Airfare.....yuck!

For me, the most stressful part of planning a Disney vacation is airfare.

We've done the drive...it's just not worth it. We are from Western NY, so Florida is pretty far. We did a cheapy trip to Orlando and Daytona Beach one year, no Disney. We had to drive. It was awful. I get motion sickness- headaches and nausea- in the car, so long road trips are not enjoyable. I kinda have to just sit there and do nothing. I can drive and be okay, but I found out on that trip that driving at night, in pitch-black darkness, makes me feel really sick. And it took us 22 hours to get there. We did save some money, even with gas being crazy. We figured it cost us about $400 or so for gas and food while traveling. We stopped for the night on the way home and lucked out with a free room with hubby's Marriott points. If not, we would have incurred an extra $100 in traveling expenses.

So, for us to hop on a plane and be in Orlando in 2-1/2 hours on a direct flight is super super nice, and well worth the money. But the price of airfare lately has me nervous.

Last year I booked Southwest flights the day they were released, regardless of the prices, because I was so afraid they would go up. And I wanted to guarantee I got the flights I wanted. It was $1000 for 4 seats. And the most I have ever spent on flights. A month later the flights dropped, and then dropped again. In the end, the flights were almost $300 less. I did get Southwest credits and we did manage to use them, but I can't do that again. Basically I took another trip specifically so the credits wouldn't go to waste.

We like Southwest (despite the recent plane issues). They always have the best prices an flight schedules. But I am open to Jetblue and Airtran too (we have flown both airlines in the past). I stay away from major airlines because their prices are awful, their schedules horrendous, and I refuse to pay baggage fees.

How do you save money on flights??