In two minds now, to go or not to go.

[LivingforDisney]

Due to the fact that the earliest we can fly out of Sydney is Dec 16th, the airfare prices are sky high.
I have a price 16th Dec SYD to LAX , stay 4 nights.
20th Dec LAX to MCO and returning MCO 20th Jan.
Pricing $2450 includes 2 pieces of checked luggage all the way, probably won't need that!
This is flying Delta.
I did get a pricing from Qantas which is $10 cheaper and could leave on the Mon or Tues night from Sydney at 6.30pm, but coming home we fly to DFW then Sydney.
Also the girl said she couldn't assign seats?
Don't know when they assign them then.
Sound like a lot of money for seats, but really, really want to go at this time.
In two minds book it tomorrow or wait a few more days to see if they drop, but then they might go up.
Did anyone travel this time last year?

 

[Kristin5]

See, I would've been rapt to get them for $2450! We are going Boxing Day through to Jan 23rd, and they have been around $4000 pp for a while now but just came down in price a couple of days ago to $2800 for an adult and $2300 for child (with United). We have extra flights though, as we are going to Denver (via LAX), Washington, NY and Orlando (via LAX).

I knew what to expect as I tracked airfares for a lot of last year for similar dates, and it seemed that it was always going to be around $8500 (so we consider ourselves lucky that we have paid $7900, as we were happy to go up to $9000. We were never going to pay the $12000 unless it got to the last minute). The price we pay for going high season, unfortunately.

We weighed up the cost though as going at that time of year, DH won't be missing any work (ie pay!) as he is in the building trade which pretty much shuts down in January. Plus DS won't miss any school, and my work forces me to take holidays anyway, so at least I can used the forced leave (plus extra).

My TA says they may come down slightly, but not significantly more. Apparently fuel taxes have just dropped, giving us a saving, but of course the falling dollar isn't helping anything. And as we couldn't risk missing out on our dates altogether (as we have already booked our cruise), we grabbed these.

 

[LivingforDisney]

Thanks for the info Kristin
I cant really understand how they work out these fares, I was playing around on a few airline websites and most of them gave nearly the same cost just for return to LAX, for what I found for LAX & Orlando.
Yes, my son will be in the first term of year 12 after Sept holidays and is reluctant to miss any school apart from the last day.
Leaving on the 16th actually fits with all my plans anyhow and we have a Disney cruise booked for 9th Jan.
I am going to go see the travel agent down at my shops tomorrow to see if she can give me a heads up, I have been to a few well known ones, and sometimes I get the impression they think they are giving you a fabulous deal and want you to book straight away.
will let you know how I go.

 

[Kristin5]

I use the TA we use for work - have been using her for over 10 years and she's great! She doesn't work in one of the big chain company's, just a small family business.

She quoted ours a few times last year (based on 2014/2015 comparative dates), mostly at $3000 per adult and $2500 per child but towards the end of the year it came in at $2400 for an adult and $2000 for a child (and she had been telling us all year we'd be able to get it for under $2500 per adult), so we are paying more now but I needed the certainty of having the booking, and she just wasn't sure which way it would go with the falling $A. I'm not a risk taker plus I am a worrier plus I am impatient (a lethal combination!) - so I just had to grab these now! And it's a price I am ok with.

I looked on the United site for you, and that was coming in at $2800 if you flew direct, or $2600 with stops. My TA was able to do better than the United site for us though, so maybe you can find a TA who can find yours cheaper too?

And strangely enough, ours worked out cheaper when we added on an extra flight (from Washington to New York). So I know what you mean when you say you don't understand how they work out prices!

Where does your Disney cruise depart from? Ours leaves on 9 Jan too (ours is Norwegian Cruise Lines, leaving from Port Canaveral).

 

[LivingforDisney]

I went down and saw the travel agent at our local shops.
She came up with the same price , and Delta, but better internal flight times and non stop, which I know could change with Delta.
Also if for some reason we are delayed in Mco and miss our flight out of LAX coming hone, they will have to sort it, as it's all on one ticket. I wouldn't be fussed if that happened lol.
We are leaving on the Disney Fantasy Jan 9th from Port Canaveral, it's a 7 night Western Carribean.

