fly early or mid-day?

[smuggs01]

So, we're planning our trip and have an option of either an 8am flight that arrives in MCO at about 10:30 or a 10am that arrives around noon. It will be my wife and I with our three kids (9,7,3). I tend to lean toward the 10am flight thinking that it will be a little less crazy in the morning and we would still probably be to WDW by around 2pm using ME.

To the "pros"...what has worked better for you?

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

We are not morning people so I'd vote for the later flight. Still having to arrive 2 hours prior, and having to drive to airport, park, etc. I like having that extra cushion and not having to get up at 4 am.

Last time I let dh choose flight times, he booked a 6am flight. Our boys were 1.5 and 4. We all ended up taking an afternoon nap; we were so tired and cranky. Waking up at dinner time, so might as well taken the later flight.

Now that they're 13 and almost 10, we do better as night owls and prefer a 6 or 7 pm flight after school and crash at the Hyatt, wake up in FL well rested and ready to start our vacay!!

 

[francie57]

We always take the earliest non-stop available. Less chance of delays as the day goes on. The airport is also less crowded at that point. We also take the latest non-stop home (usually around 6:30) so we basically have another day in the park. We have done this since our kids were 3 and 1 and we never had any trouble with them at that time. We always made sure everything was packed at night except for last minute items and I always had the kids clothes all out so they just had to get dressed. They went back to sleep in the car and then we always took something for them to have as breakfast on the plane. We stil take that flight each year. Guess I figure its better to get there as soon as possible and not lose most of the day.

 

[stnet]

We have done both and I have to say I enjoyed the early flight out best. However since we have an hour and 15 minute drive to the airport we did choose to spend the night at an airport hotel. The first time we were forced in to an early flight due to an approaching hurricane that was closing our airport - it was really nice getting to the hotel when its not so crowded. However you do take a greater risk of your room not being ready when getting there so early in the morning so remember to pack swimsuits and a change of clothes so you will have something to do if you have to wait and don't want to head to the parks. However, out of the 3 times we have flown in early our room has been ready twice!!

 

[kimsdreamvacation]

We are booked on a 7:20 a.m. flight out of Milwaukee, arrive at MCO 10:56 and I wanted the earliest morning flight possible because we are traveling with 4 kids ranging in ages,6,11,17,17.We will be spending the night before we leave at a hotel across from airport and yes we will be getting up at 4 a.m. but our kids are night owls anyway and plus we know they won't sleep anyway!!!We have always drove and this will be our first time flying and I wanted our vacation to start asap,so the earlier we get there the better.If the kids are tired they will have plenty of time to nap,eat, swim or tour the resort without feeling like we have to hurry anywhere, and just saok up all the Disney Magic. I think it is all a personal decision on what will be best for you and your family.Either way I know you will have a wonderful trip!!!!

 

[eliza61]

We always go the earliest flight available. My theory is that if problems occur and for some reasons planes start to cancel I've got a better shot at getting out early then when things really start to stack up.

 

[a1tinkfans]

We always like to arrive as early as possible for several reasons. One being that despite what others feel/think/say, I honestly believe that if we have a room issue (location) it is Much easier to get that changed before half the world checks in. Been there, done that!

We also like to head out to "relax" Asap!

We have actually enjoyed arriving the night before (late!) then checking into resort early the next am after a good nights rest (Hyatt/mco)~! Something I
definitely would do again.

Generally we also leave Mid day Not Morning and not late afternoon, mostly due to time we visit Disney....the later it is the more likely for delays/weather issues...so mid day is best it seems.

I think that "knowing" your families routine is helpful to deciding...are you guys okay if "rushed" to an airport early am, etc and all that that entails... OR
do you think that leaving later so it is more casual, slower placed is better....Only you would know best.
I think you'd be fine whichever you go with, its Disney after all .
Wishing your family a MAGICAL stay!

 

[smuggs01]

If it were just my oldest son and me, then i'd even go for the 6am (been there done that many times myself on weekly trips to Chicago from Philly). Unfortunately, my wife and daughter are not morning people and my youngest is closer in line to my wife & daughter with his sleep habits.

The other challenge I'm facing is that I'm finding it about $300 cheaper to fly from Baltimore (about 90 minutes drive) vs. Philly (20 minute drive). So, I'm leaning toward BWI and driving there the night before....but now that people are suggesting flying down late the night before checkin, I may look into that and look to stay in a SpringHill Suites down there.

 

[DaniB]

We choose a departure of 7am (non-stop) from Buffalo to Orlando. Mainly the price difference between the early and later flight was the deciding factor.

But I really don't expect it to be a problem. We're staying overnight at a hotel near the airport (we're from Ontario, Canada). So we'll be all packed and everything already.

My husband & I will get up first, double-check all our stuff is together, he'll head down to check-out, I'll wake up our 11 and 6 year olds to get dressed, grab some breakfast from the complementary buffet for us to eat in the van, and off we go to the airport parking lot.

The kids can go back to sleep on the plane if they wish (doubt it!). Plus we're planning a relaxing day - no parks - for our arrival day.

Ohh, our flight back? Mid-day.. sigh... I really wish we had an evening flight instead.

 

[M5ward]

I always book the earliest flight (6:00 am) out of Atlantic City..and my husband always complains. I book the latest flight coming back (usually 9:30 pm)..and my husband always complains. My reasons? The airport is empty early in the morning (it's a small airport) and it gives us a whole day at WDW; coming home late gives us that last day in the park.

