When do you book your flight?

[PoppyJ]

What part of the country doesn't have Southwest?? (probably a dumb question, since the name is geographically themed. lol) North East?

Anywhere in Wisconsin except Milwaukee!! We did drive here and fly Southwest last time, but this time 15 minute drive with layover is winning over 2 hour drive for direct flight.

 

[Chuck S]

This is one of the main reasons we don't fly Southwest anymore. Their fare release schedule sucks and doesn't work with the advance planning I like to do around work and school schedules. So I'm usually booking JetBlue right around the 11 month window when I'd be booking DVC.

(Though, to be fair, the lion's share of my DVC points are Aulani so more often than not I'm booking WDW at 7 months, not 11. But we like 1BR so availability is rarely an issue.)

I liked Jet Blue, but they no longer fly direct to Orlando from Austin. They now fly you to LOS ANGELES, change planes, and then direct to Orlando. So...Southwest is what we use now.

 

[Chili327]

I liked Jet Blue, but they no longer fly direct to Orlando from Austin. They now fly you to LOS ANGELES, change planes, and then direct to Orlando. So...Southwest is what we use now.

From Austin to LAX to MCO??
Haha, that’s crazy. lol

Technically a decent direct flight from LA, just not from Austin. I thought Northern CA to Seattle then to Orlando was bad, but that’s much worse.

Also, I have to say my 3 hour layover on SW in Austin was the best experience you could ask for. ATX is a great stop over.

 

[keishashadow]

This is one of the main reasons we don't fly Southwest anymore. Their fare release schedule sucks and doesn't work with the advance planning I like to do around work and school schedules. So I'm usually booking JetBlue right around the 11 month window when I'd be booking DVC.

we book SWA when I see a price I can live with, last few years, that is not the release date price. other than holidays, fare from my market tend to drop a week or so later.

Keep watching like a hawk and modify, credits are non expiry. Nice to have credits in account for future travel.

jetblue not a player in my market TBH only way they will be anytime soon is if the Spirit deal comes to fruition. I seriously hope that doesn’t happen as it would be the death knell for the bonus trip $27 fares we can often snag a month or so out to MCO

 

[Chuck S]

From Austin to LAX to MCO??
Haha, that’s crazy. lol

Technically a decent direct flight from LA, just not from Austin. I thought Northern CA to Seattle then to Orlando was bad, but that’s much worse.

Also, I have to say my 3 hour layover on SW in Austin was the best experience you could ask for. ATX is a great stop over.

For a 25 year old airport, it is kept is great condition. Even the old Austin airport was nice, it was just too small.

Though I prefer to fly out os San Antonio when possible, since it is a little closer to home and less freeway traffic, I made the exception when Jet Blue had direct flights from Austin.

 

[DonMacGregor]

For a 25 year old airport, it is kept is great condition. Even the old Austin airport was nice, it was just too small.

Though I prefer to fly out os San Antonio when possible, since it is a little closer to home and less freeway traffic, I made the exception when Jet Blue had direct flights from Austin.

The new Delta gates they added make a big difference too. I prefer AUS to SAT, if there is no impact on where I ultimately need to be. San Antonio is just too small and has zero food options. When we opened our first office in SAT back in 2014, I flew in and out of that airport dozens of times (remember when there was no parking structure and the rental cars were all offsite on the other side of 410?). Now, as business has moved closer to Austin and my business travel takes me there more often, I'm happy to fly into that airport. The expanded terminal means more Delta flights and a Sky Club, plus also super handy for COTA, lol.

 

[miksicnarf]

Look at flights for the months that are available, to get an idea of least expensive days...as others have said, it's often Wed.-Wed. Book your resort accordingly. When airfare becomes available, monitor for awhile...you'll see it go up and down and can get a good idea of a decent low fare. Pull the trigger when you think it's hit a good low...then, as I always say, it's like choosing a spouse--pick one and stop looking! (Unless your fare is changeable!) My next trip is in Sept. and I'm in the monitoring phase...don't like what I see so far.

 

[Shellyred8]

I usually book our resort first. I will book more days than we need (as long as we still have points) and then drop the extra days based on whatever flights I was able to book. I usually book our resort 9-11 months out, but I don't book our flights until 3 to 4 months out.

 

[Disdreaming479]

Last year I was watching/ figuring out how to fly to HNL from my airport, which is a small regional airport. We don’t have SW. I just checked yesterday for dates in July this summer and the prices have gone down $300/ person. So that was interesting. We fly to Sanford when traveling to Orlando because we can fly direct and avoid DFW. It’s cheaper, faster, and we nearly always land by 1 pm to start our vacation.
Edited probably flying to Hnl on AA.

