Airfare from East Coast

[msb578]

We've done WDW a bunch, and recently did our first Disney cruise. Next, I'd like to make my first visit to Disneyland. But I live in upstate New York, and getting there isn't so easy.

Has anyone else on this forum flown to DLR from my area of the U.S.? I guess my two preferred time frames are Presidents Day Week, or late August (thinking 2017 or even 2018).

The minimum of $400 RT that I'm seeing is a buzzkill We're a family of 5, so $2000+ just to get there and back is making me think this is just going to be too much.

Has anyone done better than that recently? Any tips? My home airport is Syracuse, but we could drive a bit. And we're open to any destination airport.

Thanks!

 

[luulu1999]

have you looked at Southwest site directly? They are the cheapest I have found you can look all the way to the end of July right now and the sooner you book the cheaper!

 

[BadPinkTink]

hi @msb578 you should check www.skyscanner.com Its a price comparison website

 

[SMD]

Since you're looking more than a year out, watch for fare sales or maybe start working on rewards that can go towards airfare. Also look for other airports near CA if you don't mind driving. Try Vegas or Phoenix. I don't think San Diego would be that much cheaper, but worth watching those fares too.

 

[Khokhonutt]

I use skyscanner as well. I originally found that site reading the article How to Book the Cheapest Flight Possible to Anywhere. One thing I can tell you can make a big difference, which is discussed in the article, is to look into flying mid-week to mid-week, rather than weekend to weekend. Flying out and back on a Tuesday or Wednesday can save you a lot. That might not work well when the kids are in school, but it can be manageable in the summer.

 

[skier_pete]

Hi neighbor we are from Buffalo. I feel your pain. We are heading out for February break to DLR. In our case, we are traveling to and from Phoenix, AZ and then driving but that's because that is where my mom is. The flights are actually more expensive to Phoenix than to LAX usually. We paid I think $430 - but only had to pay for two flights as we have our daughter flying on points.

We have seen a good air out of Buffalo for around $350 RT on Southwest, but that is probably the best you are going to do. Looking right now the best I see is around $340 RT on SWA in March and April under the current sale price. I dobut you could do much better than that. There's also flights into Orange County, which is closer to DLR, for the same price.

If you are a die-hard Disney fan - a trip to the "mother ship" of Disneyland is well worth it. It really is a very different experience, though some rides are nearly-identical, many are not, and they are so worth experiencing! Check out my 2012 trip report in my signature if you want to see our thoughts on DLR the first time we went. Combine the trip with seeing other sites is good though - because realistically 3-4 days at DLR is plenty. Don't go in the winter though - we are discovering a LOT of stuff is closed down while we are going to be there - and we even cut our DLR stay from 4 to 3 days because of it.

Consider that even though the flight prices cost you more, you can save considerable money by staying off-property. DLR is very compact, and if you stay at a resort on Harbor Boulevard instead of staying at one of the Disney hotels you can get some pretty reasonable hotel rates. The walks to the parks are trivial compared to what you experience at WDW - it's like staying at the Contemporary and walking to Magic Kingdom, except Magic Kingdom is where both parks AND Downtown Disney are located.

 

[sheetz]

http://matrix.itasoftware.com/ is also a good search engine if you're flexible with your dates and locations.

You can sometimes get some surprisingly good deals between NYC and LA because that route is so competitive. I'm currently finding flights (w/ 1 stopover) on American between LGA and LAX for $135 each way for dates in late August. Nonstop flights are available on Virgin for $154.

 

[skier_pete]

The problem with someone from Syracuse flying out of Laguardia is it is a 4+ hour drive to get there and you'd have to pay $20 a day to park. Admitted Buffalo is not a lot better as an option (2.5 hours and $8 a day to park). I didn't mention it in my previous post, but you should also look at Rochester or Albany, both or which have southwest flights.

 

[msb578]

This is a wealth of information- thank you all so much!

Southwest. From nearby Rochester I do see quite a few $332 RTs. And no baggage fees... when multiplied across 5 people it's significantly better than what I saw at first.

Of course, I'm still in the general feasibility stage. But I'm encouraged by some of these possibilities.

 

[PatMcDuck]

Southwest, and sometimes John Wayne is cheaper than LAX. I got $125 each way out of Newark NJ to SNA this February. Which is exceptionally cheap, of course. (not non-stops).

 

[marsh0013]

Southwest, and sometimes John Wayne is cheaper than LAX. I got $125 each way out of Newark NJ to SNA this February. Which is exceptionally cheap, of course. (not non-stops).

