Helpful Advice Needed sorta long post

[Brumeiser]

Try to be brief as possible. I was surprised when I mentioned the free dining this fall my wife said sure lets go. That would mean me taking a weekend off without pay and she mentioned lets fly down. I believe that came around after we drove last month to Texas and back with my son, it was long and hard. My concern with flying how hard is it to fly with a 3 1/2 year old? Can you bring a stroller on a plane if so is it carry on or considered a piece of luggage? Flying is not cheap but is 180 dollars round trip price non-stop a good rate from Toledo to Sanford? How do you go about finding a good rate on car rental? With going in late September would it be a good idea to buy travel insurance because of the hurricanes? With my wife and I sharing meals we can probably strech the meals out to include the more expansive meals correct? I know I am asking allot of questions but with us going on Monday to book, I need some of this information to finalize my plans. Thanks

 

[dtsaos]

You can check on the transportation board to find out everything you need to know about planes, cars and any other kinds of transportation. Good luck!

 

[gypsydoodlebug]

We just got back on Wednesday and flew with our almost-2-yr-old. She LOVED it. We took our stroller on and tagged it at the gate. They placed it under the plane and brought it back out to us when we got off the plane, so we had it in both airports. I carried the stroller, my diaper bag and purse on and DH took his briefcase and the car seat. Flying is SOOOO much easier than driving, and your child is big enough to probably just need a booster seat or just buckle him in. You WILL need to buy him his own seat, however.

I think $180 is pretty good; We're coming from Louisville, just a little south of you, and it's about $260 right now on Delta AND SWA. We got our car via Budget (I joined Fastbreak, their quick service program) using the Southwest Web site and got it for about $113 for four days. Car rentals are prety cheap down there. You can also book with Priceline, which I've done before, but you can't pick your company (with Budget, spouses drive at no additional cost, which means when I want to go to the outlet malls, DH doesn't have to tag along just to drive the car).

Hope this helps! Have a great time!

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

Check out www.mousesavers.com. You will find a lot of helpful tips on ways to reduce your costs.

Always buy airfare on Weds. when all of the airlines run specials. They raise rates on weekends.

Lori

 

[Brumeiser]

Thanks for the tips especially on the stroller. It will be a good idea to have the stroller to use in both of the airports. Even though both airports we are using are small it would be nice to contain him. Yes I know we have to buy a adult ticket for the 3 year old but travelling with a 3 year old and my parents it will be much easier than driving. We like the idea of flying for 2 1/2 hours compared to 18 hours of driving for one way. It bothers me a little that we could drive down for much cheaper than 3 airline tickets but with a shorter time frame for this unplanned vacation I will have to bite the bullet and fly. Who knows we may like flying and maybe prefer this method of going down there. I will find out today if my parents are going and if so I can go and book this vacation today.

 

[soccerchick]

Check Expedia and Travelocity for car rentals, then check out the actual websites of the lowest ones, they may be even lower.

 

[fireman17]

Your 3 1/2 year old son will love it. As far as the stroller take it, you'll be glad you did, we went down in May with a 7, 3 and 1 year old we gate checked our double folding stroller and when we arrived in Orlando the srroller it was brought up to us.
You'll see it makes it easier in the airport and at the parks especially after he has a long day, if you rent a stroller you have to return it at the entrance and carry him to the bus with your stroller he's on it to the bus stop.
Your prices for the airfare is great if you can get it at that price jump on it before the price goes up.
Hope this helps you out and have a great trip!!!

May 03 CBR
May 05 POP

Been There, Done That, Going Back. YAHOOOOO!!!!!
ARE WE THERE YET??????

Me, DW, DS7, DD3, DS1

 

[cwnhokie]

Just a couple things to add to the great tips so far. I also recommend www.mousesavers.com I was able to get a rental car for a week for $98 from National using the codes on that site. I also learned from the transportation boards to keep checking the rates because they went down 3 times and I just kept redoing the reservation. We flew with a 2.5 and 4 year old and they both slept the entire way. We took carseats for both of them just so that we could strap them in. Gate checking the strollers was effortless. We wheeled them right down the tunnel, handed them over and they were waiting for us when we got off. Have fun!