Trip plans changing- not budget anymore?

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

LOL
Well, after much thinking and discussing- DH decided he'd rather take a later trip (Nov/Dec rather than Aug/Sept) and FLY rather than driving. Granted driving isn't the FUNNEST thing in the world with young children- but it wasn't that bad last time. Especially since I'm a nightowl and so I do the nighttime driving just fine.
But DH said even though it's costly for 5.... he'd rather fly.
And I guess that's okay- it means more time AT WDW.... instead of spending a day going there and a day going back. It's a short flight-so hopefully the kiddos would be okay flying? It would be the first time any of our 3 children flew and my son has been asking if we can fly to WDW instead of driving anyway (he's not only obsessed with Spiderman right now but also planes. LOL)

Sooooo..... this trip won't be a major budget trip anymore. Fortunately I WAS able to get the same great "bounce back" deal on the different dates with additional days. So the extra room cost is negligible. Flight is going to be about $1500 though (if we paid for flight right now)

What's your thoughts on this? Is $285.50 per person (Delta) from Tx to Florida a reasonable price or is there a CHANCE it might be cheaper if we waited? I'm scared that waiting it might be even MORE though... and that would definitely be a bummer. Our stay will be leaving evening Fri Nov 21 and leaving evening Dec 2.

So that also means we can purchase tickets for MVMCP for Nov 30th- right??? We were there last year for Christmas and New Years- but didn't even know MVMCP existed and it was a spur of the moment trip. So we've done "christmas" at WDW..... but not MVMCP. Worth it for family of 5? and if so- can tickets be purchased NOW? Does it normally sell out early so that if we wait a bit we might lose our chance for that one night it's available during our stay?

I know that's a lot of questions- but I appreciate any help you can give me!

Oh also.... using FLTours- would it be cheaper for 2 adults/3 children to go that route than Mears? I've done Mears by myself and while no real complaints.... it sure took a long time to get to the resort and back to the airport when leaving. I'd really rather not go through that when we arrive late Friday night with all the kids- especially the youngest. I checked out FLTours website but limo prices aren't shown? Just towncar- and when I clicked on it with our passengers it said only 3 passengers per towncar- so it wouldn't rate for our family? So how does a family of 5 use FLTours and how much would it cost? I think we'd prefer that. We MIGHT just decide to rent a car or van... but might also rather save some money on that- since we're paying so much to fly instead of driving there.

Later trip also gives me a few more months before worrying about trying to get a Cinderella breakfast PS. LOL

 

[BelleBeautyandtheBeast]

I am FAR from an expert but that airfare sounds high. Since your trip is still a bit in the future I would wait it out a few more weeks and see what airfare does. Someone from TX will prob. have better advice.

As for the whole family of 5 in a towncar, nope it can't be done! I don't know about FLTours but they place we used offered a van for an additional $10 to those of us traveling with more than 3 people. I can't find their website an am wondering if they went out of buisness :-( I haven't been to Florida in over 2 years (sob!). I *think* Mears would be a more expensive opnion since you pay per person rather than a flat rate.

And if you have any extra money you can bring me along ;-) I have heard great things about MVMCP and I'm pretty sure you can buy tix on Disney's website when they are released or you can buy them we you get to Disney. If we keep our Dec. trip I want to take all 5 of us. But I am trying to convince DH we need to go during the summer (I'm not sure he is buying it).


Happy Planning!

 

[SusanD]

There is always a chance that the airfare will drop even more, but on the other hand... I would keep my eye on what you airline is offering for fares the times gets closer. If they do drop you can usually get vouchers for the difference. Good luck and have fun planning!

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

You can do that? I figured once we paid- that's that.... and knowing my luck an incredible bargain will show up the day after I've paid for the flight tickets. LOL Seriously.... happens all the time. Everytime I buy something almost, in fact. LOL

Belle, wish you could come with us. And thanks for your post also.

