Too early to plan ?

[Andybear]

Originally Posted by Floridatilly

Certainly not. We are actually going next year. But 2021 is a big year for us, our 20th wedding anniversary, my husbands 50th & my eldest daughters 18th. so I am wanting to do something a bit special so checking things out now (I like to budget well in advance lol)
I was dreaming of flying PE, even got myself a virgin credit card lol however, it seems that will be staying a dream because with 5 of us it’s just too expensive and we don’t spend much so we won’t earn enough air miles.
I am also looking into staying in a universal hotel for 7 nights. However I was shocked at the hotel costs for the premium hotels. Endless summer is reasonably priced but it has it’s downfalls (distance and no front line passes)
I am checking out Universal annual passes but it semis volcano bay is blocked out for our dates. This would have allowed us discount on the hotel. I was also hoping to use Tesco club points but it’s still over £2k
So as you can see, my planning is action for 2021 unfortunately it’s not going as planned. Lol

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You could always not go next year. That way you could save more money for the celebration visit 😀

[Sitron]

Not too early to do a little planning. Watch a few blogs on you tube etc. Keep your plans fluid though as new rides/experiences will come up. We go this year but are taking BIL, SIL and their kids with us in 5 years (their kids will be 11 and 6) so I'm already looking for villas suitable for two families - our girls will be 18 and 15 then - scary 😂

[cornishfrogboy]

I would already be tracking flights on a spreadsheet and reading every relevant thread on the DIBB in order to build up knowledge aswell as to pass the time..

If you are not already conversant with it, I would be playing with Google flights and inserting one ways. One way flights make several tools available to you.
1. You can look on any given day and find which airport is cheapest to leave from on a pull up map.
2. You can look up any given day and find whichbairport in Florida is cheapest to arrive at.
3. You can look at either a grid or a bar chart to see what the best price is for any day from today to 330 days away. From this, you will find some days into some airports cheaper than others.

From this information, you may well end up looking at flying in to Tampa on a Tuesday and departing from Orlando int on a Thursday, I.e a 16 day vacation, rather than a 14. You can now use this information to start researching return flights. (Multi city as I have just listed or other wise).
You can now, having found something interesting, try the same days etc on Skyscanner, Opodo, Kayak etc etc and see if any are cheaper for the same flights.
If the flights you have found are in a Virgin Airliner, you can try for them on the Websites of Virgin Atl , Delta (who own 49% of the Virgin Atl), Air France and KLM (who own a further 31% of Virgin Atl).

This research will give you something gainful to do as well as prepare you for when it really matters... when your flights become available in around November of 2020.
I would particularly be playing around just after October 2019 as flights for Oct 2020 come on line and that, in the following weeks, will be changing in price, thus giving you an idea of what might occur with the flights you will be seeking to book the following year.You will have built a decent amount of data by November as you will have been researching for 5 months. You will then feel rather confident having had this dry run and will know what to expect the following year when it is for real.


Hoping this helps!

P.S. I am already researching for next Summer (albeit not for Florida), because I need to build up a learning curve for my next possible destination/departure points, Seattle and Los Angeles.

[squishy]

I booked (last summer) our villa for next August... just one week, leaving flexibility to decide the rest of the plans! Never too early to plan (although I've just taken note of Cornishfrogboy's advice above for my own flight booking quest!)

[itsmeGAV]

We booked Sept/Oct 2020 4 days after we arrived home in March.. 18 months wait.

So no, it's absolutely never too early to plan! Have fun!

[mickeyspal]

If you are staying at Disney with dining plan you can look at the menus for every restaurant and decide where you will eat

[arabella]

i booked on the 2 April for 4th November 2020!
like others I have been reading trip reports, and forums on planning, accommodation, cars and driving
watch you tube as will only be at universal this time so watching the new rides with interest to keep the happy momentum going.
will be staying at the new endless summer resort so again watching with great interest
i have started a count down at 500 plus days!
started a month planner for the things i will have to - such as book seats, landry card etc
started a saving planner well in progress
started a packing planner - new cases, hand luggage and what to buy list (will need new suitcase scales)
although I have not yet started a planner for what i am doing each day yet
I am now at 497 days and it still feels such a long way away! however it is never to early to start planning for Florida within reason

[Guest]

I booked for December 2020 last month and I started planning (although as it turns out we will cancel the trip and go in April instead). But anyway before we decided that, I did my spreadsheet, picked how many visits to each park and picked out restaurants particularly new ones to try.

But other than that, I think it is too early to do anything else, I don't see the point in tracking flight prices two years in advance.