Florida sept/oct 2015

skintsaver_2

Hi all

We have decided that we want to go to Orlando end sept 2015

I've been to the travel agents today and had prices for package holiday with a villa for 2 adults and 1 child from between £2700 and £3000 depending what airport we fly from

We are in south Wales so have a long drive to any airport that flies so Orlando so I have a few questions lol

*which airport do you recommend to Orlando or Sanford
*which airline to go with? Virgin, thomson or Thomas cook?
*which airport to fly from? Gatwick, Birmingham or Manchester
*book now or wait til nov for separate flights, villa etc and could then fly from heathrow?
*if we wait do we book villa now?
*how do we know what airlines fly what days?

Sorry for all the questions but we just wanna get it right

I was originally gonna book everything separate but the flights are not out for the dates we wanna go but the villas we want have limited availability

We just don't know what to do for the best

Scudlink

skintsaver wrote: »

*which airport do you recommend to Orlando or Sanford

You'll probably get a mixed response to this. Orlando International (MCO) is closer to the attractions, where as Sanford (SFB) is further away and a longer drive. MCO tends to take longer to get through immigration as it's busier and is (IMHO) a much nicer airport, where as SFB reminds me more as a warehouse with basic facilities but getting through immigration is usually quicker. Personally I would use whatever airport has the cheapest flight going to it as overall you'll probably end up at your villa at a similar time.

skintsaver wrote: »

*which airline to go with? Virgin, thomson or Thomas cook?

Don't think there's a huge difference in either of them. I see it merely as a means of getting there. The bonus with Virgin is the Down Town Disney early check-in which is really handy for getting rid of your cases on the last day ($10 charge per person for non Virgin Holiday customers) which I would recommend. Thomson use the new 787 Dreamliner plane which is meant to be nicer (not flown it personally so don't know).

skintsaver wrote: »

*which airport to fly from? Gatwick, Birmingham or Manchester

I guess it depends on how far you want to travel getting to the airport. I live in the south west of England so am prepared to fly from either MAN or LGW (there's not much in the distance anyway for us, both are a 200+ mile journey). I prefer London simply because we've stayed at some nice guest houses in Horley the night before we fly, so we can leave the car at the guest house and they drop us off and pick us up at the airport. Ultimately it comes down to price and if Manchester was a lot cheaper then we'd fly from there instead.

skintsaver wrote: »

*book now or wait til nov for separate flights, villa etc and could then fly from heathrow?
*if we wait do we book villa now?

If you were flying from Heathrow then you'll probably be flying in-direct (eg. fly to Miami first, then change flights to Orlando). Flying in-direct is usually cheaper but takes longer. Personally I prefer direct flights straight into Orlando. Since we are picky with accommodation we've already booked the villa we wanted for June/July next year but we still need to book the flights. I'm holding on for a while since the flight prices are still too high and I'm holding out for a better price (they go up and down like a yo-yo all the time). If you booked a 'fly drive' with a tour operator like Virgin Holidays/Travel City Direct etc., then you should be able to book your flights now (without having to wait the 11 months before the schedule flights are released) but it will almost certainly cost you more over doing it DIY and direct from the airline.

skintsaver wrote: »

*how do we know what airlines fly what days?

Decide when you want to travel and simply enter the dates into the airline's/tour operator's/online price comparison like Skyscanner/Kayak etc., search engine and see what prices pop up! If the airline doesn't operate on that date then it will tell you (or simply won't show that particular airlines results) it might also offer you alternative dates. All schedule airlines like Virgin and BA offer daily services. Others like Thomson only fly certain days and from certain airports.


If you are worried, you could always book your chosen villa now with a separate Fly Drive package from one of the tour operators but it will probably cost quite a bit more over doing it DIY.


I hope this has been of some help!

Andy_89

I wouldn't buy the line about limited availability, especially at the end of September, though I may be wrong.

The two times I have been at that time (Windsor Hills and Emerald Island) There have been a number of Villas that have been empty.

If I remember correctly its about a 45 minute drive from Sanford to International Drive - do you want that after a 8hour flight?

Are you having a car?