Terrible time non-stop or layover?

[Darth Insidious]

Looking at flights for Syracuse to MCO.

The only nonstop is Jet Blue at 5am (arrive 7:45) there and 9-11:50pm back. Two adults and a 6, 12, and 14 year old. I checked Tampa and no nonstop flights there.

I really hate flying and get very anxious so nonstop is definitely preferable. Price is about the same. Layovers range from 30 min (really?!) to 6 hours. Reasonable combos have about 90 min layover making total time about 7 hours.

So either exhausted kids getting up at 3am for the flight or exhausted kids from a long travel day. Also if we get there that early, no room to check into to rest. Maybe I could book it a day earlier and just check in that morning?

Flight back means getting home around 1am so another missed day of school/work which is probably a no go. Will likely suck it up and do a noon flight with layover back.

What would you do? If we do the 5am, I think they are going to want to rest in a room. I don’t think they’d be happy with just dropping off bags and going to a park or something. I think they’ll be tired.

Anyone have experience with this with kids? Thank you!

 

[starry_solo]

Non stop and see if you can get a day room at Hyatt MCO to stay at / rest up at until You head to WDW. hotels don’t check in until 3 or 4 pm. you can also book the same hotel you’re staying at for an extra night and check in ”late” so that once you arrive around 9, you can go there to sleep.

 

[Tattylou]

I’d take the early flight going down and drop the bags at the hotel and hit a park. My family would have enough adrenaline and excitement to enjoy a park until the room was ready (my kids are 12 and 14). Then we would go back and relax once the room was ready.
As for the flight home, I’d rather a layover than getting home at 1am.

 

[TexasJedi]

I have children in your general age range, and we've taken the earliest possible nonstop flight from Texas to MCO several times. They're always fully energized and excited even with the early wakeup call, and even though we've encouraged them to rest, they never try to sleep on the planes because they're looking forward to the trip so much.

We typically go straight to the resort, drop our bags, and head to the parks and have an late afternoon dinner reservation, head back to the hotel, and try to get to bed a bit earlier to recoup. We never plan to rope drop the second day knowing that some recovery will be needed after day 1, but that approach has worked great for us on multiple trips.

If I were in your position, I'd likely go for the nonstop flight to Disney, then depending on what other return options are, I might be willing to book a layover flight on the way back if I didn't want to have to get home at an awful hour.

 

[Lewisc]

What are your dates? Value resorts might have a room available when you arrive. DVC on points NO. Resorts with a lot of rooms in the category you book are more likely. Making an available room your only request helps.

 

[Darth Insidious]

What are your dates? Value resorts might have a room available when you arrive. DVC on points NO. Resorts with a lot of rooms in the category you book are more likely. Making an available room your only request helps.

It’s going to be 2/14-2/25 next year. We are staying at Shades of Green. It books up a year out (why I’m trying to figure out plans now). I could book it one night earlier though.

I figured we’d be too tired but you guys have me thinking maybe I could take them to a park for a few hours.

We won’t rope drop in general and will probably hit Magic Kingdom around 9:30 the next day. My family didn’t like it rope drop. Shockingly, my veteran husband who gets up at 4 or 5am hated it the most. He thought it stressed the kids out (which stressed him out).

He has PTSD and travel days and park days are a lot for him. Maybe we could hit the Boardwalk plus a character meal outside the parks instead. Get the kids a taste of Disney without hitting a park while we wait for the room. Is the boardwalk area any fun in the morning? Some stuff looked more like it was later in the day. Maybe Fort Wilderness. Something kind of laid back.

Thanks for the replies so far! I think you have me convinced to do the 5am flight. I won’t do the one getting home so late though. We will all be tired by then anyway. I think it’s just setting everyone up for a bad week back at school/work. Jet Blue used to have much more friendly times

 

[Lewisc]

It’s going to be 2/14-2/25 next year.

You're asking about 2024?

More then a year from now? Most airlines don't release a real schedule this far out. Southwest doesn't release a schedule that far out. Jet Blue doesn't have a schedule for 2024.Others post projected or hypothetical schedules.

I wouldn't count on early room availability at SoG.

 

[Disney_David]

If it were me, I’d try and get an extra night but let the hotel know you’re coming in the morning so they don’t think you’re a no-show. Maybe I’m old, but I would want the comfort factor of knowing I have the room, even if it turns out I didn’t need it

 

[Darth Insidious]

You're asking about 2024?

More then a year from now? Most airlines don't release a real schedule this far out. Southwest doesn't release a schedule that far out. Jet Blue doesn't have a schedule for 2024.Others post projected or hypothetical schedules.

I wouldn't count on early room availability at SoG.

Yes. I know I can’t count on early check in at SoG, hence the question. I may need to reserve for an extra day. I definitely can’t count on adding a day there since it books up so early. I need to book when SOG hits the year mark.

Jet Blue has the same times every single day for 6 months. So they could change it, but it’s a pretty good bet it will be these times. If they move to more reasonable times, yay!

