We want to take the family (6 of us) to Disneyworld in December, and I'm looking for any tips and tricks from frequent travelers on how to get discounted airfare (when is the best time to buy tickets?), and how to get a good deal on a car rental. Any advice is appreciated.

Google Flights and Sky Scanner will tell you which airlines are the cheapest, what dates of travel are historically the best, and how far in advance you should book the tickets.

I've never looked into it but it was always my understanding that you don't really need a car for Disney if you're staying near the parks. Be prepared for it to be extremely difficult to get seats together (not sure how old your kids are/if that is still important). Delta is probably the only one who will do it direct which is probably ideal if the kiddos are little.

If your staying at a Disney resort / hotel you don't need a car.

First 2 weeks of December are the best time for Disney. All the Christmas decorations and shows without the insane crowds. We like the Candellight Processional...

Agreed with the above. Unless you plan to do a lot of traveling besides the park, skip a rental and just use Uber to/from the airport, and even for shorter trips. Way cheaper and more convenient. Seating for 6 isn't a problem with Uber XL.

Have you given any thought to driving to Disneyland in California? No flights and no rental car for a family of 6 would probably save you close to $3,000 even after buying gas. At 9 hours it's an easy one day drive. Having been to both Disneyland and Disneyworld, I doubt the kids will ever miss a thing.

I know it's not what you asked for and please ignore the suggestion if you are dead set on Florida.

quote:

Originally posted by TXJIM:
Have you given any thought to driving to Disneyland in California? No flights and no rental car for a family of 6 would probably save you close to $3,000 even after buying gas. At 9 hours it's an easy one day drive. Having been to both Disneyland and Disneyworld, I doubt the kids will ever miss a thing.

I know it's not what you asked for and please ignore the suggestion if you are dead set on Florida.

We've been to Disneyland quite a few times, and we thought it would be fun to go to Disneyworld and Florida. My kids are all teens or older, and have agreed to give up Christmas this year in exchange for the trip.

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Originally posted by exx1976:
Agreed with the above. Unless you plan to do a lot of traveling besides the park, skip a rental and just use Uber to/from the airport, and even for shorter trips. Way cheaper and more convenient. Seating for 6 isn't a problem with Uber XL.

We're looking at staying a few miles from the park - we found a few condos on VRBO that are very reasonably priced.
The reason we'd like a car is to be able to go to the beach while we're there. It's kind of a novel idea for us to go to the beach at Christmas time

quote:

Originally posted by 4x5:

quote:

Originally posted by TXJIM:
Have you given any thought to driving to Disneyland in California? No flights and no rental car for a family of 6 would probably save you close to $3,000 even after buying gas. At 9 hours it's an easy one day drive. Having been to both Disneyland and Disneyworld, I doubt the kids will ever miss a thing.

I know it's not what you asked for and please ignore the suggestion if you are dead set on Florida.

We've been to Disneyland quite a few times, and we thought it would be fun to go to Disneyworld and Florida. My kids are all teens or older, and have agreed to give up Christmas this year in exchange for the trip.

In that case, have you considered driving to Orlando only half kidding, I just drove my family to San Diego and back to Austin for the World Baseball Classic. We had a great time on the road and saw tons of sights. Lots of cool cities and sights between you and Orlando.

Otherwise, look at Southwest Airlines for cheap fares. I fly often and they typically beat other airlines handily on price.

BTW, I am posting from a Southwest plane now, my wife and I are returning from San Francisco after a long weekend getaway without the kids

Google the website "boardingarea" and the blog "mommypoints" lots of info on cheap family travel,Disney and all sorts of travel tips.

Check Southwest. I believe their December calendar will open up May 3rd or 18th. Avoid the days leading up to Christmas and New Year.

It's hard to beat SW. Their customer service is great. Ages of kids traveling?

I'm actually doing a Disney World trip right now. We did the Christmas party at Magic Kingdom last year and it was a lot of fun, so I would look into doing that one night.

For car rentals, we have had really good luck booking through Costco (if your a member).

If you are doing a 7 day or more park hopper pass, one of you should get an annual pass for WDW. The price is a few hundred more than a 7 day, but includes free parking, discounts on most merchandise and food, christmas and other party tickets as well as Photopass. Very easy to justify the added cost for 1 family member to get that pass while the rest of the family gets the basic park hopper tickets.

Last year we stayed at a VRBO booked 3 bedroom condo at the World Quest resort. It was a pretty nice place especially for the price ($110ish) a night and it's about 1 mile from WDW property. I believe it was about a 7-10 minute drive from the condo to being parked at Epcot.

quote:

Originally posted by 4x5:
We're looking at staying a few miles from the park - we found a few condos on VRBO that are very reasonably priced.
The reason we'd like a car is to be able to go to the beach while we're there. It's kind of a novel idea for us to go to the beach at Christmas time

I used to live in Daytona, and during that time of year is quite cold at the beach. Don't plan on going into the water!

If you're going United, ask TSA if a helmet is permitted.

quote:

Originally posted by Russ59:
Check Southwest. I believe their December calendar will open up May 3rd or 18th. Avoid the days leading up to Christmas and New Year.

It's hard to beat SW. Their customer service is great. Ages of kids traveling?

Thanks for clearing that up about Southwest - I was wondering why I couldn't check flights in December. My kids will be 13-20 years old by the time we go.

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Originally posted by BOATTRASH1:
First 2 weeks of December are the best time for Disney. All the Christmas decorations and shows without the insane crowds. We like the Candellight Processional...

The earlier the better in December...trust me.

We went to Disneyland for Christmas in 2015, and were there from, as I recall, the 21st - 26th. The crowds were absolutely insane...the park hit capacity on three occasions (which in the half-dozen or so times I've been to a Disney park I've never seen happen), and the rides were breaking and shutting down right and left, whether because of capacity/wear or ??, I've no idea. The sidewalks and pathways in the park were not designed to handle that number of people...it was an endless parade of shoulder-to-shoulder people, most of whom were suffering the same issues as we were and were most definitely not in the holiday spirit.

I'm glad we did the Disney thing at Christmas as, of course, they really do it up there and present a fantastic scene for the holidays...but that said, it was by far our worst trip there when we'd hoped it'd best one of our best, and while my kids were able to mostly shrug it off, my wife and I -- both Disney park fans from way back -- got our fill of Disney for a long, long time to come.

Florida may be able to absorb the people better, given its larger size, but I'm willing to bet it's still a madhouse. Again: the earlier in December the better...don't make the same mistake we did.