How soon is too soon?

[GoofyGal]

Hello fellow dissers,

My family and I are planning a trip to Disney in 2007. How soon should we book? We're also debating whether to drive from New Brunswick to Disney or drive to Albany and then fly. We're looking for the cheapest way. Any suggestions???

Thanks,
GoofyGal

 

[OntFamily]

You won't be able to confirm 2007 pricing until Mid year 2006. Don't sweat trying to book early -- there is little value.


With regard to drive/fly -- do you like driving? It's about 28-30 hours of driving from NB to Orlando.

Not sure why you'd drive to Albany (I assume you mean NY) to catch a flight - a 10 - 11 hour drive This seems out of the way towards Florida. I'd think it would be easier to drive to Boston.

 

[hockey mom]

A good thing to purchase now would be your tickets. With the dollar doing so good it can't hurt and one less thing to buy when you are ready.

 

[GoofyGal]

Hi OntFamily and hockey mom,

Thanks for your replies.

OntFamily- I've never travelled into the states other than flying so I have no idea which would be closer. As for the 30 or so hour drive, well my husband insists if we're driving he wants to drive straight through and that doesn't excite me at all.

I've been reading some posts regarding cheap air through SW and thought it might be worth the days drive. Perferably we'd like to fly out of Bangor but recently the price has doubled so who knows what the prices will be like by then. I just want to keep all my options open and find the cheapest way possible.

Hockey mom- it does make sense to buy park passes soon. My husband and I were thinking of getting them soon but giving them as Christmas gifts in 2006 to our DS 12 and DS 9.

I guess I'm just sooooooo excited about going that I can't contain myself. I want to do something to make our trip a reality. This will be our 2nd time going but it was over 10 years ago when we went and there's just so much that's new at Disney.

I just want to thank you both for your replies. I love this board and enjoy reading everyone's posts. My kids think I'm a little obsessed at this point because according to DS 12 it's too early to get excited but I remember very well where we're going, where he was only 2 when we went I guess he doesn't quite realize what he's about to experience.

Take care and keep the great posts coming!

 

[NancyK]

Welcome to the DIS! You'll find great information here. I agree that buying your tickets right away will make the trip a bit more real. You'll have to decide how many days you want to be in the parks and work from there. I would definitely recommend buying a park hopper ticket. It is so nice to be flexible in visiting more than one park on the same day. I love driving down and wouldn't drive for a whole day just to get a cheaper flight. You could be halfway to Florida in that amount of time. We used to drive straight through (although we only have a 22 hour drive which is way shorter than yours ). Now that we're in the middle-age category, we prefer to drive about 14 hours or so the first day and make the second day shorter. Driving all night just isn't as much fun as it used to be! I would think that if you drive, you would want to spend at least two nights on the road. With the cost of gas and hotel en route, you might actually find it cheaper flying from someplace close to home.
Happy planning!
Nancy

 

[OntFamily]

When I lived in NB, I did drive straight thru to FL a couple of times -- it's a long, long drive.....


With the higher gas prices, I'd give strong consideration to flying. When you add together gas, food, hotels (for those who don't drive straight through) and wear/tear on the car, flying can be much cheaper (and easier).


Many discount airlines fly out of NE USA (mainly Boston) -- Air Tran, Jet Blue, etc. so you can get good rates.


Canjet, out of Halifax, can have some good rates, dependent on the time of year.

 

[Sandy22]

Depending on your family size, it may be cheaper to take the train. You could catch the Amtrak train in Albany, NY, transfer in NYC and then it's straight through to Orlando. Or you could drive to Virginia and get on the autotrain. That would cut down on your driving time and still allow you to have your car in Orlando.

 

[GoofyGal]

Hello all,

OntFamily.....I really don't want to drive at all but I also want to have as much $$$ while we're at Disney. I'm trying to get an idea of cost so that I can start budgeting for our trip. Two months back I checked at expedia for flights out of Bangor and they were about $268 return (which I could handle)but now they've doubled in price. I just cannot fathom spending $2300 to get to Disney. I'd like to just see what it would entail if we were to drive and fly from NB so that if the prices to fly don't go back down to the $200 or so range we know what we're in for.

Sandy22.....I've never taken the train or didn't even know that could be an option. It doesn't really matter to me if we have a vehicle or not at Disney. The last time we were there we didn't have one and wish we had but we also stayed off site also. This time we're planning on staying on site at the POP.

Thanks for your replies! This is an awesome board!
Denise

 

[OntFamily]

What time of year are you planning on travelling? I checked fares for Dec (just at random) and you can get flights out of Bangor for $286USD, and Boston from $161USD. Canjet (out of Halifax) is $520CAD.


Amtrak (coach seat -- no bedroom) out of Boston is $208USD, but a lot slower - takes over a day.

For my money, I'd fly out of Boston. It's only four hours south of Bangor and dependent on the number of passengers, the saving scan be substantial.


Driving would cost approx $400 in gas, plus meals (figure on approx $100 per person - return), plus hotels. It's cheaper to fly (even including parking fees at the airport).

 

[usetheforceluke]

If you don't want to fly out of Boston, an alternative would be to fly from Manchester, New Hampshire... it's an equivalent drive to Boston, and you won't have to deal with the Big City Airport nor the Big City Traffic.

Southwest flies from there and offer some fairly cheap fares. I just looked up a trip in December (this year) and one way prices range from $59USD to $204USD depending on the flight and features you want.

 

[GoofyGal]

Hello all,

OntFamily.....we were thinking of going in April 2007 but right now that's flexible. We just want to make sure that we're there while the water parks are open and it's warm enough.

When I went onto expedia I typed in April 2006 and they quoted me a price of $567 where just a little over a month ago it was only $268. I'd prefer to fly out of Bangor being familiar with that airport but as I said before I'll go wherever I can find the best deal. Another reason to fly out of Bangor is that I actually know how to get there

Usetheforceluke.....I was looking into SW because I've heard so many people talking about it but again I'm not all that worldly when it comes to travelling (meaning I'd have no idea where I'm going if it weren't for CAA). If we can fly out of Bangor my inlaws only live a couple of hours away and they've offered to drive us so do you see which way I'm leaning??? Again I will take the cheapest route.

Thanks for the replies. Great board!
Denise

 

[OntFamily]

Ever since A&E started showing "Airline", I've decided never to fly SouthWest.



I checked Orbitz, and fares from Manchester, MA are $137USD per person on Continental. Great fare !!!


BTW, fares will change frequently between now and 2007. Key watchouts are Easter timing (fares higher around Easter) and timing of school breaks.

 

[dsneygirl]

Ever since A&E started showing "Airline", I've decided never to fly SouthWest.

That's suprising! I love SW, have flown them many, many times all over the US and have always had great service. DH and I even met Yolanda at LAX last year when they were filming.

 

[langin]

Hi there,

We are in the Moncton area and we just returned from WDW a couple of wks ago and we drove (with no AC) with our 3 boys (ages 12 and twins 9) and the way down was hard because we left earlier than we had originally planned and ended up driving through 2 nights and then a full day, it was so hot and so long. On the way back we drove a long day (12 hrs) on the first day and then we drove straight through 23 hours and landed home at 7:30 am, this was pretty good, driving away from the heat! I t was quite an adventure and I don't know if I would do it again ( I would if it was the only way we could go again, which was the primary reason this time) but it was fun. We bought a portable DVD player in Fl and that was great on the way back!

I go on and on about this topic of driving so if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask! We are planning another trip in 2-3 years so my wheels are turning already!