Do you first find the least expensive flight before a hotel reservation?

[pooh2001]

What do you do first ?
Plane reservation then find a resort ?
or
Reserve your room/package at a resort then do a plane reservation ?

On the JetBlue website - depending on the day of the week there is a difference of up to $150 between flying on a Saturday verses flying on a Tuesday.

Should I book my flight before a resort ?

Should I book 3 weeks at a resort and then modify the dates when I find the least expensive airfare within the 3 weeks ?

We normally spend 10 days at WDW.

But being budget wise - I would like the least expensive JetBlue flight.

What would you do first ?

 

[goofy4tink]

That one is hard to answer...not to mention I think I hit the wrong response!!! I own DVC, so sometimes I have to book my resort stay before the air booking window is even open!!! Other times I have a general idea of when I'm going and I can be flexible as far as what my travel dates are. So, I can wait and book my air first.
But usually, I book my room first and then the air. If a fare comes out that is ridiculously cheap but doesn't fit my resort stay dates, I'll go and tweak the resort dates a bit.
For instanced...one trip about 4 years ago, I booked our BWV stay to start the Monday after Thanksgiving. I figured airfare would be too high to fly over that weekend. And it was a girlfriend and I going. But, when JB opened their booking window, I found that it was about $100 cheaper, pp, to fly on Sunday!!! So, I added a night at Kidani so we could fly in when it was cheaper.

 

[pooh2001]

DH hates switching resorts. We are not DVC owners - wish we could afford it.

We do like to spend 10 days in WDW - we "stop and smell the roses" - just like your "bench sitting" videos - but we do not take pictures of anyone.

It will be off-season - either mid-May or middle to late October (trying to avoid Halloween) and maybe even offered "free dining" in October.

JB does come out with flights 6 months in advance - so if I did a resort reservation for 3 weeks (21 days) or maybe for 15 days, 1 year in advance, and then
picked my 10 days based on JB flight prices at the 6 month mark,
I could modify my resort reservation and hopefully not hurt another guest making a reservation and the resort could still sell the room.

Does that sound OK ?

 

[goofy4tink]

Sounds like a plan to me!!!

 

[wdwjeffc37]

I check flights first using the Southwest low fare calendar because there can be a huge difference in price from one day to the next. Sometimes almost a hundred dollar difference per ticket each way on a round trip ticket between flying say, on a Tuesday versus a Monday or Wednesday. When I find the cheapest RT tickets then I switch over to Disney and put in the dates of the flights. We always fly Southwest because of the no bag fees. I can sometimes find cheaper flights, but when you add in the bag fees it almost always comes out to be more. I have never had any problems finding the room that we want at Disney.

 

[Greysword]

The answer is, it depends

If a good airfare becomes available and you want to build a trip around it, grab the airfare and then get the room. if you want to be at WDW during a certain time frame, get the room first then secure airfare when the price is in your range.

Generally, airfare won't vary too much from one part of the month to another, unless it is during a known busy time (holidays, school breaks, etc). However if a sale appears unexpectedly, then it is worth changing the stay.

Note, you can make a room only reservation with no penalty for cancellation up to a period of time to arrival (24 hours?). A package is different, but I bet a WDW rep could convert your reserved room to a package if they are asked.

As for DVC, based on your signature, you seem to stay at a deluxe resort during each stay. Unless you have a SPG timeshare or stay at the Dolphin on SPG points, then you may be paying an equivalent rate to DVC each year. It may be worth investigating, especially the resale market, which is much less expensive.

Also if you stay at the Dolphin frequently, I hope you are a member of the Starwood Preferred Guest program and get points for your stay. The SPG co-branded AMEX card offers bonus points on stays and Gold status, so staying here annually, it may be worth investigating, too.

In summary, if you have a long range WDW goal in mind, you can get the room reserved at whatever rate. if a package or pin code arrives that suits you, get the room changed into a package and buy airfare when it is least expensive. However if an airfare sale becomes available, get the tickets you want and adjust (or reserve) your room from there.

 

[pooh2001]

Yes we are Starwood members.
We love the Dolphin.

The only problem we have with a DVC is paying a fee every month for the next 40 -50 years.
And we go to WDW about every 3 years.
We live up North.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Yes we are Starwood members.
We love the Dolphin.

The only problem we have with a DVC is paying a fee every month for the next 40 -50 years. And we go to WDW about every 3 years.
We live up North.

True, but renting points is awesome!
We get the space we love & no long term commitment.

http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=29

 

[mikehn]

Airfare is the driver. If you are not picky about a particular place, accommodations are a dime a dozen.

 

[TamaraQT]

Airfare is the driver. If you are not picky about a particular place, accommodations are a dime a dozen.

Exactly!! Accommodations are easier to find and maneuver than airfare. We have a timeshare so we don't bundle airfare with hotel accommodations. So airfare is the driver for us too.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Other:

• Find an unexpectedly great deal at the hotel where I want to stay.
• Request (and ideally get) the appropriate time off from work - announced in July.
• Find the best value fare on jetBlue.
• Keep fingers crossed I actually make it to and through the entire trip without breaking anything

 

[DisneyNutMary]

I pick a range of dates that works with our work, school and sports schedules then I reserve my room through DVC. Then I start looking at airfares- if I have to tweak it to fit the best fares, I will. It usually involves shifting a day forward or back, and sometime it requires me to add a night to our resort- which I never hate doing