Is this a good price for airfare from Boston to Orlando?

[mainewmn]

We (2 children and 2 parents) are planning our trip December 12-19, even tough we only started planning our trip it has undergone many changes. First off we changed our travel plans from December 23 - Jan 2 to December 19 - 26. Only to be warned time and time again of long lines and high prices. We therefore switched it to our current dates. In the beginning we wore going to drive from Maine to Orlando as my husband and children are afraid to fly. However after a lot of talking to and assuring that it would be better and safer to fly "we" decided to fly. Now for my dilemma.... I found some airfare on line from Boston to Orlando for $199 per person, which makes me think that maybe driving is not the cheapest way to go. Is $199 per person round trip from Boston to Orlando a good price, or should I hold out and wait for a little while longer. I been told that most likely the price will go up in spring time to go back down in summer to go back up again in fall, and told that best time to book would be in summer. However, I would hate to loose a good deal if the prices will only go up instead of down. Please help as the stress of planning this trip is beginning to take it's tall on me and it's taking out the excitement out of planning this trip!

 

[toystorymom]

We are thinking of going that same week! We are a family of 5 and right now the airfare is just too high. It looks like it may be drive or stay home. We've done the drive before and it wasn't that bad. We just tried to make it part of the trip, a real adventure. It beats missing out on a trip to Disney!

I asked this same question not long ago and got some great replies, I know the experts here will help you too. Several people mentioned that if it went below $199 it was a good deal. Don't forget Southwest which flies out of NH, sometimes they have some really good specials.

Good luck and enjoy the planning!

 

[ncligs]

If the times and days are good, and it is a non-stop flight, I would book it if it were me. It may drop $20-$40 down the road, but it also will more than likely go up also.Usually if you can go direct, with good times for under $200 it is a good idea to book it.Then you can relax and not have to worry about checking airfares for the next 6 months.

P.S. "Welcome to the DIS"!!

 

[Colexi's Mom]

I too would book the flight. However, most people say that the best time to book (or best deals) are about 2-4 months before departure. I finally booked our trip in May last week out of BDL (a little over 3 months out) because the return trip I wanted home was about to capacity (the benefit with Delta is you can see the seat plan and know how many people are on the plane before you book). The fare never dipped below $230 and it still hasn't come down (we averaged about $203/pp as I bought a reduced fare seat for our infant). Southwest was about the same as Delta and I wanted an assigned seat. With the current unknown in Iraq and oil prices going higher, the fares aren't dropping. The other unknown is that "Song" is going to start flying out of Boston this summer, so you may want to wait for that to see what it does to the rates. That would still give you about 6 months. But, you are also travelling over the holiday period, so rates may be higher for that reason.

 

[goofy4tink]

Have to say that I grabbed the $199 when I saw it last fall for my summer trip in '03. It's since gone to $201, to $310, then to $250. It's direct both ways. By this summer it will be "Song" instead of Delta Express. I wouldn't think it will go down too much.

 

[angela/maine]

$199 is a good deal providing the trip itinerary is family friendly and doesn't included alot of changing planes. We also live in Maine and are flying Southwest next week $204 non-stop in just 3 hours. Good luck with your decision.

 

[angela/maine]

Ooops, forgot to mention flying out of Manchester NH

 

[TiggerInNY]

I am planning on going to DW in October 2003 and already have booked my flight with Continental out of Newark - $211 RT non-stop for four of us, 2 parents, 2 kids. With the threat of war, the price of gasoline is not going to go down. I jumped on it and the two flights that we have already went up $200. Glad I booked ahead. And even if the flights DO come down, the flights that you really want will be booked up anyway. That's just my take on airline tickets. Have a great time.

 

[mainewmn]

Thank you all for the wonderful advice and warm welcome! I guess I will bite the bullet and hope for the best by purchasing the tickets now. As some of you mentioned the flight has a lot of benefits, it's non-stop, gets in early and departs late. Thank you all again for the great advice.

Since so many of you are veterans of WDW and this is only my second time let me ask you another question. I have reservation at Holiday Inn Family Suites Resort 12/12-12/19 for $73 a night in Kid Suites, using the Entertainment card. I'm assuming this is a good price as the rack rate is $146. Should I keep looking for better rate? Did anyone have any bad experiences there? I tried to get as much info as I could on line and overall the feedback for this hotel seems pretty good.

 

[toystorymom]

Hello again! We stayed at the HIFS last June and it was fantastic. The kids having their own bedroom is ideal, they had a great time. There is an Orlando Hotels forum here at the DIS which has tons of info about this hotel or I might be able to help if you have any specific questions.

$73 sounds like a great rate. Remember you get free breakfast for everyone and the kids can eat free for lunch and dinner too. A definite plus!

Like I said, we are in the talking stages of planning our next trip which would be that same week. We are considering staying on site this time but if not, we will definitely go back to HIFS.

Hope that helps