Normangirls
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2008
- Messages
- 775
I need some advice regarding a trip I am planning, and I trust the people on this web site more than anywhere else!
I am 98% decided that we are skipping WDW this year
eek
and we are going to try to do an economy trip to London and Paris. I'm thinking we'll do four days in each city -- obviously we cannot see everything in that amount of time, but we can hit the high points, and it will be a once-in-a-lifetime trip for all of us (DH, DD15, DD11, DD6 and me). My tentative dates are October 12-October 21.
SIDE NOTE: my DH is not on board with against this trip, because he does not care to fly and will miss going to WDW. He keeps denying we are going, I keep insisting we are. Of course, he didn't want to go to WDW the first time we went, and look at thim now! Believe me, we'll work out a "compromise."
Anyway, I contacted a friend who is a travel agent (actually, she is my boss's wife) and asked her for help. In the end, however, she simply could not work within my budget -- she insisted the only airfare she could find would run $2000 per person!
I thanked her politely, and decided to do this myself. I'm getting stressed out because, while I can plan a trip to WDW with my eyes closed, this is a whole new ball game. So I decided to start with airfare.
I live in northwest Ohio, close to Toledo (a mid-sized city) and Detroit (a very large city). If I go to Travelocity or Orbitz, I get quotes for airfare around $1200 per person. But if I go directly to the airlines' websites I get better deals.
I looked at Virgin, but the closest city they service is Chicago (three hours away), and they do not go that late into October. Their last seasonal flight to Chicago would be October 14th, and I would be scared to book that (What if we missed our flight, or it was cancelled? Would we have to stay in London forever? Are there any DISers we could live with?
).
So I went to British Airways, and found some really good prices. It not only appears to be cheaper to book with them, but it is cheaper to fly out of Toledo (which is much more convenient, only 30 minutes to the airport!) than Detroit or Chicago. I noticed that all of the flights are with American Airlines, but if I go to the AA web site the pricing is the same.
So my questions (finally!) are: What airlines do you recommend? Do you recommend booking directly with the airline? Should I book it ASAP (i.e., does the airfare go up as the date gets closer)? And am I missing anything here that may save me some money?
Thanks in advance for any advice or recommendations you may offer!
I am 98% decided that we are skipping WDW this year
eek and we are going to try to do an economy trip to London and Paris. I'm thinking we'll do four days in each city -- obviously we cannot see everything in that amount of time, but we can hit the high points, and it will be a once-in-a-lifetime trip for all of us (DH, DD15, DD11, DD6 and me). My tentative dates are October 12-October 21.SIDE NOTE: my DH is not on board with against this trip, because he does not care to fly and will miss going to WDW. He keeps denying we are going, I keep insisting we are. Of course, he didn't want to go to WDW the first time we went, and look at thim now! Believe me, we'll work out a "compromise."
Anyway, I contacted a friend who is a travel agent (actually, she is my boss's wife) and asked her for help. In the end, however, she simply could not work within my budget -- she insisted the only airfare she could find would run $2000 per person!
I thanked her politely, and decided to do this myself. I'm getting stressed out because, while I can plan a trip to WDW with my eyes closed, this is a whole new ball game. So I decided to start with airfare.
I live in northwest Ohio, close to Toledo (a mid-sized city) and Detroit (a very large city). If I go to Travelocity or Orbitz, I get quotes for airfare around $1200 per person. But if I go directly to the airlines' websites I get better deals.
I looked at Virgin, but the closest city they service is Chicago (three hours away), and they do not go that late into October. Their last seasonal flight to Chicago would be October 14th, and I would be scared to book that (What if we missed our flight, or it was cancelled? Would we have to stay in London forever? Are there any DISers we could live with?
).So I went to British Airways, and found some really good prices. It not only appears to be cheaper to book with them, but it is cheaper to fly out of Toledo (which is much more convenient, only 30 minutes to the airport!) than Detroit or Chicago. I noticed that all of the flights are with American Airlines, but if I go to the AA web site the pricing is the same.
So my questions (finally!) are: What airlines do you recommend? Do you recommend booking directly with the airline? Should I book it ASAP (i.e., does the airfare go up as the date gets closer)? And am I missing anything here that may save me some money?
Thanks in advance for any advice or recommendations you may offer!
