Where to begin....

[maleficent_man]

Hi all - we are considering a trip to WDW in October 2018 for myself, wife and two Disney loving kids who will be 7 and 5 by then. We haven't been since 2009 on our Disneymoon and no kids in tow!

We have been a number of times but conscious that a lot has changed since we last visited. We are regularly visitors to Disneyland Paris have been to WDW a lot in the past.

Just wondering what best options are for next October - when is best to look at flights/deals - is it best to book flights and then packages separately? Would I get considerable savings flying from Manchester instead of in Scotland (where we are...).

Any help/info/guidance would be very much appreciated.

Nick

 

[P800aul]

Hi Nick

We go in October and I would guess the biggest changes is the real need to plan, especially with children of the age yours are. The FP+ system is now in place you should look a the FAQ/guildance here

https://www.disboards.com/threads/fastpass-frequently-asked-questions.3491680/

We fly (me, DW and DDx2) from Manchester with AA via Philadelphia the flight leaves around 11:00am and we arrive in Orlando around 6:30pm. We hire a car and stay at Windsor Hills in a Condo. The flights go on sale 11 mths before the date you fly and while I'm sure you can hunt around (and I have) for better prices I've never found them with the good timings we get, we always book direct with AA.

I plan using a crowd calendar although with the trips we've done i pretty much have it down now, I plan which parks we will do on what day, even now our children are 13 and 15 we still break at lunch time returning later in the day. I plan FP+ and ADRs around that.

Good luck if you need more info just ask.

Regards

Paul

 

[chmurf]

where to start .... well ... if you already know your dates, and are willing to stay onsite (moderate or deluxe), you have a few days left to book the free dining offer for 2018
it's currently offering a $200 gift card if you book before july 6
after that date, the offer will probably continue, but with a $100 gift card, or none at all

those $200 spending money would probably compensate most (or all) of a potentially higher flight price , compared to being flexible and booking later

flights are usually released 330 out (from return date) so your looking at booking your flights around december/january. By that time the FD deal will be over.
you could also book through a TA, flights inclusive, but that's not a way I'd want to go (personnal opinion)

so here's the deal if you care for free dining.
http://www.disneyholidays.co.uk/walt-disney-world/deals/


I would also do my ESTAs before booking anything non refundable.

 

[Ceilidhscot]

We booked through Ocean Florida and are flying via New York with United (3 nights in NY as DH wants to see there then short flight down to Orlando for 10 nights) from Glasgow. Flight times are good - leaving Glasgow round about 9am (arrival into NY at 11.40). Flight to Orlando is at 11:40 arriving 14:20 and staying onsite at the Port Orleans Riverside (with free Quick service Disney dining / $200 gift card / memory maker / Disney life for a year etc..

Flight back via NY again but does break up the journey at the start rather than having to faff about in Manchester with train or car etc and as it's an overnight flight, get into Glasgow at 9am so will be home by lunchtime.

Never done Disney Florida before but getting the 14 day ticket (for the price of 7) for all the Disney parks. Riverside has the boat to Disney Springs plus buses to all the parks so thought it would be easier staying there.

Can let you know the guy who did our booking (he was great) but as others have said, you'll need to be quick to get the Disney dining etc I think

 

[Tash87]

I booked through Virgin Holidays and for some reason flying from gatwick ( direct ) on the 16th October was the cheapest I could get, if you're able to fly from there it's worth a look.

After looking for months VH finally came up with a price I thought was reasonable for flights, hotel, car hire, park tickets, Disney springs check in and 'free' dining with $200 gift card. The gift card offer ends very soon though.

Booking everything separately I couldn't get the price I have paid all in.

Also take into consideration if you're looking at 'cheaper' offsite hotels to roughly work out food costs. For us even if we stayed offsite with spending money for food it worked out better for us to stay onsite with the added bonuses ( free dine, no charges for parking at WdW, resort buses etc )