East Coasters - Flying out of Portland, ME

[U2FanHfx]

Hi All,

I was wondering if there were any of you that have driven to Portland and then flown out of there to WDW. Any experience stories or tips are greatly appreciated.

Regs,

Chad J.

 

[Applemomma]

Hi!

We just did this last week actually! We live in the Annapolis Valley so it was a ten hour drive for us but it was worth it for the savings on airfare.

We drove to Portland on a Friday, had time to have dinner( at Chuck E. Cheese ), shopped a little (got my Bodyglide at the Maine Mall at the sports store there and HIGHLY recommend it! Worked great...). Stayed at the Howards Johnson's that night near the I95 and used their park and fly rate.

Shuttle driver from HoJo's took us in lots of time to the airport the next day where we caught an Airtran flight. He dropped us off directly in front of the Airtran checkin so no walking with luggage. He had mentioned that Portland is one of the most tight security airports in the US now because that was were some of the highjackers from 9/11 flew out of but we had no troubles at all. It was a short line and the agents were all polite and great with the kids.

The non stop fight (booked it for $198 return!) was on time, smooth flight and nice brand new plane with sattelite radio. It was almost worth it to drive the 10 hours just to get the non stop.

Did the whole thing in reverese the next Sat and when we got to the HoJo's again it was the same two gals that had checked us in the first time and they were all excited to here how our trip was.

The drive home felt long but that was only because we were rushing against a time line to pick our dog up at the kennel but we actually made great time.

We had no troubles either way at the Border (went through Calais). The agent going down looked over our ids (we didn't have passports) and told us to have fun. The agent on the way home chitchatted a bit and didn't even ask for id. Short wait at the border going down probably because oit was Friday and coming back there was zero wait.

We'd do it again in a minute!

Anymore questions I'll try and answer them.

 

[pooksma]

Just want to point out too that fo rthose of us who used to fly out of Bangor on Delta, it is no long an option. They have pulled out according there online stuff.

Now we are looking at Portland or maybe even Hartford.

 

[peanutgirl]

I just booked Delta out of Bangor this morning. What do you mean they pulled out???

 

[declansdad]

I just booked Delta out of Bangor this morning. What do you mean they pulled out???

I believe that they will stop flying out of Bangor later this year or early next. We tried to book Delta for next August and we got a message to check the airports that they fly out of.

A few poster from Maine have said Delta had announced this a while back but I can't find anything to confirm it.

 

[pooksma]

I just booked Delta out of Bangor this morning. What do you mean they pulled out???

Sorry didn't mean to cause panic. I just tried again and it is coming up. We have heard rumours that they are pulling out next year sometime. Again, I was just going with what I had as info then.

 

[IcePrincess467]

I just tried Delta from Bangor to Orlando and it came up for August 2008 ( the 3 to 17th to be exact!) DH & I are flying air canada though, since we have our miles to use!

 

[yanjan]

did it 3 times in 18 months

we stayed at holiday express with park and fly option. last one in august was
199 for 2 of us with parking for 9 days.

or its 10 per day parking at aiport.

first one was with us airways. then jet blue then us airways again.

first one cost 175$ pp round trip. second was 225pp and last one 198$pp

we looked at bangor and manchester also. if ya dont mind waiting and looking for "ding" with southwest try also manchester which is only 2-3 hours more but u could get a 50$ pp one way fare.

if ya got more question let me know

nick

 

[DianaNS]

Have not flown out of portland BUT have flown out of portsmouth(allegiant) and several times out of bangor-delta but now allegiant is there as well.
stayed at sheraton at airport and got a park and fly package that included two weeks of parking very smooth very easy and got a little cross border shopping in as well.
Cheers

 

[MinnieMommy]

Thanks for sharing your experiences everyone! It really helps with planning!

We don't usually consider driving down to take a flight from the US because I'm nervous about the weather. But now, we are looking at late April/early May, so the drive might be worth it!

 

[Charleyann]

Allegiant Air is now booking out of Bangor nonstop for mostly 99.00 one way or 198.00 return! Keep in mind this is nonpeek flying time. They also fly on just Wednesday and Saturday, but still worth the inconvience. This will save driving time for alot of folks in Nova Scotia!

Charleyann

Maybe this is why Delta maybe pulling out of Bangor

 

[leebee]

I thought it was American Airlines, not Delta, pulling out of Bangor. We live just north of Bangor. I'll call the airport in the morning and check.

 

[leebee]

Duh, tried to edit above post but can't get it to work right now. Don't you just LOVE dial-up...NOT!!! Anyhow, it IS American leaving Bangor, not Delta. It was reported on 7/17/07 in the Bangor Daily News that America Eagle will be leaving s of Nov. 5, 2007. Whew...sometimes you can catch a really good deal on Delta out of BGR!

 

[Charleyann]

Duh, tried to edit above post but can't get it to work right now. Don't you just LOVE dial-up...NOT!!! Anyhow, it IS American leaving Bangor, not Delta. It was reported on 7/17/07 in the Bangor Daily News that America Eagle will be leaving s of Nov. 5, 2007. Whew...sometimes you can catch a really good deal on Delta out of BGR!

I got my Flights for Dec 18th- Jan 5th for just 205.00 return! I think that is pretty good!


Charleyann

 

[declansdad]

Duh, tried to edit above post but can't get it to work right now. Don't you just LOVE dial-up...NOT!!! Anyhow, it IS American leaving Bangor, not Delta. It was reported on 7/17/07 in the Bangor Daily News that America Eagle will be leaving s of Nov. 5, 2007. Whew...sometimes you can catch a really good deal on Delta out of BGR!

That's good news! Our flight this past August was about the same price as the Allegiant Air price quoted above.

 

[notarealgenius]

I have just been searching this idea out of driving to Bangor and flying to Orlando.

Where would I look for cheap flights from either Bangor or Portland.

 

[tribus121]

You can try
http://www.allegiantair.com/
i use these sites to compare prices then book with the airline

http://www.expedia.ca

http://www.kayak.com

welcome to disneypost notarealgenius