Flights to Orlando.

[jacs1234]

How much do you girls usually pay to get to Orlando and back? We're trying to go next Christmas. How many days will we need in disneyworld. We have never been before. How any days will we need for universal. This is so exciting.

 

[AussieCaribou]

Hi,

We paid $1,300 per person this year. We fly out of Mel on 10 Dec and back into Mel on 3 Jan. The flights are with QANTAS and are Mel to LAX, break, LAX to Orlando (and the same reversed on the way back)...we like to break the flights up so we are doing San Diego on the way over and DLR on the way back.

I have never been to Universal Studios Orlando so I can't help there. But we did do Discovery Cove the last time we were there (1 day) and it was AWESOME.

Now, WDW... How long should you stay? How long can you stay? We did 5 days at WDW and 3 days on the cruise the first time we were there. Not nearly enough time for either! So this time, we are going to be at WDW for 9 days.

If you are interested in Disneyland, I would suggest that you have at least 3 days if not more...we try to do 4 or 5 days (and we go yearly).

Have fun planning!

~ AussieCaribou

 

[LivingforDisney]

When did you book those flights with Qantas??
Was that all the way to Orlando or did you buy your own flights from LAX to Orlando?

We are planning Dec next year, so I am thinking flights will be out Jan?
We had 14 nights last year at WDW, imho that wasn't long enough, so much to do & see, we spent 2 days at Universal & Ioa

 

[AussieCaribou]

When did you book those flights with Qantas??
Was that all the way to Orlando or did you buy your own flights from LAX to Orlando?

We got them about 6 months ago. It was one of those quick specials on the QANTAS website. I tried to get the same special at the local flight centre and they couldn't do it.

It's all the way to Orlando and back. So we did really well.

 

[Zosha]

We paid $9930 for ADE - SYD - DFW - MCO. Then MCO - DFW - HNL - SYD - ADL. We flew with Qantas. We didn't do heaps of research for that trip so I don't know if it's a particularly good price. I don't think it was a sale fare. We spent 9 nights at Disney and it wasn't enough!! We are going back for a full 2 weeks in 2016.

 

[losfp]

I'm not a girl, but you're getting my reply anyway

For our trip next year it looks like it'll cost us just under $10k to fly a family of 4 with 2 adults and 2 kids. There's a few stops though, it's not just to Orlando and back, so you may be able to get something cheaper that goes a bit more direct.

Planning to do the following:

SYD-DFW-MCO
MCO-DFW-LAX
LAX-HNL
HNL-SYD

Planning on 13 nights WDW, 3 nights Universal, 7 nights cruise, 8 nights Disneyland, 5 nights Aulani. 13 nights should hopefully give us enough of a taste of WDW for a first time, and we will get our quota of Mousecapades with the week on a Disney cruise and a week in Disneyland.

 

[mummy23kids]

We are looking at going next christmas too, someone said flight centre are having good deal's in jan so will have to see. Im hoping they are cheaper than 3000 like they are at the moment

 

[PrincessInOz]

Nice to see you back posting on the Dis, Jacs. Hope you and the family have been well.


I tend to budget for $1500 - $1600 per person if flying into Orlando (assuming a stopover in LAX). Anything under that is a bonus. In the past, the special fares have been down around the $1300 - $1350 mark. If you see them around that price, jump!

How exciting to be planning a trip to Orlando. How much time do you have?

If you want to do it leisurely, I would be looking at 10 - 14 days at WDW and another 3 - 5 days at Universal.

The general rule of thumb is at least 2 days MK, at least 2 day Epcot, at least 1 day Hollywood Studios and at least 1 day Animal Kingdom. The water parks are also worth a day; but if you're going at December, then you will need to decide if it is warm enough for a swim or not. Usually one of the water parks will be opened and you can always add-on the Water Park Fun and More option when you get there or buy a single entry pass if it is warm enough.

Are you planning on staying on-site?



Universal resort deals usually apply for minimum 3 night stays. You might want to factor that into your decision for time there if you are staying on-site for the early entry and Express Pass perks. I'm not sure about Cabana Bay; but the other 3 resorts are pretty close to the parks i.e., walkable; so you can always go to the parks for a bit and walk back to the resort (or catch a water taxi).


Happy planning!

