DIY When and How

[Fred20]

I haven't even been on this years jaunt - still 6 weeks to go but I am already thinking about what to do next year !!

Ideally I want to book a DIY Florida trip for the flexibility - the problem is when am I more likely to get the best prices . Is the best policy leave things until the lat minute or book asap . I would imagibe the cheapest deals are likely to be at the last minute when airlines / hotels are struggling to fill their quotas

Heres my plan 3 weeks in Florida in September , Ocrober , November or December next year - 7 days at AKL , 7 days at HRH and then 7 days at a cheapish hotel on Internation drive

Anyone any experiences on how I can get the best prices for flights and resorts and when should I be booking bearing in mind the travel dates are off peak

Help much appreciated

Fred

 

[rob@rar.org.uk]

If you are going this year and next year (especially if you are going for 3 weeks at a time) I would strongly recommend getting annual passes. Not only will you have unlimited access to the parks and complete flexibility to come and go as you please, but you will also be eligible for the significant discounts that Disney and Universal often provide to annual pass holders. If onbe annual pass covers both your holidays you will save hundreds of dollars.

I can't help with strategies for getting off-peak deals as we always have to go in school holidays, but we usually like to book our flights early so we know that we will definitely be able to travel on the dates we want. There is always the danger that if you leave the flight booking too late you will not be able to get tickets for the dates that you want. Once we have the flights booked we normally look around for good accommodation deals. The great thing about booking DIY is that you can normally cancel hotel bookings quite close to the date of travel without any penalties. This allows you to take advantage of any special last minute prices that you spot.

If you are booking fly-drive tickets you might be interested in a couple of cheaper ways to provide car hire insurance. I use the American Express Premium travel insurance policy (approx £280) which includes cover for car hire in North America. There is also a top up policy (£90?) for people with Natwest credit cards who use their card to pay for the holiday. Others can provide you details of this. Both ways can save you considerable money over the rip-off prices that the car hire and travel companies charge.

Regards

Rob

 

[sam_b]

Hi there,

We always DIY and usually go in Autumn as well.

You will almost certainly get the best deals on Disney hotels in September - this is a slow time in WDW and there are low crowds. Be warned that it can be very hot and there are sometimes swarms of 'lovebugs' in September (little black harmless flying beetles).
October is usually pretty busy - and flights tend to be more expensive due to half term, but you do have halloween!!
November is nice and quiet, you should get some good deals before Thanksgiving, it will be slightly cooler and the parks will be on shorter hours.

I would start to look for flights and rooms in around June/July (unless you choose October, in which case I would book early).

I often use http://www.yourmagicaljourneys.com/ to book Disney for me - I communicate by e-mail and they make all of the expensive calls to Disney. Nanci and her team get all of the best codes and deals, and charge you nothing! All you do is send off payment to WDW. She also has great deals for Universal hotels and will get you Fan Club discounts and send you a Fan Club card.

Whether you make the phonecalls yourself or get Nanci to do it, make sure that you secure a room, any room, by August. Then you can concentrate on getting a better deal and cancelling your first ressie.

For other hotels I have used HotelKingdom.com without a problem and Priceline and Expedia are always worth looking at. I would also recommend that you sign up for some of the major chain's frequent guest programs (loews, Marriott, 6 Continents etc). They are free to join and can get you some good deals.

I reckon that by doing it myself this year I have saved at least £800 on the Virgin price (for 9 days)

Have fun

 

[Fred20]

Thanx for the advice

I guess I will concentrate on getting this year out of the way first before starting to co-ordinate next years

Roll on December 2nd

Fred