Airfare Advice Needed

[Barefoot On A Plane]

We are attending DW in June. In an effort to save my family of 5 $240 on flights, I want to fly back (to Texas) out of MCO at 8pm instead of 12:40pm. Is staying later on our check out day worth saving the $240? Please let me know what you all think. Thank you.

 

[afan]

What do you plan to do that day? If you'll end up spending the 240 between park tickets, food, shopping or whatever you decide to do it's not worth it if you'd rather be home earlier.

If you are going to hang out at the pool and not spend much money then it may be worth it if the money is more important than time at home/getting in late. I'd also look at what you are doing the following day at home and whether you can afford to get in late.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I wouldn’t. You’ll barely save anything after buying lunch and Disney and dinner at the airport and snacks in between…

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

If you can stay all day and want to save money, then it's worth it. If you have smalls that won't do well that late, then don't. Really up to you on what your family can handle as far as flight times.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

I wouldn’t. You’ll barely save anything after buying lunch and Disney and dinner at the airport and snacks in between…

I know they'll spend more but $240 difference per person for 5 is a lot of money. That's like over $1k. I doubt they'd spend that much more on food and shopping or park tickets, whatever they decide to do.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I know they'll spend more but $240 difference per person for 5 is a lot of money. That's like over $1k. I doubt they'd spend that much more on food and shopping or park tickets, whatever they decide to do.

The never said they’d save $240 per person. If that was the case they wouldn’t even be asking, this would be a no brainer to stay longer.

 

[focusondisney]

I know they'll spend more but $240 difference per person for 5 is a lot of money.

In the OP:

Is staying later on our check out day worth saving the $240?

The total savings for the whole family is $240, not $240 per person.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I would only do it if we were off the next day. We all need some time to unwind. You'd be leaving to go to the airport around 5pm so you could easily go to the pool until around 4:30, change into some dry clothes, get your bags at bell services, and have dinner by the gate at MCO.

I would have a Plan B in case of bad weather before booking.

 

[Best Aunt]

I think flight delays are more common later in the day, as opposed to earlier in the day. When making the decision, assume that the flight will leave late. Maybe you will find out about a delay while you are still relaxing at the hotel, but maybe you will find out about a delay when you are already at the airport. Will your group do well hanging out at the airport for a long time? Will they do well if they arrive home late at night?

If someone is picking you up at the airport, then a changing arrival time could be annoying. If you left your car at the airport, then this isn't an issue. If you will take Uber/Lyft/cab home from the airport, then you need to figure out how hard they would be to get if your flight arrives later than scheduled.

What are the flight alternatives? If the only options are 8:00 pm and 6:00 am, for example, you might find that the earlier flight would not work based on the personalities of the people in your group. But if there are other flights which aren't "crack of dawn" early, that's a different story.

 

[Twilghtsprkle]

For $240 total? Absolutely not worth it. You’ll get in late and wreck your first day back home.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Family is vague here. We talking young kids we talking teens we talking adults?

Another thing to keep in mind with a 12:40pm flight that will mean an early enough breakfast in order to get to the airport with enough time to get through security and get to your gates (so make sure you're full packed the night before). Also keep in mind the hunger factor of those in your party as you'd be leaving around lunchtime and not getting home til somewhat close to dinner time (depending on when you normally eat dinner and how far away from the airport you live) although it wasn't mentioned if this was non-stop or not.

I also agree though with the posts discussing the later on flight and how that impacts you. We're used to late flights, we used to land a lot between 11pm and 2am, but it's also why what the "family" comprises of makes a difference especially for June which depending on things school-aged kids may or may not still be in school at that time.

FWIW I personally don't find $240 a lot of money saved when spread out over 5 people, it may be the difference between someone being able to go or not, but strictly speaking I don't find it to be a substantial amount if you're already considering a different option. But others have a good point about potential costs due to activities prior to the 8pm flight I'm just not so quick to be assured it will be "a lot more".

I rarely look at something with respects to vacation in a pure financial sense because life doesn't necessarily work that way. It doesn't mean I don't make decisions based on it but that I consider it with all of things included.

 

[DCLMP]

Is is 240 or 240 per person?

 

[Genie+]

When our kids were teens we’d all take any excuse to stay in the parks longer Save $240 by changing our flights to later? OK!

But we always rented a car, so we’d just throw the luggage in the car after check-out. Without a car that could get complicated - put in bell services, go to park, go back to resort and get luggage, head out to airport.

And we got bit a couple times. Worst one was this time of year. Had a 7pm flight that was delayed 3 hours. Landed at our home airport at 1am, who normally closes at midnight but say it stays open until last flight arrives back. Well, they were closed. Took forever to get our luggage. No shuttle to long term parking. DH walked 45 minutes to get our car. It was covered in ice and security gate down with nobody home. He had to bust out with his 4 wheel drive We finally got on the road 3am. Ice everywhere took almost 2 hours to make it home. Kids did not make it school next day.

 

[Duckyswims1720]

Lounging by the hotel pool after checkout has become one of our favorite WDW activities. We pack our park days so full that we really enjoy spending that last day just relaxing and enjoying the resort and doing all the things we didn’t leave time to do. We schedule our trips to leave early evening now.

Our kids are ES age but overall good travelers and can manage the occasional late night without being completely useless the next day. Mom and Dad, who are getting up there, usually schedule a light morning for the next day just in case.

The pools all have towels and showers, and most have soap dispensers so you can freshen up before heading home. Bell services is very easy to use, and if you’re staying at a value resort and flying SW, it’s so easy to send those checked bags on ahead of you.

