How far ahead and how?

[SKFamily]

Here's the first of the questions..

How far ahead can you book your trip?

How did you book your trip - through an agent, on your own, whatever. We're thinking of a flight/hotel combination if that's the cheapest way to go.

And how do you know you've got a good place to stay? We have two boys 10 years apart in age, and I have a disability I now have to keep in mind. (never used to be an issue - I keep "forgetting" that I have some mobility limiations now lol)

When I went to Hawaii 11 years ago I only needed the flight and was going to visit long time friends who lived there, so it was easy. This time, not so easy.

 

[excitedmom]

i believe you can book 2yrs in advance but am not 100% sure.

last year was the first time i went and i booked hotel and tickets thru disney and my flight on the internet. This year i just booked room only, am buying my tickets at the disney store here and am driving down. It depends on if you want to plan every detail or if you want to relax and let someone else worry about it lol. um, re mobility question, i think you can request a first floor room at any of the resorts with only stairs and i'm sure they will accomodate you. i have mobility issues myself that i always forget about till walking for 8hrs straight then trying to climb stairs lol. you'll be sure to gather a ton of info on the boards for every question you have and some you would never think of asking lol

good luck planning!

 

[DSNY FN]

When paying cash/credit we always booked atleast a year in advance if not sooner. We always book directly through Disney never used an agent found it alot more conveniant.

 

[cabmom]

We booked our trip thru Dreams Unlimited a sponsor for these boards. They had the Fairytale package at the time we were going. We flew out of Buffalo because with 5 of us it was cheaper. I booked the tickets for the (www.iflyswa.com)flight in June and we flew the last week in September. We stayed at the All Star Movies in the Toy Story Building. This year we are looking at renting a villa with our friends from England. There are so many to choose from! I think we are driving this time.

Marilynn

 

[minnie56]

I booked a reservation for hotel 10 years ahead!

Now, it was for the Millenium so maybe that was an exception? They got my deposit 10 years ahead too!

 

[pumpkinboy]

Most of us DVC types (Disney timeshare owners) tend to book at 11 months ahead, for best availability at our home resort. I also tend to book airfare at 330 days, when the major US carriers open up their schedules. Now if you're not using timeshare points (which can be a really good deal on a great place to stay by the way), you can probably wait until closer to that dates. But if your dates are fixed, and flights are limited (which I imagine they might be from Saskatchewan) it may pay to have a travel agent working on this well ahead of time. I don't expect driving is a realistic option, having driven from Saskatoon to my hometown in Maine once; SK to FL would be one heck of a road trip.

 

[SKFamily]

We won't fly out of Saskatchewan - too limited and complicated for us. We'll go either out of Calgary or Edmonton because we have family to take us to either one, (one set has already offered) then they can take our vehicle back instead of leaving it at the airport, and they get our dog while we're gone too! (don't know if they realize that, yet...)

330 days...... since we want to leave March 24, 2005 that means I should be able to get some info pretty soon. That's good to know - the closest travel agent told me there wouldn't be any flight information until August or September.

Thanks for the info!

(the road trip from here to anywhere we want to go is long....)

 

[Irish Kelly]

SKFamily,
Airlines can book something like 350 days in advance ( I used to be a travel agent, but you think I can remember this stuff now??)
If you book directly with the airline, you can probably book your air in April or May.

I'm flying Air Canada out of Edmonton. We booked through a travel agent, and they booked through a wholesaler, so we have to honour that contract, can only fly via Toronto and what-not, even though the flights via Denver are better. But if you book directly through Air Canada, you can get the 'good flights' on expedia.ca, you can also book Alaska Airlines, America West Airlines and Continental out of Edmonton.

 

[pumpkinboy]

Hmmmm, looks like it's generally cheaper to fly out of Calgary; minimum 8 hr flight, then there's the drive to Edmonchuk or Calgary, it is looking like a really long day. I hope you're going for a looooong stay. Good luck to you!

Now that I live in Boston (yes, I am an American who knows where Saskatchewan is; I am a McGill alumnus after all, have visited all Provinces except Nfld and have plenty of friends in the West), we generally fly on Delta. Now at Delta you can reserve 330 days ahead of time (not sure if it's different if buying from Canada tho). I imagine it's the same with Northworst and Continental, since they both codeshare with Delta. I believe United (or Untied as we call 'em) codeshares with Air Canada, so I expect their policies are more or less harmonized. As for how the airlines deal with folks with mobility issues, we have a wheelchair-bound DS, and have always found Delta to be most accomodating; according to disability boards I have followed, Delta is above average in this regard (nightmare stories about American, so-so reviews of United and Northwest).

Now for the lodging, with as much advance planning as you have, you might want to nip over to the DVC boards and see about renting some points to get a 1BR or 2BR at one of the on-site "home-away-from-home" resorts. Reserved at the 11 month mark, you can get much better rates for a much classier hotel and a much more spacious room than you can getting a standard hotel room. We own points at the Boardwalk Villas, which are great for us due to the proximity to two of the 4 parks and easy Disney transportation all around; of course, we already have our 2005 plans in motion, or I'd offer to rent you ours .

