Just wondering how many of you.....

[minnie1972]

Hi everyone I was just wondering how many of you actually book hotel and free dining packages but leave booking flights till nearer the time and did you end up with a good flight deal.
Reason I ask is we are looking to go August 2011(last 2 weeks) and there are some good free dining packages about but obviously flight prices are very high for this time.

 

[torsie24]

I always tend to do flights first, so I have definite dates, and because flights vary so much from different days of the week I wouldn't want to book holiday dates, then come to book flights later and they not match what I'd planned.

 

[fairytale]

As a rule we would always book accomodation plus free dining first and then book flights at the 11 month window, however, this year I thought I would chance it and wait for a sale of some kind or a great deal to arrive out of no where

Unfortunately for us, flights for our dates increased on a daily basis from the 11 months window onwards hence we ended up cancelling our trip this year.

We should have been flying this coming Saturday but I have already booked for next year and will be booking those flights as soon as they come out

 

[wayneg]

Upto this year we have always booked flights 1st. There are always hotels available, Free DDP is good value but we are just as happy staying and eating offsite so we wouldn't be upset if we missed out on free DDP. Saying that this August I had a mad moment last December and decided to put a deposit down for OKW with free DDP before booking flights. Once I booked flights I had to add an extra night to fit dates, half expected this as I would rather add a day with no fee than take a day off with a fee.
Next Aug I am all set to wait for flights again 1st but we will see.

 

[dixonsontour]

We do flights first then accomodation usually, for the same reaons - much easier to get accomodation than flights at the right price.

 

[stubb]

I would always book flights first as without that flight you are stuck! In the past we were lucky and got some incredibly cheap flights but it would seem those days are gone.

 

[fairytale]

I think its depends alot on your personal circumstances and on how flexible you can be.

Its a double edged sword for us as DH & I can be very flexible on our dates but unfortunatly due to having to tag holidays on to School helf terms etc it can be quite difficult wanting to stay in a particular resort with free dining.

Having listened to a number of posts regarding in-direct flight i am seriously considering this option for next october.

 

[Goofyish]

I'm after a 'free' Virgin Flight (using my Virgin points), so will have to book the flight first and take whatever free flights are on offer.

Then I will book accommodation, tickets and free dining plan to suit

 

[WiganTony]

Saying that this August I had a mad moment last December and decided to put a deposit down for OKW with free DDP before booking flights. Once I booked flights I had to add an extra night to fit dates,

Ditto here. We saw the offer and originally booked for 5 nights at OKW as we weren't sure how long the offer would last for. We subsequently added another 2 nights. Fortunately, we managed to get excellent flights prices in the November 2009 AA sale to Miami (£403 each) around our accommodation dates, and then we increased our OKW booking to 12 nights to take us through to our return flight date.

I'm sure that Disney would be flexible if you had to change your arrival/departure dats - I suspect they may charge you if you had to reduce th enumber of nights you had booked.

 

[howlongtillsummer?]

I always previously booked everything together. But, because we loved OKW and free dining so much this year, I wasn't prepared to risk losing out.

We booked OKW as soon as we got back. I got flights at a price I was happy with last week, so now they are both sorted.

I must admit I wouldn't want to wait for flights for too long. (not brave enough)

 

[steve_rob]

We always book flights at or just after the 11 month window opens and then accomodation and everything else later. Possibly this is because we normally stay off-site and so it doesn't really matter what hotel we get, as long as we're there!

However this year we've been tempted by free dining to do a split stay and so have already booked our Disney hotel for late September 2011, even though flights aren't available until early November. It was just to make sure we got in before the offer disappeared. Having said that, we won't bother booking the hotel for the second half of our holiday until after we've got the flights as per normal.