The risk, as others said, is that your flight will get delayed, either due to schedule backups or the daily afternoon Orlando storm, and you’ll get in super late. You could find yourself with an overall bad pool day which would make your daytime wait pretty miserable. You could also find yourself spending your flight savings on something like a character breakfast on your last day and come out at the same place financially.

Personally, I’d rather spend my $250 enjoying myself and making memories with my family than paying an airline. And I travel for business enough to know that I can get burned on flight delays at any time of day so it doesn’t weigh too heavily in my decision making.

 

[Barefoot On A Plane]

I think flight delays are more common later in the day, as opposed to earlier in the day. When making the decision, assume that the flight will leave late. Maybe you will find out about a delay while you are still relaxing at the hotel, but maybe you will find out about a delay when you are already at the airport. Will your group do well hanging out at the airport for a long time? Will they do well if they arrive home late at night?

If someone is picking you up at the airport, then a changing arrival time could be annoying. If you left your car at the airport, then this isn't an issue. If you will take Uber/Lyft/cab home from the airport, then you need to figure out how hard they would be to get if your flight arrives later than scheduled.

What are the flight alternatives? If the only options are 8:00 pm and 6:00 am, for example, you might find that the earlier flight would not work based on the personalities of the people in your group. But if there are other flights which aren't "crack of dawn" early, that's a different story.

I'm an educator so I'm off for the summer so getting home late won't matter. We leave the car at the airport so that won't be a problem. I DO worry about the late flight being delayed and that would stink but not really a deal breaker. I have 4 kids 10, 18, 21, 24 so hanging out late at the airport won't be an issue.
My other flight option is a 12 noon flight (as opposed to the cheaper late flight).

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Barefoot On A Plane]

Is is 240 or 240 per person?

$240 total

 

[Barefoot On A Plane]

When our kids were teens we’d all take any excuse to stay in the parks longer Save $240 by changing our flights to later? OK!

But we always rented a car, so we’d just throw the luggage in the car after check-out. Without a car that could get complicated - put in bell services, go to park, go back to resort and get luggage, head out to airport.

And we got bit a couple times. Worst one was this time of year. Had a 7pm flight that was delayed 3 hours. Landed at our home airport at 1am, who normally closes at midnight but say it stays open until last flight arrives back. Well, they were closed. Took forever to get our luggage. No shuttle to long term parking. DH walked 45 minutes to get our car. It was covered in ice and security gate down with nobody home. He had to bust out with his 4 wheel drive We finally got on the road 3am. Ice everywhere took almost 2 hours to make it home. Kids did not make it school next day.

Wow...but what a memory, huh? thanks for the feedback

 

[Barefoot On A Plane]

Is is 240 or 240 per person?

Family is vague here. We talking young kids we talking teens we talking adults?

Another thing to keep in mind with a 12:40pm flight that will mean an early enough breakfast in order to get to the airport with enough time to get through security and get to your gates (so make sure you're full packed the night before). Also keep in mind the hunger factor of those in your party as you'd be leaving around lunchtime and not getting home til somewhat close to dinner time (depending on when you normally eat dinner and how far away from the airport you live) although it wasn't mentioned if this was non-stop or not.

I also agree though with the posts discussing the later on flight and how that impacts you. We're used to late flights, we used to land a lot between 11pm and 2am, but it's also why what the "family" comprises of makes a difference especially for June which depending on things school-aged kids may or may not still be in school at that time.

FWIW I personally don't find $240 a lot of money saved when spread out over 5 people, it may be the difference between someone being able to go or not, but strictly speaking I don't find it to be a substantial amount if you're already considering a different option. But others have a good point about potential costs due to activities prior to the 8pm flight I'm just not so quick to be assured it will be "a lot more".

I rarely look at something with respects to vacation in a pure financial sense because life doesn't necessarily work that way. It doesn't mean I don't make decisions based on it but that I consider it with all of things included.

Thanks for the insight.
It'll be my 4 kids ages 10, 18, 22, and 25 and myself. At face value the savings is $240 TOTAL but I'm worried about spending much more than that after going to disney springs or finding other fun stuff to do that will cost us some extra $$.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Thanks for the insight.
It'll be my 4 kids ages 10, 18, 22, and 25 and myself. At face value the savings is $240 TOTAL but I'm worried about spending much more than that after going to disney springs or finding other fun stuff to do that will cost us some extra $$.

Those ages, to me, it should be a big consideration what they want to do.

They aren't kids, with exception to the 10 yr old. This may sound "parenting advice" but do understand I'm not trying to make it that way, the rest can pay for things themselves (unless there is special needs involved that negates certain age-appropriate responsibilities). If you're really very concerned about potential additional costs have them chip in. A meal for example isn't going to break the bank to them or an activity either. If you went to Disney Springs and went shopping they could certainly buy what they want (clothes, food merch, even a movie if you saw one there). You don't have to shoulder the cost just to shoulder the cost. Who you are going with are actually adults (with exception to the 10 yr old).

Realistically with the added information you really should be talking with your 3 adult children. Maybe they don't want to take the extra time because one or more of them have something to do or they are concerned about work the next day OR maybe they do want to spend more time in Orlando and soak it up but regardless we're not talking about little kids where you and only you are solely responsible for the expenditures and you and only you have obligations to consider, you're traveling with adults.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Thanks for the insight.
It'll be my 4 kids ages 10, 18, 22, and 25 and myself. At face value the savings is $240 TOTAL but I'm worried about spending much more than that after going to disney springs or finding other fun stuff to do that will cost us some extra $$.

Those ages do make this easier. Sketch out what you would do and what you expect them to eat. At those ages it is easy enough to say no more souvenirs if we go to Disney Springs unless you're buying them yourself but the food could still bite you. Check the menus of where you plan to eat and see what your expected budget adds up to get the real financial picture.