Sky Bus Dilemma

[A's Princess]

Oh the angst!

I just decided not to take advantage of $10 ea way fares for our Jan 2008 trip departing from Portsmouth NH to Jacksonville FL (111 miles from Orlando). I added up the airfare with fees, car rental, extra hotel nights in Jacksonville and the whole kit and kaboodle would have been less than $600 - not bad for a family of 4 to get to WDW!

But then my pessamistic New Englander thoughts stopped me: bad weather could cause delays (both driving & flying), DH & our young kids really travel best with non-stop flights (read: difficult to travel with!) and would the savings (~$300) so be worth it? I backed out just as I was inputting my credit card #. DH is out of town at a big meeting so I couldn't discuss it with him. Oh please, please, please Southwest give me some luv, send along a DING and make it all work out right!

Can anyone reassure me I made the right choice?

But for those of you who travel well its an awesome deal! The airport does not charge for parking and is only a little over an hour north of Boston. Get a good deal on a rental car, 2 hours or so from Jacksonville to WDW and you could save big bucks. Sky Bus' web site is www.skybus.com - good luck you bargain hunters! Let me know how it goes.

 

[Lewisc]

You made the safe choice. Skybus doesn't fly from Portsmouth NH to Jacksonville FL. You can book a flight from Portsmouth to Columbus and then another flight to Jacksonville but you're not booking a connecting flight. If for some reason your flight to Columbus is delayed and you miss your flight to Jacksonville you have no rights. You're in the same position as a passenger that overslept and missed a flight.

Oh the angst!

I just decided not to take advantage of $10 ea way fares for our Jan 2008 trip departing from Portsmouth NH to Jacksonville FL (111 miles from Orlando). I added up the airfare with fees, car rental, extra hotel nights in Jacksonville and the whole kit and kaboodle would have been less than $600 - not bad for a family of 4 to get to WDW!

But then my pessamistic New Englander thoughts stopped me: bad weather could cause delays (both driving & flying), DH & our young kids really travel best with non-stop flights (read: difficult to travel with!) and would the savings (~$300) so be worth it? I backed out just as I was inputting my credit card #. DH is out of town at a big meeting so I couldn't discuss it with him. Oh please, please, please Southwest give me some luv, send along a DING and make it all work out right!

Can anyone reassure me I made the right choice?

But for those of you who travel well its an awesome deal! The airport does not charge for parking and is only a little over an hour north of Boston. Get a good deal on a rental car, 2 hours or so from Jacksonville to WDW and you could save big bucks. Sky Bus' web site is www.skybus.com - good luck you bargain hunters! Let me know how it goes.

 

[G&GMom]

You made the safe choice. Skybus doesn't fly from Portsmouth NH to Jacksonville FL. You can book a flight from Portsmouth to Columbus and then another flight to Jacksonville but you're not booking a connecting flight.

Actually Skybus starts direct service in December.

 

[debster812]

Actually Skybus starts direct service in December.

I would be VERY hesitant to fly SkyBus out of the Northeast in December. The weather can be WAY too dicey. We learned that lesson last February, and we were on Delta.

It's one flight a day, in and out of Pease to St Augustine. If it gets cancelled for any reason, you could really be up the creek.

 

[A's Princess]

Many thanks for your replies - I feel better now!

 

[lyzziesmom]

Also, it's been a while since I've lived in FL and driven through the state, but I'm pretty sure it's more than 2 hours between St. Augustine/Jacksonville and Orlando. I lived in Ft. Lauderdale, which was 3 hours from Orlando and almost 8 hours from Jacksonville, so you're looking at a 5 hour drive if I'm not mistaken.

I too was excited when I first heard about Skybus, but between the hassle of no connecting flights, the only outbound flight out of KC is late at night so there would be an overnight stay, extra hotel costs, rental car costs, and extra days off of work it's just not worth it. Especially when I can get a one-way rate of $69 on SW on a normal day, $39 if I'm really lucky and hit the Ding jackpot.

 

[boBQuincy]

St. Augustine is only about a 2 hour drive from WDW, as long as traffic is ok. If it's morning or afternoon rush hour in Orlando that can really affect things. In that case you can continue on I-95 past Daytona and take 528/417 to WDW, adding only aout 20-30 minutes to your drive time.