Earlier flight w/layover or nonstop flight later - opinions?

[erin1715]

I’ve asked a variation of this before but I’m in the same predicament again.

We’re taking a short 4-night trip in July to WDW and want to maximize our time there. We’re only doing one park day in the middle of the trip.

Right now we have nonstop flights booked from Albany to MCO and back. Both are 12:30-3ish. I don’t mind that time coming back home to Albany but I'd prefer to get to Orlando earlier, but all other options are layovers. Albany airport is a 2 hour drive from our home. The earliest layover flight is 5:40am thru BWI and arriving to MCO at 9:55 but I’m not sure 45 minutes is long enough for a layover. I’d be worried about missing the next flight. Other options have us leaving Albany at 5:40, 6:40 or 7:50 with arrivals between 11:30 to 12:30.

We also have the option of flying out of Syracuse with the best option being 6:10am thru BWI and arriving to MCO at 11:30am. Then another layover when we come home.

We have a 4.5 year old traveling with us. My fear is getting stuck in BWI for some reason which would be a nightmare.

Thoughts?

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

I’ve asked a variation of this before but I’m in the same predicament again.

We’re taking a short 4-night trip in July to WDW and want to maximize our time there. We’re only doing one park day in the middle of the trip.

Right now we have nonstop flights booked from Albany to MCO and back. Both are 12:30-3ish. I don’t mind that time coming back home to Albany but I'd prefer to get to Orlando earlier, but all other options are layovers. Albany airport is a 2 hour drive from our home. The earliest layover flight is 5:40am thru BWI and arriving to MCO at 9:55 but I’m not sure 45 minutes is long enough for a layover. I’d be worried about missing the next flight. Other options have us leaving Albany at 5:40, 6:40 or 7:50 with arrivals between 11:30 to 12:30.

We also have the option of flying out of Syracuse with the best option being 6:10am thru BWI and arriving to MCO at 11:30am. Then another layover when we come home.

We have a 4.5 year old traveling with us. My fear is getting stuck in BWI for some reason which would be a nightmare.

Thoughts?

My first thought is that the quality of your time in Orlando on arrival day will be much better if you stick with the direct flight, which doesn't require an extra early wake up and minimizes time in airports.

While I totally understand the goal of getting there earlier, I know my family would be much more aggravated/tired/grumpy if we started our trip with a predawn wake up and a connection. You know your kid, so maybe that's not true for you. For me, I try hard not to make arrival day travel any more complicated or early than it has to be because it starts the whole trip on the wrong foot for my girls.

 

[WxKristin]

Take the direct flight. Getting the family moving early enough for the 5:40 am flight will make everyone miserable by the end of the day. Also you don’t risk weather or other delays in BWI this way. Just Albany and MCO.

 

[nw6675]

Agree with the others - the sanity you save with direct is worth the lost few hours.

 

[_19disnA]

I always prefer non-stop flights when the timing works with my schedule. I don't like to get up at 3 am on departure day to get to the airport for a VERY early departure. Even if you get to Disney earlier that way, you are probably going to be exhausted from the early start time to your day.

Less to go wrong with non-stop flights and you aren't going to get stuck at some connecting airport if bad weather or maintenance issues arise. The worst that can happen if the only departure flight gets cancelled is you go back home and try the next day. Some airlines use the term 'direct flight' to mean you have a layover/stop but don't have to change aircraft. Non-stop means you go directly to your destination without any stops.

 

[Leigh L]

Also, agree.

These days airlines are unpredictable, a layover adds more chance for things to go wrong with the weather, plane, other logistics issues, etc.

As an aside, a friend of mine got stuck in Philly and had to rent a car for the 2nd half of her trip. Then it happened again to her husband (not MCO trips) a few months later stuck in Texas and he had to fly to a city 4 hours away and rent a car.

We're early flight people, but I'd 110% choose the 12:30 flight over a layover.

 

[Timandalicia]

I’ve asked a variation of this before but I’m in the same predicament again.

We’re taking a short 4-night trip in July to WDW and want to maximize our time there. We’re only doing one park day in the middle of the trip.

Right now we have nonstop flights booked from Albany to MCO and back. Both are 12:30-3ish. I don’t mind that time coming back home to Albany but I'd prefer to get to Orlando earlier, but all other options are layovers. Albany airport is a 2 hour drive from our home. The earliest layover flight is 5:40am thru BWI and arriving to MCO at 9:55 but I’m not sure 45 minutes is long enough for a layover. I’d be worried about missing the next flight. Other options have us leaving Albany at 5:40, 6:40 or 7:50 with arrivals between 11:30 to 12:30.

We also have the option of flying out of Syracuse with the best option being 6:10am thru BWI and arriving to MCO at 11:30am. Then another layover when we come home.

We have a 4.5 year old traveling with us. My fear is getting stuck in BWI for some reason which would be a nightmare.

Thoughts?

Some reason? There are like 11 reasons. Like the initial flight being late… it goes on from there. I’ve been doing this a long time with the kids and used to wrestle with it, and found that we were lucky to have the fortune of flying direct. Take advantage of that , not the hope for 2 hours

 

[EdnaMarieMode]

In agreement- the earlier flight is costing you your sleep and your peace and you can’t put a price on that.

You know your 4.5 year old best but are they really going to be ready to maximize park time after getting up so early? What about day 2 when the adrenaline wears off? For DS6 who is up at 6 AM every day, this would still be a recipe for an epic meltdown by day 2 if not sooner. Plus the general stress of running all over airports to catch your connections.

Pre-children I would have jumped on the earlier flight but now there’s no way.