What days of the week did you fly, and did you book the day flights were released or closer to trip date? We went to LA/Disneyland this past June (flew Southwest LGA to LAX and back SNA to EWR, of course with stops each way) and are looking to go back sometime in 2017, maybe try to coincide with Dapper Days to be able to afford to stay at the Disneyland Hotel. Will be booking on Southwest again as we are about to earn the companion pass for this year and next year, and want to stretch those miles as much as possible!

 

[sheetz]

The problem with someone from Syracuse flying out of Laguardia is it is a 4+ hour drive to get there and you'd have to pay $20 a day to park.

I realize that but this was also just a spur of the moment internet search. The deals can be really amazing when there are sales. This deal for $89 ROUNDTRIP from Spirit Air was mentioned on a blog last September.
http://pointsmilesandmartinis.board...flights-for-89-roundtrip-including-taxesfees/

Granted it is Spirit Air and there are extra fees, but for that price I'd be willing to drive pretty far.

 

[kydisneyfans]

Ontario is close to the same distance as LAX without the headaches and is often a few dollars cheaper with Southwest. We fly Louisville, KY with Dayton, OH as the backup. John Wayne airport is the closest but is a double layover, a no go for us. Our RT is in the $369 range, but I've seen sub-$300 rates at various times that don't fit our schedule. There are many hotels that are a decent walk, others are reachable by ART. Understand that ART is public transportation, not Disney transportation, and is not nearly as good. The compactness of the parks is a huge plus as we are 18 time Disney World vets and a 1 time Disneyland vet. We found ourselves walking to the Toy Story parking lot more than once to catch a bus as ART was just way too long of a wait.

 

[Michael623]

We are from Boston and I usually budget $400 for airfare and if I get it lower, it's a bonus. We actually paid $293 for our August trip but bought right at 11 months and had to be flexible with our dates. We typically take non-stops to San Diego on Alaska air. I've been to WDW like 40 times and I think DL is much better. It is totally worth the trip. Disneyland Paris...not so much.

 

[SMD]

I've found traffic from the IE (here ONT is) can be worse than LAX where you at least have more route options. Plus, any savings on airfare tend to be eaten up by increased ground transportation costs.

 

[SpaceMtnGirl]

We fly out of Memphis or Nashville and the airfare is definitely a bummer, especially compared to our $200 RT trips to Orlando. I paid $500 RT each last year out of Memphis to John Wayne Airport. Luckily, there were only two of us! For our May 2016 trip, we have to go Saturday-Saturday so unfortunately we paid $410 RT each, Nashville to LAX. Wednesday-Wednesday would have been $354 RT each but it just didn't work for us. I agree with the previous poster that mid-week tends to be best.

 

[markb681]

Back in Mid November I was checking flights from Cincinnati to LAX...for a Sept/2016 vacation....$183 RT on United w/1 stop! I about broke my neck getting my credit card out to book it! I was budgeting $300+....

 

[sharona]

We are from Boston and I usually budget $400 for airfare and if I get it lower, it's a bonus. We actually paid $293 for our August trip but bought right at 11 months and had to be flexible with our dates. We typically take non-stops to San Diego on Alaska air. I've been to WDW like 40 times and I think DL is much better. It is totally worth the trip. Disneyland Paris...not so much.

You may already know this but just in case you don't or for othere wHo may be interested... if you get the Bank of America Alaska Airlines Visa you get an annual $99 rt companion fare. The card has a $75 annual fee so essentially getting the second fare for $200 rt once you add in taxes etc. We used these companion pass fares to get to Hawaii from Boston for what worked out to be about $500 pp but they can also be used for Boston to CA.

 

[mfleeting]

I've been using google flights to find the cheapest prices. For us to fly out of Boston the cheapest I've found so far is $405/person.

 

[mrsksmithvt]

Has anyone done better than that recently? Any tips? My home airport is Syracuse, but we could drive a bit. And we're open to any destination airport.

Vermonter here. We used our Costco card and booked a one way rental BTV (Burlington Airport) to BOS (Boston Airport) for $15.02 a 3 hour drive. Flew JetBlue to Phoenix $149 each way for 4 people; over $430 each from BTV plus 4 hour layover in JFK. Car rental from Phoenix Airport for 2 weeks $270 w/ axes a fees; visiting in laws. 5 hour drive, easy but long. I wish we had researched the packages on Costco for Disneyland for our Hotel and tickets we could have saved a bunch more, plus a Character Meal included; much better options than WDW. We stayed at the Residence Inn Marriott only two blocks, easy walk. Full kitchen which is a plus with two growing boys. I think we have walked further to our car from our room at Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House then our walk to Disneyland.