West coast to east coast

[supergoofy]

I have looked at this 3 ways to sunday and getting ready to purchase our airfare and its a huge chunk of change so I want to make sure I do it correctly.


Option #1 is to fly Friday night red eye with a lay over in Texas would land in Orlando about 11am.

Pros- Can work Friday(don't get paid time off work), less hotel days,

Cons- Cannot get into hotel until 4(Bonnet Creek), then we still have shopping to do

Option #2 is to fly out Friday early am with a layover in Colorado and land in Orlando about 4pm

Pros- can go straight to hotel and check in/drop bags, then head to store and dinner.

Cons- lose a day more of work, another day of hotel costs, flight leaves early am so we'd have to leave in middle of night which the kids and wife would sleep to airport and possible plane. Me I'd be up for 24 hours before I board the plane(not that bad) so I know I'll sleep well.


Cost difference for doing option #2 over #1 would cost about $400 that's hotel for an extra night and 6 people flying.


I'm leaning towards #2 thinking that a good night sleep would be nice plus no loss of park time to go shopping and the fact we would have about 4 extra hours in the park by going first thing in the morning rather than arriving mid day.


Anybody have any input on anything I may be overlooking and why #1 would be a better deal?

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I hate red eyes; a cross country flight isn't long enough to get enough sleep; especially for a flight where you have stops (even if you can sleep on the plane) and you'll be exhausted the next day. I'd rather spend more money for the second flight. Actually, I'd spend even more for a nonstop flight (if available).

 

[Lisa71]

We have done several options and last trip was a timeshare exchange into DVC the day after our kids were out of school..we landed super early and got a day room at the airport Hyatt (cheap) and slept for a long time until we took ME to our hotel. It worked but we were very tired anyway...landing late felt much more "normal"..

 

[DVC California]

Option #1 is to fly Friday night red eye with a lay over in Texas would land in Orlando about 11am.

This is the deal killer. How old are your kids? Both my wife and two daughters hate red eyes, especially with this type of layover, since they will never get any semblance of sleep.

Presumably flight departs 11pm PST and arrives 3 hours later at 5am CST. For 11am EST arrival, your connection will depart approx 7:30 CST for 2 1/2 hour layover.

Any way to layover in Miami? Longer coast-to-coast flight and breakfast in MIA would be tolerable.

Cons- Cannot get into hotel until 4(Bonnet Creek), then we still have shopping to do

Depending on how busy Bonnet Creek will be when you travel, you may be able to check-in earlier. We've been able to check into a variety of resorts (Disney, Vistana, Silver Lake, Orange Lake, Summer Bay) as early as 11am when it was slow season.

HTH, Steve

 

[figment_jii]

I would also vote for the second option, even if it costs more money. I cannot sleep on the plane, so a red eye would be miserable for me; both that day and the entire next day. I'd rather have a normal night's sleep (or least some sleep at home), then fly out.

 

[Caseheidi]

We did red eye from PDX to Orlando with a lay over in Houston, and never again. We were not able to sleep, and our first day and a half were wasted. Traveling from coast to coast takes all day IMHO, even if direct with a 6 hr flight. Addin in time traveling to airport, checking/getting luggage and car rental, it can be 9-10 hours actual time, but adding 3 hr time difference, really counts like 13. Totally worth the extra hotel day to get settled and a full night sleep to adjust your time clock!

 

[crazyventures]

I did option #2 out of SFO last Christmas and it worked out well for us. We found a one-bedroom hotel room (Hampton Inn or Homewood Suites--can't remember) for the night before we checked into our timeshare the next day. It let us relax a little.

We're doing option #1 for our next trip but I'm used to red-eyes and am not traveling with children. The extra park time was a big consideration for me because my BF has never been to WDW before.

 

[catigger]

We will be flying to Orlando from the Bay Area. I usually choose our flight based on the duration of the flight. I never feel rested on a red eye even if I can sleep. I vote for option two.