 

[jacs1234]

Thanks for your help girls and guy
What i was roughly planning was flying straight to orlando through LAX. Not going into the parks that evening but actually sleeping instead lol so we can be fresh for the next day. 14 days at WDW, 2 or 3 days at Universal, one at the space centre then I was hoping to fly back to LA and go to disneyland for about 4 days. Then home. We have been to disneyland many times and I know 4 days is short but it seems such a shame to have to go through LA and not go to our favourite place. I'm scared that I won't feel the disney magic at WDW. We have the two grown ups, and the kids will be 15, 13, 11, 9. Honestly we have often considered going without them because who needs that hassle lol. But we thought we'd take them while they still want to be with us. haha.

Another question. What about the free dining plan How do I get it and is it worth it. Yes we are planning on staying on site. Probaby not a grand californian kind of budget this time though.

What's your favourite resort?

Is it worth staying on site for universal for the perks?

It's great to be back.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Thanks for your help girls and guy
What i was roughly planning was flying straight to orlando through LAX. Not going into the parks that evening but actually sleeping instead lol so we can be fresh for the next day. 14 days at WDW, 2 or 3 days at Universal, one at the space centre then I was hoping to fly back to LA and go to disneyland for about 4 days. Then home. We have been to disneyland many times and I know 4 days is short but it seems such a shame to have to go through LA and not go to our favourite place. I'm scared that I won't feel the disney magic at WDW. We have the two grown ups, and the kids will be 15, 13, 11, 9. Honestly we have often considered going without them because who needs that hassle lol. But we thought we'd take them while they still want to be with us. haha.

Another question. What about the free dining plan How do I get it and is it worth it. Yes we are planning on staying on site. Probaby not a grand californian kind of budget this time though.

Disney. Fuzzy. Maths!

The Disney Dining Plan is about $61 this year. All your kids would qualify as adults. So for the 6 of you, free dining on the Disney Dining Plan is worth about $360. I think the Quick Service is about $42. That would be about $240. Free Dining is offered by Disney by date of arrival. In order for you to get the benefit, you would need to arrive/start your stay on a date that is within the offer period. December is a long way away and I'm not sure when Disney would release the dates for December. I'm sure if you asked the Dis, someone would be able to give you an indicative month of when previous offers were released in the past. Which dining plan you qualify for may depend on which resort you stay at.

It is a LOT of food and whether it is worth it or not comes down to whether you are going to eat all the food; and if you're on the Dining Plan...whether you will be happy to allocate 2 hours for a sit-down meal.

It also comes down to what other discounts Disney are offering at the time i.e., the room only discount.

Having said that, for a family of 6 adults, it may be that if your dates are within the offer period, the free dining may be the better option. You're going to need to price out resorts where you can get 6 adults in a family room, DVC etc and figure it out. The alternative is to get 2 rooms at a value or moderate resort.

What's your favourite resort?

I would recommend that you take a look at the resorts and decide which theme you prefer. You also might want to take a look at the location of the resorts and decide whether the location plays a part in the decision.
There are the Epcot resorts (Beach Club, Yacht Club, Boardwalk, and the non-Disney ones of Swan and Dolphin), the Monorail/Magic Kingdom resorts (Contemporary/Bay Lake, Polynesian, Grand Floridian, Wilderness Lodge), the ones near DTD (Port Orleans Riverside, Port Orleans French Quarter, Saratoga Springs, Old Key West) or the ones nearer Animal Kingdom (AK Lodge, All Stars) and then the rest (Coronado Springs, Pop Century, Art of Disney). If you prefer a location, then you can use that as a filter. If not, then you might want to look at it by price category.

FWIW - I like the Epcot resorts. Epcot is usually the park we spend the most amount of time in; so it makes sense for us to stay within walking distance.

Is it worth staying on site for universal for the perks?

If you haven't already done so, go online and sign up for the Universal alerts. Universal will send out emails to you. Always check the Universal emails and scroll down to the bottom half of the email. Sometimes, you might be lucky to get a pin code in that email. It is pretty random as to whether you get a pin or not. If you get a pin, check the offer dates and if the dates match, you'll get a pretty decent discount off the room. I've previously received 30% and 40% pin codes.
Another way to get a discount is if you are a member of a motor association (RACV or NRMA or RACQ etc). The 3 digit AAA code at the back of the card will get you a 10% discount at Universal. But you HAVE to call Universal to get that discount applied....and it is subject to availability for your dates.

For me, the Early Entry was worth it. It gave me early entry to the Wonderful World of Harry Potter and we got on the rides/attractions there before the crowds came in. But my last visit was before Diagon Alley opened up. I understand that the crowds have shifted more towards Universal to visit DA first up.

The Express Pass privilege was also something that my family enjoyed. It was the unlimited version and we got on a number of rides multiple times in a row.

