At what point do you bite the bullet...

[5boyz]

I hear ya!!!! We shop for stuff for the room, do a little shopping shopping , then hang out at pool, usually go to DTD at night!

Good luck to you and hope you get what you want. I remember travelling with small kids......now I just travel with dh ds 13 and dd 10.....

 

[mamapajama]

I've considered driving! We drove last summer to Maine which took 8 hours. Between the poop explosion 2 hours into the trip and the frequent bathroom stops for the other 2, I thought my DH would have a heart attack! Not sure we're ready for 19 hours....yet.

We've found that getting the kids up at 4am and then trying to spend the day at Disney isn't a great idea. Maybe if we made the 1st day a pool day it would work. I'd probably let my DH nap with the little one and take the older kids to the pool. If my kids were older it would be easier to do the early morning flight!

Amanda

Our kids will be 2, 17 and almost 14 when we go. The baby is very good in the car...not so good on the plane She's been on a plane 4 times already. But we have made the road trip a few times and once when DD#1 was 18 months and we lived to tell the tale. Right now though, it's drive or stay home but I am looking forward to the drive. We always have good memories and stories from our road trips!

 

[DannysMom]

Have you priced Continental/United (they're merging) out of Newark? I'm considering going in August & that seems to have been the best price I've seen lately. Good luck!

 

[iwrbnd]

I swear getting airline tickets is like playing the stock market! My flight for the fall has been $67 one way for a long time. I finally got around to buying the tickets last night and found they were now $125! I tried to buy the tickets but my payment wouldn't go through. I called Southwest and found the problem was the ticket prices had been reduced to $82 in the time I was putting in my credit card info! Crazy! I guess they change the prices at midnight and it was midnight when I was purchasing. I love scoring a good deal but sometimes I just wish the price was the price and wouldn't change!

 

[5boyz]

LUCK EEE!!!!

 

[Saphire]

We are also going in August and I have been checking Jet Blue daily, but prices aren't moving and are quite high. I remember seeing a "Summer Sale" last year and asked on this board if anyone recalled when it came out, but nobody did.

I just googled 'JetBlue Summer Sale' and found that they came out right about now in 2009 (May 18). So, I will be watching very carefully, and will post back if I see something.

Have fun on your trip and good luck!

 

[5boyz]

I;m in I will be waiting to hear!!!

 

[minniecarousel]

I have the dilemma in that I booked Virgin American out of San Francisco for Oct. The flights aren't even showing now! They were going to start the non-stops from SFO to MCO during the summer, but have pushed it back. I don't know if my Oct flights will happen or not. SW would be our other option. Oakland is the closer airport, but the times aren't as convenient. If we don't want to take a red-eye, we need to take a very early morning flight, otherwise we get into Orlando really late!

I booked so early because we wanted the non-stop and when I saw that VA was going to start that route, I jumped on it. I guess I'll wait and see.

 

[Janell]

I have the dilemma in that I booked Virgin American out of San Francisco for Oct. The flights aren't even showing now! They were going to start the non-stops from SFO to MCO during the summer, but have pushed it back. I don't know if my Oct flights will happen or not. SW would be our other option. Oakland is the closer airport, but the times aren't as convenient. If we don't want to take a red-eye, we need to take a very early morning flight, otherwise we get into Orlando really late!

I booked so early because we wanted the non-stop and when I saw that VA was going to start that route, I jumped on it. I guess I'll wait and see.

Im sorry to hear VA might push back their start dates and that may effect your date.

I was too watching VA prices out of LAX and they started out good and then got really high. So we didn't book. Looked at SW and I hate the fact you can't pick your seat. So we looked at other airlines. And long story short, we booked on contnetal.com for about the same price as VA was showing a month ago. Non-stop form LAX to MCO. What is odd, is our flight booked through Cont. but it code shares with United(plus they are now one company). We looked at united.com and the same flight that we booked on Cont. was $200 more on United. Same airplane, same times, same locations. Its nuts.

So for those looking for flights, check all the airlines websites. You maybe able to find the same seat for a cheaper price? Why? Im not really sure.

 

[DrMomof3]

The SW flight I want just got MORE expensive! Ugh!!!
I guess I'll keep hoping for a Jet Blue sale.
Or take a flight at a less convenient time.
I'm going to check the Continental website bc the fares on Expedia weren't that great...

Amanda

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I find I like a Fri night flight down and they are often cheapest. Instead of getting up early Sat am, we take a 7pm or so flight down Fri night and sleep at Hyatt MCO, wake up fresh and well rested Sat am and in FL. Kids still get a full day of school in Fri. as well.

Mine are 9 & 13 and do better staying up a little late rather than waking up early. We are not morning people.

Also did you try searching for just 1 person instead of 5 every time? Sometimes a lower price may be available for only 3 seats. When you search for 5, it bumps all 5 of you up to the higher fare when you could possibly buy 3 lower, then just 2 at the higher price.

