DDP quote too expensive?

[ChoppyGirl]

Virgin quoted us an early deal last year and it was very expensive. They even admitted it wasn't a good price but you were paying a premium to book early. This was in store and the internet price with Virgin Holidays was about £1000 less when I looked earlier that day. I even got them to look at the price on the internet themselves but said they couldn't match their own price! They said they would speak to head office and call me back but they never did so I booked my flights as a fly drive package over the phone with Virgin and accommodation with Disney. I got a better fly drive price and had the v room thrown in by calling.

[duchy]

Flying indirect with kids actually has some advantages.
If via Dublin you avoid immigration at Orlando as you've already done it so deplane get your bags and go.
If via another US airport you clear customs and immigration at your first stop.
Either way kids don't like waiting queues but I'd far rather do it with them whilst still relatively fresh than at the very end of a very long journey. (Plus I've never waited as long to clear immigration as I have at Orlando)

I wouldn't abandon your plans just because you can't fly direct ... some people (including me) actually prefer indirect ... also don't forget Norwegian for direct flights, often much cheaper.

The flight is just a means to an end, what really matters is where you stay. After all you'll be a short time on your flights compared to your hotel .

[loola30]

I'm in the process of getting a quote from Virgin which is think is going to be laughable... but you never know! I'm aiming to do August 2018 direct Virgin flight, 11 nights Yacht Club, 3 nights Royal Pacific Resort, tickets and spending money for 8.5k. Granted I've been saving air miles like mad to reduce the cost of the flights as much as possible but that's my target. If you do DIY and get into collecting air miles I think you could manage it on your budget!

[Guest]

Thank you for all your comments. Most people seem to be paying more in the region of £8k. I was waning to go in 2018 to coincide with my partner's 40th. (It was going to be a surprise! ) I think perhaps it'd be better to save a year longer and go in 2019 instead... I don't want to be scrimping on the holiday of a life-time. I have contacted some other smaller TAs so I'll see what they say and that'll maybe give me a better indication.

[Slinky Malinki]

Originally Posted by Mummy1980

Thank you for all your comments. Most people seem to be paying more in the region of £8k. I was waning to go in 2018 to coincide with my partner's 40th. (It was going to be a surprise! ) I think perhaps it'd be better to save a year longer and go in 2019 instead... I don't want to be scrimping on the holiday of a life-time. I have contacted some other smaller TAs so I'll see what they say and that'll maybe give me a better indication.

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To hit £6k I think you're going to have to DIY.

[BirdsluvDisney]

I always used TA until I found this board, I have been travelling to Disney for 30 years, Wow how much extra money I had spent using TA, Last year I did my first DIY not only was it easy, It was great fun.

You could do the holiday quite a bit cheaper. You could do the full 2 weeks on Disney and not pay for car hire use the free Disney transport from the airport there and back, Use the free Disney transport on site, Then if you want to go off site, Then just use Uber.

I have looked at Thomas Cook and you can get August flights direct for just under £600 each, But you would need to travel back in September.

You could also look at a DIBB villa and not stay om site, We stayed 5 day Disney last year and the rest in a villa, I think the Grandchildren loved the villa more than Disney, They loved the freedom of the pool and games room, You could get a 3 bed villa for under £1500 for the 2 weeks, Flights from TC, Tickets from one of the agents, Then find a good priced car hire.
You could look at BA fly drives as they come out quite cheap and all car insurance is included.
I would guess if you juggle around and do a DIY you could do it for 6k and still have your dream holiday.

This site has so much help, You will find how easy DIY is. The planning is brill, I think it makes it the holiday more exciting. Good luck in your research.

[Guest]

Originally Posted by BirdsluvDisney

I always used TA until I found this board, I have been travelling to Disney for 30 years, Wow how much extra money I had spent using TA, Last year I did my first DIY not only was it easy, It was great fun.

You could do the holiday quite a bit cheaper. You could do the full 2 weeks on Disney and not pay for car hire use the free Disney transport from the airport there and back, Use the free Disney transport on site, Then if you want to go off site, Then just use Uber.

I have looked at Thomas Cook and you can get August flights direct for just under £600 each, But you would need to travel back in September.

You could also look at a DIBB villa and not stay om site, We stayed 5 day Disney last year and the rest in a villa, I think the Grandchildren loved the villa more than Disney, They loved the freedom of the pool and games room, You could get a 3 bed villa for under £1500 for the 2 weeks, Flights from TC, Tickets from one of the agents, Then find a good priced car hire.
You could look at BA fly drives as they come out quite cheap and all car insurance is included.
I would guess if you juggle around and do a DIY you could do it for 6k and still have your dream holiday.

This site has so much help, You will find how easy DIY is. The planning is brill, I think it makes it the holiday more exciting. Good luck in your research.

See more...

Thank you so much for this. Really helpful. I've spent most of today looking at villas and flights etc and I'm shocked by just how much cheaper I can do it! It's very exciting! This site is amazing!
I didn't want to drive but I think it'll be the only affordable option. Now I need to start researching the best location for a villa. Any suggestions anyone?

[Slinky Malinki]

Originally Posted by Mummy1980

Thank you so much for this. Really helpful. I've spent most of today looking at villas and flights etc and I'm shocked by just how much cheaper I can do it! It's very exciting! This site is amazing!
I didn't want to drive but I think it'll be the only affordable option. Now I need to start researching the best location for a villa. Any suggestions anyone?

See more...

We love this one https://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/villa-search.php?a=304

The owner is amazing as well.

[wifey]

We booked with Walt Disney World Travel Co. direct in the U.K. They tend to have the best prices for us for room and tickets. We book indirect flights, that saves us a few hundred quid too. Other park tickets we've had from Orlando Ticket Deals in the past or direct from Universal Studios. We don't go often enough to justify annual passes. Booking about 11 months out usually gives us a good price on rooms depending on the time of year we are visiting.Peak periods are always going to cost a lot more than any other time of year. We try to book for either just before school hols and a week into them or at the end of school holidays. Spring Break ( now) and Easter are always packed as are the American school holidays Thanks Giving and Christmas too. Only select resorts and tickets and dining for what you know is within your budget then you can't go wrong. We managed to find 12 days at a deluxe resort with tickets and paid to upscale to DDP ( no dining plan is truly free you end up paying more for your room) for £4800 for three adults and £1900 for indirect flights. So weigh up your options carefully. Remember the moderate resorts are just as well themed and have many of the amenities of the other resorts they just have a little less floor space and no concierge level lounge or balconies. Moderate resorts are just as relaxing and pleasant with wonderful garden areas and places to walk around and activities to do. Also don't forget Uber can be a huge help to get you from A to B too they can get to many places if you don't fancy driving or taking a Mears taxi.

[Vanillapod]

I've just checked ours again for August direct with Disney having just checked and found Kenwood to be more! It's gone up since Thursday... both OH and I checked and it was £3990. Now it's £4410...seems odd. Maybe the room offering is different?