Again...the value of staying on-site will come down to your personal preference. I haven't checked out Cabana Bay resort. There might be family rooms there to fit 6; but I don't think that you get the unlimited Express Pass at that resort.

It's great to be back.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

I pretty much second PIOs advice. We have paid from $1350-$1500 to get to Orlando and back - I normally don't nab a fare to LAX unless its $1150 or less as there is always a deal eventually for that or less, and then its what deals I can get from west to east coast, but we usually stop off for a side road trip somewhere at least one way which adds $. I know of deals via Dallas/FW that come in similar or a little better price as Aussiecaribou posted, but we try and avoid the 16 hours straight - that extra 3 hours does us in but that doesn't bother others. Really subscribe to all airlines emails, be ever vigilant, check for other Disboard posters alerts to good airfares, and be prepared to lock in 12 - 9 months prior for some of the best deals (though you do get the 6 month prior one-offs too). Most great deals aren't available for long.

As a larger family booking a DVC villa would make best value I would think for WDW unless you get a good free dining deal. I agree with PIO that EPCOT area is one of the nicest but we have never been able to afford any of the hotels in that area. Next trip I will try for a villa there.

We got a good discount for WDW and Universal using an Orbitz deal with 20% off plus dollars you earn that can be discounted off the next booking (so we used $ earnt from WDW booking to apply to our Universal one). Watch out for WDW deals too, before they release the new pricing for the following year they often have deals with a % discount at the old rates, so 6 - 9 months prior I have seen some of the best pricing (and usually delay and miss out!)

I agree at least 7 days for WDW (2 for MK, 2 for EPCOT espy as your children are that bit older, 1 for AK, 1 for DHS, 1 for "down-time" so I would say 8 days if you add a water park) and 3 nights, 2 days minimum for Universal, again 3 days would be better, giving more break-time, more time for repeats, depending on how long you spend at HP across both parks. With your children's ages there is a lot for them to ride at Universal. KSC requires one full day.

Cabana Bay gets you early entry into HP DA (worth it) but doesn't give you the unlimited express pass though you can buy that separately with your tickets if you wish and to get accom for the larger family, if Cabana Bay suits then I would consider that subject to the expected crowd levels for Universal when you go. We did use it this early November (we stayed RPH so got it included), crowds were 4 -5 and tbh much of the time it wouldn't have been necessary especially if you timed to hit the popular rides early or late in the day and not peak 11 - 3. Again its the maths-cost of accom plus tickets plus unlimited express pass or the slightly cheaper limited express pass (1 express entry/ride/day) versus accom at Universal that includes the unlimited express pass. (Note the cost of buying the unlimited express pass like accom varies - price goes up and down week by week for the days you want to buy it so if you think of buying it, again its a watch and buy when at a price you re prepared to pay). We bought our tix from Undercover Tourist.

Time for some lunch! Now if only I could teleport direct to Mythos for some Pad Thai and a banana daiquiri or any one of many locations in EPCOT or BOG at MK or.......

 

[lffam]

When did you book those flights with Qantas??
Was that all the way to Orlando or did you buy your own flights from LAX to Orlando?

same question I had too.

edit : sorry i was reading a page before it was refreshed with all the subsequent posts ..my bad

We are planning Dec next year, so I am thinking flights will be out Jan?
We had 14 nights last year at WDW, imho that wasn't long enough, so much to do & see, we spent 2 days at Universal & Ioa

Same here! 2 days definitely not enough for us in US/IOA. going to do 3 this time and maybe 1 other for lazing around the resort. For WDW we could have easily don't another 5 days on top of our 14 last trip.

 

[ColinA]

I would suggest avoid Christmas week and go the weeks before.

Friends of ours went last year and got tickets on Delta/Virgin Sydney to Orlando and return MCO 26th leaving November 26th and paid $10,000.00 for six of them. The problem was on the way over they went via Salt Lake City otherwise the direct flights would have cost another $4,000.00

There seems to be a big difference in costs of flights to Orlando around the later time of the year.

As a DVC on points cost of staying in the Epcot Resort area from the 3rd December 2015 checking out 10th December, 7 nights at the Boardwalk in a two bedroom standard view would be 220 points

Beach Club would be 271 points.

To get the standard view you would need to book near the 11 month window.

