Those of you that go twice or more each year, and are from Northeast.....

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by twinmomplus2
thanks Gail! Now that I know I won't hesitate to book my fare for next August. If I know I can rebook at the lower fare. As for last August we did not do a group rate. In my family it kind of goes like this.... Hey we are going to disney. really not me all Disney'd out. (2) days later hey, changed my mind, can you book me? this goes on for weeks. all the stragglers eventually come around!

Glad I could help.

 

[skelooch]

Hi Gail;

I see you live in Ct also, I'm in southern Ct, and am about equal distant from NY airports and Bradley. I love flying out of Hartford but the fairs for all the airlines have seemed to skyrocket in the last year. Some friends of mine who are joining us at WDW in Oct just booked flights with Spirit Airlines for $139.00/RT out of LGA, That pays for a lot of parking compared to the fares I see out of Hartford, not to mention most our connecting flights.
I'm curious as to what kind of fares you are getting from Southwest.

Thanks, Skelooch

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by skelooch
Hi Gail;

I see you live in Ct also, I'm in southern Ct, and am about equal distant from NY airports and Bradley. I love flying out of Hartford but the fairs for all the airlines have seemed to skyrocket in the last year. Some friends of mine who are joining us at WDW in Oct just booked flights with Spirit Airlines for $139.00/RT out of LGA, That pays for a lot of parking compared to the fares I see out of Hartford, not to mention most our connecting flights.
I'm curious as to what kind of fares you are getting from Southwest.

Thanks, Skelooch

My most recent trip was 111.50 each rt/ns from Bdl to Mco.

I just booked LI to MCO n/s, rt at 126.00 each. Figured I can watch SW and see if any specials come out departing from there, and if that happens, I can change it (space available) with a click of a button. Parking in NY will knock your socks off. Besides, my parking is free, I have a friend. BTW, where in Southern CT are you? I am north of Woodbridge.

 

[skelooch]

I'm in Bridgeport,
How did you ever get 111.00 /RT?
I just checked their website and they don't show any fares like that, Do you have a friend there too.

I'd definitely like to find those fare I'm getting ready to book for May 2004. I'd appreciate your help.

Thanks

BTW what's LI? Logan International?

 

[CaptainMidnight]

Originally posted by beccasmom
...It was during Spring Break, though and I probably would not want to take the train again during that time!

Why? Whay happenned?

 

[OKW91]

We drive down twice a year, being retired we can pick our travel days. We go in November and then for the winter in January coming back in April. We simply check the weather, when there is a nice stretch of clear weather for I95 we get in the car and make the 2 day drive. I know that if you are not retired this is not what everyone can do! We use to fly down, even that can be hard to plan with ice and snow storms.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by skelooch
I'm in Bridgeport,
How did you ever get 111.00 /RT?
I just checked their website and they don't show any fares like that, Do you have a friend there too.

I'd definitely like to find those fare I'm getting ready to book for May 2004. I'd appreciate your help.

Thanks

BTW what's LI? Logan International?

LI= Long Island, Islip. We have friends there who live about 10 mins. from the airport.

As to the fares, I just kept watching the site. They came up and I grabbed them. No, I don't have a friend there. Unfortunately.

 

[sitchu2]

cost of 5 airline tickets for July $820

driving costs:
Gas for large suv..$240
Hotel for 2 nights there and back $200
Food for 5 $150

Total....$590 But.....

2 extra days enjoying your vacation...... $ PRICELESS

This is the theory of DH, I of coarse would like to drive just once, but we are used to watching the airline prices daily if we have to and buying when we get a good price. From ACY in NJ so far $164 is the best we have done .

 

[Disney Doll]

skelooch, I'm in Trumbull. We're neighbors!!!!!

We used to take Delta Express out of BDL, but then they stated getting quite expensive and Jetblue came along, so we've been doing them for the last few trips. We go out of JFK and park at AviStar parking just outside the airport. It usually runs about $100 for the week, and you can usually get an online coupon to knock a little off. Don't love the run to JFK, but BDL has been expensive lately, and even with the parking, it's till cheaper out of JFK. I haven'tlucked out with any of those nice Southwest fares. We must travel at the wrong times!!!!!!

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by Disney Doll
skelooch, I'm in Trumbull. We're neighbors!!!!!

We used to take Delta Express out of BDL, but then they stated getting quite expensive and Jetblue came along, so we've been doing them for the last few trips. We go out of JFK and park at AviStar parking just outside the airport. It usually runs about $100 for the week, and you can usually get an online coupon to knock a little off. Don't love the run to JFK, but BDL has been expensive lately, and even with the parking, it's till cheaper out of JFK. I haven'tlucked out with any of those nice Southwest fares. We must travel at the wrong times!!!!!!

