Ever fly from the twin cities?

[grover]

Has anyone ever driven from the Winnipeg or Manitoba area down to Minneapolis/St.Paul to catch a flight to Orlando? I was wondering if there are good fares out of Minneapolis and what airlines fly to Orlando besides Northwest. If the price was right it may be worth our while to drive down there and then fly. Any info would be appreciated!
Grover in Winnipeg

 

[#1 Disney Fan]

<font color=navy>I've never done exactly what you're suggesting, but if you go to www.travelocity.com you can put in Minneapolis - Orlando (any dates) to see the best fare availables available and compare that to what you can get for Winnipeg - Orlando. Even if you don't buy through travelocity.com, it's a quick and easy way to see what the lowest fare each carrier is offering. </font>

 

[grover]

Thanks for the tip!
Grover in Winnipeg

 

[PirateOfTheCarribean]

Hi Grover:

We've done exactly what you're talking about for the last four Disney trips. It works out great!

We drive directly down to Fargo and then take the I94 to Minneapolis. It's easy driving and there are plenty of rest stops/towns on the way.

It takes about 8 hours to drive to Minneapolis and you can leave your car in one of several airport parking lots (covered $14/day or uncovered $8/day - depends on how much you want to pay). There are also numerous park 'n fly car parks around the airport.

If you're a Disney Club member, you can stay at the Amerisuites Mall of America (right across from the airport) for only $70 if you want to arrive the day before or stay over before you head back to Winnipeg on your return.

We've found the best airfares from Northwest and Delta. At the moment (we're ALWAYS planning the next trip), Northwest has the best fares and they also fly direct, whereas Delta always has at least one connection. Last year, Delta's fares were better.

We highly recommend this route. It saves us about $200 per person on average, and dropping by the Mall of America is fun.

We just did this last week and had a fantastic trip. Swimming in an outdoor pool in November is a treat!

Have a great trip, Grover!

 

[grover]

Pirateofthecarribean,
thanks for your reply, it is nice to hear from someone in the same neck of the woods! What type of airfares do you usually get out of minneapolis-are they in the 200.00 range? Do you still find it to be a deal once you factor in the exchange rate and the cost of travelling down there and back? Also curious if you book thru a travel agent or just take care of it yourself? I didn't realize that Mall of America was so close to the airport- it would make a great pit stop! Our son has been bugging us to go there! Thanks for the info it has been helpful-this may be a good option for us on our next trip!

Grover in Winnipeg

 

[PirateOfTheCarribean]

Hi Grover:

As for airfares, we were just this minute looking at that. At the moment, Northwest is offering return airfares at $231.50 USD. Gas to and from Minneapolis cost us $28 USD last week and parking in the covered lot attached to the Lindberg Terminal of the airport (VERY convenient - connected by skywalk to the airport) was $66 USD for five days. (I won't include hotel in Minneapolis because that's optional - we didn't bother this trip.) You can do the exchange depending on how many people are in your party.

Before we booked these arrangements, we looked into Air Canada's "fantastic" deal of $400 CDN return. When we called, we found out that they didn't bother to mention in their ad that there would be another $200 in taxes added to that. (50% tax - that's criminal!) So, airfare out of Winnipeg would be $600/person for Air Canada. Last time we checked (a couple of weeks ago) Northwest charges $200/person from Winnipeg to Minneapolis. Obviously, you'll save hundreds of dollars (more for every person in your party) by driving down to Minneapolis.

Another thing to consider is that by the time you get to Winnipeg airport for 3:30 a.m. (which is when they want you there to catch the 5:30 a.m. flight to Minneapolis to connect with your flight to Orlando), you've used four hours of travel time anyway. What's another four hours to save that much money?

No, we didn't go through a travel agent to do this. We tried that the first time, but did a little research and found we could get better deals on our own - especially with the airlines. You can find everything you need at www.nwa.com or www.delta.com.

Do your son a favour and hit Mall of America. You'll love it. You can almost walk from the Amerisuites hotel I mentioned in the previous post, but why bother when they'll shuttle you for free (only 5 minutes). It's right off the I494 just minutes from the airport. The stores are fabulous! My son loves the Discovery Store, the Museum Store, and the Rand McNally travel store. The shark thing isn't that great, but the rock climb in the amusement park and Rainforest Cafe are terrific.

Cheers.