 

[kelleyrn2000]

We are booked on a 7:20 a.m. flight out of Milwaukee, arrive at MCO 10:56 and I wanted the earliest morning flight possible because we are traveling with 4 kids ranging in ages,6,11,17,17.We will be spending the night before we leave at a hotel across from airport and yes we will be getting up at 4 a.m. but our kids are night owls anyway and plus we know they won't sleep anyway!!!We have always drove and this will be our first time flying and I wanted our vacation to start asap,so the earlier we get there the better.If the kids are tired they will have plenty of time to nap,eat, swim or tour the resort without feeling like we have to hurry anywhere, and just saok up all the Disney Magic. I think it is all a personal decision on what will be best for you and your family.Either way I know you will have a wonderful trip!!!!

We too will be leaving out of Milwaukee early in the morning...I was wondering what hotel across the airport you plan to stay at, and does it have free parking while you are away? I have thought about doing that too.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

If it were just my oldest son and me, then i'd even go for the 6am (been there done that many times myself on weekly trips to Chicago from Philly). Unfortunately, my wife and daughter are not morning people and my youngest is closer in line to my wife & daughter with his sleep habits.

The other challenge I'm facing is that I'm finding it about $300 cheaper to fly from Baltimore (about 90 minutes drive) vs. Philly (20 minute drive). So, I'm leaning toward BWI and driving there the night before....but now that people are suggesting flying down late the night before checkin, I may look into that and look to stay in a SpringHill Suites down there.

I have flown out of BWI too. Not a bad ride but it poured buckets on the way home so it took a while.

We have gotten the Hyatt right inside MCO on Hotwire many times. It's the only 4* in the MCO area that, when you click on it, the next page's tripadvisor rating gives it a 4.5/5. That's the key to know it's the Hyatt.
Worked around 5 times now. $54-79 +tax. It's just about 50' from the security line. Easy peasy. They'll even fetch your luggage if you're tired.

 

[pickles]

I hate arriving to disney on late day flights(arriving in the dark at disney). Then you get there and just go to bed..just seems like a waste of a day

I prefer the first morning flight like 7 am. tedious in the drive for us as its 3 hours to get to the airport. I have stayed overnight before at a cheap hotel near the airport,but dont feel rested so gave up doing that.

with a 7 am flight you get to disney and your resort at a reasonable hour that you can rest or go do something

SWA is thwarting me on my next trip. they have my first morning flight about $50 higher than the next flight, so i finally booked the noon flight and will hope at some point my fligt I like will go down in price

 

[MagicKingdom05]

So, we're planning our trip and have an option of either an 8am flight that arrives in MCO at about 10:30 or a 10am that arrives around noon. It will be my wife and I with our three kids (9,7,3). I tend to lean toward the 10am flight thinking that it will be a little less crazy in the morning and we would still probably be to WDW by around 2pm using ME.

To the "pros"...what has worked better for you?

We just came back from Tampa last weekend and we both agreed that for our WDW trip in September would would be talking early flights out and back. We took a noon flight out and a 2 pm flght back which is usually during our oldests nap time and she wouldn't sleep the 2 hours we were flying. Were thinking of taking a 9 am flight out and a 10 am flight back.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I hate arriving to disney on late day flights(arriving in the dark at disney). Then you get there and just go to bed..just seems like a waste of a day

I prefer the first morning flight like 7 am. tedious in the drive for us as its 3 hours to get to the airport. I have stayed overnight before at a cheap hotel near the airport,but dont feel rested so gave up doing that.

with a 7 am flight you get to disney and your resort at a reasonable hour that you can rest or go do something

SWA is thwarting me on my next trip. they have my first morning flight about $50 higher than the next flight, so i finally booked the noon flight and will hope at some point my fligt I like will go down in price

Not if you can get a full day of work & school in. We used to fly down Sat am but found it easier to leave Fri after work. It's kind of a rushed day, eating pizza dinner at the airport gate but we wake up Sat am already in FL at a time we would still be in the air if we flew Sat.
To me, it's not wasting a single minute.

 

[smuggs01]

for us, we would definitely need to get a full day of school in for the kids since they will miss 3 days for this trip (Jersey week) and will also miss another 4 or 5 next Feb for our annual ski trip. So, we'd either need to take like a 7pm flight from PHL since we're so close or even later from BWI....or just leave on the Friday morning. We're staying until the following Sunday, so I do want a reasonbly early flight so we can get home and somewhat settled since they will have to go to school bright and early that Monday and I will have to get back into reality with work.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Did you look into Airtran out of ACY? They have non stops on the weekends, not many though. Depending where you live, this may be easier than BWI.

Dh and I did an overnight escape w/o kids last Sept from early Sat am until late Sun night, only $29 pp after taxes w/coupon. He thought I was nuts but by Sun he loved the idea and wants to do it again.

 

[damren]

We always take the earliest non-stop available. Less chance of delays as the day goes on. The airport is also less crowded at that point. We also take the latest non-stop home (usually around 6:30) so we basically have another day in the park. We have done this since our kids were 3 and 1 and we never had any trouble with them at that time. We always made sure everything was packed at night except for last minute items and I always had the kids clothes all out so they just had to get dressed. They went back to sleep in the car and then we always took something for them to have as breakfast on the plane. We stil take that flight each year. Guess I figure its better to get there as soon as possible and not lose most of the day.

Ditto!