Help with trip

[threeps]

Hi all

Firstly hello to all. I am new here so please be kind.

We went to FL in 2004 and loved it and have never had the money to go back. In Junes pay I am getting a bonus (4.5K) and I have not told anyone yet but I am going to book a florida trip for us all (2A and 2C 13 &8).

Now I have a few problems with this. Booking in June for August, will I pay over the odds?

Some advice on my research :

1) Flying direct with BA, I can get return flights (direct) with BA for 2.7K for the 4 of us. Indirect for less, though not a lot less.

2) Villas. I keep seeing people referring to £250 per week? Where? Or am I dreaming in August? Whats the best site? Other sites have said to direct to owners and haggle? I just cant see if that's an option in august.

3) Car hire. Cheapest care hire for a economy I have seen is circa £300 for the fortnight. Sound about right?

Any other tips?

Or I am better off using the money to plan a 2014 trip?

Thanks#
threeps

 

[mackay_j]

It depends - can you wait that long

You will get more for your money if you book for next year as you can book a studio or 1 bed in OKW/ss disney and get free dining (1 table meal and 1 counter meal - both main and sweet and a snack daily) for about £400 more than staying in a villa - also you save on $15/ day parking fee at disney. And you get to choose from many many of the unusal dining venues throughout disney.

The villa I use is 325/week (and for aug that prob as cheep as you will get it direct from owners) - I just checkedfor you its only free 1-10th and 25th onwards.

At this stage you may be best to see if any late deals come up with package holidays - then if nothing comes up then book for next year- and take advantage of free dining - or cheeper villas/flights

 

[wilma-bride]

to the DIS

Firstly, I agree with the PP that you might be better off putting the money towards a 2014 trip. I am not a fan of the 'free' DDP because I think you pay over the odds for rooms and tickets but that is my personal opinion. However, planning a 2014 trip will allow you to shop around for the best deals for you, rather than rushing into booking something for August and paying a premium for it. I assume you are looking at August as you are tied to school holidays? Is October half term an option for you as you might find there are some preferable deals to be had for then.

I am not an expert on villas but I doubt whether a decent villa can be had for £250 per week in high season or during the holidays.

As far as car hire goes, that is probably the last thing to book and sometimes you can get deals but it is a case of just booking when you see them. Once you have booked your flights and have your dates, you can start to look for car hire.

 

[MrRomance]

First and foremost, to the DISboards!

Hi all

Firstly hello to all. I am new here so please be kind.

We went to FL in 2004 and loved it and have never had the money to go back. In Junes pay I am getting a bonus (4.5K) and I have not told anyone yet but I am going to book a florida trip for us all (2A and 2C 13 &8).

Now I have a few problems with this. Booking in June for August, will I pay over the odds?

Some advice on my research :

1) Flying direct with BA, I can get return flights (direct) with BA for 2.7K for the 4 of us. Indirect for less, though not a lot less.

2.7k for 4 is an OK price depending on your dates, but if you don't mind going indirect, you can probably get them cheaper.

2) Villas. I keep seeing people referring to £250 per week? Where? Or am I dreaming in August? Whats the best site? Other sites have said to direct to owners and haggle? I just cant see if that's an option in august.

August is not the cheapest time to go but we never stay in a villa. Are you set on getting a villa? May be worth your while to wait and see what the deals look like staying at Disney in 2014 when they come out later this month

3) Car hire. Cheapest care hire for a economy I have seen is circa £300 for the fortnight. Sound about right?

We paid £400 last year for a 7 seater mini van, so £300 for an economy car seems a little high to me but I may be wrong.

Any other tips?

Or I am better off using the money to plan a 2014 trip?

You'll definitely pay over the odds for a 2013 trip now. I'd go for 2014 because you'll get a better deal later this month

Thanks#
threeps

Hope that helps!

 

[WiganTony]

Hi and welcome,

With regard to flights, it may be worth pricing up flights into Tampa (direct from LGW with BA or other carriers indirect) which can sometimes be significantly cheaper. Another possibility for this year is if you can fly out after around 20th August, flights can be quite a lot cheaper (but dependent on your return date). A further option could be to wait and keep checking for late-booking deals, either charter flight only or packages, for this year.

As mentioned above, if you wait until next year, you could get free dining if you book Disney accommodation and tickets together, albeit possibly at a higher cost than staying off-site. It is rumoured that free dining will start to be offered for bookings made on and after April 25th. You would also have the luxury of holding off booking flights until the first "wave" of seats are released around September this year.

We have previously managed to get direct Heathrow - Miami flights for £400 for August 2010 which were booked in November 2009 following a tip-off on these forums. Then for our visit last August, we managed to get indirect Manchester - Paris - Orlando fligts with Air France for £500 booked in September 2011, again following posts on this forum.