Have fun planning!

 

[SKFamily]

I'm getting frustrated, already. I can't seem to even get prices for the time I want to go. Do I contact airlines directly? I've looked through things like expedia.ca and can't even get a quote yet, and same thing through travelocity. The travel agent told me to wait until the six month mark when seat sales start or we'll be SOL for those. I tried the link I got on here too and could only get dates for this year. Maybe I'm not looking in the right places?

Pumpkinboy, you are right - it is going to be a very long day but we are used to those. At one point we lived a 10 - 15 hour drive from family. Fortunately if we go out of Calgary my parents only live 1 1/2 hours from there. (dh's parents are 3 from Edmonton) So we'll go to parents first and then probably to our departure city the night before the flight. We're getting used to the now 7 - 8 hour trips - it takes that long to drive to my parent's house, and 6 1/2 or 7 to my in laws. So 8 hours on a plane really doesn't faze us - at least there's a bathroom close by!

Thank you for the info about Delta. I'll keep that in mind when I'm booking. (If I ever find a flight and hotel...)

 

[mbb]

there's so much info out there...but don't!! You're already WAAAAYYYYY ahead in terms of planning!!

Here's my advice - if you want it...

1)Do you want to stay on or offsite?
This will determine whether you will have to rent a car.
-Value Resort:need a cheap place to sleep, or splurge a litle, or lots!! Pumpkinboy's suggestion is excellent about renting points at a Home Away from Home Resort...Onsite, Studio,1,2,3 bdr, full kitchen, washer/dryer...we're DVC too, so I'm a little biased

2)Offsite - you will be renting a car..OK, so do you want hotel, condo, or house rental accommodation?

3)Are you planning on US/IOA, or Sea World?

4)Are you thinking of Tampa/Busch Gardens?? This could help in determining airfare...

If you can determine partial answers to some of these questions, at least in general terms, you're well on your way!!!

Mary Beth

 

[pumpkinboy]

Originally posted by SKFamily
...Do I contact airlines directly? I've looked through things like expedia.ca and can't even get a quote yet, and same thing through travelocity. The travel agent told me to wait until the six month mark when seat sales start or we'll be SOL for those. I tried the link I got on here too and could only get dates for this year. Maybe I'm not looking in the right places?...

Here is my recommendation: follow the airfares thru whatever general site you have available, just for any date that is fairly far off in the future. Keep checking prices for the Calgary-Orlando or Edmonchuk-Orlando routes (shorter flights of course, with only one connection) and see who is generally cheapest and best, who has fare sales, and just get a feel for what you are likely to have to pay. Then perhaps in April (about 1 yr out) bookmark the websites sites for the two best airlines on the routes - my guess is Air Canada/ United alliance or Continental (or maybe Northworst) and choose the flights that are best for you. Then at the 330 day mark, buy the best flights. If there is a sale, you can always call the airline and get a credit for the difference.

For the hotel, check out the rent/ trade board here and familiarize yourself with the process and procedures. As the 11 month mark approaches see about renting a reservation from a DVC member right at the 11 month mark. Perhaps find a trustworthy Canadian DVC member (you know, like mbb ) who could receive rented points in their acct and make ressies for you, then send you the confirmation stuff.

So how long were you planning to be there? Remember the breakeven for Annual Passes is about 8 days and PAP is about 11, so there may be AP hotel discounts in your future too, tho those rates don't come out until about 3 months ahead (not good for planning purposes, at least for Überplanners like us ).

Feel free to PM me your questions on DVC rental and stuff like that, if interested. Good luck and have fun planning.

 

[SKFamily]

OK, I'll look around in a few weeks. Had a thought this morning too - we should probably wait until the taxes are actually done and paid and I'm sure I don't have to pay as much as I had put away. And I should really go over some of this with dh before I start too much planning and booking since he likely has some ideas of his own.

Until then, I'll relax. I'm going to drive myself nuts with wanting to plan everything way ahead - a bad habit of mine.

Thanks again for the info and advice. I'm sure as our departure date gets closer I'll have numerous other questions.

 

[SKFamily]

Just thought of a really good reason why we can't book anything yet anyway - dh can't request the extra days off until September. Guess I'll put things off until that happens.

 

[pumpkinboy]

Or.....you could book tx for you and the kids at 11 months, and his in Sept.

Just being a troublemaker, don't mind me.

 

[abbyndrewmom]

I would highly recommed you check with West Jet as they are going to be adding Florida destinations. They will probably be cheaper then Air Canada. I think they are adding the routes in April so keep checking. I think their website is www.westjet.com also check www.jetsgo.net. Watch carefully sometimes Jetsgo will have really good sales and you can get the flights super cheap. These airlines will not showup on search engines like expedia or travelocity so keep checking their website.

 

[SKFamily]

Thanks - I'll keep that in mind.

 

[faithinkarma]

yes, I am an American who knows where Saskatchewan is

sorry, off topic, but this gave me my biggest smile of the day.