Anyone ever used Disney air?

[MTMom]

I am pricing air from Dallas to Orlando, and also Memphis to Orlando and am finding the price that Disney offers for air much cheaper for June 2003. Has anyone ever booked their air thru Disney Cruise Line? If so, were you happy with the flights? There are direct flights available, can you be guaranteed a direct flight? Any other insights would be greatly appreciated.

 

[llachance]

we used Disney to make our air reservations the first year because I didn't know any better. This year the money I saved by making my own let us spend three days at the Animal Kingdom Lodge in a Savannah view room before the cruise. They book their tickets in blocks and there is no guarantee on non-stop flights or anything like that. I would look carefully at all the options before I let them make my reservations again.

 

[prymsu]

normally i purchase my own air, but I always check to see if by some chance it is less expensive to book air through the cruise line. I say if it is less to do it this way, then you should go for it.

the downside is that you may not be able to have your family all sit together, and that you may not get direct flights.

 

[DOCTORRICK]

In my opinion, if you are booking well in advance, you will always do better pricewise on your own. If it's more a last minute deal, you may do as well or better with disney.

However, as has been noted, no guarantee on seats together or direct flights. In fact my brother had a flight with disney through tampa (an extra hour on the bus), then had to split up his family (children all under 8) and had a connection to boston. He was quite unhappy with the whole thing.

Check it out, but if your more than a couple of months in advance you should do better on your own.

 

[grannymary]

Our TA said Disny would promise us direct flights for a additional add on of $50.00pp.Which my son-in-law paid, since they have a 1 yr old and 8yr. Besides I am paying for the trip. But in future I would book my own air.. I think we figured it out. It comes to approx $350.pp when done with Disney.

 

[mcnuss]

The reason it looks like booking on your own is more expensive than DCL is bc you are looking almost a year in advance! You will not find any fare sales on the airlines this far out. However, DCL offered me the option of holding the air portion for a certain amount of time (can't remember how much, sorry!) and during that time, it is cancellable. I would suggest doing that for your peace of mind, then start checking in about Feb/March for June fares. Anytime from 30-90 days out will net you the best deals. I ended up using FF points so it became moot for me, but they were pretty flexible.

 

[kplatt]

We had DCL book our air for our first cruise, and won't do it again. Besides being more expensive, we had no control over the times of the flights. And we didn't get our flight info until about 3-4 weeks before the trip.

The flight down was fine, but we had to leave the ship by 9 am, and our flight from Orlando to Washington Dulles was around 4 pm. We got waitlisted for earlier flights, but nothing became available. It's too long to sit around an airport, but not long enough to go do anything else!

We've been booking our own flights since.

Karen
Wonder 11/01
Magic 3/02
Magic 11/02

 

[kellyb2000]

I had the same experience as above. We booked everything through Disney (like earlier said, we didn't know any better) Our trip down was no problem but our flight back wasn't until late afternoon. We waited at the airport an hour before my husband couldn't stand it any longer. We did end up with a standby flight but I was at one end of the plane and my husband was at the other. Not the greatest way to end your honeymoon. Plus you have to deal with getting your luggage home from your original flight which was a real headache.

 

[lemplit]

Booked with Disney Cruise and found it difficult and limited, ended up paying the $50 p/p to deviate and still couldn't get the exact flights I wanted, the way they do it for WDW with you being able to choose flights and times etc. was far better.

 

[Señor Ferrari]

I've always had a pretty good experience with it. We usually fly out of Ontario, CA, which is more convenient for us than LAX. We stop in Dallas and don't have a lot of wait time between flights. Since we fly from the west coast, we arrive the day before and the air package includes a night at the Hyatt in Orlando airport. I think you can always find cheaper air on your own. How much cheaper may vary based on your itinerary (flight-wise) and whether it's worth it or not is really up to you.

If you do book with the cruise line, you can call and get your flight information 30 days prior to departure, as this is when they actually make the reservations. The DCL air desk is at 1-877-566-0967. This way, you can get your flight info and then call the airlines to get seat assignments. You won't have to wait for your cruise documents to arrive. This should allow you to avoid having to split up the group.

 

[dylan'smom]

... and it was perfect.

Coming from L.A., we actually found it cost effective since it included a night at the Hyatt ($200 more for our friends who booked air separately) and ALL transfers. We also had non-stop flights with great times & seat assignments together!! I especially liked that when we decided to add a trip to WDW on the end, there was no extra cost even though we were adding another transfer!! They will guarantee your making it to the ship in case any problems in flights arise also.

Having said all that, we do it on our own now because I have heard about others' poor experiences!!! Our experience was perfect, but I'm afraid to push my luck...