At what point do I stop my WDW trip and vacation elsewhere?

[disneysnowflake]

We are planning to go to WDW in early October, but I'm not sure whether I can get the money for the flight by then.
The flight prices for me are really outrageous. I live about a 5 hour drive from a big airport, and DH does not want to drive 5 hour or more (depending on traffic and construction, which we have a lot of) just to get to the airport.
There is a little regional airport that serves 4 major airlines we usually take.
In December we paid about $200 per person to take the commuter to a big airport and then to WDW.
This year the cheapest flight I can find is over $500. For 4 people that's $2000 just to get there.
DH's work won't allow him to have that much time off for us to drive to WDW. It's a 24 hour straight drive to Orlando for us.

DH likes WDW, but asked me last night if I chose somewhere else to vacation this year.

At what point do your suggest I stop hoping for lower flights and just go somewhere else? Spending $2000 on a ride is ridiculous. I really want to go though.

 

[Antonia]

I noticed your location says "East Coast USA". Is it possible for you to just drive instead of fly. We always drive and really enjoy it.

 

[disneysnowflake]

Driving isn't an option.
It's a 24 hour straight drive one way if we don't stop.
DH's work is so busy this year he can only take one week off max.
We already booked our resort for the 7 nights of our trip. We've discussed driving, but DH can't get any more time off making it possible for us to drive.

 

[safetymom]

I doubt you are going to see any airline deals with the price of gas rising. I would be making alternate plans if you can't afford the airfare.

 

[believe]

DH and I have a 'rule'. For each year we are married we have to be able to count that many states that we have spent the night in. This keeps us from always going to Disney. Now if you aren't like us and want to see a little of everything then going to Disney all the time if fine if finances permit. Maybe you should look into what your surrounding states have to offer.

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

If you were to go some place other than WDW, where would that be? Would it also involve flying to your destination in order to maximize your vacation time? If so, then you're probably going to find yourself in the same situation.

If you don't intend to fly anywhere, then you'd be limited to locations which are within a reasonable driving distance from your home. It sounds like driving is an issue with your DH. Mine doesn't care for it either. My parents live on the other side of the state and it's a 5-hour drive to visit them. Needless to say, we don't get there too often.

Perhaps the answer is to alternate years with one year vacationing locally and then going to WDW on the opposite year. That won't do anything to decrease the cost of flights but you would have twice as long to save for them. Personally, I would have a very hard time giving up WDW cold turkey.

 

[hdecker]

We have gotten to the point here that dd15 and dd13 ONLY want to go to WDW (we've been 6 times). We finally had to say no this year and we are going to Cedar Point - poor babies. We would really like them to see a little more of the U.S. than only Florida. No flames please - I love the place too.

 

[pjlla]

Okay, I gotta ask... where on the East Coast (I'm guessing New England) are you that has a 5+ hour drive to an airport? Northern Maine maybe? There is Portland (ME) airport, Manchester (NH) airport, Bradley (Hartford, CT) airport, Providence (RI) airport, Logan (Boston, MA) airport, and then LaGuardia and Kennedy in NY. Have you looked into any/all of these... maybe one is closer than you think? (I know you probably have checked them all, but just in case...)

At this point I would say, if you don't want to cancel your trip, your only two options would be biting the bullet to drive to the airport or driving all the way to WDW. You would have to shorten the WDW part of your vacation by at least two days. But it could be done. If your trip was originally planned for 7 night (Sat night thru Sat night), consider leaving after DH or yourself gets out of work on Friday night. Drive half way if you can. Spend one night in a cheapo (but clean and safe) hotel off the highway. Drive the other half the next day. You probably wouldn't get there much later than if you drive 5 hours on a Saturday morning to the airport and then flew to MCO. (Granted, you will be more tired probably from the drive). And then on the return trip, spend a half day at WDW on Friday, leaving in the afternoon or early evening. Drive halfway, stay overnight and drive the other half the next day. You will be home by Saturday night (exhausted, but home!). Your DH would still have Sunday to recover somewhat before returning to work on Monday.

Anyhow, just something to consider................P

 

[nowellsl]

Wow, we definately wouldn't be able to go if we had to pay that much to get there! I don't have any advice, but maybe you could keep trying to find lower fairs while you still have time to cancel and have an alternative plan in place in case you don't.

 

[swilshire]

If DH really means it, then by all means, pick one of the many terrific places on the East Coast. Boston, Nantucket, Cape Cod, Myrtle Beach .... the possibilities are endless. We're driving up to Southwest Harbor Maine in June, then stopping back in Boston for a second week.

On the other hand, if Disney is the only thing that would make you happy, why not drive with the kids and let DH fly down. I don't do long drives alone well, but can handle it if I take my time. You could turn it into a three or four day adventure each way without breaking the bank.