Depending on who you rent off they might charge you a minimum of US$13 or 14 per point

 

[jacs1234]

Change of plans. All of the above would cost me $30,000 without food and spending. Ugh. So cutting down wdw to 10 days, universal to 2 and maybe 1 day at space centre. No Disneyland on the way home. We'll try to do Disneyland the next year. I wish I was rich

 

[jacs1234]

Those who have been to the space centre. Is it worth it? Did you like it? I haven't even begun to research it. I wouldn't be doing it for me but for hubby and the kids. I wouldn't mind doing that tour that included the Everglades boat ride.

 

[jacs1234]

Disneyland often gives discounts to annual pass holders. Does disneyworld do this too?

Sorry for so many questions. Disneyworld is a whole new beast

 

[PrincessInOz]

Change of plans. All of the above would cost me $30,000 without food and spending. Ugh. So cutting down wdw to 10 days, universal to 2 and maybe 1 day at space centre. No Disneyland on the way home. We'll try to do Disneyland the next year. I wish I was rich

Welcome to Disney Fuzzy Maths!!! LOL.

I would be flexible with Universal. They do offer a 30% off deal from time to time if you stay 3 nights. The maths is such that it actually is not that much more to stay 3 nights cf staying 2 nights.

Where are you looking at to get to the $30K figure? If you're getting a quote from the WDW website, just remember that they quote full retail rates. There are usually room only discounts offered. If you're prepared to be flexible with your dates (ie pull the kids out of school a little earlier), it might actually work out for you.

Also - renting points for DVC is also quite cost effective; if that's the class of resort you're aiming for. And from memory, 2 rooms usually works out better than a family suite.

Your alternative is to stay off-site. Nothing wrong with staying off-site either. It's just a different experience and way to plan.


Wendy mentioned Undercover Tourist. If you decide to go with a room only discount, you don't have to buy your park tix from Disney. You could go through UT (they do offer tix for cheaper)....and sign up to Mousesavers. They do have a link in their newsletter that gives you an extra $1 off each Disney ticket.

Those who have been to the space centre. Is it worth it? Did you like it? I haven't even begun to research it. I wouldn't be doing it for me but for hubby and the kids. I wouldn't mind doing that tour that included the Everglades boat ride.

We LOVED the space centre. I originally went because DH is such a space nut but even I thought it was worth the trip. Do you drive when you're in the US? It takes about an hour by car to get from the theme park area to the KSC. It might be worth comparing hiring a car and paying the entry separate for both the Everglades boat ride and KSC to a tour for the 6 of you.

Disneyland often gives discounts to annual pass holders. Does disneyworld do this too?

Sorry for so many questions. Disneyworld is a whole new beast

Yes. WDW does offer discounts for AP holders. Usually AP holders get offered the resort discounts/offers first and then they open it up to the General Public. The AP also gets you discounts on food and merchandise.


Ask away! WDW is a completely different planning beast to DLR. The more you ask, the more you're armed for planning it out.


And wait till you start looking into table service restaurants (you need to watch your 180 day mark) and fast pass plus/My Disney Experience/Magic Bands.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Not sure how much of a planner your are, jacs.....but......


Here's a link to AllEars. They have a pretty extensive list of the WDW restaurants and the menus and cost of each dish. If you haven't already done so and found the AllEars site, it might be worth taking a look at the table service and quick service places for each park. You can work out which place you want to eat at, what the indicative cost is going to be and work up your food budget accordingly. It will give you a comparison for whether the dining plan (free or otherwise) is worth it for your family.

http://allears.net/dining/menu


ETA. My food budget is generally about $50 per person per day. When I come home and check the numbers, I tend to spend less than that. As with anything, some days I spend more, some days I spend less. We do tend to stay at a DVC and will have breakfast in our room; although we do eat out as well for breakfast. We do a combination of QS and TS; and we do spend less than what the dining plan gives you. Your eating habits may be different to my family; so this figure may not work for you.

 

[LisaAJ]

I can understand how you got to $30k jacs as that is pretty much what ours is costing without spending money! It adds up doesn't it?! We are doing the space centre next month so I'll be able to comment more on it then but all reviews I've found have been great I bought our tickets off Undercover Tourist.

 

[jacs1234]

We're looking at staying at the art of animation resort because it's $300 a night for a party of 6, although the wilderness lodge is more my style but that can wait till the kids have grown up lol. The thirty grand came from flights at 1500 annual passes wdw accommodation universal accom and tickets, ksc tour, DL accom and tickets. If we skip Disneyland it will be a big saving. I will join all those things. Thanks. It's odd looking at the disneyworld side of things. I haven't yet been brave enough to venture to the dis disneyworld forum. Lol