Best Way to Book Trip - Thanksgiving

[seahorseny]

Hello Everyone,

I am planning to leave thanksgiving morning 2013 and depart December 1st. My four year old son and myself will be staying at one of the value resorts. What is the best and economical way to book the trip? Should I go through a search engine such as Exepedia and book hotel separately and buy the park tickets and dining plan online from Maple Leaf? Or should I book the entire trip on the Disney website? Looking for the lowest price on vale hotel. Airfare is so expensive to fly from NY to MCO.

Thanks everyone feedback much appreciated!!!!

 

[rteetz]

Disney isn't going to give you the best deals available usually especially on airfare. Last trip we booked through southwest and saved a ton if money try looking through there they usually have a lot of disney specific deals. I have only ever booked as a package or hotel and tickets with separate airfare. I found these ways to be the best. Every time I price trips I do price it all separately and usually I don't get any saving maybe a dollar or two but I'd rather book it all together that have a trip be one dollar less. Really in all of this the hardest part to get good prices on is airfare, hotels prices at disney only change seasonally so I would really suggest booking hotel and tickets first and search anywhere and everywhere for the best airline deals. We always fly southwest due to free bags but that parts up to you. Have fun on your trip.

 

[smiths02]

You have to book a package through Disney (or a Disney TA book it for you through Disney) to get the Dining Plan.

Personally, I would not get my airfare or trip insurance through Disney. But we have booked all our packages (dining, tickets, hotel) directly through Disney (but we have always gotten big discounts).

I would just play around online and price out the different options.

 

[seahorseny]

Thank you for responses. This is like studying for a final exam . How are the crowds at Thanksgiving?

 

[APiratesLifeForMe2]

I always end up booking my tickets and room through Disney and flight separate. Sometime I have found a slightly cheaper deal somewhere else but would rather Disney have it all in one file than saving $10. If you book your flight separate make sure to call Disney with your flight info for Magical Express reservations.

 

[stacy6552]

CALL. Don't book online. It is just another travel company, that IS NOT Disney. Research online for deals and discounts, but book by calling Disney directly, 407WDISNEY. They have the best service. If they can't get you the deal you want, they will find you options. And if you have to cancel or change your reservation, they will do the best job helping you. A travel company will not do that for you.

 

[MinnieGirl33]

Thank you for responses. This is like studying for a final exam . How are the crowds at Thanksgiving?

The next busiest behind Christmas-to-NYE & the weeks on either side of Easter.

Book your resort/ticket/dining plan through Disney directly or a quality Disney TA. Book airfare with the airline directly for best rates.

Another suggestion... you may want to check what availability is left before deciding on the dining plan (unless you are looking at the Quick Service plan). Many places have been booked for quite some time already and if you can't get the ADR's you want the plan might not be right for you.

 

[Sheilby]

Hello Everyone,

I am planning to leave thanksgiving morning 2013 and depart December 1st. My four year old son and myself will be staying at one of the value resorts. What is the best and economical way to book the trip? Should I go through a search engine such as Exepedia and book hotel separately and buy the park tickets and dining plan online from Maple Leaf? Or should I book the entire trip on the Disney website? Looking for the lowest price on vale hotel. Airfare is so expensive to fly from NY to MCO.

Thanks everyone feedback much appreciated!!!!

Not to be a negative nelly, but are you sure you want to do that? Thanksgiving is a VERY busy time to go, all 9's on the crown calendar. Plus since you will be staying at a value your biggest expense will be the tickets and the first 4 days of the tickets is where all the costs come in, when you stay longer each added day costs practically nothing. You are only going to get 2 full days in at the parks on some of the busiest days of the year. If you fly in very early on Thanksgiving and fly out very late on Dec 1st you can at least get some park time in on those days. You are planning very last minute so there won't be many table service restaurants left (although it is easier to find a table for 2 than for larger groups). In addition, airfares tend to be sky high at that time and since it is one of the busiest weekends for travel in this country you may not find very many flights still available.

As long as you are OK with big crowds, higher prices and possibly eating at all counter service locations and you manage your expectations you may be fine. However, if this is your first trip to Disney or it may be your only trip to Disney, then I would suggest you postpone the trip until after you do some serious research and try to see if you can swing being down there more than 3 nights. Remember your airplane tickets are a fixed price no matter how many days you go down there for and tickets after 4 days are only 10 dollars more per day per person, value resorts can be quite inexpensive per day so adding a few days on might not cost you as much as you think.