DIY or package booking?!

[Tinks1984]

Hey all,

Just a quick one from me. As some of you know, I've been around these parts now for a good few years, so I consider myself reasonably Disney savvy in certain areas But, one area I've never looked into is booking things separately for our next trip in May 2015.

So, does anyone have any advice for me as to where to begin? I know the dates we want to travel etc, but what's first to do? Is it better booking through Disney, as we'll be staying on-site (more than likely at the All Stars or AoA if the price is okay).

When can flights be looked into? And where do people get there tickets from which are reputable?

Any help would be great I'd just like to compare things etc before heading off to the travel agents again.

 

[ChipnDaleRule]

Hi, if you have got time to search for good flight prices I would go for DIY, I enjoy the planning and researching.Another place to look is Complete Orlando, I've never used them myself but lots here seem to have done well with them. For our 2014 holiday I took notes of 2013 prices as they came out in 2012 to give me an idea of costs, but looking back flight prices have soared and were not what I was expecting, direct or indirect! Hopefully free dining will be out in April for 2015 though never certain, so it may be worth you considering staying at a moderate resort instead of a value where dining isn't offered. Flight prices are generally released 11 months out, though I have read on here some tour operators offering fixed prices way in advance!
Happy planning.

 

[Tinks1984]

We're not really into the dining plan to be honest, it's something we've looked at before and it's not for us. We don't like to have too many meals booked or to be honest, actually eat that much why we're away We're usually far too busy with other things to sit and eat! But thanks for the reminder.

I'll take a look at Complete Orlando and have a toot at this years prices to see what they're coming in at Just to give us a rough idea to compare with the others we've been able to look at already. I've never heard of them, so it'll be something new for me to look into.

Regarding flights etc, I assume that they'd only be available later in the year for next year? Does anyone know when I'd have to start looking?!

 

[DLPDreams]

Hi

I am a new comer to all of this but I believe 11 months out is release for scheduled flights. So 11 months from when you are wanting to go.

As Chip said, some tour operators do have flight only deals - Thomson etc and they tend to be released earlier than scheduled but not sure when exactly. One TA did tell me that although they start releasing their packages inc flights in the Spring, that they wait to release flight only prices as they hope to fill their flights with packages rather than a flight only passenger.

I am interested in tour operator prices for flights too - Thomsons seem reasonable looking at prices this year.

 

[Tinks1984]

Hi

I am a new comer to all of this but I believe 11 months out is release for scheduled flights. So 11 months from when you are wanting to go.

As Chip said, some tour operators do have flight only deals - Thomson etc and they tend to be released earlier than scheduled but not sure when exactly. One TA did tell me that although they start releasing their packages inc flights in the Spring, that they wait to release flight only prices as they hope to fill their flights with packages rather than a flight only passenger.

I am interested in tour operator prices for flights too - Thomsons seem reasonable looking at prices this year.

Thanks for the info, I'll keep a look out for sure.

I got a quote based on its years May prices yesterday from Complete Orlando and we were nicely surpised by what it came in at, so we will definately be keeping an eye on that site also once they start releasing next years dates

 

[macca77]

I have just booked with complete orlando for end off october this year, flights with virgin were cheaper than i could get using miles +money somehow, definatly a company i will be watching for fututre trips if i dont have any problems with them on this trip.

 

[Rohais]

We're not really into the dining plan to be honest, it's something we've looked at before and it's not for us. We don't like to have too many meals booked or to be honest, actually eat that much why we're away We're usually far too busy with other things to sit and eat! But thanks for the reminder.

I'll take a look at Complete Orlando and have a toot at this years prices to see what they're coming in at Just to give us a rough idea to compare with the others we've been able to look at already. I've never heard of them, so it'll be something new for me to look into.

Regarding flights etc, I assume that they'd only be available later in the year for next year? Does anyone know when I'd have to start looking?!

Just a quick note regarding the dining plan - when you book a dekuxe resort you get the full dining plan, where you eat at restaurants. When you book a moderate resort, you actually get the quick service dining plan which is simply counter service meals. You wouldn't need to book anything in advance or really sit and eat too much. Your meals would be from Cosmic Rays, Columbia Harbour House etc.

Regarding flights, they are released 11 months ahead of the dates you want to fly. So, if you want return flights, it will be 11 months ahead of the date you want to fly back to the UK

Happy planning!

 

[Tinks1984]

Thanks everyone

I've contacted Complete Orlando to see when they'll be expecting their May 2015 prices to be released, so once they come back to me, I'll have something to go at.

Their 2014 prices for May for what we wanted were really good and surprised us, so I'll definitely be looking into them when it's time to book.

Thanks for the info about the dining plan also, I'll keep it in mind and see what's happening around the time we're booking