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Airfare too high?

Walt Disney World: Is anyone having trouble finding a reasonable airfare to get to Orlando for Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year's?

From Beth Kassab
Posted October 26, 2006 at 8:39 PM
Is anyone having trouble finding a reasonable airfare to get to Orlando for Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year's? I'm a reporter for the Orlando Sentinel and I'm writing about fares and bookings for the holidays and would appreciate hearing from anyone who's planning on coming and what you ended up paying and whether it might have been higher or lower than what you've paid previously? Also, did anyone decide not to come because prices are too high? E-mail me at bkassab@orlandosentinel.com


Comments in chronological order. Most recent at the bottom. Scroll down to respond.

From Anthony Murphy
Posted October 27, 2006 at 4:32 PM
If you plan far in advance, you should be able to get good rates on airfare. Since we are talking about Disney here, people should make airfare plans when they are making reservations for their resort or around that time. Also, there are "cheaper" airlines out there, so you just need to look sharp in my opinion. Traveling during the holidays can be rough, but if you go in with a good attiude, it will be better!

From Robert Niles
Posted October 27, 2006 at 5:22 PM
We've been wanting to visit Orlando to see my sister, who just gave birth to her first child. (An emergency C-section after *36* hours of labor, but that's a whole 'nother thread.) But, as Laurie and I both teach and we have two elementary-aged kids, we can go only during school vacations.

Unfortunately, every other parent in the world, it seems, is trying to go to Orlando during school vacations. So it's not so much a question of how much the airfare is, but whether we can get seats at all, without resorting to red-eyes or multiple-connection flights (and the resulting chances of missed or cancelled connections).

Plus, living in L.A., well, there's not a huge line-up of flights to Orlando from here, as there's not a whole lot for people to see in Orlando that we don't have here in SoCal. Except for my family, of course. :-(

From Mike CP
Posted October 27, 2006 at 5:19 PM
I'm not exactly a tourist going to the parks, but I'm a first semester student at UCF studying Hospitality Management from Cleveland. I do not believe the price of airfare is a major deterrent to people traveling to Orlando, especially for those who are first-time visitors and travel every year. People who do not travel frequently still will travel with the current airfare prices, they just may stay several days shorter to offset the cost.

I am traveling out to California to visit the theme parks there and feel the price of airfare ($272) is well worth it compared the experience. I have only been to DisneyLand once before and I am excited to return for a second time. The price of airfare is minuscule compared the experience that I will take home with me.

From Anthony Murphy
Posted October 27, 2006 at 6:07 PM
I would also like to say it probably also depends on where you are flying from!

Being from Chicago, we have O'Hare which almost goes to Orlando on the hour. To top it off, if you want a little more affordable airfare, there is always Midway (which my family usually never flys out of for the simple reason is it is on the opposite side of Chicago from us!). They house the cheaper carriers.

Going along with this, the distance also makes a difference. Chicago is much closer to Orlando than CA. I remember flying to Disneyland was not the cheapest either.

But yeah, I would assume that prices for airfare are scaring away alot of people, but I aslo think if people are saving for Disney World, they are also saving for airfare. Thats just my logic, it might be dead wrong!

From Adrienne McDonald
Posted October 29, 2006 at 11:17 PM
I know Southwest usually has really cheap rates but they fill up w/in a short time so it's best to keep watch on them so they won't 'get away'. Continental usually has good rates but so far, for us, Southwest has the cheapest.

From Sean McNamara
Posted October 30, 2006 at 5:55 AM
i not flying i only live 2 hours south of orlando but ya it will be very hard to get airfare during xmas and thanksgiving it is one of the busiest times of the year and second worst time to go to the theme parks if u are..(spring break is the worst)

From Jason Moore
Posted October 30, 2006 at 1:13 PM
I fly so infrequently that I really wouldn't know the difference if the rates were good or bad. Of course, I'm looking to go the opposite direction (Fl to Ca) around January, so I'm guessing I'll find out soon about the cost of traveling by air.

From Diana Weiss
Posted October 30, 2006 at 4:30 PM
We got a super good deal thru Southwest in early October (but the deal was good thru Feb at the time) Austin to Tampa 44each way... We took advantage of that deal. Family of 5 flew for 350 round trip... one child flew free because of companion pass and another because he was under 2. We won't see that again soon. I haven't seen anything even close. Tampa is so close we just rented a car and drove to Orlando!!! Great deal. I am always looking but Southwest has deals pop up and disappear quickly. You have to stay on it. I will list anything if I see it.

From Ben Mills
Posted November 1, 2006 at 9:40 AM
We were considering a trip to the Orlando area over the British half term holiday, last week, on what would have been our third trip. And the cheaper airfares are out there, if you look hard enough and are willing to make a change or two along the way. Problem is, cheap airfares these days really confirm the old agage of "you get what you pay for." Low-cost airlines tend to equal flights of a pretty shoddy quality, and on a long haul flight, that's not ideal. When you've got a week long vacation planned that involved hitting numerous theme parks, the last thing you want worrying you is the back pain or jet lag you picked up from an uncomfortable flight there. So faced with that, or the prospect of an airfare in the thousands, we chose to say here in the country.

From Mitchell Sentinella
Posted November 1, 2006 at 4:44 PM
I think if you can do a little work and search for the cheapest flight you can get a good deal. We landed with a pretty good deal in my opnion. Two adults round trip from San Diego to Orlando, one stop each way, for only $1200 and we purchased them in October, flying in Febuary.

From Martha Wilson
Posted January 2, 2007 at 9:54 PM
We paid $29 per ticket to fly to Orlando. Instead of flying from the airport 45 minutes from home, we drove an hour to fly from a smaller airport. Didn't mind the extra fifteen minutes drive given we saved $1500.00 on air fare. We flew allegiant and although I prefer to keep my feet on the ground the other passengers commented on how smooth the flight was.

From Rick Ferris
Posted January 3, 2007 at 2:12 PM
I am assuming it was $290? If not, let me know the airline :)

From Martha Wilson
Posted January 7, 2007 at 9:04 PM
No really, not $290, $29.00 each way, Allegiant Air @ Allegiantair.com. We flew into Sanford- Orlando International. Smaller airport than OI, no problems, if I was not panic stricked with flying I would have enjoyed this flight. Great staff, friendly, on board drinks, snacks. No frills just getting there. Direct flight. I have since received an email offer to fly again with this airline for $19.00 in Feb. and March.

From Bruce Lane
Posted January 7, 2007 at 11:47 PM
Heck... I'm just disgusted with airfares in general! When the CAB existed, airlines were required to base their fares on actual distances and fuel consumption, rather than markets, and this whole silly hub-and-spoke business was barely breathing.

Did you know that round-trip, right now, from Seattle to Orange County is only about $70 less than it would cost to fly from Seattle to Toronto, Ontario? (as in Canada). The difference in mileage and time is enormous, yet the fares aren't even $100 apart!

Go figure...

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