 

[Darth Insidious]

If it were me, I’d try and get an extra night but let the hotel know you’re coming in the morning so they don’t think you’re a no-show. Maybe I’m old, but I would want the comfort factor of knowing I have the room, even if it turns out I didn’t need it

Thanks. Maybe I’m old too but I just kind of want to settle in when we get there. Maybe then go do something. It doesn’t sound like you guys think booking an extra night to check in that morning is crazy. I’m leaning towards doing that and just taking the bonkers early flight.

 

[sam_gordon]

Not enough information to decide what I'd do.

You mention the layovers being between 30 minutes to 6 hours, but you don't say what times they depart/arrive.

I'm not totally against a 5am flight, but if there's a 7am flight (with a layover) that gets in around 11a-12n, I would probably choose that one.

 

[Disney_David]

Thanks. Maybe I’m old too but I just kind of want to settle in when we get there. Maybe then go do something. It doesn’t sound like you guys think booking an extra night to check in that morning is crazy. I’m leaning towards doing that and just taking the bonkers early flight.

I don’t think that’s crazy at all. It’d be my preference in a heartbeat. You could go settle in and then go out at your leisure. There’s a lot to be said for having the option of if you go/when you go, rather than being forced into being in the parks or anywhere else until 3/4PM

 

[Lewisc]

Yes. I know I can’t count on early check in at SoG, hence the question. I may need to reserve for an extra day. I definitely can’t count on adding a day there since it books up so early. I need to book when SOG hits the year mark.

Jet Blue has the same times every single day for 6 months. So they could change it, but it’s a pretty good bet it will be these times. If they move to more reasonable times, yay!

Other airlines might imprrove service to Syracuse. Didn't SW offer NS service recently? Frontier? Isn't Breeze going to start service to Tampa?

JMO, planning based on what you think the schedule will be more then a year from now is a waste of energy.

 

[Disney_David]

Maybe I’m missing something, as I don’t understand the complication, nor the waste of energy

On 2/13. I book 1 night same room type I want for the remainder of the trip - that takes 1 minute. I’m sure if you needed to you can talk the hotel into keeping the same room, or stay in until noon? Then go the parks? You’d have options.

If flight schedules change I can cancel that reservation 30 days out without penalty. Also takes 1 minute

In the time it took to write this, I have options for both scenarios, and I get peace of mind that I have a base if things don’t pan out.

No?

 

[MrKnight]

Direct non-stop is ALWAYS the best option, even if the flight times are inconvenient..

 

[DeeBee3]

Non-stop. The teens might have the most issue Although I would probably be the one complaining and dragging around.

 

[Miffy]

Yes. I know I can’t count on early check in at SoG, hence the question. I may need to reserve for an extra day. I definitely can’t count on adding a day there since it books up so early. I need to book when SOG hits the year mark.

Jet Blue has the same times every single day for 6 months. So they could change it, but it’s a pretty good bet it will be these times. If they move to more reasonable times, yay!

I'm flying JB out of Syracuse to MCO the first week in March--5 weeks from now--and the nonstop flight leaves at 5:26 p.m. Earlier last year I had a nonstop from Syracuse to MCO booked that was supposed to leave at 5 a.m. or something close to that and the flight was changed to an evening time maybe a month before departure. So I wouldn't count on that early-morning departure time being correct, even for later this year.

 

[Darth Insidious]

I'm flying JB out of Syracuse to MCO the first week in March--5 weeks from now--and the nonstop flight leaves at 5:26 p.m. Earlier last year I had a nonstop from Syracuse to MCO booked that was supposed to leave at 5 a.m. or something close to that and the flight was changed to an evening time maybe a month before departure. So I wouldn't count on that early-morning departure time being correct, even for later this year.

Yikes 5am to evening is a massive change. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Miffy]

Yikes 5am to evening is a massive change. Thanks for the heads up.

I just sifted through my emails so I could let you know exactly what happened. Here goes:

I booked my December 2022 flights in July 2022. The original departure time of the SYR-MCO nonstop flight was 5:01 a.m. I was not amused by this time but, what the heck. There's only one nonstop out of SYR and I booked it.

Toward the end of October (3+ months after my original booking) I got a notice from JetBlue that my flight had been changed and was now departing at 6:45 p.m.! A 13.75-hour difference. At that point I changed my flight to the night before, since I was going to lose an entire day at WDW that I'd planned on.

I have yet to have an early-morning flight departure from SYR to MCO, so I wouldn't count on the time you've been seeing sticking. As for your flights, even if it really would be a 5 a.m.-ish departure time, that's still way better than having to change planes. Nonstop is always preferable and you can work out the rest. And sleep on the plane.

 

[Maggie The Cat]

We love early flights. Yes, by the evening we are running on pure adrenaline, but we just head back to room by 9, sleep and wake up refreshed next morning.

We don't have kids though, so I don't know how it would be for them.