Anyone traveling to WDW from the Pacific Northwest?

[tikimao]

I'd love to take the family to WDW but it seems so very expensive! I've been pricing trips and it looks like over $6K for hotel, flight and park tickets for our family of 5 (2 adults, DD9, DD13 and DS 3months).

Am I just stuck because our flights are so far? Am I looking at the wrong travel sites (looked at Southwest and Disney.go.com).

Anyone else from Seattle love going to WDW and have make it cheaper tips?

 

[Strawberry's mom&dad]

The hotel and park tickets are pretty much the same for everyone. The hotel price can very widely depending on the time of year and the class of hotel.. On or off property makes a difference but the you get into car rental and parking. The airfares from Sea usually start in the mid $300s and go up depending on when you buy and the time of year you go. Alaska offers nonstop flights but they tend to be a little more expensive. The cheapest flights tend to be overnight with at least one stop. So it really depends on comfort level vs price as to what is acceptable to you.

 

[Skpnw]

We typically go to WDW every 2-3 years. I would definitely recommend not going during the busiest times - as that will be more expensive everywhere (hotel, airfare, etc). However, we have flown the non-stop Alaska flights and some Delta flights via Atlanta. Both were fine. The nice thing is that you don't need to rent a car - just take magical express if you stay on-site. The negative: you are "trapped" on Disney property

Also, because of the long flight, we go for about a week. It is not something we can do for 4 days - too short with time zone changes, etc. If we want a shorter trip, we go to DL.

Just look at orbitz, expedia, etc to get an idea on flights, flight times, and then go to the airline website to price them out. I tend to pay a bit more to get a more "direct" flight in terms of the direction from Seattle to Orlando (for example, doesn't make sense to me to fly to Newark and then fly to Orlando). I like to just head in the general direction - so layovers in Dallas, Atlanta appeal to me. Not a huge fan of layovers in Chicago and the NE as they seem out of the way.

 

[ICan'tWait]

kayak.com is a good way to search for flights. The last couple years we've gone because we received points/companion passes through Delta and Southwest based off credit card deals we applied. It takes a lot of research and planning to make it affordable. The last two years we participated in the Disney YES program and that was a HUGE savings for us. Unfortunately they're not as good a deal this year but every little bit helps. You might check out the YES program on the budget board.

 

[JessB320]

If your into credit card rewards, get an Alaska airlines (through BOA) that's how we fly our family of 7 out of Seattle!! The points add up fast plus every year we get a $100 campaign fare. Alaska and delta flights can be booked with points .

 

[3SpoiledPrincesses]

We are!! We are a family of 5 as well. My kids are 3,5,9. We are flying into Jacksonville via American and staying with my family a month before we go to Disney. Then we are flying back on a direct flight from Orlando (MCO) to Seattle (SEA).

We are going in August. Our plane tickets were right at $1700 round trip. Our 4 day park hoppers were $919 (for 6 military salute tickets, my mom is joining us in Orlando). Right now we are staying at an offsite hotel for $764 for 6 nights/major hotel chain/2 bedrooms/2 bathroom room. Since there are 6 of us, the Disney resort hotels don't really work for us and I am not really into the value hotels. My second choice would be SOG.

For flights I watched fares for a while. Southwest has some okay fares right now. Alaska air has gone up some. Our direct flight home tickets were $178 each when I bought them. They are $219 now (I think). I used Kayak to compare and even looked at tickets for up to 3 days before/after to get the best rate for the times that I wanted. I also noticed that you can save a little by booking your flight/hotel together (like on Expedia/Orbitz/Travelocity). Also check out lastminutetravel.com for hotels.

 

[Sue M]

We fly out of Seattle, and usually manage to get fares in the low to mid $300s. I like to get early morning flights so I can be arriving at MCO by 5pm ish
I watch flights on Kayak.com too.

Booking WDW hotels, you have to click on the link under Special Offers. There are different Promos released all the time. You can also look on Mousesavers.com Do a search on their site for Historical discounts. You can see when past discounts were released, and what they were.

If you just go on the WDW web site and use regular link it will quote rack rate.
If you have AAA you can get up to a 20% room only discount depending on level of resort.
Disney can release discounts of 20 - 25% on values, 30% on moderates, and 35% on deluxe resorts for room only. They also release packages that include tickets and dining plan.

