SW gurus....help a rookie out!

[ash901]

Ok, I have read and researched all day, no joke, and I just have questions. I figured y'all could help. Please!!
Looking at flying SW May 2016 from New Orleans (MSY) to MCO, hopefully non-stop. I know that these dates will be released on Tuesday. I have only flown once and that was 10 years ago. It will be our family of 4. Children are 8 and 5.

1. Do I just get online and wait for the dates to release and book as fast as I can or do I wait and see what the prices do?
2. I have some RR points that I think will cover possibly 3 round trip tickets. What do I do about the 4th? Will that be a separate transaction?
3. Do I need to book the early bird check in for the flights? Ideally we would like to sit together, but as long as each child is with an adult, that's fine too. Do families with children go ahead?
4. One free checked bag. Does that included the children checking a bag too?
5. While I'm asking, whats your take on rental cars? Disney transportation sufficient enough? We do not have park hoppers. If we would need a car, whats you suggestion?

I apologize. I'm sure some of these questions are novice and redundant, but we are not frequent flyers!! Thank you for any help!

 

[jdb in AZ]

Ok, I have read and researched all day, no joke, and I just have questions. I figured y'all could help. Please!!
Looking at flying SW May 2016 from New Orleans (MSY) to MCO, hopefully non-stop. I know that these dates will be released on Tuesday. I have only flown once and that was 10 years ago. It will be our family of 4. Children are 8 and 5.

1. Do I just get online and wait for the dates to release and book as fast as I can or do I wait and see what the prices do?

If you book and prices go down, you can rebook at the cheaper rate, without penalty.

2. I have some RR points that I think will cover possibly 3 round trip tickets. What do I do about the 4th? Will that be a separate transaction?

I believe it's a separate transaction.

3. Do I need to book the early bird check in for the flights? We don't bother on the outbound flight. We sometimes do EBCI on the way home just so we don't need to be near a computer to check-in at the 24-hour mark. Ideally we would like to sit together, but as long as each child is with an adult, that's fine too. Do families with children go ahead? Children 4 years old and under board after the "A" listers.

4. One free checked bag. Does that included the children checking a bag too? actually, it's two free bags per ticket.

5. While I'm asking, whats your take on rental cars? Disney transportation sufficient enough? We do not have park hoppers. If we would need a car, whats you suggestion? We don't mind taking the Disney bus, but a lot of people hate it.


I apologize. I'm sure some of these questions are novice and redundant, but we are not frequent flyers!! Thank you for any help!

Answers in red.

 

[kaytieeldr]

If you book and prices go down, you can rebook at the cheaper rate, without penalty.

If you book at the (most common) Wanna Get Away fare, you get credit for the difference. Credits must be used by the specifeed passenger within one year from the date the original preservation was made.

 

[ibob52]

.

 

[DonnaL]

Ok let's try to answer your questions in order....
1. You can certainly get online and book your flights as soon as they are released on Tuesday. I have not flown from New Orleans so can't speak for how quickly flights book up or how many per day there are. We fly from either Philly (most often) or Baltimore (much less frequently) and usually have a good selection of flight times. We have traveled many times in May from PHL.....and I would NEVER book in October for a May flight......May is not a huge travel month.....it's not Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter or Spring break. If you can be even a little flexible on your days of week for travel......no need to book until January IMO.
2. Know exactly how many RR points you have beforehand....keep in mind if you are using RR points and the price(points) goes down AFTER your initial booking you simply go online using your confirmation number and click the change button to change your flight (even if it's the SAME flight) to the lower point value, any difference in points will be automatically refunded to your RR account. Also, DO NOT book a round trip flight, but, rather book one way trips for your outbound and return trips.......it makes it MUCH easier to change and it's easier to keep track of how many points you actually used for each portion of the trip.
3. As far as EBCI goes......your kids are above the age for family check-in so it's strictly a matter of what YOU ARE comfortable with. However, if you choose NOT to purchase EBCI and you happen to get on a completely full or even overbooked flight......do not expect someone else to move so your family or even one adult and one child can sit together. Keep in mind....THAT person may have purchased EBCI and should not be expected to move to accommodate someone who did not. Personally......I have never purchased EBCI.....but, then again it's usually just my husband and I traveling and if we can't sit together on our 2 hour flight...it's no big deal (it's only happened once). Even when we have our 14 year old grandson with us occasionally it's not a huge deal.......he enjoys NOT sitting with his grandparents!!
4. Actually, SW allows TWO free checked bags per passenger and yes if a child is over two years of age, paying for a seat.....they also are allowed two free checked bags.
5. Regarding your transportation question....it depends. Are you staying onsite at one of the Disney hotels? If so, yes Disney transportation should be fine.....just make sure you register for Magical Express to your resort when you are making your hotel reservations. If you are using Magical Express you shouldn't even need to pick up your checked bags at the airport....ME will do that for you as long you place your yellow luggage tags (which you will receive from Disney after you make your ME reservations) on ALL of your checked bags. There are a few exceptions to this.......for example if you are arriving late at night....you need to pick up your bags at baggage claim yourself and take them to the bus with you. Once you are at your onsite hotel, you will have a choice of using bus, boat or monorail service to all the parks depending which resort you are staying at. If you are not staying onsite......I would not assume your offsite hotel has sufficient transportation to transport you to/from Disney on a daily basis. A lot of offsite hotels state they have transportation.......but, it is usually a shuttle bus that runs once or twice daily and with younger children might not meet your needs. Also, you will need to provide your own transportation from the airport to your hotel and then back to the airport on departure day........which will run a minimum of $60/70 each way for a taxi/shuttle.

 

[ash901]

Thank you all. We are staying onsite at POR. My fear is that if I don't book when the dates are released, the price will continue rise. I think its great that SW will offer a credit if your flight price decreases, but I doubt we would use the credit. We do not fly often.