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Thread: Help with Vacation Planning for December

  1. #1
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    Help with Vacation Planning for December

    I am putting out a general distress call for help with planning a four night DL vacation for four in December (within first two weeks) Our usual package company that we use is quoting a ridiculous price just for the privilege of flying into John Wayne airport. We have a more reasonable price but they want to have us go in and out of LAX. That effectively cuts us from four days in the park to three.

    I would book it a la carte but we are in Canada and it can be really tricky to work the system with international flights and still save money.

    Do you think it would help to contact Disney Vacations? Does anyone have any tips?

    We don't want to drive down. We want to fly from Victoria to John Wayne airport. A hotel doesn't seem to be the issue (we picked Desert Inn but I may just change that to the Hojo with entertainment rates to shave off some dollars) and my travel agent can arrange the flight ($624pp). I have APs for myself and my daughter but we would need DL tickets for our companions. Oh, and we can't wait for a last minute deal (I am way too OC for that)


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  3. #2
    Registered User Rockchalker's Avatar
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    I am putting out a general distress call for help with planning a four night DL vacation for four in December (within first two weeks) Our usual package company that we use is quoting a ridiculous price just for the privilege of flying into John Wayne airport. We have a more reasonable price but they want to have us go in and out of LAX. That effectively cuts us from four days in the park to three.

    I would book it a la carte but we are in Canada and it can be really tricky to work the system with international flights and still save money.

    Do you think it would help to contact Disney Vacations? Does anyone have any tips?

    We don't want to drive down. We want to fly from Victoria to John Wayne airport. A hotel doesn't seem to be the issue (we picked Desert Inn but I may just change that to the Hojo with entertainment rates to shave off some dollars) and my travel agent can arrange the flight ($624pp). I have APs for myself and my daughter but we would need DL tickets for our companions. Oh, and we can't wait for a last minute deal (I am way too OC for that)
    $624pp airfare!?!?!? How far is Seattle? I checked quickly on Google and it looked like 85 miles???) You could drive to Seattle, spend the night at a hotel near the airport (preferably one with a stay, park, and fly) and pay $220 w/1 stop on SWA or $270 direct on Alaskan. (No, I do not know these rates off the top of my head, I checked SWA and Travelocity.)

    SWA also has package specials throughout the year. I have yet to find Disney Vacations to be more economical that Getaway Today, AAA or Costco.

    BTW, your trip sounds awfully familar. We are flying into SNA from Denver on December 1 and staying for 5 nights at the Howard Johnson using the $60 entertainment rates. I, personally, do not like flying into LAX myself. It is too noisy and dirty.
    “A keen sense of humor helps us to overlook the unbecoming, understand the unconventional, tolerated the unpleasant, overcome the unexpected, and outlast the unbearable.” Billy Graham

  4. #3
    ♥ Disney Lover ♥ Jenasweetemotion's Avatar
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    A few things one would be that right now through Expedia Paradise Pier is $100.00 a night for several dates I've booked with them for 10/10-10/14 and 11/30-12/4 it is something you might want to look at.

    For Airfare you might want to look at Airfarewatchdog .com you are able to select where you want to fly out of and it will tell you all the deals, it searches other sites for you so after you see that deal you want you will be connected to the actual site. Right now they have from Victoria to LA for $350.00 roundtrip. Also Alaska Airlines is pretty affordable it is $480.00 roundtrip per person, just remember with any airline to look at the baggage fee so you don't end up being charged for even having one bag.
    Also keep in mind you will need transportation to and from the airport so remember that cost.

    If you don't want to have to book all the flight and hotel and ticket separately you can call Walt Disney Travel and they will help you, also even though you have an Ap if you book as a package with tickets included you can get Early Entry and magical Exclusion, we just did this we had two rooms two had Ap's and because I added one ticket to the package we all got the perks, which I thought was cool, only thing I would suggest if you do this make sure you have the hotel you want and will not make any changes, they will end up charging you a change or cancel fee even if it is 90 day's before your trip.

    Also since you said the first two weeks in December I just wanted to let you know that Dec 4-6th will be really busy since that is Candelight Weekend, we changed our dates to avoid this time since last year we where there during this time and it was insane.

    Hope this helps you some.

