I am not obsesive over flights (OK, yes I am!)

[kathymuggle]

Option 1.

260 Cnd out of Syracuse. One stop over. Decent departure and arrival times if everything goes according to plan

Option 2:

307 Cnd out of Toronto - a little further drive, and a little pricier - but no stopover! Decent departure, and 2 hour earlier arrival time.

We are not hitting the parks that day, no matter how we fly.
We are staying in a hotel the night before no matter what.
Fliers: (family of 5, including 3 children, ages 6, 10 and 13).

While it looks like Syracuse is a clear winner - the last time I flew out of Syracuse both flights (initial and stopover ) were delayed - and we got into Orlando late. The stress of waiting around and such was awful - and honestly I almost had a meltdown at Orlando airport.

Perhaps this was a fluke and I should not judge...or perhaps this is the way of flying now.

So...option 1 or 2?

 

[mollyseven]

well i'd say syracuse but it totally depends on the month
if it's winter toronto might be a safer bet especially for the stopovers if they are in a place that might have snow.
if it's stopover in atlanta where they won't have snow delays it doesn't figure into this either....
so....it all depends. I hate flying out of toronto but i also hate the drive to the u.s in snowstorms

 

[lisalonglash]

Option 1.

260 Cnd out of Syracuse. One stop over. Decent departure and arrival times if everything goes according to plan

Option 2:

307 Cnd out of Toronto - a little further drive, and a little pricier - but no stopover! Decent departure, and 2 hour earlier arrival time.

We are not hitting the parks that day, no matter how we fly.
We are staying in a hotel the night before no matter what.
Fliers: (family of 5, including 3 children, ages 6, 10 and 13).

While it looks like Syracuse is a clear winner - the last time I flew out of Syracuse both flights (initial and stopover ) were delayed - and we got into Orlando late. The stress of waiting around and such was awful - and honestly I almost had a meltdown at Orlando airport.

Perhaps this was a fluke and I should not judge...or perhaps this is the way of flying now.

So...option 1 or 2?

The previous poster had good points

Using only the info you posted, I'd say Toronto (does your price include the gazillion Canadian airport/flight fees?) - direct flights (a big plus!) and earlier arrival at MCO (another big plus!). Yes, it's a longer drive to the airport, but as you're staying in a hotel the night before anyway, any driving fatigue shouldn't be a factor.

Happy planning, Kathy!

 

[rewok]

What about 210$US pp direct out of Syracuse? JetBlue shows up at 94$+fees one way for your dates if you buy 2+ tickets? Individual TV screens, more legroom, 1 piece free luggage. At our current exchange rate maybe 260$CND per ticket. Closer than Toronto, and I see really no real reason why flights out of Syracuse would be delayed more than Toronto, air travel is subject to lots of factors, wherever you fly from.

 

[crazyfordisney2000]

You would save about $200 Canadian flying out of Syracuse on Jetblue direct flight that "rewok" suggested. The only other thing to consider that I can think of is baggage allowance. If you have to pay extra for Jetblue (I know Westjet allows 2 bags per person free of charge) then the price might work out to be closer to $100 - 150 difference. So is this savings worth it to you to get to the airport in Orlando at 7pm or would you like to spend the extra and get to Orlando at 1:00pm? Only you can decide!
Decisons decisions I know exactly how you feel

Good luck on deciding

 

[kathymuggle]

I booked Syracuse at 256 cnd last night.

There is one (short) stop-over - we leave syracuse at 10 and get into Orlando at 2 something....so I am pretty happy. We are on United. Interestly enough, we were quoted one price on one of the big cheap flight dealers - went to the United site to check out a few things and got a better deal there! (by 9$ a person).

Jet blue was cool but got in too late for us.

I am glad the airline headache is behind us - and that we got a good deal. Now I can obsess over other things - like upcoming ADR's.

Thanks for your input everyone!

Kathy

 

[dis_guy]

I booked Syracuse at 256 cnd last night.

There is one (short) stop-over - we leave syracuse at 10 and get into Orlando at 2 something....so I am pretty happy. We are on United. Interestly enough, we were quoted one price on one of the big cheap flight dealers - went to the United site to check out a few things and got a better deal there! (by 9$ a person).

Kathy

I'm not surprised by this. I've checked prices on Travelocity or Expedia and found ones that weren't too bad. Then when you go to the airline's site the prices are even better. Part of this is the fee charged by the online aggregators but often you can save more. I did this very thing for our December flights but I went a step farther and checked Air Canada (they code share with United), I got an even better price for the very same flights on UA.

 

[rewok]

I booked Syracuse at 256 cnd last night.

There is one (short) stop-over - we leave syracuse at 10 and get into Orlando at 2 something....so I am pretty happy. We are on United. Interestly enough, we were quoted one price on one of the big cheap flight dealers - went to the United site to check out a few things and got a better deal there! (by 9$ a person).

Jet blue was cool but got in too late for us.

I am glad the airline headache is behind us - and that we got a good deal. Now I can obsess over other things - like upcoming ADR's.

Thanks for your input everyone!