Just a thought.

Sheila

 

[angeleigh]

I would not give WDW trip yet if that is where you really want to go. We have the same problem with airfare - only a small regional airport locally to fly out of so if we price tickets from there they are always ridiculous. From the internet search sights like orbitz, expedia, travelocity, etc you can do searches from "surrounding area" and "flexible dates" to find reasonable airfare. We are forced to reserve hotels and vacation dates based upon available airfares rather than the other way around and never pay a non refundable deposit on room until after air is booked. You may be 5 hours from a really large airport but I am sure there are other regional airports closer to you ( unless you are up in northern Maine where I grew up). At some point the fares will drop dramatically - at this point there are no special fares posted out in october yet - special fares do not get posted by the airlines in general until 90 days out - they post them to fill the seats left after other people made reservations 6 months in advance at the higher prices. October is not a huge travel month so I would be confident the fares will go down pretty dramatically between now and then. As an example I just bought 7 roundtrip tickets from western NY to Orlando for $137 each in a high travel period (july 6-13) but a quick search in October right now the best fare I could find was $355.
Look into some other plans as a fall back but IMO it is far too early to scrap a vacation plan based on airfare yet. It is a relatively quiet period for Orlando area- finding a room will not be difficult - so no worries there - wait and see!
One last thing - look into park and fly. When traveling from most airports it is easy to get a one night hotel for $60 or so then they shuttle you to andfrom the airport for free. We find it is cheaper to stay at the hotel than to pay parking at the airport rates plus it takes the pain out of a 2-3 hour drive to an airport that offers a reasonable fair. Good luck with your trip!!

 

[FayeW]

It seems a rather odd to me that your husband won't consider driving 5 hours to the larger airport, but has apparently given some thought to driving all the way to Florida ( enough thought to say that he doesn't have enough time off to do it). I would drive the 5 hours in a heartbeat; you could leave the night before, stay at a hotel with a "park & ride" option and fly out early in the morning. We are driving 3.5 hours so we can fly out of Syracuse instead of paying the ridiculous costs to fly from Canada.

Having said that, if this trip is going to be a bone of contention with your husband,and he really is just making excuses for you to choose somewhere else, Lake George, NY is a beautiful holiday spot. It may be more appropriate for summer travel ( Six Flags Park, huge water park, etc) but maybe someone can let you know how it is in the fall ( would be breathtaking with the fall scenery).

 

[disneysteve]

Obviously, we can't make the decision for you and your DH but I had the same thought as FayeW - if it would save you a significant amount of money, why not drive to the major airport. I don't mind driving at all so 5 hours to the airport is nothing in my mind. Of course, you're husband may feel differently.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

I love WDW, but there really are so many things to do on the East coast! If you don't want to shorten your trip and can't pay to fly down I would research another vacation spot. Maybe pick a state you haven't been to and call or email their chamber of commerce for brochures, you'd be surprised what you find. Then put whatever money you don't use back into your vacation fund and start saving for another Disney trip maybe next year or the year after.

 

[becky7953]

Check the airfares everyday. The rates change daily. I checked for about 3 weeks straight last year until I saw 135.00 for round trip and jumped on it. I also got tips from mousesavers.com. She gives good hints for saving money.

 

[Bakerswife]

Independance air is doing some specials for the summer. Not sure when you are going but they are usually putting discounts up every few months. Check them out at flyi.com.

 

[ericamanda01]

DH asked me the same thing while I was planning our honeymoon, I asked him to wait until we got beck to tell me if he wanted to go back, which I knew what the answer would be. Yes! After the honeymoon we made a deal that we only go to WDW every other year. That way we have a year to save and we can go on a more local vacation. It has worked out to be the best of both worlds.

 

[Debs1963]

Try Southwest Air. Frequently have inexpensive internet special fares. Airfare rates have skyrocketed in past 2 months. I'm glad I booked mine in late Feb. $135RT non stop out of JFK. I feel blessed. Also try cheap fares. Good luck!!!

 

[DisneyMomOfThree]

If DH really means it, then by all means, pick one of the many terrific places on the East Coast. Boston, Nantucket, Cape Cod, Myrtle Beach .... the possibilities are endless. We're driving up to Southwest Harbor Maine in June, then stopping back in Boston for a second week.

On the other hand, if Disney is the only thing that would make you happy, why not drive with the kids and let DH fly down. I don't do long drives alone well, but can handle it if I take my time. You could turn it into a three or four day adventure each way without breaking the bank.

Just a thought.

Sheila

Why don't you combine these two great ideas? You and the kids go drive early and stop at Myrtle Beach or Atlanta (Six Flags) stay two nights and met DH at WDW. Possibly check into one-way flights and DH can drive back with you.