 

[DMRick]

Bibb..do you have American Express? We got a post card last week (have to use by the 27th I believe) giving us $20 off each ticket from Delta with the postcard code and paying by American Express. Perhaps you can call AE and ask about it. If you need more info, PM me.

That's great that Disney let you change your times and keep the comeback rate. They said if we changed, we were sol.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Wow, I wonder why they told you that? I had even asked when I made the reservations on my last trip- if I could change it at a later date because at that time I wasn't sure of the date- didn't have DH's schedule to know when he could have off/etc- and they said it wouldn't be any problem changing it as long as I did so before the remainder was due- meaning before 45 days before the trip that was originally reserved.
Could that the be the difference? I'm not sure when your's is reserved for or was.... but my change was definitely way before the 45 days cut off (which was July 17th).

That's a real bummer that they wouldn't let you. But I'm glad we were able to. LOL

Sadly, I do not get lucky on the discount you mentioned- I don't have an American Express card.

BTW- the rate I mentioned before- that was with taxes/etc. Before that the ticket prices are $243 each. So does that sound any better? LOL

 

[maninthebox]

Originally posted by BibbidyBobbidyBoo
LOL
What's your thoughts on this? Is $285.50 per person (Delta) from Tx to Florida a reasonable price or is there a CHANCE it might be cheaper if we waited? I'm scared that waiting it might be even MORE though... and that would definitely be a bummer. Our stay will be leaving evening Fri Nov 21 and leaving evening Dec 2.

I would hold off for a while on the tickets since those prices do seem high. Where in TX will you be flying from? I would keep an eye on the trave sites (Orbitz, Travelocity, etc) and check the individual airline sites since they will sometimes have better prices. Also, it doesn't hurt to actually call the airlines either - last year we went to New Orleans and ended up getting a flight by calling Continental that was the exact times we wanted but didn't show up on ANY websites AND it was $30 less per ticket than anything else we could find! It takes a little work, but can be worth it.

 

[Mady/Sophiemom]

You could use Tiffany Town Car. They have a van for $10.00 more, and there would be plenty of room.

 

[DMRick]

if I could change it at a later date because at that time I wasn't sure of the date-

When I called to change the ressie's I made in January for April, the begining of April, I was told that in order to keep the cmeback price, I had to have changed them before the offer expired (I think that was mid March), since the code was no longer in the machine. I kept them for April..no big deal. You were lucky, you got a CM who would let you change..I guess it's all in the calling : )

 

[powellrj]

try mousesavers for car rental codes, we were able to get an economy car for a week for $89, but went with the midsize for $125 which either way is still a good deal. We booked directly through Delta so I was watching the prices daily, and they changed daily, just keep checking all the time and when the price is good, book, also Delta will let you check to see how full the plane is so you know. When there were just 7 seats left, we booked insead of waiting for a lower price.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Thanks for all the posts/info!

How do I find about Tiffany car? (van) I remember looking at something about Tiffany Town Car months ago but haven't a clue where it is now. LOL

I'm so scared to wait on the tickets though. My luck the price will be HIGHER. But I'm trying to hold off. We'd be flying out of Dallas. I've only checked expedia.com and travelocity- they were EXACTLY the same on price. I'll check out orbitz and Delta (that's who we'd be flying with -with expedia/travelocity's prices shown so far) directly also.

I'd love to save whatever I could. Any savings times FIVE tickets will be a good savings. LOL

DMRick- wow, I guess for once I got lucky when it comes to WDW. But that was within the 45 days (since the res. was in April and you wanted to change beginning of April) so maybe that does have something to do with it. I didn't think the comeback rate had an "expiration" date. I thought it was a special for people that stayed to come back. The info I had read about it was from a YEAR ago (on wdwig or whatever that website is... LOL) and so I just tried it while I was there. I didn't know it was only good for people staying through March? In any case, I'm going to count my blessings.... be glad I didn't get towel animals, nothing special, on the last trip and instead got to change our comeback rate trip.