At no point do I consider driving. Even to save $1k. No way. I'd rather just be at work. I can't stand I-95 for the 20 mins it takes to get to PHL. I'd fly there too if I could.

 

[rich7214]

Not sure if this helps, but the flights from ISP to Tampa are significantly cheaper than those to MCO. If you are renting a car, this might be an option.

I've been watching the ISP flights as well and the prices are getting out of hand.

 

[DrMomof3]

I've considered flying to Tampa. With 3 kids in car seats, we'd need a mini-van (with 3 car seats since I'll never convince DH to bring them!) and that eats up all of our savings! Thanks for the idea though.

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

I find I like a Fri night flight down and they are often cheapest. Instead of getting up early Sat am, we take a 7pm or so flight down Fri night and sleep at Hyatt MCO, wake up fresh and well rested Sat am and in FL. Kids still get a full day of school in Fri. as well.

Mine are 9 & 13 and do better staying up a little late rather than waking up early. We are not morning people.

Also did you try searching for just 1 person instead of 5 every time? Sometimes a lower price may be available for only 3 seats. When you search for 5, it bumps all 5 of you up to the higher fare when you could possibly buy 3 lower, then just 2 at the higher price.

At no point do I consider driving. Even to save $1k. No way. I'd rather just be at work. I can't stand I-95 for the 20 mins it takes to get to PHL. I'd fly there too if I could.

Do you use Magical Express in the morning? That's an interesting idea. We're an early morning family but I would consider this...

Amanda

 

[mamapajama]

Not sure if this helps, but the flights from ISP to Tampa are significantly cheaper than those to MCO. If you are renting a car, this might be an option.

I've been watching the ISP flights as well and the prices are getting out of hand.

We did this once, it wasn't bad except for the fact that there was construction and the on ramp to the highway was closed and we had a hard time figuring out how to get on another way. Wasted a half hour driving around. Other than that, it saved us some money. Also, for Alamo, the car pick up is off-site so we had to take a shuttle which was a little annoying. I'm used to checking in online and then just walking over and picking out my car. Not sure how the other car rental places are but I would think most are the same there.

 

[DrMomof3]

I finally booked my flights over the weekend. TG I did because the same flights are now $100 more per person! We're flying in one day early because the afternoon flights were cheaper and I didn't want to lose a whole day. We're going to drive the 1.5 hours to Islip to fly Southwest. JetBlue prices are completely out of hand.
Since we're landing at MCO around 6pm, I still think we'll have time to go to Disney that night. We're looking into staying someplace cheaper the first night and then heading over to BCV after we go to the parks on Sunday.
Thanks for the good ideas and advice!

Amanda

 

[mamapajama]

I finally booked my flights over the weekend. TG I did because the same flights are now $100 more per person! We're flying in one day early because the afternoon flights were cheaper and I didn't want to lose a whole day. We're going to drive the 1.5 hours to Islip to fly Southwest. JetBlue prices are completely out of hand.
Since we're landing at MCO around 6pm, I still think we'll have time to go to Disney that night. We're looking into staying someplace cheaper the first night and then heading over to BCV after we go to the parks on Sunday.
Thanks for the good ideas and advice!

Amanda

Your arrival night would be a great time to do a character meal. No passes required at many and a nice easy way to begin your trip after a day of travel and the kids get their character fix. DtD is an option too but it tends to be very busy on weekend nights.

 

[noraqb13]

Do you use Magical Express in the morning? That's an interesting idea. We're an early morning family but I would consider this...

Amanda

Same question...I don't want to loose my first day, so arriving late the eveing before could be a consideration. Can you still use the ME service if you are going to the resort the next day, instead of immediately following a flight?
Background...no DL so I'm reliant on other means of trans beside a car...any suggestions would be helpful

 

[mamapajama]

Same question...I don't want to loose my first day, so arriving late the eveing before could be a consideration. Can you still use the ME service if you are going to the resort the next day, instead of immediately following a flight?
Background...no DL so I'm reliant on other means of trans beside a car...any suggestions would be helpful

I don't think you can do this as your vouchers will have the date of your flight on them and they will have you on the list for that day only. When we do this we usually rent the smallest car that will fit us and our stuff. Then the next day drive to our resort & we check in and drive to the dolphin or the car car center depending on our plans for that day and drop off the car.

 

[Missytara]

Same question...I don't want to loose my first day, so arriving late the eveing before could be a consideration. Can you still use the ME service if you are going to the resort the next day, instead of immediately following a flight?
Background...no DL so I'm reliant on other means of trans beside a car...any suggestions would be helpful

You give Disney a flight no. that is close to the time you want to head over to the resort.

You are allowed one trip to your resort and one trip back from your resort to MCO if you are staying on property.

The Hyatt will even assist you in getting your luggage as well for a small fee.