Probably cost double the price of yours, lol.
We'll she put those flights on hold, so will sleep on it, but pretty sure I am going to take them.
Will be so disappointed if I didn't and they go up, cause we would not go.
I already have my spending money done, so now to pay for the rest with this low rate.

 

[LivingforDisney]

The trouble with WDW is you have to pre plan so early.
My friend told me to wait until around June, but I don't think I can do that.
I need to book ADR's ect lol

 

[jacs1234]

My dates are a little earlier, nov 28th to dec 18th.I missed out on flights for $1400 because i was too slow for the travel show prices. been quoted $2200 but a friend is a travel agent and can get our 6 flights for an average of $1900 I want $1600 though, no more. I will wait and hope. LivingForDisney I hope your friend is right because I might have to wait that long.

 

[LivingforDisney]

Lol jacs, don't know about that, she isn't a travel agent, but she goes to Hawaii nearly every year and cant believe how expensive my flights are.
Well its because its school holidays, she has no kids so can go when she likes, also its the 9 days before Xmas and our flight from LA to Orlando is 5 days before Xmas, so that could have something to do with it??
Hope you find them for the price you want, I would have thought the Nov 28th would fit in to cheap price , but maybe the 18th Dec hikes the price up , all those lucky Americans coming over for xmas to spend their dollars.

 

[Kristin5]

I went down and saw the travel agent at our local shops.
She came up with the same price , and Delta, but better internal flight times and non stop, which I know could change with Delta.
Also if for some reason we are delayed in Mco and miss our flight out of LAX coming hone, they will have to sort it, as it's all on one ticket. I wouldn't be fussed if that happened lol.
We are leaving on the Disney Fantasy Jan 9th from Port Canaveral, it's a 7 night Western Carribean.

Probably cost double the price of yours, lol.
We'll she put those flights on hold, so will sleep on it, but pretty sure I am going to take them.
Will be so disappointed if I didn't and they go up, cause we would not go.
I already have my spending money done, so now to pay for the rest with this low rate.

Yes, that's certainly an advantage of booking on one ticket (I am worried we'll miss our flight to Denver, as we have missed it before. But then they just put us on the next one, so it's not a huge deal I suppose).

Ours is a 14 night Western and Eastern Caribbean cruise, but we go back to Port Canaveral halfway through (on Saturday 16th), so plan on doing the Kennedy Space Center shore excursion then.

If you book now, just don't check prices again and you'll never know what they do (so you won't have to feel bad if they happen to fall a bit more).

The trouble with WDW is you have to pre plan so early.
My friend told me to wait until around June, but I don't think I can do that.
I need to book ADR's ect lol

Exactly! There is so much planning for WDW. It's not just a last minute holiday where you can book late.

 

[Kristin5]

My dates are a little earlier, nov 28th to dec 18th.I missed out on flights for $1400 because i was too slow for the travel show prices. been quoted $2200 but a friend is a travel agent and can get our 6 flights for an average of $1900 I want $1600 though, no more. I will wait and hope. LivingForDisney I hope your friend is right because I might have to wait that long.

I think prices go up in the second week of December, so that's why your prices might be a little higher than you were hoping. There is another travel expo in Sept/Oct isn't there (if you can wait that long!)?

 

[Kristin5]

Lol jacs, don't know about that, she isn't a travel agent, but she goes to Hawaii nearly every year and cant believe how expensive my flights are.
Well its because its school holidays, she has no kids so can go when she likes, also its the 9 days before Xmas and our flight from LA to Orlando is 5 days before Xmas, so that could have something to do with it??
Hope you find them for the price you want, I would have thought the Nov 28th would fit in to cheap price , but maybe the 18th Dec hikes the price up , all those lucky Americans coming over for xmas to spend their dollars.

Yes, it's much easier not having to worry about school holidays. Pre-kids, DH and I went to the US a couple of times (2 years in a row, actually) in late Jan- early Feb, prices are so much cheaper then! Another good time is late Oct - early Nov.