traveled by car over Memorial Day weekend, a slight jump over last year. Driving is the most popular way to travel and makes up 87% of the share of Memorial Day travelers.
“We’re going home. We’re going home to Miami,” Grant Livingston said as he made a stop at the Turkey Lake service plaza along Florida’s Turnpike Monday night.
Livingston is a musician coming back from the Annual Florida Folk Festival in White Springs. He is one among many travelers who chose to drive this Memorial Day weekend.
“I’ve always driven there, and it’s, you know, any for anything under anything under 500 miles. I’m always going to drive. And I’ve got a I’ve got a lot of equipment with me too. So, it’s just it’s much easier to drive than to fly,” Livingston said.
He shared that so far, traffic on his way to South Florida tonight has not been that bad. “It’s fine, yes, other years have been worse,” he said.
This holiday weekend, drivers are paying more at the pump compared to last year when the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline was $3.17 on Memorial Day. Currently, pump prices are the highest they’ve been since the summer of 2022.
According to AAA, today’s national average is $4.50, with Florida seeing an average of $4.35.