    “Something feels funny, I must be thinking too hard.” -Pooh

  5. #4

    Agreed, try Seattle

    I used to live on Vancouver Island and traveled a lot, and flying from Victoria adds up to $100 for any flight. And after recently booking a trip from Vancouver, I noticed that prices from Seattle were almost half that of Vancouver ones (to John Wayne especially).

    My recommendation? Fly Alaska or America West, and hit LAX. Shuttles from LAX are cheap, and there are many more flights and prices to choose from. Consider flying from Vancouver or even Seattle for the best overall price.


  6. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rockchalker View Post
    $624pp airfare!?!?!? How far is Seattle? I checked quickly on Google and it looked like 85 miles???) You could drive to Seattle, spend the night at a hotel near the airport (preferably one with a stay, park, and fly) and pay $220 w/1 stop on SWA or $270 direct on Alaskan. (No, I do not know these rates off the top of my head, I checked SWA and Travelocity.)
    I had to have a little bit of a giggle here. Sure, its 85 miles but most of it is water so we can't drive the whole way . We like Vancouver Island but dealing with the ferries can be tedious and adds a huge amount of time to your trip. However, I have never taken the clipper to Seattle and that might be an option.

    Everyone is being so helpful. Thanks and keep those tips coming

  7. #6

    I live in the Seattle area, and have taken the Clipper trip many times. It is a beautiful ride, and easy, but keep in mind that SeaTac airport is quite a bit south of Seattle; perhaps 30-45 minutes depending on traffic. You would need to schedule with Super Shuttle, or grab a cab.


  8. #7

    We are also flying down Early December. We are flying out Allegiant Air. I would check their website out. I think they fly out mon, wed, fri. They have flights right now at $68.00 one way. You might want to consider that but they do fly into LAX. but the price might change your mind


  9. #8

    Look on KIV, a local travel agent has posted a special of kids fly free. Not sure if it will work for you or not. We will be driving down at that same time, also from Vic We will be in the park the 6, 8 and 10th

     

  10. #9
    Registered User Rockchalker's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LOZZYPOP View Post
    I had to have a little bit of a giggle here. Sure, its 85 miles but most of it is water so we can't drive the whole way . We like Vancouver Island but dealing with the ferries can be tedious and adds a huge amount of time to your trip. However, I have never taken the clipper to Seattle and that might be an option.

    Everyone is being so helpful. Thanks and keep those tips coming
    Hmmm... perhaps I did not read Google close enough!
    “A keen sense of humor helps us to overlook the unbecoming, understand the unconventional, tolerated the unpleasant, overcome the unexpected, and outlast the unbearable.” Billy Graham

  11. #10

    I just booked Seattle to LAX on Dec 6th - 12th for $185.00 round trip after taxes through Alaska Air.

    3 of us for $540 and change, if I remember right.

     

  12. #11

    We have frequently taken the ferries over to Seattle and then caught an express bus that takes us directly to SeaTac. It is really easy and inexpensive. I have done this with two small kids. If you want the bus route #'s just let me know and I will post them.


  13. #12
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    Well, we have sucked it up and booked flights from Victoria to SNA. But we usually change in Seattle and this time we are connecting through San Francisco. There is not quite an hour between the flights down there, anyone familiar enough with San Francisco who can tell me if we can clear customs and get our next flight in that time?


  14. #13
    ♥ Disney Lover ♥ Jenasweetemotion's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LOZZYPOP View Post
    Well, we have sucked it up and booked flights from Victoria to SNA. But we usually change in Seattle and this time we are connecting through San Francisco. There is not quite an hour between the flights down there, anyone familiar enough with San Francisco who can tell me if we can clear customs and get our next flight in that time?
    San Francisco airport is usually really great with being able to get everything done, that is where we fly out of we usually get there maybe 40 minutes before are flights leave and the most we waited for customs was 15 minutes, the only thing with San Francisco is that depending on the time of day fog sometimes delays things a little. With an hour in between you should be fine. Here is the site with the map of the terminals that way you can see how far you will have to walk depending on the terminals. http://www.flysfo.com/web/page/index.jsp
    Hope this helps you!
    “Something feels funny, I must be thinking too hard.” -Pooh

  15. #14
    Are We There Yet....? TIMBO's Avatar
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    LOZZYPOP....Gotta say I like the look of your Countdown Clock...

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