Getting from Vancouver to Orlando

[E&Cmom]

I am in the very pre- planing (thinking) stage of our next Disney Vacation. We went to Disneyland in March and did a Disney Cruise on the Wonder to Alaska 2 years ago. Of course now my next thought is to venture to the East Coast and either do WDW and/or another Disney Cruise probably to the Caribbean . Of course this involves longer flights and higher flight costs. Most of the threads, I have seen have been from those in the East. If you live out West, especially in BC what are the best flight options? Do you go down to Seattle and fly out there? If so, which airlines to you prefer and often get the best deals with? As I said before, I am just thinking right now so I don't have any dates in mind yet. I am just doing so preliminary research.

Thanks.

 

[mamaCta]

We flew out of Vancouver when we wentto WDW. I don't remember which airline, but I do remember stopping in Denver on the way. That was 8 years ago now, so this information may not be useful at all.

 

[aristocat65]

We usually fly out of Seattle on Alaska Airlines. They have a non-stop to Orlando. We have also flown AA with a connection Dallas but it makes for a very long travel day. Some of the connecting flights can be a real bargain though. The Alaska nonstop is more expensive, but watch for their sales or Delta sales. Delta code shares so you can end up on an Alaska flight.

Remember to factor in the cost of a night in a hotel at Seattle airport too as you usually will need one at the beginning or end depending on your flight times. A lot of the hotels have park and fly deals.

 

[MedicGoofy]

I'm not sure about which airlines to use (the American ones I use in the east, not sure what they are like for Seattle) BUT, I would highly recommend flying out of Seattle.

Have travelled from the east (New York) into Vancouver....and the flights are soooo much cheaper when travelling through the US. Add on that extra night at a hotel prior as someone said, and you will still be saving money.

 

[I Run Long]

We always, always, always fly out of Seattle. Even though we live on the island it is worth it for us to take the Washington State ferry to Anacortes and drive down to Seattle. We overnight at Marriott Townplace Suites Seattle Southcenter as they have a Park and Fly rate. That means you can leave your car at the hotel for up to 14 nights for free. They have a free shuttle service that takes you to the airport and then you call them for a pick up on your return. We usually fly Continental for non-direct flights - they're typically the cheapest. Direct we would fly Alaska. Direct will cost more for sure. We actually like changing flights just so we can get off the plane and stretch our legs. I hate sitting for more than a couple of hours so I need the break - that's just me. We've been to DW 3 times and are planning our 4th trip for next year and we'll be doing the same thing again. It is just too expensive to fly out of Canada. On average we save over $1000 by flying out of Seattle even factoring in ferry costs, gas and hotel.

 

[blabbermouth]

Yes, we'll be flying from Seattle this time. Normally I don't think it's convenient enough, but this time we scored flights with Southwest for $265 return pp, compared to about $600 from Victoria or Vancouver, so it's a pretty big savings! We worked it out so we'll only have to stay in a hotel the night before, and there will be 2 couples, so we'll just share the room for that one night to save an extra $50

If I lived in Vancouver, it'd be even easier!

 

[KittyKat1978]

Depends on when you go the flights from Vancouver will be anywhere from $475-$750 from Vancouver.

The first time I went to WDW (2009) my friend booked it and we flew out of Seattle (direct flight). Personally, I don't like having to drive 3hrs to get to the airport.

The second & thrid time I went, I flew out of Vancouver with a stop over (American & United). It's a full day's travel. The flight there was early (7am) but the flight home is later (5pm) so I didn't feel rushed.

The last time I flew out of Bellingham on a red eye. On the way down I went from Bellingham to Seattle to Orlando and got there at 6am. I will never do that again. On the way home it was a very early flight at 8am (I was picked up at the resort at 5am) flew from Orlando to Dallas to Seattle to Bellingham. 13.5 hours later I was finally driving home. I did save $150 on the flight and a night at the resort, so I figured it was worth it.

