Flexible trip - where to start?!

[smallpig]

Hi everyone -

We're thinking about a trip to Disney and are lucky enough to be able to be pretty flexible in what we can do - 2 adults, no kids and can take holiday any month.

Given the huge number of things involved in costing up a Florida trip - what do you suggest working around as a starting point? Cost of flights / accommodation / tickets/ crowds... I don't really know where to begin!

Are we best to find a cheap flight and take it from there, or to see what good packages are available and fill the rest in that way?

And I also wondered if anyone had booked last minute offers before? seen some great deals but do you end up paying more for other things if you book flights/accommodation at short notice?

Any help much appreciated!

 

[Invisable89]

I know exactly what you mean, where to actually start is always a difficult one as people have different advice & suggestions!

I personally think deciding how long you'd like to go for & what time of year you'd like to go is a good start.

For example, i wouldn't like to go when it's boiling & extremely crowded (June/July/August) so that's 3 months out of the question. Also going off-peak will make the hotels ALOT cheaper!

If you have a good idea on when you'd like to go then it's a good idea to start looking at flights, Virgin Atlantic are pretty expensive & the cost of the flights seem to be going up & up! When i've been before we always flew from Stanstead via Thomas Cook (i think!) to Sanford which worked out so much cheaper!

Along with looking at flights i think deciding on where you'd like to stay is a good idea - onsite or offsite.

Even renting DVC points is an option! That's what we're looking at for our future holiday, it amazes me just how cheap you can get 'top of the range' rooms/villas!

Packages are good but don't always offer a wide selection, but if you're open minded & don't have a good idea on what you want then it's definitely worth having a look around!

So that's what i think.

 

[JuliaVA]

I would take weather, crowds and cost of flights into account as the main factors for a good holiday. We don't like to queue for longer than 20 mins for a ride and also we don't enjoy the hot humid weather from about June/July til Oct. For us the ideal time to go would be after thanksgiving and before Xmas if we could get good flights. Have fun

 

[UKDEB]

Hi, smallpig, and welcome to the forums.

We've been in the same fortunate position as you for a few years now. The advantage of having no restrictions is that crowds and cost go broadly hand in hand (the most popular times are the most expensive for obvious reasons). The busiest times are Christmas/New Year, Easter, US schools' Summer Break (mid June to the end of August), Spring Break (which often coincides with Easter), Thanksgiving (fourth Thursday in November), Independence Day (July 4th) and, to a lesser extent, but still busy, President's Day (third Monday in February), Memorial Day (last Monday in May), and Labor Day (first Monday in September). Accommodation costs in Central Florida are likely to be at their peak at these times of high demand (although it's also a huge convention town, so you'll also see spikes at other times). Flight costs are inflated around the UK school holidays.

Weather-wise, we like April/May and October when it's usually hot, but not unbearably so, and there's not too much rain. October has the added advantage of the International Food and Wine Festival at Epcot which is the best special event anywhere at WDW in my opinion (although the Flower and Garden Festival in May is very pretty). In 2008, we visited during the first two weeks in November which meant we avoided the hike in flight prices around October half-term, but still caught the end of the IF&WF, as well as the start of the Christmas festivities. If you timed it to take in the last week of October, you'd also get to see all the Halloween decorations and events. We were very lucky with the weather (temperatures in the 80s and no rain), but we were taking a bit of a risk.

 

[smallpig]

Sorry not to respond earlier - just wanted to say thanks for the suggestions!

We're looking at Sept/Oct now - found some good deals and flights+hotels through Expedia and just costing things up to see how things work out with car hire, tickets etc etc... fortunately we're both planning geeks..

Found some super cheap last minute deals if we could only go in 2 weeks...but don't think I have the nerves to hold out until a few weeks before we'd like to go!

 

[WiganTony]

If you are looking at Sept/Oct, then you would qualify for free Disney Dining if you stay on-site. May be worth checking prices for Old Key West or Saratoga Springs Resort Studios as they may well have heavily discounted rates and you get the Disney Dining Plan (one table service meal, one counter service meal per night) free with these accommodations if you book hotel and tickets with Disney UK.

For flights, have a look at this site and use the month long search function. I've just done a quick search for flights from mid-September for 14 nights and it returns Gatwick to Orlando £483 one stop with Delta via Atlanta. Also check for flights into other airports such as Tampa (£392 one stop from LGW with Delta via Atlanta), Jacksonville (£405 one stop from LHR with Continental via Newark) and Miami (£459 direct from LHR with American Airlines) if you are driving. Tampa is approx 1-1/2 hours drive from Orlando, Jacksonville approx 2 hours and Miami approx 4 hours.

HTH.