Need experts, please!

[Distopia]

Hi fellow Canadians!

We are a family of five flying to MCO. We're from Ottawa and the current prices are ! More than our 12 night MYW package! We're considering flying from Syracuse, Plattsburg or any other place nearby as it's less than half the cost. We're not desperate to book yet, as we're not going until August of 2011, but I like to research and be prepared. Can anyone tell me their experience of flying from this area and if there are any good hotels offering free park and fly? Thanks so much!

 

[ginkybiloba]

Not an expert by any means, but we also live in Ottawa and recently booked direct YOW-MCO flights on Westjet for $1100 for 4 people. I had been monitoring the flights daily, and finally lucked out late last week when Westjet announced a seat sale (Air Canada ran a seat sale at the same time). I am not sure about the frequency of flights to Orlando in August - we are flying down in January.

Before this, I was strongly considering driving down to Syracuse for cheaper flights (around $800 for the 4 of us) but couldn't find any direct SYR-MCO flights. I was also nervous about driving down to Syracuse or Plattsburgh in January - you won't have that same problem in the summer

For some reason, Air Canada flights out of Montreal were much cheaper than flying out of Ottawa so that is another option too.

All this to say, don't give up on flying out of Ottawa just yet. Keep an eye on Westjet and Air Canada for seat sales - I think you will find there is quite a bit of fluctuation in pricing.

Also, there is a thread entitled "Ottawa", which contains a lot of helpful info re flying out of the U.S.

Good luck - hope you have a great holiday!

Brenda

 

[wdwexpert]

Hi! We live in Kingston, so we have the same problem, which is why we almost always drive...We have flown out of Syracuse several times and found it to be much cheaper. The airport taxes are abour 1/4 of what they are in Ottawa and Toronto. Also, a new bonus is that JetBlue now flies DIRECT to Orlando which is amazing. I am flying down in January and was able to get a direct flight from Orlando to Syracuse for about $100 CDN per person. I did not book the way down direct because the price was prohibitively higher than a one-connection flight.

Another perk is that many of the Syracuse hotels offer free parking if you stay at the hotel the night before you fly out.

One last thing, is that Air Transat stops flying from Toronto to Orlando around the time that you are heading down, which means that you may not be able to get a return flight, but you may be able to get a direct flight down super cheap- last year it was $50 CDN + tax (return). This was booked last minute for my Mom. I assume that the Ottawa route may be similar?

Regardless. Fly out of Syracuse. Unless you get a fantastic price on a Canadian seat sale, it is worth it for the flight tax savings alone.

 

[KingstonGirl77]

We are flying out of Syracuse Dec 10! It is our first time. Our flight has been booked since July and because I hesitated I paid a bit more. Lesson learned.

I am currently researching park n' fly out of Syracuse. I found this post on TA
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopi..._syracuse-Syracuse_Finger_Lakes_New_York.html

From my research I have not found a hotel that has "free" parking while you are away. For example if I book Holiday Inn Express the nightly rate is $109 but if you choose Park n' fly the price approx. $160. Parking at the airport is $8 per day so depending on length of parking time required it may be cheaper to just park at the airport.

 

[Distopia]

Thanks so much for your help, everyone! While the potential seat sale is tempting, with 5 of us going it may be harder to get the flights we want. Maybe I'd have to fly alone on one flight while my husband took the children.... Sorry, back from my daydream now! I'm just so torn. If I can get it under 2k, I'll probably jump on it from YOW. If not, I anticipate waiting to see what I can get closer to departure from Syracuse. I've never been in August before, but I know that it's a slow time for Air Canada to Orlando, so there is hope for a sale at some point. I don't know if I can wait that long!

Brenda, I can't wait to hear about your cruise. We're thinking of one for 2012, so I'd love to hear your thoughts when you come back. Have a great time!

 

[badiggio]

We've been to orlando 5 times in the past two years and have always travelled by air from ottawa and have always found deals,whether we went in Feb,May,Sept or October.Just keep checking everyday because rates do change quite often.Check expedia.ca for rates .

 

[kanatamom]

We are also a family of five from Ottawa. Last time we travelled to WDW we took a direct Westjet flight from Ottawa to Orlando. It was a great experience! We are taking another Westjet direct flight when we go back to WDW this Sunday. Having a direct flight is really nice, especially with young children. Both times we have found seat sales about 2 to 3 months ahead of our trip. We also checked Expedia frequently, as well as the Westjet website.

Having said that, there are many flights from Syracuse to Orlando that are quite a bit cheaper. The costs of a hotel for the night before the flight and baggage fees need to be factored in. (Westjet still allows one bag per person without an extra charge.)