Next time, I will probably just budget to fly out of Vancouver. It's so much easier, more expensive, but easier.

 

[E&Cmom]

Thanks for all the replies. They give me lots to think about.

 

[Carina]

For my family of 5 the savings flying out of Seattle were HUGE ( $3000+ savings HUGE)

We took the ferry from the island at lunch time, were at our hotel for dinner.

Was a Residence inn or similar by Marriot and on a Thursday so we all ate the Managers reception for dinner


Flight left about 6am got in to Orlando at about 6pm (local time) after a layover - which we didn't mind as it was a chance to eat a nice lunch and stretch our legs and use a 'real' bathroom.

Coming home the flight also left at 6am (ish) we got in at 1 pm local time. Also with a layover, which mean no hotel needed

We were on the 7:30 ferry home after stopping at Tulalip casino for hubbys birthday dinner.

It was a HUGE travel day, but it wasn't a bad day by any means. (Pillow to pillow was 22 hours but the time change made it possible)

Factoring in Hotel, meals and ferry my savings came in just shy of $3000, and I am willing to go though quite a bit of inconvenience for $3000

Although honestly for the prices it would have cost to fly from Vancouver or Victoria, we wouldn't have gone to Disneyworld, it would have been to cost prohibative.

Not to mention if I fly from Vancouver I am still paying for the ferry and using up a big portion of my day, and would probably need an overnight hotel the day before anyways so 3 more hours in the car each way = $500 an hour in savings!

FYI we flew Southwest, loved the prices, loved the airlines - plan to book with them (barring any unforseen amazing deals with another airline) when we go to Tennessee next year.

 

[BraMax]

Hey there!

We live in Langley so we are flying out of Seattle on August 3rd on Southwest. We leave at 7:00 am so we will get a hotel the night before (could drive down in the middle of the night but will make for too long a day). We do have a layover in Atlanta with enough time to stretch our legs and have a bite to eat. We got our round trip flights for 4 for $1400.00 if we wanted to fly out of Vancouver it was going to be over $3000.00. So I am will to pay for the hotel in Seattle.

 

[o0quirkygirl0o]

We honestly always fly our of Vancouver. One time we tried flying out of Seattle and the hassle of getting back and forth (including slow border crossings), and the cost of gas/parking, it simply was not worth it for us. But, we do currently have the funds to spend an extra hundred dollars or so for the added convenience. It also might be more worth it if you are a larger group. With only two of us, the savings wasn't as substantial. It's really a personal call.

 

[keltiesmom]

We flew from Seattle in February to Disneyland, it was a hassle but we saved over $1000 after the ferry cost gas and hotel. We were a family of 5, we planned to fly from Bellingham but decided with little kids, all our crap and carseats, we wanted a direct flight. If you don't mind switching in Seattle then I recommend looking at Bellingham as well.

 

[mamaCta]

I just wanted to add another flying experience I had. I took DS to Atlanta when he was a baby. I used airmiles to buy my tickets to Seattle and then paid money for seattle to Atlanta and return. It was around $500 for the whole trip after fees.

 

[sasamong]

I'm from Vancouver too and it certainly seems like flying from Seattle to Orlando is our best bet in terms of prices.

So far Southwest seems to have given me the good prices and times (only because they allow 2 free luggage ) You'll notice other airline companies are cheaper in tickets but most charge for luggage (which then ends up being either more or same as Southwest)

I've been planning our Oct2013 trip since last Oct and found have found that the cheapest I ever got was about $280 RT (hitting myself for NOT buying then) and (as of today) is around $340 RT. I've lurked on the transportation board (and many others) and it seems that $300ish RT from seattle to orlando is more probable ticket prices.

Another DIS member also pointed out that there is a hotel in seattle that if you stay a night there will let you park there for a certain time frame (but there are many park and fly places around the seattle airport area anyway).

Hope the information helps!