what should I do?

[3kidz4dis]

I should have already booked at the 11 month window but I am not sure what to do. This is our first time and do not like booking blind of airfair prices but 11 months is too far into the future for airfair rates to be available. I heard midweek is the cheapest to fly but I also heard it is not good to come into DVC midweek because of a lack of availablility of rooms. What should I do? Are Sat-Sat airfairs good enough that I should reserve then because more people will be checking out? (we will be traveling SW or Airtran from Baltimore.) Or, just go with the midweek thing, people are always checking out. (We are booking at SS but hope to get boardwalk view at BWV at 7 months.) Any help will be appreciated.

 

[TheBeast]

If you have enough points, you may want to book a day or two on either side then cancel when you confirm flights - but I'll probably get flamed for suggesting that!

Also, when are you planning to go? If it's not a bad time, you may not have a problem getting room when you want it.

This is a disadvantage of DVC for us cheap people - I can't go without getting a cheap flight, but by the time they come out, it's well within the reservation time window!

 

[Figment2]

We have found that airfare is usually cheaper flying on weekdays. So, we will fly in on Thurs. or Fri. night and leave on a Mon. My friends and I use our points over weekends (whether it's a long weekend or for 10 days). We've got the points so might as well use them.

I currently have reservations for October at OKW and December at BWV. No air reservations because SouthWest is only booking through Oct. 28 at the moment. Are we worried? No. We know we will find something. The nice thing about SW is that if their fares do go down, you can usually get a credit for future use.

Hope this helps.


Cyn

 

[Doctor P]

I would make a cash reservation for a couple nights off-site on either end of your planned trip to give you flexibility with airfare. Once you determine your actual departure and arrival dates then you can adjust your DVC reservation. Even if you can't get something at DVC, that way you will be covered without tying up your points or a room.

 

[Pa@okw95]

I should have already booked at the 11 month window but I am not sure what to do. This is our first time and do not like booking blind of airfair prices but 11 months is too far into the future for airfair rates to be available. I heard midweek is the cheapest to fly but I also heard it is not good to come into DVC midweek because of a lack of availablility of rooms. What should I do? Are Sat-Sat airfairs good enough that I should reserve then because more people will be checking out? (we will be traveling SW or Airtran from Baltimore.) Or, just go with the midweek thing, people are always checking out. (We are booking at SS but hope to get boardwalk view at BWV at 7 months.) Any help will be appreciated.

Airfairs prices and reservations have been available just under 11 months out. At least that is the way it has been in the past. You should be able to get a fair at 10 months plus.

 

[JimMIA]

Just in the last month or so, a lot of the airlines have changed their fare structures. A lot of the "Saturday stay required" fares are gone, and it really doesn't matter when you travel. I travel a lot, and except for the occasional "Saturday stay" fares, I've rarely found any difference in fares based on the days of travel.

What will cause the fare to vary often, however, is the day you buy the ticket. NEVER buy an airline ticket on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Vacationers buy tickets then, and they jack up the prices for vacationers.

New pricing is usually posted shortly after midnight on Tuesday morning, so if you book early Tuesday you will usually have a wider selection of flight options and the lowest fares for that week. The more flexible you are with the time of the day, the better fare you will get.

It's a good idea to watch fares for a while. Look at Expedia, Travelocity, or Orbitz and see what the general fare levels are. Then, if they drop substantially below what they've been, you pounce.

My suggestion is NOT to buy your fare through one of those online travel agencies, though. The reason is, they may have the lowest fare available for a particular airline - but they'll only have one set of flights at that price. And that's going to be the beauty with four connections or a four-hour layover somewhere. If you check the airline's website, you will usually find a whole host of better flights at the same fare...occasionally lower, but never higher.

 

[dianeschlicht]

The cheaper days to fly tend to vary by the city you are flying from. For us, we have found that Wednesday through Friday seems to be good, and even Sunday returns can be good.

 

[JimMIA]

The cheaper days to fly tend to vary by the city you are flying from. For us, we have found that Wednesday through Friday seems to be good, and even Sunday returns can be good.

Diane's point is a good one. If you are in the Baltimore area, I would sure check flights from Philadelphia and Washington Reagan as well. They're both easily driveable, and you may get better fares. I know that, any time of the year, Philadelphia is always a cheap flight from Miami (usually under $200 on American), so check some options and see.

Also, you might check alternate destination cities if you were planning on renting a car. You will sometimes get a better fare to Tampa -- nice airport, easy in-out, and it's only about a two-hour drive from WDW.

The other thing that will cause tremendous differences in fare is time of day and routing. Whenever I look at flights, I always find fares from/to the same cities, with the same connections, at widely differing fares. From Miami to LA, I might look at a dozen options, all on the same airline, ranging from $1,000 to $200. The only difference might be the equipment (I have preferences, but not any I'd pay $800 to enjoy) and sometimes the times. Often, I'll find $1000 fares and $200 fares within a few minutes of each other. There is no rhyme or reason to it that the traveler can see, but the airlines know which segments they can charge a lot for and which they can't.

Good luck.

 

[3kidz4dis]

I would make a cash reservation for a couple nights off-site on either end of your planned trip to give you flexibility with airfare. Once you determine your actual departure and arrival dates then you can adjust your DVC reservation. Even if you can't get something at DVC, that way you will be covered without tying up your points or a room.

Are you saying to cancel the cash reservation then and shift around the change the dates I have with points or are you saying to keep the cash nights and use less points? (we have 3 little kids so I didn't want to move.) We have 300 points and we will use all of them so I don't have extra points to use unless I borrow, but don't want to do that because I can't unborrow them then. We are traveling in May so maybe I shouldn't worry and may not have a problem getting a room.

 

[sagwanamu]

You shouldn't worry about the airfare too much, unless you go during school break. Make a DVC reservation on the dates you want to go. Then about 2-3 month before the date, start look at the air-fare. Normally, airline publish cheaper fare about 2-3 month before the departure date.

 

[Dean]

Most air lines should be able to let you reserve at 11 months out. I think Delta is 330 days from the departure day.

 

[CHOPR]

I flew into Tampa this past April and it took 65 minutes to the beginning of WDW off I-4.( I have a lead foot ) If you are renting a car it's at least an option when looking for rates.

 

[MicNut713]

We fly Sw all the time and we usually go down on a Friday and never have trouble getting good rates. We normally get them for $49.00 one way direct from Providence, RI. For our OCt trip we got $79.00 one way direct. So I wouldnt worry about booking on a a Fri Sat or Sun.