Anyway, I hope you find a good deal whatever you choose to do

 

[ccudmore]

Also a family of 5 from Ottawa. We've travelled to Orlando many different ways. Just last month we drove to Plattsburgh for the first time to take advantage of $125 return (taxes in) flights. The Plattsburgh airport was amazing. It's closer to the size of a small train station. From the time we parked (free parking) to the time were at the gate was 20 minutes, including check-in and security. The flight flew into Orlando Sanford which meant we had to rent a car (found good prices) but other than that it was an amazing experience. Again, touch-down to the time we had our car and were on the road was less than 20 minutes. The extra 15 minutes it takes to get to/from Sanford was more than saved with the small airport efficiencies. The drive to Plattsburgh was just under 3 hours door to door for us, which wasn't bad at all.

Have also had good luck with seat sales on WestJet but had to be flexible with times. Just helped some friends book a flight on WJ to MCO for February for $258 each. But they had to be flexible and leave and return mid-week.

Also know people who swear by the 3 drive to Syracuse although I've never done it for anything other than shopping trips.

My advice - check lots of sources frequently - expedia, orbitz, travelocity, airline's sites (allegiant, jet blue, airtran).

Also check into charters out of Montreal - sometimes good deals there too.

 

[mtmbyck]

Have you tried westjet vacations to get an "all in" price for your package. Often they give you a great rate when booking the whole package through them.

Don't know about August, but for March I waited to see the JetBlue and Airtran flights out of Syracusse and scored the same priced flights out of Montreal so we are using this airport.

Good to plan early - if you are doing dining etc, you'll want to be ready to reserve your restaurants at the 6 month window!

 

[disneyba]

We have flown out of Syracuse twice in the past few years with a GG of 11 people, on JetBlue.

Everything went well. This is a good airline with comfortable planes. SYR airport is also efficient. It is about the size of YOW but not as new. Both times, we were checked in, through security, and at our gate in under 30 minutes. Parking is good too...$10.00 per day for indoor parking and a few dollars less for outdoor. The indoor parking is a good deal in winter and the closest to the terminal. But in summer, the outdoor lots should be fine too.

We flew in January, direct to MCO, for about $230.00 CDN per person. This year we are going again, and the cost is about $222.00 per person.

I couldn't find anything in Ottawa to touch that price or even come near it. Also, very few flights from Ottawa are direct anymore. Some on Westjet, but even they are routing you through YYZ more and more. With children or elderly, that makes a difference.

If you are going in August, you won't have to worry about the Syracuse snow-belt either.

We have stayed at a few places in Syracuse. If you fly from there, try the Holiday Inn Express north of the airport, in Cicero. it is just off I-81 and about 10 minutes from SYR. They have a park-and-fly package currently at $129.00 per night, including a breakfast, 10 nights of parking and a free shuttle to the airport. The hotel is less than a year old.

Have a good trip.

 

[Atlantis]

Hi - From Ottawa too and we have been in August many times - the last two weeks generally. Often Air Canada has sales but Westjet is good too. Also have gone with American airlines through Philly. I have been thinking of our next Aug trip too but too early to worry about flights - I never book until June/July and have still been lucky with good fares.

I understand flying from Syracruse is less $$$s but have to admit that am willing to pay for not having to drive a few hours after a nice vacation. At any rate, reasonable fares can be had. Good luck.

 

[KingstonGirl77]

We have stayed at a few places in Syracuse. If you fly from there, try the Holiday Inn Express north of the airport, in Cicero. it is just off I-81 and about 10 minutes from SYR. They have a park-and-fly package currently at $129.00 per night, including a breakfast, 10 nights of parking and a free shuttle to the airport. The hotel is less than a year old.

Thanks disneyba! We just booked the hotel you suggested for our upcoming stay.

OT maybe but how early should you arrive at the Syracuse airport. Our flight leaves at 7am and I am not sure when I should tell the shuttle to pick us up???

 

[Distopia]

Thank you everyone for such informative replies! I think we'll hang in there and not book until we get a decent fare. Just knowing Syracuse is an option is so liberating! Now I just have to stay calm and not book too soon! I'll definitely be checking out the hotels suggested.

 

[Distopia]

Thanks disneyba! We just booked the hotel you suggested for our upcoming stay.

OT maybe but how early should you arrive at the Syracuse airport. Our flight leaves at 7am and I am not sure when I should tell the shuttle to pick us up???

Would you mind posting a quick review when you come back? This hotel looks like a good option. Thanks!

 

[KingstonGirl77]

Would you mind posting a quick review when you come back? This hotel looks like a good option. Thanks!

Yes I will when I get back. They were very pleasant on the phone. They basically have someone there to shuttle you based on the time you say you need to leave. The parking is $20 for our 9 day stay then the nightly rate will be $98 plus tx.