please HELP...DVC with school age kids...flights etc

[razster]

We've not had to look at travelling within the restrictions of school terms before but with DD getting towards that age we need to review our travel windows.

In the final legs of convincing my DH to buy DVC he's just seen flight prices for summer holidays to florida and this is more than twice what we usually pay to orlando when we travel to disney normally. Don't get me wrong he'll happily pay up if necessary but i wanted to check it out with you guys before i table the concept in its entirity.

what does everyone else do, are there any flight deals which you guys rely on. certain agents, airlines, routes etc any tips on making DVC work for you would be great to hear.

obviously if we become dvc members which i am hoping we will do we'll plan 11 months ahead and we will book everything well in advance but in your experience does this make a difference booking the peak travel periods of the school summer hols.

thanks

Raz

 

[mark&sue]

It does not seem difficult to book with DVC as the majority of our school holidays do not clash even easter will be different next year!!!! (many schools going for two weeks in April as opposed to the weeks around easter which is actually March next year)

However I have to admit to be being amazed at how expensive our fly drive was this August with Virgin. I have seen others get cheaper flights with Travel City Direct or by not flying direct.

We would prefer to fly direct and with either Virgin or BA so it did seem very expensive. We booked over a year in advance. However I have noted other people getting really good deals when they have the nerve to hold out and wait for a bargain.

My DH has said we will not go again until our DD13 leaves school as the flights are ridiculously priced (and we have bought a place in Spain) so sadly for us we will not be going back for 3 years after this August.
We are so restricted with my work and the only two weeks I can get off work during school holidays is the last two weeks of August. (hurricane season and very hot and humid apparently)

This is just our perspective and I am sure others have had a much better experience.

Good luck

Susan

 

[TinkTatoo]

We're tied to school holidays as taking the kids out of school for regular trips is not something I'm prepared to do. The flights are expensive but that is part and parcel of the overall cost of the holiday, we know how much it's going to cost so we make a few sacrifices during the year and save each month so that we can aford the trip.

We fly indirect - partly for cost but also because up until now there has not been a direct carrier from Ireland who goes for longer than two weeks. I research the flights and usually book as soon as they are released (11 months in advance) and we pay in the region of £475 each for the 4 of us.

....obviously if we become dvc members which i am hoping we will do we'll plan 11 months ahead and we will book everything well in advance but in your experience does this make a difference booking the peak travel periods of the school summer hols.....

Probably the best way to make use of DVC is to plan well in advance especially in booking your accommodation but as you are flying from the UK you have more choice than us for flights and you could wait and see if there were any late deals on flights. There have been some really good Virgin flights advertised recently on Expedia for this August but there is no guarantee they'd be there every year and you could get stung with having to buy expensive flights at the last minute.

Even though you'll be paying higher summer flight prices you'll make savings on accommodation as a DVC member

 

[scottishsue]

I hope you do decide to buy into DVC. We thought about it for a while, and just signed up in the past couple of weeks. In the long run it pays for itself and you only have your flights to sort out.

A friend of mine is going in July and got flights for around £180 each. You just have to shop around. Sometimes its worth going with some of the US airlines as they work out a lot cheaper.

Also from our past experiences there isn't a problem taking children out of school - just for a few days either side of the holidays. It can be an educational experience for them.

 

[Jets fan]

We are finding booking flights in school holidays is an absolute nightmare e.g twice the cost. We are going in April 2008 and have just paid nearly £5,000 for three PE flights as I do not want to go via somewhere.

Unfortunately I think that the price of air travel will continue to rise and it will be very expensive for Brits to travel to the USA during school holidays.

A few years ago we got an excellent deal for the summer but it was just too hot for us, so that leaves Christmas and April - both very expensive times.

We own DVC points but I think that we may have to revise this if the flights get too much, also the amount of points needed for a two week stay last year only give us a stay of 13 days now. I love Disney but it is a worry about the how much the prices are rising, both points for accom and flights.

 

[PhilUK]

We usually go just before Easter Hols with our Son missing the last 2 or 3 Days of Term. Still expensive but again the great thing with DVC is the flexibility.

Phil

 

[hetherp]

We have been members for nine years, my daughter is now 14 and we have not taken her out of school since she started senior school. We now go every 2 years and either save or borrow points to make the most of the vacation. This year we are going for 3 weeks in August. In august you get more value for your points after say 15 as the American kids go back to school. I usually try and book up as far as possible in advance and am flexible about where we fly into. Last year I was able to book 3 adult flights, DD is now an adult, with BA to Tampa for £350 each. The earlier you book with BA the cheaper.

We are using our points this year to go on the cruise again. (less points in August) and thoroughly recommend it.

Phil

 

[Pootle]

When I first joined I was still teaching and so was restricted to only the school holidays, with Easter being my preferred time (despite the crowds, which I now believe are even worse).

At that time, we actually found it cheaper to book a budget package (ie 2/3 star hotel included) with charter flights - and 'throw away' most of the accommodation - than to buy flights only. I don't know if this would still be an option as I suspect there are fewer charter deals these days with people putting together their own internet packages etc.

I always booked the moment the brochures were released to get the flights I wanted too. Virgin's Miles plus Money scheme seems to be popular for shaving a bit off the price of the flights at peak times, but of course, not as much as it does travelling off peak.

I love my DVC but there's no doubt that it works so much better (financially) when you can travel from the UK outside of school holidays. Good luck with your decision .

 

[Bad Llama]

We tend to go to WDW over the October Half Term and take our DS (9) out of school for 5 days over that period. The school haven't had a problem with that in the past as they\we think it is very educational. This allows us to be a little more flexible with our travel arrangements to get a better deal. Also we make good use of our Virgin Air Miles. This year I booked using Virgin Miles Plus Money and saved over £600 on the flights.

 

[paulh]

most overs come out around christmas think virgin starts on boxing day,we could have got direct flights for the 17th aug for £500ish each,but as SIL and MIL couldent comit and i had 2 eye opps to concider(thankfuly been signed of to fly now)we booked a flyrive to sansford for £600 each 10 of us
Paulh

 

[Halo]

The issue you need to consider is whether you still want to holiday in Orlando. If you do, because you will be locked into school term dates for say 20 years (you might have other children ) cheap holidays of any nature will be a thing of the past - its not merely a DVC issue. With DVC it could give you the discipline to book 11-months in advance when scheduled flights are generally at their cheapest.