 

[jrsharp21]

I have done option #1 several times for a conference (Sacramento to Orland with layover in Houston). But I flew solo each time. The first time it was a packed flight and I was miserable. The other times it was a half full flight and could stretch out and grab some Z's. When you get to Houston around 5am, not a ton is open in the airport and you see people sprawled out on these portable cots sleeping. I would try to grab a quick nap in the waiting area and on the flight into Orlando. But once I hit Orlando it would be an adrenaline rush and it was go go go. Each time I ended up staying late a the park and being up for more than 24 hours straight. But it was all worth it in the end.

 

[bumbershoot]

Anybody have any input on anything I may be overlooking

I see you are from CA. Are you sure you have checked all possible airports and all possible airlines? If you haven't yet, be sure to check Alaska. They have non-stops from various places. You've made sure to check out Southwest and, depending on where you are, even Virgin America? Have you signed up for the frequent flyer programs for all possible airlines, to make sure you're getting notices of their sales?

When I want to check all airlines really quickly I use kayak.com and then southwest.com (and I sometimes look at jetblue.com because I'm not sure if kayak gets their info or not, though I really don't personally like JB).


I hate redeyes, and I hate them even more with a layover. And even MORE with a young family. Only time I've ever liked a redeye was at 18 years old, flying alone, getting to traverse the length of O'Hare in an almost-asleep, nearly hypnotic, state. Neon lights over the people mover made for an indelible memory. I'll let my son have that experience when HE is 18, LOL, traveling alone.

 

[supergoofy]

Jet Blue didn't have anything in the times we liked

Southwest over priced

And Kayak had the best deal


I like Kayak and the way I can select my departure time either way and find flights for the other leg. Or how I can select 1 0r more stops or non stops.

I haven't been here in awhile and just moved to Oregon and per Kayak there is no non stops.


Originally did Travelocity but then just did Kayak and see on the return we can do MCO to LAX and LAX to PDX and its a tad cheaper. Be nice to have a long continuous flight rather than a couple short ones.

 

[bumbershoot]

Ah yes, Oregon is a bit different for airports than your location listed of California!

I personally never buy through a site like kayak, but it makes for easy searching!

SW can be high, but remember you get two free checked bags per person, which can add up depending on how many bags you're bringing.

 

[Huff]

Southwest is often over priced but they do not charge for luggage so figure that in.

US Airways has a flight that leaves at 5:20am connects in PHX and arrives MCO at 4pm.

I do not like red eye flights. Did that once. We were so tired when we arrive at MCO in the morning we just couldn't do much of anything and could not check into our hotel until afternoon.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Ah yes, Oregon is a bit different for airports than your location listed of California!

I personally never buy through a site like kayak, but it makes for easy searching!

SW can be high, but remember you get two free checked bags per person, which can add up depending on how many bags you're bringing.

You wouldn't (ever) be purchasing travel from/through Kayak. Its a Travel Search Engine, not a Travel Agency.

Clicking on the price in Kayak brings you to the travel provider. You buy directly from the provider.

It's how Kayak remains free to users. They get paid by the travel provider - example, jetBlue. Users who check Kayak for pricing, then open a new browser window or type over the URL, are undermining the service Kayak provides.

 

[Pattil1960]

I don't know if it is any cheaper, but we live in the Bay Area and are flying from San Jose using your option 2. We arrive about 6pm. Have you tried flying into the Bay Area? My nephew did that two years ago and it was a little cheaper.

 

[bumbershoot]

You wouldn't (ever) be purchasing travel from/through Kayak. Its a Travel Search Engine, not a Travel Agency.

Clicking on the price in Kayak brings you to the travel provider. You buy directly from the provider.

That's what I thought, but I was responding directly to the statement "And Kayak had the best deal".

 

[KalamityJane]

Are you flying out of PDX? We just moved from Oregon and have flown to MCO from Oregon out of EUG and PDX many times. I highly recommend Alaska Air and Southwest, the flights are the best, IMO. Alaska usually has you go through Seattle but you get a much longer flight, so it's better for a redeye. Horizon (which works with a lot of the airlines) is also a great airline to fly, my husband likes it because they serve free beer