For many of us that don’t live near Walt Disney World, transportation can be a real concern when planning a Disney vacation. Driving can take a few days, can be quite expensive, and ultimately takes a lot of time. However, flying, which is an excellent option a majority of the time, can be quite expensive and quite difficult to arrange depending on your given situation. So, today we’re going to take a look at the ways in which we save money when flying and how we cut costs when traveling to Orlando and other vacation destinations.
Book Early When Possible
As we’ve mentioned briefly in both our Disney World Dining Tips For 2018 and 2018 Walt Disney World Vacation Vacation Planning Tips, taking the time to book your vacation as early as possible can vastly influence what you’ll pay in the long run in regard to expenses. I completely understand planning in a last minute fashion (we do it all the time), but unfortunately the costs of last minute planning can add up over time.
Personally, I’ve had the very best luck planning flights as far out in the future as I possibly can and attempting to book on a weekday if at all possible. Each airline is a little different, but typically if you google the “best time to book” for your favorite airline, you’ll typically find a recent post for that designated carrier.
Don’t Overlook Lesser Known Carriers
This particular tip is one that we’ve used time and time again when traveling to Orlando from our local airports. While everyone is aware of the main popular airlines: Delta, Southwest, United, etc. a few budget carriers do exist that can save you quite a bit of money along the way.
In the past, we’ve had excellent luck with Allegiant. While they are somewhat limited about the locations they fly into and out of, and they only fly on select dates, if you can find a date and time that works for you the prices can be quite impressive. In the past, we’ve been able to fly to Disney from Kentucky for around $150 for round trip service. Allegiant does not fly into Orlando international airport and unfortunately as a result you cannot use the Magical Express service provided by Disney. All things considered, that will mean that you will have to hire out a car service/Uber or rent a car to travel to your resort.
Based on our experience, the Allegiant Airplanes are excellent aircrafts and while they do not feature the seat back televisions that many Delta flights do these days, they’re always clean and typically arrive on time as a result of being straight flights a vast majority of the time.
Another carrier worth looking into is Frontier. Again, the prices are much cheaper that typical airlines, and flight times are a bit more spread out as well, but these flights do go directly into Orlando International airport. Believe it or not, I have no affiliation with any of these airlines (even though I wish I did! And if anyone can make that happen, give me a shout lol).
Beware of Hidden Fees
As I’m sure many of you are well aware, some airlines will do just about anything to encourage you to book with them. Unfortunately that is increasingly true when considering the budget airlines as mentioned above. Often times when you get away from the main carriers, bag costs (including carry-ons at times) and booking fees tend to be increased to generate additional revenue. Sometimes, even with these additional costs, budget airlines can remain the most baffrodable option when flying but it is something you’ll want to add into your comparison of flights (or you could have our recommended travel planner do it for you free of charge!).
Fly at Random Times
If you’re willing to fly on a weekday opposed to a weekend or at hours of the day when others would rather not fly, the prices can certainly reflect those differences. Getting out early on in the day on your trip down or leaving super late on return flights can not only save you money but also provide you with more time in the parks or at your resort and in my book, even a few extra hours on vacation can make all the difference.
Consider a Different Airport
We all have our favorite airport, but being willing to step out of your comfort zone a bit and try something new can lead to cheaper prices and more availability across the board. In Kentucky (were we are from) you have a choice of a variety of airports within an hour to hour and a half drive time away. Occasionally, the drive to SDF (Louisville or Cincinnati) CVG can be well worth the trade off in price in the grand scheme of things. Your local airports will certainly vary, but it’s jus tone more eating you’ll want to look into if you’re trying to minimize your transportation costs.
Additionally, leaving from a larger airport tends to open up a greater realm of possibilities in the unfortunate circumstance that your flight may get delayed or even canceled on the day of your big vacation.
All things considered, hopefully this gives you few ideas or possibly ways to save some money and potentially try something new when heading to Walt Disney World or even Disneyland. Flying can be tough at times, but the tradeoff in time saved can be more that worth it in the long run, especially if you get a good rate on flights.
