From Anthony Murphy on December 3, 2008 at 8:58 AM
Excellent Websites Robert!

A couple of things that I would add: If you want the good deals out of Chicago (like Jetblue for NY) its Airtran from Midway Airport. Did it once, not too luxurious, but cheap cheap cheap!

Also, and I do not think that this can be stressed enough,BE CAREFUL WHO YOU BUY TICKETS FROM! Esepcially for Disney and Universal, there are many stands outside the Disney Grounds offering ultra cheap tickets. Do not buy them! The tickets might be unauthorized and Disney will not accept them! If you want cheaper tickets, pretty much looking through AAA is your best and sometimes only best bet. Outside of Disney, I do believe the Flex ticket for the other Major Theme Parks are still around. The game with Disney is to decide how many days you plan on going and then buy said tickets. Disney reduces the price per day if you buy more.

From Robert Niles on December 3, 2008 at 9:38 AM
AirTran's fares are found through Orbitz, so you don't need to bookmark an extra site for them. But, you're right, they offer some nice deals. I'm flying AirTran to Orlando this weekend, in fact.

Many, if not most, of those booths and fronts you see for "discount" tickets require you to sit through timeshare presentations, IME, so my thoughts on them apply.

From Deidre Dennis on December 3, 2008 at 10:51 AM
Our trip is still a long way's out (June), but airline tickets are so high right now. The last time we flew Seattle to Orlando, it was only $279 including all taxes and fees through cheaptickets.com. Now they're hovering around $455 and up. I look every day to see what's out there, but I'm wondering, with our trip so far out, if I need to just wait until after the new year to see what happens. I wonder, if because it's such a long distance, if that's why they're so high right now. It's hard to find a good deal out of Seattle.

Went to DC this past June, roundtrip from Seattle on Airtran (hated it) and the tickets were still pretty spendy. Again, I wonder if it has anything to do with the distance?

I've been leery to use priceline.com because it appears you have to pay for your ticket without knowing who you're flying through, how many layovers, and what time. Too many unknowns for me.

From James Rao on December 3, 2008 at 7:48 PM
Lost of great info here, Robert! Thanks for putting it all together in one spot.

Another avenue to pursue if you want to book an ALL Disney trip is one of the authorized Disney planners like Small World Vacations. They do an excellent job of getting you the best out of Disney for your buck. There is no extra charge for their assistance, but you should make sure you are serious about a vacation (and do some of your own research) before using their service.

On a side note: rumors are circulating (www.touringplans.com) that some bargain basement, room-only discounts will be offered at WDW this week. Keep an eye out for them....

From Marc Ricketts on December 8, 2008 at 3:32 PM
We bought our Disneyland tickets for a Thanksgiving trip from www.getawaytoday.com. Although there was a slight discount, even after a $10 service charge, the primary motivation is that TWO Magic Mornings are included instead of one. This wouldn't matter if you're in a Disney hotel of course, and we did have to pick them up at a ticket booth.