 

[J&D]

Is $285.50 per person (Delta) from Tx to Florida a reasonable price

That price is a little high. In the past (before Sept. 11), we have managed to find fares as low as $79 RT out of Houston or Dallas. Since Sept. 11, we have found fares between $149-250. Since your trip isn't until the end of Nov., I would wait and see if the fares drop any over the summer. We have found the best deals in May, June, and July. Sign up for Travelocity's Fare Watcher. They will send you an email when the fare for your selected cities drops. That is how I have found the best deals to Orlando. My Fare Watcher currently lists Houston to Orlando at $213 RT. I did a search for your dates out of Dallas, and the fares start at $269 (nonstop) on Delta. That is a little better than $285.

We MIGHT just decide to rent a car or van... but might also rather save some money on that

As someone mentioned earlier, sometimes it is cheaper to rent a car. I would also wait and see if any rental car codes come out this summer. IMHO, having a rental car is great. We love to go souvenir shopping at the Disney outlets.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

The $285 I quoted was what it showed with tax/etc included. They were actually $243.... so that's even lower than the $269 (which I saw those also) Houston is not an option for us- has to be Dallas. We'd need my sister to take our van back- way too costly for us to leave it at an airport for our entire trip.

Man, that sure would be nice to find a rate as low as $79 out of Dallas. I won't hold my breath on that though. Dream a little dream..... or a big one. LOL

Even $150 each would be fantastic! Maybe I'll hold off on getting them a little. I'm just so scared they'll go even higher.

 

[lilsonicfan]

I have had good success with prices using Expedia and Travelocity. In Feb I got tickets from Seattle to MCO for $240 return (all taxes included). I would keep an eye on both sites - I went to them EVERY DAY (sometimes more than once) and one day, the low price showed up on Expedia - it was only for one day, and then it was gone, so good thing we purchased then!

You might also want to try Hotwire or Priceline - for both you have to be willing to be flexible with times. I went to www.biddingfortravel.com and saw that some people had luck with DFW-TPA for $180, others were Austin-MCO for $190.

Good luck!

 

[J&D]

The $285 I quoted was what it showed with tax/etc included. They were actually $243.... so that's even lower than the $269

The $269 fare also included taxes and fees. The base fare is 228.84.

I'm just so scared they'll go even higher.

I could be totally wrong, but I don't think the fare will go that much higher before your trip unless you wait to book at the last minute. Your trip is almost 6 months away. If the fare does goes up, then there is a change that it could also go back down. Like lilsonicfan said, you have to check for fares almost on a daily basis. When I found the $79 RT deal, the sale only lasted for a day. After the sale was over, the fares had already gone up higher than what they were the day before the sale started. I know because I had purchased tickets the day before at what I thought was a low price ($129 I think) and was luckily able to cancel those flights without penalty and rebook them at the lower price. Most airlines (like Delta) will not let you do that and will only issue you credit vouchers that can expire if you don't use them within a year. I would have been so mad at myself for not waiting if I wouldn't have been able to get those flights at the lower price. If you have time to watch the fares within the next six months, then I still suggest that you wait. If you don't have time and feel you will be stressed out about it for the next 6 months, then go ahead and book the flights for peace of mind. Planning a Disney trip should be fun and not stressful.


Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Thanks for your post- but the bidding thing is not an option for us. With 3 kids and wanting every minute of our vacaction to actually be there- we're not very lenient at all on the times of our flights. In other words- not flexible- so we can't just take whatever they give us for a good price. Knowing my luck- the flights would be in the morning on the 21st (making my children miss another day of school) or midnight or some such nonsense. LOL And then probably returning at 5:30am on our last day- which totally would not work for us either. Not to mention we want every second of our last day- as much as we can have anyway! LOL

Okay I'll make myself hold off. It's not really stressful in the way you might be thinking.... I just know I'm going to be mad at myself if the prices go up -kicking myself for not buying them. But by the same token I would be mad if I bought them -then saw them way cheaper! Time is not an issue. Y'all beware when it comes time for Cinderella PS's. LOL This nightowl SAHM will be staying up all night just to attempt to get that. LOL