Best Time to Buy Flights (MORNING)

[disneydad7281231]

Looking for some input on booking flights. We are the type that want the most out of our trips so we are planning a Sat-Sun 8 night trip. Ideally we want to fly out as early as possible Saturday and depart early afternoon Sunday.
I think this is a fairly popular idea, at least the early Saturday part.
This will be a January 2025 trip so flights are just coming out and I have been watching them.

I know that best prices overall tend to be 2ish months out but I feel like that is for the flight no one is booking. I have been watching flights and the morning ones tend to be going up already and it seems like the flights 2ish months out from now are cheap OTHER than the early departures.

Am I better off waiting? If so until when? Any input is appreciated!

This is not the first time flying to MCO but just trying to get the best deal I can!

 

[PrincesCJM]

My theory is if you find a price you are happy with, book them. I'm in Maine and when I travel to Disney during my April vacation, I book those flights as soon as they come out. The price only goes up. For my trip this August, I regularly checked flights and bought them when I was happy with the price.

 

[disneydad7281231]

Yeah for me it is 3 adults 1 kid and 1 infant on lap. I am in NEPA so have a few airport options. They were around $1200 when they first came out. Now floating from $1400-1600.

 

[EACarlson]

Early Saturday departures to MCO are one of the most popular there are. I agree with booking whenever you find a price you're comfortable with, most airlines have a method to take advantage of when prices drop. Prices are going up because the cheaper fare buckets are getting sold out. Sometimes those come back, sometimes they don't and the prices keep going up until takeoff.

 

[_19disnA]

Cost of flights generally go up as more of the less expensive seats are sold. Then you are left with higher priced seats and/or less desirable travel times. I would also imagine the non-stop flights go faster and then you are left with flights involving connections which means a longer travel time. If you are booking flights for one of the big holidays, I have always found it best to purchase those as soon as you have finalized your travel plans. Two month prior to Thanksgiving or Christmas would be already too late for the best choices/prices. Other travel periods offer more leeway.

Orlando is likely a popular travel destination the year round so there are probably less chances for finding 'sales' when planes are already full with vacation travelers. If you fly from an airline hub city you might also find more choices and perhaps competition from other airlines.

 

[sam_gordon]

The rule is "there are no rules". I've also told people in the past that I'll tell them the exact day to get the cheapest airfare if they'll give me the winning lottery numbers for the next drawing. No one has ever taken me up on that offer.

Stalk airfares. Look yourself at least 1-2 a week, and set up alerts on Google flights or other similar tracking sites. Southwest, Delta, and Alaska(?) airlines have no change fees, so if prices drop, you can get a refund (or credit, not sure which).

 

[disneydad7281231]

Appreciate all the feedback. We are going Jan 25th, 2025 so not holiday but it make sense that because it is Orlando it is always popular.
I typically fly American and have Google Alerts on about 8 different itineraries currently as my "local" airport is Avoca (1hr) but we have driven to Philly (2.5hrs) before.
Avoca for American is always connecting in CLT but there is a new direct flight with Breeze Airways but they only do 3-4 flights a week and 1 time a day so there isn't choices but its less driving and no connecting. They only have up to Jan 6th released so think I will wait all together to see what they look like in a couple weeks.

 

[SwanVT2]

I have started looking at February 2025 flights from VT to MCO and it is insane! 1700 roundtrip per person. Historically, when flights are first released they have been cheaper then get higher over time. I guess I will have to keep looking.

 

[NewDisneyEnthusiast]

Appreciate all the feedback. We are going Jan 25th, 2025 so not holiday but it make sense that because it is Orlando it is always popular.
I typically fly American and have Google Alerts on about 8 different itineraries currently as my "local" airport is Avoca (1hr) but we have driven to Philly (2.5hrs) before.
Avoca for American is always connecting in CLT but there is a new direct flight with Breeze Airways but they only do 3-4 flights a week and 1 time a day so there isn't choices but its less driving and no connecting. They only have up to Jan 6th released so think I will wait all together to see what they look like in a couple weeks.

I too am from NEPA about 20mins from Avoca. We typically fly SW out of Phil but are now watching Breeze for their added days & prices. We already had our end of April trip flight booked out of Phil before Breeze announced their new nonstop flights between AVP & MCO. Since their initial Wed & Sat flights from AVP, they also added Thurs & Sun but they do not depart AVP until ~7:45 pm. We plan to try Breeze for our next trip, (not yet planned)

 

[Brian Noble]

If you are picky about times, you have less flexibility about when to book to get a good deal. The airlines understand that leisure travelers are the people who fly to MCO on a Saturday, and they know that those people want their money's worth and want to fly earlier in the day.

My strategy for this is: I book the flight when it is a price I can live with. Post-covid, most airfares can be cancelled/rebooked for a 1-year credit with no additional fee. So, if prices drop by enough, I rebook the flight and bank the credit. This only works if you fly often enough that you can use that credit up, but I usually can. But, I also don't get super serious about booking until 3-ish months prior unless I see a *really* good price, because I know the early-bookers are usually getting soaked a little bit.

Caveat: this is on Delta. Different strategies may work better on other carriers.

 

[sam_gordon]

If you are picky about times, you have less flexibility about when to book to get a good deal. The airlines understand that leisure travelers are the people who fly to MCO on a Saturday, and they know that those people want their money's worth and want to fly earlier in the day.

My strategy for this is: I book the flight when it is a price I can live with. Post-covid, most airfares can be cancelled/rebooked for a 1-year credit with no additional fee. So, if prices drop by enough, I rebook the flight and bank the credit. This only works if you fly often enough that you can use that credit up, but I usually can. But, I also don't get super serious about booking until 3-ish months prior unless I see a *really* good price, because I know the early-bookers are usually getting soaked a little bit.

Caveat: this is on Delta. Different strategies may work better on other carriers.

The other advantage to booking way out is more than likely the airline will make a large enough change that you can switch for free to any flight the same day (even to a non-stop).

We had originally booked a 6:30p flight (arrive at 10:30p) to Houston for a Galveston cruise for July (made the booking in February). Delta changed the flight numbers, which gave us the ability to change flights. Now we leave at 10:30a and get in at 3:30p for the same cost.

 

[disneydad7281231]

I too am from NEPA about 20mins from Avoca. We typically fly SW out of Phil but are now watching Breeze for their added days & prices. We already had our end of April trip flight booked out of Phil before Breeze announced their new nonstop flights between AVP & MCO. Since their initial Wed & Sat flights from AVP, they also added Thurs & Sun but they do not depart AVP until ~7:45 pm. We plan to try Breeze for our next trip, (not yet planned)

Yeah i saw breeze added days and looks like the vary based on months. I prefer Avoca because the drive home after a long week in Disney can be tough so the closer the better but I HATE connecting in CLT because I always get delayed coming back to Avoca.