 

[🍀TwinsMom]

Just to add another wrinkle to the planning, if you're doing DVC, you get the late Epcot/MK hours on Mondays and Wednesdays for your trip. I never miss those because, to me, it's like paying for the Extended Evening Hours events with no crowds and short lines.

I, personally, pay for the direct, expensive flights Friday/Saturday-Saturday/Sunday and just consider it the cost of doing business since I can only travel around our kids' vacation schedules, but I know that won't always be the case, either, in a few years. I'm looking at you, early May and cheap points! One day you'll be mine!

If you can swing the points to book the whole week, including the weekend, I'd do it and then just drop off a day on either end if there's a massive airfare difference. I also stalk JetBlue (preferred carrier for us anyway, and they release flights 11 months out, too.) They tweak their fares every Tuesday and then jack them back up by Wednesday. During major holidays that fall on Mondays/Tuesdays, sometimes they throw in an unadvertised sale for a few hours in the morning.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

When thinking about/planning vacation, I'd start looking at airfare along with destination right away. Get an idea of where prices are. In my experience, I've always found airline prices the highest when they first come out (such as a year or 10 months out of so). I book destination first, especially Disney because who knows if it will even be available the next day. Then, I do airfare. I look everyday, several times a day. Once I find a price I'm comfortable with, I book it and don't look again.

 

[Memorymakerfor4]

Like others have said, if I was staying a full week and didn't have to adhere to school schedules, I'd pick Tuesdays or Wednesdays. We fly Southwest with companion pass and I book on release date. Sometimes I miiiight see prices go down, but not if we're flying high demand times like Thanksgiving. Points and the companion pass usually allow us to fly free anyway so we just roll with it.

 

[Memorymakerfor4]

Anywhere in Wisconsin except Milwaukee!! We did drive here and fly Southwest last time, but this time 15 minute drive with layover is winning over 2 hour drive for direct flight.

Oh man, we flew to Door County once on SW and it was a fiasco. We had to go halfway across the country to go to NY first, then rent a car and drive 4 hours after landing in Milwaukee. Worth it though, some of the most beautiful country I've seen.

 

[PoppyJ]

it's like choosing a spouse--pick one and stop looking! (

Hahaha!

I usually book our resort 9-11 months out, but I don't book our flights until 3 to 4 months out.

Wow! I get so anxious to book flights, I can never wait that long. Although the one time we did a last minute trip to Disney to meet my husband's brother, we did get an amazing deal booking a couple months out.

We don’t have SW. I just checked yesterday for dates in July this summer and the prices have gone down $300/ person. So that was interesting. We fly to Sanford when traveling to Orlando because we can fly direct and avoid DFW.

Flights from our airport to Hawaii are always SO expensive. I'll have to see what the prices would be to fly into Sanford or Tampa.

Just to add another wrinkle to the planning, if you're doing DVC, you get the late Epcot/MK hours on Mondays and Wednesdays for your trip. I never miss those because, to me, it's like paying for the Extended Evening Hours events with no crowds and short lines.

Yes! If we do Wednesday to Wednesday, we need to get an early flight so we can make evening hours. Although I was thinking, will they still have these extended hours in 2025?

Then, I do airfare. I look everyday, several times a day. Once I find a price I'm comfortable with, I book it and don't look again.

I think the don't look again part is key!

Worth it though, some of the most beautiful country I've seen.

I agree! We usually take our dog to Door County for a long weekend once a summer, love it there!

 

[TheLyinKing]

Resort first since usually looking at 11/7 months. Then set a google flight tracker until a price that I'm comfortable with comes up (hopefully United), and then I book.

 

[tgropp]

Book my DVC and then my flights. Going from Dec 18-Jan 3 from Toronto. Booked my flights last week. They only go up in price at that time of year

 

[disneydreamer1980]

We usually drive to Disney but when we fly domestically we usually buy tickets about 6-8 weeks ahead of time for the best deals. When flying internationally (which we do much more than domestically) we get tickets about 3-4 months prior to travel. And as others have said Tuesday-Tuesday travel is statistically the cheapest I’ve read.

 

[KPeterso]

I usually have my approximate dates figured out for my trips. I book the room and usually have an extra day on the beginning or end to account for finding airfare. I frequently do not buy my airfare until 2 months before the trip. I can then adjust my dates by modifying my resort reservation. Just have to be sure make the modifications 31+ days before check in and that if you are cancelling a night that the points can still be used or banked.

 

[TexasEric]

We normally book airline first. Usually Wed-Wed some of the cheapest days to fly.

I am surprised. It seems so much easier to find plane tickets than park tickets. I end up letting the park dates determine the plane dates.

 

[CarolMN]

I am surprised. It seems so much easier to find plane tickets than park tickets. I end up letting the park dates determine the plane dates.

Me, too, but I sometimes book an extra day or two (at either beginning or end or both) so that I have some flexibility to capture a reasonable fare.