SWA has specials all the time, you have to watch closely.
I would pay more NOT to go to JFK, that place is a zoo. We flew out of there 2x's to go to Jamaica and I swore after the 2nd time I will pay more to fly out of BDL.
BTW, Trumbull is not that far away, we have friends there.

 

[twinmomplus2]

FYI last years fares that included May were released On December 26th. So you May want to start checking the site around that time frame.

 

[skelooch]

Disney Doll,

Hi neighbor
I use to do the Delta out of Bradley also, but I haven't seen anything for Delta or Song for less than $220 or so. I started checking different Airlines out of LGA or JFK and I booked my next 3 trips ( Oct, Feb & March ) with American for about $140 - $150,
I'm always buying 5 tickets at a time so that's a savings of about $350-$400, that more than covers the parking and a couple of dinners. Plus there is a better selection of flights out of NY and more non-stops, which means a lot when traveling with small children. The best I've found lately is Spirit Airlines for $143/RT/NS. The only thing I don't like about it is the return flight is at 3:48pm, I usually like it to be a little later than that.
I'm going to keep checking SouthWest, Maybe I'll get lucky one day and catch one of those $111.50 flights Gail mentions in her posts.

Hopefully we'll get to meet one day, Im a member at BCV

Skelooch

 

[Paul in CT]

Gail,

I like SWA, too. We have used it many times for trips to Maryland and Virginia for travel back and forth to visit our children and to bring them home. We have gotten some fantastic fares for those routes. However, when it comes to BDL to MCO the real bargains show up far less often, especially since they started adding the extra security charges. I have been signed up for their Tuesday specials e-mail for several years now.

I failed to mention that I will pay more for the non-stop trip. (My DW does not like flying. ) Delta (now Song) has the best options for that because SWA specials generally exclude the N/S flight or sell out quickly. Nevertheless, I keep checking both because I do like the ability to change with no fee. That feature has saved us a small fortune on our children's changing of their travel plans because of unexpected changes in school schedules like final exams, etc. We have even been able to apply a credit from one of my son's cancelled tickets to one for my daughter.

 

[Peggy Sue]

we always fly. Delta, that's now song. Average 2-3 trips per year. Can't imagine spending 24 hours driving each way.

we have also flow out of providence and could consider manchester too.

Haven't tried SW yet... We've had great luck with Delta/Song.

 

[MiaSRN62]

We go anywhere from 1-3 times a year since '95. We used to fly but it got very costly for our family of 6. We have a conversion van and it's a 16 hour drive from Philly. We enjoy the ride down more than the ride back, that's for sure. The conversion van is roomy and the TV, Playstation2 and massive amounts of Disney tapes, makes it very bearable and even fun. I'm sure once the kids are grown and it's just my dh and I, we'll do a little more flying again, but for now, driving allows us to go as often as we do.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

I know I'm a bit late posting to this thread, but we're from Northeast Pennsylvania and there are only 2 of us (both adults). For now, we've been flying out of Avoca or Philadelphia airports (whichever is least expensive) 2 times a year for WDW and/or DCL. I suspect that once we have children we'll be driving at least one of those trips per year. We usually fly Delta because we get SkyMiles and it seems to be the most economical.


Now to read the remainder 5 pages of posts to catch up.


Edited to say: We usually spend anywhere between $130/person and $225/person.

 

[Snowgod]

We are about to go for the 3rd time this year and have 2 trips planed so far next year. We alternate between driving and flying. Southwest gets our nod for the direct nonstop out of NH.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Originally posted by Snowgod
We are about to go for the 3rd time this year and have 2 trips planed so far next year. We alternate between driving and flying. Southwest gets our nod for the direct nonstop out of NH.

What is your drive time?

 

[Bayshore36]

I have done both. Flying is easier because it takes only a couple of hours, but then if you don't want to rely on Disney transportation you will have to rent a car too. I found it to be too confining for me. We will be renting a mini van for our two trips next year. My husband feels more comfortable doing this then taking our own vehicle because if we brake down they will come and replace the vehicle immediately. Of course it's also because we've been very fortunate to get good rates at a local Avis dealer who not only offers cheap rates, but also unlimited miles, which is a factor when traveling such a long distance. I like having a day or two to unwind from being at Disney. When you fly it's like Bam! Welcome back to reality!!

 

[JimC]

For those of you who travel out of Philadelphia. Philly often can be beat in price at Harrisburg or BWI. I have also heard that Lehigh Valley airport has Southwest airlines and is a good option as well.

Personally the additional travel times involved are not worth the savings, but I know it may be worthwhile for others, depending on their location.