hedgehog

This is a pretty open question but my husband and I want to take the children (aged 10 and 7) to do the Disney/Orlando thing next Easter (yes, I know ... the queues!) but direct flights from the UK are already booked up. So instead we thought we might fly in and out of another US City/State and spend 5/6 days touring somewhere else prior to taking an internal flight to Orlando. We have been to other areas of Florida before so I am really thinking of somewhere out of state. We all had a fantastic time touring California last year so any other suggestions (maybe not too far away from Florida) would be wonderful bearing in mind the fact that we are travelling with children. Also perhaps you could indicate if you think I will have similar difficulty booking internal return flights to Orlando around Easter? Our school holiday dates run from Friday 25th March to Tuesday 12th April which probably coincides with the Spring Breakers' migration South!

nytraveler

You should still have enough time to buy flights within the US to Orlando - if you are a little flexible on dates/times and are traveling from someplace that has a lot of options.

You do not say what interests or likes/dilikes you have - but with two kids that age, and having already been to Florida a couple of times - I would suggest doing an east coast city - your chances of reasonable weather that time of year are fairly good in New York - and even better for Washington - both fantastic places for kids with tons to see and do. From New York there are planes to Orlando every two hours of so - and while Washington doesn;t have quite so many, there are still a significant number. Fare is typically areound $200 RT.

rkkwan

I agree with what nytraveler says. There are many non-stop flights from most East Coast country, and since you're going next April, you have lots of time to get a good fare.

Besides NYC and Washington, other cities with direct flights from the UK include Boston, Philadephia, and Toronto & Montreal in Canada; and NYC/Philadelphia/Washington and close enough and have frequent trains that you can do more than one city with your 5-6 days. Same thing with NYC/Boston. Or even Toronto/Montreal.

But if you haven't been to New York, I think that'd be a great choice. Lots to do for 5-6 days, and if you really want to see Philadelphia, a day trip is possible.

emd

At Easter time, the flights from D.C. to Orlando are not $200 in my experience (although you can get that certainly at some other times of the year). This past Easter, we started looking for flights from D.C. (any of the 3 airports) to Orlando in Sept, and watched the fares closely all fall and early winter, hoping they woudl come down. They did not. We could not get anything for less than $400 apiece. And those were not nonstops, they had at least one stop. We ended up buying two nonstops for about $479 apiece and using frequent flyer miles for the other two. Easter is a very high demand time for flights in and out of Orlando.

mrwunrfl

March 27, 2005, is Easter I believe. travelocity has fares from D.C. to Orlando for roundtrip $182(tax inc.) at about that time. Fly southbound on Mar 22-24 and north on the 28th or later. However, that would require staying 4 nights in Orlando (or thereabouts).

emd

Boy if I was looking I'd snatch those up soon, because we couldn't find anything like that starting in late Sept. last year (we did not look for anything w/more than one stop)

hedgehog

Thanks everyone for the really useful replies. Am checking out flights right now. Other than Jet Blue and maybe Trans Am are there any other budget airlines where I might pick up cheap flights into Orlando?

yk

If flying out of Philadelphia, Southwest & AirTran fly nonstop to Orlando. Also check out USAirways as they often match others' prices.

nytraveler

We always do Delta to Orlando and have never paid more than about $200 - but including a Sat night and not taking the most expensive flight options.

emd

Is that at Easter and Spring break time though?

Kay2

I'll reply to your first request though I noticed you posted a new one today with the same questions.

Have you been to the New Orleans area? It is not an air hub, so it doesn't help you there. But most visitors like it because it is so distinctive in the U.S. The city has great atmosphere and the surrounding swamps offer interesting trips for kids. I haven't been for awhile, but there used to be a riverboat trip as well and a place to see some of the Mardi Gras floats.

As you have been to Florida before, you know how beautiful the beaches and coast are there and they are hard to beat. So, the coasts of Georgia, SC, NC are nice, but not the bright white expanses of the Gulf coast of Florida and they won't be warm enough for swimming when you visit late March.

As you say the airfares into Orlando are too high and booked, where are the best deals into the US for you? Then we could tell you if those are good destination choices and which discount airlines would provide a connection for you to Orlando.

Glad to hear you've enjoyed your previous trips and are coming back!

GoTravel

The weeks before and after Easter the busiest winter travel weeks of the year. Flights in and out of the southeast will be expensive.

I'd go ahead and decide what you really want to see and bite the bullet. If you can find cheap fares, jump on them because they will not stay that way for Easter week.

Dreamer2

Hi there!

New England states' school breaks are the last two weeks in April, so you may be able to get a good fare from a New England airport.

I think your best bet price-wise would be to fly in to Boston, but fly to Orlando from either Manchester, NH or Providence, RI. Southwest has direct RT flights Manchester/Orlando, and usually runs pretty good specials early spring.

Disregarding price, I think it would be lovely to take the family to either New Orleans or Charleston, SC. Either would give you a totally different feel from either Calif or Florida. If you are thinking of flying directly out of Florida back to UK, you could even look into driving to Orlando from one of those southern destinations - if you don't mind sacrificing a day or two of your trip.

Hope it works out for you. Please tell us how you make out!

bellairegirl

One other option is that you fly to Washington, DC, you could then fly on Southwest Airlines to Orlando out of Baltimore Washington International (BWI). It's only about 45 minutes from DC. The fares on Southwest are only available starting about 3 months out, but are likely much cheaper than flights from other airports in the area.