 

[Disneylover99]

I’d always take the direct flight if it’s available.

 

[Lewisc]

I agree with PP, but for different reasons. SWA wouldn't schedule a flight with impossible connections. The first flights of the day take off on time and frequently land early.

You'll have time to make your connection BUT gates change daily. The gates might be next to each other or a 15 minute walk. Might not be time for bathroom. You might get to the gate as the C group is boarding.

 

[Miffy]

OP--I live in upstate NY as well and usually fly out of Syracuse on JetBlue (which lately has been a very late-afternoon flight) but I've given thought to just driving down to Newark and taking a direct flight from there, where there are so many more choices of flights.

Of course the drive would be longer than the flight. But it is another thing to consider.

 

[pindecisive]

I’d always take the direct flight if it’s available.

Same. Part of the reason we don't fly SWA as much is because they have so few direct flights.

The only reason I'd want to get to Orlando earlier is if I were going to a park that day, since you're not I'd go for the direct flight.

 

[Cheburashka]

Direct flight. Always go for the direct flight.

You won't have to wake up so early & be tired all day. You will be less likely to have a missed connection or luggage misrouting disrupt your plans. You won't have to deal with boarding, takeoff and landing, and deplaning twice, especially with a small child.

 

[Lewisc]

Posters are mentioning direct flight but mean a non-stop flight.

A direct flight doesn't require a change of plane but may make a stop. A lot of SW flights to MCO make a stop in BWI.

 

[sam_gordon]

I’ve asked a variation of this before but I’m in the same predicament again.

We’re taking a short 4-night trip in July to WDW and want to maximize our time there. We’re only doing one park day in the middle of the trip.

Right now we have nonstop flights booked from Albany to MCO and back. Both are 12:30-3ish. I don’t mind that time coming back home to Albany but I'd prefer to get to Orlando earlier, but all other options are layovers. Albany airport is a 2 hour drive from our home. The earliest layover flight is 5:40am thru BWI and arriving to MCO at 9:55 but I’m not sure 45 minutes is long enough for a layover. I’d be worried about missing the next flight. Other options have us leaving Albany at 5:40, 6:40 or 7:50 with arrivals between 11:30 to 12:30.

We also have the option of flying out of Syracuse with the best option being 6:10am thru BWI and arriving to MCO at 11:30am. Then another layover when we come home.

We have a 4.5 year old traveling with us. My fear is getting stuck in BWI for some reason which would be a nightmare.

Thoughts?

What's the price difference between the connecting and direct? That would also factor into my decision.

Departure at 7:50A to arrive at 12:30P (if I'm reading your post correctly) isn't bad. However, I would consider getting a hotel near the airport the night before. You might be able to find one that does a "park/sleep/fly", so you don't have to pay for airport parking. That could help offset the cost.

I agree with those saying driving two hours to get to the airport for an early morning flight is problematic, and I'd say it's especially so w/ a 4.5 yo.

 

[brockash]

I’ve asked a variation of this before but I’m in the same predicament again.

We’re taking a short 4-night trip in July to WDW and want to maximize our time there. We’re only doing one park day in the middle of the trip.

Right now we have nonstop flights booked from Albany to MCO and back. Both are 12:30-3ish. I don’t mind that time coming back home to Albany but I'd prefer to get to Orlando earlier, but all other options are layovers. Albany airport is a 2 hour drive from our home. The earliest layover flight is 5:40am thru BWI and arriving to MCO at 9:55 but I’m not sure 45 minutes is long enough for a layover. I’d be worried about missing the next flight. Other options have us leaving Albany at 5:40, 6:40 or 7:50 with arrivals between 11:30 to 12:30.

We also have the option of flying out of Syracuse with the best option being 6:10am thru BWI and arriving to MCO at 11:30am. Then another layover when we come home.

We have a 4.5 year old traveling with us. My fear is getting stuck in BWI for some reason which would be a nightmare.

Thoughts?

We'd probably do the layover getting you into mco at 955. You can also look at bwi to see how many "backup" flights they have going to mco just in case you have issues. 45 mins. should be enough time assuming you don't have issues and generally there are less issues the earlier you fly so I'd say you have a good chance of getting into mco on time.

We'd have no issue driving 2 hrs. at anytime to the airport and have done it many times with kids of all ages.

 

[beccasmom]

We’ve always booked non-stop flights to MCO (but we’ve always had some choice in the matter; I realize smaller airports often do not). We traveled for years with my elderly mom (now deceased) and it made the trip much less stressful for her. The same with our grandkids now, but it probably reduces the stress level for us more than them! Unless you catch the first flights of the day (and that’s dependent on many things out of your control), things can spiral out of control (time-wise) fast. And it just seems there is even less margin for error these days. We try to stick with the simplest itinerary and it has mostly worked out.

 

[RoseGold]

We nap fine on planes, I'd take the layover. You know your kid.

 

[loves to dive]

Depends on if you are checking luggage. I don't know those airports so I don't know if 45 min. would be enough, we fly out of Atlanta and in some cases that would be fine, in others not. I wouldn't do a layover if I were checking luggage, just too much opportunity for it to get lost. If you are doing carry on only, even if it gets gate checked you know it's going on the same plane you are on so it wouldn't be that much of an issue.

 

[EACarlson]

How far are you driving to the airport to get the connecting flight? If it's ten minutes away and you don't need to be there until an hour before the flight, I'd consider it. If it's an hour away, now you're talking about getting up at 2am, out the door by 3 to get to the airport around 4. Not something I would do if the prices were close. But if the connecting itinerary was half the price I would.