Kathy

Congrats! Just a (late) warning, United does charge 15$ per piece of luggage each way. If you can live with 1 piece per 2 persons, it will cut down on this.

 

[dis_guy]

Congrats! Just a (late) warning, United does charge 15$ per piece of luggage each way. If you can live with 1 piece per 2 persons, it will cut down on this.

Ah, yes, the baggage fees. Good reminder.

I don't know how everyone else packs, but the 4 of us; me, DW, DD (17), DD (18), managed just fine with two regular-sized checked bags. All we carried on was what we wanted during the flight, plus some toiletries in case our bags were delayed. A few pairs of shorts and a couple of pairs of pants and some t-shirts don't take up much room.

 

[kathymuggle]

Actually - we are hoping to do carry-on only.

We did it last time and it was fine.

Thanks for the tip, though - for any others reading - and in case my goal of carry on only does not work.

Kathy

FYI - It turns out lots of airlines charge for checked baggage! Check out this article....

http://budgettravel.about.com/od/airfarescruises/tp/majors_bagfees.htm

 

[mermaid&cinderella]

I say Toronto, I will never fly out of the US when I can fly out of Pearson, sorry my opinion. I also try to never take connecting/stopover flights. A direct flight is the only way to fly for us. I love being able to drive 30 mins to the airport, get on a plane and fly 2.5 hrs and I am in Orlando

 

[jmann]

I guess it depends on where you live too. I live near London ON so for us driving to Detroit is only a little farther (maybe an hour...if that) than driving to Pearson. I was checking flights last week from Detroit to Orlando and found 1 flight for $139 return per person, even if I pay $30 to check a bag I'm still ahead of the game. I have to pay to park either way so thats a wash.
I was considering driving...just me and my 6yr old but I quickly talked myself out of that.

 

[momwholovesdisney]

You have a family of 5 (just like me)...where are you staying? I'm having trouble trying to figure out where to stay for a reasonable price without breaking the bank. If I go moderate I have to book two room but we could stay at the Grand Floridian for $100 that accommodates 5 people......thoughts?

 

[momwholovesdisney]

Option 1.

260 Cnd out of Syracuse. One stop over. Decent departure and arrival times if everything goes according to plan

Option 2:

307 Cnd out of Toronto - a little further drive, and a little pricier - but no stopover! Decent departure, and 2 hour earlier arrival time.

We are not hitting the parks that day, no matter how we fly.
We are staying in a hotel the night before no matter what.
Fliers: (family of 5, including 3 children, ages 6, 10 and 13).

While it looks like Syracuse is a clear winner - the last time I flew out of Syracuse both flights (initial and stopover ) were delayed - and we got into Orlando late. The stress of waiting around and such was awful - and honestly I almost had a meltdown at Orlando airport.

Perhaps this was a fluke and I should not judge...or perhaps this is the way of flying now.

So...option 1 or 2?

I already posted a question to this post but I'm still getting used to how to reply and ask questions to other posts......I'll get it!!!!
Anyways, we have a family of 5 as well and I was wondering where you are staying and if you booked 2 rooms or went with a deluxe room and paid extra? OR......did you book one room and just get a cot? I've been getting different answers and the only thing about "sneaking" in another child is that they don't get the hotel card so can't participate in the magic hours....thoughts?

 

[mickeywho?]

I already posted a question to this post but I'm still getting used to how to reply and ask questions to other posts......I'll get it!!!!
Anyways, we have a family of 5 as well and I was wondering where you are staying and if you booked 2 rooms or went with a deluxe room and paid extra? OR......did you book one room and just get a cot? I've been getting different answers and the only thing about "sneaking" in another child is that they don't get the hotel card so can't participate in the magic hours....thoughts?

For options other than booking two rooms...you can look at family suites at Pop (don't know if they are an option at all the values) or Port Orleans have trundles under one of the beds so sleeping 5 is easy there.
We have a family of 4 so I haven't had to deal with this issue - growing up I was in a family of 6 and we traveled a lot. We added a couple of cots when we were younger and my parents wanted us all together and when we were older we had two rooms - much needed for sleeping arrangements but also the 2nd bathroom.
You can check on the resorts thread for opinions of the resorts I mentioned for families of 5. I haven't stayed at Pop so I wouldn't comment on the resort - We have stayed at POR and we love the resort. With the trundle out the room is tight.
Now that we are DVC members we realize this is the way to go for us as the kids get bigger and we need more space anyways.

 

[kathymuggle]

You have a family of 5 (just like me)...where are you staying? I'm having trouble trying to figure out where to stay for a reasonable price without breaking the bank. If I go moderate I have to book two room but we could stay at the Grand Floridian for $100 that accommodates 5 people......thoughts?

Port Orleans Riverside - it has a trundle bed for kids under 9, and sleeps 5. I am not sure if they are firm or not on the "under 9" thing.

It cost me about 130 a night (I think).

I am not sure they would add a cot to room that are designed for 4 - it is a fire code thing.

Personally, I would not sneak people in and out of rooms unless I had to. I did it once (not at Disney) and was so nervous about getting caught.


Good luck!