You have to do the Disney Math to figure out which will be the best discount for your family.

Some do a room only discount, then buy tickets from a site like Undercover Tourist. I have done this in the past. They sell WDW tickets with a bit of a discount and they send you real tickets, tax is included in posted price, and no shipping fee. So be sure you compare apples to apples. WDW web site doesn't show tax till check out.

Personally, if it's your first trip or 2 i think its a good idea to use a Disney Authorized Vacation Planner. They make sure you are getting the best prices, and are helpful planning too.

 

[interstate70s]

We 're flying from Portland end of April through SW. I got a sw credit card with the 50k offer. We were able to book the tickets paying a total of $250 opp. The lowest Ive seen since I started looking is about from either Portland or Seatac is about $160 each way per person. I agree with checking Kayak, but also look at airlines websites themselves for specials.

 

[Sue M]

We 're flying from Portland end of April through SW. I got a sw credit card with the 50k offer. We were able to book the tickets paying a total of $250 opp. The lowest Ive seen since I started looking is about from either Portland or Seatac is about $160 each way per person. I agree with checking Kayak, but also look at airlines websites themselves for specials.

Is that $160 before or after tax? Wow, I've never seen it the low with tax included. I've heard Portland does get some good fares, but it's already a 3 hr drive for us getting to SeaTac! Lowest I've got from Sea is $287, and that was quite a few years ago. Our fare for our trip this past Jan was $318 incl tax, now searching for August fare, and wow are they up to high $300s - low $400. Yikes. I hope they will go down. I keep watching Kayak, and go to airlines web site too. SW rarely has a good deal from Sea.

 

[interstate70s]

Is that $160 before or after tax? Wow, I've never seen it the low with tax included. I've heard Portland does get some good fares, but it's already a 3 hr drive for us getting to SeaTac! Lowest I've got from Sea is $287, and that was quite a few years ago. Our fare for our trip this past Jan was $318 incl tax, now searching for August fare, and wow are they up to high $300s - low $400. Yikes. I hope they will go down. I keep watching Kayak, and go to airlines web site too. SW rarely has a good deal from Sea.

The $160 is one way not round trip, sorry for the confusion, total would $320rt per person if we didn't have the points including tax. They did have that fare from Seatac the same dates (end of april) up until the day I could commit to book it. So I checked Portland, which up until that point had been really high. The fares had dropped drastically from Portland, so we are flying out of there instead. Portland is just under 3 hrs for us, SeaTac's an hour, but since we are doing a park-n-fly, it doesn't really make that much difference.

 

[gilesmt]

We go every three years and the flight is high, but when you compare it to a flight to DL it is a value, I spend usually $300 from seatac to mco, or $200 from seatac to long beach, since that is 1/3 th miles, it should be less so value you get more for the bang going to mco.

We have not had to pay to much for the rest. Our first trip was all under a CM, so we got 40% off hotel, and we paid only $20.99 per day for our dining plan and we bought a two day pass, and she gave us 6 days of complimentary passes. That said it still cost us about $2800 for three of us.

A few years ago, we went SoG, if you are eligible this is the way to go. I think we paid about $600 for 7 days and then we bought our tickets through the solute program, at the time I think is was 4 days for $128 with the water parks added.

We are going again in August this year, we just booked our rooms and the price is $86 a night, since SoG is military that is all, no taxes and fees added on. But you do have to pay for ride to and from airport.

If you have ever serviced in military you can stay at SoG in sept and jan. just need a dd214. If not your best bet is a moderate like POR that can sleep 5. But the discounts are never as low as with military.

 

[Sue M]

The $160 is one way not round trip, sorry for the confusion, total would $320rt per person if we didn't have the points including tax. They did have that fare from Seatac the same dates (end of april) up until the day I could commit to book it. So I checked Portland, which up until that point had been really high. The fares had dropped drastically from Portland, so we are flying out of there instead. Portland is just under 3 hrs for us, SeaTac's an hour, but since we are doing a park-n-fly, it doesn't really make that much difference.

Oh!! That sounds more like the fares I've been getting Now to wait for August fares to drop. We do park & fly in Seattle with hotel in Kent/Renton area, stay and leave car at hotel. And near Southcenter mall lol.