Has anyone booked a package through Southwest Airlines?

[yankeemom311]

This is my first time to post, but certainly not to read! I appreciate all of the wisdom on the board - it's a GREAT help to trip planning!

Hubby and I are thinking about planning a 25th anniversary trip (we honeymooned in 1980 in FL and made our first trip to WDW then!) this year. In all our subsequent trips back, we have never stayed onsite. This time, I want to take in the WHOLE experience and stay at a deluxe resort.

I have been overwhelmed with planning, not sure whether to book direct with Disney, go through AAA, etc. Just today, I was checking flights and fares at Southwest's website and saw that you can book a vacation package through them ALSO! When I plugged in the details, I got a total amount which was about $500 less than what I did when I got a quote through Disney. And the Southwest quote included our round trip airfare from Houston! The Disney quote didn't incllude airfare, either.

Am I just dreaming? Can this be legit or is there a catch somewhere? Does anyone have experience with booking through SWA? I did notice that the entire cost of the package has to be paid upfront. That just by itself is a bit scary. But if this is a legitimate opportunity, I would like to grab it!

TIA

 

[jenrose66]

Sorry, I don't have an answer but I would be very curious to hear more about this too. Good luck with your booking

 

[Pea-n-Me]

We like to fly SWA so I get their vacation package emails a lot. When I'm in the midst of trip planning I always plug in my #s to see if they can meet or beat the price I've gotten myself and so far that hasn't happened. However, if they could beat it I wouldn't hesitate to book with them.

One of the reasons I like to fly with them is because they are flexible if you have to make changes to your reservation and will also give you a credit if airfare goes on sale after you book. If I were you I would check their cancellation policy and/or call them and see what they say would happen if you have to cancel or postpone your trip for some reason. I know with flights alone if you have to change you have a year to use them again. Good luck.

 

[hmontgomry]

I planned a disney trip through them 2 years ago and I couldn't believe my eyes either!! The same thing-cheaper than disney and included airfare. I had discount codes, tried AAA and nothing could come close to it. They saved me $1,000 and I grabbed it!

 

[WaltD4Me]

I've priced Southwest packages before and they were cheaper than booking through Disney, but I was always able to do better booking everything seperately myself.

My fondest wish is that Southwest would do non-stop flights to Orlando from Cleveland though! The only ones who are non-stop now is Continential!

 

[gigi1313]

i love southwest and would book thru them in an instant if i thought it was the best deal... to the OP you may get more answers to your query if you post it on the transportation board

 

[AlexTina]

We always fly SW and they will definately beat any price you get through disney for the whole package but what I have found is that I can save even more if I book my airfare through southwest (just watch for the e-mail/ding specials), book your rental car through SW, and then book your hotel through disney. Unless there is a special code no matter how you book the disney hotel the price will be the same whether it's through disney, expedia, etc... Good luck on your planning.

Tina